#bumping this for the afternoon squad.

[charliemwrites]

Hybrid AU with Ragdoll!Reader and Siberian-mix!Konig

Reader is a rescued cat hybrid that Laswell's sister in law has been taking care of for the last 3 months. When she meets this little ragdoll kitty, so bright and friendly and curious, she immediately thinks of the 141. Hybrids have a lot uses in the government. Sometimes combative, sometimes therapeutic. The 141 could use a companion animal, given the close call Soap recently had and the general trauma the whole squad has.

With the kitty's permission and cooperation, they assess her as a possible therapy placement. She tests so well and so high that Laswell (again, with consent) immediately starts paperwork to place her with the 141 before even bringing it up to Price.

He's a bit skeptical at first. Even without being a combat hybrid, their jobs are high stress, very dangerous, and not very stable. But Laswell convinces him to at least meet Ragdoll.

They do introductions at the sister-in-law's house, where the kitty will be most comfortable. Ragdoll takes one sniff of him and starts purring like a little engine. He's visibly surprised, and Laswell can barely hold back her grin as the kitty climbs into his lap. They spend the rest of the afternoon discussing arrangements while his new hybrid naps because obviously he can't say no now.

Price becomes her primary handler. They move her to his barrack and give her a week to settle in, but she's not a skittish thing by any means. Wants to follow him everywhere, curls up in his bed, meows sadly at the door when he leaves her alone. It becomes clear very quickly that the usual introduction manuals are too slow for her.

Kitty meets Kyle next. Again, instant purrs. She presses her cheek into his palms, then wriggles her way closer to brush up against his cheek. Lets out a little "mrrp!" when he stutters out a pleasantly surprised, "hello there." She nibbles at the brim of his hat and grins when he gently redirects her, chirping at this fun new friend.

Two for two, Price and Kyle decide to introduce her to Simon and Johnny. They let her explore the common room first, get comfortable, and then call the other two in. Kitty watches from behind Price as Simon and Johnny enter.

Johnny is a dog hybrid with Simon as his primary handler. Price has faith that his sergeant will behave well with the new kitty, but he's not sure of what her reaction will be. Johnny's obviously, visibly excited, tail wagging, but Simon gets him to sit and wait while she makes the first move.

It takes absolutely no time at all for her to pad out from behind Price and approach. Simon goes first, offering a hand. But she barely even sniffs him before cuddling up to him, pawing curiously at his mask. He lets her, clicking his tongue when she dislodges it a bit, but then he gently nudges her towards Johnny.

His ears are perked forwards, tail still swishing. Kitty's ears are twitching, eyes big and curious. But her tail is up and curved curiously, not even a little fluffed. She gets in real close to his face, sniffs, then bumps her forehead against his chin. Which is when he loses patience and licks a big stripe up her cheek. She mews indignantly, ears going airplane mode, but thankfully doesn't swat at him.

It literally couldn't go better. She's a perfect fit.

Over the next few months she settles in with them happily, an absolute dream of a hybrid. Not very verbal, at least through human speech, but perfectly communicative and incredibly friendly.

She chirps whenever one of the 141 enters a room, has a different tone for each of them. Purrs if one of them so much as looks at her, all slow blinks and little smiles. Chitters when she sees them running outside through the windows.

Even grooming is relatively easy. She lets them brush out her floofy tail without much fuss, only trying to retreat if they catch a tangle. Readily gives up her hands to trim her claws. Even opens her mouth for them to brush off her fangs after raw meals.

She curls up with Simon on bad days, warm and purring, breathing little puffs of air against his collarbone. Lounges with Kyle after hard missions, nuzzling against him while he pets her soft ears. She spends hours upon hours in Price's office, curled up on his lap while he does paperwork or talks over the phone, kneading biscuits into his stomach.

Her friendship with Johnny is maybe the most surprising. They play wrestle just about every night, rolling around on the rough carpets in the common room and nipping at each others ears. She'll pounce on him, little teeth flashing, but almost always get bodied by his larger stature. The others will let them play until one of them - usually Johnny - gets too excited and makes the other yelp. At that point, Price or Simon will usually scoop one of the hybrids up and tsk at them for getting rough.

She's the 141's precious kitty, sweet and friendly and outgoing. The whole base knows her, though she's never far from one of her boys. And they know what it means if Ragdoll doesn't like someone.

It's rare, which is why it raises neon red flags. The first time is a new recruit that reaches to pet her without introducing himself first. She twists around on him, but usually even that would be recoverable. Except when he keeps trying to touch her, she gets a whiff of him and hisses, scrambling away.

The guy doesn't last long.

It happens again a few weeks later with a nurse meant to be giving her checkup. She gets low to the table, tail poofing up, and growls low in her throat. When the nurse rolls her eyes and tells Price to just hold his hybrid still so they can get things over with, he knows instantly that his little ragdoll was right to react that way.

With that in mind, it's no surprise that no one trusts Philip Graves when he visits their base and she takes an instant dislike to him. He introduces himself correctly, but she still hard reverses away from him, nose scrunched up. Ears back, tail fluffing up, she slips behind Price and glares from around his arm.

Problem is, Graves is used to dog hybrids. He's great with them. Kitties... not so much, even with a manual. Ends his week at the base with a couple of proper bite marks and an itchy scratch on his hand.

Given her reaction, Simon and Johnny aren't too shocked when he betrays them in Las Almas.

When a team from KorTac is scheduled for a joint assignment, the 141 is bracing for a similar reaction. Especially because they have their own cat hybrid - some big mixed breed.

Kyle even suggests keeping Ragdoll inside for initial introductions on the tarmac, but they all know that's not actually viable. Their kitty wouldn't talk to them for the rest of the day if they left her out like that.

So Price double checks that her little bell-collar is on and brings her out to meet the KorTac team.

Their cat hybrid is even bigger than expected - no wonder he's a combat placement despite being a domestic breed. He keeps his face hidden behind a big black hood with cutouts for his ears, fluffy tail slightly tangled-looking.

Price hasn't even finished introductions with the KorTac team when she makes a rolling little chur noise, bright and curious. The bigger hybrid zeros in on her instantly, ears flicking. She pads out from behind the captain and slips away before he can catch her. Any calls for her to come back are fully ignored.

She trots right up to the Austrian and mrrps again, pausing mid-step, waiting for a response. The other hybrid doesn't respond - at least he doesn't seem to.

"Sorry, kitten, but he doesn't really do the cat noises," Declan tries to tell her. But he's also ignored, and no sooner has he spoken than she's getting into the other cat's space, continuously making little "brr" noises.

And then to everyone's shock, he's bending down to greet her in return, nuzzling her cheek and forehead through the hood. She starts to purr, pressing up close, tail swishing lazily. A noise erupts from him, deep and rough, rattling in his chest. Johnny jumps and snatches at her shirt, dragging her back to the safety of their team.

She mewls sadly, arms extended to reach for him.

"He's growling, Doll," Johnny corrects, arms curling around her middle. For the first time ever she starts to wriggle. "He's too big for you to mess with."

"I... wasn't growling," the Austrian pipes up. "I apologizes if I caused alarm."

Johnny shoots him an incredulous look.

"Then what was that?" Kyle asks, confused.

"I don't... often purr."

Price takes one look at their still-wiggly kitty and the Austrian leaning towards her, as if wanting to follow, and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Shit."

[roosterforme]

Stateside | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley made a mistake last summer when he left for his deployment without ever asking you out, and then he thought about you a lot when he was gone. He was stateside again for less than a day when the other guys coerced him to help with a fundraiser at the Hard Deck. A friendly wager with the squad might not be the only thing he wins by the end of the night.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, drinking, swears

Length: 4500 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Check out my masterlist for more. Banner made by @thedroneranger Written for Pick Your Poison

Bradley had barely been stateside for twenty four hours when he woke up in his bed at noon to an array of texts arriving all at once. Five months on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with nothing much going for him left him surprisingly exhausted. It wasn't that he didn't want to see his friends, he just needed a full day to himself to readjust. 

He groaned and rolled over after glancing at his phone and seeing the words Hard Deck in a message from Jake. He closed his eyes again after tossing his phone aside, but about ten seconds later, he cracked them open again. If there was one thing he had consistently thought about over the course of those five months, it was you. Your bright smile, your perfect laugh, your navy blue tee shirts that said The Hard Deck across the front.

When he reached for his phone and checked the message from Jake, he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. Maybe this could be an excuse to see you again sooner rather than later.

Hangman: Hey, we need you to come to the Hard Deck tonight. It's the annual charity event, and Bob can't make it. We're short a bartender. And don't try to bitch out of this, Phoenix told me you're home.

Bradley covered his face with his hand and thought long and hard about this. The real bartenders would be there to help which meant there was a chance you'd be one of them. If he volunteered for this, then maybe he'd find himself in close quarters with you for a few hours instead of the other Naval officers he'd been stuck with for months on end. Just the idea of accidentally bumping into you while pouring a beer had him texting Jake back.

Yeah, I'll be there.

Even though he was still pretty tired later in the afternoon, Bradley took a shower and then spent some extra time on his hair before dressing in his lucky shirt. That five month deployment was the reason he didn't ask you out during the summer, and now he was nervous to see you again. He had good intel from Penny that you'd been single the last time he saw you in August, but what if you had a boyfriend now? Or worse, what if you didn't even acknowledge him when you saw him?

He groaned as he looked in the bathroom mirror. Hours, possibly even days... that's how much time he'd had you on his mind while he was away. And for what? A crush on a girl who was probably too young for him? A cute bartender at the Navy hangout who definitely got asked out nightly? Shit. He was a lost cause. 

And now he was going to be late if he didn't leave right away. He grabbed his keys, and headed out to his Bronco which he had missed dearly. So if nothing else, he'd get to cruise around later after the event. But on the ride to the bar, all he could imagine was how you'd look in the passenger seat, smiling at him at every stoplight and singing along to the radio. 

"Fuck," he grunted as he parked next to Jake's truck before heading inside. He let his heart fill with hope as he strolled in to find Penny, Jake, Javy and Reuben behind the bar with two bartenders. But neither of them were you.

"Rooster!" Reuben cheered, and soon he was being clapped on the back and high fived by the guys he hadn't seen in months. It was nice, but he couldn't help but think that his smile would have been more genuine if you were here.

Jake smirked. "So glad you left your perch and joined us."

Bradley laughed as he gave Penny a hug. "Come on, man, I literally just got home."

Penny smiled up at him. "Thanks for filling in. It'll be great." Bradley really wanted to ask her about you, but then Penny patted him on the cheek before turning to reach under the bar top. "This will be a breeze for you guys," she said, handing matching shirts to the four of them. "Just a basic bar menu tonight. No super fancy cocktails. Just beer, wine, some pre-made sangria, and a few different kinds of shots."

Bradley started to unbutton his lucky shirt before pulling the new one on in its place. He smoothed his hand along the front of the blue shirt that said THE HARD DECK FIGHTS CANCER, and he noticed the two bartenders glancing at him. They were both cute but decidedly not what he had been hoping for tonight. 

"Hey," he asked them with a nod. They smiled in response, so he decided to just go ahead and ask them about you.

"She quit a few weeks ago," the first one told him. "After she graduated from law school."

"She moved, too," said the second one. "Left San Diego."

Shit. He was too late after all, nodding in response to them as he pressed his lips together in a firm line. He'd never been any good at this kind of thing, which was why he always fell into casual relationships. What should he have done? Asked you out, gone on a handful of dates and then tried to persuade you to wait five months for him? Just for him to get deployed over and over again? That wouldn't have been fair to you.

But he didn't feel like it was fair to him either, because right now he was having a hard time even remembering exactly how pretty you were and the precise tone of your laughter. Probably for the best. At least he only needed to do this event for a few hours before he could leave and go for a long drive. He swallowed down his disappointment and turned toward the guys who were in the middle of conversation. 

"How about a side wager?" Javy asked, tossing a bottle of vodka up into the air and catching it over and over again. "You know, for the charity?"

"What did you have in mind?" Bradley asked as Penny went to peek outside. "Because I doubt Penny will let us strip for charity again after last year. The two of you scuffed up the bar top," Bradley added, gesturing at Jake as well.

They both started laughing like idiots before Jake said, "Nah, let's give Penny a break this year and just tally up our tips at the end of the night. Whoever donates the least amount of tip money to the charity is the loser."

"Oh, that's a great idea," Javy said as he ate the orange slices and cherries that were meant to garnish the drinks. "What's the punishment for losing?"

Reuben smirked and said, "Loser has to report to the tarmac on Monday in his underwear. Instant push ups from Mav."

"Deal," Jake said.

"Absolutely," Javy agreed.

Three pairs of eyes settled on Bradley, and he slowly said, "Okay." If he strolled out of the locker room in just his underwear and boots on his first day back from a long deployment when he was supposed to sit down with the admirals and Maverick and have a debrief, he'd probably earn a greater punishment than just a few push ups. But it was for the charity, so he'd do it.

But he soon learned he'd made a mistake after Penny called out, "Let's get started," and propped the doors open. The first person through the door was Reuben's wife, followed by Javy's fiancee and Jake's girlfriend. And all of her sorority sisters. 

"Shit," Bradley grunted. "Did you make me come here just so I would lose?"

Javy was handing out pint glasses that they could use as tip cups as he smirked, and Bradley was wondering if there was any way he could actually stuff his discreetly with cash from his own wallet.

"You'll be just fine," Jake drawled as the jukebox came blaring to life. But even the music was mocking him as Slow Ride started to play, and Bradley had people in front of him expecting him to make them drinks. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jake's girlfriend open her purse and start stuffing Jake's tip cup full. "I feel like that's considered cheating," Bradley told her, and she rolled her eyes and smirked before tucking five dollars into his cup as well.

"Don't tip Bradshaw, Sweets," Jake complained. "We made him come here as a buffer!"

"I knew it was a setup!" Bradley groaned as he listened to someone ask him for some wine and some beer. That was easy enough. He knew how to do that. Or at least he thought he did, but then one of the bartenders who had volunteered for the night told him he poured too much wine into the glass.

Then a woman asked him for a green tea shot, and he stared at her blankly. He leaned closer to Javy and asked, "What the hell is in a green tea shot?" 

"I don't know," he replied as he poured two pints at the same time. "But you better figure it out, because your tip cup is still practically empty."

"Shit." He was scrambling to flag down the young bartenders again when he froze. He only caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, but he knew it was you simply by the way you moved and the color of your hair. And then you sat down in the only empty stool left at the bar and smiled at him, your voice drawing his eyes up to your perfect face. 

"Rooster. You're back."

The little thoughts and fantasies he'd indulged in while deployed had nothing on the real thing, and he knew he was blushing as you smiled and waited for him to respond. But it had been months since he'd been this close to you, and now he was really beating himself up for not trying to make you his sooner. Because if you were his, he could do all the things he wanted to do right now. Like kiss you.

"Rooster," you repeated with hesitation in your eyes, your voice softer, nearly drowned out by the jukebox. 

"They said you quit," he blurted out as he leaned on the bartop, curious as to why you were here tonight. "And that you moved."

Your eyes went a little wider as you nodded, your smile still soft. "I did. You asked about me?"

"Can you make me a green tea shot or not?"

Bradley begrudgingly switched his focus to the woman next to you and sighed. He was about to tell her he didn't even know what that was, or that maybe she should fuck off so he could talk to you, but then you reached out and ran your fingers along the back of his hand. 

Your touch was brief but intentional, and all of the irritation seemed to ease out of his body as his gaze snapped back to yours. "Yeah," you told the other woman as your finger grazed his knuckle one more time. "He can make you a green tea shot."

"I don't even know what's in it," he told you, with a helpless smile, trying to fight the urge to reach for your hand. 

You kind of shrugged as you said, "I do. I'll talk you through it."

Bradley's smile grew which left you giggling as he said, "I'm kind of helpless back here. Nothing like you."

"Well, you can learn from the best," you told him, reaching out to squeeze his wrist before pointing to the many liquor bottles behind him. "Irish whiskey and peach schnapps," you told him, leaning on the bar now, so close that he just couldn't bring himself to turn away from you. 

"Okay," he said, memorizing the exact color of your eyes. "Thanks for doing this."

You bit your lip and smiled up at him, and when Bradley moved just slightly closer, he thought he heard you whimper. Your eyes were full of emotion that reflected his own as you said, "Focus, Rooster. Irish whiskey and peach schnapps."

He nodded once and then finally moved away from you as he scanned the bottles and grabbed the two you told him. "Good," you said, pointing to the mini fridge and saying, "now get the sweet and sour mix. It's in a pink jug. Yeah, you got it. Now you need a half ounce of each."

Bradley listened to you explain how to use the shaker while he gave you another helpless look. "I'm just a simple beer or bourbon drinker," he said as he strained the drink that his customer had been waiting several minutes for into a shot glass.

You laughed and said, "I know you are, and it's kind of endearing that you don't know what you're doing. Now top it off with a splash of Sprite." 

Bradley grabbed the soda gun, pressed the little green button and then looked up at you again. "This is endearing?" he asked, finally sliding the shot to the annoyed woman who unenthusiastically put a dollar in his tip cup and turned away.

"Very," you promised him. "And now I want you to make me a kamikaze shot."

He gave you a bland look, but his heart was pounding. "Are you joking right now?"

Bradley was hyper focused on your lips as you said, "Not at all. You can handle it. It's vodka, triple sec and lime juice. I prefer Finlandia. Impress me, and I'll leave you a nice big tip for the charity."

Then he groaned. He had forgotten about the wager and the other patrons looking for drinks and just all of it. He raked his fingers through his hair. "Thanks, but I'll probably still end up in my underwear at work on Monday morning." 

When he pushed away from the bar again, your eyes dipped down to his jeans before snapping back up. "Underwear?"

"Yeah," he grunted as he reached for the type of vodka you liked best. You told him how much to use, and he dumped it in a shaker. "The guys coerced me into volunteering tonight. I literally just got home from deployment, but here I am... their scapegoat," he said, arms held out at his sides. "They threw out a side bet based on tip money, and next thing I know, all of their wives and girlfriends show up with a bunch of cash."

While he shook your kamikaze shot, he watched you turn first to your right and then to your left, eyeing up the overflowing tip cups in front of Reuben, Javy and Jake. Your lips parted, and you gaped at Bradley, but your eyes looked a little devious now. "You know, all of this makes a lot of sense since the guys made me come tonight."

Bradley carefully poured out your shot and asked, "What do you mean they made you come?" He realized his voice sounded annoyed, but how did they all have your phone number anyway? He'd been standing here thinking about asking you for it, but they were apparently already texting you. 

You accepted the shot and took a small sip to taste it. "They kept messaging me earlier today, saying I absolutely needed to be here tonight. They said it was important I made it to the charity event." Then you tipped your head back, and Bradley was treated to the soft looking expanse of your neck as you swallowed down the rest of the shot he made. When you were done, you set the glass down and licked your lips as you dug some money out of your pocket. "That was delicious."

While you loaded his cup with all the cash in your pocket, Bradley tried to ask you where you lived now. If the guys were bugging you earlier today, you couldn't be that far. But before he could get a word out, you pushed yourself up so you were kneeling on the bar right in front of him, and he looked up at you as you grinned down at him. 

"Don't worry, Rooster," you said as you ran your fingers through his hair. "I got you." Then Bradley was reaching for your hips. He didn't fucking care if the place was packed, he was ready to haul you off to the back hallway and ask you if he could kiss your pretty lips. You beamed at him as his hands met your body, but you just cupped your fingers around your mouth and shouted over the music, "Come get your drinks from Rooster! He knows how to make everything! But kamikazes are his specialty! And he's hot!"

His eyes went wide as you slipped out of his grasp and back onto your stool while an influx of mostly women queued up in front of him. "What did you do?" he asked, trying to mentally process an order for a cosmopolitan while stumbling over you calling him hot.

"I'm helping you not embarrass yourself at work. Keep the vodka out. Grab the Cointreau and a martini glass. We're about to show the guys what's up."

Bradley struggled through drink after drink as quickly as he could, but you never gave up on him. Occasionally you'd slide things out of his way or point out where he could find something he needed, and at some point you grabbed a second pint glass for his overflowing tip money. And all the while, he stole as many glances at you as he could while he worked. 

When Penny eventually walked behind him, patted him on the shoulder and said there was less than an hour left of the event, she also shared a smile with you. But there was no hope. The other guys were already working on their third tip cups each. "I don't think I can make up the deficit," he groaned, pulling up the hem of his shirt and wiping his brow with it. 

"Oh, that's a great idea," you mused, leaning across the bar and pulling his shirt up higher. "Take it off."

He stared at you as you tugged on the fabric. "Take it off?"

You nodded, the moevent exaggerated as you said, "Absolutely. Take your shirt off." As he looked around awkwardly before pulling his shirt over his head, you cupped your hands around your mouth once again and said, "He has six pack abs!"

Now the guys were glaring at him. "So do I!" Reuben complained.

"Don't you dare take your shirt off!" his wife told him, pointing at him in warning. 

Bradley knew his cheeks were flushed, and all he really wanted to do was talk to you and hopefully kiss you. And he really wanted to do all of that with his shirt on, because he felt a bit like a stripper now as you reached for a third tip cup. The cash was filling it up quickly, and he smirked as he thought about Reuben, Jake or Javy in their underwear instead of him. And it was all for a charity after all. 

"Make him use the shaker!" you urged a woman who looked like she was in her seventies and holding a crisp fifty dollar bill. "Make him flex."

Bradley groaned your name which sent you into a fit of laughter, your second empty shot glass still in front of you. "This isn't right," he complained half heartedly as he shook the older woman's Mai Tai with flexed abs and biceps. 

"It is so right," you told him, and he appreciated that you were scoping out the other guys' tip cups instead of looking at him right now. "Keep going. It's going to be so close." And then that fifty ended up in Bradley's cup when he handed over the cocktail, and you said, "Or maybe not!"

"Last call for the fundraiser!" Penny shouted over the crowd, and Bradley almost sighed in relief when the last few people ordered beers and a glass of wine. And then it was all over, and he had a huge amount of cash in front of him along with you. But he didn't care about the tips as much as he did getting to finally talk to you. The fundraiser was technically over, and you were looking at him the same way he was looking at you.

When he took a breath to suggest you and he go for a walk, he felt a hand on his bare back. It was one of the young bartenders who was helping out, and she said, "I can count up your tips for you," with a smile.

"Nope," you said, reaching for his cups yourself and shooting her a glare. "I'll do his. You go help Coyote." You didn't move again until her hand slipped off of his back and she walked away, and then you looked at Bradley and asked, "What are you going to do for me if you win?"

He watched as you quickly sorted the bills into efficient piles as he pulled his shirt back on and leaned against the bar. It had quieted down significantly, and now Penny was taking a few drink orders while everyone else seemed to move to the tables. He felt like he had a moment of privacy with you as he said, "I guess that depends. Apparently you moved away, Sweetheart."

"I did," you confirmed with a smirk as you counted up his twenties. 

"But you came back tonight."

You rolled your eyes, still smiling as you moved to the pile of tens. "I'm not too far away. I took a full time job and moved to Del Mar. The guys told me I needed to be here tonight for a special surprise. They said something I had been missing was returning. So I came down."

Bradley's fingers flexed on the edge of the bartop. "They did?"

You looked a little vulnerable as you stacked the bills in one pile and said, "Eight hundred and seventy one dollars." 

He nodded once and pushed the money aside without really looking at it. "You'd been missing something, Sweetheart?" he pressed gently, heart pounding in his chest. 

You bit your lip as your eyes drifted closed when he rubbed his thumb across your cheek. "I guess I must have asked the guys one time too many if they knew when you'd be back from your deployment."

"Oh," he rasped as you looked at him again. "You missed me?"

"Yes," you whispered. "I was going to ask you out, but then you were just gone. And they told me you were deployed, and I thought I really missed my chance. And I didn't even know if you were single or not, so I-"

Bradley had heard enough, so he kissed you. Just a soft press of his lips to yours, but you practically crawled onto the bar to get closer to him. And it was better than he spent the last five months imagining it might be. He could taste the vodka and lime on your tongue as it met his. Your fingers gently combed through his hair again, and he moaned, "I missed you too, Sweetheart."

Your laughter was soft and sweet as your nose brushed against his, and then he jerked back a few inches as Reuben shouted. "Yo, Rooster! There's time for that later, man! How much tip money did you make?"

"Eight hundred and seventy one," you replied as your fingers trailed down his scarred cheek to rub his mustache before you pecked him on the lips. The three guys groaned in unison, and Bradley watched your face light up in a beautiful smile. 

"This is not why we told you that you had to come tonight!" Jake whined, pointing at you and pouting. "You were supposed to distract him, not help him win! He was just supposed to turn into a bumbling mess and admit he has feelings for you!"

You turned away from Jake, and you asked Bradley, "So, do you have feelings for me?"

He huffed out a laugh before he hopped up to sit on the bar, swung his long legs over to the other side and hopped down again. You jumped from your stool and into his arms when he said, "I thought about you the whole time I was away, Sweetheart. I wanted to ask you out in the summer, but I didn't think it was right to hope you'd wait almost half a year for me to be stateside. For us to be together again."

"Bradley," you moaned. His hands found your hips just like earlier, and this time he pulled you snug against him while your fingers teased through his hair. "If a guy is worth waiting for, then I'd wait forever."

He kissed you again, tasting and nipping the lips that he'd dreamed about. Inhaling all of your sweetness that his mind didn't do justice to when he'd been away. Feeling your smile against his lips for the first time.

"Let me ask you again," you said, pausing between kisses. "Since I clearly helped you win the bet, what are you going to do for me?"

"Anything you want," he said immediately as you started to push him toward the door with a grin. 

"How about we go for a long drive? And we can talk about how the next time you're deployed, your girlfriend will be waiting patiently for you to return?"

Bradley scooped you up, sending you into a fit of laughter as he carried you directly to his Bronco.

------------------------

Bradley was exhausted on Monday to the point where the travel mug of coffee you sent him with did nothing to keep him from yawning out on the tarmac at 8:00. But every yawn ended with him smiling as he thought about how perfect the weekend had been. In the very early hours of Sunday morning, you'd agreed to be his girlfriend. And now he was waiting for the cherry on top of it all.

He didn't have to wait long as he stood between Reuben and Javy, the three of them looking nearly identical in their matching flight suits and boots, standing at attention in front of Maverick. Then Jake came strolling out, and Bradley instantly started laughing. 

Maverick turned, took one look at Hangman in his boxer shorts and combat boots and said, "I don't even want to know what's going on here, I just want five hundred push ups."

Jake's eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his face as everyone else tried their best to hold in their laughter. Bradley took his phone out as discreetly as he could and snapped a picture of Jake panicking on the tarmac before he dropped down onto the ground and started on his punishment. 

"Everyone else to your jets," Mav barked, and Bradley didn't stick around to hear him say it again. Instead he texted you the photo of Jake along with a short message.

Couldn't have pulled it off without your help, Sweetheart.

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The way I would die of this man just casually started calling me his Sweetheart. I love that he swept the guys to win the bet! Thanks @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls

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[moonystoes]

Wrong Number - Elisa De Almeida

Summary: When Elisa sends a picture to the girl she was flirting with at the club...except it wasn't the right number.

Warning: ...there is a picture here loll.

A/n: I'm so sorry but this is by far the worst fic I've written, I've tried to do something new and I'm not so confident about it. I still wanted you guys to read it and all the support from the anonymous asks helped me a lot. Thank you!

This picture is NOT Elisa, it is from @/torinha___ on instagram

The loud music was almost making Elisa dizzy. She gave a small nod to Jackie, pointing to the club seats and tip toeing there to make sure she won't bump into anyone. Elisa didn't want to admit it, but she knew she drank too much than she should've. The squad decided to go and celebrate their win against bayern Munich at a fancy bar in the south of Paris, but they completely forgot about their early afternoon training the next day.

Sakina was the only sober one, restricting alcohol from her diet because of her faith. And even if Islam permitted drinking, she'd still refuse. She loves being in control and aware of her surrounding environments, and if she gets drunk she'd lose all of the power.

Elisa awkwardly bumped into Sakina's shoulder, giving her a soft wave before settling down next to her, "oh my God we are so done for tomorrow, he will kill us."

"He will kill you, not us," she reminded Elisa, "it's okay, just stop drinking or else you'll make tomorrow worse."

"Yeah thanks Saki," Elisa gave Sakina a weak thumbs up as she twisted her body to the table, "I'll just drink water from now on."

Sakina patted Elisa's back as she turned to glance at the other girls. She hates the smell of sweat and drinks, but she loves hanging out with the girls. She can see Jackie and Eva dancing, as well as Clare twirling around... obviously too drunk to even care about how crazy she looks.

When she turned to her left, she noticed a woman staring at Elisa. She wasn't sure if she should let Elisa know about it, or just stay quiet and see if the woman will do anything. But she saw her take quick steps towards the both of them, and that caused Sakina to panic and turn the other way.

"Hey," a sultry voice hit Elisa's ear, feeling a hand squeeze her shoulder. She turned around to see who it was, and she was stunned for a minute by the beauty of the woman.

It's been a while since Elisa had gotten the attention of a girl that way. Even though she's been getting popular on social media, it feels as though her dating life has disappeared. Her last relationship ended because of the distance (her moving from montpellier to psg), and even that relationship was short anyways and ended awfully.

And when she tried dating apps, it seems as though her dates never work. Awkwardness fills both sides, and they ultimately end up ghosting each other. For a second, she tried convincing herself that it's for the best...so she can focus on football only. But now she is getting a little humiliated by all of this. Even her teammates make jokes about it (Eva laughed after Elisa opened up about her dating history, then proceeded to say she has '0 rizz').

She glanced back to the glass of water in front of her, then back to the woman in front of her. Maybe she should try this one more time, it won't hurt anyone...besides, everyone is drunk and if she embarrassed herself she'd probably forget about it anyways.

"Hey sweetheart," she smiled back, as she chugged the cold water, hoping it will make her sound less drunk than she is.

But when she glanced back at the stranger, she noticed her face was in complete shock, "oh my God, you're a girl?!"

"Haha...yeah, does that bother you?" Elisa gets this a lot in situations like this. In pure daylight, it's obvious she's just a masculine woman. But in dark clubs filled with drunk people, some visions get blurred. She just hoped that the women that try and flirt with her are actually attracted to women.

"Oh...no it doesn't," she gave a soft smile, her hand softly moving from Elisa's shoulder to the nape of her neck, delicately squeezing the tough muscle in there, "I just didn't know you were a girl and your voice caught me off guard."

Sakina was glaring at the stranger, having to see Elisa fall into the same trap everytime. She knew Elisa was desperate for some love (she does get laid apparently...well, that's what she tells Sakina), and this causes her to end up being in sticky situations with many straight women.

"My name is Sophie by the way," she raised her little champagne cup to Elisa, stepping closer to her to the point where her body was between Elisa's legs.

"Hey Sophie, I'm Elisa," She grinned at her with a wink, she lifted her right hand and placed it on Sophie's waist, "no work tomorrow?"

"Ew don't bring work here I'm trying to escape it," she fake gagged, placing the champagne glass on the table and placing her other hand on Elisa's thigh.

Usually, Elisa would freak out by the amount of physical touches she's getting. Especially by someone who she met not even a minute ago, but Sophie was an attractive woman...and that made her lose all the self respect she had and allowed her to do whatever she wants to her body.

She giggled at what she said, "Yeah me too."

"Your muscles are great, I've never seen a woman like that before," Sophie looked down as she tapped Elisa's tough quads, making sure that they're real.

Yeah because you haven't seen women in the first place,

Sakina thought as her blood started boiling, maybe she was being too much. Maybe Sophie was actually not straight and Sakina had been a bitch this whole time. But it doesn't matter, what matters is that Elisa is definitely too drunk to actually thinking appropriately.

"Yeah?" Elisa smirked at Sophie, she lifted up her sleeve and flexed her bicep, looking at Sophie's dropped jaw.

"Oh wow, that's the hottest thing I've ever seen."

Elisa burst out laughing, she knew if she can continue with the flirting she can possibly end up in a bedroom. The way Sophie was approaching her was definitely strange, but she did love the attention. And anyone who compliments her hard work in the gym makes her feel confident and cocky.

Sakina was grabbing her head with both of her hands, she wanted to pull Sophie away and drag Elisa home. She glanced up to check up on Jackie, Eva, and Clare. And she saw them cleaning up the little table they were using.

Alhumdulillah, Sakina thanked god realizing that she will be driving them home now.

"Psst, Elisa we're going now." She tapped Elisa on the shoulder, making sure she won't touch Sophie's clingy hand.

Elisa glanced back to Sophie with an evident pout, "sorry, I gotta go...can I get your number? we can finish the conversation there."

Her hand kept delicately squeezing Sophie's waist, waiting for a response from her. Sexting wasn't something she did, but she had some experience with from the long distance relationship that didn't last 2 months.

Sophia stood there slightly speechless, contemplating whether she should actually give out her phone number to Elisa, or run away from this embarrassing day.

"Okay, give me your phone and I'll type it."

Unknown Number

This is how it looked under the shirt 😉

You huffed as you stared at the 11:59 on your computer screen. Working is always exhausting, but the paycheck makes it enjoyable. Your eyes were slightly burning from staying on the computer for too long, and it makes you feel way older than you knew you are. You were hoping time would move quickly so you can start your lunch, but a sudden ding came from your phone.

You glanced at Jasmine, your coworker, as she gave you a shrug, "check your phone, I don't think anyone will care. I mean lunch is gonna start in 29 seconds...no 28...no actually 27."

You sighed as you pulled your phone out from your purse, but froze when you saw a notification from an unknown number. You rarely get these texts, especially after the cybersecurity course you took that left you traumatized. But something from this made you curious, for sure now as an adult you can think maturely when texting strangers. Maybe it's an important message or someone who needs help.

You pressed on the notification, and gasped. Turning off off your phone, you stared back at computer screen, moving the mouse around making sure you finish your job.

"Damn you really wanna finish all 60 seconds. 16...15...14." Jasmine laughed at your nonchalant face.

You frustratingly pulled you phone back, reading the texts again. You are an adult now! You can tell them off. What if they're a hacker and they'll get into your personal data and leak all of your pictures? You glanced back at the picture as your face flushed, damn even if it's gross and weird to send strangers pictures like this...you were guilty for finding whoever this person may be attractive.

Maybe they accidentally sent it to the wrong number,

??

This is Elisa from the club last night haha

Elisa? That's a girl name right? You closed your eyes, now you're definitely guilty for finding her attractive. You were so single that a nude picture from a random masculine woman is making your face turn red. You looked back at the picture, not knowing how to respond.

Wrong number

I didn't go to a club last night

Sorry x

I'm pretty sure the person would've loved that picture though

Seen 4 minutes ago

Elisa screeched as she saw those texts, throwing the phone away in the locker room. Sakina turned around horrified from the scream, "Eli, what's wrong!"

"Saki kill me," she dropped her face into her hands as she lightly sobbed. Her right leg was twitching up and down as she sat down on one of the locker room seats.

Sakina placed her hair brush in her locker as she sighed from Elisa's dramatic behavior, "oh come on...what did you do?" But when she turned to look at Elisa, her dameanor turned serious. Elisa's face was bright red, eyes filled with tears and eyebrows furrowed.

She stepped towards Elisa worriedly, looking at Elisa's phone laying on the ground. She walked towards her phone, trying to see what even happened.

"No!" Elisa jumped up and grabbed her phone, hiding it into her chest, "Saki I made a stupid mistake."

"You're scaring me, just tell me what you did." Sakin came closer to Elisa, pushing her back into sitting.

"Do you remember Sophie from yesterday?" Elisa guiltily looked down as she whispered to Sakina.

Sakina rolled her eyes, "yes...I do remember her."

Elisa sighed again, this time in frustration and humiliation, "well...I guess she gave me a fake number," she looked back at Sakina's angry face, but right when she was about to response, Elisa interrupted her, "Sakina I sent a naked picture to some random girl...or worse, fuck that could be a man!"

Sakina's jaw dropped to the ground as she heard what Elisa did, but Elisa interrupted her again, "please don't lecture me about it. I know, I swear I know."

She gave Elisa a tight smile, pulling her in a hug to comfort her, "it could be a girl, and she could be cute and sweet and would actually like you. Maybe God made this a chance for you to find your one."

Elisa took a deep breath, trying to calm down her beating heart. It's not the end of the world, she can just block that number and pretend this never happened, or she could try and talk to the stranger. Maybe sakina was right, "Yeah...you're right. I should put my trust on God for this one, and if it was a 60 year old man I will blame it on him."

Sakina slapped Elisa's shoulder sarcastically, "actually you're the one who decided to send a nude picture to a random person...maybe you're the one to blame here," Elisa covered her face again with her hands, raising her face to the sky as she was mumbling some prayer, "Besides...can I see what you sent her?" Sakina winked as she tried to take Elisa's phone, now placed between Elisa's thighs.

Elisa opened her phone and showed her the texts, but Sakina's loud laughter made her shut it down and turn away from her, "God you're so bad at texting...what type of opening is that? I think she's a girl, a guy won't text that way right?"

Elisa shrugged, opening her phone again and tapping on the chat to text. It could be a girl right? It has to be, or else she will kill herself and disappear.

What if she's a fan and leaks the picture? A thousand thoughts were in her mind, so she decided to just text the stranger a small apology.

Omg

I'm so sorry

I should've sent a message first

I'm gonna kill myself 😭😭

Haha, no it's okay!

At least it's not a 😼 picture

And you have a great back!

That's a girl... definitely, right? Elisa blushed at the compliment, hiding her face away from Sakina not wanting another lecture.

Thanks

Sorry for bothering you I'm pretty sure you didn't want to see this on a Tuesday afternoon

I'm just glad it's lunch break now

Also sorry about the whole wrong number thing I'm pretty sure you're bummed about it

Yeah I thought we were getting along pretty well

I'm just confused on why she gave me a wrong number

She was the one who approached me

:((( well at least you made my lunch break better

Oh yeah?

I'm glad

Wait you're working right? Not a student 💀💀

Lollll yeah I'm 25

What about u?

26

What kind of work do you do?

My desk :((

I'm a financial analyst

That sounds way fancier than it it I swear

Seen a minute ago

"Elisa what are you smiling about?" Sakina turned around suspiciously, now her hair braided.

"Oh nothing," she shrugged sakina off, turning away so Sakina can't see her face. But she sighed loudly, realizing that she needed Sakina's advice, "she's definitely a girl. And around my age, that's good, right?"

Before Sakina could leave the locker room, she stood at the door and softly said, "be safe Elisa...and no more nude pics to her, please."

Elisa huffed out in embarrassment and nodded, glancing back at her phone to text you back.

Oh wow we're sending pics now?

Why is it sad 😔

Babe you already did send pics

I tried decorating it but I gave up in a day

Oh yeah

Haha

Sorry again

Can I get a face pic :)

Only if you do

No way

Why not ☹️☹️

Cuz I just started texting you

But why do I have to

Ma'am you just sent me a picture of your bare back

I promise a face picture is nothing compared to that

😭😭😭

Ohh god

you're never gonna forget that

You don't have to

I just wanna match a face to the body ;)

"Fuck." Elisa whispered, you were good at convincing and she knew that if you asked her for another nude picture her nïave self would have sent one again.

She looked up to the sky and closed her eyes, "please don't make her some old man that's lying."

There was also a small feeling of anxiety in her, she knew that if things got awkward she can immediately block you and move on. But what if you recognize her? Would you leak that photo to the internet? She groaned out and responded, women's football isn't even that big anyways.

Okay

Is this from today?

No yesterday

Seen 2 minutes ago

You bit your lip, turning your seat away from Jasmine not ready for the questionnaire she'll make if she sees you like this.

Elisa is beautiful. No...she's hot and sexy and all of those words combined. You slowly faced Jasmine again, "Hey Jasmine... I need an advice."

Jasmine stopped drinking her hot tea as she glimpsed at you, "what for?"

You whined loudly as you threw your phone towards her, "this unknown number sent me a message accidentally, but turns out she's a hot girl."

Jasmine choked on her drink when she saw the selfie Elisa sent, "Oh my God! Oh my God y/n, do not fuck this up!"

You stared at her stunned, "so...you're not worried about how unsafe this is?"

Jasmine zoned out to think, but she glanced back at you, "well...don't give her personal information, and try to find more about her," she returned your phone back to you, "Ugh...smash. I can't believe how lucky you got...wait! You can put her picture on pinterest or Google search and it will tell you if she's catfishing you!"

You turned to look at the picture on your phone again, you knew Jasmine was right about that hack. But you didn't want to keep Elisa waiting. For some reason, there is a feeling in you that this isn't some random person catfishing...that Elisa is real.

You look really tan here

And cute

Elisa let out a small giggle at the cute comment. What if she means cute as in a friendly way, not attractive cute? Ughhhh everything is frustrating!

I get tan a lot for my job

And sweaty

Oh?

Why am I getting worried 😭

What do you mean sweaty

I will support you no matter what elisa

You're so dirty minded

I'm just an athlete

That's it

So naughty

Seen 2 minutes ago

"Ugh!" You shut your phone off and placed your head on your desk exhaustedly, "she said 'so naughty'... that's awful."

Jasmine cackled loudly at what you said, "if it was a guy it would be cringe. But it's not, so it's hot."

--

Elisa sent that message while standing on her tippy toes. She knew that her flirting skills are below average. She was staring at the screen hoping for a small message, but Eva came into the room making Elisa freak out and throw her phone in the locker.

"Hey Elisa, everything okay?" She worriedly glanced at her as she brought out her phone, "I'm gonna go and film a tiktok with Jackie. You should go to the gym room or else you'd get in trouble."

Elisa stopped 'adjusting' her hair in the mirror and nodded to Eva, "oh yeah... I go there in a minute."

Eva laughed at Elisa's accent and tapped her shoulder as she left the room. Elisa closed her eyes and took a deep breath, until she heard a small ding from her phone.

Sorry lunch break is over

You're the one who sent me a nude pic

OH MY GOD PLEASE STOP

I have to go training now anyways

Talk to you later

Stranger

Bye bye Elisa

Have fun xx

It was 3 pm when you waved goodbye to your coworkers, exhausted and ready to go home. You were thinking about Elisa, you knew you had to quick search that picture to make sure you weren't getting fooled.

Once you reached your little studio apartment, throwing your bag on your couch and laying there. You weren't expecting anything when you went on pinterest and placed her selfie on quick search. But to your surprise, the same selfie was on there too.

You instantly sat up on your couch, no way... I'm actually getting catfished. You tapped on the post and saw the name 'Elisa de Almeida' as the caption.

Is that her full name?

Guilt was consuming your heart, you felt as though you were 'cheating' for searching her name on Google instead of just asking her.

Whatever, you'll search later. You will just text her and get to know her that way.

You do training for what?

You turned off your phone and went to the kitchen to make a quick lunch meal, not expecting her to respond quickly. But your phone's notification was heard, and you ran to the couch to grab it. Damn, she texts fast.

For my job

What's your job :(

I told you mine

I play football

And get paid for that

Elisa was on her couch when she heard a new message from you. She had been waiting for you to start the conversation, since she had no idea on how to text women.

When she saw the question, she frowned. She doesn't like to introduce her job to people no matter how much she's proud of herself for becoming pro. But she didn't want to lie, and maybe you wouldn't tease her or get overwhelmed and leave her.

Wait professionally??

That's so cool

Yeah

Thanks

I know your number is French but I know that players travel around

Where do you stay

Paris

I'm in my apartment right now

I can't believe you just play football like????

So if I search your picture online I can see what team you're in?

Yes but I'd rather me say it

Oh...too late I'm sorry 💔

Seen 2 minutes ago

Elisa jumped up, fucking hell!

She stared at the black screen of her TV, are you going to be weirded out by her fans? Would that make you leave?

Elisa?

I'm sorry if I broke your privacy for this

My apologies xx

You huffed out a heavy breath, Damn it! You should've talked to her instead of doing this. Now she's probably uncomfortable with you because of this.

No it's okay

I just didn't know people can do that

Yeah haha

This is pinterest

And you can do that on Google too

That's how I know the names of the weird plants around my building

I'm really sorry if it made you weird

It's okay I guess I just wanted to lie to you and joke about my career but I forgot I'm kinda famous

Oh wowww

Were you going to lie that you're the female Messi or what

Wait if that picture was from yesterday, your fans are quick 😭

I actually prefer Ronaldo

Yeah sometimes they scare me

Ew not him

What type of fans do you have

The thirsty kind

They're nice and make cool edits of me

Sometimes violate my personal space but that's what you get when you're in public ig

Ohh I'm so sorry

Omg i just realized how scary it would've been if I were one of your fangirls and you sent me that nude pic 😭😭😭

Lolll 😂😂

I was freaking out for a while when I found out you weren't the girl

Aren't you happy that you found me though 😁😁

I am

You're pretty cute

Even when you refuse to show me how you look

Elisa :(((

I can't do it just yet

I know

I understand that

Where do you live

That's not a safe question to ask 🤨🤨

I live in Paris too

Just the unknown quiet side

That's cute

Pretty chill and tourists don't bother you

Do you live in a fancy apartment or with your family

A studio apartment

Gotta save my money to spoil my future wife

Wife?

Are you gay?

Elisa please if I weren't gay I would've blocked you and moved on with life

Elisa smiled brightly when she read your message, does that mean you're interested in her?

Good

Because I'm gay

I don't think it's hard to figure that out

But I'm glad you're comfortable with me knowing about it

It's easier when it's texting

It would've been harder in real life

I think if I saw you in real life I would scream GAY

Oh wow

I would've done the same thing

Nuh uh

Yuh uh

I would've also asked you out

If I wouldn't be shaking from anxiety

Really?

Am I your type

YES??

I don't think you understand the panic I had in my office when you sent me the pic of your face

Good

Now I wanna see you

Elisa stop

Sorry

No I'm sorry

I can send you a picture of my face

But

I need abs selfie

??

Hmm...I'm conflicted

I'm just kidding

Unless

Hmm

I wanna see you so bad

Okay calm down

Don't put your hand under your panties

HUH

Do you wanna meet up

That's kinda unsafe

I could be a catfisher

But are you though?

I can't believe a catfisher can text like this 🙈🙈

😭😭😭

You're so cute

And now that you mentioned us meeting

It makes texting you even harder

I'm on my bed now

Oh??

Do you need help with something?

...

Depends on what you can offer

Chocolate 🍫

Oh I was expecting something else

But I'd take it

I'm gonna sleep

Good night

Stranger

Good night Elisa

Dream of me

X

Elisa stared at the message you sent with a smirk on her face. It's been scary how fast the pace of your conversations is, but she was happy. It meant that the both of you guys are comfortable texting each other. She shut the phone off and stuffed her face into the pillow, dreaming of the one and only...'stranger'.

It's been a week and I still don't know your name

Xoxo gossip girl

Actually

I never watched that show

Please 🥺🥺🥺

You've seen my bare back and face

And locker room

And my TV

And the gym

Toes

You basically have seen everything

Maam

I was just gonna say it

It's y/n

I wanna see you 😔

You basically know my whole schedule

Yeah you're gonna go buy groceries today

Stop stalking me 😟😟

You don't have training today

You have a match

Turn off the phone and get ready

It's just 12pm??

The match is at 7

When do you have to get ready

We have to be there around 5

We're gonna be wearing suits today 🕴🕴

OMG

Show me to me rachel

Send it to me pleaseee

What

Who the fuck is rachel

Idk if I'll be free and send you a pic

Usually I turn off my phone before

It's a tiktok trend

Oldie

Ohh

I prefer instagram

Are you liking other women posts while texting me???

Whore

Give me your Instagram account and I'll like every post 😘😘

No don't say that I have pictures from when I was 14 there

Oh nvm maybe not every post

Wait why do you have posts from back then 😭😭

Your account sounds like a mess

Because I looked cunty in the pictures?? Besides my account is private and I have like 60 followers only

What about you?

What about me?

How was younger you?

I don't wanna talk about younger me

Nooooo

Please

I'm pretty sure you looked so cute 🥺🥺

Wait some of your fangirls probably have pictures

Ughh

Fine

Go and look on pinterest or whatever

if you don't want me to know it's okay

i was joking xx

no me too

its okay

you've seen my back i dont think baby me is that bad

go ahead

your back is not bad what are you talking about ;)

THATS YOU?

stopp you looked so cute

OMG

No

Not this

Omg in my defense my ex gf at the time thought I was hot here

Pleasee I probably would be blushing too if I were her look at you 🥺🥺

YOU HAD A GF AT THAT AGE??

Yeah young love

She was in france for the summer

Like two weeks only and she was brazilian so my dad liked her

...your dad?

Ohhh

Wait that sounded wrong

She used to speak with my dad portuguese and he is from portugal

Ohhhh

So he wanted her to teach u?

Yeah but we were busy doing other things

Ew

Stop talking about your ex im gonna get jealous

Im joking

I was too scared to do anything like that

Well actually i did have my first kiss with her

But it was mostly really shy awkward football dates

Elisa im gonna block you shut the fuck up

Wow

What about you

Young love?

I had my first relationship when i was 20 💀

And she CHEATED

Ugh the audacity

Awhh

What awh

You think me getting cheated on is cute

Okay whore

Omg no please no more baby pics

But you looked cute :(((

Baby eli

seen 4 hours ago

Elisa scratched her chin as she eyed Constance, hoping she would start a conversation, "what's wrong? Eli please..." Constance giggled as she saw Elisa's face.

"Awh thank you for asking I was questioning our friendship for a second," Elisa joked, smacking picaud's shoulder, "do you remember the girl from the club?"

"the straight one?" Picaud questioned as she buttoned the suit, trying her best to look presentable.

"the straigh- she was not straight." Elisa froze, looking at picaud's reflection in the mirror.

"Bitch please even Sakina, the straightest girl I know, noticed that," She tapped Elisa's shoulder to comfort her as she cackled.

Elisa felt blood running to her cheeks, was she that drunk not to notice? Maybe that's why she gave you the wrong number. Elisa felt deep embarrassment for not realizing sooner.

"Anyways... I'm sorry about it. What were you going to say?" She starting applying gel to her roots.

"Ugh... you're going to laugh at me even more now," Elisa rolled her eyes and contiuned buttoning her dress shirt, completely ignorning the concerning glance Constance is giving her, "Okay fine! She gave me a wrong number... and I accidentally... well not accidentally, I actually meant it...sent her a nude picture. A picture of my back, and it was another girl that's gay and around our age and she also lives here in Paris. Anyways, I just want to ask her out but I keep sounding like a cat in heat on how desperate I am and i don't want to scare her."

Constance jaw was on ground listening to Elisa's ramble, "Wait what?! Elisa are you out of your mind? Why the fuck did you send a random number a picture of your back?" She dropped her arms to her sides as she gave Elisa a disappointed look. Elisa turned the other way so Picaud doesn't look at her red face, "Oh my god are you hiding from me? Look at least she's a gay girl around your age...that's good, right?"

Elisa didn't respond for a second, "Ugh everyone keeps yelling and laughing at me for what I did...but I swear she's really cute."

Pauline took a step towards Elisa and gave her a tight hug, "Can I see how she looks?"

"I don't know how she looks." Elisa shut her eyes tightly, preparing herself for the 5th lecture of this whole situation.

It was a minute of silence in the bathroom stalls, Picaud thinking of a kind and non-hurtful way to call Elisa stupid while Elisa was thinking of a way to allow you to meet her.

"Elisa you're the master of how to get catfished 101," She groaned out, pulling away from the hug to look at Elisa, "but...I'm not 100% against it. I think you should just continue letting her expose things about her. Write on your notes everything she says about her personal information and read over it...if things don't match then block her and move on."

Elisa quietly thanked God, no more yelling and shouting at her face. She nodded eagerly at what Picaud said and immediately left the bathrooms. She has to stop being distracted, there is a match happening today and you were the only thing she was thinking about.

That's it??

I wanted to see your face :((

Sorry I have to go now

Love you

I know you're busy

Good luck

Seen 3 hours ago

The players hugged each other, too tired to speak up after the tiresome match. The team won 2 - 0 against Paris fc at parc de princes, and even with the win they knew their performance wasn't the best. It was Chawinga that scored those two, and the rest of the team was lacking a lot chemistry and communication.

Elisa tried her best, but the memory of her losing the ball to the opposing striker keeps haunting her. She knew that Twitter is definitely going to be grilling her for it, and she had made a promise to herself that searching her name on Twitter is not allowed for her mental health.

She remembered you and smiled, at least now she can text you all night without the stress of a match in her head.

Glancing around the stadium, she saw many teenage girls screaming and waving at her to try and get her attention. She gave them a soft smile and waved back, making them scream even louder. Ugh I wish I can get y/n's attention like this.

Hey

The match just finished

I'm sweaty and everyone else is screaming and singing but I wanted to text you

I know

I'm proud of you

I watched you play in front of me and I don't think I've been more proud and attracted to anyone before

Wait

YOURE HERE

Pleaer dobr leave

Please do t

Dnt

Slmt

DONT

😭😭😭

Im staying here baby I'm not going anywhere

I'm going out of the locker room

Where are you

Which section

I'm waving

Wearing a white jacket

Wait why am I looking at a bald man with a white jacket and waving 😟😟

WAIT I SEE HIM

Turn around

Seen

Elisa turned around and had eye contact with you, maintaining it for maybe too long for your comfort. She wanted to make sure it was you, pointing at her phone as she gave you a questioning glance.

Understanding her gesture, you looked down and sent her a message,

that's me :)

Elisa you're scaring me

that's why I didn't send you a picture of my face in the beginning

y/n

Can you come down

ok

The stadium was already empty, having only the ball kids and the cleaners going around and collecting things. You started taking steps down the stairs, getting closer to Elisa as she was standing right on the edge.

"Hey! You're not allowed to get closer!" A security barged near you and placed his palm in your chest, trying to stop you from getting closer to Elisa.

"She's mine, you can leave her." Elisa placed her foot on one of the advertising boards, ready to jump and pull you away from him.

"She doesn't have the right pass, miss." He pushed you backwards, even when you were frozen in place in the first place.

"I don't fucking care what pass she has, I already told you she's mine!" Elisa was fed up with the security man, it's been a long day and having you right in front of her was exactly what she needed, and she won't allow anyone to stop it.

He turned to look at Elisa's angry face, giving her a timid nod before removing his arm from your front torso.

She sighed as she signalled for you to get closer, "sorry, I'm not usually like this."

"Hey..." You shyly gave her a soft wave, almost like it's the first time you guys have talked.

"Hi," she waved back with a lopsided smile, she couldn't believe that you were hiding this from her, "I don't understand why you didn't want me to know how you look when you look like this."

You jokingly slapped her shoulder away, biting your lip in embarrassment.

"No, seriously!" Elisa had a wide grin, suddenly the win they had today didn't matter. It was you that made her happy. She placed her hands on your cheeks, pulling you in so that your foreheads are touching.

"You played so good, Eli," you whispered to her, you knew looking at her eyes will make you melt into the ground, so you kept your eyes down at her lips, "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, I don't think people on the internet are going to agree though," You wrapped your arms around her broad shoulders to pull her more into you. It was slightly harder because of the board between you, but you managed through.

Elisa pulled away from your hug and bent down, making you confused on what she was trying to do. She placed both of her arms around your waist and carried you, turning around to the other side so you can both hug without anything seperating you.

"I don't care what they say on twitter, I am José Mourinho and I think you're a fast, strong, and a hot player," you spoke in a deep voice pointed your finger at her, making her laugh as she pulled you in again in a tight hug.

"Let me take you out," she murmured under your ear, "I need to take you on a date."

Your face was a blushing mess, it was hard to say no to her. Even when she looked attractive on the selfies, seeing her in real life was something else, "I want to go out with you too, but we're going too fast. We've only been texting for one week."

"Everything was going fast when I started our conversation with that picture, I think we will be fine." Elisa hoped she didn't sound desperate, but she cannot let you go, she will never forgive herself.

You laughed at what she said, placing your hands on her back to feel the muscles from the picture, "okay, let's go somewhere,"

She pulled away slightly to look at your face with a pink blush around her face. Bending down, she gave your right cheek a kiss and hugged you again, "ugh I can't believe you're real!"

[eastbubble]

letting your captain hit because you felt so guilty about him being so alone. you knew this wasn’t exactly a good thing to do and that you were definitely on the wrong path.. but when you saw captain mactavish looking for your gaze every single day at training you knew this was already long lost. you promised yourself you’d never catch feelings and that this would only be something you did out of fun and to make him feel a little better about all the shit in his neck, but..

you knew he talked to ghost and roach, and he also had people like worm and the others, guys that he considered friends, comrades, you name it. but you weren’t a friend, that’s for sure — you were someone that just sometimes ran out with the rest of the reserve squad when they needed more armed people for a mission. you weren’t important at all, you could have died at least fourteen times already when you were deployed, it just showed that you weren’t even good at your job either.

one sentence was already able to make you surrender to him and melt; “how was your day, munchkin?” and it felt so bad to give in to him so easily.

but when he came into your room and told you how he saw you try your best today. when you saw his head peeking into your room after a mission, face paint running down on the side of his head as the sweat and rain had made the black lines turn into liquid again, dripping down. you spent so much time admiring him, not just as a person who was above you, your higher-up but also as a man.

getting lost in your thoughts was always routine while he had his head between your legs, your fingers tugging at his mohawk, pinching and twisting strands of his hair while you were slightly trying to squirm away from his tongue. his pair of strong arms kept you tightly pressed to his nose, though, the tip of it bumping against your clit every single time he somehow licked deep inside you like you were nothing but that ice cream he had been craving ever since he got deployed again. that tongue did wonders and you were the one that knew that the most.

he held you in your place while you tried to close your thighs up when you were already so close to your orgasm, your entire body lifting up as you involuntarily jerked yourself forward, butt no longer in contact with the bed. he was quick to press you down, lapping at your folds and eating you out like you deserved it when you knew you didn’t. a pathetic solider you were, not even respecting the basic rules of the military and letting your captain eat your pussy.

his mouth was kissing your clit every time he quit licking to take a deep breath, looking up to your face every once in a while to see if you were still enjoying it. he knew when to stop, he knew when you were getting too overwhelmed. he knew all of your nerves down there like the back of his hand. he put all of your pleasure high above his, the both of you completely forgetting the fact that in the beginning this was only to make him relax and help him not to go insane.

you thought you were slick with this whole thing, keeping the burning feeling of humiliation and also some faint trace of love (that was somehow stronger than the other one. why?) in your chest hidden, never saying a word about it and hoping it would go away on its own once you return back home and lose every contact with this whole fucking shithole of a military base and the people there.

but a strong feeling hit back at you on a random thursday afternoon when you were just taking out the trash and checking the mailbox — bloodied dog tags of john mactavish shipped to you in just a bubble mailer, a small little note attached to it that you were the only person he mentioned by name in his will.

[hitomisuzuya]

TIGHNARI! TIGHNARI! succumb to tighnari nsfw 🤗 May I pop in an idea? You eat goofy mushrooms and next day (when ur better) tighnari is like "what tf did I teach you all this time ??? Do I gotta teach again???"

So he sort of fucks u silly, just because you forgot what he spoke about unknown shrooms HEHE 🍵

a/n: I'm succumbing fast! I wanted to write something like this, so thank you very much for requesting ❤️

Smut. Tighnari x fem!reader. Mentions of drug use. Orgasm deprivation. Dom! Tighnari. Some power play. Forgive me, I don't know a thing about mushrooms. I always preferred weed instead so bear with me, please.

"Tiighhhhnaaarrriii~"

Tighnari's ears pricked upon hearing you sing out his name. You stumbled into his hut, your e/c eyes searching around, grinning when you saw him. You made your way towards him, stumbling when you bumped into a table with a lamp on it.

Eyes narrowing, he furrowed his brows, starting to assess and try and figure what was wrong with you. Your lips must've felt dry, his eyes suddenly becoming transfixed on your tongue when you licked your lips.

Tighnari sighed, feeling his chest tighten. He didn't have time for these feelings right now. He was really curious about how you'd managed to come under such a state. You were normally so capable, being able to lead your own squad into clearing A Withering Zone.

On top of that, not only were you reckless, you'd dared to waltz into his hut completely vulnerable, your sense of morality easily pliable when his heat cycle was beginning.

Had he been a lesser man, Tighnari would've taken advantage of it.

"Y/n, did you by chance ingest something questionable while you were on patrol in the Forest?" Tighnari asked, wanting to cut straight to the point

"Ohh, uhh," you slurred, tilting your head back, tipping your head back to look at the ceiling. Tighnari patiently waited for you to puzzle out an explanation in your head. He gulped, finding it hard not to focus on the way you exposed your throat to him.

"Oh yeah!" You exclaimed after a long moment, looking at him again, giggling before you spoke, "mushrooms. I ate..some mushrooms," you clamped a hand over your mouth, "I don't feel so good."

The next few minutes we're a blur to you. Tighnari helped you to lie down on his bed, instructing you to drink something slowly. That it would make you sleepy.

Fast forward to now, early in the afternoon the next day. You were naked, spread bare on his bed. Your were wrists bound together and tied to the headboard of Tighnari's bed. Moaning lewdly, which made Tighnari's eyes flick at the pleasing sounds, you tried to close your legs.

"Tsk, tsk," he chided, spreading your legs again. It wasn't an action telling him to stop. Oh no, it was to tell him to bury his fingers deeper inside your cunt.

Your rolled your e/c eyes to look at Tighnari, your eyes hazy. He was sitting on the bed next you, panting, two fingers squelching wetly in and out coating his fingers in your slick. He relished watching you tremble, your orgasm building up for a second time.

Your eyes widened when you saw him smirk. His mouth watered, you just looked so delicious, so pathetic at his mercy. "You are close to cumming, aren't you?"

You wailed, desperate when he suddenly removed his fingers, making his cock harden. "It's too much.." you moaned, writhing, being denied release a second time. "Please, please fuck me!"

Tighnari cleared his throat. "I believe that I, as your General ordered you to repeat back to me what you learned during my lecture," he pinched your nipple, rolling it around between his fingertips. Your breathy sigh further stirred the Alpha in heat inside of him. He needed you more desperate for him. "I won't fuck you until you do."

You sighed, frustrated, pushing your chest against his hand. "Fine!" You broke. "I ate some Psilocybin mushrooms without remembering what they were," your voice cracked, straining with need. You were too ashamed to tell him you'd only eaten them because all you thought about was him, too scared to tell him anything about how you felt.

The cat, or fox was out of the bag now. Your body had already betrayed you, telling Tighnari everything he needed to know.

Tighnari hummed, satisfied. Maybe now if you remembered being denied your release like this, you would always remember exactly what he told you. "Good," he purred, rubbing your clit in reward a few times.

The last of his patience ebbed away as he shrugged off his clothes. How wet you smelt was driving him insane.

His tail brushed teasingly up your figure, making you shiver, spreading your legs to accommodate him as he crawled up your body. Groaning, he slid his cock inside, slowly resting it deep against your cervix. "So good, ahh," it was a relief to finally bury himself inside of you. He soaked in the feeling.

His skin smacked against your's, capturing your lips in a sloppy kiss, swallowing each delicious moan and whimper you offered him. He pounded into you at a feverish, quick pace.

You arched your back, making it crack, bumping your hips up as best you could to meet his thrusts. Your tore your mouth from Tighnari's, a moan dying on your lips, your orgasm washed over you, your walls clamping, sticking gummy to his cock as your release flooded around it.

Your body twitched, feeling dizzy with overstimulation as Tighnari continued to fuck you, feeling his own high building up. His thrusts slowed down, making sure to kiss your sweetest spot one last time before his cum spurted inside you.

Perhaps, every once in awhile, you would purposely "forget" certain things.

[roosterbruiser]

If you're still taking requests, how about a beach day with Bob and the squad finds out he has a matching tattoo with his partner

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐩

𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐛 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛

There's a reason that Bob usually wears a shirt on beach days. Even if everyone else on the squadron likes to tease that it's because he's not as toned as they are--which simply is not true--no one really knows why that is.

Until you accompany your boyfriend to the beach one hot and wet afternoon, a wicker picnic basket tucked under your arm and straw hat flopped on your head.

You're happy to be at the beach--you and Bob had agreed to take advantage of the nice weather in San Diego more than you had in the past, so when the squadron deemed that afternoon as a beach afternoon, the two of you had been all in.

"Floyd," Hangman greets, waving the two of you over to the parade of sweaty bodies in the sand. Hangman cheekily tips his cowboy hat at you. "Eventual Floyd," he greets with a wink.

Bob's blushing--a good sort of blush, one that makes his heart pulse with adoration. Yes, you will be a Floyd--eventually. And he's glad that everyone around knows it.

And you're all grins, tipping your straw hat at Hangman and gesturing to the picnic basket.

"I brought strawberry muffins," you tell him, which causes a chain-reaction of hollering from the group as everyone abandons their previous activities to gather around your picnic basket.

Bob just watches you for a moment, slipping his sunglasses on, smiling softly as his toes dig into the sand. You're grinning that pretty grin of yours, happily giving away all the strawberry muffins you made this morning so dutifully. You're such a giver--and so, so kind--and that's something he loves about you. Even right now, you're offering everyone bottles of water and extra tubes of sunscreen. You just can't seem to help yourself.

And you're just happy to be there--you really do love the squadron and reckon you've found somewhat of a family in their company. So after everyone's given you very wet hugs and thanked you profusely for the muffins and refreshments, they're begging you and Bob to join them for another game of Dog Fight Football.

"Shirts and skins," Coyote says, looking between you and Bob with a smile. "Who's who?"

"Good question," Payback adds with a playful eye roll.

"You can both be skins if you want," Fanboy finishes, bumping you with his elbow. "Don't think anyone here would complain."

Phoenix strikes him in the back of the head with a grumble before Bob can.

You're blushing, laughing.

Bob's shrugging his shirt off before you can even think about it--even if Coyote's only teasing the two of you, Bob never wants you to feel uncomfortable.

"Bob, man," Rooster calls with a smirk. "You've got a tattoo?"

It tickles you that the rest of the squadron has seemingly never seen him shirtless--because if they had, they would have seen it already. It's hard to miss: it's about the size of the middle of your palm, inked on his skin in black. It's a stamp of a honeybee, drawn in a classic illustrative style that Bob found himself drawn to the year he got it.

"Uh huh," Bob says, shyly raking his hand through his hair and resisting the urge to put his shirt back on. He feels like he's going to burn alive not even under the sun but under the gaze of his entire squadron as they come to get a better look at him. "So, football?"

"Uh-uh," Phoenix tuts, letting her sunglasses fall down on her nose as she looks closer at the tattoo. "Is that a honeybee?"

Bob nods, pretending like the red in his cheeks is from the sun and not from their prodding.

You know Bob well--arguably, you know Bob better than anyone else in the world. So as you stand beside the emptying picnic basket and watch him shrink underneath everyone's gaze, wringing his shirt in his hands nervously, stuttering out responses and trying to steer everyone away from him--you know you need to do something.

So you take your cover-up off, which you know will give everyone a view of the matching stamp on your outer shoulder. You move over to the group, holding a tube of sunscreen in your hand, pushing your sunglasses up your nose.

"Hey, Nix," you call, smiling when she turns to you with her eyebrows raised. "Can you get my tattoo? It's sensitive to the sun. Don't want it to fade."

That's got everyone's attention, much to Bob's immediate relief. You've always been much better at receiving attention than him. You're less shy by nature, which is something he's always admired about you, and you don't get so stuffy beneath everyone's gaze.

"You have one, too?!" Rooster asks, coming to take a closer look at your arm as you smile, pretending to be coy.

"Uh-oh," Payback sing-songs. "That's a flower, isn't it?"

It clicks for the group just before you give a proud nod, confirming that you and Bob indeed have matching tattoos. And they're thinking about chiding you, the lot of them cooing mockingly and pinching your sides. But you're too prideful for that, just tilting your chin towards the sky and smiling your pretty smile, giving all of them the same energy.

"I'm his petal," you say, intentionally inducing a grimace on their faces, "and he's my honeybee."

"And suddenly, I want to play football again," Hangman snorts, promptly nodding before turning back to the sand.

What you're saying is the truth; you do call each other petal and honeybee. But it's always been something the two of you have kept under wraps, indulging in the sweetness of it but all too aware of just how sickly-romantic it is.

Phoenix is rubbing suntan lotion on you through her remaining giggles and the rest of the squadron is starting to filter back over to the sand to pick back up where they left off, crumbling their muffin wrappers and tossing them into the trash bag.

Bob falls more and more in love with you every single day--he is just a man after all. How could he not when you're the most perfect person he's ever met? You outdo yourself everyday--outdoing the previous days sweetness, selflessness, kindness, wit, beauty. And right now is no exception; you're chatting with Phoenix about her date, something she mentioned last weekend off-handedly but something that you'd remembered to ask about because that's just how you are. You're so happy, gasping and oohing and awing along with her words, practically glowing under the sun.

Whenever Phoenix finishes and you glance over at Bob, your eyes partially hidden by sunglasses, your smile is as sweet as those muffins everyone loves. Bob can't help himself--he cups your cheeks, tipping your hat back just slightly, thumbing your cheeks gently.

"Too much?" You ask, searching his wanton face as your smile falters. "Didn't mean to give our pet-names out like that, but I could tell you weren't comfortable and--!"

"--You better get ready," Bob interrupts, smiling softly as your face softens and your brows come together.

You carefully stroke his tattoo before letting your hands rest on his shoulders, his skin warm beneath your palms.

"For what?" You ask, giggling when he pulls you against him and presses his lips to yours sweetly.

"To become a Floyd," he mumbles against your lips with a grin. "Sooner rather than later, petal."

here is my tag list!!

[crusadingcookie]

Hey i was wondering if maybe u can do a fic where reader is part of taskforce 141 and most of the time is super focused on the mission and her orders but seems out it it bc its her daughter bday or sum ,and they find out she used to have a family (husband,children the while shabang) but they were murdered or died in a terrorist attack. I just want something really angsty 😭💀

spring daffodils

Also on AO3!

Pairing: TF141 & fem!Reader, mentioned Reader x unnamed!Husband 

Summary: It’s been years since the tragic death of your husband and daughter at the hands of an enemy target you were tracking at the time. On the day of what would have been your daughter’s birthday, something in a mission causes you to break down in front of the rest of the task force. Or: 3k words of the reader crying and Task Force 141 comforting her

Word Count: 3k

Content Warnings: fem!Reader, angst, hurt/comfort, crying, brief argument with Ghost at the beginning but nothing too bad, Reader was married and had a child, mentions of death (including death of a child), brief mention of blood, Reader has the codename “Tigress”, this is all strictly platonic, Tigress has that widow trauma so no time for romance, no beta we die like Tigress' family, it's for the angst plot guys I swear

A/N: Thank you for the request, I’m sorry this is kinda late but I hope you enjoy it! The ending is a bit meh but I already felt bad with how late this is. I tried to make this as angsty as possible but with some comfort and a bit of fluff at the end. 

It was spring when you first met him. You were back home after a long, tiring time of non-stop tours and missions. You decided to take a small break of a couple of months before specialising further in your military career. A new café had opened near your home and you often found yourself there, spending the afternoon in the cosy shop. It was where you first met him. You had just picked up your cup of coffee when something bumped into you from behind, causing your coffee to spill all over the front of your shirt. You turned around, ready to have a word with whoever knocked into you when you were met with a ramble of apologies and promises to buy you a new coffee. Soon you found yourself sitting with the man in a private corner of the café, a hot cup of coffee in front of you and a promise of a new shirt to replace the coffee-stained one. One date quickly turned into two, the both of you enraptured with each other. And after a few years, a golden ring adorned your finger. After a year or so of the two of you being married, your daughter was born. A little human being who brought joy and innocence to your life, who did not know of the true horrors her mum faced to keep people like her safe.

=====

And it was spring when they died. The trees were starting to bud and the flowers were starting to bloom again. The sky was finally clear after months of grey clouds and cold winds. Mother Earth was once again encouraging and welcoming new life when their light was snuffed out. A bitter irony. 

The family of crows which lived in your back garden sat in the branches of the tree overlooking your driveway. Watching as you made your way across the driveway and to the front door, observing like a bad omen. Only for you to discover the bodies of your husband and daughter. Shot dead in the very living room of your own home. It was like a silly game of Cluedo, whodunnit and with what? Except this wasn’t a silly game of Cluedo. You knew exactly who had ordered this to be done. 

Their deaths were because of your line of work. A tragic event born from a multitude of failures. The target you were chasing at the time with your old squad had sent out the hit on your family. In a last-ditch attempt to attack your squad in some way. And if he couldn’t get to your squad directly, then he would hurt them indirectly. And that he did. Somehow it got out that you had a family, it shouldn’t have. Someone back at base fucked up because that information should have been strictly secret to prevent these types of situations in the first palace. It should have been redacted behind a big block of black ink on your file. But in the end, your target was the one with the last laugh whilst you were forced to deal with the sight of your husband and daughter murdered in your own home. 

Since that day you have thrown yourself into your work. Sinking in an endless ocean of mission after mission, wanting to give up and stop swimming and yet just as the last breath of air leaves your lungs you find yourself breaking the surface yet again. A never-ending cycle of peace until the storm of grief strikes anew.

Without anyone left back home, it was easy to dedicate everything to the military and a few years later you found yourself recruited by no other than Captain John Price himself. This new task force, the 141, was the closest thing to family you had experienced in a long time. And yet, you still couldn’t find it in yourself to tell the boys about them. About your husband and your little girl. A part of you reasoned that there was no need for them to know, what was the point when their fate has already been engraved in stone and nothing can change the outcome of what happened. Or maybe you were just too much of a coward to confront what happened that day.

What you couldn’t ignore was the current date. Its significance is seared into your mind, a constant reminder of what could have been. Of what you have lost. And of course, the task force was assigned a mission on this day of all days. At first, the mission you and the rest of the task force were on was going well. You always prided yourself in being professional and focused when it came to missions. You knew the seriousness of the situation and followed orders given to you. 

And then it all went to shit. You were already feeling off the moment you woke up. Not even looking at the small desk calendar to remind yourself of the date. As if you haven’t been counting down the days. Like clockwork, waiting for the guilt and grief to wash over you until the tsunami passed and you waited until another 365 days passed to repeat the process.

You and your team had cleared the abandoned village the enemy had set up base in. You were ordered to search and clear one of the buildings in case there were any enemies in hiding. As you methodically made your way through the house you came across what clearly used to be a child’s room. Toys were strewn about, but what caused you to pause was the sight of a teddy bear dropped at the foot of the bed. Intel had informed you that the village was forced to flee as the enemy forces occupied the area, some resisting and resulting in civilian deaths. Your eyes zeroed in on the blood splatter on one of the teddy’s ears, the fake fur matted with the dried liquid. 

“Mum, can I get that teddy pretty pleaasee?”

“Alright sweetie, but only this one okay?”

“Yay thank you! I will name you… hmmm… Sir Stripes!”

You honestly did not remember much after that. The rest of the village was deemed clear and soon you were on the flight back to base. You fought to keep yourself together just for a few more hours until you were back on base and could grieve alone within the confines of your own four walls. Your team watched with concern as you sat, back straight and staring ahead at the hull of the plane. 

A hand on your shoulder jolted you out of your memories. You recognised the face of the pilot and it took you embarrassingly long to realise the rest of the team had already disembarked the plane. You mumbled what you hoped was an intelligible apology and made your way over to the locker room. Thankfully the room was empty, you loved your teammates that was without question. But right now, you didn’t think you could make it much longer until you broke down. With practised ease, you stripped yourself of your gear and it seemed you were lucky enough that no one came to find out why you were taking so long. You should have known by now that luck typically doesn’t go your way. Just as you put away the last of your gear a voice from the doorway interrupted you.

“Care to explain what’s up with you today?” With a deep breath, you turned and faced Ghost. Your lieutenant was standing in the doorway of the armoury, already out of his field gear, although he looked just as intimidating in his normal attire. 

“I don’t know what you mean, the mission was a success.” You said, attempting to feign ignorance. Of course, Ghost saw through that.

“You were out of it” Ghost replied, his eyes piercing into yours, his sharp gaze never leaving you. 

You stayed silent, hoping that he would drop it and let you go so that you could inevitably cry in peace. The two of you stood in silence, staring at each other until Ghost crossed his arms over his chest, looking even more imposing in the doorway.

“Don’t bullshit me Tigress. You were clearly out of it, hell even Soap noticed and you know it takes him long to figure this kind of shit out.” 

“The mission was a success, so I don’t see why this is an issue.” You huffed, starting to get irritated at the man’s persistent probing. Any other day you would be happy to know that the infamous Ghost cared. But right now? Right now you just wanted to be left alone. You just wanted to stew in your grief, let the dark thoughts remind you of what happened. You had to keep the walls up. They can’t know how fucked up your life was. How you failed to protect them. You don’t deserve their comfort.

Ghost shifted at the slight tone in your voice. If it wasn’t clear before that something was bothering you, now it definitely was. “It becomes an issue when one of my soldiers is not thinking clearly in enemy territory.”

“Look, Lieutenant, it's getting late, we’re all tired. This won’t happen again.” You sighed, exasperated by both the exhaustion from the mission and the emotional toll it took on you.

You pushed past the man and made your way to the task force’s shared kitchen area. Hoping to get a fresh glass of water and some snacks before your inevitable break down. Of course Ghost, the stubborn man that he is, followed you. He wasn’t done with this situation and in his own way wanted to make sure you were okay so that you wouldn’t be distracted in future missions. You ignored the rest of your team sitting in the room and beelined straight for the kitchen cupboard, taking out an empty glass.

“This isn’t a joke Tigress. One mistake and it can cost you your life out there” 

“I know that!” You exclaimed in response to Ghost’s voice, not turning around to face the man who had followed you to the common area.

“Do you? Do you know that? Because today, out there it seemed like one of my soldiers was ready to put her life in danger because she wasn’t aware!”

Ghost waits for an answer but when he gets none he continued, “I can’t have you out there acting as if there is nothing for you to go back to back home”

“Well, there is nothing back home!” You yelled out, setting the glass not so gently on the counter. Immediately you closed your eyes in regret of your outburst. 

Ghost faltered for a second, the rest of the team watching you with your back turned to them

You faced the wall, feeling the sting grow stronger in your eyes. You tilted your face up towards the ceiling, hoping it would stave off the tears. The muscles in your jaw tensed as you clenched them in an attempt to keep your composure. 

“Tigress?”

You took a deep breath and turned to face your team. They watched as you faced them, your lip quivering as you fought to contain the sobs building in your throat, eyes brimmed with tears threatening to spill down your cheeks at any second. You rapidly blinked your eyes at the moisture building up in them. 

“I’m gonna go to sleep,” you said with a shaky voice.

“Hey, don’t pull away from us, please. Tell us what’s wrong” Gaz was the first one to break the silence, he got up and moved to stand in front of you. “Are you alright?” he asked, stretching his arms out towards you in a silent offering.

At the sound of his gentle voice the walls you so desperately built to shield your own heart broke. And with them your last composure. You sniffled a few times, inhaling the air up through your nose as your face twisted with both the emotional pain and the effort of not breaking down. You shook your head softly at him, words failing you at this moment due to the lump in your throat and the tight coil wrapped in your chest. You practically dove into Gaz’s outstretched arms, allowing yourself for the first time in years to have this comfort. His arms came down to wrap around you and in the safety of his embrace, the first sob escaped from where you tried to bury it down. The tears quickly followed and found their way down your cheeks. 

The two of you stood there for what felt like hours, Gaz gently rocking you from side to side. Years of built-up grief and anguish finally escaped from where you had buried those feelings deep within your heart, bubbling up into a series of broken sounds escaping your lips. After a few minutes, your sobs calmed down to a few quiet hiccups and sniffles. Another arm joined to draw comforting circles on your back, you tilted your head from where it was resting against Gaz’s chest to see Soap standing next to you. A warm smile on the Scotman’s face. 

“I- um…” you trailed off, your words interrupted by yet another sniffle. 

“Take your time lass,” answered Soap

You sent him a watery smile and pulled your sleeves over your hands to wipe at your eyes as well as your running nose. You coughed to clear the croakiness in your voice and took a deep breath in an effort to calm down.

“I had a husband years ago. We were married and even had a little girl together. This was before I joined the task force and everything,” you paused to accept a tissue from Price, you blew out your nose before continuing. “And well, they were both killed because of my involvement in a case. The target we were tracking sent out the hit.”

“Kid, I had no idea.” Price said, taking your used tissue from your hand and replacing it with a clean one. He may deny that he is the dad of the team, but all of you knew he cared for every single one of you.

“I didn’t want any of you to know. I tried putting that shit behind me. Didn’t want to talk about it, so I left it out of my file.” You explained and with a weak laugh you continue, “she would have been eight today. Her dad would always buy her those supermarket cakes, and if I wasn’t home she would insist I get one as well so that I could eat some cake too.”

All of your teammates’ hearts ached seeing how much pain you carried, how long you probably suffered and grieved for their losses without having anyone to comfort you. Never before had they seen you with this much pain in your voice, you were always the one who got the job done on missions. Who seemed like they had their life together and returned on leave to a happy home life.

You looked up after dabbing at your eyes with the tissue to see Price standing in front of you. You didn’t think you had any tears left in you but at the sight of your Captain, the unofficial dad of the team, with his arms out wide offering you a hug and a soft look in his eyes you felt the tears well up once again. 

You accepted Price’s hug and you felt the distinct lump in the back of your throat build up again and as much as you tried to will it away, it persisted and soon more sobs were forced from you. The smell of cigars and smoke enveloped you in the warmth of his embrace. Price only pulled you closer to his chest at the sound of your sobs, allowing you to fully bury your face into his shirt, no doubt wetting the fabric with your tears.

Soon Gaz joined you two, tears of his own in his eyes. Price reached up with one of his arms and pulled the younger man in. Soap followed shortly after and finally, you felt gentle yet firm arms enveloping all of you. You looked up to see Ghost, a rare soft look in his eyes and a silent apology for having pushed you for answers earlier. 

You felt safe here in the big, warm group hug of your teammates and slowly your sobs dwindled until they completely died down.

“I have some pictures I can show you guys,” you disentangled yourself from the group hug to move to one of the couches and took out your phone, scrolling past pictures of the task force members as well as pictures of your old team. You finally found your favourite picture, it shows your husband and daughter together, a tiger plushie clutched in your daughter’s hands. Your team gathered around as you showed them the picture.

“Wait, is that why?” Soap began to ask and you nodded.

“They were her favourite animal. And when she found out about codenames, she practically insisted on that being my codename”

“So like a secret spy!”

“Yes sweetie, it’s a secret spy name”

“Can you choose your own?”

“We can, or it’s a nickname given to us by our friends”

“Ooo how about Tiger? No! Tigress!”

“That’s an amazing idea, honey”

You took a moment to stare at the picture, smiling at how happy they both looked in it. Your hand which held the crumpled tissue reached up to lightly dab at the tears welling up in your eyes again. You accepted another tissue from Ghost this time, where he got them from you had no idea but you were grateful for it anyways. 

The rest of the evening was spent with all of you sharing various stories from over the years. Tucked in between your teammates, tired from the emotional day, you felt a sense of home. Something which you hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

[violetmuses]

Element - A. Aretas ❤️‍🩹

Title: Element - A. Aretas ❤️‍🩹

Fandom: “Bad Boys” Film Universe

Character: Armando Aretas

Pairing: Armando Aretas + Female Reader

Main Storyline: One secret might change everything when Armando Aretas joins the Miami Police Department.

Tag List: @nelo0wesker @yassbishimvintage @nobodygetsza @peaxhygirl @superstar-t20 @adoresmiles @klssngss @deja-r @hyper-trash-panda @amethyst-loves-bucky @planetblaque @sweettea-and-honeybutter @lovedlover @xjjawsomex @readingisahobby @kindofaintrovert 🏷

=====

2024

Red and blue overcasts immediately brightened the skyline this evening as police officers arrested goons.

“Good job, y'all. Let's get out of here.” Detective Mike Lowrey took charge and rounded the members of the AMMO squad, including you.

After handling many questions or encountering secrets over time, Mike would even take responsibility as the biological father of previous criminal Armando Aretas.

To cut down his time in prison, red tape pulled strings and Armando returned to Florida, now working as your partner.

“Barbecue this weekend?” Mike's longtime partner and best friend Marcus Burnett chuckled.

“Hell yeah.” Mike would leave, but not without facing Armando.

“What's up?” Revealing slightly accented English, Aretas stayed cordial toward Mike.

“Wanna go?” Mike referenced the celebration once more.

“You sure?” Armando squinted.

“Rook visits all the time.” Cutting your nickname, Mike gestured as you caught up with weapons expert Kelly, smiling.

“I'll go.” Aretas noticed Mike, yet glanced toward you for a second and butterflies nearly swarmed.

“Aight. We'll drive with Christine tomorrow.” Sharing their fist bump, Mike leaves Armando by himself.

***

The Miami Police Department scheduled this cookout from public parks each year.

Sunlight warmed as you entered the parking lot and charcoal began smoking past various directions.

Just when you'd exit the car and head over to see everyone, music rattled out of nowhere.

Mike's classic Porsche rolled near your vehicle while the AUX cord hustled overtime through subwoofers.

“Really?” You laughed out loud and stepped away, ignoring Mike.

Both Armando and Lowrey's wife Christine shook their heads in return.

Christine also worked as an experienced physical therapist and helped Mike heal throughout the shooting recovery which took place years back.

“His idea, not mine.” Armando clipped jokes when reaching the park together.

_______

“Keep talking. It'd be nice.” Mike grumbled toward Armando later.

“What?” Aretas seemed clueless.

“You like her.” Mentioning you, Mike arched his brow and walked away, returning that grill debate with Marcus and Reggie.

Just when Armando moves for his plate, you reach attention first.

“Over here.” If nothing else, you don't want Aretas to sit alone in this large space.

“Hey.” Armando wouldn't smile, but feelings kept racing again.

“Hi.” Your voice greeted him. There's so much more to life than work, especially right now.

By the end of this cookout, no one else intervenes and Aretas nearly ditches Mike to stay with you.

“Go.” You laughed right through another smile this afternoon.

“Fine.” Armando says back.

Once this man looked around for privacy, Armando stepped closer and kissed your cheek, heading to Mike's Porsche.

[gennyanydots]

Do you want a skittle, Mommy?

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x f!reader

Part of the 'Spitfire' Universe

Can be read as a standalone but makes more sense if you've read some of the other stories.

Potty training started the moment your son Eli was even slightly interested in the potty. You definitely didn’t encourage Jake to convince him that peeing in the potty was the coolest thing ever and you definitely didn’t have the rest of the dagger squad tell him the same thing every time they saw him. So the moment Eli was interested you were throwing the family headfirst into potty training. He was two. It was time. And with a new baby on the way? Yeah you needed him out of diapers. Buying one size of diapers is enough. 

Potty training was easy at home. Being a stay at home mom was extremely helpful for potty training even with you being 7 months pregnant. A couple child size potties around the house and you were golden. You’re pretty sure Jake was a little jealous of his son’s toilet that sat right in front of the TV. You shut that down before Jake even thought to ask if he could also pee while watching football. 

Going out while potty training wasn’t really hard either, especially if you were out with your husband’s co-workers since there was always someone willing to run Eli to the bathroom. 

Your only potty training hiccup was when you had gone down to Texas for Thanksgiving this year…

Now you love Jake’s dad. Love him to pieces. He’s amazing. After all these years he’s been more your father than your actual father ever was. You couldn’t ask for a better grandfather for your son. He’s a wonderful Pop Pop to Eli and dotes on him every chance he has. Eli thinks he’s the best grandfather in the world(as long as Grandpa Mavvie isn’t in the room, then it’s a toss up to who at that exact moment is bribing him with the best stuff). You know living on a ranch in Texas is a different lifestyle than your own back in California, you just wish Pop Pop would have thought of that before teaching your son your least favorite new habit. 

“Mommy! I go potty!” you hear Eli call from the living room after the song playing on the tv was paused. 

You stop rinsing dishes and wipe your hands on the towel hanging from the oven door then head into the living room, “Okay buddy, let’s go potty. Maybe we could use the bathroom this time?” 

“Outside!” Eli yells while racing to the back door with your dog, Radar, chasing after his little legs. 

Ugh. Outside. Your son’s favorite bathroom. 

Potty training had been in full swing when you last went down to Texas for Thanksgiving. Jake’s parents were both on board to help potty training while you visited. Pop Pop had taken Eli for a walk around the ranch one afternoon while you were there  and showed your son how he can pee outside and since then outside has been your son’s favorite potty. Eli especially thinks it’s super cool that he and Radar now share a “bathroom”.

You’re very proud of Eli getting better and being able to hold it until he’s outside but you just wish with everything you are that he’d pee in a bathroom. A real bathroom. An inside bathroom. With a toilet. 

You sigh as you walk to the backdoor and push the door open enough for your son and dog to both race outside to pee. Thank goodness you bought a house with a privacy fence. You watch your son as he strips off his shorts to go pee then you turn and gently bang your head on the door frame. You have no idea how you’re supposed to stop this. Maybe you should get him one of those fake grass patches for dogs who are inside all day. 

“Sure hope you’re not hurting my best girl,” a voice from behind you says, causing you to jump and actually bump your forehead on the frame. 

You groan and rub your forehead, “I wasn’t until you scared me.” 

Jake fakes a pout as he walks over to you and from behind he wraps his arms under your baby bump and kisses your head then maneuvers you both so you’re facing outside, “I’m sorry, darlin’. I thought you heard me come into the house.” 

You shook your head, “Sure didn’t. You’d think someone as tall as you would make more noise.”

Jake chuckled, “I’m not Rooster but if you want me to lumber about I’ll sure try my hardest for you. Anything for you, darlin’.” 

You roll your eyes at your husband’s words, not that he can see, then close them reveling in your husband’s arms practically moaning as he lifted up on your belly to lift some of the pressure off your stomach. 

“That sounds more pornographic than when we…” 

You then hear a small voice call from your backyard cutting off his daddy’s sentence, “Daddy! Look! I’m peeing! Outside! Daddy! Look!” 

“I see you, Eli. Thanks for the update. I’m sure the neighbors all wanted to hear about your bathroom habits, son,” your husband calls back to your son who grins at his father as if this is his greatest accomplishment. Jake groans against your hair murmuring about how he hopes Mr. Andrews next door isn’t watering his garden right now.

“That’s your dad’s fault you know,” you say to Jake as you point at your son who is now chasing after your dog without putting his shorts back on, completely uncaring about the slight chill in the air. 

He grumbles, “Yeah, yeah, I know. And I’m trying to fix the damage he’s done. I've been asking around if anyone has any ideas on what to do.” 

“Any good ideas? I mean actually good ideas. I can only imagine the things that might come out of their mouths.”

Jake snickered then shrugged, “Phoenix suggested having him decorate his bathroom so maybe he would be excited to pee in there. Maybe go online and see if there's some Bluey bathroom items or something.”

You consider it for a moment, “Not a terrible idea. Grass can’t be hard to beat. And we all do love Bluey.” 

“No, I hope grass isn’t more exciting than Bluey. It’s Bluey!,” Jake says while softly swaying the two of you from side to side as you watch your two hooligans run around the backyard chasing after each other. “Payback said that his sister gave her daughter a treat every time she used the potty.”

“What kind of a treat?”

“Like a sticker, a skittle or an M&M something small like that,” Jake said as he continued to sway. 

“Bribing our son to use the bathroom? He would probably like that,” you reply. You don’t tend to give Eli candy often. Well you and Jake try not to. The rest of your extended family including the Dagger squad however don’t share those same ideas. You’ve caught Payback sneaking Eli gummy bears more than once saying he couldn’t resist those green puppy dog eyes of his. 

Jake nodded, “I figured. Picked up a giant bag of skittles on the way home from work. Thought we might as well try it.”

And so you did. Eli was excited to get a skittle every time he went to the bathroom. He loved getting to pick out all the fun new things for his Bluey/Spiderman/Plane bathroom. Jake loved to show off the bathroom retheme to his buddies which pleased Eli to no end because clearly if Wooster loved his new bathroom then it had to be the best bathroom in the world. 

You finally felt like you had a handle on this potty training thing until you went to today’s preschool story time at your local library. Eli loved going to the library so you tried to make it to every story time. 

You were a little apprehensive about this week’s story time already due to the word your son picked up from Fanboy recently when Fanboy made his feelings about Santa Claus known to everyone and said, “Fuck Santa!” due to not getting a toy he wanted. Last Christmas. When he was very much an adult. So now any time Santa is mentioned near Eli he announces to everyone listening, “Fuck Santa!” 

You may have mentioned this to the librarian last week and she made sure to pick out a Hanukkah book. Thank goodness. 

Afterwards, because you know not to tempt fate, you made sure to hit up the bathroom since the baby in your belly loved to play footsy with your bladder. 

After your son peed you made sure to give him his well deserved skittle and then after you used the bathroom, in his adorable little voice he asked you, “Do you want a skittle, mommy? You went potty all by yourself like me!”

You chuckled and got yourself one too. 

When you both stepped out of the stall a mom you didn’t know was washing her hands with her daughter.

She turned to you as you approached, “You know I didn’t have to bribe my daughter to be potty trained. Maybe your son just wasn’t ready. My daughter was potty trained in no time at all.”

You stood there for a second, flabbergasted. Who in their right mind would care that much to comment about another person’s child? 

You shook it off and made sure to smile at her, “You know I might give my son a skittle for using the bathroom because he clearly earned it but at least I’m never going to have to worry about my son being nasty to someone he doesn’t know.” 

From beside you came a little, “Yeah! If you jealous I got a skittle you can have one too. It’s nice to share.” 

The mom scoffed at you and picked up her daughter who whined at her mom for wanting a skittle as they walked out. 

You gave your son a giant kiss on the cheek for that before you helped him wash his hands. 

Later that evening when you told Jake he laughed and told you he wouldn’t be so lazy all of the time and wait to go to the bathroom if he got a skittle every time he went which Eli made sure to let his daddy know that if Jake wanted a skittle every time he went potty then he would be more than happy to share his skittles with him. Yeah, no doubt in your mind that your son isn’t going to be anything but the nicest boy in town forever.

[ns-imagines]

Dog Tags (Preview)

Nikto x Reader | SFW | Word Count: 1.4k

Authors Note: Preview/Introduction to the new fic im writing!!

Warnings: Depictions of gore/injury and mentions of medication

It's been over four years. You’ve been trying to catch him. 8 different counties. Your heart was pounding from adrenaline. “I finally got you” you proudly proclaimed as you dug your knee into his back. Nikto groaned. His leg was broken from a failed escape attempt earlier. It was honestly the only reason your squad was able to detain him. You were quick to handcuff him. The other agents from NATO watched. All of them armed and ready to give Nikto the lead if needed. One of the men read Nikto his rights. Wanted on 17 counts of terrorism and suspected war crimes. He was fucked.

Nikto looked around him, a cold gaze on his face which was covered by his mask. He looked for any possible escape. The pain in his leg shot up to his knee and hips. “You got me, but at what cost?” Nikto barked out in a cocky tone. You roll your eyes and put more weight on your knee in the small of his back. He winced but he still managed to force out a chuckle. You gave a quick nod. Immediately after, two men squat down to slide a hand through the gap by his arm pits. You back off as they lifted him up, holding him so he could put weight on his good leg. Nikto swallowed hard and clenched his jaw. He was in so much pain he wanted to cry. Glancing back at him, you turned to one of your men with a radio. “Call the medic for his injuries. I want them on the aircraft before we evac.” You said as you walked away towards the extraction point just outside. The man nods and calls it in on the radio.

Nikto hopped over while being supported by the two men. His wrist ached from the cuffs being put on too tight. Tears prick his eyes from the pain in each jump. They make it to the extraction point where a V-22 can be seen approaching. Nikto lets his head fall down in front of him. He stared at the ground trying to collect himself. He would hide it well but Nikto was panicking. Last time he was caught like this he was tortured. Americans don’t torture, right? He sucked in a sharp breath, noticing he had forgotten to breathe. He felt betrayed by his own leg and how it would make his escape almost impossible.

You walk onto the aircraft talking to the necessary people. They are all asking what information to report back to base. Nikto is forced onto the aircraft. The two men that escorted him seated him down and secured all his limbs except his leg to the seat. They buckle his waist and overhead chest straps. After speaking to at least 10 people, you went and sat across from him. Crossing your legs and arms to glare at him. He returns the look with a cold and dirty look.

A young medic walks over to the two of you. He had just left his schoolhouse, so he was brand new to hitting the fleet. His name tape reads “Pellet”. Nikto watches Pellet closely as he speaks to him. “Good Afternoon Ma’am! I'm here to assess your injuries.” Pellet chirps out. You smile and reassure him youre okay and point to Nikto seated behind Pellet. Pellet basically turns in one hop motion to face Nikto while saying “oh”.

Pellet kneels and smiles at Nikto as he explains to him his rights under the Geneva Convention. Nikto zones out. Occasionally, giving you dirty looks. Pellet clears his voice and says “I'm going to have to cut your pants to assess your leg.” Nikto nods and says nonchalantly “Fine. Just do it quickly.” Pellet nods and pulls out a syringe and fabric scissors. Nikto watches him, his body stiff in fear that hell would bump his injury. Pellet starts with Nikto's ankle and stops cutting at just above his knee. Damn, he's white. You smile thinking about how you could tease him about how he should go get a tan. Pellet continues his work by sliding his pants a bit higher to expose his thigh. He carefully injects the morphine. Pellet moves his attention down to the break. It looked disgusting. All black and blue plus it was swollen. Pellet took down notes and stated that “I'm thinking transverse fracture in the fibula” You both look at him confused. “What” You both say at the same time reacting in a glare towards each other. Pellet lightly runs his finger about 3/4th down Niktos shin. “Clean break right here. I need an X-Ray when we get back for sure.” Nikto winces at the touch.

“This is going to hurt or feel very uncomfortable but the morphine should help.” Pellet states as he takes out a SAM Splint. (A split used in field military care. It looks like a big slap bracelet that doesn't bend.) Nikto looks at the roof and squeezes his eyes shut. He didn't want anyone touching his leg. It hurt to the point where it made him mad. Pellet wiped down Nikto and applied the SAM splints on both sides. Nikto was clenching his jaw so hard he thought he would break his teeth. Pellet quickly wrapped it up with field dressing and some athletic tape to secure it. Pellet stood up admiring his work. “All done.” He said, turning to face you. You dismiss Pellet and stand up to walk away. Pellet injects more Morphine into Nikto. He can feel his body relax. It makes him tiered almost.

The aircraft takes off. Nikto overhears it's a long flight back to the U.K. then they will fly to the states. Pellet comes around periodically to inject more morphine. Nikto falls asleep. Bad dreams and memories still cloud his dreams. Nikto's eyes fluttered open to someone running by. He groans and looks over to the cockpit where a small crowd stands. He can see you talking to the pilots. There were a lot of arguments and beeping noises all at once. Nikto listens to what he can. You grab the radio and speak on it in a serious but worried tone. “This aircraft is on humanitarian order and is carrying civilians. Stand down.” He hears you repeat it multiple times. A man stands next to you barking orders at the other men to take their seats and strap him. The aircraft jerks to the side. You repeat yourself on the radio before the pilots tell you to strap in.

​You rush to sit by Nikto, immediately pulling the shoulder straps over you. “You fucking bastard.” You bark at Nikto, who is looking at you blankly. He says nothing as you buckle the last remaining straps. You look at him disgusted. “Who did you call?!” Niktos' eyes changed to an expression of shock. “Me?! I've been tied to this chair!” He says, annoyed. His accent was getting thicker with anger. You scoff “You aren’t getting away from me again. I'm turning you in no matter what.” You grab the straps on your chest and squeeze your eyes shut as the aircraft jolts. Nikto notices your knuckles turning white from squeezing. You being worried makes him become worried. He goes to poke you but he is quickly reminded his hands are restrained to the seat. “What is happening?!” He demands, looking at the agent and Pellet who is seated across from them. Nikto didn't even notice him buckling in. Pellet was crying…? No one answered him.

It all happened in seconds. A loud bang. Heat. Cold air slapped him in the face. The whiplash. Then there was blood in his eyes. His heart felt like it was going to explode. He couldnt breathe, the pressure was so great. Blurring his vision. Sharp pain hitting his leg from getting hit with debris made him scream out in pain. Light. Then dark.

…

Nikto woke up slowly to a red flashing light and silence. A headache hit him. He could feel his head pulsing. He felt strange until he realized he was upside down. The blood rushing to his head didn't help. You were still strapped in next to him unconscious. Across from him Pellet was- Nikto wanted to vomit. He had to look away. Pellet's head was completely gone along with one of his legs. A disgusting blood mess. Nikito's vision starts to blur and blacken. The headache. The blood rush was so uncomfortable, almost painful. His leg was completely numb. A second later, he was unconscious again.

-

Military Lingo Key

V-22 Osprey- its like helicopter half plane. Pretty sketchy. Super loud when flying and bumpy.

Field dressing - softer brace that wraps covered wound or sprang. Its like the stuff they wrap around ur arm after giving blood but fabric.

[13as07]

Tiggie #2

(Itachi Uchiha)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to cytosine]

Requested by: Anonymous

Word Count: 3,815

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

I was too lazy to look up Genma's parental statues so surprise they're dead; sorry, not sorry if it's not canon

We're going to pretend Minato didn't do the Reaper Death Seal cause I got tired of researching and cause I'm the author and said so :)

———————————————————————

Itachi's fingers shift around under the table, in search of my wrist again. "You know she can't answer that question," he grumbles toward his father, shooting down the chief's newest question about our mission this afternoon. His fingers slide over my wrist, squeezing it once or twice before letting me go again.

"Your father is just trying to get to know your new friend, Sweetie. It doesn't help that you haven't told us much about her," His mother mediates, placing down a plate of crackers and cheese before turning back toward the supper she's cooking. "We don't even know her name."

"Oh, it's - "

"Tiggie," Itachi cuts me off, making his father's and my eyes glance toward him. My name is very much not 'Tiggie' and he knows that. What the hell are you on right now, Itachi?

"Tiggie?" His father repeats, stone eyes back on me. Well, at least I know where Itachi gets his death grip sight from. "Your parents must have lacked... futuristic thinking skills."

"Dad."

"Fugaku," Itachi and his mother say at the same time, shooting the same glare at the man across the table. "Don't mind him, Sweetie. He's just old and set in the past," she says, this time setting down a pitcher of juice. A couple of grumbles come from her husband but he doesn't comment on my 'name' again.

     Itachi's hand moves again, bumping against my leg before wrapping around my wrist for the hundredth time. When his fingers slide into place, the uncomfortable fear causing light to flicker through my senses before the room goes dark like the night sky. Instantly I drop my head down, staring at the table. It looks about the same, with a few aging marks present now.

"Anyway, Tiggie," Fugaku starts, making me panic more. "You're on the same squad as Itachi, your family must have some decent skills."

"Ya, my older brother is a bodyguard for the Hokage. More specifically Lord Fourth, but he served under Lord Third now," I answer toward the table, glancing my eyes to the left.

Nothing is there, no Itachi despite his hand clinging to my wrist and no sign of his mother even though I can hear her clinking around the kitchen. I quickly glance to the right, my stomach dripping at the sight. Itachi's parents are kneeling on the ground, the tip of a sword poking out from between them.

Do I look? Do I not look? I should look, I should see what's going on. What if they're being murdered? What if it's an attack on Itachi's clan? What if it's an attack on the village?

"That's impressive. An older son protecting our leader and a younger daughter in one of the top anbu squad. Your parents must be proud," Fugaku says, his spot being a void when I glance up. What do I do? How do I get out of this scenario? Detach Itachi?

"They were, yes," I mutter, taking a peak to the right again, lifting my head higher this time.

"Were?"

The question barely registers, the whole of my mind taken up by the person on the other end of the sword. My telling is that of Itachi murdering his parents, of his parents willingly dying at the hand of their son, of him dressed in his anbu uniform soaked in blood with his mask resting on the top of his head.

"Hey? Are you okay?" Itachi asks from my side, his hand dropping my wrist to shake my shoulder.

"Um... ya," I mumble, shifting to look at where I think he is in reality.

"Your... eyes," he mutters, dropping his hold on me. "You... what is... dad?" He continues, hand cupping my face to shift it toward his father.

While my head is kept in place, I shift my eyes to the side again, a gag surfacing as I watch future Itachi slice his mother's throat. My hand jumps up, covering my mouth as I try to use my breathing to settle my churning stomach.

"I didn't know there were any dojutsu users in the village aside from the Hyuga and our clan. Well, and Kakashi," Fugaku mutters, the sound of him shifting leading the touch of his fingers to my cheek. "What is it that you can see with those eyes of yours, child?"

"Uh... it just... just snips of the future," I mutter, not able to pull my eyes away as I watch the future version of my friend kill his father as well.

"Fukagu, stop pestering the young lady."

A swat follows the statement, along with a groan. "You didn't have to smack me with the spoon, Mikoto. I'm just curious how her eyes work."

"She is our guest. Tiggie is here to get to know us and eat, not to be questioned about her abilities. Leave the girl alone," Mikoto bites back, smacking her husband with the spoon again.

A small boy runs through my vision, causing future Itachi to panic for a moment before evening out again. "I didn't know you had a brother," I mutter, watching the boy fall to his knees, clinging to his head as he freaks out.

"How do you know that?" Itachi mutters, the feeling of his hand waving in front of my face mixing with his words.

Future Itachi walks out of the room, the ending light of my vision following before the sight of present Itachi's hand fills my view. "I just had a vision of him is all," I mutter, rubbing my eyes in circles a few times. "What's your brother's name?"

"Sasuke," he answers, his face replacing his hand when my eyes flicker open. "He'll be joining us soon." Itachi smiles softly at me before shifting back in place.

"Are you alright, child?" Fukagu asks, eyes intense as he looks at me, curiosity swirling in them. "What did you see?"

"Fukagu!" Mikoto yells at her husband again, hands on her hips as she glares at her husband.

"Just Itachi and Sasuke... having a sibling... dispute," I mutter, trying to find a way to be truthful without giving too much away.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this vision. Do I tell Fukagu? Mikoto? Itachi? Genma? Do I tell the Hokage? Do I ask the Captain for guidance? Maybe I misunderstood what happened. Though it's pretty impossible to misunderstand Itachi murdering his parents. Why would he do that? When does he do it? It has to be sometime soon since he didn't look much different than he does now.

"Hmm..." Fukagu hums, letting his eyes close. "How unusual. Our boys tend to get along. They're pretty inseparable, though I suppose with age they're more likely to draw apart."

"I guess so," I mutter, shifting away when Itachi tries to grab my wrist again.

———————————

I can feel Itachi's eyes on me as he trails after Dog and me. It's been a few days since my dinner with his parents, since my vision, and I haven't decided what to do about it.

     I have decided to avoid him as much as possible, which has been a little difficult. We work together so I'm mandated to spend time with him every day. Even though I've had the Captain walk me home recently, Itachi still trails after us, two or three paces behind like he doesn't believe I'll get home safely without him. He keeps trying to talk to me, which I don't ignore, but I do try to keep it short and swallow.

     "What is going on with you two?" Doggie asks, leaning a bit closer to attempt to keep our whispers between us.

     "Nothing," I mutter, shifting away. I've been on edge about touching another person since the dinner party. I even refused to hug Genma before he left for another mission this morning. I feel bad about it now, but I didn't want to take the chance. On the plus note, he should be home tonight so I'll make sure to hug him extra tight when he's home.

     "Tiggie, I know - "

     "Thank you for walking me home," I cut him off, waving goodbye before dashing down the road toward my house.

     The Captain stalls for a moment before turning around to leave. Itachi doesn't do the same though, strolling down the street after me. Despite his dedication, I slam my front door in his face. It's not nice and I know that, but I still can't deal with him right now, even if he hasn't done anything wrong... yet.

     "Tiggie," he calls, knocking on the door I'm resting against. "I don't know why you're upset with me but I am sorry for whatever I did."

     "You can't be sorry for something you don't know about!" Or something you haven't technically done yet, or might not ever do.

     "Well... I guess. Tell me what I did then. Was it my dad? I know he can be a dick," he continues to talk, knock after knock following his words. "Let me make it up to you. Tiggie, please?"

     Slowly I give in, pushing myself off the door and gently turning the handle. "I don't want to talk to you right now," I mutter, clinging to the cracked door as I peek out of it.

     "Why not?" He asks, leaning against the door but being careful not to push it open. Itachi's eyes peek back at me, the darkness of them pooling in the center, sending shivers down my spine. They look so soft, so concerned, but terrify me so much. "What did I do?"

     "You're going to kill your parents," I spill out, unable to hold it in any longer. I need to tell someone, even if the someone is the murderer I saw in action. "And you'll make Sasuke freak out, which makes sense seeing your parents dead and all," I mutter the last part, resting my eyes on the ground, finally being able to pull my eyes apart from his.

     "What?"

     "I don't want to talk about it," I mutter, starting to close the door.

     "You have to!" He yells, hands slamming against the door and shoving it open. I jump back, eyes snapping around the front door to take note of the kunais hidden in its frame. "I'm sorry. I didn't... I'm sorry I scared you, I didn't mean to. I just... I..."

     I shift forward, sliding my fingers under the frame, toying with the edge of one of the knives. "A lot is going on with the clan and... I need to know what you saw. I need you to see more!" Itachi rushes out, panicking as he leans forward to cling to my shoulders. "I just... Tiggie," he mutters, taking a few deep breaths. "I'm going to tell you a secret. A like, my clan will wipe Genma and you off the face of the planet, secret and... in return, you tell me what you saw."

     "How the hell is that a fair deal?!" I shriek, tugging the knife from its spot and swishing it at Itachi.

     He catches it with no issue, clinging to my wrist in his usual softness but keeping my arm in place. "It's not and I'm sorry, but I don't know what to do and I'm guessing you don't know what to do either. We could help each other like friends are supposed to do."

———————————

Itachi's chest slowly falls up and down as he sleeps, arms wrapped around me like I'll run away while he sleeps. I might have if I wasn't wrapped so tight.

     Genma's footsteps mix with the rerunning sound of my conversation with Itachi. The conversation terrifies me. The thought of a civil war breaking out terrifies me. The thought that this is a setup by Itachi or his clan or both terrifies me and makes me worried they're going to use me as some sort of fortune-telling compass for their coup. At the moment though, the thought of Genma catching a boy in my bed terrified me more.

     I tug at Itachi's arms, managing to untangle them from around me. The boy stirs a bit but ends up turning over instead of waking up. I let out a soft sigh as I climb out of my bed, leaving him alone as I quietly make my way out of my room.

     "Oh, there you are, Peanut. I was just about to check your room," Genma greats, tiredness present on his face as he makes a fresh pot of coffee.

     I head towards my brother, trying my best to not make my movements seem panicked. I curl against Genma's chest, arms tightly around his waist as I bury my head into him. "I missed you."

     "I missed you too, Peanut," he mutters, pressing a kiss to my head and wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

     "But?" I ask, picking up on his tone.

     "But I'm just stopping home for a change of clothes and some coffee. I'm heading out on another mission in thirty minutes."

     "Really?"

     "Really," he mutters, pressing another kiss into my hair. "I should be home in two or three days. Raido will be over in the morning to chill with you while I'm away."

     "Great," I grumble, nuzzling my face against him. I should tell Genma what Itachi told me. Genma could keep me safe, could keep the village safe. Or maybe it'll make everything worse. I don't know what to do.

     "You should get back to bed. I'm sure you'll have a busy day tomorrow. I love you, Peanut."

     "I love you too," I mutter, squeezing him tighter before slowly pulling away. "I'll see you in a couple of days."

     My heart pounds as I make my way back to my room. It pounds even more when I creak my door open, being met with glowing sharingans. "Sorry, Tiggie. I didn't realize it was you," he mutters, turning the glow off before he flops back down. "Come here."

I slowly crawl back into bed, Itachi wrapping me up instantly and tugging me down. He flips us around, using my body to press himself into the mattress. "What are you doing?" I mutter, clinging to his shirt, not sure if I want to tug him closer or shove myself off of him.

"Sasuke usually crawls into bed with me at night and curls up on my chest. It feels weird not sleeping like that," Itachi explains, one hand rubbing my back and the other one knotting in my hair, laying my head on his chest. "Just... lay down until I fall asleep, please."

"Alright," I mutter, letting myself relax against him. "You should go home."

"If I go home I'm taking you with me."

"You should go home alone."

"That's not an option. We sleep here or we sleep at my house."

I let out a sigh, not having the energy or willpower to fight him. "Alright, we can stay here, but just for tonight."

———————————

My nerves bounce as I walk into the locker room. Itachi was gone when I woke up this morning, which was good because I don't know how I feel about him. I don't know what I feel about the Uchiha coup, or about what I saw, or about him spending the night last night. On the other hand, I was a bit sad when I woke up and he was gone.

     "There you are," Captain calls when I walk through the door, shoving my duty report into my hands. "Border watch is down two people so I signed Itachi and you up to fill in. Report to the Hokage in an hour," he races out before ducking out of the room, two or three members following after him.

     "Great," I mutter under my breath, beelining for my locker. I pop the door open, exchanging greetings with Squirrel. "What's your duty report for the day?"

     "I'm working as Hokage palace guard. How about you?" She asks, fixing the straps of her vest.

"Boarded watch."

"Oh that sucks," she mutters, leaning against her locker as she talks to me. "So what's been up with you and the - "

"Good Morning, Tiggie," Itachi's voice butts in, a soft squeeze left to my shoulders before he settles in front of his spot.

"Never mind," Squirrel mutters, a teasing glance sent my way as she smiles. I roll my shoulders a few times, trying to shake off the feeling of Itachi's hands on them. Seeing him and feeling him touching me again makes up my mind for me; Itachi and his clan scare me and I want nothing to do with them. "Just kidding to my 'never mind'? What's going on with you two?" She asks, now looking confused as her eyes flicker between the two of us.

"Nothing is going on. Stop worrying about it," I mutter, focusing on getting myself dressed.

"If you say so," she says, pushing herself to her feet before filtering out of the locker room, leaving Itachi and me alone.

"Tiggie," Itachi calls, his voice right next to my ear, soft and soothing. How could this man ever be a murderer? "I want to thank you for letting me spend the night and apologize for leaving you alone this morning," he continues, hands ghosting over my hips before they fall away.

"It was no problem. There was stuff that needed to be cleared up," I mumble, trying to ignore the shivers twirling from the spots Itachi touched. "We should get going. The Hokage is expecting us," I add, grabbing my mask and turning to head out of the room.

I crash into Itachi because of his closeness, him standing a lot closer than I was expecting. His hand catches my wrist like usual, eyes wide looking down at me, and lips crashing against mine. "I am sorry," he says slowly, moving even slower as he pulls away from me, fingers tightening his hold. "This is not how I spent the night imagining kissing you. I will make it up to you alongside making up for leaving you in bed alone."

"What?" I ask, being dragged forward as Itachi heads for the door. He stops in front of it, positioning his mask on his face before snatching my mask from my hand, and starting to place it on my face.

He stalls for a moment, my mask half covering my face, blocking my eyes because of its position. Itachi's lips brush against mine again, this time soft and gentle, unlike the surprise kiss. "That will have to do for now. I will give you a better kiss when we do not have a duty to fulfill," he mutters, tugging my mask into place before dragging me out of the room.

———————————

Itachi sits on my bed, dressed in a casual shirt and pajama pants, as he looks over his notes. Our 'just for tonight' accidental sleepover was ten - or was it eleven? - weeks ago. He's gotten a good feel for when my brother is around or not. If Genma is home, he sneaks in at some point in the night, which kind of freaks me out. If Genma is away Itachi comes and goes pretty freely. Now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder if he's using his Anbu clearance to check my brother's whereabouts.

"My..." he stops for a second, blinking slowly before focusing on the sheet in his hand again. "Tiggie?"

"Tachi?"

"I have an idea... a really bad idea," he mutters, his hands tightening and relaxing around the paper he keeps reading.

"An idea for what?" I ask, turning my head so I can look at him better as I lay on my bed.

"How to hopefully stop the coup."

"Oh," I mutter, sitting up straight. "And what might that idea be?"

     His jaw clenches and relaxes a few times, in the way I've noticed he does when he's trying to keep his sharingan off. "There's a rumor about this jutsu that... brings back the dead."

     "How is that going to help?" I ask, resting my head on his shoulder so I can read over the paper as well. The word 'reanimation' is scribbled on the top in sloppy almost doctor-like handwriting.

     "The whole coup planning started after Lord Fourth died. Do you know why?" I shake my head no before settling it down again. "The village believes the clan is behind the Nine Tail attack."

     "That was five or six years ago."

     "I know. The only person who knows what really happened that night is Lord Fourth. He was busy, you know, saving the village so he didn't have a chance to tell anyone what was happening... before he died."

     "So...?" I ask, not quite sure where Itachi is going with this.

     "So, if I can figure out how to do the jutsu, we can bring Lord Fourth back and have him clear everything up with the village. If tensions from the village loosen, maybe the clan won't feel like we need to do the coup. You could hopefully come to a peaceful conclusion."

     This sounds incredibly dangerous and dumb. Itachi wants to make a zombie Hokage talk to the village and just hope that fixes everything? How long will it take to learn this jutsu? How will time be bought until he can fulfill his plan? "What if it doesn't work?"

     He stays quiet for a beat or two before turning to look at me. "Almost everyone in the village, the council included, thinks we caused the attack. If the council hears from Lord Fourth that it wasn't our fault, they'll lose one of the main biases against us. Then they'll have to be more peaceful, more understanding. Besides, Lord Fourth will make a statement or something to the village so the council can't cover it up. It'll work... it has to work," Itachi whispers the last part like he's just as unsure about the situation as I am.

"If you say so," I utter, tugging my touch away from him before lying down in bed again. "How are you going to learn the jutsu?"

"I believe it's in the forbidden jutsu scroll. I'm going to break in and look over with my sharingan so I can memorize it."

"What?!" I shriek, sitting up straight again. "You can't do that! You can't do a forbidden jutsu! What are you thinking, Itachi?"

"Oh, yes. How dare I break a rule to save the village from civil war," he mutters, moving his papers off the bed, and leaving them piled on the floor. He shifts around, arms around my sides before he rests his head on my shoulder. "It's just an idea," Itachi whispers, nuzzling his head against me. "I'll talk it over with Shisui, he'll be able to help me think it through."

"Okay," I whisper back, toying with his ponytail.

———————————————————————

———————————————————————

[ryebecca]

Happily ever after?

So, I had a thought. *channels her inner Sophia Petrillo* Picture it.

Our dear Bobby Floyd as a secret romance novel writer (pen name Roberta Flynn, maybe?).

Let’s just say that Bob’s always loved writing, creating characters and stories for as long as he can remember. I can’t quite put my finger on how he got published in the first place, but -

Bob is back at TOPGUN. In what scarce spare time he has that’s not spent with his squad at the Hard Deck, you can find him at the bookstore. One sunny afternoon he finds himself browsing around, tilting his head to the side to read the spines of the books on the shelf. He doesn’t notice you coming from the other direction and doing the same thing when all of a sudden - boom! - you bump into one another, the small pile of books you were carrying in your hands now a messy heap on the floor.

You look up at the bespectacled man, a slight blush tinging his cheeks, who begins apologizing profusely.

“I’m so sorry, Miss! Let me get those for you.” He bends down to pick up your selections that are now scattered on the bookstore floor.

“Thank you so much, um -” You pause, gesturing at him.

He looks up as he gathers the books, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “Floyd, uh, Bob Floyd.” There’s that blush again. It’s cute. He’s cute.

You chuckle softly and smile. “Well, Floyd, Bob Floyd. I appreciate the help.”

As he hands the books back to you, all stacked nice and neat, he points to the one at the top. “I’ve heard good things about this one.”

You arch your brow. “You read Roberta Flynn? New York Times best-selling romance novelist Roberta Flynn? The author of His Heart Enshrined?”

“Oh, uh, my mom does. Says she’s never read better.” He smiles shyly, ducking his head down.

“And what do you think of her?”

“Me? Well, I think she’s pretty great.” You wonder why he continues to blush so prettily. You also wonder why you care, after all, you only met the man five minutes ago.

"Say, Floyd, Bob Floyd, would you like to grab a coffee? It's the least I could do since you helped me pick up here."

"I'd love nothing more." And maybe, just maybe, he's about to write his own romance.

[chaotic-on-main]

Your sparring post w/ levi finished me off 😭 would u ever consider doing similar stuff for Miche? I love the idea of sparring with him n havin to deploy some seductive techniques to distract him except u actually really like him n it works

Sparring 2.0 | CanonAU Drabble

☾ Pairings ➼ Miche Zacharius x gn!Reader

☾ Content/Warnings ➼ fighting, sexual tension, established-ish relationship?, suggestive themes?

☾ A/N ➼ HI! Okay sorry this took so long, I've had the worst bout of reverse imposter syndrome?? Idk if that's even a thing, I just know it was very disorienting to bring up Levi and NOT write about him haha. But I really enjoyed this as a writing exercise, it really brought me out of my comfort zone. The worst thing about how little time we got with Miche is how we don't have a lot to go on with his character. So with that said, this is kind of how I see him and I hope that's okay!!

☾ Word Count ➼ ~1.1k

The mid-afternoon sun bares down on your already sun-kissed face while you watch your boyfriend get his ass kicked by Captain Levi from the fence separating the barracks and training grounds. Miche Zacharius towered over Levi by a good foot and then some, so you couldn't help but laugh out loud when Levi slams Miche into the ground with an arm pinned behind him.

"Are they at it again?" Nanaba leans against the fence next to you, staring into the pit with an amused smile.

"Yeah. Ever since Levi took his place as 'Humanity's Strongest Soldier'," you use air quotes as you speak, shooting Nanaba a matching smile. "Miche has been trying to prove something."

"Prove what? That he’s shit at fighting?" Her comment makes you snort.

“Oh I'm so telling him you said that." You jokingly chide, bumping into her shoulder affectionately.

"Telling who what?” Miche's sudden voice startles you but you're quick to hide your surprise with a teasing smile. He stands in front of you with only the fence separating you two. With his height compared to you, he makes the perfect sun-shield.

"Nothing. Are you two done?" You look around him to see an empty pit, no captain in sight.

"Levi said he needed to make sure his squad cleaned the stables correctly." Miche says as he pulls up the bottom of his shirt to dab at the sweat that drips down his face. You can't keep your gaze from sliding down his toned abs and blonde happy trail as he does so. "Nanaba, did you get those reports on my desk yet?” He drops his shirt much to your dismay.

"On my way to do that now, Sir." She smirks as she gives a half-assed salute then turns and leaves. When she's gone, you look back up to Miche with a cheeky grin.

"How do you get your squad to listen to you right away?” You arch an eyebrow at him.

“They know I’ll kick their ass if they don’t.” His response makes you chuckle.

“Nanaba didn’t seem too terrified of you.” He gives you a lopsided grin before sliding his fingers down your face then under your chin, tilting it up to face him better with your chin now trapped between his thumb and forefinger. He leans down as if to kiss you but stops abruptly, his face hovering right above yours.

"Hmm. Are you?" He traces your bottom lip with his thumb as he eyes your most likely dazed face. His expression is hard to read.

"Should I be?" You swallow hard. He only hums and leans in more.

Miche was never this forward, and by the time you realize his true purpose, it was too late. He grabs you by the waist and wrist then flips you over him into the pit. You've always been known for your agility so you were able to land without issue. The issue was the fact that your 6'4" boyfriend came barreling down at you the second you did.

"Miche, what the-" You barely duck out of the way in time. A rush of wind hits your face from a missed punch. It wasn't as fast as you'd expect from him, which you were grateful for. You jump back to give yourself some space but he fills it just as quickly, putting himself in an offensive stance. You only have time to cross your arms in front of your chest before his knee makes contact. A dull pain makes its way up your arms.

Throwing your whole weight back, you backflip out of the way and feel your feet kick something. Good. If you could just get a little more distance… but it seems like Miche knows your fighting style inside and out because he doesn’t give you a chance to think. He throws up another punch in which you counter it with your forearm, using this moment to pull your knee up into his groin.

As always, he expects it and moves a leg back to avoid your strike. With one swift motion, he grabs your thigh and pulls up which knocks you off balance and you hit the ground with a slam. You’re gasping for air when he pulls himself on top of you and pins your wrists above your head with his knees on both sides of your right leg.

“Ready to give up, yet?” He grumbles down at you.

“H-” You attempt to move an arm and notice there’s quite a bit of give. “Hardly. Why are you going so easy on me?” You quip back, a smirk tugging at your lips. His body shakes above you as he laughs.

“That’s not what you said last nig-” You lean forward to close the distance and lock your lips onto his, cutting him off mid-sentence. He’s so taken aback by the sudden movement, but you feel him relax which is exactly what you were hoping for.

As quickly as possible, you pull your arms out of his grips. This causes an imbalance in his stance, which you were happy to take advantage of. You wrap your legs around him and twist to the side at the same time that you use your hands to push him. He falls without resistance. When you both land, he’s now flat on his back with you straddling his chest with your full weight. You pin his arms to the side and smile down at him innocently.

“Are you sure you’re humanity’s second strongest? We might have to move you down the list.” You chuckle down at him.

“To my defense, I just sparred with Levi.” He grumbles back.

“And yet you still picked a fight… and lost.”

“Okay, okay. Yes, you win. This time.” You lean down to kiss him again, this time with no ulterior motive. After a moment, you break away and sigh. Looking down, you see dirt and dust caking your once pristine civilian clothes.

“Now I need to go clean up. I was headed into town before you decided to beat me up.” With that, you gently pull yourself off Miche and offer a hand for him to help himself up with. He just wipes at the dust on his uniform with his hands, grunting back in response. Turning to leave, you yell over your shoulder as you walk away, “You could help with that, if you want.” A quick pair of footsteps falling in behind you makes you laugh as you lead the way back to the barracks.

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[bradshawsbaby]

Hannix request plssss ◡̈ whatever you want!

#HannixTrash4L 🫡

I feel like you guys have really been chomping at the bit for some Hannix content 😂 I hope this tiny little drabble set during Phoenix’s pregnancy with JJ will tide you over for now!

He knew that she missed being in the air. While Phoenix had been more than happy to consign herself to desk duty upon learning that she was carrying their first child, Jake could tell that she was longing for that freedom and exhilaration that only came when you were behind the controls of an F-18. Every day, when he and the rest of the Dagger Squad landed after hours of test flights and practice maneuvers, she’d come out to meet them and he never failed to notice the look of longing on her face as she gazed past them at their jets.

“You’ll be back in the air in no time, Minx,” he whispered to her one afternoon, catching the way she lifted a hand to cradle her rounded belly.

Jake felt his heart clench in anticipation. Phoenix was seven months pregnant with their baby boy—their son—and Jake couldn’t wait for him to arrive. They were both getting impatient.

“I know,” Phoenix murmured with a small smile, turning her head to glance up at him. “But being grounded is worth it for him,” she said, stroking her stomach tenderly.

That night, after Jake had finished clearing the table from dinner, he turned to his wife with a coy grin. “What do you say, Minx? Quick bath before bed to unwind?”

“So long as you’re the one running it, Bagman,” Phoenix smirked, massaging her lower back with both hands.

“Of course,” he nodded, pecking her on the lips as he rested his hand on her back and guided her up the stairs to their large en suite bathroom.

By the time he finished filling the tub with steaming water and some lavender bath salts, Phoenix had managed to shimmy herself out of her yoga pants and T-shirt, fanning her face as she huffed and puffed.

“Nothing like growing another human being to humble you,” she laughed, shaking her head as she watched Jake strip off his clothes as well.

“You’re doing amazing, babe,” he told her, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he held onto her and carefully helped her lower down into the tub, her back pressed against his chest.

Letting out a loud sigh of contentment, Phoenix relaxed against him, her head tipping backwards and landing on his shoulder. “This is nice,” she mumbled, eyes drifting closed. “Good idea, Bagman.”

“Eh, I just wanted an excuse to get you naked,” Jake teased, smirking as he peppered the side of her face with kisses and reached around to rest his large hands on her stomach.

“Typical,” she muttered with a roll of her eyes, laughing softly as he began to trace his fingertips up and down the curve of her bump.

“You’re so damn incredible, Minx,” he whispered, his words ringing with sincerity as he ghosted a kiss against the shell of her ear. “Sometimes I can’t even believe it that you’re really carrying our baby in there.”

“It better be our baby in there, otherwise I’m in serious trouble,” Phoenix joked, smiling as she laced her fingers through his on top of her belly.

She could feel his chest rumbling against her back as he chuckled, tilting her face towards him so that he could drop a kiss on her lips.

“I love you, Nat,” he told her, nuzzling his nose against hers.

“I love you, too, Jake.”

[bearterritory]

#8 Cal Wins Opening Weekend

Bears Are Flawless in Dispatching Four Opponents

BERKELEY – The No. 8 ranked California beach volleyball team closed out its opening weekend at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts with straight wins, beating all four opponents by a score of 5-0. In fact, with their victories over Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, American River and San Jose State they only dropped a single set.

"It was really exciting being able to open at home this year in front of our fans and supporters," Cal head coach Meagan Owusu said. "It was fun to see a bunch of new players in the lineup. It's a new squad, so we're just growing and getting to know the strengths that this specific group has and rolling with that."

Cal 5, Saint Mary's 0 The Golden Bears (4-0) got out to a fast start to the day as their first two pairs flew through their opening sets. Sophomore Portia Sherman and junior Ella Dreibholz started with a 21-11 win. After falling behind 13-8 in set two, they quickly rallied and pulled away late to take it 21-17.

Across the way, junior Ella Sears and freshman Kendall Peters cruised to a 21-12 opening-set victory before dropping set two 24-22. They broke a 9-9 tie in the decisive third set with three straight points, closing out the Bears' first nailbiter of the season with a 15-12 win.

Kicking off the next set of matches, sophomore duo Marilu Pally and Gia Fisher rallied from five points down in set one and never looked back, claiming a 21-17, 21-9 victory. Senior Brooke Buchner and graduate student Lara Boos broke out of a pair of close sets, holding off a pair of SMU (1-1) comeback attempts in a 21-19, 21-16 sweep.

The No. 1 pair of Emma Donley and Alexandria Young-Gomez finished things off with a dominant 21-10, 21-13 win in the final match against the Gaels.

1 Emma Donley and Alexandria Young-Gomez (CAL) def. Sedona Sherman and Sadie Shipman (SMU)  21-10, 21-13 2 Marilu Pally and Gia Fisher (CAL) def. Hannah Couch and Hawley Harrer (SMU) 21-17, 21-9 3 Brooke Buchner and Lara Boos (CAL) def. Allie Cataldo and Angie Bour (SMU) 21-19, 21-16 4 Portia Sherman and Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def. Karmin Brown and AJ Slojkowski (SMU) 21-11, 21-17 5 Ella Sears and Kendall Peters (CAL) def. Paola Peralta and Nya Crump (SMU) 21-12, 22-24, 15-12

Order of finish: 4 5 2 3 1

No. 8 Cal 5, Santa Clara 0 In their afternoon matchup with the Broncos (0-2), the Bears comfortably handled every set by at least four points. Pally and Fisher went 21-8, 21-17 while Sherman and Dreibholz won 21-15, 21-17.

None of the Bears' final three pairs gave up more than 13 points in a set. Donley and Young-Gomez won set one 21-13 and finished things off on a cheeky bump winner to take set two 21-11. Sophomores Amelia Vugrincic and Jenna Colligan jumped out to 16-6 leads in both sets en route to a 21-13, 21-11 victory. Buchner and Boos ended the day with wins of 21-12 and 21-9.

1 Emma Donley and Alexandria Young-Gomez (CAL) def. Katie Kishton and Elena Radeff (SCU) 21-13, 21-11 2 Marilu Pally and Gia Fisher (CAL) def. Ella Duffner and Noelle Niederman (SCU) 21-8, 21-17 3 Brooke Buchner and Lara Boos (CAL) def. Casey Campbell and Sveva Munneke (SCU) 21-12, 21-12 4 Portia Sherman and Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def. Jordan Bennett and Hailey Benesz (SCU) 21-15, 21-17 5 Amelia Vugrincic and Jenna Colligan (CAL) def. Alexie Epstein and Alexia Gallegos (SCU) 21-12, 21-9

Order of finish: 2 4 1 5 3

Up Next The Bears will now head south for the weekend for their road openers in the Battle For L.A. at Mapes Beach. Cal takes on UCLA and Cal Poly on Friday, March 1. The following day, the Bears face Concordia University Irvine and Loyola Marymount.

[naavispider]

Chapter 26 - The Rescue (tumblr version)

A reunion - but it doesn't go down as planned.

Full chapter under the cut for those still struggling with AO3!

The first time Miles saw Chacon back on duty after… the incident was two weeks later. The man had all but flown from his mind - he’d had so much else going on that truthfully, he hadn’t spared Chacon more than one or two passing moments of guilt in all that time. So it was with great surprise that Miles entered the mess to find him sitting back with his cronies at dinner. Miles hadn’t attempted to speak to anyone else from A Unit since he’d been taken off the team, and he could tell from Madden, Taylor and Squirrel's mutinous glares that he hadn’t been missed. Chacon however, wasn’t glaring. He simply watched Miles as he got his food and sat down on a table across the hall from them. Miles wasn’t sure because he didn’t want to keep checking, but he thought that Chacon wouldn’t stop looking at him the whole time he was there. He made a swift exit after finishing his food, and hoped that the number of times they’d have to bump into each other from here on out would remain minimal.

But it wasn’t to be. Three days after their initial encounter, Miles received word that he was needed on a supply run into the forest. He frowned when he read the update - in the middle of using the gym one evening. Supply runs were normally conducted by the SciOps team, with little if any interference from SecOps. Briefing was the next morning, so he supposed he’d find out more then.

He’d been on a few more missions since the one to retrieve Naalot from the Tipani. The first time he’d led a squad was on a mission to scout out the scene of a train raid by insurgents. The natives had pulled their usual stunt of blowing up the tracks, derailing the train and stealing whatever goods they could get their grotty hands on. It had taken days to clean up before the construction guys could get in and repair the damage. Throughout it all, Miles did his best to be a calm, confident leader that his men could look up to. He’d come to know them well by now, and they worked good together. He was respected and could tell that they held him in high regard. As a result, their squad was extremely successful, and now they were usually the first to be called upon whenever there was a major incident that required SecOps intervention. Miles was proud.

So he was surprised to walk into briefing the next morning and find none of his squad were assigned to the mission with him. It was a new team composed mostly of recoms - Quaritch, Wainfleet, Mansk and Z-Dog - as well as three other men. Two were xenobotanists who introduced themselves as Langley and Dubois when Miles entered, and the other was... Corporal Chacon.

Miles stilled when his eyes fell upon the man, confusion clouding his face. He looked at Quaritch as if hoping for reassurance that Chacon was supposed to be here, but the Colonel was in conversation with Wainfleet. Because the team was small and there were so many empty chairs in the room, Miles took a seat across the table from him, making sure to show his scepticism in every movement.

“Thank you all for making it,” Quaritch began, realising that everyone was here. “This is a small mission, but an important one nonetheless. The hospital has run low on a few supplies, and it’s our job to make sure those stocks are replenished. We have a list of the type and volume of plants they need, so we move out this afternoon to bring home the goods. Now don’t ask me the ins and outs of what these things are used for, but if it gets me painkillers when I need ‘em, I ain’t questioning it. Junior, Chacon,” he nodded at the two soldiers, “you’re here to assist our botanist friends Langley and Dubois with any human sized assistance needed, while the recom squad is there for security.” He went on to explain timings, equipment and transport, before opening the floor to questions. Miles only had one, but he knew it was better saved for a more private forum.

“Sir,” he said, once everyone else had dispersed.

Quaritch turned to him. “Yes, Junior?”

Miles had long since gotten used to Quaritch calling him by his surname by this point. Just spit it out. “Why is Chacon on this team?”

Quaritch stilled, thinking hard. “He volunteered,” he slowly said through a frown. “I’d forgotten you two have history… will this be a problem?”

“No, Sir,” Miles hastily replied. The last thing he needed was for Quaritch to think he wasn’t capable of working with the guy. He’d die before he’d let his reliability be compromised. “I was just curious.”

“Well, like I said, he offered when he heard the medics making a request. He’s grateful for the treatments they provided, and wants to give back.” Quaritch eyed Miles as if to remind him that this was all Miles’s fault, if he traced it back.

“Yes, Sir,” he said, before bowing his head shortly and retreating out.

He grabbed some food on his way to the hangar, having not long to get ready before rallying at the gunships at 10:00. A quick porridge later, and he found himself standing in front of the armoury, selecting his gear and arming up just like he had done so many times before. He jumped when a voice sounded behind him.

“It’s been a while, Junior.”

He grit his teeth and spun around, throwing Chacon a look that told him he was anything but remorseful for beating him up. He didn’t want to hear whatever grudge the guy had to bear.

“You’re a Lieutenant now, I hear?”

Miles narrowed his eyes. Chacon’s face still wasn’t completely healed - the skin around his left eye was discoloured, but it was only noticeable because Miles knew what to look for. He didn’t look angry though, and Miles wished he would. “If you’re looking for an apology, you won’t find one here,” he said shortly, turning back around to select a rifle before double checking his holster and knife belt were secure.

“That’s cool, because I’m not looking for an apology.”

“Then why are you here?” Miles hissed. “Why are you on this mission?”

Chacon didn’t look affronted, keeping a neutral expression on his face even through Miles’s hostility. “The medbay helped me when I was… out of action. There are some great people there.”

Miles’s fingers flexed into fists at his side. He did not need Chacon’s vague hints about being a spy now. The man was a traitor against his own people… and so was Janine.

“You’re on thin ice…”

“I just want to help them get the resources they need for medicine.”

Miles stared at Chacon, not believing a word, before deciding that it was too much to entertain. Chacon was dangerous - he could get Miles into a lot of shit if he decided to. He shoved past Chacon on his way out of the armoury, making sure to bump him hard, and grabbed a mask on his way out.

He regrouped with the xenobotanists, who were waiting near a fired up Kestral with the recoms already aboard. He gave Dubois a curt nod in greeting, and let him know to ask if he needed anything. A minute later and Chacon had caught up, armed to the nines just like Miles. Miles made a point of ignoring him as he clambered into the cargo hold.

The ship took off, rising higher and higher over the compound. Golden light flooded the compartment of the gunship as the panoramic view of Pandora was revealed to them. It was beautiful as always, but Miles had gotten used to seeing it by now, and he was far too preoccupied with trying to work out Chacon’s greater motivations for being here. He suspected a hand to his back any moment, about to shove him out of the ship to his death. Although ridiculous, he couldn’t rule it out. Chacon had earned the right to revenge. At least Quaritch would probably send Chacon out to join him in being a pancake if that did happen.

After a journey so smooth it was almost suspicious, the Kestral landed in an area two clicks west of Bridgehead. It was an area not known to be inhabited by any clans, so their only challenges should be the wildlife. In the mission briefing, Quaritch had explained that Miles was joining them as part security and part expert botanist due to his past. As the recoms trained their rifles on the treeline, Miles withdrew his holotablet from his backpack, and began following Langley and Dubois towards the specific area that contained the first organism on the list. Langley spotted the Canalyd plant first, leading the group over to the patch and withdrawing a sample cup from his own backpack.

“Five at least?” Miles double checked the amount with Dubois.

“That should be enough,” the man replied, gesturing for Miles to continue searching while they extracted the sporangia from the long stalks on the top of the plant. Behind them, the recoms kept their weapons raised, their eyes in the trees.

After twenty minutes, the scientists had collected three of the seven plants on the list, and were just about to suggest they search an area to their left when Quaritch called out.

“Hold it!”

Miles immediately raised his rifle, training it on the patch of trees that Quaritch was aiming at. For a tense moment, everyone was silent, watching the area where Quaritch was staring hard at.

“There’s something out there…” Quaritch spoke in a low and tense voice.

Just then, an arrow shot out of nowhere with zero warning, straight into Mansk’s chest. For a split second, Miles stared in horror, before leaping into action and firing his AR into the area from where the arrow had been shot. The noise was deafening after the silence, as guns all around him fired in unison.

“NA’VI!” Wainfleet roared, spinning around to face their six, but it was too late - another long poisoned arrow had been shot, hitting him right through the neck and out the other side. Miles’s scream caught in his throat as he yelled for the botanists to take cover, keeping his gun raised and firing into the trees as with his other he gestured for the two men to follow his direction behind a fallen tree. Everything seemed sped up and in multi-colour. One moment, the two men were running towards the tree, the next, their limp bodies hit the ground, gunned down like animals - wait, gunned down? Chacon was standing beside him, his gun raised…

Miles turned in horror to see what had become of the rest of the squad, but was met with the sight of an arrowhead protruding from Z-dog’s eyeball. Her hand twitched against the trigger of her recom M69-AR, letting off a few more rounds before she collapsed to the ground, dead.

The only thing Miles could hear was the roar of the Colonel’s furious outcry, before the words, “Get down!” were called out around the clearing. Miles recognised the voice, but things were happening too fast for their owner to register in his brain. Before he knew it, Chacon was beside him, a hand on his shoulder forcing him down as gunfire rained down on them from somewhere above. Miles couldn’t understand it - he hadn’t seen anybody. Whoever was attacking them knew their tactics - they knew how to hide. He heard a distant cry and a thump as someone else hit the floor, and Chacon’s hand was still gripping his shoulder tightly, holding him down, out of the way - he didn’t know what was going on, he couldn’t see because of the ground pressed into his face, Chacon had shot Langley and Dubois, he didn’t trust him…

Then, the gunfire ended. The hand on his shoulder released, and Miles scrambled up to assess the scene. His hands were on his rifle in less than half a second, and good thing too, because when he stood up, he was face to torso with a nine foot tall Na’vi warrior, whose figure was blocking out the sun. Miles couldn’t take in any more of his appearance than the fact that he had a bow and arrow pointing directly at Miles’s heart.

He gasped, instinct telling him to shoot immediately, but his other senses stopped him. From the corner of his eye, he saw another warrior on his right - a woman, terrifying and familiar, her war paint seeming to shine in the sunlight as she raised Eytukan’s bow...

It couldn’t be her-

He cast around, seeing more warriors emerging from the trees, surrounding him.

He was outnumbered.

The recoms were dead. There was nothing he could do. He spun to his right, raising his rifle to Neytiri. This had to be a dream.

He switched his aim to the warrior in front of him, trying to make it clear that he could shoot either one of them if they made another move.

“Spider,” came a voice to his left.

He spun around to find it - but it was… Chacon. Standing by his side, calm.

Chacon was standing with a… relieved? look on his face. His weapon was lowered, and he held a hand out as if to push Miles’s rifle down.

“Spider, be calm,” he said in a voice clearly intended to reassure.

Miles was a thousand yards away from calm.

The Na’vi warriors still surrounded them. He cast his eyes over them once more, abandoning Chacon’s words of madness to better assess the threat. The men were… Omatikayan. If Neytiri was here, could…

He took a heaving breath. It didn’t matter. He’d find a way to escape this, to shoot them all.

“Lower your weapon,” one of them spoke.

But Miles was distracted by the figure emerging from behind the man. A tall, blue, intimidating figure with black dreads held back by a Burnfiber band. He knew that face…

Wait.

He knew that face.

He gasped, raising his rifle even higher as he realised he was staring straight into the eyes of Jake Sully.

His brain couldn’t compute what he was seeing in front of him with what was really happening.

“Spider…” the man said, in a gentle tone. Unlike the others, Sully wasn’t holding a weapon. He had one hand outstretched, as if to pacify Miles.

Then a voice that was comfortingly familiar sounded from behind him. The right kind of voice, the voice he longed to listen to. “Shoot him, Miles!”

He dared take his eyes off the target to see Quaritch on his knees behind him, disarmed and on the ground. A warrior stood behind him, holding a knife to Quaritch’s kuru.

“What are you waiting for? Shoot him!”

Miles should listen. He wanted to listen. He wanted to fire.

But if he did that, he’d be shot right back in retaliation. They all would - Quaritch and Chacon included.

Chacon.

Chacon was two feet to his left, his rifle hanging relaxedly on his back… He’d betrayed them. He’d led them to the Na’vi. Miles turned his weapon slowly.

“You don’t want to do that, Spider,” Chacon replied, raising his hands in surrender.

“That’s not my name,” Miles hissed, fury and confusion clouding his thoughts until he wasn’t sure he could think straight any longer.

“Spider.” Miles jumped, turning towards the voice. It was Jake Sully. “It’s okay. We’re here. We’ve got you. It’s all over.”

Feelings and thoughts threatened to flood Miles’s senses as the nostalgia in Jake’s voice hit him like a tonne of bricks. There had been a time when he idolised the man now standing in front of him. If he let them, he knew his memories would break him down and tear him apart. He fought them all off with a vengeance. Overwhelmed, he stumbled back, keeping his gun raised.

“Put the gun down,” Jake said, eyes flickering to his wife.

“You left me…” Miles choked out, barely aware of what he was saying.

“Kill him!” Quaritch roared from behind.

Miles kept his eyes trained on Jake. He hadn’t changed at all, yet Miles could find himself barely remembering what he was supposed to look like.

“I know, but we came back now…”

“Spider?” Another voice, a different voice. Miles didn’t need to cast around for its owner, because the boy that it belonged to emerged from behind a tree beside his father.

Neteyam.

Miles couldn’t help the noise he made when faced with the impossibly real sight of his once brother. Neteyam was really standing in front of him, his forehead taught with concern, eyes deep with longing and a plea for understanding. Even after all this time, Spider could read him so well. “We missed you, Spider,” Neteyam said cautiously, looking him dead in the eyes and ignoring the rifle pointing straight at his heart. “Lo’ak and Kiri especially.”

Something turned off in Spider’s brain. He couldn’t make sense of the situation. Jake and Neteyam couldn’t be real. Kiri and Lo’ak? They were just imaginary. He didn’t know what was happening. He wanted it to end.

“Shoot him, goddamnit Miles! You useless piece of shit!”

Spider didn’t register the sound of a thud followed by a groan that implied someone had just hit Quaritch.

“I- I don’t…”

“Spider,” Neytiri spoke, and Spider spun around with a gasp to point the gun at her. He’d completely forgotten she was here. It was too much. For the first time, she lowered her bow. “We’ve come to bring you home.” No. It was too much.

“Spider, I promise it’s okay,” Jake said from beside Neteyam.

The only thing Spider knew was that if he gave up his weapon, he was giving up control. He couldn’t do that. He gripped it tighter, hand hovering over the trigger…

A heavy clunk. A brutal ache in his temple, and then darkness was all he knew.