#beth tis almost here

[mercurycft]

𝐓𝐎𝐎 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 — 𝐊𝐌

## katie mccabe x reader !!

hi pookies!! once again i apologise for the lateness.. but i really hope you enjoy this.. my little tattoo-lover heart got a little carried away with this, but i love this concept so much and i hope you do too! its a little different than the original idea for the direction of this, but either way, i really enjoyed this!! happy reading! love always - RG! x

i would also like to say! this is inspired by a fic i saw on my feed about a tattoo artist x alexia (i think) and i loved it! if i find the account i will top the link to their fic here!

contains: tattoo artist reader! shameless flirting! angsty make up sex, cocky!katie, fight for dominance, oral - both receiving, rough grabbing, dirty talk, fingering, useless lesbians, top!katie and brat!reader, foul language.

r's masterlist - requests open!

4.6k words

CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE & CONTENT 18+

a knock at your door was a disruption to your night time routine - pyjamas already on, makeup off, hair tied back and your toothbrush hanging from your lips. you slipped on your slippers and headed down the stairs, still brushing your teeth when you pulled the door open to reveal a familiar face.

she was in a similar state. hair tied back messily, loungewear on and no makeup accept for her eyelash extensions. your eyes lifted from the floor to finally meet hers on the other side of the threshold

“katie..?”

“can i come in?”

3 months ago.

a notification past 7pm would usually be ignored.

and it was the first time, then the second, then the third. the fourth, however, was followed by a groan from your sprawled-out position on your sofa. although tempted to put your phone onto 'do not disturb' and continue the twilight marathon you started the previous night, you stretched across the empty space and patted around to locate your phone - simultaneously pausing the tv and shifting to sit with your back against the pillows for a change.

katie_mccabe11 liked your story.

katie_mccabe11 liked your post.

katie_mccabe11 started following you.

you have 1 new message.

"katie mccabe.." you whispered into the emptiness of your apartment, crossing your legs beneath you and clicking on the notification on your screen. "why do i know her.." you racked your brain, pursing your lips. you noted the football shirt in her profile picture alongside the blue verified tick beside her username and used your critical thinking skills to put two and two together, chuckling at the thought of your younger sister losing her mind at another footballer dming you.

you waited a few seconds before opening her message, reading it carefully and silently. "that's how i know her.." you replied to yourself, whilst alone.

last week you had beth mead in your seat at the shop, getting a small paw print behind her ear and chatting yours off in the process. you spoke about a lot of things, you're used to that though. sometimes people just need someone to talk to - and who better than their tattoo artist? you liked beth, she was lovely, easy to talk to. the kind of person you would be friends with. she wasn't with you for long, an hour tops and it flew by. at the end of the appointment you exchanged socials and she left with a 'i'll tell the girls about you!".

you didn't really watch football, but you knew enough - and you would be lying if the thought of your name being chucked around between a very attractive group of women didn't make your stomach twist.

you typed your reply to katie quickly. starting with your usual friendly opening, explaining your upcoming availability and then ending with a single kiss. you had no available appointment spaces for the next three weeks, but you hoped that beth really sold you and your passion enough that she would consider waiting. she read it almost immediately, making your eyes widen and quickly swipe away from the message in an effort to not seem like a total weirdo.

her reply flashed across the top of your screen a few seconds later.

'ill take it x'

—————————

appointment day.

it was appointment day and god were you a nervous wreck. you arrived at the shop an hour earlier than normal to open up and clean before she arrived - she was your first and only appointment of the day and you wanted to make a good first impression. you prepared what you would need, laying your tools out on the table beside you and making a coffee - which would no doubt be freezing cold by the time you actually got around to drinking it.

you connected your phone to the bluetooth speakers around the room and shuffled your playlist just as the doorbell rang from the front of the shop. 7:59. you didn't know much about katie, having restrained yourself from going full-on stalker mode over the last few weeks leading up to her appointment. but clearly she was punctual.

as you unlocked the door and smiled to her through the glass, you couldn't help but realise how strikingly attractive she was. her hair pulled into a tight and slick ponytail at the back of her head, a deep green tracksuit complimenting her tanned skin and bright eyes.

"good morning!" you greeted cheerfully, welcoming her in.

you watched as her eyes scanned around the room, studying the artwork on the walls before they landed back on you and a smile spread across her face to match yours.

"mornin' hope i've not been a fuss this early.." she joked as you embraced each other in one of those awkward-but-friendly-first-meeting hugs, causing you to laugh softly.

"oh it's no bother, serious." you waved her comment off, shutting the door behind you both and leading her over to your station at the back of the shop. you didn't expect her accent to be so thick, but the way her voice sat heavy in the space between you had you clenching your jaw.

the pair of you made small talk as she got situated and sat on the leather bed whilst you pulled up a stall and your phone to take another look at the pictures she had previously sent, grabbed a pen and then pulled a pad of paper onto your lap. laying the phone down so she could see as well.

you sat across from katie, discussing designs and what she would and wouldn't like. she was engrossed in the conversation, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as you shared ideas and suggestions. you found yourself doodling on the paper, absentmindedly drawing whatever came to mind as she chatted about the specifics of what she wanted. every now and then, your eyes would meet hers, and a playful smile would tug at the corners of your lips.

there was silence between you for a few beats as your pen etched across the paper and completed the first sketch of the possible design. when you finished you looked up and turned the paper towards her before you could ask how she felt about it she spoke up.

"how do you do that?"

"do what?" you replied playfully with a smile.

"how can you just listen and draw? it's so cool.." she sounded genuinely bewildered for a moment and you couldn't help but laugh lowly.

"honestly, it just happens. when someone describes what they want i see it in my head and just let my pen translate it." you explained with a shrug, looking at her again.

"well its sick, i won't lie!"

"thank you.. i'm a woman of many, many talents.." it came out a lot more suggestive sounding than intended, mental cursing yourself and begging internally that she wouldn't see the pink tint you could feel spreading across your cheeks. you looked back down at the page before she could notice, avoiding her eyes.

"oh i bet." she added, smirking across from you.

you both sat like that for another ten minutes, brainstorming ideas and katie watching you bring them to life like a magician until you both finally settled on a design. you couldn’t believe how natural the interaction was coming and conversation flowing. you embraced the shared banter between you and leant into her jokes.

the design she had settled on was small and intricate but you knew you could free-hand it, so decided against using a stencil for the work. “right, i am gonna wash my hands and get everything sterilised, you get comfy and have a think about where you want it. okay?” you said as you stood up and ripped out the page you were using, placing it beside your other supplies so it was easy to use as a reference. katie replied with a small “sounds good to me,” and you heard her shuffle around the bed and as you made your way to the sink you could feel her eyes on you, following you away.

when you returned to her, she was sat more comfortably and had discarded her hoodie. the ribbed vest she was hiding left little to your imagination, revealing her arms and more of that heavenly tanned skin to your prying eyes. you tried not to look, but were made too aware of yourself failing miserably when she caught your gaze and you watched her suppress a chuckle.

once you were situated on the stool again, you took a deep breath and turned towards her. “so where are you thinking?” she sat silently in response, deep in thought.

“either here,” she pointed to the inside of her bicep to punctuate her point “or here..” she added quietly as her thumb hooked into the waistband of her joggers and shimmied them down a couple of inches until you could see the skin at the bottom of her stomach- in line with her hip. perhaps you looked for a second too long, or she heard you gulp, or maybe your fears were real and she could in fact hear your heart rattling against the boney cage of your ribs in your heaving chest - but the way you heard her exhale a humorous breath and tense her stomach muscles snapped you back into reality.

“which one would you prefer?” you questioned, professionally.

“probably my hip.” you nodded in agreement, smiling and internally celebrating at her decision. “and as a bonus i get to watch you gawk at me for however long it takes,” she teased, earning a small smack to the upper thigh and an eye roll.

“i was absolutely not gawking!” you defended with a smile.

“oh yeah, alright then..”

you rolled your eyes again and stood to grab a small bottle of sanitiser and a disposable razor, placing them on the table - once you made sure she was comfortable you sat down again.

“i’m going to pull your joggers down a couple inches, is that okay?” you waited for her reply before making any moves closer to her.

“of course,”

“perfect.”

you got straight to work, dragging them down until the area she had pointed out was revealed again - only this time you could see the band of her underwear peaking out from beneath the fabric and it had you drawing in a careful breath. you circled the skin with your pinky finger lightly and showed her the length and width the ink would cover, double checking that was exactly where she wanted.

the tattoo itself took no longer than forty minutes to complete. once you were finished you sanitised and made sure it was exactly how she wanted before moving to discard any disposables used. she took it like a champ the entire time, only slightly flinching when the needle grazed a particularly tender spot.

you spoke to her about the aftercare and how to take care of it whilst it healed, then covered it with second skin and soothed the area - moving to wash your hands and stand against the counter. “any questions?”

you sat speaking for another hour, and you were sure at times she was stalling so she wouldn’t need to leave.

“when do you finish?”

“whenever you want to go,”

“why didn’t you say! i don’t want to hold you up, love..” she tutted and began collecting her stuff. you laughed at her huffing like a child and led her towards the front desk.

the petname made your stomach jump, twisting and twitching in your abdomen as you studied her. the way she moved and smiled, how her eyes pierced through you like she was reading your mind - how you were so sure she actually could see and read the filth behind your own eyes.

at the front she paid and thanked you another couple hundred times as you let her out the door. she stepped over the threshold and gave you another small hug. “thank you again, i really love it.”

“stop thanking me! i’m just glad i could do your vision justice..” you smiled and shrugged, “you’re welcome anytime, just pop me a message!”

“that’s just because you want to look at my stomach again..” she called, walking to her car and waving.

“shut up.” you rolled your eyes, laughing. “don’t be a stranger!”

—————————

during the appointment you and katie exchanged numbers and for days, weeks, months you texted each other everyday. you met for coffee, went to watch her and the team (who you got along with swimmingly) practice, you even went to watch all of their matches.

you had been inseparable since that first meeting, you shared things about each other previously unknown by anyone, spent evenings and nights at each others homes and got aquatinted with family and friends.

after spending so long together, the pair of you had become incredibly close - often sharing a bed, and clothes. you couldn’t help but feel things for her, for katie. your stomach became a harvest ground for butterflies and your heart rattled with longing for her.

you came close to telling her, to explaining how you felt - until one day, it just stopped.

the meetings stopped,

then the match invites,

then the messages,

everything stopped.

—————————

present day - 2 months later.

over the last months without talking to katie, you threw yourself into work and university in an attempt to distract yourself. you felt like you were going through a break up - could you even call it that? could you categorise this into the break up section? a friend break up? whatever it was, it hurt, and you found yourself still thinking about her.

friday nights felt weird now. usually sat on the sofa with a takeaway, katie sat on the other side with her food in her lap - laughing at some stupid program she had put on. now it was empty in the apartment, and you sat on the sofa alone with a cup of tea watching telly until it was time to get ready for bed.

you showered, careful to avoid putting soap the area of your newest tattoo addition on your wrist - letting the warm water run over the skin. when you were done, you made sure to moisturise and then cover it up again before getting dressed into your pjs.

you brushed your hair, and then began brushing your teeth - staring at yourself in the mirror and studying the ink that now littered your arms and chest.

you were deep in though when a a knock at your door disrupted your night time routine - still brushing your teeth when you pulled the door open to reveal a familiar face. your eyes lifted from the floor to finally meet hers on the other side of the threshold.

“katie..?

“can i come in?”

“uh, yeah- yeah- sure,” you stammered and stepped back to open the door wider for her, stepping away into the kitchen area to spit the froth from your toothpaste into the sink and quickly rinse before running back to shut the door behind her.

it was awkward. she stood in front of you in silence for a few beats, looking down at the ground as if she was figuring out what to say. you stood a few steps away, leant on the wall beside you with your arms crossed across your chest.

"why are you-"

"look i dont know why-"

you both spoke over eachother, breaking the silence that sat heavy between the walls. you shared a smile, it was brief, but it was there as you met her blues and waved your hand - gesturing for her to continue.

"look, i don't know why i'm here. i just got in my car and then i was on the drive and i just needed to speak to you. i just wanted to see you-"

"oh god you never shut up mccabe.." you whispered with an eye roll as you advanced towards her.

one step. what if she doesn't want this?

two steps. what if i've read this all wrong?

three steps. jesus her perfume..

every step you took was narrated by that voice in your head, you know, that one that tells you to shut up in uncomfortable situations and the one that speaks to you when you watch something brilliantly but so stupidly funny. you couldn't stop to think out loud, you couldn't stop full stop. point blank. period.

your feet were moving faster than your thoughts, and your thoughts were moving faster than your logic until you were so close you could feel her soft breath caressing the skin of your face.

"tell me not to, and i won't." you said softly

"god, you've always been too sweet for me."

there was no time to register what she said, her lips were on yours. they were everything you had thought of, they were soft but she kissed you with urgency. breathing heavily as her hands raised to either side of your face, pulling you closer than physically possible. your lips moved together sweetly, full of love.

you stayed like that for a few minutes, soaking each other in until she pulled away. lips swollen, taking a deep breath. there were no words exchanged between you, only eye contact - the sound of breathing shared. then you crashed together again, lips connected for a second time in the space of five minutes.

this time however, was harsher, and fast-paced. she was in control, gagging for it. hands grabbing at whatever fabric they could find on the opposing body, a small moan falling from your lips when her hands squeezed the skin of your waist and her lips broke from yours momentarily to grunt out a "jump." to which you gladly obliged, legs wrapping around her waist and her hands finding the skin at the top of your thighs - she held you like nothing, with no struggle as she passed through the hall and up the four steps to your bedroom.

when she placed you back down onto your feet you were quick to tug your top up and over your head, discarding it on the floor. before you could continue she grabbed your hand, finger tracing gently over the still-fresh tattoo across your wrist.

"this is new," katie whispered.

"i had a lot of time on my hands." you replied at the same volume, shrugging. she chuckled lightly, reading the words now littering the skin. "and you were always saying i was sweet.."

"aye, and you're yet to prove me wrong."

"don't start something you can't finish, katie."

"oh i'm very, very good at finishing, actually."

"shut up."

this time you had her, hands on the back of her neck as you pulled her in. grabbing the fabric that sat at the nape of her neck and pulling it over her head, only breaking the kiss until your path was cleared again. you span around, walking backwards until the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed causing her to lay down. you wasted no time in straddling the top of her thighs, arms on either side of her head.

"behave." she muttered, hands gripping your thighs and switching your positions on the bed, now towering over you, arms replacing yours on the bed. mouth moving to your neck, nipping at the skin beneath your ear. "stop acting like you don't want me to have my way with you."

"stop acting like you've got it in you." you quipped back, smirking when her teeth grazed your earlobe roughly. her hand raising to grip your jaw and forcefully turn your head to face her.

"is that a challenge? hm?" it was rhetorical, her eyebrows raised and voice low.

"prove it."

she didn't need further pushing, lifting herself off the bed and taking a few steps back. you propped yourself up onto your elbows to watch, head tilted when she stared at you blankly. eyes flicking to your shorts before back up to your face.

"take em' off."

"you take them off."

"take. them. off. i won't be asking again."

you gave in with a huff, rolling your eyes and lifting your hips to peel your shorts off. biting down a smirk as you lifted your legs back onto the bed - revealing yourself to her.

"awfully cocky there, love."

"as if you don't love it."

"do you always have such a smart mouth?"

"i have a very lovely mouth."

"oh i bet."

she was on her knees then, face level with you. eyes locked on your gleaming pussy, fingers gliding through your folds and collecting your slick before bringing her digits to slip between her lips - tasting you. she laid her fingers back against you, prints flat against your clit, applying the perfect amount of pressure to make your head fall back on the bed behind you with a desperate moan.

she drew tight circles, watching you throb beneath her fingers. you moaned at the contact, your clit already sensitive. you didn't know how she managed it, but she had you falling apart from the pressure alone - and you could tell she loved every second of it with her lips drawn into a cocky smirk at the sight of your mouth falling agape when you began rutting up into hands as a plea for more.

“does that feel good darlin'?” she asked from between your thighs, her lips pressed against the soft skin of your leg, stopping their sloppy kisses for a second. you whimpered in response, nodding slowly. “use your words, love.”

“yes it feels good..” you whispered, licking your lips, your mouth increasingly dry.

“good girl..” she added, jaw clenched when she attached her lips to your thighs again. you savoured the feeling, the delicious feeling as she dragged her fingers roughly against you. the praise made your legs tense against her lips, sending a rush of pleasure down through the depths of your stomach.

“i want more. please.”

"hm? what was that?”

“i want your fingers..” you confessed, dragging your own teeth along the back of your hand which you were using to muffle the sultry sounds tumbling from your lips - biting down against the skin when you felt your face flush.

“please,” you begged, hips rising off the bed in a desperate act for more friction. she shut you down quickly, using her free hand to pin your hips back to the mattress.

“please what, darling..” she stalled, slowing down to an unbearable speed.

“i need you to fuck me,” your words made you squirm, eagerly waiting as you felt a single finger travel down and tease your hole before she pushed into you slowly. her own thighs clenching at the sound of you gasping as she added another finger, curling them methodically inside of you.

she stretched you out perfectly, her fingers moving at just the right speed to have you moaning with every thrust into you. her pace and pressure increased with the volume of your whimpers, back arched into her touch and face buried in your arms as her fingers pressed perfectly inside of you. she curled her fingers to press against your g-spot, mentally noting how perfect you sounded chanting her name. taking advantage of you being preoccupied by the pleasure, she moved to lay her tongue flat against your clit. fingers still moving inside you as she carefully flicked the bundle of nerves between her lips.

a moan rattled from the back of her throat as you coated her taste buds, the vibrations travelling straight to the fire now raging in the pit of your stomach and coursing through your legs - coaxing out a moan of your own.

she felt you tense and squeeze around her fingers, your clit throbbing against her mouth when she lifted her eyes to survey the scene above her. your eyes screwed shut and teeth gripping your bottom lip so tight it was sure to leave a mark. chest heaving and hands twisting in the sheets.

"you going to cum for me?"

“y-yes,” you stuttered, eyes rolling into the back of your head when her fingers curled a final time and she took your clit into her mouth with a pop.

“thats it. good girl.”

that was all it took for you, your orgasm crashing through your body and shaking through your limbs. legs shaking beside her head and cunt tensing around her fingers. back arched and screaming out her name.

katie let you ride it out, only stilling her fingers and withdrawing her tongue from you when your back finally laid against the bed again - catching your breath. she brought her fingers up to your mouth and slipped them past your lips for a second as she moved to straddle you, climbing up from the floor. her fingers dragged down the length of your chin and were replaced with her mouth, her tongue finding yours - allowing you to taste yourself from her mouth.

"wanna taste you," you managed to croak out through the kisses, gulping and lifting your hands to press against her chest. pushing her back and towards the pillows at the head of the bed until she was laid down. "my turn.." you whispered seductively in her ear, lips pursed and leaving small kisses in your path as you travelled down the length of her body.

her tracksuit bottoms were removed quickly and your fingers were hooked into the band of her underwear, pulling them down her tanned legs until they followed the rest of the clothes to reside on the floor. she was dripping, and the sight alone was enough to have you salivating below her.

the scrunchie in your hair had loosened after the previous events of the evening, and your hair was limp enough for her to slide her hand into the back of your locks. gripping tightly and pulling you closer to her pussy.

"go on, make me feel good."

you needed no further instruction, moving closer to her before she had even finished the sentence. you laid your tongue flat against her, lapping her up. she tasted almost as good as she looked. her eyes focused on you and her hand tight against your scalp, guiding you.

you couldn't look away, allowing her to take you as she wanted. moving your head against the rhythm of her hips - moaning your name when your eyes met hers innocently. her head fell against the headboard when you whimpered against her, her own noises mirroring yours as her legs started to close around your head.

"fuck, thats it. i'm gonna cum," she groaned, both hands on the back of your head as you drank her in. nodding eagerly between her thighs, silently begging for her to cum for you.

and she did. hard. crying your name out into the room around you, followed by a string of curses until she finally released your head from her hands and her legs laid limp beside her on the bed.

"jesus christ."

"nope, just me." you teased, now occupying the space beside her on the pillows. both of your bodies coated in a sheen layer of sweat and your eyes threatened to close with the sound of her steady breathing when her arms moved to embrace you.

"i didn't mean to just disappear how i did," she began, causing you to look at her again. "i just didn't want you to get caught up in the shit show that is my life,"

"katie, you could've just said you needed a bit of space,"

"but i don't think that's what i wanted, i just didn't to ruin what we were doing, and well, making.." she paused, taking one of your hands into her own and bringing her lips to press against the skin.

"you were just too sweet to me,"

[pitchsidestories]

book lovers II Emily Fox x Reader

masterlist I word count: 1360

a/n: hi, this oneshot won the poll by far, enjoy. Plays in the same universe as Arsenal Book Club.

pairings: Arsenal Wfc x Reader (platonic), Emily Fox x Reader (romantic)

For the new season, Arsenal’s book club met again. Emily was excited, this time she would be the host.

She had prepared everything. From turning her living room into a cozy reading spot to organizing snacks and wine.

There was just one more thing to do. And for that she needed to ask her teammates.

“No, she can’t be part of the Arsenal book club, Emily!“, Leah cut her off because she could fully phrase her question.

Emily frowned at her teammate. She couldn’t understand why they didn’t want you around, only because you played for Chelsea.

“But I already invited her.“

Leah almost choked on her wine. The room went quiet immediately.

The blonde defender turned to the others: “Girls, you agree with me, right?“

No one dared to answer.

Kim finally looked up from where was busy setting up a laptop so Jen could join in from the US. She sighed: “It’s just a book club, Leah.“

“With Arsenal players!“, she replied, rolling her eyes.

“Viv and Jen are still part of it and they don’t play for us anymore.“, Beth countered with a casual shoulder shrug.

“But they’re former Arsenal players. They still belong to the family.“

The discussion was interrupted by Jens voice: “Cheers, mates.“ Her smiling face appeared on the laptop screen. She looked tired, her hair was tied up into a messy bun and she clearly sat in her kitchen with a mug in front of her.

“Hi, Jen. What time is it in Cali? Did you get up for this?“, Kim greeted the other scot.

Jen nodded proudly: “It’s eight in the morning but I’m ready. I got our book, a cup of coffee and I’m only slightly jealous of your wine.“

“And I’m jealous of your coffee so I think that’s fair.“, Kim smiled.

Beth appeared on her side and pressed her face closer to the screen: “Is that Deyna in the background?“

“Yes, she slept here. Why?“, Jen replied nonchalantly.

Beth played innocent: “Just asking.“

Deyna waved into the camera: “I loved the book. Jen and I read it out loud to each other in the evening. Would recommend doing that with your p-… friends.“

The Venezuelan football player blushed slightly.

Leah rolled her eyes once again, this time with a smile: “Sounds totally like something friends would do.“

“Shut it, Lee.“, Jen laughed.

While the other Arsenal players were busy discussing their former teammates’ love life, Emily sneaked out to let you in.

In the hallway, she greeted you with a long kiss.

“You’re here.“

“Of course. Sorry for being late, got some snacks.“, you smiled and apologetically held up a huge bag.

“You didn’t have to. We have more than enough.“

“I thought food might be the way to their hearts.”, you explained sounding hopeful. Noticing the two familiar faces who appeared behind your girlfriend made your grin grew deeper.

“Hi Lotte and Lessi!”

“Hey y/n.”, Lotte responded with a warm smile on her lips.

“Great to see you.”, Alessia chirmed pulling you into one of her famous bear hugs.

“It’s been forever.”, you nodded.

“Sadly, you’re not in our team anymore.”, the English defender sighed.

“What do you mean?”, Leah intervened curiously.

“We all played together for the North Carolina Tar Heels.”, the Blonde forward stated.

“You did?”, Vivianne threw in surprised.

“Yes.”, Emily confirmed.

“What a coincidence.”, the Dutch player remarked.

“It’s.”, your girlfriend agreed.

“And now we’re all reunited far away from North Carolina.”, you observed happily.

“All in London.”, Lotte stated.

“Disgustingly cute.”, Katie commented, wrinkling her nose.

“Can we get to the book now?”, Kim asked with a tortured smile on the face.

“Please.”, you replied.

“Yes, come on. Sit down.”, Emily requested, touching the empty place beside her on the comfy sofa. Gladly you sat down next to your lover.

“Cheers, y/n.”, Katie toasted you grinning.

“I almost thought you’d knock my head with your glass, McCabe.”, you shook your head laughing.

“You’re lucky I didn’t even though you play for Chelsea.”, the Irish footballer growled.

As an American you didn’t think much about the rivalry between Chelsea and Arsenal until you arrived in England and met people like Katie or Leah who took this very seriously.

“But we’re both Emily’s friends.”, you reminded her softly.

“You don’t have friends on the Chelsea team, huh.”, the Ireland captain joked teasingly.

“Not true. They just don’t like to read.”, you protested.

“Oh, these girls here don’t read either except for fellow bookworm Emily.”, Kim told you.

“What?”, Emily gasped.

“Yes, you’re our book nerd and apparently y/n is at Chelsea.”, Leah smirked amused.

“Sounds like a perfect couple to me.”, Beth chuckled at the blonde defender’s observation.

“Two book lovers. Yes, indeed.”, Jen added.

“Actually.”, Emily begun, her cheeks turning slightly pink as all the eyes of her teammates were on her.

“We’re.”, you continued.

“A couple. Who would have guessed.”, Katie rolled her eyes at the pair of you.

“Is no one surprised?”, your girlfriend wanted to know smiling.

“Do you want us to be?”, Beth returned the question in a sincere voice.

“The derby said everything to be honest.”, the lionesses captain admitted winking.

“The derby?!”, you exclaimed.

“Yeah, you were there?”, Leah questioned unserious clearly, she knew you were a part of that game.

“Yes, I remember it all too well.”, you confessed.

You bit your lip, thinking back to that day and wondered if you were really that obvious a few weeks ago.

Katie smirked at you: “And let’s just say it wasn’t only sportsmanship that we saw afterwards.“

“Trust me, some people would still say it was only true sportsmanship.“, Beth laughed.

Leah wrinkled her nose and teased: “Oh yes, a girl consoling another girl with a kiss, such sportsmanship.“

You felt the blood rush into your cheeks.

Embarrassed, you tried to hide your face in Emilys neck: “Oh god, you guys!“

Emily laughed, patting your back: “They’re always like this.“

“I think I like them… Still annoying though.“, you commented as you looked back up again.

Leah raised one eyebrow: “Says the Chelsea player.“

You looked at your girlfriend for help but she just shrugged: “Sorry, I can’t save you from this lifelong gooner, love, if you keep saying such things.“

“What about the love you until the day I die promise?“, you asked her, playfully pouting.

Beth grimaced in disgust and turned to Arsenals captain who looked like she was suffering: “Kim, I think they read too many romance books.“

Kim sighed in response: “I just want to have one book club where we actually get to read and that doesn’t turn into some kind of dating show.“

The book club ended without much reading so you and Emily read the book over the course of the next few days. Once you finished it, you placed both your copies onto your shared bookshelf. There was a large collection of books already and almost no more space.

As you turned away from the bookshelf, there was a loud crack, then an even louder thud. You let out an involuntary shriek before you took in the books at your feet.

The lowest shelf had collapsed under the weight of all those books.

“Uhm, Em?“, you called for your girlfriend.

“Yes?“, she yelled back from the kitchen.

“I think we need to make another trip to IKEA… or get rid of some books.“, you half joked.

“Why?“ She appeared in your living room and took in the situation. “Oh my god.“

“It broke under the weight.“, you explained.

Your girlfriend smiled fondly but shook her head: “Have you ever heard of an e-reader?“

You glared at her: “That’s nothing compared to ink and paper! Besides, I’m not getting one just because of your deal with kindle.“

“Okay, fine. We’ll go buy you another shelf.“, she laughed, defensively raising her hands.

You smiled: “Thank you. Food will be on me, you can choose whatever you want.“

Emily nodded slowly, already thinking about what to get at the Swedish furniture store: “Okay, we have a deal.“

“Better than your kindle deal.“, you laughed and stepped around the scattered books to kiss her.

[wileys-russo]

the set up II l.wienroither x reader

the set up II l.wienroither x reader

"-yeah she said she'd be here at ten but she's probably still on australian time." beth shrugged as viv gave her a look and laura frowned a little in confusion.

"that is not how it works." viv sighed with a shake of her head as her blonde girlfriend grinned with a shrug. "who will be here?" laura asked curiously, engaged in a fierce game of tug of war with myle on the sofa.

"oh my cousins coming over! the one whose been livin in australia for a couple years." beth exclaimed happily, kicking a few pairs of shoes out of the way as viv hurried to put them away in their proper place afterwards.

"oh she is back now? cool, have you seen her yet?" laura asked, hissing a little as her focus slipped and myle teethed on her hand for a moment. "no!" laura remanded firmly as the puppy watched on unfazed, launching off the sofa toward one of her toys.

"yeah she's moved back here now, living with her best mate until she can find a place of her own. we went for dinner a few days ago and caught up, she's a girl with a lot of stories." beth chuckled, the door bell cutting her off before the conversation could go any further.

myle barked and sprinted off to the door, getting under beths feet as she scooped her up and swung it open. laura wasn't able to see much still sat in the living room by herself, now suddenly wishing she'd asked before inviting herself over like she normally would.

"urgh beth! i don't know where her tongues been." you whined as your cousin held myle up allowing her to lick all over your face before viv came to save you and gently tugged the puppy away into her own arms.

"welcome back!" you grunted as your cousin quite literally jumped on top of you, stumbling a little as your knees almost buckled but you caught your footing. "i saw you a few days ago you idiot." you laughed, squeezing her before she dropped back down.

"but i didn't see you for like a year beforehand so i win!" beth stuck her tongue out as you rolled your eyes. "she's so tiny." you grinned, viv handing you myle as you cooed at the small dog, craning your head away to avoid her licking you again.

"don't avoid her kisses thats rude!" beth gasped snatching her back as you hugged viv hello. "our friend laura is here as well." the dutch woman nodded for you to follow, beth already disappearing.

laura felt herself get a little tongue tied as beth quickly introduced the two of you, and unsure how to best greet you she settled for a friendly wave and a smile which seemed to suit as you did the same and took a seat beside beth.

"your accent is all sorts of messed up we'll need to work on that if you want to be accepted as a british citizen again." beth teased as you playfully rolled your eyes, shoving her and falling into conversation.

an hour or so later beth and viv stepped out to get lunch ready, inviting both you and laura to stay as the two of you got to know each other better, finding it almost effortlessly easy to speak with one another.

"so why did you move back now?" laura asked, the subject not really having been brought up yet as you shrugged.

"australia is beautiful and the people are wonderful but its expensive to live there. and my family are all getting older and i miss seeing them as often, my friends are all getting engaged or having kids and it just felt like the right time to come home." you answered simply with a smile.

"and it would seem like the perfect time since i get to meet you!" you cooed at the small puppy sat chewing on a toy in between you and laura.

"lau's been trainin her!" beth poked her head in as you looked to the austrian impressed. "really? hope they're paying you for your services!" you grinned which she reciprocated. "i am a dog whisperer who sadly works for free." laura sighed dramatically.

"we pay you in food you're almost here now more than when you lived here laura!" beth yelled out from the kitchen. "go on, show me your skills." you smiled, tucking your legs beneath you and shuffling around a little.

"okay. myle, pang!" laura made a gun with her fingers and mimicked shooting, the small dog just looking up at her unmoving. "myle, pang!" the footballer tried again with a frown, huffing as again myle clearly didn't do as she wanted.

"myle, pang!" you hid a smile behind your hand as laura manhandled the dog, slamming her onto the sofa with a huff. "she is normally more obedient." the austrian blushed with embarrassment as viv whistled and myle leapt down and raced off to the kitchen.

"no that was brilliant, she fell down all by herself!" you teased the blonde who knocked her leg against yours with a playful glare as the two of you fell back into conversation.

"viv! look at them." beth whisper yelled to her girlfriend who raised an eyebrow but shuffled over none the less. "lau likes her!" beth grinned excitedly as vivs frown deepened. "what is not to like? i think i like her more than you." viv shrugged as beth scoffed.

"not like that. like likes her!" beth tried again as her girlfriend returned to dishing up lunch. "like likes?" the dutch questioned with an amused smile as beth rolled her eyes.

"yes! look at the way they're looking at one another. they're both single, around the same age, both could use a little somethin." beth shrugged like it was the most obvious idea ever.

"beth." viv warned with a raised eyebrow. "they would be quite cute you know, and then if they got married laura really would be part of the family!" beth grinned happily.

"no! you do not get to meddle, leave them be. if they like each other they will figure it out themselves." viv warned, pointing a pair of tongs at beth threateningly who huffed. "what those two? not a chance! all they need is a little loving push." the blonde winked and yelled out lunch was ready.

"are you coming to the match tomorrow?" laura asked curiously as the four of you sat around the dining table after lunch. "football isn't really my thing." you admitted with a shy smile as beth let out a long and overly dramatic sigh.

"yes she's the black sheep and the secret shame of the family, we actually exiled her to australia but clearly it didn't work." your cousin shook her head in disappointment.

"you do know you are sitting with three footballers, yes?" laura laughed as now you were the one to blush. "i'm not a sports person okay! thats not illegal." you rolled your eyes and sank a little deeper into your seat.

"you don't have to be a sports person to enjoy and support the womens game, terrible feminist you are." beth continued to tease as you scoffed.

"i am not! that is so unfair i don't enjoy watching any sports men or womens, equality!" you rebutted, beth and you arguing back and forth as viv nodded for laura to help her clear the table leaving you both to it.

when they returned it seemed you'd reached some sort of agreement as the conversation had shifted topics. "she's comin!" beth sang out with a victorious grin as you puffed air out of your nose and sent her a scowl.

"she bullied me into it and i'm only going in hopes of beth getting smacked in the face with the ball." you shrugged as now it was her turn to gasp and scowl. "when i'm on the return from a very serious injury? insensitive little shit you are." your cousin shook her head.

"you can sit with me and leah!" laura offered with a happy smile, frowning a little as you groaned and threw your head back. "not leah!" making your cousin laugh. "ohh yes leah, perfect idea lau!" beth grinned as you banged your head onto the table.

"what is so bad about leah?" the defender asked still a little confused. "she doesn't shut up the entire game and she mansplains everything to me like i'm a toddler!" you dragged your hands down your face as viv chuckled and patted your back.

"good! you need a 101 in proper football appreciation and education missy, and lau and lee will make sure that happens."

~

"yes i know! you told me that ten minutes ago leah." you sighed deeply as once again the blonde explained why the offside was called.

"im just making sure you understand! stop looking so miserable mate there's worse places you could be spending a sunday." leah pinched your cheek as you huffed and pushed her away, subconciously shuffling a little closer into laura who was sat on your other side.

"now do you see what i mean?" you whispered to the girl who let out a quiet laugh. "do you want to switch seats? i am very used to her talking." laura offered as you nodded eagerly and swapped, though leah was too busy groaning about the ref to pay much attention.

now freed from most of leahs commentary you instead found yourself much more enamoured in laura's takes on things, smiling at the way her nose scrunched up in annoyance when she disagreed with a call, or the way her eyebrows furrowed together and the tip of her tongue would push out when a pass was missed or possession taken.

"one thing i'll miss about australia is the weather." you huffed, wrapped in about five layers but still chilled to the bone as you were struggling to adjust back to the harsh realities of a frosty london winter.

"here, keep your ears warm." laura grinned, taking her her beanie off her head and tugging it onto yours, dismissing your protests with a wave of her hand and quickly changing the subject.

leah turning to lecture you about throw in etiquette was a little surprised to see laura now next to her, even more so as she noticed the way you two seemed so wrapped in your own little bubble as if you'd been friends for years.

with a raised eyebrow the blonde pulled out her phone, sending beth a message she knew wouldn't be seen until later and instead subjecting poor kim to her commentary who was sat on her other side.

by the end of the game you really could have sworn you'd known laura for years, it was near scary how comfortable you felt around her. which is why when beth offered for you to join some of the team for dinner and laura encouraged you come, you accepted.

though as you showed up to the restaurant beth had messaged, right on time, your guard was back up as you couldn't see your cousin or any of her teammates anywhere.

waiting outside in hopes everyone was just running late you breathed a little easier as laura showed up, the austrian caught a little off guard now as you pulled her into a hug which she settled into after a moment.

"no one is here?" laura frowned as you filled her in and shrugged. "beth said it was under her name maybe they are in another room or something." laura headed over to the front and gave beths name, and sure enough the hostess nodded for the two of you to follow her.

but as soon as she showed you to a table very clearly set for two, things started to make a little more sense. "oh sorry no-" laura tried to speak with the hostess but she was gone before she could say another word.

hearing your phone go you pulled it out reading the message from your cousin. "what?" laura questioned as you let out a scoff, turning your phone so she could read the message.

from; messy beffy ohhh no we got the time and the restaurant wrong....guess you and laura will just have to get dinner together instead, sorry!

"i don't understand. they forgot where we were going?" laura questioned clearly confused as you chuckled. "no, beth set us up." you sighed knowingly with a shake of your head. "she what?" lauras frown deepened a little.

"like...like a date. she's trying to set us up on a date." you explained knowing your cousin all too well, cheeks tinted slightly pink as lauras eyes widened in surprise. "oh." she stated bluntly, eyebrows shooting upward.

"but we don't have to! we can just go home, beth is just very very nosy." you assured, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. "no! we can stay, if you want to?" lauras own cheeks flushed red as you both stammered around your words before eventually taking a seat at the table.

the first half an hour was painfully awkward, both of you clearly a little unsure what this dinner actually was and not wanting to be the first to ask.

but once your food came and gave you some common ground the awkwardness began to melt away a little, both of you slipping back into a more comfortable pattern of conversation like you had before.

by the end of dinner once again it was like you'd known her for years, laughing and smiling and chatting about anything and everything as you both really got to know one another.

as you stepped away to go to the bathroom laura pounced, paying for dinner which you told her off for once you returned but your protests fell on deaf ears as she waved away all your offers to split the bill.

"what are you doing?" laura asked, seeing the uber app flash up on your phone as the two of you stepped out of the restaurant. "my best friend dropped me here but she isn't answering, i think she's asleep." you laughed with a shake of your head.

"i'll take you?" laura offered sincerely. "really? that would be great, thank you." you smiled, following her to her car.

"you can pay next time then!" laura teased as she pulled up outside your best friends house, who didn't live all too far from where you'd had dinner as you continued to berate her for paying. "you'd want to go out again?" you asked a little surprised as laura realised what she'd said.

"yes." the girl confirmed before she could overthink it, a smile settling into your features.

"good, i would too."

~

"do my eyes deceive me or are you here willingly and even looking like you might have enjoyed it?" leah gasped as you hovered by the barrier with a roll of your eyes, waving to viv over her shoulder who was busy trying to shake off victoria who'd jumped onto her back.

"don't get used to it williamson, i only come now you can't send me to sleep with your horrendous ongoing commentary and rules and boring chat." you teased, ducking as the taller blonde swung at you.

"please. i know the real reason you're here all too well buddy and whose name is on the back of that jersey even if you think you can hide it behind that jacket." leah smirked, ruffling your hair as your cheeks flushed bright red.

"shut up. i already get it enough from beth!" you groaned, pushing her away halfheartedly as the blonde you were really wanting to talk to started to make her way over.

"so its official then?" leah grinned happily, perking up as you shushed her. "no, we're just...enjoying our time together. now go away! go pester someone else." you rolled your eyes as leah chuckled, pulling you into a hug before racing off to catch up with lia.

"hi." you greeted with a soft smile as laura now arrived in front of you. "hello!" she beamed happily, the two of you settling into a hug which lasted a few seconds too long, neither of you really wanting to let go.

"red looks nice on you." laura poked at the arsenal home kit adoring your top half, the top she'd managed to wrestle you into this morning after you'd spent the night, placating all your whining with an abundance of sweet words and kisses.

"don't know, think i'd rather it was blue. i do really like light blue!" you teased, arsenal having just beat manchester city five to three. "sehr lustig, liebling." the austrian retorted in german making you frown.

"you promised no more german unless you tell me what it means, im still learning." you huffed with a frown. "with your very strange accent i don't think you will ever learn." laura teased with a smile, eyes flickering down to your lips for a moment.

"hey! i've been back here for weeks now, my accent is very very normal." you shook your head with a playful glare. but your conversation was interrupted as a flash of red barreled into laura, pulling her into a half hug half headlock.

"well hello lovebirds!" beth beamed, laura pushing her off with a roll of her eyes. "go away bethany." you sighed, but hugging her none the less. "where did you get this then! a football fan finally, i'll make sure you start to get invited to the family functions again." beth grinned tugging at laura's jersey on your person as you flipped her off and smacked away her hands.

"i'll pretend it says mead on the back then, shall i?"

~

"come on tiny tank lift with your legs! you've got two good knees now, no excuses." you teased the blonde who shot you a glare, dropping down the boxes in her arms with the rest of the pile and collapsing onto your sofa.

"is that everything now?" the girl groaned, hand covering her face tiredly as her body shone with a slight sheen of sweat and you closed your front door, gently placing down the box of kitchenware on the dining table.

"everything for today!" you announced, rounding the sofa and collapsing on top of laura who grunted. "stop pouting! you're my girlfriend lau its part of the job to help me move." you teased, shuffling back to push yourself up on your arms.

"if i knew that i would not have asked you." laura sighed, squealing as you pinched her sides for the comment. "would you rather we go back to sneaking about with my roommates around all the time?" you quirked an eyebrow.

"oh god no, they are more nosy than beth." laura groaned, hands sneaking up the back of your top and pulling you to lay back against her.

"don't you mean cupid!" you rolled your eyes, both of you constantly subjected to your cousins endless boasting that without her you'd never have gotten together.

which might have been partially true but you weren't going to give her the satisfaction of agreeing with it.

now finally settled back into london you'd secured a new job and an apartment all of your own. you and laura had only been seeing one another officially for about eight weeks so you'd both agreed it was too soon to move in together.

"you know even though you're my girlfriend maybe i should pay you for all your hard labour today baby." you sighed, lazily kissing her jaw as she perked up a little. "i think that is what is fair schatz." laura agreed with an eager nod and a smile.

"for building the sofa." you softly kissed one side of her neck as she squeezed your hips. "for helping me carry the fridge." you moved your lips to show the other side of her neck a little attention.

"for walking up and down all those stairs." you sighed, kissing the corner of her mouth. "for carrying all those heavy heavy boxes." you drawled sarcastically with a pout, kissing the other corner of her mouth, purposefully missing where she really wanted you.

"and for being the best girlfriend ever." laura smirked, tapping her lips expectantly as you raised an eyebrow. with a playful roll of your eyes you leant in but stopped, lips ghosting hers with a smile.

"the best girlfriend ever deserves dinner cooked for her." you whispered, pecking her lips quickly and trying to stand but before you could even push yourself up laura had easily flipped your positions now hovering over you.

"lau!" you laughed as she interlaced her fingers with yours and pressed them into the sofa, hazel eyes ablaze with adoration as she stared down at you, lips curled into a smile before she pressed them eagerly against yours.

you melted into the kiss with a small sigh of pleasure, hands cupping the back of her neck as she let you up, hers tangled in your hair.

the defender shifted a little on top of you before deepening the kiss, her tongue flicking against the roof of your mouth before she pulled away, teeth tugging at your bottom lip teasingly.

"i think as the best girlfriend, furniture builder, footballer and mover ever i should get to choose my own reward liebling."

[nats--sw]

Little Monster | Leah Williamson

Leah Williamson x reader You and Leah have a daughter, but Leah has forgotten the one thing you asked her to do today.  I saw a tiktok a few days ago and I need it to write this. I think i want to write more about this, like a part 2 but idk yet, need some ideas 

"Leah, can you come here for a second?!" 

Leah made a face as soon as she heard your voice. She never refused to help you with whatever you needed, but when you needed her during an interesting football match, like today, her disposition wasn't at its best.  

"Can you give me ten minutes? The match is about to end." Leah knew that her request was risky and that she could end up losing, but it was the most exciting game of the week, and Arsenal was fighting for the top spot in the Premier League, and so far, the result wasn't in their favour. 

Leah waited for a few seconds for a response from you, but when more than two minutes passed, she knew she was getting into trouble. She didn't want to ruin the day, so she decided to give in and get up from the sofa, muttering a couple of curses on her way to the kitchen. 

"Hey love, what do you need?" she asked with the sweetest voice she could do. But when she saw you looking at her from head to toe with a serious expression, she knew her attempt to not worsen the situation had been in vain. 

"Why are you dressed like that?" Your serious tone of voice was reasonable. Beth had invited both of you to a dinner to celebrate the team's latest win in one of the most important matches of the season, and you had to leave in less than an hour to arrive on time. But Leah was still in her Arsenal shirt and a pair of shorts she always wore at home. 

"I won't take long to change. What do you need help with?" Leah quickly changed the topic of the conversation, lowering her gaze to the cake you were struggling to finish decorating. "By the way, that looks delicious," she muttered, trying to scoop up some frosting with her finger, receiving a playful slap on her hand in response. 

"If it's not Olivia, it's you," you muttered, referring to your daughter, who had done the same thing as Leah twenty minutes ago. At least she had been smarter and had quickly run to her room before you could say anything to her. 

Leah was about to defend herself, but your daughter's shout echoed throughout the house, drawing both of your attention. 

"A gooaal! Yees!" 

Leah practically ran towards the living room, cursing when she realized she had missed the goal that tied the game. But Olivia, who was only four years old, had managed to see the goal and well... being the daughter of a footballer it was obvious that she knew the excitement of seeing your favourite team score a goal. 

"It was a goal, mommy!" Liv approached Leah, who instinctively lifted her in her arms while watching the goal replay. "Did you see it?!" 

"I can't believe it, Liv. We are so close to win this now." The joy of the goal was interrupted by your presence. Any other day, you would have found it the cutest thing in the world to see your daughter and your wife dressed the same while enjoying the match. However, over half an hour ago, you had asked Leah to help Liv change her clothes, but she was still dressed the same as before. 

Leah closed her eyes when she remembered what you had asked her to do during halftime. She was almost afraid to turn around now. "I'm sorry, dear. But we still have time, we'll change right away, don’t worry." 

"You have 20 minutes, Williamson," you said before returning to the kitchen, avoiding an argument. 

"Mum is upset." Liv whispered. 

"Yeah, don't tell me." Leah replied shaking her head.

- 

"Okay, where is the outfit mum chose for you?" Leah asked, placing Liv on her bed. 

"I don't want to wear that, mommy." 

"Why not?" Leah started searching and found the dress under the bed, Liv's usual hiding spot for her mischievous activities or snacks stolen from the kitchen. "But it's your favourite dress," she said when she saw the little blue dress. 

"I don't like it anymore." Liv said, crossing her arms. Leah sighed; it was always a battle to get her daughter dressed. However, you and Leah had decided not to force Liv into wearing something she didn't want. Instead, you always tried to find an agreement that made everyone happy, you wouldn't make her wear something she wasn't comfortable in, but you wouldn't let her go outside with the wrong shoes or shorts on a freezing day either. 

"Alright, what would you like to wear then?" Leah resigned, mostly because the dress was now wrinkled, and she didn't feel like bothering with an iron now. Liv hearing this, hopped off the bed and sprinted to her wardrobe, from where she pulled out a monster costume you and Leah had bought a while ago thinking it was cute in a certain way, but Leah knew that costume shouldn't be there. 

"Hey, where did you get that?" Leah asked because she was sure the costume was supposed to be hidden in the wardrobe you both shared. It was an old costume Liv wanted to wear every day back then, which wasn't a significant issue before, but since she started school a few months ago, you and Leah had decided to hide it to avoid daily battles. 

"I found it." Liv responded nonchalantly, handing it to Leah, who didn't know what to do. “I want to wear this, mommy.” 

"You can't go with this, sweetheart. Your mum won't be happy with me if I let you wear this..." 

"But it's a party, mommy! Mum is making a cake because it's a party." 

"Yes, but it's not a costume party." Leah shook her head and went to the wardrobe to find another outfit to convince her daughter. 

"But I want to wear this!" Liv clung to her costume, her eyes welling up with tears instantly. 

And when Leah turned around, she knew she had made a big mistake. Liv and you had the same eyes, and the truth was she was weak against both of those gazes... Perhaps it was worth facing you being mad at her to prevent your daughter from crying over a silly costume. 

- 

The twenty minutes you had given Leah had already passed a while ago. You had already finished the cake; everything was ready and in the car now, all that was left was for Leah and Olivia to come down. You were still a bit annoyed that Leah had forgotten to do the one thing you had asked of her, of course, it was an important match for her, and you understood that she got distracted, but it was just one thing she had to do while you had taken care of everything else.  

"Leah! We're going to be late!" you shouted from the first step of the stairs, holding the car keys in your hand, ready to go. 

"I'm coming!" you heard Leah and her steps around the second floor. And when she appeared on the stairs a few seconds later in a simple outfit, not quite formal enough, all you could do was smile because she looked beautiful as always. "Please don't be mad," she murmured as she reached you, taking the car keys from your hand and leaving the house before you saw Olivia. 

With that gesture from your wife, you knew that something had happened, so you weren't surprised to see your daughter coming down the stairs in her costume, with a big smile on her face. At least Leah had taken the time to do her hair. 

"Wow, I thought I wouldn't see this little monster anymore." you said, taking her in your arms and giving her a few kisses on her cheeks until Liv laughed and pushed you away with her hands on your face. And like when you had seen Leah in her outfit, you couldn't bring yourself to be upset that Olivia wasn't wearing what you and Leah had agreed on because she looked completely adorable in her little costume.  

"Do you like it, mum?" Liv asked, trying to adjust her costume, which had moved with your attack of kisses. You couldn't say that you loved it, but after all, it was a dinner with friends, and you were sure that when you arrived at Beth's, all the girls would be all over your daughter. 

"I love it, darling." 

- 

The car journey was quiet, not because you were still upset with Leah – although you were still annoyed, but now it wasn't for the same reason as before or because of Liv's costume. You were mad at her because as soon as you got in the car, Leah blamed you for missing the end of the Arsenal match, where they lost in the last minute. Was that your fault? Clearly not. In fact, if Leah had done what you asked her to do during halftime, she could have watched the entire second half without interruptions. 

Leah didn't usually get upset if her favourite team lost a match, or at least she didn't show it to you, but this time Arsenal had lost the top of the table and she had missed the most crucial minutes of the match that everyone would be talking about all week.  

But that wasn't your fault.  

"I'll help you, darling." You told your daughter as soon as Leah parked outside Beth's house. It was a blessing that Olivia hadn't figured out how to unbuckle her seatbelt yet, so Leah usually took care of that, but now you offered to do it just to get out of the car. 

Leah didn't say anything, she just gripped the steering wheel to hold back the anger she felt towards herself for being such an idiot and taking it out on you when you had nothing to do with it. She didn't get out of the car until she saw you ringing the doorbell.

Leah didn't want to ruin her friends' celebration, and she knew you didn't either, so she just had to pretend that everything was perfectly fine, something you and her had done more than once during all the years that you had been together. 

It was a simple task, and when Leah placed her hand on your waist and you didn't move away, she knew you had the same idea in mind. 

"Oh, I didn't know we had a little monster as a guest." Beth said when she saw the three of you outside her house. 

"Hiii" Olivia approached Beth, who had crouched down to give her a hug. 

"I couldn't convince her to wear something else." Leah said, laughing a bit while still holding you by your waist. 

"That's why mum is mad at mommy." Olivia blurted out, not intending to reveal her mothers' actions, but she was a child, and that's something kids tended to do. 

"Huh?" Beth raised an eyebrow with a hint of curiosity. 

"That's not true, Beth." you said, trying to downplay the situation your daughter had brought up. "Why don't we go inside? It's a bit cold out here." 

"Yeah, of course... sorry. The girls are already inside." Beth said and stepped aside to let you and Liv enter, blocking Leah from passing. "What did you do to upset your wife?" she murmured, ensuring you couldn't hear her words. 

"Nothing, I was just being an idiot, but don't worry, I'll fix it." 

- 

Just as you had thought, all the girls were around Olivia as soon as they saw her. Many of them had known her since she was a baby, so Liv felt attached to each one of them. 

"I think she gets more adorable every day," Beth appeared by your side, watching the girls sitting on the floor playing with your daughter. "I thought that costume had disappeared, or at least that's what Leah had told me." 

"Well, she found it," you murmured, still smiling. Seeing your daughter surrounded by people who loved her made you happy. 

"So... what happened with Leah?" Beth asked, pretending to sound disinterest. "She's been in the kitchen for half an hour, as if she's punishing herself." 

"I know Leah is your friend, but that doesn't stop her from acting like an idiot sometimes." 

"Oh... believe me, I know how much of an idiot she can be. But I think she's more than sorry for whatever she said." You chose to not say anything; you'd think about it once you got home. "Look y/n, you know I don't like to interfere in other people's relationships, but I think it's unfair that Leah is stuck in the kitchen missing out on moments like these." 

"I didn't send her to lock herself in, Beth." 

"I know, but you know how Leah is, she tends to punish herself and deprive herself of these things when she feels she had made a mistake," Beth sighed. "I've known you since the beginning of your relationship, I've been there for every one of your fights, and I know that at the end of the day you'll forgive each other as always, so why not do it now?" 

You contemplated Beth's words for a moment. She was right. You knew that when you got home, Leah would apologize and try to make things right, and you would forgive her before going to bed, so you could avoid the suffering that would last a few more hours. 

"We both know Leah adores these moments. She may have been an idiot by messing with you when you had nothing to do with it, but she doesn't deserve to miss this." 

"Fine." you said, shaking your head. "You stay in charge of my daughter until I get back, and please don't give her any more sweets. I don't want to deal with a sugar rush when I get home." 

"No promises." 

- 

Beth was right, Leah was in a corner of the kitchen as if someone had punished. 

"Hey" as soon as Leah heard your voice, she looked up from her phone and straightened her posture. 

"Did something happen? Where's Liv?" she quickly asked, thinking the only reason you'd talk to her was about something related to your daughter. 

"She's playing with the girls," you replied and approached her, resting your head on her shoulder, an action that made Leah stiffen, too afraid to move. "You know I'm not upset about the costume, right?" 

"Yes... deep down, I knew you wouldn't be bothered by that," she murmured, daring to put her arm around your back to make sure you wouldn't leave. "You're upset about what I said in the car... I was a complete idiot." 

"Exactly, you were an idiot. You acted like a straight man, you know?" you said, smiling a bit. 

"Wow, I think I've never been insulted like that." she said, looking at the floor with shame. "I was really that bad?" 

"Leah, you said that Arsenal lost because of me." you rolled your eyes, trying to move away from Leah's body when the anger returned at the memory of her words. But you didn't take more than two steps before Leah grabbed you by the waist and turned you to face her. 

"I'm really sorry. I know it's not an excuse, but I was stressed because we were running late, and I couldn't find something to wear, and the Liv's costume... my emotions got mixed up, and I did something that wasn't right, so I'm sorry," she said sincerely, never breaking the eye contact. 

"That doesn't change the fact that you're an idiot," you replied, and before Leah could defend herself, you placed your lips on hers. "If you make a scene over a silly football game again, I'll kick you out of the house and tell your mother. Do you hear me? And we both know she won't be happy." you said as you pulled away from her lips, but you kept pointing at her with your index finger. 

"Of course love, whatever you say," she kissed you again. It wasn't an intense kiss, but you could feel how much Leah wanted to express to you in it because she kept holding you by your waist to prevent you from pulling away. 

"Yuck!" Olivia exclaimed, frowning when she entered the kitchen followed by Beth. 

"Indeed... yuck." Beth laughed as she saw you with flushed cheeks and the huge smile on Leah's face. 

"Shut up, Beth," Leah laughed, approaching your daughter. "And you, little monster, I think you've had too many sweets while we weren't there." 

Olivia shook her head, but the blue all over her mouth gave her away. "I haven't eaten anything, mommy." 

"Sure." Leah rolled her eyes and picked up your daughter. "Come on, let's go find Viv so we can play for a bit." 

When your wife and your daughter left the kitchen, Beth approached you with a smile on her face. "I was right then?" 

"Shut up, Beth." 

[garmanarnarr]

Not a ground breaking thought but one I have been obsessing over: as a character, Rick is defined by his relationship to his own agency, ie, his virtually limitless amounts of it. He has, in almost every situation the show puts him in, a choice in the matter. In a lot of ways, his technical/physical power is nearly complete— he can build a solution to any obstacle presented to him, or kill it, or destroy it, or escape it. He’s so self-aware he’s breaking the fourth wall, cracking jokes at the audience. In-universe, he could LEAVE Beth and her family at any time. Get in his freaking spaceship and fly out of there. He’s an alcoholic that’s substance dependent because he has to numb himself to the amount of choice and agency he has. And I don’t really blame him?? Because, let’s face it, the idea that you can TRULY do whatever you want is terrifying (hence his nihilism, also. if you can truly do whatever the hell you want, what really matters? what is your struggle? etc). It’s in the DNA of the show: what are the narrative problems to solve when your protagonist can do…… virtually anything he wants?

ENTER MORTIMER

That’s what makes his obsession with Morty so fucking interesting!! His grandson! His irrational attachment! The way he’s scrambling to control Morty in whatever way possible!! Sure, there are other family attachments in the rest of the Smiths, and some friends here and there. There's Diane. There’s also probably some other whole meta post to be written about Rick’s nuclear levels of self-loathing and how that ties in with all this into some kind of psychosexual soup. But the show’s backbone is about his relationship Morty. Morty!!!!! Rick’s own feelings for Morty represent a lack of control that is, for a someone entirely defined by their omnipotent (canonically ‘god-like’) levels of it, astonishing. Rick’s love for Morty is, in his mind, his own greatest frustration and most insurmountable defeat. And even worse, because Rick cares about Morty, he has to, at least to some extent, care about the universe because that’s the thing Morty exists inside.

Rick, who cares about nothing, CARES about Morty. And he just can’t. fucking. stop. himself.

[brain-palace]

Notes: This post is created as an archive for myself so I can easily find the fics I love. If you're looking for something new to read feel free to have a look I recommend everything here. I read many different characters/universes, so I'll list them all so you don't waste time looking at something that isn't relevant to you. If you find something you like please show the fics and their authors some love! Also, this is a long post!

Disclaimer: None of the works below belongs to me unless it explicitly says so. © - All rights reserved to the authors. If a fic does not have a name I will make one up for the sake of archival purposes.

Characters/Universes TWD (The walking dead) - Daryl & Rick | Criminal Minds - Hotch & Ried | Stranger Things - Eddie, Steve, Billy | MCU - Peter Parker | Peakcy blinders - Tommy, John, Arthur, Alfie | The devil all the time - Arvin russel | Sherlock

Key ➸ Angst ☁ | Fluff ♡ | Crack ❈ | On-going ✎ | Completed ✓ | Smut 🔞 |

Daryl Dixon (TWD) ↴ Series ↴

Spitfire | by @rfsak2 | OC (Original character) | "Everyone always thought Daryl was the rough one." | ✎

Close to home | by @paintyoureyeswithavividmind | "When a run goes poorly and Daryl is separated from his group, a stranger and her companion help get him out of a sticky situation. Little does Daryl know this stranger is much closer to home and his life is going to get a bit more complicated" | ✎♡ ☁

Return | by @daryl-dixon-daydreams | "Daryl loses Y/N when they head into Atlanta to rescue Beth. Her absence colours his years until they find each other again." | ♡ ☁ ❈ ✎

Till dead do us part | by @xwritingdixonx | "Daryl Dixon hasn't seen his wife in 3 years until he strolls through the gates of Alexandria. Reunited with his love and his family, he should feel peace, tranquillity, warmth. Instead, he's faced with confusion, shock, and heartache. Just like so many others put through the abuse and torment of the world, it changes people. Twists your mind, makes all your morals disappear. The kind waitress, the brave bartender, Georgia's delight, Mrs. Dixon. Now, mother of nothing - daughter of rage. The whore of Alexandria. A conqueror with tits. Why can't the Blackwell family get a word in before the people of Alexandria point fingers and create storybook titles? It's finally your turn to talk and Daryl's turn to listen." |

Oneshots ↴

The regulars | by daryl-dixon-daydreams | "Based on watching your interactions, Daryl thinks you, a bartender at a local dive, may actually have a thing for his older brother Merle, but a series of events at the bar may begin to show him otherwise" | ♡

All I'm living for | by @alldevilsharehere90 | "Just when you finally got the man you wanted, another surprise could threaten your relationship, especially when a herd of walkers is almost at your doorstep." | ☁ ♡

Old childhood fools | by @r66dus | "Drunk Daryl and y/n fooling around at the CDC" | 🔞

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Rick Grimes (TWD) ↴ Series ↴

The Claim | by @woman-of-balnain | Despite everything that’s going on, despite the world going to shit, despite wanting to stay on Hershel’s good side, despite his marriage falling apart, despite the way he knows he’s broken… despite it all, Rick can’t fight how badly he wants you. | 🔞✓

Undone in sorrow | by woman-of-balnain | "Finally coming face to face with Negan threatens the ties that bind your relationship with Rick together. After that first meeting, the two of you try to pick up the broken pieces of one another and become whole again." | ☁ 🔞

The nurse | by @itsgrimeytime | " Before all this, you were a nurse. A nurse who had patients, one of which was a man in a coma. A sheriff, you think, it was all kinda fuzzy now. When it all went sideways, you set up what you could for the man - but had to leave. You'd always wondered where he'd ended up; until in your search for shelter, you run into a familiar face" | ✎♡ ☁

Magnolia in May | by itsgrimeytime | "Your town was small, not the smallest you knew, but anyone of high fortune was the gossip of the week. Predictably, Richard Grimes was a thing of whispers -rumours of a search for marriage among the grassy hills. You weren't one to buy into town gossip, but something about him... just seemed a little too intriguing." | ✎♡ ☁

Swear | by @daryandricky | "Shane tells reader that Rick didn't make it after the hospital was overrun, causing reader to travel with her former military brother to find somewhere safe." | ✎♡ ☁

Oneshots ↴

The life we could have had | by itsgrimeytime | "Rick knows you're gone, he does. He just keeps seeing you in everything" |

Everything I wanted | by @bloatedandalone04 | "The one where both you and rick are really bad at communicating your feelings." |

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Peter Parker (MCU) ↴ Oneshot ↴

Stacked against you (tasm)| by @delicate-dorothea | "Summary: You confront Spider-Man about his true identity, manila envelope style (literally)." |❈

No chance (tasm) | by @spider-stark | "Thinking he has no chance with y/n as himself, Peter begins approaching them as Spider-Man." |

Are you busy (tasm)| by @luveline | "You’re worried you don’t know how to kiss. your best friend Peter offers to teach you how among other things" | ♡

In the real world | by luveline | "You notice something about Spider-Man during a violent villain showdown, then you have to save his life."

White lies, red & blue tights (tasm) | by @t-lostinworlds | "You and Peter accidentally dressed up in the same costumes for Halloween. But he was not wearing a costume, it was his suit. You simply didn’t know that your favorite superhero and your boyfriend were the same. Who would’ve thought that seeing you in red and blue would be the breaking point of his lies" | ♡

Question (tom)| by @waitimcomingtoo | "Peter accidentally sends you mixed signals when he kisses you for the first time then stands you up" | ♡ ☁

It was fun, being 21 (tom)| by @loverwebs | "In which your boyfriend, Peter Parker, doesn't make it to your birthday dinner. So you walk home alone, only to run into the city's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." | ♡ ☁

Series ↴

Infinitely you (all of them) | by spider-stark | "In every universe you are the one person Peter Parker will always love more than anything; unfortunately, he always realizes it too late. Now that they've been granted a second chance none of them are willing to miss out on finally making things right." | ☁ ♡ ✎|

The red string | by @never--doubt | "Once a year, everyone over a certain age can see the Red String of Fate that connects them to their soulmate. This year, Peter Parker is ready to find his soulmate, be with them. But the question is…is his soulmate ready?" |

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Steve Harrington (ST) ↴ Series ↴

Nail to the coffin | by @thetargaryenbride | "Y/N Byers wondered what would end up being the death of the small town she lived in. She never expected that the last nail on the coffin would be hammered by monsters from another dimension who would end up hunting down her friends and family one by one…" | ☁

You deserve each other | by @bimrwolf | "You and Steve have been together for five years. He's seemingly the perfect boyfriend, kisses on the cheek, knowing your orders at the restaurant. A great lover. Too bad you've had enough can't stand him." |

Oneshots ↴

The way you call me "Baby" | by @forevermoreharrington | "Steve’s been so patient with his girl but he just can’t take it anymore and neither can she" | 🔞

Love on the brain | by @vendettaparker | "You suffer from a bad case of pregnancy brain, leaving Steve to hover over you, much to your annoyance." | ♡

Almost Got It | by @mentalpolaroids | "She’s a barista at a coffee shop and always screws up Steve’s name on purpose" | ♡

Tainted Love | by @megxplryxb | ☁ ♡

Tornado warnings | by @harringtonwebs | "You and Steve had a very intense relationship now that you're up, hates to see you with someone new." |

I will always be right there | by @familyvideostevie | "you come first. you’re always my first choice." | ♡

Tell me again | by @appocalipse | "Would you stop stuffing your face with candy for one moment and listen?" |

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Eddie Munson ↴ Oneshot ↴

Mechanic Eddie | by @whoahoney | "Reader’s shit box car pooped out on her once again, but at least the cute new mechanic seems eager to help." | ♡

Say you love me | by @marianita195 | "Based on the TikTok trend where girls don’t say “I love you” back to their boyfriends. " | ♡ ❈

Bookworm | by @corroded-hellfire | "Eddie has a thing for the local bookworm he just doesn't show it in the best way." | ☁ ♡

I'm Eddie - Eddie Munson | by @cosmal | "Your father finds Eddie in your room in the middle of something. eddie's a smug bastard." |

His glasses | by @pedgito | "Eddie in his glasses is just adorable" |

Grand Gesture | by appocalipse | "catching feelings for your best friend was never in your plans. when you start distancing yourself from him to protect your heart, eddie vows to do everything in his power to keep it forever." | ♡

Never Kissed | by cosmal | "eddies first date with you doesn't go how he'd planned and he hadn't even expected a kiss. still, you kiss him because you want to."

Series ↴

Worlds Apart | by @munsons-maiden | "You’re the only survivor among the Mind Flayer’s victims, thanks to your friends - but after the Battle of Starcourt, you find yourself adrift in a sea of nightmares. Until an encounter in the woods with Eddie The Freak Munson offers an unexpected lifeline and turns your world upside down." | ☁ ♡

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Spencer Ried (CM) ↴ Oneshots ↴

Passive Agressive | by @ddejavvu | "Spencer’s stressed, and he takes it out on you. You’re sure it would have hurt far worse if he’d shouted, but instead, he broke you down bit by bit, his cold demeanour leaving you crying in your car." | ☁ ♡

Tactic Admissions | by @almostgenerallyalways | "Spencer lands in the hospital, and you have to come clean with yourself." | ☁ ♡

Days off with Spencer | by @justmyheart | ♡

Back to you | by @radiant-reid | "Spencer never thought she would love him the way he loves her, but he also never thought she would come back from the dead" | ☁ ♡

No hair for you, devil! | by @thyme-in-a-bubble |

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Aaron Hotchner (CM) ↴ Oneshots ↴

Self-Made | by @her-storybooks | "The BAU gets a visitor who tares through the bullpen and leaves everyone in puddles of mush and exploded hearts." | ♡

Good for him | by @ptersparkers | "Aaron loves you. he hopes his son loves you as much as he does." | ♡

Better than morphine | by her-storybooks | "Broken Bone. When Y/N gets her leg broken by an UnSub, she clings to Aaron to help dull the pain." | ☁ ♡

Spontaneous phenomena | by @luveline | "Hotch touches your face much more than a boss should. Or, 5 times you have a nosebleed +1 time Hotch does." | ☁ ♡

Old man problems | by @hoe4hotchner | "Can you possibly write an imagine where Hotch pulls his back on a case, and the fem'reader offers to help him work it out in a friendly way because she was once a licensed massage therapist? Aaron of course is hesitant but gives in and allows it. But it gets heated" | ♡

Sweeter than fiction | By @hotchgirlsummer | "The bau decides to throw a small birthday party for Hotch. the reader is tasked with baking a cake, could this be their chance to express feelings?" |

A solitary mistake | by luveline | " You're not sure you're ready to come back. Hotch has total faith in you. Or, your transition back into the team after your abduction doesn't go as smoothly as you'd hoped." |

I'm Sorry | by @14buddy22 | "Aarons been treating you differently lately" | ☁

New mom | by @marvelslut16 |

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Thomas Shelby (PB) ↴ Series ↴

Challenge of a name | by @gypsy-girl-08 | "Y/N is new to Birmingham, she works at an accountant firm. In this part, The Shelby’s arrive at her office to pick up their accounts, where she meets Thomas for the first time. She was in a long-term relationship and is recently single, having moved for a fresh start. Still recovering from the split, she has no intention of meeting anyone else."

Tachipen | by @zablife | "With the flip of a coin, Tommy makes a deal to bring a 20 year old gypsy girl into the Shelby clan. Considering her too young to marry, he employs her as a nanny. When tragedy strikes, he’s forced to confront the truth he has always known." |

Angst | by @murphyoclock | "Your and Tommy's argument gets out of hand when you provocatively try to make him jealous at his charity party." | ☁

Oneshots ↴

Peaky caps and razorblades | by @acewritesfics | "y/n helps Tommy sew his blades into his cap." | ♡

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

John Shelby (PB) ↴ Oneshots ↴

Just play along | by @runnning-outof-time | "When the person who (Y/N) feels has been following her gets a little too close for comfort, she makes a quick decision that involves John Shelby and some good acting...or maybe no acting at all." |

Red lipstick | by @kkurades | "You feel flattered when charlie shelby asks to marry you while your husband feels like he could strangle his nephew" |

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Alfie Solomon (PB) ↴ Oneshots

A very Shelby Christmas | by @cillmequick | "Alfie and his sassy little wife find themselves in the midst of the Shelby clan for Christmas because Alfie’s sister is in a relationship with Tommy." |

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Steddie (ST) ↴ Oneshots

Cookies and consoling | by @mangchai | "After a hard day, you return home to your boyfriends who want to cheer you up." | ♡

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Billy (ST) ↴ Oneshots ↴

Bartender Billy | by @billysbabyy |

♠ ♤ ♣ ♧

Arvin Russel (TDATT)↴ Oneshots ↴

Mockingbird | by waitimcomingtoo | "Arvin joins a book club just to see you but has to pretend to be your boyfriend to stay"

Notes: This post only contains all longer fics I will be creating a separate post for shorter fics/ i.e. headcanons, imagines, drabbles and scenarios that I love. The link to that will be here → The little things.

[lessi-lover]

could you do headcannons for mccfoord? love ur works btw x

sorry for the late response just finished one text going strong! 💪

★ k.mccabe x c.foord

best believe katie and caitlin have fully conjoined their wardrobes together, walking into their shared closet you probably wouldn't be able to differentiate between the two. as well as their wardrobe, there won't be a day that you won't see one of them wearing something of the others. If it's not katie sneaking a pair of caitlin's shoes, then it's caitlin taking a pair of katie's hoodies, the brunette's jumpers much larger on her. "are ya wearing my clothes again?" katie would complain, knowing full well that she loved when the aussie borrowed her things, her jumpers and shirts mysteriously going missing. "maybe. but are you wearing my slides again?" the forward would ask. "shush."

caitlin is always cleaning up after katie's messes. for example, one time katie went around before caitlin arrived telling everybody that kyra had been hit with a terrible virus over the weekend. even explaining that she had just dropped by to give kyra some soup through the door. and exactly as you would think, kyra showed up not even a few minutes later with slight confusion on her face at the worried looks she was receiving from her friends. "ky why are you here?" beth questioned, stepping backwards nervously until her back hit the wall. "why wouldn't i be here beffy?" kyra jokes, walking towards the older blonde until she caught her teammates eyes widening as she shuffled away. "why are you all being weird?" as kyra approached the girls, she couldn't help but notice the uneasy tension in the air. beth's nervous reaction made her brain all puzzled, as she exchanged confused glances. "um, what's going on?" kyra asked, furrowing her brow in confusion. "we heard you were just a bit under the weather, that's all." steph responded sheepishly when nobody else spoke. a low chuckled could be heard, all the girls turning around to see katie giggling to herself as she tied her boots. "oh you think this is funny do you mccabe? five pounds you had something to do with this!" kyra challenged, crossing her arms over her chest. the irish captain began cracking up hysterically, head falling backwards as her chest hurt from laughing so much. "katie mccabe what did you do?" and all amusement dropped the minute katie heard the scolding voice of her girlfriend. "nothing?"

when caitlin and katie first started going out, katie had already had a cat. no matter how hard the irish tried to convince her girlfriend that cats were completely harmless, the aussie was adamant that she was a dog person through and through. although, caitlin couldn't defend herself when she came home early from brunch with some of the aussie girls and saw cooper so innocently curled up on the couch and decided there was nothing not worth trying. so you could imagine the surprise on katie's face when she came home from shopping to find her girlfriend cuddled up with her cat so relaxed on their couch, she couldn't help but post it on her instagram later that day.

katie will go to all ends to make caitlin the best breakfast she possibly can because it's the only way she knows she can get out of her bad books for all the trouble she causes with kyra and less.

caitlin and katie mimic each others accents all the time and they find it hilarious to hear one another attempt.

they could listen to each other for hours on end about almost everything.

nobody will ever understand what they are giggling about, almost as if they can talk to each other without words (which they can) but they certainly get a lot of stick for the interruptions they cause during conversations.

they really are designated bus partners and won't let anybody stand in the way of after game cuddles. you best believe katie will bite if she has too.

[cultofdixon]

Trapped

Daryl Dixon • She/Her Pronouns • Terminus was a hell for everyone that experienced it. But you were the only one out of them all to have lived there and you saw EVERYTHING. Even lost a part of you to get you in line. That when the next community opened its doors, you were the last one adjusting • ANGST/SFW • TW: Canon Violence / Cannibals / Missing Appendage / Injuries / Scars / Anxiety Attacks / Claustrophobia / PTSD / Nightmares

Requested by: Anon

The explosion took all of their attentions away from what was about to happen. The two butchers behind the four kneeling men looked at Gareth for answers while he left in search of them.

“Should we continue?”

“I’m not sure—-hey” One of them got distracted leaving Rick’s window to be open but when he heard what’s next— “You’re not allowed in here. Where did you—-“ the gun fired making them all flinch and turn around quickly to find Y/N. Y/N…

The gun in hand was Rick’s, and it was handed to him after said retired sheriff broke loose taking out the second butcher as she took care of releasing the three still tied. Daryl didn’t hesitate to bring her into his embrace holding onto her for a short while relaxing every negative thought from the time apart. Glenn noticed her hands on Daryl’s back and quickly made the two part so that he could get a better look at the missing pinky and ringer finger of her right hand.

“How long have you been here?”

“Who the fuck did this to you?!”

“Y/N. What are we dealing—-“

“Cannibals. Fucking human eating human beings!” Y/N snaps handing Rick back his gun as he took her hand to see the damage himself. “I’m not gonna like what you’re plotting am I?”

“You know where our stuff is being held if you had my gun. We can find a lighter”

Y/N helped her group get their weapons back, along with anything else they might have taken. Resulting in the next actions being Daryl holding Y/N’s body still as Glenn held her hand for Rick to heat up his knife and pressed the heated material against the stubs where her fingers were to stop the bleeding and start the healing process.

“You know I’m a doctor right?”

“Would you do this in the green zone?”

“As a last resort” Bob states grabbing a left over bandana and wrapping it around their wound securely and temporarily. Until they find actual medical supplies. “What…did they do to your…?”

“You don’t wanna know” Y/N frowns as her words made Daryl tighten around her for a second before the small group had to retrieve the others and leave this shithole.

The reunions made the pain hurt less. But there was still something lingering there…that got triggered by the downhill spiral they all endured.

The cannibals finding and eating part of Bob

Bob dying

Finding out Eugene was useless

Finding out Beth was alive…but dead when reunited

Tyreese dying

Starving themselves

Almost dying to a herd trapped in a barn

Then the stranger that promises a safe haven, and going to such with hesitation. Y/N kept to herself as the group followed the stranger named Aaron and his partner Eric. She found herself lingering to the back watching the place come to view with more guards, another fence, and most likely another set of rules with harsh consequences. At least that’s the state of mind she’s going in with.

“Hey…come on” Maggie pulls her out of her thoughts wrapping her arm around her and walking inside the place with Y/N. “We’ve got yea. I don’t think anything bad will happen here…”

“And if it does?”

“You’ve got us” Sasha reassures joining the two as they made their way into Alexandria.

Daryl kept his attention on Y/N the entire time since they first entered Alexandria. She has Sasha and Maggie currently but it’s always nice to have another set of eyes as long as he doesn’t stare for too long. He was making sure nothing overwhelmed her or triggered her because she hasn’t sit still since arriving.

“Y/N is staying in the first floor bedroom” Carol informs Daryl who didn’t want to be inside the homes for too long in case anything happened. But he also wanted to make sure Y/N stayed in one place to avoid the worrying of where she’s at. “The surgeon here patched up her hand, what Rick and you guys did was a bit much but he would’ve done the same if he were you”

“The son of a bitch doesn’t look like he’s stepped out of this place since the beginning”

“Regardless. Y/N hasn’t slept since the fall of the prison and if you’re not leaving the porch to yknow take a much needed shower or to scowl at one of the pretty boys…if anything happens, Y/N will need you.”

Daryl knew this already, but Carol knew a part of him was still hurting. Blaming himself for Beth’s death. Beating himself up for not finding Y/N and having her suffer the horrors of that place the longest. He wasn’t going to leave his spot unless something bad happened.

Y/N sat up in her bed to be met with a dark room, only light was on her. She felt her fingers seeing that they were there, until a hand came into view grabbing her wrist and yanking her forward.

The woman fell out of bed on her hands and knees as the light only followed her. She gasps to the sudden pain returning to her ribs as she fell through the floor landing straight on her side.

As the prison fills into the world surrounding Y/N, she looks at her person finding the damage from the fall of the prison littered on her body. Weakness from recovering from being sick…and the bruised ribs from an explosion knocking her off the second floor to the first in A block.

Need to get out

Need to get out

Need to get…

Y/N found herself sitting up in restraints in a cold building. Felt like a freezer of a warehouse. She scans around the once dark again room as footsteps echoed in the darkness. Revealing Gareth who held a nutcracker behind his back.

“You stumbled in our community, and killed one of our own”

She couldn’t speak.

“You’ll suffer the consequences…and then work for me. Unless you’d want to lose another finger” Gareth smirks as Y/N suddenly screams in pain to find one of her fingers missing. “Just. Cooperate…and you can live here.”

Suddenly Y/N was on her back gripping onto the set of hands gripping her throat staring up at one of the butchers who had enough of her attitude. Gareth appears beside him watching the light in her face but right before she passed out, he made the man let go.

“Another”

The sudden screaming caught Daryl off guard as he stops talking to Glenn about the asshole sons of Deanna to rush into the home. Glenn of course followed in case something worse was happening but as he joined the scene watching Daryl get swatted away from Y/N’s fetal position in the corner of the room. He quickly grabbed the back of Daryl’s vest pulling him away causing a bit of a fight.

“The hell are you doing?!”

“She’s still having the nightmare” Glenn points out the fact that she’s never opened her eyes since he arrived and given when Daryl first entered she didn’t know instantly that it was him. “You need to be more careful”

“Right…Fuck” Daryl frowns taking it slow and approaching Y/N’s curled position grabbing the blanket off the bed.

“It’s okay. Y/N…you’re not where you’re at” Glenn whispers approaching along with the archer in case she retaliated. “You are in a house…that you share with Carol…and Daryl…in the new community. That is scary…and full of new people…”

“But we’re here…” Daryl states watching her body relax slowly. “You ain’t alone like back at Terminus……we reunited. We’re safe. You are safe”

The two stopped when her body relaxed enough for Daryl to bring the blanket around her without any freak out. When she woke she retracted a bit making Daryl back off and Glenn shoot out reassurance until she relaxed again but conscious.

“You had a nightmare”

“That triggered sleepwalking or I don’t know what you’d call being asleep but acting the nightmare.” Glenn sat on the bed as Y/N curled up with the blanket around her with Daryl keeping his hands on her knees. “Uhm. I know the timing is terrible but what happened in the nightmare?”

“Felt more like a night terror…but uh…I don’t really want to talk about it”

“That’s fine. Just know you’ve got us whenever you’re ready to talk about it” Glenn got up from the bed. “Do you want anything before Daryl can—-“

“I’m okay…thank you Glenn”

Once he left, Daryl got up from the floor to help Y/N off the ground. He directs her back to bed sitting on the edge once she got in entirely covering herself more in the blanket.

“Imma ask, if yea need anything before I grab assumptions”

“…my hand hurts”

“Pain meds it is” Daryl pats her knee getting up to grab what she’ll need leaving her alone for a moment.

Y/N brought her knees to her chest covering her entire person with the blanket Daryl wrapped around her shoulders earlier. She wanted to make herself small for just a second to find some sense of calm…even when her heart was still racing like it did when she was in Terminus.

The night of the party came and Daryl wasn’t going to go. Because he hates that shit and wants to be there for Y/N, who hasn’t left her room since receiving it. He kept to the porch as he smoked to clear his mind of the mental toll she could be experiencing when Aaron walked by.

“Not going to the party?”

“Nah, I’ve got shit to take care of”

Aaron nods thinking about his next response before just going for it. “Want some dinner? I wasn’t gonna go because of Eric so we’re staying in”

“I uh…” Daryl turned toward the house expecting Y/N’s bubbly self to come out but that was taken from everybody. “Y/N hasn’t left the house and—“

“You don’t wanna leave your partner. I get it” Aaron smiles. “But if you come by. For just. 15 minutes. You can eat…grab a plate for her” he offers and left on that note.

Fifteen minutes…

And he didn’t have to worry about it one bit. Daryl came back actually past fifteen minutes to find Y/N in the kitchen in fresh clothes and grabbing a glass of water. He joins her at the kitchen island setting down the bowl of spaghetti he brought for her from Aaron’s.

“The party?”

“Nah. Wouldn’t go to that shit without yea. Just went to Aaron’s for dinner” Daryl watches her inspect it. “I had two plates. It ain’t poisoned.”

“Thank you for bringing me dinner…” Her smile returns to her as it always brought a sense of warmth to Daryl.

Daryl brought himself beside her while she ate her dinner in the comforts of his presence. Y/N finishes her dinner and put the bowl in the sink to wash later…feeling Daryl come up behind her wrapping his arms around her torso resting his chin on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry you were stuck there…”

“You don’t have to apologize, Dar…we’re safe now” Y/N rubs his forearm gently. “Right?”

“M’not leavin’ anymore. You’re stuck with me now” Daryl smiles listening to her laugh that he missed so much.

“Good”

[drmaddict]

She takes after her mother

Summary: Children don't always take after their parents. This is a fact that Jason and Eddie are also confronted with.

Word count: 1.815

"What's she done this ti- Munson?", Jason looked in surprise at his former classmate, who was already waiting in the principal's office at Hawkins High.

"Carver?", he looked just as surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Probably the same as you.", he sighed and dropped into the unfortunately all too familiar chair.

The office door opened again and Headmistress White came in. She wordlessly placed a plastic coffee cup in front of Jason and nodded to him.

"Jason.", she sighed.

"Hi Beth." He just nodded and reached for the coffee. He pulled a face.

"Sugar's out.", she explained and sat down at the table. "Mr. Munson. I'm glad you could come."

Munson wiped his hands on his torn jeans. "No problem. What's the boy done?", he laughed nervously. "Handed a book in late? Was it dog-eared? Sometimes he forgets himself, when he's doing calculus."

Beth grinned. "I know you're a rare guest, but please take this seriously."

Munson nodded immediately. "Sure. Sorry."

A rare guest. Jason wanted to scream. And he sat here almost every other week, because his little brat of a daughter thought, she had to play rebel. Although her grades were impeccable, she just couldn't control herself and was always getting into trouble.

"So...", she placed the two files in front of them.

The one in front of Munson still looked almost virgin, while the one in front of Jason was almost bursting at the seams.

Annoyed, he took a sip of the much too bitter coffee. For the last two months, he had really hoped, that she had come around. No incident. No phone call.

"So. You two kids seem to be getting... getting closer.", she began.

They both looked up, perplexed.

"What?", they asked almost in unison.

She nodded. "Yes. From what I hear, they're probably a couple. And I'm just outing them here. Well. Now you know."

"Axel - my Axel, who can't look at a girl without blushing, has a girlfriend?", Munson asked incredulously.

"And Jennifer willingly lets a boy touch her, without breaking his nose?" Jason asked, equally puzzled.

Beth nodded. "I'm just as surprised. By the way, Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Jonsen's surgeries went very well."

Munson laughed. "Your daughter's a thug?"

"Self-proclaimed feminist.", Jason grumbled. At first he'd been happy, not to have to worry about some guy breaking her heart. Now he'd rather that, than constantly worrying about his daughter breaking someone else's.

"How can it be that your little girl is so crazy?"

"Takes after her mother.", Jason sighed, exhausted.

Munson laughed. "Oh, I'd like to meet her."

"If you find her, let me know. She ran off and left me alone with Jennifer, when she was ten.", Jason nagged at him. Since then, his daughter just hadn't been the same. He did everything, but she pushed him away more and more. No matter how he wanted to be involved in her life. He went to her debate competitions. He said, it was okay, that she didn't want to be on the swim team anymore. He allowed her horrible music. Nothing helped bring her closer to him again.

"Oh... I'm sorry about that.", Munson said tersely, looking down at his hands. "If it's any consolation. Axel doesn't exactly take after me either. He's a little wimp. But my wimp. His mom took off too."

"Hm."

"Gentlemen.", Beth chimed in again.

Jason wiped his face. "Sorry Beth. Shoot."

"Well we're pleased that the two of them complement each other so well. Axel is finally coming out of his shell more and Jennifer has become much calmer... Just... Well, the two of them were found today... They were found in a somewhat prickly situation today.", she said, slightly fumbling.

"Prickly situation?" Munson asked. "What, did they make out too hard and scare the janitor?"

Beth narrowed her eyes embarrassed. Jason suspected the worst.

"Please don't tell me-"

"They had sex in the school swimming pool."

Jason buried his face in his hands.

Munson just looked at the principal, grinning stupidly.

"Mr. Munson!", she reprimanded him.

"Sorry.", he interjected, but continued to grin.

She sighed. "Actually, I wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but the janitor caught them and since he's going through his second divorce, he's not too fond of young love." She pulled the school files back towards her. "At worst, they've broken a few hygiene rules. So they'll both be staying late this afternoon, picking gum off the benches. Nothing serious. But the janitor is looking in through the window right now, so I'd ask you both to look shocked, while I put these stamps on these scratch sheets. And action. Perfect." She smiled at them both. "Your little lovebirds will be in my office."

They followed the principal to her room, where there children were indeed waiting.

"Jennifer. Feet off the table.", Mrs. White said calmly. "And out of my chair."

She nudged the girl, who had made herself comfortable at her desk and was drinking coffee from one of the ceramic cups waiting for her.

"Sorry Beth.", she smiled and stood up relaxed. Jason looked at his daughter reprovingly, but she ignored him.

Munson, on the other hand, walked up to his son and smacked him on the shoulder, grinning benevolently. The little boy wanted to sink into the ground.

Jason looked closely at the scrawny heap of misery. You'd think his daughter would choose someone... just pick someone else. The boy sitting there was almost her photo negative.

He was wearing a checked, short-sleeved bottom up shirt, glasses with plain a metal fram and beige pants. He took an inhaler out of his trouser pocket and put it in his mouth. One pump later, he inhaled deeply.

Munson just rolled his eyes with a smile. "Just relax. You just have to scrape off gum. Harvard will still take you and you won't end up at a gas station like your old man." He tousled the boy's short curls, which seemed to be the only thing he had of his father besides his dark eyes.

"Dad!", he groaned and slapped his hand away.

He just laughed.

Jason looked at his daughter again. Torn jeans, a jacket with an impossible number of patches and a rumpled T-shirt, that he wasn't sure she hadn't already worn to sleep.

"Anthrax?", Munson asked cheerfully, pointing at her shirt.

Jennifer looked at Munson as well. "Yup."  she said, looking at him closely. "Black Sabbath... Classic.", she just nodded with a bored.

"That used to be the shit."

"Hmm. Back in the day, maybe.", she just nodded.

Munson grinned and looked back at his son. "Respect.", he just said and slapped him on the back again. The boy simply took another pump from his inhaler.

Jason sighed. "We're going to the gynecologist tomorrow.", he decided.

"Dad!", she exclaimed in shock.

"Nothing Dad!" he countered. "I'm not going to be a grandfather, until you finish school!"

"And we couldn't have this conversation in private?"

"If you'd seduced the kid somewhere more private, we probably wouldn't be having it at all."

"How do you wsnt to know, that I seduced him?"

"So you're telling me that this 110 pounds of asthma and fragile bones gave the gigolo. No offense to you, kid.", he turned briefly to little Munson.

He dropped his inhaler out of sheer shock. Hectic he bent down after it.

"Okay. They're going to serve their sentence now and they're welcome to leave.", Mrs. White interjected again.

"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Munson. Jason. See you around."

The four of them left the room. The couple was collected by the janitor and Jason and Munson went outside to their cars.

"How did those two end up together?", asked Munson aloud. "I mean. I love my son, but what does she want with him?"

Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Most guys she beats up. He must be doing something right... Tell him, he's invited to dinner Friday."

Munson nodded. "Kids, huh?"

"Kids.", Jason sighed. He rubbed his face. "Fancy a beer?"

"A beer with my former nemesis? Sure. But you're paying."

Jason rolled his eyes. "What else."

Jennifer and Axel lay entwined in each other's arms. Some would almost say, they were trying to eat each other. Axel jerked away, took out his inhaler and inhaled deeply.

"Sorry.", he mumbled.

She grinned. "No problem.", she sighed, playing with his shirt collar. "I know an abandoned boathouse by the lake. We'd have our peace and quiet there."

"O... OH... Okay." Axel groaned shakily as she ran her hand emphatically over his crotch. "Do you Do-you want to drive?"

She nodded and was already pulling his car keys out of his pants.

They drove in silence, listening to Pantera over a cassette Axel had found in a thrift store. Jennifer brought the car to a halt, almost dragging Axel with her.

The door was open, as usual, and she pushed her boyfriend through the opening.

"Hey!"

"Urgh!"

"Axel?"

"Mr. Carver?"

"Fury!"

"Munson."

The four of them looked at each other in surprise, until Jennifer took a closer look. Munson's hand was under her father's T-shirt and his lips were conspicuously red. Both of their hair were completely disheveled and her father's hand was stuck in Munson's pants.

"Urgh! Fuck no!" she groaned.

"Language!", her father reprimanded her immediately.

Munson laughed. "With the things you throw out sometimes-" Her father slapped him on the back of the head.

"OW!"

"What are you doing here?", her father asked angrily, trying to put them both in a more presentable position.

"The same as you, it seems.", she said confidently, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Munson grinned. Jason narrowed his eyes in humiliation. Axel just stood there silently and looked at the floor.

"Okay." Munson snapped out of his stupor and zipped his pants again. "We're getting out of here."

"But-", her father started.

"But nothing. They're old enough and at least they're not in the school pool. We both have a house each and we just wanted to pretend, we were still in high school here. Let the youth get the experience and let's go.", he said, pulling her father with him.

The two of them looked after their fathers, overwhelmed.

"I would have never expected this in my life.", Jennifer admitted.

"I've got a few more Oxis, if you want to forget about it.", Axel said bluntly.

"How can your dad not know, that you're selling this shit?"

"He trusts me and... Well, he's not the brightest light sometimes.", he grinned.

She laughed. "Okay. Give me that." She smiled and let Axel put the little pill in her hand. She kissed him briefly. "I've never had high sex before.", she grinned.

He grinned mischievously. "I'd be your first?"

"And I hope my last." She stroked his scrawny chest.

"I love you."

"I love you."

[eikaprime]

C4llie

Months ago, two people--specifically @flamingskull28 and @frog-man-alt --asked me what my thoughts were on the 4 ships, otherwise known as shipping characters with Agent 4. Well, there's now a fic where every chapter is/is going to be a different agent/idol fic, starting here and now with C4llie.

Link to the fic is HERE (hopefully that works, I've never done a word as a link before)

Full chapter 1, C4llie, is under the cut.

C4llie

It's three weeks after the rescue before Beth finds Miss Callie in Octo Canyon with Marie, and as soon as she desquids, she has to put on the charm. “Miss Callie!” she says, walking over. “I don't believe we were properly introduced. I'm Agent Four.”

“Agent One,” Miss Callie says, offering her hand. “Do you have a proper name, Agent Four?”

Beth knows her cheeks are burning. Beth's got somewhere between a sunburn and a tan right now; maybe Miss Callie won't notice? “Bethany, Miss Callie. Bethany Kelp.”

Miss Callie's grip is firm and strong, and she keeps her eyes on Beth while they shake. Without the Octobot king and the chaos of dodging bombs and loud music, Beth can appreciate the ways Callie is like Marie, with the mole on her cheek, but unlike Marie her eyes sparkle with mischief and even now, when she's trying to look serious, the ghost of a smile lingers on her cheeks, and her tentacles are so sleek and shiny...

“And that's enough of that,” says Marie. “You ready to get to work, Beth?”

Beth releases Miss Callie's hand and turns to her. “Yeah, yeah, boss. What unnecessary busywork do you have me doing today?”

Miss Callie snorts. Beth likes her already.

“Brat,” Marie says.

“I do believe I'm older than you, Boss Baby.”

Miss Callie snorts again. Score one, Beth!

Marie sighs and rubs her forehead with one hand. “Take the blaster and clear out all the balloons in Slimeskin Garrison. If you can't reach any, you can use your splatling, but only if they're completely out of reach. Check them all to see if there are messages tied to the strings.”

Beth's already got her hero suit on, so she just shrugs on the ink-tank and grabs the blaster from the locker. “You got it, grandma,” she chirps, and superjumps away before Marie can grab her charger, Miss Callie's laughter echoing in her ears.

~~~~

It takes a few weeks for Marie to be outside the cabin alone again, and Beth is ready. “Hey Marie—think fast!” she calls, tossing a splatbomb behind her.

As Marie whips around, Beth raises her dualies and fires. Marie spins with the umbrella, somehow blocking all the ink from the bomb and the dualies.

"Oh come on!" At least one of those should've hit.

"You have to do better than that," Marie says, while Beth submerges to refill her tank. "Though you've been improving. You almost got my sleeve that time."

Oh, for... "Forget your sleeve, I'm gonna ink your face!" Beth tosses another splatbomb and opens fire.

Right as the cabin door opens and Miss Callie walks out, and Marie's umbrella blocks the splatbomb but Miss Callie gets coated head to toe in Beth's ink.

Beth drops her dualies. "I'm sorry!" She takes a step back, then another, as Callie raises a hand to her face to wipe the ink from her eyes. "I'm sorry, I am so sorry, I—"

And then Miss Callie starts to laugh.

Beth stares, her eyes wide and mouth open, as Miss Callie sits right there on the ground, leans her back against the bench, and laughs. Head thrown back, clutching her stomach, giving her entire self over to the laughter.

She's the most beautiful person Beth has ever seen.

When she's calmed down, she stands and shakes the remaining ink from her jacket. "Cod, that brings back memories," she says, and picks up one of Beth's dualies. "It's been ages since I..." then she looks at the dualie in her hands and goes stiff.

Beth's talked to Marie, she's heard Marie worry, Miss Callie hasn't touched a weapon since she got off the Octobot King. She hasn't trusted herself, even without the hypnoshades. And she's got one dualie in her hand, and she's shaking, and Beth doesn't think, she steps forward and pulls Miss Callie into a hug.

Miss Callie bends a little to press her face into Beth's shoulder, and takes a deep breath, and another, while Beth rubs her back. Another deep breath, and another, and then she steps away from Beth, out of the hug, puts the dualie on the ground, and goes back into the cabin.

Beth swallows. Marie is staring at her, but she can't—she doesn't—it's best for her to just go. Down the drain. Take an extra grizzco shift.

Maybe being beaten with a couple dozen spoons will make her stop feeling like she messed up.

~~~~

When Beth arrives in Octo Canyon, Miss Callie is alone, and Beth freezes. "I, uh, Miss Callie, I beg your pardon for last time—"

"It's fine," she says.

No it isn't! "I caused you some measure of distress, Miss Callie, and—"

"I ruined your fun," she says. "So this time, I wanna give you a free shot." She reaches behind the bench and brings out a hero roller. She swings it over one shoulder and rests it there, holding the hero roller in one hand like it weighs nothing, like an ink reaper or an avenging angel. “And then the two of us can duke it out, agent to agent.”

For a second, Beth stands there, basking in Callie's beauty, stunned by the offer. Marie's never offered to spar with her. Then she gets her hero dualies, grins, and lobs a burst bomb. A cheap shot.

And Callie is on her. The two chase each other all around the first sector, no specials just weapons and bombs, and even without the Octobot King Callie throws more bombs than the average bomb rush. Burst bomb, suction bomb, splat bomb, as Four uses curling bomb to dodge and rolls away and she can't help it.

She starts to laugh.

She's splotched in Callie's light pink and Callie's splotched in her dark pink, she should've patrolled an hour ago, and there's a bomb on either side as she throws a curling directly at Callie's face and swims through it, the breeze from her roller swing cool on Beth's ears as she misses and Beth pops up behind her, shooting twice and rolling out of the way as Callie spins, carving a neat circle in the other pink.

Green ink lands around them. “That's enough, you two!”

“Stay out of this, grandma,” Beth shouts.

“Yeah, Marie, I can handle one jumped up agent,” yells Callie.

That's all they have time for before Marie takes them both out with one shot, and they respawn side by side. Callie laughs, drops her roller, and throws an arm around Beth's shoulder. “I think we need to call that a draw.”

Beth's just short enough that she has to look up into Callie's sparkling eyes, and she swallows. She's close. Very close. Close enough to, uh, to, “I could totally beat you next time,” Beth whispers

“Wanna test it?” Callie's breath is warm on Beth's face.

“Not today,” Marie says. “Why don't you try that elsewhere? Take it to a turf war, or something.”

“Oh! How about clam blitz?” Callie keeps her arm over Beth's shoulder as she turns away, and Beth wants to pout because she can't see Callie's eyes anymore, which is stupid oh cod this isn't happening. “I haven't learned the rules for that yet.”

“I could teach you,” Beth says. She goes hot under Callie's return gaze, hotter than even all that exercise made her, and steps back, coughs. She clears her throat. Miss Callie's still smiling at her, but Beth's got her dignity again. “Clams is fun. I promise, Miss Callie, to be the best teacher you could hope for.”

Miss Callie's eyes soften. “I know you will.”

~~~~

When Beth's bar cracks and sends her back down to A, again, she's angry for about five minutes. Then she realizes she has an opportunity. Miss Callie is learning clams and starting to play, and she'll be B- soon. Maybe Beth should be at her level.

So Beth keeps playing, and she doesn't throw the games, but she doesn't try as hard as she should, either. She isn't quite as careful of charger shots as she should be. She takes some risky throws that don't make it. And her rank goes down, down, down.

Her rank is B when Miss Callie's is B-, and they arrange to meet up for Partners League the next afternoon. Beth paces the lobby as she waits. Maybe Miss Callie didn't come. She might not. Or she's only coming to be polite. No, don't think like that. It's a beautiful day, and

“Sorry I'm late!”

Beth turns around.

Callie is wearing leggings, tight leggings, tight torn leggings that give hints at the muscles underneath. She has an oversized t-shirt on over them, tucked in at the top so it hangs down low and ensures no one can see the tattoo they haven't figured out how to remove, and it hangs just right to accent her curves. She has the short sleeves rolled up and her muscles on display. Her muscles are pronounced. Dare Beth say it, chiseled.

Callie pushes her sunglasses up on her head and smiles at Beth. “Hope you weren't waiting long.”

Beth can't tear her eyes away. “N-no, not long. You're, uh, you're right on time.”

“Oh, good.” Callie hoists her dynamo over her shoulder with a grunt of effort, her muscles bulging. Beth almost swallows her tongue. “Still not quite back in shape... oh well. So, how many X-rankers are we taking today?”

Beth takes a deep breath. Then another. She needs to calm down. Callie, Miss Callie, is a friend. “We're both in B ranks, it shouldn't be too bad,” she says. “I don't care if we never score. We can just practice passing the clams around, figure things out more.”

Miss Callie smiles. “I like the sound of that.”

And that's all they do, that first game. Pass the clams back and forth and laugh.

~~~~

By their third league rotation, the two work well together. They know how to make clams and they're good with all the maps and they talk easily over the league communicators, all focused on the play.

By their seventh league rotation, the two have each other's backs. Beth knows when she superjumps to Callie she needs to have her brella open facing to Callie's left because Callie never remembers to cover herself on that side. She's mastered the art of slipping between Callie and unfriendly chargers, all without blocking Callie's flicks. And she hasn't gotten caught staring at Callie's legs, except the time Callie wore shorts and Beth pretended to have seen someone sharking nearby.

Callie knows how to work with Beth, too. She reminds Beth to refill her ink before going into fights, because Beth always runs out of ink. She always superjumps to Beth, ready to flick in the direction Beth says, with better aim than any charger Beth's played with.

Beth knows Callie can cover her back when she goes for the risky flanks. And Callie insists on passing her the power clams, because she says Beth is amazing at getting them in from angles Callie couldn't even consider. They start placing top 50%, and even get a silver medal on their ninth rotation.

Not bad for a pair of B-ranks.

Before the tenth league match, Miss Callie waits for her in the locker room. No one else is in there, and when Callie lifts her sunglasses to smile at Beth, she has to sit down on the nearest bench. Callie's eyes are just so pretty. “Marie told me I should just ask,” Callie says. Her cheeks dust the slightest bit pink. “So, uh, after we play today, would you like to go out to supper?”

Beth's hearts quicken. This isn't what she thinks it is. “Sure, I always like spending time with you two. I can call her 'grandma' again.”

“No, uh,” Callie sits on the bench next to Beth as her cheeks get darker. Is... is she blushing? For Beth? “It would be, uh, a just us thing. The two of us.

This isn't what she thinks it is. Beth's whole face grows hot, but she's not going to she refuses to. “Is, uh, is Marie busy or something?”

Callie's ears twitch. “No, you dork. It, uh... oh, shell.” Callie grabs Beth's shirt, pulls her close, and kisses her.

Holy squit it is.

Callie lets go and sits back. “Yeah, so, it'd be that sort of dinner. Unless you don't want that! Which is fine, I'm perfectly happy being friends with you, nothing has to change just—”

Beth grabs Callie's shirt and pulls her close for another kiss. Callie presses into it. She's floating, the panicked freedom before a respawn, but there's no respawning she's still safe in her ink and oh squit oh squit oh squit.

Beth pulls back at last. “I, uh,” she says. “Are, uh, I...”

Miss Callie laughs and pulls Beth back in for another kiss, wrapping her arms around Beth and tugging Beth onto her lap. Beth goes without any hesitation. It's right where she wants to be.

They miss the clams rotation.

[frangipanilove]

XH6-S781, A Licence Plate of Reunion and Resurrection:

An attempt at a licence plate masterpost

Many of us believe Beth somehow survived a walker horde after Coda because she was put in the trunk of a car. I certainly do. I’ve always thought of Officer Lichari’s Dodge Magnum as the most likely candidate.

Notice the license plate on Lichari’s Dodge Magnum; XH6-S781, we’ll run into it quite a few times in this post.

The whole idea of her being left in the trunk of a car seems plausible for many reasons, but mostly because it was foreshadowed in 4x12 Still, and we had a callback in 5x10 Them.

When she was kidnapped in 4x13 Alone, it was by this car:

Notice anything interesting about the license plate?

Yup, it’s identical to the one on Officer Lichari’s Dodge Magnum. It’s a different car though, this is a Cadillac Coupe DeVille. But it’s the same license plate.

In 4x15 Us, we see Daryl with the Claimers. He quite literally met up with them after he had been running all night, trying to catch up to the car that took Beth.

In Us, Daryl and the Claimers come across an abandoned garage and decide to stay the night. Daryl first approaches a yellow Lincoln Continental (same brand of car as the one from Still, where Beth and Daryl spent the night in the trunk, hiding from a massive walker horde).

However, he forgets to claim it, and ends up sleeping on the floor between the Lincoln Continental and a blue Ford truck.

If you remember in this post from last year, and also this one, I argue that the license plate of the car Daryl and Carol use to pursue Officer Lichari’s Dodge Magnum, is a direct reference to the Lincoln Continental from Still, the one where Beth and Daryl spent the night in the trunk, the one that (possibly) foreshadowed Beth being left in the trunk of a car after Coda.

Here's the blue Ford truck:

Notice anything interesting about the license plate?

Yup, same one. The XH6-S781 again.

Yesterday I wrote about the red fire engine, Engine 82, that Abraham, Eugene and the rest of Team Washington found after their church bus had collapsed in 5x5 Self Help. This was back when Eugene’s strategy for survival revolved around pretending to be a scientist, sitting on crucial inside information making him capable of stopping the virus and returning the world to normal. Of course he wasn’t a scientist with inside information, he was merely a smart guy with exceptional lying skills. He was starting to have cold feet about actually reaching Washington, and decided to sabotage the church bus by pouring broken glass into the fuel tank. The church bus crashed, almost killed them all, and subsequently caught on fire.

Notice anything about the license plate? Seen it before, perhaps?

In 3x10 Home, we see Daryl and Merle argue their way through the woods. Daryl wants to go home, which is what they eventually end up doing. But not before encountering a family in distress on a bridge over the Yellow Jacket Creek. Merle’s first instinct is to leave them to be walker feed, then to loot them, but Daryl stands up to his brother and helps the family take out the walkers. He then sends them on their way, with all their posessions intact.

Remember in yesterday’s post, where I explained that bridges, along with stairs, ladders and elevators, are metaphorical “passages” between the “realms”, through which the characters can travel? These metaphorical passages can foreshadow "death", but they're also what allows for "resurrection".

Rick “died” on a bridge. He spent a long time in the “death” realm, in the “underworld, but he has now chosen to return to the "realm of the living" with Michonne, as we witnessed in TOWL 1x4 What We.

On the bridge over Yellow Jacket Creek, we see a Jeep Cherokee (read about why Jeep Cherokees are resurrection symbolism tied to the Cherokee Rose here).

Notice anything interesting about the license plate?

You guessed it. XH6-S781 again.

In a literal sense, the name Yellow Jacket Creek refers to a yellow piece of clothing, typically worn around the upper body (or trunk, if you will…) And who do we know who favors upper body garments in the color yellow?

Why does all these cars have the same license plate? And, why is it that these cars with this particular licence plate all seem to be tied to situations that somehow all revolve around Beth, directly or indirectly?

Obviously, she was directly affected by the car that took her in Alone. She was literally in it. Probably in the trunk.

The car Daryl and Carol saw in 5x2 was Officer Lichari’s Dodge Magnum. Daryl and Carol were following that car SPECIFICALLY to find Beth.

The church bus breaking down in 5x5 Self Help, was what ultimately led team Abraham and Team Washington to find Engine 82, and we saw it right at the center of events in the final moments of 5x8 Coda, as Daryl carried Beth's seemingly lifeless body out of Grady Memorial.

The blue Ford truck from 4x15 Us is interesting because of a conflict between Claimer Len and Daryl. At its core, it revolves around a rabbit, which is 100% a reference to Beth, and I’ve written about why that is in this post from a while back. Initially, Len referred to the rabbit as “cottontail”. The Latin word “Coda” quite literally means “tail”. The rabbit represents Beth, and during the night, Len attempts to frame Daryl for theft, by placing his half of the rabbit in Daryl’s bag. The next morning, he accuses Daryl of stealing it.

The plan backfires, and the Claimers proceed to beat Len to death. Daryl gets the rabbit. The two halves of the rabbit are reunited.

The Jeep Cherokee on the bridge over Yellow Jacket Creek is resurrection symbolism in that it’s a reference to the Cherokee Rose symbolism (here), and there was a Jeep Cherokee at Grady, we see it in the closing shot with a grief stricken Team Family and the red Engine 82. Engine 82 is right up front, the Jeep Cherokee sits in the bottom left corner.

Where does this particular license plate, the XH6-S781 come from, and what does it mean, specifically? Why does it show up in situations that in various ways are directly or indirectly related to Beth?

Here's my hypothesis:

Here's a shot from season 1. We see Carol's yellow Jeep Cherokee (because of couse its yellow. It's the reason they put a Jeep cherokee on the bridge over Yellow Jacket Creek. It has the same kind of dirty, yellow hue as Beth's polo. It's most likely the reason Beth was given a yellow polo in the first place) .

And we see a church van…

...namely a white Dodge Ram Van, with the words Holy Cross Lutheran Church written on it.

And there's a cross.

Notice anything interesting about the Licence plate?

Yes. It's that one again. Good old XH6-S781. The original one.

So much to adress here. First, it's a Dodge Ram Van.

Remember that Lichari's Dodge Magnum, which very well could be the actual car they put Beth in, a car that was at the center of everything during 5x7 Crossed and 5x8 Coda, has an identical licence plate. And in Coda, they were very careful to zoom in on the Dodge logo, a ram. We were supposed to take notice. We were supposed to notice the ram.

Then there's the text. Holy Cross Lutheran Church. As someone who's been trying to explain the three/tree/trunk symbolism for years, how a car and a trunk symbolizes the tomb of Christ, where "death" turns into "resurrection" after approximately three days...remember the number three in the inside of the trunk from the Lincoln Continental from Still...

The Dodge Ram Van is the origin of the three/tree/trunk symbolism. The original trunk.

The cross on the side of the car.

This is why TPTB chose to put crosses on the Grady cars. They were all callbacks to this one, the original Vehicle of Trunk Resurrection!

The church bus from Father Gabriel's church in 5x5 Self Help? A callback to this van. Both white, both church vehicles, both with identical licence plates.

Follow me on a journey of Reunion and Resurrection, from 1x3 Tell It To The Frogs:

First, Glenn's Dodge Charger rolls into camp. Yes, it is significant that it's a Dodge, and it's significant that it's red, because Red Is The Living Color. We see the white Dodge Ram Van in the background as he exits the car and is greeted by the others.

Then, we get our first real reunion, between Andrea and her sister Amy, right in front of the church bus:

Then, Morales reunites with his family, again, right next to the church bus:

Then, it's time for the big one, the Resurrection of Rick, the original Christ figure, the original Sirius figure:

The church bus is in the center of the shot the whole time.

So, the answer to the question of why the licence plate with XH6-S781 keeps popping up in situations related to Beth...

...is because the resurrection symbolism we constantly see around Beth was introduced around Rick already back in season 1. Rick and Beth always have been two sides to the same coin. The white Dodge Ram Van with the XH6-S781 was the original vehicle of Reunion and Resurrection. When the licence plate has appeared on several other vehicles over the years, all in situations related to Beth, it is because of the resurrection symbolism it provides.

We've now seen Rick "resurrect" and reunite with his family twice.

The symbolism suggests the same will happen to Beth.

[saltnsugarbear]

yellowstone the bear au,,,,,, perchance????

Richie, tiff and eva in the place of Kayce, Monica and their kid (teddy??)

Michael as the oldest Dutton kid who's name I don't remember because he dies the first episode

I want carmy to be a ranch hand but if we're making the berzatto's duttons then,,,, he would have to be kayce except carmy doesn't have a wife or child (x reader au we make carmy kayce, you both have a kid?)

Jimmy Cicero as the one and only John Dutton because of his wild ass mafia ties

I want sugar as Beth but Beth marries rip who is not at all like Pete.

can you guys see that this is slowly falling apart maybe we abandon the yellowstone au,,,,,

anyways lip fic is at so many words my app starts lagging when I try to write it so we're working on the computer (almost done! have to do two more sections and then it's editing time!!)

here's a lip song

[azures-bazar]

Night owls 

I've been wanting to write a Kieran Duffy one shot FOR AGES. He's my ultimate fave along with Sean and Arthur and I deeply wish we could give him a good hug in game. 💔 OMG I MESSED UP WITH THE TITLE IT'S "NIGHT OWLS"

Next mission : Part 2 of Fairest of Them All ! I already have the whole plot, now I just need more time :')

Please excuse my aweful grammar mistakes. Like I said, I'm mostly writing these one shots by night due to my new job ! I can take requests if wanted, it might just take some time. ☀️

Kieran Duffy x GenderNeutral!Reader 

Word count : 2.5k

Short summary : You and Kieran are two night owls who found one another on the dock of Clemens Point to gaze at the stars.

Tags : cute, our favourite horse boah, Chapter 3, Clemens Point, Kieran being cute asf, insecurity, stargazing

"O’Driscoll."

Here’s what Kieran heard most of the time, in the most scornful tone. No matter what he was doing, no matter what he was looking at, no matter what he was talking about. He was an O’Driscoll boy, and almost everyone in the gang reminded him about his former allegiance, even little Jack. He always felt safe around horses, they would not yell at him for a simple mistake, or openly pick on him like Sean would do. Kieran was a shadow, hiding from the rest of the gang despite Bill’s or Arthur’s best efforts to have, at least, one beer with him. Kieran was scared of many gang members, but certainly not of you. 

Since Arthur brought Kieran, first tied up in Colter’s stable, you had been overwhelmingly kind to him. You had given him food and had the right to untie him for him to relieve himself. You hated Dutch’s decision to keep him tied up and not having the right to feed him, but your own motives won over his orders. You could not stand Kieran’s endless cries for food, you just wanted him alright. Since he was free and taking care of horses, Kieran kept offering you his gratitude by picking a few flowers nearby, carefully placing them on your cot. He was too shy to directly give his bouquets to you… and you never knew who gave you all these gifts. 

Just like Mary-Beth, you had fallen for him. When you were not on guard duty, you enjoyed looking at him from enough distance for him not to spot you. You were too shy to talk to him, somewhat intimidated by his gaze. His large green and arched eyebrows always made him look like a lost puppy, which was quick to make you forget about what you wanted to tell him. But one thing was quick to make your heart rate increase in a mere blink of an eye : whenever your gaze met his, he would quickly blush and smile at you. He was deeply fond of you and, despite being quite awkward with the rest of the gang members, was quick to show his emotions to you. 

That night, you were resting by the dock of Clemens Point. Not a sound could be heard but the faint noise of campfire’s burning logs, or Arthur’s snore as you passed by his tent. Even Dutch was silent after his numerous arguments with Molly, which were now a routine. You had wandered around the tents to see if there were no other lost souls, night owls like you… but everyone was asleep. You had walked to the dock and sat there, taking your boots off and pulling your trousers up, allowing your feet to rest in the cold water. You were facing West, taking time to appreciate how beautiful the sky was, with the Milky Way showing its most beautiful stars above your head, giving you a beautiful picture to enjoy. Gazing at the sky by night was something you often cherished as it was relaxing. 

"M…M-May I join you ?" 

You turned your head to your right, noticing that Kieran was standing there, dressed in his underwear. His voice was so faint and calm that you had barely heard it. You could tell he was blushing, his hands clenching on the bottom of his shirt, nearly tearing it in the process. You shivered, still intimidated by his presence, gently nodding while patting an empty space beside you.

"Sure." you smiled 

It had taken about two or three days for Kieran to make this first move with you. He had mentally rehearsed his speech, from his moves to his facial expression, deeply scared of making you run away. He awkwardly moved forward and sat beside you, the tip of his feet touching the water. His heart rate was incredibly quick, he could not come out with any decent word to make the conversation. In fact… neither could you. His sole presence felt calming enough for you to enjoy the moment, but you were terrified of saying a word, believing he would also run away from you. How wrong the two of you were ! 

"Crap! It’s cold !" Kieran gasped, quickly dragging his feet out of water

"C’mon, it ain’t so cold." you smiled as Kieran turned to face you

"It is !"

His reaction was heartwarming enough for you to chuckle. The simple fact that he wanted to do things like you, plunging his feet into water despite its temperature was not hot enough, made him look adorable. You had seen Kieran trying to fit in with the rest of the gang by mimicking them on a daily basis, often trying to hold himself like Arthur, sitting by the fire like Sean or helping Ms. Grimshaw with morning chores by repeating her tasks with her proudly watching him do better than the girls all-together. He had genuinely believed the water was somewhat warm when he saw you bouncing your legs back and forth and wanted to join you into this harmless activity. 

As soon as he noticed you laugh a little, Kieran blushed and turned his head down. He believed he had ridiculed himself before you, and was wrong ! He turned his head back to you and smiled as he quickly understood he had no right to be ashamed, judging by the comforting glance you gave him. He was so confused and charmed at the same time, enough for him to smile even more. At this moment, he understood that there was nothing to be scared about. In fact, he felt comfortable enough to speak again. 

"You… you like gazing at the stars, right ?" he asked 

"Yeah. I find it relaxing, especially after tough days. What about you ?" 

"Same for me. I love watching stars move above my head… it makes me realise how actually small we are compared with what’s up there." 

Your eyes open wide to this statement. Just like you, Kieran loved watching the sky, acknowledging how tiny humans were, and how vast the universe was above you. Centuries ago, you would have been called mad by believing something existed beyond Earth and probably burnt at the stake for heresy. What was above your head was fascinating enough for you be feel lost in your thoughts, but never could you have imagined that Kieran felt the same as you, especially since he could neither read or write. 

"My mammy used to say we’re tiny beings." Kieran restarted. "She used to bring me to fields to gaze at the stars and often told me stuff about constellations. Can’t but think about her when I look at the sky now." 

"What we she like ?" you asked

"Beautiful and kind. She had her ways, but she loved things that weren’t good for ladies. I was ‘bout six when I lost her and pappy to cholera." 

"I’m… I’m sorry." 

"Don’t be. It ain’t your fault."

You could help but feel bad about Kieran’s past. The way he childishly called his parents mammy and pappy made you remember your own life, how you had lost your family at a young age too. Having been left alone in the streets of your hometown for years, Dutch and Hosea finding you felt like a miracle, providing you with a family you never expected to have, with Arthur and John as your two older brothers, watching over you since your induction into the gang. Kieran was certainly not as lucky as you, having joined the army for some time before leaving, living on his own before the O’Driscolls got him. Poor Kieran had it worse than many folks of your gang, being an outcast for most of his life. 

As far as you remembered, you were still young when Colm and Dutch’s feud occurred and had time to see how cruel the leader of the O’Driscoll boys was with his men. Dutch had shielded you from him, not allowing you to be nowhere near Colm or one of his men. You could remember Arthur and John never leaving you alone when Colm was walking by, even dragging you behind them when he was glancing towards your direction. You felt terrible you heard Kieran speak about him by the fire, how cruel and merciless he was, how many of his men he killed to just replace them, believing he went through hell while riding with the O’Driscoll Boys. At least he was safe with you ! 

"B-by the way… it was me." Kieran mumbled 

"You ?"

"I… I-I’m the one w-who puts flowers on your cot." 

You shivered and blushed at this sudden confession. It might have taken so much courage for Kieran to admit such thing to you ! You had been questioning a few gang members for weeks about these gifts, not knowing who would give you flowers and why someone would even gift you something anyway. You were close to mostly everyone, but probably not enough for anyone to give you flowers. 

"You’re the one who’s been bringing me flowers all this long ?" you blushed, feeling your heart rate increase 

"Y-yeah… You’re so kind to me, and… you know, you didn’t treat me like a monster. And… well… you…"

Kieran kept loosing his words, turning his head down. Saying he was the one who was secretly giving you these beautiful flowers was already such a big step forward ! He could not even think about what he could say next, being overwhelmingly terrified about your rejection, still being somewhat aware that you were receptive to his sweet charms. Kieran kept his head down for a moment as his large eyes twitched a little towards you.

"You’re really attractive…" he mumbled 

Your heart stopped beating for a second. If Kieran had told something like this during the day, he would have seen you turning red. Your mouth was half-open, you could not even respond to his sudden compliment. How sweet and genuinely kind Kieran was ! Enough for you to completely forget about your surroundings, and about Dutch who had been woken up, looking at the two of you between his tent flaps while Molly was asleep. The rest of the world did not matter much as you and Kieran, two night owls gazing at the stars above, finally found each other. Yes, finally.

"You… it’s alright… you can tell me to stop…" Kieran mumbled, shyly turning his head away while closing his eyes. "I ain’t probably the one you expected…"

"N-no ! Don’t ever stop, please." you gasped. "Don’t !" 

Despite feeling a vast amount of butterflies and bubbles inside you, you could not hold it any longer. You took a deep breath and dragged your feet out of water, moving a little closer to Kieran. Your hand rose to his directly, you lifted his face by gently holding his chin. What a move ! You could feel him shiver as he quickly opened his large eyes to look at you, still surprised. He even looked a little scared… like the lost puppy you thought him to be. 

"Y/N…?"

Your other free hand made its way to his cheek, his eyes opened wide. Nobody had even been so gentle towards him, so kind ! And there you were, there you were. His sunshine, his wildest dream. He would have never expected you to be this receptive to his words and act so gently with him. His eyes got filled with tears of happiness, he even moaned of pleasure as you rubbed his cheek with your thumb. The very last time someone had touched his face so gently was his mother herself, on her deathbed. It felt good enough for him to smile, bending his head for you to keep going while looking deep into your eyes. 

"You’re such a treasure, Kieran…" you smiled. "My treasure… I’m so glad I found you… "

"I’m… I-I’m happy I finally f-found you too…" Kieran stuttered

As you looked into his eyes, you had not noticed that Kieran’s hands had moved to your waist. He rose a little, moving his legs aside as he dragged you a little closer to him, carefully enough not to scare you. He did not want you to run away, he could not allow this… neither could you. You had found each other, and it felt like the beautifulest dream anyone of you could ever imagine. 

"I... l-love you." he whispered

You had no time to respond to such a beautiful sentence, Kieran had quickly moved forward to passionately kiss you. Your hands moved to his shoulders, you clung onto his shirt as you were softly pushed down, laying beneath Kieran who could not back away anymore. He kept kissing you so passionately that you even forgot about time and your surroundings. Nothing else mattered but the two of you, finally fusing into one being  beneath this endless star-filled sky. Kieran rose a little above you as you gently caught his face between your hands, gazing into his beautiful eyes. 

"I love you." you smiled 

Kieran smiled and arched his eyebrows, being overwhelmingly thrilled by what you had just said. No one had ever told him such thing ! He wanted to cry, but having you so close to him, ready to receive another kiss from him made him forget about all these negative and nostalgic thoughts he usually kept for himself. He kissed you one more time as you heard someone walk on the dock, causing the two of you to quickly stand up. Dutch was there, his arms crossed on his chest. You and Kieran stood still, turning your head down like two children who had been caught red-handed after messing around, which made Dutch smile. 

"What are you doing here ?" he asked 

"Gazing at the stars, Dutch." you responded

"We weren’t doin’ anything wrong, S-sir." Kieran added

"You sure weren’t, now go to sleep. Y/N, you’re on guard duty tomorrow, and we need Kieran to take care of horses." 

The two of you nodded, causing Dutch to chuckle a little as he watch the two of you walk away in line. Right before separating, you dragged Kieran inside your tent and closed its flaps. In no way could you just leave Kieran sleep by the tree alone again ! You allowed him to lie down on your cot first. He opened his arms to greet you into his embrace. 

"Cuddles ?" he whispered

Your heart melted one more time, you could not resist. You obliged and lied next to him, wrapping your arms around his waist. Your head quickly nuzzled in the crook of his neck as he placed a blanket above the two of you. 

"All good ?" you asked

"All good." 

It had been such a long while since Kieran did not get the right to lie down and enjoy a bed, even a bedroll, anything more comfortable than the bare ground ! He was quick to feel a relaxed, slowly drifting into sleep as he snuggled into your thin mattress. You rose a little to kiss his cheek, causing him to moan while holding you closer to him, held into your embrace on a comfortable bed, hiding under a warm blanket. He had forgotten how great it felt to have covers above him, how great it was to be loved. And, with you, he would remember what love felt like. 

"Goodnight, Kieran." you whispered

[the-name-is-z]

SKELETONS | ch. 34

daryl dixon x f!oc

masterlist

a03 link

Summary: The group seemingly puts an end to their dealings with the governor, taking in strays from Woodbury. Warnings/Information: AMC's The Walking Dead OC Insert | 18+ Advised | strangers to lovers; the slowest of slow burns; gore; angst; horror; humour; m/f; murder; paramilitary warfare; condemnation; breaking and entering; betrayal; sabotage; psychotic break; illness from turning into a walker; suicide (to prevent turning); canonical character death

Chapter 34 - Tombstones

Iris and the others spent their morning packing their things. No one else needed to get hurt. But the Governor just might. The prison was a tomb they didn’t need to die in. Carl was particularly moody, upset that he wouldn’t be involved in any sort of fighting. He’d never been so angry. But any gunfight with the Governor was not a place for him to be a kid. 

Iris sat on the ground beside Daryl as he packed the bags on the side of Merle’s bike. He didn’t say what happened. He didn’t need to. No one commented or offered condolences. No one was sorry for his death. Iris certainly wasn’t. But she sat with him regardless, handing Daryl a few things slightly out of his reach when he needed.

“He never did something like that in his whole life.” Daryl murmured.

“He gave us a chance.” Iris replied quietly. Merle had taken out quite a few of the Governor’s men. It left them a window, one they were taking hold of with both hands and throwing themselves through. She pushed herself to her feet, offering her hand. He took it, standing up and moving to gather his things. He paused when she didn’t let go of his hand, turning back to her. She smiled softly, saying nothing before letting go, grabbing her own bags to put in the back of the truck.

-

The Governor’s men spared no expense nor bullet. They let loose on the entire compound. Martinez satisfied himself with a rocket launcher, laying waste to their guard towers. But Rick’s plan was sound, and with a few diabolical tweaks from Iris, they would have these poor saps from Woodbury pissing themselves on their way out. 

They let them all the way deep into the prison, past the courtyard, the cell block into the deep hallways of solitary confinement, custodial closets and the boiler rooms. Plus, they left the back door open so there were plenty of walkers wandering around down there too.

Using the few flash bangs they had left, they set off smoke and alarms in the lower levels of the prison, the blaring siren drawing in walkers from all around. The Woodbury goons shrieked and screamed, running for the hills and right back into the courtyard where Maggie and Glenn loomed over in full riot gear. They stood in the caged catwalk and unloaded clip after clip on them, raining bullets. 

With many dead and a good amount injured, a truckload of them gave up, diving into their vehicles and high-tailing it out of there.

They reconvened in the courtyard, the field almost completely empty of walkers after they shot up the place. Iris was eyeing the mounted gun on the back of the truck they ran over the spike strip with. 

“We did it. We drove them out.” Rick stated, surveying the land. 

“We should go after them.” Michonne replied.

“We should finish it.” Daryl added.

“It is finished.” Maggie said, shaking her head. “Didn’t you see them run out of here?”

“They could regroup.”

“We can’t take the chance. He’s not gonna stop.” Glenn replied.

“Agreed.” Iris stated, folding her arms. “I need that son of a bitch’s head on a platter.”

“They’re right.” Carol agreed. “We can’t keep living like this.”

“So we take the fight back to Woodbury? We barely made it back last time.” Maggie protested.

“I don’t care.” Daryl stated pointedly.

“Yeah…” Rick murmured. “Let’s check on the others.” They moved back into the cell block, Beth, Judith, Hershel and Carl coming in from the woods. 

After regrouping and gathering their things, they loaded up for another siege on Woodbury. Carl was having a hard time of it. Iris sat on the back of Daryl’s bike, waiting rather impatiently. She was all adrenaline, and she wanted to ride the high until she had the Governor’s head on a pike. Glenn and Maggie said they were staying to defend the prison with everyone else, leaving only Rick, Michonne, Iris and Daryl to attack Woodbury. A small group, but a bloodthirsty one.

They made it about halfway before they saw the Governor’s trucks parked in the road. Except for one. Daryl pulled to a stop, letting Iris hop off before putting the stand down and investigating. There was a few walkers, but the road was littered with bodies. Michonne made quick work of the nearly-alive ones. 

The Governor. He had massacred his own people for running. All of them. Daryl jumped as a woman slammed on the door from the inside of the biggest truck, Iris instinctively cocking her gun at the window. But she was still alive. 

Daryl opened the door, hauling her out and checking the truck before slamming the door shut. They took her with them to Woodbury, right up to the gate. They had two guards on the wall, shooting down before they took cover behind a dead car. Their little band of rebels returned fire, but the guards had a fairly decent vantage point from behind the wall of tires. 

“Tyreese!” Karen, the woman from the truck yelled, standing up with her hands out. “It’s me! Don’t—“

“Get down!” Rick yelled, yanking her to the ground.

“Karen!” Tyreese yelled back. “Karen, are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” She yelled, standing back up and moving away from Rick. 

“Where’s the Governor?”

“He fired on everyone!” She explained. “He killed them all.”

“Why are you with them?” He asked.

“They saved me!” She answered honestly.

“We’re coming out!” Rick announced. Daryl shook his head but Rick held firm. “We’re coming out.” He put his hands up, the rest of them following suit as they approached the gate. Tyreese and Sasha opened the gate, facing them.

“What are you doing here?” Tyreese asked.

“We were coming to finish this until we saw what the Governor did.” Rick replied.

“He… he killed them?”

“Yeah. Karen told us Andrea hopped the wall going for the prison. She never made it.” Rick explained. “She might be here.”

Tyreese and Sasha let them back inside and Rick led them to where Glenn and Maggie were being held before. The hallways were even more eerie than they had been before.

“This is where he held Glenn and Maggie.” Rick explained softly.

“The Governor held people here?” Tyreese asked, blanching.

“He did more than hold ‘em.” Daryl replied darkly, leading the way with his crossbow. They moved to the end of the hallway, finding a steel door locked from the outside. A small puddle of blood poured from the corner, relatively fresh by the looks of it.

“Will you open it?” Michonne asked. Rick nodded. He counted softly before shoving the door open, revealing Milton’s dead body in the centre of the room, along with an ominous dentist’s chair with restraints on the arms. “Andrea!” Michonne whispered. She ran into the room, crouching down beside the door at Andrea’s side. She looked rather worse for wear, bloodied and delirious.

“I tried to stop them.” She murmured, looking around at all of them, head lolling.

“You’re burning up.” Michonne hissed. Andrea sighed, pulling back her shirt collar to reveal the nastiest walker bite Iris had ever seen. It was gory and disgusting, her flesh squelching with the smallest of movements. It was genuinely a wonder she was still alive.

“Judith… Carl… the rest of them…” Andrea stuttered.

“Us.” Rick corrected, sighing. “The rest of us.”

“Are they alive?”

“Yeah, they’re alive.” Rick assured. She breathed a sigh of relief, smiling up at Michonne. 

“It’s good you found them.” She huffed. Michonne nodded, holding back tears as she clutched at her friend’s hand. “No one could make it alone now.”

“I never could.” Daryl agreed softly.

“I just didn’t want anyone to die.” She muttered, shaking her head. She paused, looking up at them. “I can do it myself.”

“No.” Michonne protested.

“Oh, I have to.” Andrea replied, smiling softly. “While I still can.” Michonne nodded, her face falling. “Please? I know how the safety works.” Rick sighed, nodding as he handed over his revolver. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” Michonne said firmly.

“I tried.” Andrea whispered.

“Yeah. You did. You did.” Rick assured, nodding. Daryl and Iris backed out of the room, Rick closing the door behind him. Michonne gripped Andrea’s hand tightly, smiling at her until she pulled the trigger. 

-

They returned to the prison with a bus in tow, Karen, Tyreese, Sasha and any others from Woodbury that had the desire to come. Rick explained the situation to everyone, particularly Carl. Tyreese showed them into the prison, allowing them a space where they could be safe. There were plenty of cell blocks, after all. 

Iris held her breath as she looked out over the field. They’d have to put up new gates if they wanted to take it back. New gates, a farm like Hershel planned. A garden, at the very least. 

Andrea’s death hit her harder than she would have liked to admit. Maybe she was listening to Hershel too much, but it felt symbolic. Whatever it meant, they were opening a new door. New lives, new people, new expectations. Iris’ next inhale was shaky. 

She felt soft, callused fingers brush her own, intertwining before tightening around her hand. She looked up, meeting Daryl’s gaze. He didn’t smile, but the corner of his mouth pulled upward in an expression of acceptance, understanding. Iris returned it, tightening her hand around his. They both turned back out over the field, taking a deep breath together.

-

TAGLIST:

@heidiland05

@ryoujoking

@catlalice

@maxinehufflepuffprincess

@lowkeyhottho

@fadingpalacebonkpsychic

[bethncherry]

Hi, I just started reading Beth n Cherry, and I love it so far. It's really cute and I can't wait to see more.

I do want to ask, what is the lore of the humans and giants of this world? How do they live side by side, and how did they begin living with each other?

Hello! I like to keep the world a bit fuzzy, soft magic system and all that, but here is some lore doodles for you dear anon :3 [click for better quality] [rambles under read more]

Giants have always been around, cultures being tied to where they live since humans and giants meeting and sharing their skills and culture is so sweet to me. Imagine humans long ago, never seeing a giant before, being in awe.

I'm sure there were conflicts along the way, as there is in all history, but in their world they end up working together. Got me thinking about bnc spinoff of a story of the first giant and bean to bring their friendship to both sides and bring their people together. I think their story would be almost mythology in the present, since it was so long ago.

And to specifically answer the question "How do they live side by side?". There is a human side of town and a giant side of town. The giant side always has lots of tiny visitors though, and some tiny residents for one reason or the other.

Specifically the city in Beth and Cherry's world is split by a river with bridges connecting the two sides of town. There are different layouts for other cities though. <3

Thank you for the ask!! I had fun diving into the world building. :>

[boygiwrites]

Harley D. Dixon 16

An amazing edit inspired by this story! (Cred to Cora_Line99) Harley D. Dixon's Pinterest Board! Harley D. Dixon's Playlist!

📖Chapter List.

Author's Note. This is the longest chapter yet! Just shy of 10,000 words!

For the first time in forever, we're blessed with a slow day.

The sun crests over the clouds in the early afternoon, glazing the Greene house and its golden paddocks in a soft, buttery glow. Slow once meant boring, but now it means peace. My Dad's awake now, albeit bed-bound, but he's more or less as healthy as a horse. I don't need to keep glancing at his pale form anymore, watching for disaster. Not having that threat of death lurking around the farm makes the air feel so much clearer. I can finally relax a little. I think everyone feels the same relief. There's one less problem ready to strike at us.

Maggie lets me use the guest bathroom to take a hot shower in the afternoon.

After helping me tape a scrap of plastic over my stitches to ensure they stay dry, she lends me some fruit-scented shampoo and body lotion, assuring me she'll be right downstairs if I need anything else. I luxuriate under the warm water for some time, suds-ing up my dirty blonde hair and scrubbing the dirt form underneath my fingernails. I feel my muscles let go of all my tension in real time. It's the best feelin' ever.

I tweak the water off and step out onto the green bath-mat, face to face with my reflection in the mirror.

Last time I got a proper look at myself, I was dying in the back of the RV. I look at myself again; at my healthy, clean complexion.

"Hey," A girly voice calls out gently from behind the door — Beth, I think. "I got you a spare shirt, if you want. Is white your color?"

I look down at myself. "I'm more of a beige color."

She laughs. "No, silly. I meant... never mind. I'll leave it here for you."

After her footsteps recede down the corridor, I fetch the shirt, close the door, and hold it up in front of me. It's a tight, white blouse with frills down the front of it, and two, tiny puff-ball sleeves that each look a little like a lily-of-the-valley flower. I peel the plastic off my side and pull the shirt on — almost a perfect fit, but a little loose — combined with my blue jean-shorts, socks, and yellow rain boots.

I clomp back downstairs and into Dad's room, where he's trying to read a book he found in the bedside drawer, but failing.

It must be a romance. He hates that sort of thing.

I ask him if he wants to do my hair instead, and he agrees to the distraction right away.

With the window wide open to the smells of sweet pollen and farm life, I sit between his legs as he brushes my hair. I'm just so glad he's alright. He gives me two neat braids, ties them off with my hair lackeys, and then I ask Maggie for a pair of scissors so Dad can trim my bangs up a little. She's hesitant at first, but I tell her that my Dad's been cuttin' my hair since, well, I had any hair to cut, and that he's actually not half-bad.

She lends me some kitchen scissors, and I happily thank her.

I make myself comfortable on the bed, on top of a towel to catch the clippings, and I snack on a red apple as Dad cleans up my out-grown, wonky bangs. He tells me he's rusty, but he does a good job. They'd gotten long in our weeks on the road, but they look much better now.

After my hair's done, I kiss his cheek goodbye and head outside.

I find Carl over by the shed. He's playing on the swing that hangs from the burly tree growing beside it in a ray of sunlight.

"Hey, Harley." He greets me, digging his heel in the dirt to slow down. "Want me to push you?"

I smile, "Yeah, okay."

We exchange places, and he gives me a gentle push.

I can see Rick over by the tents, talking to everyone. He's probably sharing the disappointing news that it really was Shane that shot my Dad, so that everyone's on the same page. We're not supposed to tell the Greenes about this discovery. We need to make a good impression, and having a trigger-happy murderer in our group ain't the best way to achieve that. It's better if they continue believing it was Otis that caused all this, otherwise we're gonna get booted to the streets again. I never wanna go back to living that way. We need this place, for Sophia.

I don't wanna talk about Shane, so I won't bring him up.

Nobody's told Carl about any of it, anyway.

"I didn't even know this swing was here." I say as I enjoy the breeze on my freshly washed skin. "This is just like the one I used to have."

"I never had a swing." He muses as he pushes me again. "I miss playgrounds."

"Betcha don't miss school, though."

"Eugh. No." He exclaims. "My Mom still makes me do homework sometimes. It sucks."

I remember doing all those spelling quizzes and math problems back at the quarry. I don't miss it one bit.

I ask him, "What grade was you in, before?"

What grade 'were' you in, Lori would correct me, not 'was'. It always annoyed me when she did that.

"Sixth." He answers. "What grade were you in?"

"I was in second grade."

"Second grade?!"

"Yeah. What grade did you think I was in?"

"I dunno. Five, maybe?"

"I'm eight." I giggle. "You're twelve. We can't be in the same grade."

"But we're friends." He counters. "I've never been friends with someone outside of my grade before."

"Well," I sing-song, "Now you have."

"Even my cousins were the same age as me."

"Mine were all older."

I haven't thought about my cousins in forever. They're all on my Momma's side, from her two brothers. There was Vicky and Tobias, the twins. They were super old. Like, fifteen. Then there was Hunter, and Lillian, and Georgia. I miss them the most. They always treated me nice.

I've never had friends or family younger than me before. I've always been the baby. Even here, that still hasn't changed.

As I'm gazing out onto the distant cornfields, swinging back and forth relaxingly, Maggie approaches us with a friendly wave.

"Hey, y'all." She smiles. "Havin' fun out here?"

We both notice her, and answer, yeah, at the same time.

"Who built this swing?" Carl asks her. "It's awesome."

"My Daddy built it, a long time ago," Maggie fondly says. "When I was just a little girl. Nice to see it gettin' some use, again."

"I reckon I could touch the sun." I hum to myself, looking at the sky.

She chuckles. "Don't go testing that theory. Your Dad would kill us all."

"You wanna play with us?"

"I actually wanted to ask you guys somethin'. I heard from Daryl just now that you found a walker in one'a our wells today?"

Oh, yeah. That ugly thing.

Carl corrects, "Technically, I found it."

I roll my eyes. "Don't be a smart-ass."

"Hey. That's a swear word."

"It's fine. My Daddy don't care 'bout swears."

"I was just wondering which well it was." Maggie interjects. "We've got quite a few around here, and I don't wanna search them all."

"Oh, it was the one near the barn." Carl says, pointing in that direction.

I ask her, "What are you gonna do with it?"

"I talked to Rick about it, and we reckon we're gonna try using a winch to pull it out. Can't have it dirtying up the water."

"What's a winch?"

"It's like a really long, metal rope you can attach to a car." She explains. "We've had ours for years, and luckily for us, it hasn't rusted."

I bring myself to a stop, widening my eyes. "Can we come watch?"

"Yeah!" Carl enthuses. "Can we?"

"Sure ya can. I don't see why not."

With a small cheer, we abandon the swing and follow Maggie across the field, rambling about all the gross stuff we think is gonna happen.

Everyone pitches in to help clear the well, except for Shane. He's off somewhere, brooding.

At first, we try dangling a chunk of canned ham over its head to see if that'll get its attention, but since canned ham don't bleed, kick, or scream when you bite into it, the walker doesn't want anything to do with it. We realize we'll need live bait, and for some reason, everyone's eyes fall onto Glenn. He thinks that's super unfair, but he is all better now, and he does have the fastest reflexes out of all of us.

"Have I mentioned that I really like your new haircut?" He smiles lopsidedly at me, thinking I'll save him. "Really suits your face."

"Don't worry about it." Rick reassures him. "You'll have four of us on the rope. We're gonna get you outta there in one piece."

"One living piece." He emphasizes. "The living part's important."

Dale drives over the car they're gonna use for the process, while Andrea retrieves a thick coil of rope, making Glenn go pale at the sight of it.

Rick and Jacqui start wrapping it around his body.

"We'll give you the winch." Rick says. "Just try wrappin' it around its neck."

He sighs in defeat, "Let's get this over with."

As soon as he's in the well, he's screaming bloody murder.

If not for the suspenseful atmosphere, it would be super funny. Me and Carl watch from the sidelines as Rick, Maggie, Andrea, and T-Dog work together to lower Glenn into the well with nothing more than a rope looped around his midriff to keep him from falling to his death. Dale sits in the driver's seat of Maggie's Subaru, waiting for the signal to start reversing. There's a mechanical lookin' thing attached to the bumper. It looks like a garden hose, but it's made of metal. It must be the winch. The end of it leads into the well.

"You people are crazy!" His disembodied, terrified voice shouts from below. "This is crazy!"

"We got you!" Andrea calls out.

Rick grunts, "Give us an eye, Maggie."

At the front of the line, Maggie peers in. "Doin' okay?"

"Can't believe I'm saying this," His wimpy voice echoes, "But I need to be lower."

"Lower." Maggie parrots.

They all shuffle forward a couple steps — a couple too many steps, apparently.

"Higher!" He shrieks. "Higher!"

The rope strains against the cobble as it's tugged again, backwards this time.

I chew my fingernail nervously.

"Can you get it around that thing?" T-Dog asks, sweating. "Sometime today, please?"

"Fuck you!"

Me and Carl exchange glances, biting down shocked giggles. This is the first time I've ever heard Glenn say, Fuck.

"How's that now, Glenn?"

He takes some time to answer, grunting, "Living the dream, thanks."

"Just get the winch around its neck." Rick coaches calmly, "Easy as pie. Then clip it onto itself, and it should secure."

We wait with bated breath as he wrangles the walker.

After about a minute, he calls out again.

"That's it! It's on! Pull me up! Pull me up!"

"Get him up!"

"Pull! Pull!"

"Come on!"

They wrestle with gravity to lift him back out the well, struggling in unison as Dale reverses. The winch immediately pulls taut. It creaks loudly, mixing with the sound of the engine and Glenn's panicked screaming to create the worst, most cacophonic song I ever head, and I've had to listen to my Dad's favorite music all my life. We cheer them on anxiously, watching closely in anticipation. The grass begins to split under their boots from the force. Just as the rope is about to give way, T-Dog gives one last powerful tug.

"That's it!" He says, "Come on, grab him!"

Glenn scrambles over the lip of the well, panicked, as me and Carl rush forward to help everyone pull him out.

"You okay?!" I ask him.

"God, get me out." He cringes. "Get me out."

As he lands on his ass, soaking wet from being splashed, the walker is next in line to be pulled from the depths.

It gets caught on the edge of the wall like a thousand-pound pinata.

"More force!" Rick orders.

Dale stomps on the gas, making the tyres squeal.

"Come on, you ugly thing." He goads. "Come on."

As the winch begins to cut into the walker's neck, the growling is hitched suddenly, replaced by choking.

Its eyeballs bulge under the pressure.

The engine revs once more, and Rick ushers us out the way. "Get back! Get back!"

All of a sudden, the well cracks and breaks apart around the walker's fat body as it's dragged out onto the grass. Rick's on it before I can even blink. He unsheathes his knife and sinks it into the mushy, water-logged skull with a satisfying squish. At last, the darn thing goes limp.

We all catch our breaths as he stands.

Dale turns off the engine.

"It's uglier in the sunlight." Carl muses, revolted.

No doubt about that. It's disgusting.

Eventually, Glenn deadpans a celebratory, "Anybody thirsty?"

There's a weak chorus of laughter amongst us.

I stand next to Dale and Glenn, watching as Rick and T-Dog drag the walker off the property.

"You know," Dale ponders aloud, "Did they ever mention how that thing fell down there in the first place?"

Mmm... Nope.

No, they didn't.

"This whole farm is fenced off." He continues, thoughtful. "How could a big thing like that just wonder in?"

"Maybe it's been there since before the fences." Glenn guesses. "They might've put them up after everything."

"No," Dale hums. "I was talking to Herschel about it yesterday... He said it was all built in the seventies and they do maintenance every month."

The walker is silently dumped on the ground.

All Dale muses is, "...Strange."

"And then it exploded!!"

My Dad's eyes widen.

"Just kiddin'," I giggle. "Rick stabbed it in the brain."

"I was gonna say." He scoffs. "Explodin' walkers? That'll be the day."

Dad missed out on the action of the well today, so I decided to recount the whole thing to him after. I left out the part about Glenn screaming like a baby goat, though, 'cause I think he'd appreciate that. He's already got enough humiliation for a lifetime with the whole jerky fiasco.

"You really believed me?" I grin, shaking my head. "Actually, I ain't surprised. If you believe in chupacabras, you'll believe anythin'."

He smirks, "Watch yer mouth, girl."

"Whatever." I keep giggling. "I gotta go now, Dad."

"See ya later, baby. Stay where people can see ya."

Carl uses the situation to convince Rick to let him carry a gun. I don't know why he wants one so bad, but he sure is stubborn.

"What if another walker gets in?" He needles. "I need to be able to protect myself."

"Under different circumstances, I'd consider it." Rick explains. "But for starters, I promised Herschel no firearms on his property."

"But—"

"I've also been reassured that this was a one-time thing, Carl. Nothing else is getting onto this farm anytime soon. You don't need to worry."

"I'm not worrying." He argues. "I'm just tryna be smart, like you guys."

"You are smart. I know you are. That's why you're gonna let this go."

With a great big groan, Carl rolls his eyes.

From over by the campfire where he's polishing his pistol, Shane throws in his two cents. "Might not be a bad idea, Rick."

He looks over at him. "What?"

"You know we're both certified instructors. Plenty of land 'round here that ain't Herschel's. We could set up a shooting range, see how it goes."

I scoff hearing that, anger rising up inside me.

"Yeah, you'd know all about shooting things, wouldn't you, Shane?" I snarl sassily.

There's a very stiff, very awkward pause between us all. It's lucky it's just us around, and not any of the Greenes. I guess I wasn't thinking, but when my temper flares up, I never think before I speak. That's how you know I'm my Dad's daughter, I suppose. Shane stares at me like I've just slapped him sideways across the face. I glower at him; a seething, hurt look I've never directed at him before, one I know will pain him. He knows he's broken whatever it was he'd built between us with this stunt. He's damn right I don't wanna be his friend anymore.

It's so frustrating that we all know what he did, but none of us can do anything about it. He gets away with everything.

At least I can hurt him with words.

Rick sees that I'm getting angrier by the second and puts a comforting hand on my back.

"Huh?" Carl asks, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Carl." Rick warns.

"No, I wanna know. What did you mean?"

"He shot my Dad, is what I mean." I exclaim, heated. "He was gonna leave him out in the woods to bleed to death. Ain't nothin' more than a murderer."

Carl's gaze snaps onto Shane, a look of betrayal skirting over his features.

"It was you?"

"Carl, it's already been discussed." Rick tries calming him down. "What's done is done. It's over."

"Why'd you do it?"

"Listen, buddy," Shane placates, for some reason looking at me when he does. "Sometimes things just happen. Heat of the moment."

"Weren't no 'heat of the moment'." I shout. "You followed him through the woods for hours!"

"I didn't—"

Carl taunts, "You gonna shoot my Dad next?"

"This is gettin' outta hand." Rick intervenes, standing up from the picnic table. "Come on. Let's go cool off. Both of you."

"I hate you." I call out to Shane as I'm pulled off the bench. "I fucking hate you!"

He doesn't even have anything to say. There's nothing he can say. He ducks his head, unable to look my way, and once Rick gets himself in my line of sight, I can't see his guilty expression anymore and I don't care to. I shove Rick off. He respects that I don't want him crowding me so much and opts for just holding my hand, instead, telling me everything's alright. My eyes well up, lip wobbling. I hate people seeing me cry, but Rick's probably seen Carl cry a whole bunch of times. I don't need to be too embarrassed. He would never judge.

He guides us both toward the side of the house.

"Here." He gently says as we approach a trough of clean water. "Wash your face off a bit. It'll feel good."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me." Carl frowns. "Were you ever gonna?"

I splash some water onto my already wet cheeks, catching my breath.

"Shane's been with us for a very long time." Rick confesses, "I didn't know how to break somethin' like that to you, but yes, we were going to."

"What does Mom think?" He pouts.

Rick nods. "She's disappointed."

I dry my face off with my shirt, mumbling pettily, "Murderers go to prison, y'know. They don't just sit around, cleanin' guns."

"What are you gonna do, Dad? Is he just gonna stay here?"

"Do you want him to?"

Carl seems torn on how to answer. "W—Well, yeah, but you don't usually get to choose, right?"

"We do now." Rick tells us both. "Lots of people make mistakes. Shane's definitely made a mistake by doin' this. I recognise that. But things are different. We need each other to survive out here. We need this place to survive. Putting that at risk will be hurting us, too."

"He's sorry, right?"

Rick doesn't know how to answer that one.

"I hate him." I sniff, miserable. "I can't look at him no more."

He gives me sympathetic look, rubbing my back.

"We can't kick him out." Carl worries. "He's our family."

Everybody is someone's family. My Dad's a murderer, and he's my family. That's why I forgive him. I guess that's why Rick, Lori, and Carl forgive Shane, too, even though they're angry like I am. I wish I could have that gene for moving on, but I just don't. Shane ain't my blood.

"Things are weird right now." Rick admits. "I know. But we just have to stick through it for a while."

"Until when?" I demand. "When's it gonna be okay that he tried to kill my Dad?"

"Never." He appeases. "You have every right to be upset with him. I just want to secure our place here, first."

"How you gonna do that?"

"I'm going to talk to Herschel tonight."

"And then what?" I spit sarcasm. "My Dad can have at him?"

"It's tricky, Harley. I can't kick Shane out. I can't kick you an' your Dad out. I can't have you around each other. There's no good option, here."

"When my Dad's all better, he's gonna kill him." I grind out. "That's a good option."

"No, Harley, it's not." He sighs patiently. "Two wrongs don't make a right."

"Why the Hell not?"

"Because I will not allow murder within the camp. That's a line we do not cross. Ever."

"Then kick Shane out!" I scream in his face, as if that'll make him listen better, turning on my heel and storming away.

With anger coursing through my veins, I search the farm for Shane.

He made himself scarce after Rick forced us to give him some space, but I'll find him. I don't know what I'm gonna do once that happens, but the first step is to find him. Maybe I'll shout at him. Maybe I'll punch him in the face. Yeah, that's good. I'll do that. I'll break his nose, just like my Daddy did. I ask Jacqui if she's seen Shane anywhere, and then I ask Andrea, and Beth, and even Jimmy. They all give vague, unsure answers, but they all mention the direction of the back gate, so that's where I go. I'm an arrow, soaring toward its target.

Sure as shit, I find him on the outskirts of the farm. He's sitting in the neglected, tall grass, staring out onto the distant sunset.

When I see him rub the heel of his palm over his eye, I realize he's crying.

I approach him from behind, not caring how loud my raging footsteps are.

When I'm within ten feet of him, he starts to turn around, sighing, "Rick, listen—"

"It's me!" I shove him harshly, surprising him. "And yer lucky it is, 'cause if I was him, I'd kick you out right now!"

Shocked, he faces me with wide, wet eyes.

"Scratch that, I'd kill ya!" I seethe. "Just 'cause my Dad survived, don't make you any less of a murderer! That's what you are!"

"Harley—"

"I don't wanna hear nothin' you have to say, no more." We're nowhere near the main part of the farm. From here, the house looks like a miniature. The sky is open wide. I can scream all I want, and nobody will be the wiser. "I don't care. You can't say sorry for somethin' like this! Everybody knows what you did, Shane! Rick knows, Carl knows, Lori knows, I know!" My voice cracks. "I gotta live with it! With you!"

I don't care that he's been crying. He could cry an ocean of tears, and I still wouldn't care.

"When my Daddy comes for you," I shout, "I won't stop him. Ya hear me? I won't!"

As soon as my Dad's better, this place will become a hunting ground. As long as one of 'em is alive, the other won't stop 'till they're dead.

A flash of violence glints over his eyes when I say this. This was never his plan. If he had things his way, not only would that bullet have gone straight into my Dad's head, but I'd also probably be mourning in his arms right now, letting him replace what he'd made sure I'd lost.

"I did what I did for you." He snarls, offended. "I did it to protect you. You think this is what I want, Harley?"

"I know it's what you want. You're a fucking murderer."

"Yeah? I want my best friend lookin' at me like he doesn't even know who I am, anymore? I want you tellin' me that you hate me?" His lip curls around his biting words. "That's what I want? I'll let'chu in on a little secret, here, Harley. I don't. This is Hell for me, too!"

I shove him again, but he doesn't retaliate. He takes it; deserves it, even.

"You can't protect nobody!"

I smack him again.

"Nobody!"

"Harley—"

"I was your friend!"

"Fuck!"

I punch him square in his stupid face.

He grunts under the sheer impact, his hand going to his nose. He pants, dumbfounded. His fingers come away wet, red; bloody. I stand there, huffing and puffing, my knuckles sore, as he looks up at me like he doesn't recognise me. His eyes are wide pools of incomprehension. I-I just punched him. I have never in my life punched an adult, before. It feels good. It feels really, really good. It feels better than just washing my face off, that's for sure. Sometimes, two wrongs do make a right. I know, 'cause I'm starting to grin, now. Rage, to me, feels like a medicine.

He gulps, blood trickling down into his gaping mouth. He frowns lightly at me.

"That make you feel better?" He asks without venom, as if he's genuinely curious; as if he's got an idea.

"It did." I breathe. "Made me feel a whole lot better."

He pauses.

Then, he mutters, "Do it again."

"What?"

"Hit me again." He shuffles onto his haunches, presenting his bloody face to me like a prize. "Hit me again, Harley. Do it."

I hesitate at first, not believing this is really happening, but then I see that he's serious. He cups his hands around both his knees, ready to be my punching bag. He raises his chin; takes a deep breath. For once, this isn't a trick. This is plain, raw indulgence. The slithering delight of violence is all mine to take. I feel it building up inside of me again, fighting to be let out. I slowly curl my fist again, rearing it back into the air.

I bring it down onto his face again with a dull, painful thud.

He straightens again.

I lay into him for a third time, and a fourth, and a fifth. I think of Dad's unconscious body, the sound of the gunshot, and the way he was tip-toeing alongside death for three whole days. I think about how Shane almost took my Dad away from me forever, and I make him hurt.

By the time I'm done with him, his cheek is already turning an ugly green-brown color, bright blood smeared across his chin.

That's the best thing I've done all week.

He sits back down in the grass, adjusting his jaw, groaning, "Where'd you learn to hit like that?"

"My Dad." I pointedly spit. "Taught me to punch people who are mean to me."

He chuckles weakly, accepting my punishing words instead of arguing. "Well, you got me."

"This don't change nothin'."

"I know it doesn't." He pants. "No matter how many times you hit me, you're Dad's still a fuckin—"

"I told you I don't wanna hear it."

"A fucking asshole." He finishes. "Hell, he's no better'un Ed was. You— You wanna know the difference between him an' me?"

I refuse to answer, glaring at him.

"I have never hit you." He says, knowing I can't argue with a fact. He's infuriating, that way. "Hate me all ya want, but... I've never hit you."

We stay like that for a strangely painful and gaping moment, face to face with each other's honest presence.

In the distance, we hear people calling for me.

He sniffs wetly, bringing his shirt up to clean his face. "Best you get back, now."

"Harley, where'd you go?"

"Harley!"

"Harley!"

As a parting goodbye, right before I walk away, I mumble, "You can't protect nobody."

He doesn't come back to the farm until after dinner.

Rick's a little angry when I return to the farm, but he hears me out.

"I just went on a walk," I fib, hiding my bloody knuckles. "To calm down."

"Are you alright?" Lori fusses.

I smile. "Yeah, I'm... I'm really good."

They glance at each other, but it looks like the matter is already settled.

"Come on, then." He sighs. "Dinner's almost ready."

Lori grabs my clean hand and leads me toward the house.

"You need to reconsider." Rick comes out and says that night, helping the Greenes clear the dining table.

Herschel frowns, "I beg your pardon?"

"Asking us to leave." He sets the dirty dishes down in the sink, and then turns to face him, his arms crossed. "You need to reconsider."

At least he wasn't lying, I think to myself as I finish off the last of my peas. This is him following through on what he promised me he'd do.

"If you saw what it's like out there," Rick continues, "You wouldn't ask. You're a man of belief. If you believe anything, believe that."

"You're putting me on the spot, here, Rick."

He doesn't back down.

"Well, I mean to. Those people out there look to me for answers. I wish they didn't, but they do. That includes Harley."

Herschel glances at me, a soft look in his eyes.

"After everything that's happened," Rick doubles down, "The least you can do is reconsider."

"You're a plain-spoken man."

"I'm just doing what's best for my people." He humbly says. "We've been to Hell and back these past few months. This whole journey started for us when Harley got scratched by one of the dead, right in the beginning. We honestly believed that we were going to have a child's blood on our hands. You don't forget somethin' like that. I know I won't. I know her father won't, either. Now I fear the same thing might happen with Sophia. I know you're a man of good morals, a man of faith. You got two girls of your own. If you kick us out when Daryl's better — before we can have a good chance at finding Sophia — Then this time, I'd say the blood will be on your hands. Not ours."

Herschel is confronted by his words, glancing over at Beth and Maggie, the apples of his eye, as they clean dishes together.

"Will you consider my request?"

"There are... aspects to this." Herschel says. "Things I can't and will not discuss. But if you and your people respect my rules... I will reconsider."

I try not to let my excitement show on my face.

Rick smiles. "We will. You have my word."

Herschel nods. "And you have mine."

Dad's still reading the book when I go into his room that night and change into my pyjamas.

"Dad, guess what?"

He hums.

"Rick got Herschel to think about lettin' us stay longer." I smile, stepping into my sleep shorts. "We might not have to leave."

He lowers the book at that, a sceptical look on his face. "He did?"

"Yeah." I pull on my shirt and hop on the bed, taking out my braids. "You know what that means?"

"What?"

"Shane can get punished, and the Greenes won't care."

As I move onto the second braid, content with this development, I don't notice my Dad looking over me, a dark look in his eyes.

"Baby?"

"Yeah?"

"What's that?"

He grunts as he sits up slightly, reaching out to grab my wrist. I look down at it, only now noticing a tiny speckle of Shane's blood on one of my knuckles. Damn it. I thought I got it all off when I washed my hands this evening, but I must've missed a spot. I lick my thumb and wipe it away.

My gaze averted, I confess, "I punched Shane today."

"You what?" He scolds harshly.

"I punched him a whole heap of times, actually." I say somewhat proudly. "He let me. He said it would make me feel better."

He looks like he wants to strangle something.

He demands, "Who else was there?"

I realize I might actually be in trouble for this, and I mumble, "Uh... No-one."

"Fuckin' Hell, Harley." He groans, rubbing a hand down his face. He drops it, revealing a deep frown. "You stay away from him, okay?"

"But, you said—"

"Don't back-talk me, girl. You know what he's capable of, and ya still went and talked to him."

"I wasn't nice to him, Daddy. I promise. I was real mad."

"A guy like that, it don't matter." He insists. "He gets in ya fuckin' head, Harley. He already has. Do not do that shit again. Ya hearin' me?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Creepy piece'a shit." He grumbles to himself as he sits back, taking a deep breath. "You remember what I did to Ronnie?"

Chewing my lip, I murmur, "Yeah."

"And how you weren't scared of me, after?"

"Uh-huh."

He nods. "Well, keep that in mind."

"Why?"

"'Cause I told you to. Now, c'mon. Time for bed." He lifts up the covers for me, and after blowing out the candle, I wiggle myself in beside him. This will be our last sleep in the house. Herschel reckons Dad will be able to walk tomorrow, and after that, we're gonna get kicked outside with everyone else. I don't mind. I can't wait to sleep under the stars again. Once I'm comfortable, he offers, "You want me to sing you to sleep?"

I nod, closing my eyes.

His soft words begin to fill the quiet room, a pretty echo of an old life.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word... Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

"He-lloooo, farmer's daughter."

The next morning, I send Glenn an unimpressed look from my seat on the porch.

"Gross, Glenn."

He continues peering through his binoculars at Maggie as she rides up the road.

I roll my eyes and go back to eating my small breakfast of peach jam on toast.

They're going on a run today. Between me, T-Dog, and my Dad's injuries, the painkillers and antibiotics have run out pretty quickly. He's gonna try walking today, so he'll definitely need them more than usual. They're going to check out a nearby pharmacy for more. I asked if I could go with them, but Rick, Dad, and Lori all answered me with a synchronized scolding of, No, so that idea's out the window.

As Lori comes up the porch steps, Glenn startles, trying to hide his obvious spying.

"Oh, h-hey, Lori. Nice morning, huh?"

She raises a brow. "I'm not even gonna ask."

"You got the list?"

"Yeah. Here it is." She hands him a crumpled slip of paper, glancing around, lowering her voice. "And there's one other item on there."

He unfolds it, reading down the scrawled words.

"I wrote it down separately. It's personal. If we could be real discreet about that, okay?"

When he makes it to the bottom, his eyes go wide.

"Uh, s-sure." He promises. "I just need to know where to find it."

"Try the feminine hygiene section."

His cheeks go a little pink, but he nods, "Consider it done."

"What is it?" I nosey.

"Just some lady products." She brushes it off, taking a seat beside me. "Don't worry about it."

Glenn mutters, "Can I ask... Whose—?

"No." She chides.

He nervously gives up on his question. "O-Okay."

Maggie makes it to the front of the house, leading another horse alongside hers for Glenn. He quickly snatches up his backpack and rifle, heading down the steps. We watch as he clumsily mounts the saddle with some coaching from Maggie, which makes us both giggle.

He gets it, eventually.

As they trot down the path together, Lori gives me an amused look. "He's totally sweet on her."

I scrunch up my nose. "Don't put me off my food."

"Sorry," She laughs.

Later in the morning, I join Andrea on the roof of the RV as she stands watch.

Looking through her binoculars, she mutters to herself, "What is he doing?"

I frown. "What is it?"

She hands them to me, and I peer through the lenses in the direction she was facing, met with the peculiar sight of Dale on the border of the farm, kicking a fence post. He continues along the line, giving the next one a firm shake. I lower the binoculars, mildly entertained.

"I think he's investigating." I snicker to myself.

"Investigating?" Andrea looks at me, confused. "Investigating what?"

"He thinks something's up with the fences." I tell her, watching his distant figure move onto the next one. "I guess he means to find out what."

She laughs. "He's gonna break a toe if he's not careful."

I've never known anyone nosier than Dale Horvath.

In the afternoon, Glenn and Maggie return with everything on the list.

Dad insists that he don't even need the painkillers, but he gets forced by Maggie to take 'em, anyway. We wait half an hour for the pills to kick in, and then after some more arguing from Dad's end about how he can do it on his own, he yanks the IV needle out his arm and scoots onto the edge of the bed. With some effort and a few heavy grunts, he manages to get onto his feet, wobbling only slightly.

I cheer him on, making him smile a little.

We trail him out onto the back porch, hovering nearby in case he falters, but he stands strong the whole way.

He breathes in the fresh air. "Almost forgot what real life smelt like."

I pace around the house with him as Maggie and Glenn clear out all evidence of him ever existing in the guest room.

Herschel checks him over one last time and gives him the official green-light to return to life as usual.

We all spend about half an hour pitching a tent and driving over all our chairs, rucksacks, and other belongings to a nice spot on the far reaches of the property, under a patch of healthy, green trees, per Dad's request. It'll make the walk to camp that much longer, but he's willing to deal with it. He makes it very clear that he doesn't wanna be within a hundred fuckin' feet of Shane. Maggie and Glenn express vehement understanding.

"He's like a bomb waitin' to go off, that man." She scoffs, setting the last item, a crate, down in the dirt. "Don't know why you keep him around."

Dad mutters sardonically, "He's popular in the Grimes department."

"Well, if he was in my group," She drawls, "He would've been gone days ago."

"Trust me, I share the fuckin' sentiment." He takes the last bag from Glenn. "I got it."

"You sure, man?"

He grunts uncomfortably as he tosses it into the tent. "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't need no babysitters. I'm fine."

"Well, that's everything." Maggie sighs. "Come back to the house for dinner tonight. We're havin' veggie soup and grilled cheese."

"I think I've had more than enough of that house for a lifetime."

"Half an hour won't kill ya." She rolls her eyes. "Do it for Carol. She made it happen, after all. We'll see ya then, okay? Bye, Harley."

"See ya later." I smile, giggling as Glenn flicks my ear as they both walk off.

Dad settles down in his camping chair, hissing.

I ask him, "Ya feelin' alright?"

"Yeah, baby. Just sore. Start a fire, will ya?"

"Sure thing," I say, turning away into the treeline to search for twigs.

In the afternoon, Glenn and Maggie return with everything on the list.

Dad insists that he don't even need the painkillers, but he gets forced by Maggie to take 'em, anyway. We wait half an hour for the pills to kick in, and then after some more arguing from Dad's end about how he can do it on his own, he yanks the IV needle out his arm and scoots onto the edge of the bed. With some effort and a few heavy grunts, he manages to get onto his feet, wobbling only slightly.

I cheer him on, making him smile a little.

We trail him out onto the back porch, hovering nearby in case he falters, but he stands strong the whole way.

He breathes in the fresh air. "Almost forgot what real life smelt like."

I pace around the house with him as Maggie and Glenn clear out all evidence of him ever existing in the guest room.

Herschel checks him over one last time and gives him the official green-light to return to life as usual.

We all spend about half an hour pitching a tent and driving over all our chairs, rucksacks, and other belongings to a nice spot on the far reaches of the property, under a patch of healthy, green trees, per Dad's request. It'll make the walk to camp that much longer, but he's willing to deal with it. He makes it very clear that he doesn't wanna be within a hundred fuckin' feet of Shane. Maggie and Glenn express vehement understanding.

"He's like a bomb waitin' to go off, that man." She scoffs, setting the last item, a crate, down in the dirt. "Don't know why you keep him around."

Dad mutters sardonically, "He's popular in the Grimes department."

"Well, if he was in my group," She drawls, "He would've been gone days ago."

"Trust me, I share the fuckin' sentiment." He takes the last bag from Glenn. "I got it."

"You sure, man?"

He grunts uncomfortably as he tosses it into the tent. "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't need no babysitters. I'm fine."

"Well, that's everything." Maggie sighs. "Come back to the house for dinner tonight. We're havin' veggie soup and grilled cheese."

"I think I've had more than enough of that house for a lifetime."

"Half an hour won't kill ya." She rolls her eyes. "Do it for Carol. She made it happen, after all. We'll see ya then, okay? Bye, Harley."

"See ya later." I smile, giggling as Glenn flicks my ear as they both walk off.

Dad settles down in his camping chair, hissing.

I ask him, "Ya feelin' alright?"

"Yeah, baby. Just sore. Start a fire, will ya?"

"Sure thing," I say, turning away into the treeline to search for twigs.

We stay in our new little camp until the sun goes down. When I start to notice our people heading inside the house, I put my book down and convince him to come have dinner with everyone. It's only polite. He stomps out the fire, grabs my hand, and we make the short hike back.

When we step inside, the delicious smells of melted cheese, spices, and fresh bread fill my lungs.

"You made it." Maggie's delighted. "Nice walk over?"

"Sure." Dad replies gruffly, way out of his element, here. "This food better be good."

"Harley told me ya like scrambled eggs, so I made ya a portion to go with the rest of your plate. A little present to celebrate you walkin' again."

He seems caught off guard by such thoughtfulness, but he's grateful, anyway. "Thanks."

We make our way into the dining room, where everyone is finishing setting the two tables that they've managed to manoeuvre in here. They've even brought in a vase of wildflowers to serve as a nice centre piece. We take a seat at the table that naturally seems to have been designated the non-Greene table, next to Carl and Lori, who smile when they see us. Conversation is easy amongst our group, but there's not really any cross-contamination between us and the Greenes. This is the first time we've all been in the same room together. It's pretty awkward.

A bowl of colorful, steaming vegetable soup and a side of hot grilled cheese is served in front of everyone.

"We better thank Carol." Jacqui smiles as she hands us some cutlery. "This was all her idea."

"Oh, it was nothing." Carol meekly chuckles. "I just thought it would be a nice way to thank you all for everything you've done for us."

"Well, it looks delicious." Beth says kindly. "I can't wait to eat it."

After Jacqui sits down, Herschel's table join hands and say Grace together. Then it seems like we're in the clear to start eating.

Everybody makes little hums and pleased noises to let Carol and the other women know that the food is good, but nobody is brave enough to try and start a conversation. What do we talk about? The funeral? Shane going crazy? The possibility of getting banished to our deaths?

Eventually, Rick comes up with an idea, 'cause he's good like that. "How about that walker today, huh?"

Our table is clearly up for the distraction, but we're cut off almost immediately.

Herschel frowns. "What walker?"

Oh. He doesn't know.

There's a series of glances thrown around the room.

"There was a walker stuck in one of your wells." He awkwardly explains. "We, uh, pulled it out."

"I'm not sure I appreciate you poking around my property." Herschel says. "You should've come to me."

He nods, looking like he regrets even opening his mouth in the first place. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Another bout of silence falls over us.

Glenn tries next. "Anybody... know how to play guitar?"

"My Dad can play." I offer, poking at my soup.

T-Dog asks, "You any good?"

Dad shrugs. "I'm decent."

"Otis knew how to play."

We all try not to look at Patricia when she says this. She's just made things ten times more awkward for everyone.

It's almost as if Otis' ghost is in the room with us, and we just have to do our best to ignore it.

"Yes, and he played very well." Herschel quietly reminisces, before the silence takes over again.

I take four bites of my grilled cheese before Beth speaks up.

"What happened to your face?"

Shane chokes a little on his spoonful of broth, reluctantly answering, "Oh, uh, it's— I just tripped a little, that's all."

"Looks like you got into a fight." Patricia comments.

"No, that's— That's not what happened at all, ma'am."

Beside me, my Dad glowers across the table at Shane. Rick notices and adopts slightly nervous look, as if he thinks they're gonna jump on top of the food right this very second and stab each other with their butter knives. Honestly, they might.

"You sure?" Dad mocks Shane, a strange lilt to his voice.

"S'what I said, ain't it?"

"What?" He chuckles. "Did ya step on a fuckin' banana peel?"

"Don't start with me, Daryl."

"Daddy, leave it." I grumble harshly under my breath. "Just keep eatin'."

Jacqui suggests a change in subject. "How about you tell us how you learned to play, Daryl?"

"I think I'm good." He scoffs.

The tension grows to be so unbearable that I eventually excuse myself to go to the bathroom.

As I meander down the corridor and pass the empty kitchen, something on the other side of the window catches my eye. I pad over to the sink and go on my tip-toes, peering out into the dark. Over by the barn, there's a short, skinny figure standing in the grass, hunched like it's in pain. My eyes widen. Sophia? Is that her? With a glance back at the dining room, I decide it's best I don't bother anyone, and I head outside alone.

The warm night air surrounds me as I softly call out her name.

The figure groans lightly in response.

I can't see all too well, but I can make out a pair of thin legs, a stringy, knotted mass of hair, and two bony hands that twitch rabidly at its sides. I creep closer, slowly taking in the figure's too-tall height; the way it convulses lightly, unable to keep its balance. The moonlight peels over the clouds, then, splaying out across the silent field. The breath leaves my lungs. The figure is illuminated, revealing itself only now to be someone I don't recognise at all. It wheezes painfully, twisting to look at me with a face riddled in decay. My skin goes cold at the deadly sight.

It's a walker. Of course it's a walker, you stupid girl.

Dale was right. They're getting in, somehow.

I don't get a chance to turn around. All at once, a second body latches itself onto me, knocking me over into the grass. I cry out. Oh, God, there's more than one out here. I try scrambling away, but its cold hands grip my knee and anchor me to the spot. It climbs up my stomach, looking like something out a Goosebumps special. A pair of staggering footsteps approach, and when the second walker appears over the first one's wrinkly shoulder, I let out a blood curdling scream that rings in shockwaves through my skull. I can't take on two walkers. That's impossible.

In the distance, the back door swings open.

"Harley!?" My Dad hollers, echoed by the other men as they bound down the steps.

The walker's large crucifix necklace dangles tauntingly over my nose, shining with the yellowed spit that leaks from the gaping mouth above it.

I grab it, trying at the same time to kick the walker off. Its chiselled edges bite into my skin. Anything can be a weapon.

The walker flails angrily, possessed with hunger.

I drive the cross into its skull. It gives out a gurgling, beaten cry, and I stab it again, and again, and again, only stopping once the bone cracks around the dreadfully blunt end, and it slumps on top of me, dead for a second time. I push the top half of its heavy body offa me, ripping the beaded necklace from its neck with a dry snap. The grabbing hands and loud growling of the second walker quickly replace it.

I ready the crucifix again, but it's hard to aim when I'm seeing two of everything!

Its jaw hinges open above the soft skin of my leg.

Right as it's about to bite down on me, Shane suddenly comes into view.

His knife glints in the moonlight. He rears it back above his head, burying it deep into the walker's face in a swift, brutal motion. Black blood splatters his front as he pulls it out, grabs its shoulders, and throws it angrily into the grass, where it lands heavily, giving out one last croak.

I'm finally able to crawl away, throwing the necklace onto the ground.

Before I know it, my Dad is crouching at my side.

"Are ya bit?" He frantically demands to know. 

"N— No." I shudder. "No, I ain't— I ain't bit."

"What happened?"

"I thought I saw someone, but..."

"You weren't there, Daryl!" Shane laughs loudly, now, still clutching the knife, sounding as if he's just won something. "You weren't there, man!"

"Bullshit, I wasn't!" Dad sneers, standing up. "I was two fuckin' feet behind ya!"

"And that walker's teeth were two hairs away from Harley's leg!" He retorts. "One more second — One second — And she'd be bit right now!"

"You don't know what the Hell you're talkin' about."

"All crippled and beaten, bumblin' over here like an old man. This is what happens, Daryl. You can't afford to be slow, no more!"

"I can protect my own!"

A grin splits his face. "Don't look that way from where I'm standin'."

"My own!" Dad growls. "You get that through your thick head, Shane! Mine! My fucking daughter!"

"And what a sad shame that is!"

You can't protect nobody.

Oh, why'd I have to go and tell him that?

The others finally make it over just in time for Dad's temper to snap.

I think my heart stops in this next moment. In a fit of rage and fire that nobody can stop, he pulls his knife from his sheath, jumps forward, and tackles Shane to the ground. I shriek as Rick and T-Dog hurry over to them, shouting at them to stop it, god damn it, stop it. Blades go flying left and right. Shirts are slashed. Curses are bellowed. Dad mounts his squirming body and lifts his knife into the air, making me squeal in horror. Rick takes a big handful of the back of his shirt, and right before he manages to drag him off, the knife comes down into Shane's shoulder. He cries out in agony, clutching the gash. He's lucky Dad missed in the chaos. Otherwise, it'd be in his throat.

Andrea and Lori throw themselves at the ground near Shane, feverishly putting their hands over his gushing stab wound.

"Oh, you're attackin' people, now, are ya, Daryl?" He goads, groaning through the pain. "You've always been a damn feral animal."

"At least I ain't a fuckin' creep! Goin' around, askin' little girls to hit me!"

"Maybe you should keep a closer eye on her, then, huh?"

Dad rushes forward again, but Rick catches him. He wrestles the knife out his hand and tosses it away.

"Holy shit!" Glenn exclaims, pulling on the roots of his hair.

Dale and Maggie rush over to me, their faces pale and panicked at the scene around them.

"That's enough!" Rick grinds out, forcing Dad backward with the help of T-Dog. "That's enough!"

"You say that shit again!" Dad roars over their heads. "Next time, I'm breakin' your fuckin' neck!"

Jimmy stares depressingly at the bodies. I think he must know who they were.

Carl sobs from nearby, "Dad, what's going on?"

Rick gives my Dad a shove, leaving him to stumble, clutching his hurt side. He reprimands, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinkin' he deserves worse." He groans.

"So, you kill him? That's your solution?"

"Why don'tchu ask him? He knows all about killin' folk, don'tchu, you fuckin' schizo? Betcher sorry I lived, huh?"

Shane tries to make a retort, but the people around him encourage him to stay calm.

Maggie helps me to stand, asking me if I'm hurt anywhere, to which I dazedly shake my head. We watch as Shane gets escorted back into the house, where they'll probably get started stitching him up right away. He pushes them all off of him, enraged. I can't believe that just happened. I don't think anybody else can, either. They're all frozen in place, eyes wide and darting around for answers to questions they didn't even know to ask.

My Dad slumps down in the dirt, his chest heaving from exertion, head hanging low. He cradles his aching stomach.

It finally happened.

"You okay, man?" T-Dog uncomfortably asks.

Dad spits blood into the grass. "I been wantin' to do that for about a month."

"Well, I hope it was worth it." Rick jibes. "We might lose our place here, now, thanks to you. You want your daughter back on the streets?"

"Long as she's nowhere near that crazy son of a bitch, I'on give a rat's ass where she is."

Rick scoffs, completely done with tonight. "You're unbelievable. Both of you, unbelievable, and outta your minds."

Jimmy pipes up, "What did he mean about killing folk?"

"Nothing. Get back inside." Rick scolds, turning away alongside Maggie to go follow after everyone else.

Then, it's just me, Dad, and Dale left out in the field to process everything that just went down. I head over to him, and he wraps me up in a tight hug that I never wanna leave. Shane's blood stains both our clothes, and I'm horrified to learn that it's all still hot and sticky. This was a total disaster. I knew this would happen sometime or other, but I thought I would be prepared to face it. I don't know what happens next.

This might be the push Rick needs to kick Shane from the group. He must see now that they cannot co-exist peacefully.

After a while, Dale inspects the dead walkers and murmurs to himself, "I knew something was fishy."

He paces along the footprints they left behind, following them this way and that, further and further away.

When he comes up just short of the barn, I frown in confusion.

He tugs at a few loose boards, poking around. He makes it to a crate that he pushes out the way, revealing a gaping hole in the wall.

"What the—?" I hear him exclaim, right before a dead hand shoots out from between the planks.

He steps back, astonished.

Dad's hand curls tighter around my shoulder.

When he calls out to us, his voice frail, I feel like I might faint.

"They're keeping walkers in the barn."

Author's Note.

There's a reason Shane rhymes with insane. That's all I'm gonna say about that 😵💫

Also, I rearranged the order of events a little bit for this one. The way I write this story is I bring up a script for the episode I'm following as well as the wiki page for the season, bc I don't have anywhere I can stream TWD. It was a little confusing having to combine stuff from different episodes, but I hope it flows well. I try very hard to mix canon with non-canon things in a way that feels seamless.

Basically, it goes - Walker in the well, shooting lessons are considered, Maggie and Glenn pharmacy run, awkward dinner, someone discovers the barn walkers. Same outcome, just different.

As always, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading. Sending love! <3