#but I SO want to be somewhere else alone with my husband right now

[ishipmutualrespect]

-

[in-class-daydreams]

Imagine ex-husband Geto watching the new assistant the school hired being completely awestruck by you.

Naturally, before this meeting, Suguru had to disclose to the new assistant that you two were once a married couple. The details of your divorce, Suguru chose not to get into. Unfortunately, this information, considering how much the newbie admired him, only served to make you even more fascinating. After all, who could possibly be worthy enough to marry - and eventually separate from - Suguru Geto?

"--or so the Inspector General says." Suguru catches the tail end of your explanation regarding an unusual amount of cursed spirits in a concentrated area. He may or may not have spaced out for the last minute of you talking, but at least the assistant, though lacking subtlety, has been taking diligent notes.

The assistant, a young man a few years younger than you and Suguru, somewhere in his mid-twenties, looks up at you in awe.

"The Inspector General speaks to you directly?" he asks. "You must be amazing at your job."

The Jujutsu Inspector General. The high commander of all jujutsu society, the highest of the higher ups. Yes, he spoke with you often.

Suguru fights the urge to roll his eyes when you preen. You're no stranger to praise whatsoever, but you did love basking in everyone's admiration.

"Flatterer," you respond.

"No, I mean it!" the assistant insists. "The report you sent us was so detailed! It was flawless! You're really talented."

"Aw, thank you! Was my report up to your standards, Suguru?" You turn to your ex-husband.

"Sure," Suguru scoffs.

The meeting continues on without much more incident. You've only just given them the supplemental documents when you check the time.

"Looks like that's all the time I have for now. Feel free to contact me if you need anything else." You stand and incline your head to them both, a gesture they return.

"Nice to meet you," you tell the newbie. To your ex-husband, you say, "Bye, Suguru!" and blow him a kiss. Suguru makes a gesture like he's swatting away a mosquito.

As they leave, the assistant nearly runs into the door frame in his eagerness to keep fawning over you, and Suguru feels like his soul's trying to climb out of his body.

Then again, that is the effect you tended to have on people. There were times when you were married when the both of you went to an event, your lethal face cards alone could get people to drop their drinks.

You smile and the assistant blushes. "Someday, we'll all meet for a nice lunch. I wish I could today, but I have a meeting with my father," you tell them with a wave, wiggling your fingers and the poor thing looks like he's about to devote himself to your every desire.

Suguru, however, has been there, done that. "Let's go." He grabs the assistant by the collar and tries to drag him out as fast as possible. If he could teleport out of here like Satoru, he would.

"Geto, sir," the assistant says, eyes never leaving your office door. "You were married to that woman? Isn't she just stunning? She's incredible! How could you ever have let her go?"

To each statement: Yes. Yes. I know. You'd be surprised.

"It's much more complicated than that," Suguru grumbles.

Suguru throws open the door to the hallway just to run into two men in suits. Behind them is their employer whom Suguru knows all too well, and behind him, another set of bodyguards.

"Suguru," the man greets lowly.

"Inspector General, sir." Suguru bows respectfully while the assistant nearly bashes his head on the floor in his haste.

"If you'll excuse me, I have business with my daughter," the Inspector General says. The two move right out of the way and watch as the entourage heads into your office.

It takes the assistant a moment to compute, but by the choked sound he eventually makes, it's clear that he's begun to comprehend just how complicated your marriage was.

I promise I haven't abandoned Sen and his family! I just wanted a little break/practice in Geto x Nepo Baby!MC and the much pettier divorce where I have free reign for them to be more problematic towards each other without having to worry about how horrible it would be for their child to have to witness it

[Masterlist] | Tag for this AU is #geto's nepo ex

[winterzsurprise]

Change My Mind [2]

Pairing: BTS x reader

SUMMARY: As a make-up artist, you were expected to glamorize your clients with brushes and products that cost a week-worth of food, not to befriend them outside of work, let alone have them save you from dates yet here you are five years later as one of their closest confidants.

Being a stylist of the world's biggest boyband is no easy feat, someone is doing flips, someone can't stay still and one's asleep but its fine, you can work around their chaos but then one day, you find out they're all your soulmates, a whole different can of chaos you don't think you can handle.

Tags: Soulmates AU, Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Not Beta Read, Slow Build, Polyamory, Attempts at Humor

Words: 8.6k

I posted this a day later than the one on ao3 because I forgor :''DD

Seeing the support and comments from both website got me off my ass to fix the storyline, even made a lot of changes on the chapters I've had preserved.

this chapter got rewritten a LOT, and was longer than it initially was so I hope y'all don't mind long chapters.

<<<Prev || MASTERLIST || Next>>>

__________

There's been times where your heart has truly fluttered for a man throughout your lifetime. Too many times has it been because some of your bosses (read: Jimin) flirted with you but you have never felt anything remotely giddy for anyone else outside the group.

Except for the man now sitting in front of you, flashing you a dimpled smile after handing out his card with an ease you only see in your friends and male leads in dramas. An action more attractive than any kabaedon or flexed muscles.

He's attractive but you don't like like him.

Yoo Guwon came to you as a bashful giant, rubbing the back of his head whenever he’s flustered and a constant sheepish smile featuring his deep set of dimples indented on both cheeks. He’s charming and articulate with his words just like a lawyer would be. Everything about him reminds you of another gentle and clumsy giant probably hunched over his music equipment back in the BigHit building.

It’s only been a few hours but you surprisingly covered most of the basic grounds of first meeting conversations during the short time you drove around Han River in a two seated bicycle. From the meager questions of ‘what dreams do you have?’ to the more complex and deeper ‘If the world falls into ruin, will you burn my body when I die?’. 

Too graphic for a first date but you wanted to test the waters and you concluded that he’s too perfect.

He knows the right words to say, the proper way to act and it makes you suspicious. Your mother has never recommended you to a good guy before, having a track record of ten shitty suitors who all ran their mouths about their mediocre achievements, and dared to ask you about your purity before ranting about how dirty you are for not saving yourself for your husband the moment they find out you're not a virgin anymore. Then all of a sudden, she led you to good boy Guwon.

And it makes your skin crawl.

What did that woman eat? Has your father fed her something bad this time? What is she planning? It’s scary how she has finally advocated for an actual nice guy.

After taking you to a museum you're sure Namjoon has visited once, he drove you both to the Han River to rent a double seated bike to drive around with before ending the night with a nice reservation somewhere in the Seocho district.

The place is as sophisticated as fine dining areas usually are. With an intimate lighting, marbled tabletops matched with soft cushioned seats and high ceilings to make space for modern glass chandeliers, the restaurant was no doubt expensive, the type you have to reserve a spot two months prior to be able to experience its greatness. The point was driven home when you saw the amount of zeros it cost for one can of soda. 

You asked him how he managed to get a table and he went down the rabbit hole of the many advantages he got from successful cases, ranging from a free monthly subscription to fruit baskets to a free week-long voucher to a five star hotel somewhere in Busan. 

Going back to the butterflies, while not as wild as it got when Hoseok possessively wrapped an arm thrown around your waist to pretend as your boyfriend to ward off a persistent suitor, they're there, albeit subtle.

Very subtle.

Maybe it's in the way he didn't think twice to hand out his card towards the waiter in the most suave way with the thick golden watch decorating his wrist, sleeves neatly folded up to reveal the thick cords of veins on his forearms with his hair strewn messily and a dimpled smile that made you react like that.

You ignore the voice comparing his uncannily similar traits to someone else.

Meeting Guwon wasn't like how the movies illustrated love at first sights. They talked of fireworks exploding in the background and hearing the sweet chimes of wedding bells upon eye contact but for him, it's just that. A meeting far more formal than you'd like. He has a lot of qualities that check your list of husband material traits yet instead of butterflies, you could only feel an echoing hollowness in your chest as you listen to him list out his future plans. 

It felt like surrendering to the fate the divinities had weaved out for you which is being an untethered forced to love someone you don't even feel any spark with.

He's a nice man who’s offering a comfortable future and you're just a woman who wishes to live a lavish life at home while your husband wastes his years away in the office. You might be a hopeless romantic who wished for soulmates and the like but you're not blind to the opportunity Guwon offers you.

You haven't texted the gc anything during the date other than the selfie you took before you left for the date but there's been constant vibrations in your purse and it's no doubt the guys asking for updates but for a moment you wanted to try to focus on the man before you.

Not that it wasn't hard to try with Guwon anyways.

Whenever the man spoke of his achievements and hobbies with a humble approach, he never forgot to ask you for your opinion or input on the topic. You also noted how he has never cut you off and let you speak whenever you wanted, listening with an eagerness only your friends usually show. He asked relevant questions with a genuine curiosity, eager to know more about you. 

So when he asked if you wanted to go on a second date that night, it came to no surprise for anyone when you accepted it albeit the heaviness in your heart.

It was funny how eagerly you searched for a husband you could bring to your parents' doorsteps but the moment someone with all the qualities you seeked came, it felt disappointing. Boring even.

But you can learn, this man is your ticket to living without working anymore.

It came to no one's surprise that your mother was overjoyed, she wasted no time calling you before you could even change to squeeze the memory of today out of you.

The shrill scream of victory she let out that night was unforgettable because finally, a suitor you actually liked. Your dad even congratulated her off-screen for her matchmaking achievements before telling you to bring Guwon home to meet them.

Logically, you’re aware you've won the love roulette—Guwon has it all, he checked every box on your list, yet it felt like defeat and it tasted foul, bitter on your tongue.

You couldn't tell them that it was you deciding to settle, that would break her heart.

Tapping the end call button felt like the dam breaking and all the water held onto for so long flowed out. You fall lifelessly on your bed with a heavy sigh. Taking a couple evening breaths, you finally opened the group chat with an overwhelming number of unread messages.

[Today, 08:49]

[08:49] Mimi: I'd run my bank dry to take you on dates if you'd dress so pretty like that, noona~

[08:49]Tete: We're really seeing this for free when the poor guy has to pay for it. #livingapriviledgedlife😁👍

[08:49] Hobi: Wow noona🤯

[08:50] Yoongs: 👍

[08:55] Tete: Wait, I don't think those shoes fit you, go back home and change it😁

[08:56] Jinnie: Hey, you're showing too much skin on the first date! Go back and change!

[08:57] Joonie: Ignore these haters noona, I hope you enjoy your day😊

[Today, 21:48]

[21:48] Jinnie: are you home yet? You haven't seen our messages in HOURS.

[21:48] Tete: NOONA DID YOU GET MURDERED?!😱

[21:50] Joonie: Let's be rational guys, don't jump to conclusions. The date might just be going great if she's busy enough to not check her phone😊.

[21:51] Mimi: doing great? don't scare me like that hyung😵‍💫

[21:51] Tete: BUT WHAT IF SHE GOT KIDNAPPED HYUNG????

[21:51] Hobi: please reply soon, we're worried🥲

Jungkook's absence from the conversation didn't come to you as a shock, the kid doesn't even reply to you for a week despite being one of the people who raised him. Nonetheless, you sat up from your bed to record a quick video of you giving them a thumbs up and turning the camera to show your room.

The latter was an assurance to Taehyung that no, you also didn't get kidnapped into someone else's house to be someone's housekeeper, and no, it wasn't a clone either.

The moment your message gets sent, the replies blow up your phone almost instantaneously.

[22:28] Mimi: noona you're alive!

[22:28] Joonie: How did the date go?😊

[22:28] Jinnie: how nice of you to remember to update us PEASANTS.

[22:28] Mimi: How was Guwon?

[22:29] Tete: I KNEW WE SHOULD'VE WENT WITH YOU ANYWAYS

[22:29] You: Shockingly, he's a pretty nice guy. Not too bad on the eyes, and pretty smart. I think you'd get along well with him, joon. He's a lawyer so he covered most of the expenses today😁

[22:29] You: Overall, it was great, we're gonna go on a second one. He's pretty cool.

Instantly, messages from the members, even Jungkook’s to your surprise, flooded your screen.

[22:30] Tete: Noona you've been cursed! We need to bring you to the nearest shaman to break it!!

[22:30] Mimi: don't joke with us noona

[22:30] Mimi: I just got goosebumps!

[22:30] Joonie: Congratulations are in order then? Will we be expecting him around you soon?

[22:31] Yoongs: I need to meet him, need to know if he's good enough

[22:31] Yoongs: men are trash, I need to see him for myself before I decide

[22:32] Yoongs: and you know what they say about lawyers, they LIE. I wouldn't trust him 

[22:32] Jinnie: WE need to meet the man who managed to steal your heart! I want to talk to him😊

[22:32] Mimi: don't use that emoji again, hyung

[22:32] Hobi: SCARY JWANN😱

[22:32] Joonie: Let’s not threaten anyone please.

[22:32] Joonie: But I'm really happy for you 😁.

[22:33] Tete: Those periods really scares me hyung…

[22:33] Tete: Somehow, I don't think you mean it…

[22:33] Joonie: What makes you think that, tae?😁.

[22:33] Tete: 😰

[22:34] Ggukie: a few drinks will fix you up, noona😁

[22:34]  Mimi: you'll invite me this time right?

[22:34] You: I don't know, you already used your mischief hours this week, I doubt Sejin would be so kind next time.

[22:34] Hobi: if he does that right now during practice, I also wouldn't be so kind to him😊

[22:34] Mimi: you are scaring me hyung…

[22:34] Hobi: good😊

[22:34] Tete: Hyung, are you just gonna ignore Jungkook leaving?!?!!?

The messages continued for a good five minutes, mostly consisting of holding Jimin back from leaving practice and him sending pictures of the infamous Hoseok death glare from across the room before your doorbell chime rang, making you shoot up straight.

A beat. Then it continues in three quick successions, the knocks almost in sing-song and sounded like two hands were used to produce the tune, giving you an inkling on who might be visiting you at this late hours of night.

Padding out of your room, the front door suddenly swings open without warning and you yelp. By the doorsteps stands the intruder, a tall man in a black coat with his face hidden by a mask and a cap. Your body would've frozen a thousand times over if you didn't know this stranger who's hugging two paper bags, one overflowing with snacks and the other a breeze away from tearing apart from the weight and water drenching the material of the bag.

"Hi noona!"

After today, seeing Jungkook felt like a cure, his presence alone repelling the heaviness in your shoulders and you ushered him inside and he wandered into your home with ease, approaching the coffee table to place down the shopping bags. 

Suddenly you remembered what he had scheduled prior.

"You're putting me on Hoba’s punishment rotation, what are you doing here?" 

He giggled. “We both know he won't, hyung loves you more than me.”

He falls on your couch with the ease of someone who has visited your space numerous times throughout the years, propping up his feet on the back support and folding his arms underneath his head before staring up at you, expectantly.

"Anyways, I brought us food and drinks, don't I deserve a little praise?" 

Sometimes it's easy to forget how young Jungkook really is, forced to grow and act mature to blend in with his surroundings, you've always seen him stand with pride alongside his hyungs. Seeing him awaiting for your praise so eagerly like a pup fills your heart with awe.

"Yeah yeah, good job. Now move over, let me sit down."

You tapped his arm, motioning him to move over so you could sit next to him, something he obeyed without resistance, busying himself in removing the contents from the soiled paper bag instead.

“Couldn't you have put some effort into it? At least sound grateful.” He pouts. Placing down the cluster of beer cans, you turned to him and pinched his cheeks.

“Oh my dearest darling, thank you for saving this noona of yours. Such an amazing baby I have here.”

Despite being the one who asked for it, Jungkook only rolled his eyes with a barely held back grin as he slapped your hands away, making you laugh, and turned to the bag holding the snacks he bought. You didn't miss the redness dusting his cheeks or the cheeky grin that tugged his lips wide as he spilled the contents of the last bag onto the table.

There's a significant amount of sweets and snacks laid before you, as well as stacks of canned beers and you turned to him with furrowed brows.

"Wouldn't this ruin your diet?"

He waved you off with a huff. "I work out enough to eat all of these in one sitting."

Instantly, your mind brings you back to white walls and gray furniture, faced with manager Sejin who warned you about interfering with the idols' diet at the start of your career. If it wasn't for Bang PD waving off their concerns, saying they needed to be rewarded for their hard work anyways, you would've been long booted out of the company.

It's a matter long settled yet it remains to weigh heavily in your head.

Seeing the hesitation in your eyes, Jungkook continues.

"I can show you proof of my efforts," 

He then reached down to the fabric of his shirt tucked into his jeans and tugged it up, flashing you the tightly corded muscles in forming on his abdomen and the thin happy trail you often see when patting his sweat down during concerts and you hastily pulled it back down with a yelp, cheeks growing hot while he laughed.

As he throws his head back in his mirth, you couldn't help but notice the way adulthood has taken away the fullness of his cheeks and has sharpened his features. A far cry from the sensitive young boy who cried his eyes out every time his hyungs got hurt. 

There was no denying that Jungkook had grown without you noticing and it makes your chest swell with pride knowing he's been raised well by the others, in extension, although not so much, you as well.

"Don't worry so much about me, noona. I can handle the consequences now, you leave the reprimanding to me."

Under the warm overhead light of your living room, even with the exaggerated puff of his chest and his nose turnt up high, Jungkook's shoulder had never looked sturdier, reliable, in your eyes. You smiled, reaching to pinch both his cheeks making him grin wider than he already was.

"Look at you acting so cool, when did you grow so much?"

He rolled his eyes, pulling your hands away from his cheeks and entangling it with his. “I've always been cool, you just don't pay attention to me, noona.”

Before you could reply, he's already moved to reach for the beverages on the coffee table, popping two of them open and handing you one can, immediately you take a swig.

The beer fizzled in your tongue and left a trail of burns down your throat. The sensation is refreshing nonetheless and you place it down next to him before picking up the large bags of chips and standing up.

"I'll go put these in a bowl, go put something on the tv."

"Can I play anime?"

You waved at him dismissively, unable to find it in yourself to say no to him as you head towards your kitchen to transfer the junk into a bowl when a shrill tune from your bedroom cuts through the air, someone was calling you. You look over to Jungkook, scrolling through his phone, no doubt looking for a movie online.

"Gguk, can you pick up the call for me? My hands are busy right now."

There's a shuffle of feet behind you and in a moment, your phone quietens down. Finished with filling one bowl, you turn to find Jungkook leaving your room with a deep look and your phone in hand. His jaw set tight as he stood there with furrowed brows, eyes lit with irritation.

Looking at his reaction, you asked about your mysterious caller.

"Who was it?"

When he turned to you, the tick in his jaw dispersed. All of a sudden, he's smiling at you with mischief twinkling in his eyes, the change giving you a whiplash.

"It was the others, didn’t answer their calls cause I want you for myself tonight, noona."

(Later on, you'd find yourself staring at the many unread messages and two missed calls from Guwon, wondering in your drunken state if you've muted your phone at some point earlier.)

Hearing it from his lips now, your body locks, heart stuttering in your chest and butterflies exploding in your stomach, spreading a tingly feeling throughout your body and you laugh. 

"Where did you hear that line from, brat? You just activated my fight or flight!"

"Taehyung says that and gets thanked but when I do it, I'm punished?" He pouts, stomping as he approaches the island counters and crossing his arms on the marble surface.

It reminded you of a bunny you saw from a video on the internet, angrily thumping their feet at their owner when it was being purposely ignored.

“In his defense, he does it while he’s acting like my crazy ‘exes’ and saves me from dates.”

“That’s just favoritism! I saved you once from a date!”

You threw him a deadpan stare. "Throwing me over your shoulders and kidnapping me isn’t the same as Tae and Jimin acting crazy enough to make the other guy uncomfortable to save me.”

Hoseok had your favorite troublemakers kneeled on the floor with both their hands up and facing the wall at the time, punishing them for being an hour late to their practice. He had called you in, asking if they had been accompanying you during —they weren’t. 

Long story short, you didn't risk sharing Hoseok’s wrath with the two and took Jungkook instead, a decision you quickly regretted later on in the night when instead of approaching to act like one of your exes when you gave him a signal, he hoisted you up onto his shoulder and ran away while your date only watched in terror.

“Now that’s blatant favoritism! I didn’t kidnap you, we ran away together into the sunset! It was romantic!"

"Not for the other guy, no! He was shitting bricks when he called my mom. She got me squatting the entire afternoon when we met again."

Mentioning it alone made phantom pains throb in your knees and thighs, you shivered. If torture wasn't a socially unacceptable and punishable offense in the modern world, you were sure your mother would have stripped you down to your underwear and made you squat under the sun in front of your family house instead. 

The absolute fury she unleashed on you that day is enough proof that she would've done it with no hesitation if it was lawfully appropriate.

"That's too much for a failed date."

"No reason to dwell on it. Main point is, don't take notes from dramas anymore."

With a last roll of his eye, Jungkook then picked up the bowls and brought them to the coffee table following you who had returned to your seat ahead of him. Once the two of you are situated back on the couch, he navigates through the streaming app for an interesting title before eventually settling on the romance anime he claimed to have heard amazing reviews about.

Without hesitation, Jungkook navigates himself into a familiar between your legs and leaned back on your chest, head finding his rightful space under your chin with a precision gained from doing so for years.

It goes without saying that Bangtan is affectionate. With the pressure they had during their rise to fame, it wasn't shocking that they comfortably seeked each other's comfort and spared no skinship. As one of the only staff within constant exposure that's close to their age, you too became one of their pillars of serenity. 

It was the reason you had crushes on everyone at least twice during your time as their make-up artist, not that any of the boys knew nor does it matter.

Stability and work takes precedence over something as shaky as love.

There's only so much comfort another man can offer, your mother says from years before.

Jungkook more than anyone else in the group. 

As a boy who sacrificed his childhood and time with his parents to pursue his dream, you felt more inclined to watch over him than the others who were adults by the time you joined. You were there for his first heartbreak, his first drink, his high school graduation; the point is, you were there and you held him every time he struggled with problems—mostly girl problems—he's too shy to seek his hyungs for.

But now with his growth spurt, cuddling up to you like he used to when he was younger with his gangly legs awkwardly hanging from the couch, carelessly leaning his head in between the mounds of your breast while his large hand mindlessly drew circles on your knee, you found yourself wondering about the appropriateness of it all.

A man and a woman alone in a room at night in close proximity, body leaning against each other. Society would argue they wouldn’t end the night as friends anymore after the encounter.

You paused mid-drink and grimaced.

It must be the beer talking.

"Noona."

"Yeah?"

"Wrap your arms around me, it's cold."

You raised an eyebrow at him. "It's not though? I always keep my house warm." 

He let out an exasperated groan before reaching behind to grab your arm and roughly slinging it on his shoulders.

As time continued its cycle and episodes started to fly across the screen, the pile of opened beer cans on the table expanded. You really tried to focus on the movie but the feeling of his fingers tracing stars on your bare thigh left you oddly bothered. Jungkook has shifted his position higher at some point during the movie, his body now turned sideways, successfully squeezing himself into the small space between you and the back of the couch, legs entangling itself with yours while an arm is thrown across your body.

This position puts his nose closer to your ears and it makes you shiver. The feel of his hot breath fanning across your skin has given you more goosebumps in under an hour more than you've had throughout your life.

Even drunk, you could feel the building tension thickening around you and the will to tell him to off ebbs away with every caress of his fingers.

Gone were the innocent traces of stars and hearts on your thigh, his hand now grabbed onto your waist almost possessively, thumb rolling slow circles on your bare stomach; the motion conjuring the most unholiest of thoughts known to mankind.

When the credits started rolling, you knew you had to draw the line before you lost yourself to intoxicated thoughts and end the night with regrets.

"Time for you to go home now, your hyungs must be looking for you."

You tried prying his hand from your waist so you could reach for your phone on the table only for him to tighten around you, stopping you from moving away. He groaned, head nuzzling closer into your neck and his lips grazed your skin. 

Instantly, electric jolts shoot through your body.

"Jungkook, I need to get my phone and tell someone to fetch you from here."

"Can't I just stay the night? I'm too comfortable right now…"

The gruff in his voice and the sensation of his lips moving on your skin has your stomach fluttering and you're too drunk to address the growing heat in your abdomen but thanked the sense of professionalism seeping through the fogs of your intoxicated mind.

Managing to pry him off, you reached for your phone and opened up SMS to tell Jin to pick their youngest up.

           [01:21] You: Jwannn

           [01:21] You: can you pick up your kid from my house? He's drunk and stinkyyy

           [01:23] Jinnie: your knight in shining armor is on the way!

“Just let me stay the nighttt,” he whined into your skin.

"I don't have any more spare beds other than this couch for you to sleep in, Gguk. I turned the other room into a closet, remember?"

"I can just sleep with you on the bed, we used to do that, didn't we?"

He attempted to reach around you again but you pushed his limbs away once more before slapping his arm.

You tried not noticing how thicker and harder the muscles felt, you really did. 

"But it's different now, Gguk. Come on, go wash up and drink water, I've already told someo—"

The moment you rose to stand, his arms shot around your waist in record speed and pulled you flush to his front, nuzzling his nose on the back of your neck before he sighed. When the first hot exhale hits your skin, you flinch away but the limbs wounded tightly around your middle restrict you from moving.

You try to ignore the heat simmering under your skin but it was hard when you felt the press of his plush lips on your nape as he leans closer into your skin. 

“You always smell so nice, noona.” He whispered breathily, the sensation of his moving mouth sending shivers down your spine and you shivered.

“I-I can give you my lotion brand later, let me go so I can get it.”

“But I'm comfortable here…”

Mustering every strength left in your body, you manage to pull an arm out of the death grip he had on your body and slapped his hand. Jungkook easily ignores it.

“Come on Gguk, let me out now. This isn't appropriate.”

"How is it different now?"

The alcohol intoxicating your system loosened your grip on your inhibitions and your lips regrettably moved faster than your brain.

"You're a man now, Gguk. Honestly, we shouldn't be even doing this right now. It's inappropriate."

You try to stand once more, managing to pry him from your waist and standing up before his arms hooked around you once more and tugging you back down, this time on his lap as he burrows his head onto your back.

"Gguk?"

"Yo-you see me as a man, noona?"

As a child your mother has taught you how words could heavily influence and drastically change a situation, now as an adult, you've mastered the art of speech. But as you sit still on his thighs, body warm and inhibitions blurred by the alcohol, your loose lips have led you back to the very thing you try to avoid.

"It's hard not to think so when you've grown up this much."

In a flash, Jungkook is now hovering over your face as he places you back down on the couch, his nose a hair's width from touching yours and his hands planted on each side of your head. 

There's a feral hunger swimming in his eyes as it stared into yours, desperate and intense before it fell to the plush of your parted lips and his gaze darkens. All of a sudden, you're a prey pinned down by an apex predator who's ready to devour you at any given moment.

Fire alarms blared in your mind and you regained control over your senses.

“Jungkook.”

"Noona."

You tried wriggling out of his grasp but it was no use, he's stronger. "Get off of me, kid."

“How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a kid anymore?”

“I'm not hearing anything out when you're acting like this, Gguk.”

He scoffed. “I just want to sleep here, in the same bed, nothing else is gonna happen. Why is it such a bad thing?”

“It's different now, Gguk. Come on, let me go.”

“How is it so different? You and Jimin hyung cuddle sometimes, I've seen you fall asleep next to Hobi hyung once, why is it different with me?”

“It's different because we're both drunk and things could happen.”

“I wouldn't mind it.” Jungkook responds with a cheeky smile. His grip on one of your wrist loosened enough that you were able to hit his arm and he giggled in response.

“But I do. It wouldn't be fair.”

Even something as small as letting one member stay at your home without the others can be the loudest announcement for the rest of the group. All those times you've rejected your friends, with reasons like ‘I don’t want to risk everything’, and ‘I don't want to hurt the others’, to turn back around to accept their youngest would be hypocritical of you.

He scoffs. "You tell us about all your stupid dates, don't you think it's more unfair for us?”

A familiar weight grows in your chest. Guilt tasted like rust on your tongue and dug into your heart with a ribbed knife. Your own late night thoughts manifesting before you and you pushed him away.

After everything, you were all friends, you trusted them more than you do with your other circle. There's not a secret left undiscussed between the eight of you so it was no surprise that you had indulged them with the details of your quest for a husband. Nobody ever raised any complaints with you sharing your days so you never thought twice about it.

It's been five years since Jin had confessed, three for Taehyung. Their eldest had confessed for the sake of him finally being able to move on after your rejection and with how he acted after, you had believed him. It was different for Taehyung who had continued to act like normal after his confession, neither dejected nor did he show signs of letting go but he did introduce a date to your group once, a year later, so you had assumed the same.

Were you wrong after all?

“Jungkook, we're drunk. Let’s talk about this tom—”

“I've never been more sober in my life than I am right now, noona.”

You didn't respond, couldn't reply.

What were you supposed to even say?

Jungkook usually obeyed you and his hyungs without hesitation, happily offering his aid whenever he could. He's the type of friend who's run himself dry just to fetch you a cup of water from the other side of the world but now as he hovers over you, he became a whole new person.

Greed has always been an irritating parasite that eats away at a person's morals but somehow in your drunken mind, you thought it looked so good on him. It fits him and his generous character the way one light clothing molds well with the dark fabrics. His familiar scent of vanilla and coconut clouded your senses, calming your panicking mind into a hush, leaving nothing but the thoughts of how his lips tasted and wondering if he’s as sweet as he smelled.

He let out a shaky exhale from through his mouth as he watched your parted lips with a rapt attention as if hypnotized by the way they subtly trembled with every breath that passed through.

In the pregnant silence of your room, his voice cuts through like a knife.

“Can I kiss you?”

He whispers against your lips, voice breaking in the middle from the weight of his request, honeyed and pleading, as if your kiss holds the answer to the problems of the world and holds the power to break him.

His hand travels up to cup your cheek oh so carefully like you're fragile china yet you feel yourself shatter under his touch.

You are losing grasp on your sober thoughts as lust starts to cloud your already compromised judgment, his request far too tempting to ignore.

Maybe a kiss wouldn’t hurt. 

But wouldn’t it be unfair for the others who have expressed their romantic intentions to you since years ago? 

It was a last ditch effort to reason with your mind and your body froze from the cold wave of realization. In the short time after his question, you recall the confessions you turned down to not ruin the relationship Bangtan has established for themselves and the bitter taste it left on your tongue.

“Jungkook… we can’t.”

Watching his expression contort into confused hurt almost made you want to take your words back, but your mind takes you to memories of apologetic and understanding smiles you’ve received throughout the years and the aches from those moments resurfaces, squeezing your heart in a tight grip.

“I-I’m sorry I can’t control my feelings, I just wanted to tell you about it… Thought that maybe after this, I could move on.” An apologetic voice whispers, the memory of premature confessions in the middle of a cleanup resurfacing.

“I can’t—I can’t do it to them, it’d be unfair.”

You pushed him back and he relented, letting himself be sat back onto the other side of the couch defeatedly. Despite it, his tight grip on your waist remained, pulling you flush to him and burying his face in your chest as if trying to hear the lie in your words through the beatings of your heart.

“I’m also seeing Guwon now.”

“Then don’t let me meet him. I-I don’t know if I can take it.”

It was heart wrenching and at the same time, left an uncomfortable twist in your stomach. Jungkook never had to beg since you first met him, everything he could ever want was given to him by you and his hyungs without hesitation. Hearing him plead for you to never bring Guwon around if fate had actually paired you both, it was a different kind of pain.

It felt like thorns growing and rooting its stems of pointy ends into the deepest parts of your heart. You hated this, but you don’t want to hurt any of your boys by accepting one.

Relief comes in the form of Taehyung when he busted into your apartment while Jungkook has excused himself to your bathroom to sober up just a moment before. Seokjin trails behind him, calmer than the younger man who declared his arrival with a deep voice and a loud bang of the door. You immediately thought of the elderly couple and the new family of three living next to you and internally facepalmed.

“Noona! We’ve come to take Jungkook away!”

Kim Seokjin’s face has never been more handsome when he closed the door behind him, and you verbalized your thought, leading his ears to glow red in embarrassment.

“Am I only handsome to you when I’m closing the doors?! This face that people fawn over all over the world?!”

“It’s your true calling, door guy.”

“Oh shut it hyung, you’re making my head hurt.” Jungkook mutters as he reentered the living room, looking far better than when he left.

The tension was palpable, the effect of a rejected profession still raw and thick in the small joined space of the living room and kitchen and you caught Jin's eyes as the two youngest bickered, there’s a knowing look passed between you, an unsaid ‘let’s talk later’ hanging in the air.

“Hey, just because you got to escape Hoba’s practice without scratch doesn't mean you're hot shit, show me some respect!”

Seokjin scolds, accompanied by a playful kick to their youngest’s butt. Immediately the stuffy air dissipates and Jungkook responds in kind; by kicking him in the shin, hard enough to launch Seokjin into another lengthy nag.

It was a quick retrieval after his rant. Jungkook lets himself be towed out of your apartment by an oddly enthusiastic Taehyung who's going on about a new game trailer he saw online while Jin has offered to be left behind to clean up the mess. It was no doubt obvious, the familiar awkwardness and tenseness brought by a rejected confession lingered in the air when they arrived, it only took him one look at you and he already knew. 

The moment the door slams shut behind the boys, he immediately began:

“Did he admit it?”

His voice was soft yet it rang loudly in the pindrop silence of your living room. The sigh he let out echoed more when you nodded.

“I told him to not do it, you know? But you know how stubborn he gets.”

You didn’t reply. You simply move, walking to the trash bin to put the empty beer cans in and Jin follows close with the bowls stacked on top of each other to place in the sink. It was a brief moment of reprieve. He let the moment from earlier simmer in your stomach, let the smoke from it fill your lungs and weigh your heart till you burst.

Out of the seven boys, you've always turned to either him or Yoongi as they're older than you, so it came to nobody's shock when you break and told him.

“It just never gets better, I always feel guilty even if I didn’t choose. I’m just lucky I didn’t have to suffer through seven of these, I don’t think I could take it and just quit.”

It was a thought you’ve entertained when Taehyung came to you with his heart in his hand, giving it to you carelessly despite knowing how you’ve handled the other confessions. He was all dopey smiles and flushed cheeks, it continued even when you’ve pushed his heart back to him with an apologetic look.

Seeing the happy creases in his eyes iron out despite the huge boxy smile continuing to play on his lips, the existing pressuring guilt reawakened. Taehyung’s heart that gleamed and glowed gold, vulnerable for you to take and use from where it settled in the middle of his offering palms. You could’ve taken advantage of it all as they were rising in fame, when they were facing discrimination from the other companies and had found comfort in you but you didn’t.

Even with the attraction you've felt for them, you were nothing but a makeup artist to the company. Another asset to deploy and replace if it got annoying to handle. You couldn't risk your career on uncertainties, this is your dream job.

You loved them all equally and held them in the same regards as the others, they’re your best friends, chosen soul companions even without the marks to solidify it. 

They loved you and you loved them all but you wouldn't bet your life on an uncertain future.

“You should give us more credit, you know?” 

He says from the kitchen sink, the sound of water slowing into a halt. Seokjin didn’t move for a while. When he did, it was to place down the plates, washing his hands before turning around to face you.

“We’re grown adults now, we can handle rejection so don’t feel too bad about it. You can choose and we’d even help you keep it a secret from everyone besides us eight.”

It was genuine. Even in the haze of your intoxication, those words felt like a cool balm for your aching heart. While Namjoon’s words were cited research, formal and factual and Yoongi’s were calming droughts to ease the discomfort of sadness brought by gloomy thoughts, Seokjin speaks from the heart, true and unbiased but says it with a gentleness and care. 

Guilt sets like a boulder on your heart. Being able to feel, to experience such a privilege when all you've done is break his heart since your hunt for a husband, the weight in your chest multiplied and tears sprung from your eyes.

You wanted them but you couldn't risk your dream job, couldn't risk a friendship as precious as theirs for kisses and hugs that eventually has its ends.

You didn’t even notice it when he crossed the distance between you both and pulled you plush to his chest but you recognized the familiar sensation of plush lips pressing against your forehead.

If it lingered a few seconds past what's platonically allowed, you didn’t mention it.

Seokjin’s muted scent of freshly baked cakes brought silence to the rampaging waves of thoughts in your mind and if you pressed your nose flush to his chest to bury yourself in his fragrance, he didn’t say anything, bringing one hand behind your head protectively.

“I'm sorry to put you through this pain, Jinnie. I-I didn’t know.”

“I knew you didn’t know but I'll be fine... eventually.” He breathes out before leaning down to bury himself into the nest of your hair. "As long as you're happy, then I am too."

It was heavy, being loved and held so preciously even after you’ve turned him down, it felt cruel, sadistic even. But like the selfish woman you are, you accepted it. Soaked in his affections greedily.

“You know, he asked me to never show Guwon around you guys.”

He sighed. “I knew he would.”

“Do you want that as well?

Silence followed but you heard his answer loud and clear.

The second date happened after the first leg of the tour in Seoul.

Although planned suddenly, you appreciated the downtime after being lost in the haze of rushed outfit changes, reapplying makeup, and patting sweat from foreheads. If anything, you were thankful you could loosen up after earlier. The awkward tension didn’t go amiss, it only took Namjoon and Yoongi one look between you and Jungkook before taking charge on how the night progresses.

Yoongi didn't waste any time waving you over to ask for help for his makeup, even when he was already being prepped by one of your older colleagues, Ji hae. Thankfully, the woman lets you take over, saying she wanted a snack anyways.

The man didn't bother asking you what happened and settled comfortably in his chair but not before offering you the snack he bought earlier and was laying neglected on his lap. Yoongi asked about Guwon in a hushed voice, because while you were living in a reverse harem with most of his brothers, he was genuinely curious about your boyfriend-to-be.

Maybe it was the fact he has never admitted his affections for you that made it comfortable to discuss topics you could never talk about with the others with him, but you let your tongue a little loose.

And he listened.

Yoongi has always been a man of action not words, his love language has always been opening water bottles, blankets appearing from nowhere when you're passed out on their couch, and listening attentively. Despite what the world says about his nonchalance and silence, in your eyes, he's the sweetest guy on the roster—not that you'd tell Jimin that of course, he'd riot if he were to find out.

By the end of the concert, Guwon asks you on an impromptu date. A simple late night walk on a market nearby because there's apparently a food fair, and as usual, the expenses are on him. Hungry with a principle of never turning down free food, of course you accepted. 

Though you had a long time deciding whether to go or not with Jungkook’s confession still fresh.

Minutes later, he's waiting for you by the exit. The scene of him leaning on his Mercedes, waiting for you to reach him at the bottom of the stairs looks like it was pulled out of a kdrama.

Oddly enough, they didn’t question your lack of updates in the group chat but Jimin reached out later on and you suspect he told everyone your whereabouts instead, hopefully minus the date part to spare the others (read: Jungkook) from heartbreak.

The fair looked like a mirage of a paradise in the night hidden away in a small gently-lit up alley. The path was lightened up with gentle lanterns hung above you, the warm colors setting a more intimate scene. It wasn’t as luxurious as dinner from yesterday or as calming as the bike ride around the Han river but you appreciated it nonetheless.

You’re ready to drop dead but you pushed through, you wanted this relationship to work. Because then, maybe the monsters—your mother and her wide selection of personalities as well as aunties, her friends, trying to refer you to their horrible sons—haunting you from under your bed will finally leave you alone.

It was cruel that you’re using someone else to erase the memory of being professed to by one of your best friends.

Guwon was happy enough to take charge the whole date, leading you from food stall after food stall, ordering whatever your eyes lingered at which is half of what the fair offers. He understands your lack of responses as it is, tired from work, and talked enough for the both of you. Which you are grateful for.

He talked about his job and what happened that day, willingly telling you about the story of how he and his co-workers clicked back in College, never to part till now in the field they wanted. He spoke of his dreams, how he envisioned his dream home by the province surrounded by nature and the cat named Nabi waiting for him at home.

There's nothing more blatant of a signal than the last part, whether you accept it or not depends on you.

Normally, you would've frowned at the thought, immediately thinking of running away but as the night deepens and stalls start to close, the idea grows more and more tempting despite the logical voice in your head disagreeing. Seeking a distraction and possibly leading on a kind man is cruel, both to him and you.

But at the end of the day, it’s just an escape from the reality you're stuck in, a temporary answer to a long time problem. 

How harmful can it be? 

People had hookups before, you’ve had hookups before your mother has started a hunt for your husband this year so what are you so reluctant for? 

If this man is to be your husband, you should check your physical compatibility right?

You shivered. God, you sounded like one of those shitty guys you’ve dated before.

"Hey, the stalls just closed. Are you fine with me driving you back to your house?"

His voice cuts through your deep thoughts and you turn to him. Even in the dimly lit corner of the alley, Guwon looked attractive as ever with his dimpled smile and laid back attitude, his soft eyes gleaming under the lanterns, affections overflowing from his gaze and you. shuddered from its weight. 

Staring at the man, you wondered if you'd ever fall in love with him as he seemed right now.

Soon enough, you both arrive in front of your apartment building. However, not every plan goes through as you thought it'd go and you find two familiar figures rushing down to meet you. 

Taehyung didn't hesitate to run up to you with open arms and a wide smile. He didn't even care that you both almost toppled over if it wasn't for Guwon hand supporting you from the back.

"Wh-why are you two here? Shouldn't you guys be resting?"

Jimin shrugged but you caught the mischievous glint in his eyes as a small smile tugs his lips. "Hyung got so worried and wanted us to make sure you got home safely."

"Even a thumbs up would be great but you ignored every text and call! Jin hyung panicked and sent us out, if you didn't come home, he would've had a huge manhunt for you." Taehyung chimed in, pulling away but keeping his hands on your shoulders as he stared deep into your eyes, as if trying to hypnotize you into believing them.

Jimin snickered. “Yoongi hyung was an hour away from declaring you missing so the good dongsaengs we are, we decided to camp outside your apartment.”

You would've accepted his explanation, it was logically sound yet the dark glint of mischief and something else in his eyes as his gaze bounced from you to Guwon told you a different story.

They've always had to interrupt your dates when it becomes sour but this was the first time they've confronted a potential partner outside the intentions of ruining a date because you wanted it to suck.

This was them laying their claim over their own, a silent statement. A declaration you try not to think so much about, fearing you'd dig yourself deep and fall to your death.

“These must be one of your kids?” Guwon asks from behind, reminding you of his presence and you turn to him with an apologetic look.

“Yeah, Taehyung and Jimin. I practically raised them.”

Jimin scoffs and your head snapped to him, widening your eyes in warning to which he ignored. “Just because you’re a year older, doesn’t mean you could say you raised us you know?”

“See what I deal with everyday?” 

Guwon laughs lightheartedly before patting your head to get your attention. “Since your kids are here to protect you, I should get going now.”

“Drive safely.”

“See you soon?”

“Definitely.”

Then he placed a haste kiss on the edge of your lips, catching you off guard and you froze. Guwon was already in his car by the time you realized what happened and turned to chastise him. You couldn't even knock on the passenger window when the arms coiled around your shoulders tightened and tugged you close.

Letting Guwon kiss you in front of one of the men who confessed to you once was the first mistake, second was looking up at Taehyung whose hug is starting to hurt.

Gone were the usual giddiness and child-like enthusiasm that would pour from his eyes. It was replaced by a colder glare, almost blank and emotionless as it narrowed behind you and jaw locked tight. There was something primal in the way his hand behind your head was pushing you closer to him as if he was hounding over his game from another predator.

Goosebumps prickled your skin awake.

If butterflies exploded in your stomach and ignited a molten heat in your abdomen at that very moment, it's a secret you’d take to your grave.

“Tae?”

“Noona, I think we should head inside. It's getting cold.” Jimin’s sweet voice sounded forced and you resisted the urge to look at him.

While their reaction to being challenged is obvious, you couldn't, for the life of you, figure out why he should feel like that when he’s been seeing other people since his confession. From your past dates where he attended as one of your escape plans, he’s  never expressed such an intense show of displeasure so you thought his fleeting crush had passed.

Until tonight.

When Taehyung pulled away, the traces of his hostility were gone and you had to double take at how vastly different he's appearing now. He has his lower lip pushed out into a pout, eyes wide with mirth as he reaches up to cup your cheeks, his warm palms heating your cold-nipped skin.

“Aigoo, you're so cold noona. Let's go in and binge that foreign show you've been following.”

With hands now intertwined, he leads you inside the building where Jimin was already standing inside and was holding the door open for you both. You were being tugged into your own home yet you couldn’t help but feel tense as Taehyung and Jimin welcomed you back in with the same dark look you saw earlier.

[trappolia]

FINGERS TWISTED BEHIND MY BACK (DON'T LET IT BE YOU I LACK) ── aventurine x gn!reader, 862

aventurine hates fighting with you.

he does not even remember it—not clearly, at least. through the memories mudded by the buzz of soulglad and whatever alcoholic beverages he'd guzzled down the night before, the exact expression of your face when he stumbled back into your hotel room is a blur (a pretty blur, he is quite sure, though no doubt a disappointed one) and the sentences you'd spat out at him were jumbled into words that grate in his eardrums when he tries to recall what exactly was said. aventurine tries to echo it to himself, but even the incoherence sounds bitter on his tongue, and all that comes out an indistinct, asthmatic gasp that he's quite sure is some sort of equivalent of his heart aching. or breaking. somewhere in between, perhaps.

he rolls over in your bed, damp from the shower and tears. aventurine is thankful veritas hasn't stormed in to nag at him; he would not be able to stomach being seen like this by anyone else but you: his sweet safe haven, his little eden. you've gone now, stormed off somewhere to cool off. aventurine leaves you be (even if he spent the first two hours alone relentlessly spamming your phone with messages, pleas to come back and return) but he is still alone.

the thought occurred to him somewhere between hour three and hour five, that you'd never come back. aventurine doesn't let it linger. his stomach roils, mouth tasting of bitter alcohol and sweet dreams where you are still there and he'd never upset you.

the hours he spends there without you are hellish, a parody of a bleak, grief-stricken painting of some woman whose husband has gone out to fight in an intergalactic war—draped over the bed, numb and miserable to everything but the thought of you he has to conjure every now and then to keep himself sane. the air is cold and never seems to adjust, even though the reverie's rooms are specifically designed to tailor to the guest's tastes. they clearly did not consider the factor that is a hopeless, lovesick man suffering from withdrawal.

the door creaks open.

aventurine darts up in his your bed, instantly whipping myself up into such a nervous, edgy frenzy that he almost forgets how to breathe. his lungs shudder, the cogs in his brain turning the wrong way, and nothing is working fast enough, right enough as he stumbles to his feet, nearly tripping over the carpet as he finds you toeing off your shoes at the door, so pretty it hurts.

"welcome home," aventurine manages to choke out, still tripped-out and dizzy, heart pounding loud in his fingertips and ears. he watches you glance up at him, your eyes meeting his own for the first time in hours that feel like centuries, and the burden on his lungs alleviates—just a little bit.

"…aventurine," you sigh in this throaty, broken voice that cuts right at his chest. he winces as if he's been struck, eyes flitting to the dizzying pattern of the carpet in effort to hide the glossiness of his irises.

he hears your feet padding across the room to him, the footfalls soft and slow and not at all violent, though he cannot help but fear. there can always be a finality to the softest, gentlest of mercies. not that aventurine has ever experienced it before, but he knows it is possible with you: you who holds his heart in your hands, and you may very well tear it apart if you so wished.

aventurine will let you, if that is what you want.

but instead he swallows, too loudly; finds his fingers instinctively twisting behind his back. "are you going?"

"i just arrived," you whisper, endlessly gentle, endlessly soft—forgiving.

"i know," his voice breaks, and you reach out to touch him—palm against cheek, thumb brushing over the slope of his cheekbone. something cold and damp trails over the flesh of his face, fair marble streaked with a single rivulet of a tear. he does not tell you why he wants to cry. you know anyway.

aventurine thinks pretending would be easier with you, but here in this room, at the end of the day when everyone else has escaped into their own dreamscape, he is tired of saccharine sweet lies, the twisting webs that he pulls around without even understanding the final result it will conjure. it is easier, he thinks, to let you keep his heart and do with it as you wish—and aventurine can only hope that you will be merciful.

are you going? the second set of three words, that single question that he truly wants to ask is caught in his throat, because you may hold aventurine's heart in your palms, but if you will not use your own bloody fingers to pry it open, he must do it for you—and he can't. not for this, at least.

but you know anyway. of course you do.

will you stay?

"i'm right here," you murmur, sweet and godly against his lips, swallowing the sob that he almost lets out. "i'm staying right here."

© trappolia 2024

[withahappyrefrain]

Abby! For the kiss prompts, could I request #9 (in public) with Bob and Teacher!Reader? 🍎 Very self-indulgent on my part 😂

- @bradshawsbaby 💕

But that's the joy of fanfic! We get to be self-indulgent!

"Mrs. Floyd? You're needed in the front office."

After hanging up the phone, you let out a sigh, looking at your lunch longingly.

This would happen during your lunch period, one of the few chances where you get time to yourself. No meetings, no kids, no questioning or yelling.

You loved your job. You weren't sure what else you'd want to do other than teaching. But the last few weeks had been seemingly endless and mentally draining.

It didn't help that your husband was gone.

By now, you should be a pro when it comes to Bob being deployed.

In a way, you were much better now at the beginning, had found enough projects and hobbies to occupy you, to keep your brain busy and far away from the fact your husband was somewhere halfway across the world.

But after a month, the loneliness and anxiety would seep in. Bob was out there, risking his life instead of being at home with you. Waking up alone to half of an empty bed instead of with him. His return always uncertain.

It made the long, particularly draining days of teaching much harder. Instead of being embraced by your husband's strong arms, you opened the door to an empty house.

Maybe things would be easier if you had a set return date. But even Bob wasn't sure of that.

So with a deep sigh, you put your lunch back in your bag, accepting it'll most likely go uneaten. The trek upstairs to the main office felt longer than usual, your feet feeling heavy with each step.

But instead of your useless principal or an irate parent waiting in the main office, you were met with a man who had eyes bluer than the ocean and a smile sweeter than honey.

"Bobby!"

No longer caring where you were, you threw your arms around your husband, kissing him for the first time in months.

"Hey darlin," Bob smiled into the kiss, also feeling relieved to have you back in his arms.

"What are you doing here?"

"Wanted to see my wife now that I'm back." His cheeks were flushed with a rosy hue that always managed to tug on your heartstrings.

"Couldn't wait until I was home?" You teased, not that you were complaining.

"And not spend time with you?"

Your eyebrows knit together in confusion, Bob knew you had to work, he was literally at your school-

"Your team arranged a sub for you. They made sub plans and everything. Just need to get your bag and we're good to leave," Bob revealed.

Your heart soared at the news, pulling him into another hug.

You were so happy, you nearly forgot that the main office was right by the cafeteria.

"Who is Mrs. Floyd kissing?"

"That's not Mrs. Floyd!"

"Yes it is!"

"She kissed him!"

"Is that Mr. Floyd?"

"That's not Mr. Floyd."

"Yes it is Liam!"

"I think we've been discovered," Bob whispered, unable to hide his smile as your students peered through the window.

[222col]

sugardaddy!art is completely devoted to you, as are you to him, until a dm from patrick lights up your phone late one night | 18+

it was tashi who introduced you two, at some adidas party. she'd met with you the day before, pitching the idea of forming some kind of relationship with her husband. she admitted that she knew he needed more than her, he needed intimacy, attention, devotion. things she wasn't capable of giving, her focus was on his tennis and recovery. art was attractive, and successful, you were considering. tashi explained that in return for your devotion to her husband, the two of you would supply you with anything you wanted. "so, i'd be his sugarbaby?" you questioned her. she simply shook her head. "you'd look after his needs, while we looked after yours."

she introduced you to her husband, "this is the girl we talked about." he had followed you on instagram the night before, so you imagined tashi had shown it to him after your conversation. she leaves the two of you alone. you're younger than him, much smaller in frame, you can feel the power he has over you. but he strokes your arm lightly, telling you he can't wait to get to know you better.

art falls head over heels for you, you see him nearly every day. always giving him every ounce of attention he craves. it's not hard, he's beautiful, funny, always doting on you, complimenting everything about you. he fucks you like the world stops moving once he's inside you. you're like oxygen to him, he can't really breath until he's with you. art and tashi sleep in separate rooms, as months go by, you start staying over. occasionally bumping into tashi the next morning, she always greets you with a smile and thanks you for looking after her husband. the dynamic is strange, but it works.

art kept you very private, away from his fast paced life in tennis. he followed your instagram, sure, but you were a sportswear model. who's to suspect anything strange about a professional tennis player following a sportswear model. it's a year into you and art's relationship that patrick follows you on instagram. you knew he and patrick had patched up their friendship, since they played each other in a challenger somewhere in new york, some nine months ago. but still, you can't imagine art ever mentioning you to anyone other than his wife. one, for the sake of his public image, but two, he'd never want to share you. he always asks you if you go on dates in your time away from him, but always reassuring him that you don't. "i'm yours art, i don't want anyone else."

stalking patrick's instagram, alone in your apartment, payed for by art, you see how much he's turned his life around since playing in that new york challenger. art had mentioned that patrick wasn't reaching his full potential while they weren't on speaking terms. but now he's playing in big tournaments, winning them and earning his reputation back. that's obvious by his instagram, he's travelling the world, in style. you see the notification of him liking one of your posts, as you swipe through his. no, this is bad, you think. another notification, a message this time. shit. you have to tell art. does he already know? has he told patrick about the relationship you share? it's late, you know art has a match tomorrow, you decide not to call him.

patrick's messages are flirty, you can't work out what he knows, if he knows. you flirt back. you know it's wrong, but you do it. you think about art's pout as you tell him you're flirting with his best friend when you're sworn to him. you wipe that thought from your brain, reading the messages patrick is sending you. he's in your city for a tournament, you question how he knows what city you live in, it's in your bio, he responds. oh, yeah.

what are you doing right now?

fuck. fuck. shit. it's 10pm, you're still dolled up from the dinner art took you to. you look back at your phone.

wanna meet me for a drink? there's a nice bar at my hotel.

he sends you the address, it's only two blocks from your apartment. your feet are moving you off the couch, discarding of your robe, the dress art instructed you to wear to dinner still gowns your body.

be there in 15.

why the fuck did you do that, you think, reapplying your lipstick. your mind is running a mile a minute. you slip your heels back on, grabbing your handbag and locking your apartment door behind you. art. patrick. art. fuck, you can't stop thinking about art. you still don't know if patrick knows, but you can't ask because then he'll definitely know. you haven't been with anyone else since the day you met art, it would break him knowing you're going for drinks with another man. let alone with patrick. you collect yourself as you arrive outside the hotel, you'd been here with art. you didn't recognise the name, art always books the rooms. you stayed here with him the night before he signed the lease to your apartment.

walking towards the bar, you remember the way, patrick is perched on the end of the bar. he smirks when he sees you, you smile and walk over to him. standing to greet you, he kisses your cheek, "glad you could join me, i was getting lonely." he's in a white button down and jeans. "glad i could be of service then." you flirt, sitting on the stool next to his. your knees touching his as he orders you a glass of wine. "there's no way you got this dolled up in 15 minutes, sweetheart," the bartender places your wine down next to you. taking a sip and giggling. "no, of course, i'd only been home an hour when you messaged me, i went out to dinner and hadn't gotten changed yet." patrick is leaning towards you, like he's trying to read you.

"you're telling me, you went on a date, came home, then came to meet me? that's hot." patrick laughs into his beer. "no, no, it wasn't a date," you lie, art would cry if he heard you say that. "it was just dinner with a friend." patrick doesn't really believe you, but he doesn't push. "so, you're in town for the tennis tournament?" you question, sipping your wine. "yeah, i play my first game the day after tomorrow." you know it's the same tournament art is playing in. "i was actually going to stay at a friends place who lives near by, but boy am i glad i didn't now." his hand lands on your exposed thigh. fuck, he must mean art. you don't even realise you're leaning in closer to patrick. "me too," he just smiles at you, drawing circles on your skin.

you come to the conclusion that he doesn't know a thing about your relationship with art, the most he could know was that art followed your instagram, he will have seen when he followed you himself. you don't know how it happens, but after a few more glasses of wine and flirting, patrick's lips crash onto yours. they're not as soft as art's, he doesn't have the same respect for you to wait for you to open your mouth to push his tongue in. his hand is moving further up your thigh, pulling away from the kiss. "what'd say? wanna fuck a famous tennis star?" he whispers in your ear, he's so fucking arrogant. another famous tennis star, you think. you can't resist him, he's so different to art. art cares so deeply for you, touches you so softly, asks if you're okay. patrick is cocky, only sees you as a girl to add to his list. you can't say no, you know you should but you can't. all you can do is look up at him through your lashes and nod.

he fucks you from behind, ripping your dress off your body as he pounds into you. you'll feel guilty about that tomorrow, art loved that dress. he spanks you repeatedly, he doesn't care that it hurts, he just cares about getting himself off. he flips you over, holding your ankles and pushing your legs close to your head as he keeps fucking you. your fresh set of nails dig into the skin of his thighs, nails moving to his back once he drops your legs down. you scratch the length of his spine, he winces with a smile on his face when he realises you've drawn blood. he spits in your mouth, slaps your face, its animalistic. he pulls out and finishes all over your stomach, he doesn't care that you didn't finish. he collapses beside you, instinctively you start kissing and caressing the marks you left on his body. kissing every bite mark and scratch you gave him. he softens, breathing gently as he strokes you hair. "no one's ever looked after me like this," he states, sitting up to drink the water your holding for him. you simply kiss his forehead in response, his heart is nearly beating out his chest at the sweet way you're looking after him, after just fucking the life out of you without giving a single fuck. you pull the blanket up over his naked body, getting out of bed to gather your belongings. "stay with me?" he pleads, you can't resist.

you wake up in patrick's arms, shit. shit. shit. it's 9am, you check your phone, a text from art, two hours ago.

good morning, baby. hope you slept well, off to my morning training session before the match later today. call you when i can xx

you turn around and look at patrick, fast asleep. you reply quickly to art.

good morning, my love. have a good session, already can't wait to hear ur voice <3

you're not lying. you hear his voice everyday, it's part of your routine. you put your phone on the nightstand as you start getting out of bed. "please don't leave just yet," patrick mumbles in his morning voice, holding out a hand for you. "let me just use the bathroom real quick." you respond. you smooth out your hair in the mirror, attempting to clean up your make up with only your finger, slipping into a robe on the back of the bathroom door. you return to patrick, sitting on the edge of the bed as he sits up now, leaning against the headboard. "i have a proposition for you," you tilt your head at his words. "i need you in my life, i need your body, your kindness," he begins. oh no. "i was thinking, if you were to look after me and my needs, i could do the same for you." you know exactly what he means, you've heard it before. your phone lights up, your ringtone playing. 'A.D' flashes across the screen. fuck.

[wynnyfryd]

💖 2024 Steddie Fic Recs 💖

@thefreakandthehair and i were talking about how so many of the fics we can name off the top of our heads are from right after the show came out because we were still actively making rec lists back then, so:

in no particular order i present to you an incomplete list of fics i love that were published or completed within the last two months

short fics (<10k)

Found God In A Tomato by @beetlesandstarss 5.7k | rated M | fluff, text fic

syrupy sweet strangers to first date fic. without spoiling anything, eddie is a flustered cutie and steve is a fuckin' menace who's lucky he's so hot

he tightened he grip by @steddieas-shegoes 1.3k | rated E | crack not treated remotely seriously

Mickala beloved your commitment to the bit makes me wanna commit myself to you 💍

Slide It In by gayhandshake 1.8k | rated E | multimedia crack

another truly impeccable work of crack fic, i laughed so hard at the first image that i made it the icon for my private discord server

what's that sound? (there's a funny man at my door) by @jewishrat420 4.8k | rated M | spicy six text fic

laughed out loud at this fic so many times i really don't know what else to tell you. as a matter of fact, i went to look at my bookmark note to see what else i had to say about it when i read it, and my note just says "fucking hilarious i laughed out loud like 6 times" 💀 did not do not will never know what else to tell you except that the phrase "the goyim of gender" just randomly pops into my brain once every four or so days now

medium fics (10-20k)

In the Kitchen or the Tulips by @teddywesworl 44k | rated E | telepathic soulmate AU

this fic said "watch me flip this trope inside out like a freshly cubed half of an avocado" and then DELIVERED. i finished this fic and then stared at the side of my husband's head for long enough that he looked over and went "wtf are you doing" lmao hush baby i am contemplating the implications

they're going to send us to prison for jerks by @greatunironic 16k | rated E | social media AU

okay firstly the premise of this fic is so specifically and delightfully unhinged; love that i'm not the only one who looks at a random tiktok account and manically whispers to myself "there's a fic in there somewhere." secondly the execution is a 10 outta 10 outta 10 outta TEN

long fics (50k+)

Sneaky Link by @morningberriesao3 152k | rated E | onlyfans au

the sex is HOT the boys are dumb as goddamn ROCKS what more do you need? oh, what's that? you do need more? sick because this fic also has: the tags "cum slut eddie munson" and "everyone is gay (because i say so)", chrissy the homophobe slayer being the cutest little spy, and jason getting his ass whooped, like, spiritually. on a spiritual level. physically unharmed but that boy's soul is missing teeth do u understand what i am saying

podfics!

it was love, love alone read by @reena-jenkins 21min | rated E

am i technically reccing my own fic on my own fic rec list? you bet your sweet ass i am, i don't even care how tacky that is reena's performance is hilarious and deserves to be listened to at least 40 more times while doing the dishes

relax (lay it back) read by @flintandfuss 1hr 10min | rated E | yogi dom steve x sub eddie

listen if i'm already being gauche then i gotta include my internet wife's belated birthday present to me, like i gotta. morally and lustfully obligated.

Schiava by @teddywesworl read by aheada_lettuce 1hr 30min | rated E | kas!eddie AU

said it once already today and i'll say it again, i cannot believe one of the best reading voices i've ever heard belongs to a person i mentally refer to as fucking lettuce LOL anyway this read is incredible and i have listened to it Times(tm)

and lastly, if you want more recs (like, 348 more specifically), you can browse my full list of public st bookmarks here

[echantedtoon]

SEDUCTION: UPPER/LOWER MOONS

You try to seduce your demon husband/wife as a means to get outside or distract him enough to get what you want.. However it does the exact opposite of what you aim for.

Warnings for Douma/Karaku/Enmu being their own warnings, possibly some innuendos.

Daki and Zohakutan are mentioned but only PLATONICALLY!!

I'm having a lot of fun writing these scenarios.

You were tired of this now

A you wanted was to go outside for a few hours enjoy the sun or the beautiful night sky full of stars for a little while. But every single time you asked it was always variations of the same answer.

"No. It's too dangerous during these times. You're much safer with me." or "What if a slayer finds out your husband/wife happens to be a demon?! You think they'd spare your life?! They'd kill you on the spot without hesitation!" or "Alright but I'm going with you. It's not up for debate."

This you were never truly able to get a moment to yoursel. Don't get you wrong. You loved your husband/wife to death and would do anything for them! You knew what you signed up for when marrying a demon and right now was a tense time for their kind. But you just wanted FIVE MINUTES ALONE WITHOUT HIM/HER HOVERING OVER YOUR SHOULDER OR CHECKING ON YOU EVERY FIVE MINUTES!!

Although maybe you'd have a solution-

"Try seducing him/her!"

You choked on the green tea and coughed a few times staring at your cousin like she was crazy. Currently you sat in your family home wanting to visit them. Of course your husband/wife insisted on coming too and thus dawned a human disguise to visit his/her in-laws. Right now he/she was having a pleasant conversation with your father discussing the more efficient ways to hunt between a bow and Arrow and a new invention called a gun. They seemed actually interested in the conversation so they didn't notice the talk you had with your cousin venting to her about your husband's/wife's overprotective nature. However you weren't planning on those words to come tumbling outta her mouth with a cheeky smirk.

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me. How do you think I got a rich husband who spoils me?"

"My husband/wife isn't that shallow. A-And that'll never work!"

"Look. You tried everything from bargaining to fighting right? Why not give it a shot? Flattery will sometimes get you somewhere despite what they say."

...Well she did have a point. Nothing you had tried so far had worked, maybe a little bit of flirtation and flattery would work. And your cousin's right. There really wasn't anything to lose since at most he/she would just be amused or annoyed at your actions and spouses flirted with each other all the time. So next time your husband/wife left for 'work' you decided to kick it into over drive.

When your husband/wife returned later two days at night. The home was unusually quiet and dark but he/she detecting no one else around and senses that you were still moving around inside so they assumed you were probably in the middle of going to sleep. They just let themselves in as always sliding the door open but paused eyes widening. The house was completely spotless, not that it was dirty in the first place, but it seemed as if Even the ceiling was polished. A trail of red and pink petals leading away from the door and towards the kitchen where he/she already found a table of fresh raw steak waiting for them lit by candlights.

Needless to say his/her brow rose. Ok. You definitely wanted something because it wasn't your anniversary or any special occasion.

"Y/n, I'm home!", he/she called from the kitchen doorway.

They await hearing your footsteps but are surprised when you turn the corner and are dressed up to the nines. A beautiful patterned flowing Kimono and make up to match as you stand there nervously before attempting to look sultry at them..but it just makes you look nervous.

"O-Oh. I didn't hear y-you come in." They hear the stutter in your nervous look as you attempt to strut, tripping over the kimonos folds and falling on your front, only to quickly scramble back up onto your feet and place a hand on the wall next to him/her with a seductive(hilarious looking and nervous-) grin. "But I-Im glad y-y -you're back! Do you like the surprise? I w-worked solo ha-hard on it just for YOU."

Eyes slowly blink at your already sweating face looking you up and down. Slowly blinking and then your finally get their answer-

KOKUSHIBO:

Six eyes slowly blink one after another at you looking you up and down ... before he sighs briefly closing his eyes and shaking his head. Your smile disappears as he just continues shaking his head no at you.

"This ..will not work on me. You should know better than that..However."

You let out an adorable squeak as a finger and his thumb tilts your head up towards his leaning form.

"I can not complain about the gesture. Go change into something you won't trip over and we'll have dinner together."

DOUMA:

He waits until your smile disappears completely after you get nothing but one of his famous Big eyed stares from him. It's only then that he giggles and a second later you're snatched up into his arms with a squeal.

"Oh my. Is this for me?~ How generous of my little wife to surprise me with such a beautiful display. You wouldn't mind if I just jump straight to desert would you?~"

You gulp when he leans in to affectionately rub his forehead into yours with a growl sounding an awful lot like a purr.

You had a feeling this backfired-

AKAZA:

"...PFFT- HAHAHA!"

You're taken off guard when Akaza just doubles over in loud laughter ringing off the walls and filling the house. He can't help it. When you fell over your dress and then got back up to try and seduce him was the funniest thing he's ever seen! Your cute pout was also not very convincing to him.

"I-Im sorry! Hehehehe! It's just when you tried acting like an oiran-..HAHAHA! I swear I love this Bu-But you looked so cute trying to se-seduce me! *snort*"

"Well then you can clean up all the petals yourself and sleep in the basement!"

He wheezed as you cutely stomp away as he holds up a hand.

"N-No! Wait! You are adorable I promise!"

HANTENGU+CLONES:

You're surrounded by your husbands all giving you mixed reactions to your display..it was not what you expected. The first one to speak out was Urami who immediately pointed towards your bedroom.

"Go change into something decent, Woman! What are you thinking dressing up like that?!"

Sekido and Aizetsu are speechless. Staring at you wide eyed and red faced because you looked so pretty but Sekido eventually yanked you away from Karaku. Urogi just sat on the floor laughing loudly when you fell and Hantengu sneakily went into the kitchen to eat all the food before anyone noticed. Only Karaku really reacted by growling out and pulling you into a hug as Zohakutan mentally gags in disgust inside Sekido.

"Why waste such a once in a life time opportunity such as this?~ And after she went through all the trouble.~"

You proceeded to get yanked away by Sekido who lectured you with Urami on proper wear.

GYOKKO:

He doesn't respond to you at first only continuing to stare at you from his pot before his entire face scrunched up scrutinizing your outfit.

"What are you WEARING?!" He asked in such a way that made it like he stepped in goop.

"Um...A oiran's attire?"

"Well first of all that is definitely not your color! Secondly it's too large for you! An oiran's beautiful gown is supposed to flow behind them on the breeze of their footsteps. NOT MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A TODDLER PLAYING DRESS UP WITH HER MOTHER'S ROBES!! And that hairstyle is totally wrong-...You know what? Cancel dinner! I'm going to teach you the proper art of dressing like the beautious women."

Turns out he's more offended by the fact that your wardrobe is a mess than you actually trying to reduce him and it got you a six hour half lecture half dress up session from the demon.

NAKIME:

Her eyebrow raises looking you up and down for a moment before glancing back at how much effort you put into everything before sighing.

"You could just ask me instead of going through all the trouble."

"You don't like it?"

"I do but just dinner would have been fine. Seeing you make a mess of our flower garden is just irritating."

Her hand motions to the flower petals on the floor and you feel embarrassed how she knew you practically destroyed your garden.

GYUTARO(+PLATONIC DAKI MENTIONED):

Gyutaro.exe has stopped working. His eyes go wide open, jaw slacked, and his entire face turns the deepest red. Meanwhile Daki is giving you a thumbs up from around the corner. Nothing like bribing your sister-in-law to help you dress up to impress her brother.

"What D-Do you think? Pretty huh?.....Gyutaro?"

"P-Pretty."

"Thank you. N-Now about dinner-"

"Pretty."

"Yes. I-"

"Pretty."

"Hun-"

"Pretty-"

Turns out you completely broke his brain seeing his already pretty wife dress up so attractively.

KAIGAKU:

His mind honestly blue screens for a long moment looking you over and over...A pink hue covers his face as his pointed ears pin back to his head. He has to forcibly turn his head away and pretend interest in the food to avoid you seeing the fluster on his face. His voice sputters and he quickly covers it by shoving the raw steak into his maw...but the pink tips of his ears aren't fooling you. Although maybe you did go too far because he doesn't communicate with you until you change back because he won't allow you to see his face.

HAIROU:

He doesn't say anything about it for a long time only looking at you up and down as you nervously still smile awkwardly up at him... Before he clears his throat and calmly takes off his cape before plopping it over your shoulders.

"The surprise is-...I-I-Its nice bu-bu-but you shouldn't have."

He really likes it however and the blush on his face is not helping him to hide how he really feels.

KYOGAI:

He asks you if you're ok from falling over and once you confirm that you are ok he just silently staring at you for a long while before he slowly turns inhumanly slowly towards the candlelight dinner before back to the rose petals on the floor. Before his bottom lip wobbled and honest tears start falling from his eyes as a sob escaped his throat.

"I-I lov-v-ve you so much!"

He's overwhelmed by the fact you'd do something so romantic just for him and he's crying out of happiness. Give him a second. He'll kiss you after but first he needs a second to blabber about how much he loves you.

ENMU:

You don't get time to react before he was upon you. Giggling like a mad man before wrapping his arms around you and pulling your squeaking form against his chest and leaning so close that you can feel the warmth of his breath on your face.

"Oh darling.~ You could've just told me you felt lonely.~ Going through all this trouble..But I admit, I find you rather ravishing.~"

Maybe you should've just stuck to dinner-

[glittergoblinzz]

Ghoap (well, Cbf!Soap mainly) asking Afab!Reader to be their surrogate (pt 2)

(pt 1 here)

CW: Simon rants, Mentions of abuse (physical, mental and sexual), suicidal thoughts, and death

Sorry for being gone so long. Had a family emergency and had to go out of state for a few weeks for a funeral. I'm back now though!

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

It's been a couple months since Johnny had shown up at your flat with the proposal of you being a surrogate for him and his husband, Simon Riley....or 'Ghost' as what he prefers you call him. Since then, you've gone out with the boys to try and connect with Simon before actually deciding on whether or not you want to actually do that. Needless to say....it's been rough.

Simon is quiet, rude, stubborn and closed off. Every outting with him and Johnny, he always looks like he'd rather be somewhere else, never saying a word to you or responding to your questions unless Johnny shot him a glare or elbowed him.

"Ah, don't mind him, Lass. He's just....had a rough life. Just give him time and he'll eventually warm up to ye. It'll help if ya find somethin' to bound with him over with."

Johnny's words continuously echoed in your head as you sat with Simon in his and Johnny's home in the living room. Johnny thought it would be a good idea for you two to spend some time together alone while he went to go pick up some take out for you three. You decide to follow what Johnny suggested as you and Simon sit on the couch, watching a football game.

"So....a fan of football, huh?"

You ask, wanting to break the ice between you somehow. Simon doesn't acknowledge you as he continues watching the game on TV, a drink in his hand. You wait for a few moments for an answer before letting out a soft huff in annoyance when you realize you won't be getting one. If it weren't for Johnny, you would have left already. So instead, you keep trying to get through to the big brute.

"What's your favorite team? I'm personally a fan of Chelsea...."

Simon just continues watching the game, occasionally taking a sip of his drink....though out could have swore you saw his grip tighten just a bit at the mention of Chelsea, which gives you an idea. Relaxing on the couch a bit, you turn your focus to the game as well. It was a game between Manchester United and Liverpool, with Manchester in the lead by quite a few points.

"Manchester is doing well, but they're starting to get a little sloppy. If they don't watch themselves, Liverpool might catch up and win by the end of the game."

Simon just rolls his eyes and lets out a grunt as you say that. You were starting to slowly but surely getting to him.

"I wouldn't mind Liverpool winning. Despite my love for Chelsea, Liverpool is also a decent team. I've got faith they can win this."

Simon's eyes quickly glance towards you, irritation building in them, before turning his attention back to the game. Though it was such a fast glance, if you had blinked you would've missed it. A Manchester boy, huh?

"Don't get me wrong, Manchester United is a good club, but I just don't think they're gonna win this game. They're getting too sloppy."

As if on cue, Liverpool manages to score, causing Simon's brows to furrow and the Brit to grumble something under his breath. You just sit there on one end of the couch and Simon on the other end, watching the game in silence for a few more moments before you speak again.

"Are you just going to ignore me the entire time?"

Again, Simon doesn't answer and you're starting to get fed up with this. You're wanting this to work for Johnny's sake but Simon is making it nearly impossible. Instead, you try a different approach.

"Listen, Simon, I get-"

You're immediately cut off by Simon slamming his glass down on the nearby table as he turns to look, no, glare at you with a stare that could kill.

"Don't you dare call me that. You don't have the right to call me that. Only call me 'Ghost'...."

Simon's voiced was laced with venom and hatred as he got up and stormed off to a different room, leaving you sitting there alone. A part of you wanted to leave, let Johnny know that it wasn't working out and that they'd have to find a different alternative to have a child....but another part of you didn't want to give up that easily on Johnny or Simon. You take a few minutes to let Simon cool off a little before you get up to follow him.

You find him in his and Johnny's bedroom, the door slightly open allowing you to see him sitting on the edge of the bed. He has his back towards the door, his chest rising and falling in a heavy manner. You give a gentle knock on the door frame, causing Simon to visibly tense up.

"Ghost? Listen, I just....I want to apologize...."

You start off as Simon slowly turns to look at you. If looks could kill, the look Simon is giving you would have killed you a dozen times over at least. You take a deep breath before continuing.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't mean to annoy you or whatever....I just....I'm just trying to get to know you. Yes, a part of it is for Johnny and his little surrogacy plan but..."

You shrug a little, rubbing the back of your neck as you glance away from Simon.

"But I genuinely do want to get to know you, even if we don't go through with the whole surrogacy thing....I understand that you may hate me or whatever-"

"I don't hate you."

You stop as Simon cuts you off and just give him a bewildered look. He doesn't hate you? The bewildered look immediately turns into a slight frown as you try to process this. Everytime you've been around Simon, even the first time you met all those months ago, he always seemed to have a strong distain for you.

"What? But the way you-"

"Yeah, I know. The way I act says otherwise, but what I say is true. I don't hate you."

"Then why do you-"

"To protect myself....and you."

Now you're genuinely dumbfounded. You can understand him putting up the walls to protect himself, after all Johnny did say his life hasn't been the best....but to protect you too? Simon could see the confusion in your eyes so he motions for you to come sit on the bed next to him, which you hesitantly do. He runs a hand through his short, black hair before looking at you.

"Listen, love. I don't know what Johnny has told you, but I'm not the kind of man you'd want to be around. I'm not only a cold-hearted bastard but I've also got enemies. Enemies that want not only me dead but also the people around me. So I tend to keep my circle small, only filled with people who can take care of themselves...and quite frankly, you don't look like you can take care of yourself. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt....or worse."

"What? Why not?"

Simon looks hesitant to say. He looks away, his gaze going anywhere but to you.

"Because I care about you, that's why. You're Johnny's childhood friend, his best friend. You mean a lot to him, so you mean a lot to me as well....even if I don't show it."

You take a minute to wrap your head around this. Simon cares about you? Sensing your confusion, Simon continues.

"Shortly after we tied the knot, Johnny starting talking about starting a family. The adoption process would take too long for him and we didn't trust just some random person carrying our child. We needed someone who we could trust that wouldn't change their mind last minute and run off with the baby. So, Johnny suggested you. He started showing me pictures of you two together from over the years, telling me all about you. Honestly, I felt a bit jealous with how he was talking so sweetly about you. Especially when he confessed to crushing on you a little back in your teenage years. I was going to say 'no, absolutely not', That we could just ask Laswell or someone else who we were both close with...but, I don't know what happened. The more he talked about you, the more pictures he showed of you....I just....I knew you had to be the mother of our child. So, I went along with Johnny's plan to ask you to be our surrogate."

Simon pauses for a moment before continuing.

"Yet, when we first met that day in person....all of my insecurities and fear came washing over me. You were just so....innocent. With the lives Johnny and I live, I didn't want to pull you into all that. So I tried pushing you away. It's not an excuse to be an absolute arse, I know, but I just couldn't bare to get close to you only for something to happen to you...."

"Only for something to happen to me...? Ghost, what are you talking about?"

Simon pauses, debating whether or not to tell you. Finally, he takes a deep breath and speaks.

"Let me ask you this....What has Johnny told you about me? About my past?"

"Nothing except that you've got a rough past."

Simon laughs, shaking his head.

"Rough doesn't cover it....I suppose if Johnny trusts you, then so do I. Just....be prepared for what I'm about to tell you. What I'm going to tell you isn't rainbows and sunshine."

Simon takes a moment to mentally prepare himself. He doesn't like talking about his past at all....but he knew that you needed to know in order to understand where he's coming from.

"Okay, let's start from the beginning....I didn't have the best childhood growing up. My father was an abusive piece of shit. He would hit me...bring home dangerous animals and make me kiss them....he'd even put on face paint, mimicking a skull, to scare the shit out of me at nights. My little brother, Tommy, would join in on that. Peering down from our shared bunk on top, knife in hand in his own skull face paint. I don't blame him, though. He was an impressionable young kid. Anyways, the moment I was able to, I signed up for the military. I wanted to get as far away from my father as possible. I stayed gone for years, only returning shortly after reaching the rank of 'Lieutenant' in the SAS. When I came back, everything was a damn mess."

"My father was a drug addict, and ended up getting my brother addicted. My brother would steal from our mother and even put his hands on her once. I got fed up once I heard that. I went out, found my father and beat the shit out of him. Told him he wasn't welcome at home anymore. Then I went to go set Tommy straight. I had to rough him up a little but I didn't beat him as much as I did my father. He was still my baby brother after all. I dragged his ass to rehab, got him the help he needed. It worked as he met and married a woman, Beth, and had a child with her named Joseph."

"Then, on my next deployment, everything went to shit. I was transferred over to America to help take down a notorious Mexican Cartel leader; Manuel 'El Gordo' Roba. I won't go into the details, but our squad leader, Vernon, was secretly working for Roba the whole time. This lead to me, Sparks and Washington getting captured. We were held captive for months. The torture Roba inflicted on us....it was..."

Simon takes a moment to collect himself. He was starting to tremble a little, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his skin, causing him to bleed a little.

"What that bastard put us through was unimaginable. He wanted to brainwash us. To turn us into his puppets. It ended up working on Sparks and Washington, but not me. Despite the beatings, rape and other torture methods Roba dished out, I refused to let that pig win. Eventually, after six months of continuous torture, he realized I wasn't going to break, so he had me taken out to the middle of nowhere near the Texas border to be buried alive....right along with Vernon. It took me thirteen hours to dig myself out of that damn grave with Vernon's jaw bone."

"I somehow survived all of that, dragging my ass back into the States where a Texas Sheriff eventually found me. I was put on leave from the Military for a while, put into required therapy as I was sent back home to recover. The therapy didn't do shit. I could still see Roba in my dreams....could still feel every damn thing he did to me...."

Simon was starting to tear up now. He felt weak. He felt pathetic. You could see that in his eyes, so you gently put your hand on his shoulder. At first Simon tenses up, but then he eventually relaxes and grabs your hand, holding onto it in a vice grip.

"One night, specifically Christmas, Sparks showed up at my mother's house where I was staying for a while. I didn't know he and Washington had been brainwashed by Roba at the time, but I sure as hell would find out the hard way later that night. Anyways, Sparks asks me if I want to go out for drinks. Thinking nothing of it, I agreed. As the night went on, we had a bit of fun catching up....until he saw a woman at the bar. He tried hitting on her but she rejected him. After we left the bar and were walking back to his hotel room, we saw the woman again. Sparks decided to try his luck once more, only to be rejected yet again."

"He ends up knocking the woman out, telling me to help him carry her into her home. I knew what he was doing, that he was planning on raping her. I couldn't believe that this was the same man I served with, the same man I once constantly a friend. I play along, digging through the woman's purse to try and find her keys but instead, I use her phone to subtly call the cops. I make sure to get Sparks to admit to his plan of raping her so the cops would arrive quicker than usual. It worked, so Sparks and I take off back to his hotel room before the cops arrive. Back at his hotel, I go to confront Sparks but he was one step ahead of me. I end up knocking him out but Washington ends up coming in. He shoots me in the leg but I escape by jumping out the window. I head back home but....then I...."

Simon's grip on your hand tightens even more, his face scrunched up in pain. Despite the fact your hand felt like it was going to snap in two due to his grip, you ignore the feeling and gently stroke the back of his hand with your thumb.

"You don't need to continue if you don't want to, Ghost...."

He shakes his head and takes a deep breath.

"No, I've gotta do this. I need to speak about this to someone...."

"Anyways....I get back home, only to find that Washington had been there. My whole family; my mom, brother, sister-in-law and nephew.....they were all shot and killed. My goddamn nephew who was only twelve! Dead! All because I wasn't able to protect them....because I decided to go have a damn drink instead of being there with them that night....on Christmas of all nights!"

You could feel the anger and self-hatred oozing from Simon. The tears were streaming down his face now as he kept going.

"I wanted to die. I had nothing left. I got my gun and put the damn barrel into my mouth, ready to pull the trigger....but I couldn't do it. Not when Sparks, Washington and Roba were still out there. So I set out to take them down. Sparks and Washington were easy. I ended up switching my dog tags with Sparks' before setting his room on fire. His body would be too charred to be able to do a good enough DNA test to identify him. So on that Christmas night, Simon Riley died and all that was left was a Ghost...."

Simon takes a deep breath before telling about how he had gone down to Mexico to take Roba out next, to which he obviously succeeded since he was still here. You could only just sit there, feeling horrible for the man next to you. He had truly gone through Hell and back. It was no wonder he couldn't trust anyone...no, wouldn't trust anyone.

"That's why I didn't want to get you involved, love. I can't handle losing another person I love. I just can't...."

Simon's grip on your hand lessens but was still fairly tight as he looks over at you, his eyes slightly red and puffy from crying. You give his hand a gentle squeeze and use your free hand to gently wipe away stray tears that were falling down his face.

"You don't have to worry. Nothing will happen with you and Johnny around, ya know? Besides, if it'll make you feel any better....I do know a bit of self defense. My father was in the military and taught me how to defend myself..."

You smile and give Simon's shoulder a playful punch

"Bloody hell, I bet I could even take ya down in a sparring match."

Simon slightly smirks, letting out a small chuckle.

"You seriously think you could? I'm like twice your size...I could snap you like a twig if I wanted to."

You roll your eyes, your grin growing wider.

"Yeah, you say that now until I've got ya pinned and tapping out."

Simon shakes his head, the small smile still on his face. Suddenly, he pulls you in and wraps his arms around you.

"I'm truly sorry for how I've been acting these past few months, love. Like I said before, there's no excuse for it. Also....call me Simon from now on. Please."

You're stunned for a moment by the sudden show of affection from Simon before wrapping your arms around him and hugging him back.

"Don't worry about it, Simon. I understand completely."

You two stay like that, wrapped up in each other's friendly embrace before a sudden gasp from behind causes your guys' eyes to widen.

"Bloody fookin' hell. I never thought I'd live to see tha day you two finally get along."

You both suddenly pull away and turn to see Johnny standing in the bedroom doorway with two plastic bags in his hands. His blue eyes shone with excitement as he saw the two of you together.

"Johnny, how long were you standing there for?"

"Long enough to hear the lass say they'd be able to pin the holy hell outta ya in a sparring match."

Johnny asks as he sets the bags down on the dresser before going over, climbing onto the bed before putting you and Simon in gentle headlocks, pulling the both of you close to him. You and Simon can't help but share a glance before smiling.

"Hey, Johnny?"

"Yes, lass?"

"I think I'll go ahead and be the surrogate for you two...."

Johnny gasps and looks down at you, completely and utterly thrilled at the news.

"Ya seriously mean that, lass? Really?"

You nod, which causes Johnny's hold on both you and Simon to tighten.

"Oh Gods, Si, ya hear that? You and me...We're gonna be parents!"

Johnny proceeds to let go of you to shower his husband with kisses, all over his face. Simon can only smile and take the onslaught of affection before slightly pulling away.

"Well, hold on now. Not just you and me. Our little dovie here is going to be a parent as well. It just wouldn't be right if we left her out...."

"Wait. Are ya saying what I think yer saying, Si?"

Johnny looks at Simon with hopeful eyes, to which Simon slowly nods.

"Yes, I am....that is, if you still want to-"

Simon is cut off my Johnny pulling you and him back into a hold, showering the both of you with kisses. He eventually pulls a way and runs both his hands through your guys' hair.

"Of course I would still love for that! What a silly question is that, Si? But the question is....does our lassie want that as well?"

Johnny looks over to you as you nod.

"Yeah, I do. I think we could make this work."

"Gods....I don't know what ta say, lass. Just....thank you."

Johnny pulls you in for another hug as Simon watches with a content smile. You had both him and Johnny to keep you safe. Knowing that and the fact you knew self defense made him feel a lot better about this. For the first time in a long time, Simon felt content and happy without a worry in the world. It felt like nothing could touch the three of you.

"Alright, alright. Now, who's hungry? I got us some Chinese from the shop that just opened a couple weeks ago. Lass, you got the fried rice and General Tao's chicken. Laddie, you got the chow mein and sushi"

Simon jumps off the bed without a word, dashing to the food Johnny had set down on the dresser earlier.

"Hell yeah. Thanks, love. I'm starving."

You and Johnny couldn't help but laugh a little as Simon hurriedly went and got his food before rushing back to the living room. Johnny grabs your hand gently and helps you off the bed before going over to hand you your food. Then the two of you head out to the living room where Simon was....only to be met with a pissed of groan shortly after.

"Goddamn it....Manchester lost the damn match!"

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

A/N: Sorry for how long this was. It was practically just a thing on Ghost's backstory, I know, but I figured it wouldn't hurt since not many people know about his backstory in the first place. I tried remembering what I could from the comics honestly. Been way too long since I've read them and I really should read them again.

Also, I've got a tag list so if you wanna be tagged in the series for when a new part comes out just lemme know! I'll add you to the list 😊

Tags: @blackhawkfanatic

[travellingarmy]

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✦❘༻𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝙼𝚢 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝༺❘✦

Ch. 1 - The Beginning of an End

Malleus Draconia x fem!reader

Chapter list + Summary

[Next]

Do not steal/copy + paste my works and upload it anywhere else.

⊰♤⊱⊰◇⊱⊰♡⊱⊰☆⊱⊰♧⊱⊰♤⊱⊰◇⊱⊰♡⊱⊰☆⊱⊰♧⊱

He didn’t come to the room last night either..

It’s been six days— yes, just six— since you last saw your husband. Although to you, it felt like it was more than that. No, he hasn’t gone off to anywhere else in this godforsaken world, he’s just.. Well, somewhere in this large castle. You heaved a weak sigh as one single thought came to your head: Malleus Draconia.. Your heart thumps just a tad bit faster. Even without knowing who he was, just the name alone sounds frightening. Fortunately and unfortunately, you were well acquainted with that name and have had many yet brief conversations. 

He was the prince of the Valley of Thorns, the only successor to the throne but most importantly, he was none other than.. “My husband..” You muttered underneath your breath. The clicking of the heels abruptly stop as you shudder on the spot at that name. 

It was honestly unbelievable how you went from a lowly daughter of a combat baron (the lowest rank in nobility) to be the wife of a prince, essentially making you a princess. 

Nevertheless, whether you are now a princess of a very powerful kingdom, your relationship with your husband was essentially.. Nonexistent. Well, other than mere business relationships you both have. In fact, it was strictly business that he did not show up in the chambers the night of your wedding. You can’t fault him, however, since you did not want to be wedded to him either. He must be disgusted with me.. You believed that to be true since once again, you were just a baron’s daughter with probably below average looks. Rarely had noble men would throw themself at you willingly.

Whatever, you should not let those thoughts get into your head and get you into low spirits. You had a history lesson to catch and that’s what you should be focusing on right now. What has been done is done and you can’t sulk about your nonexistent love life and your continued nonexistent relationship with Malleus. 

You sigh and continue in your steps. Looking at the decorated walls of the castle, you would occasionally find portraits. Of whom? You could only presume that it was none other than the royal family and those who came before. There weren’t many new faces within these paintings, that much you noticed. No doubt in your mind that it’s because despite the kingdom being around for so long, they have only a few monarchs because one monarch could reign for centuries on the throne. 

You tried looking for your husband’s portraits but so far, you’ve only managed to find two: one was a stand-alone painting and the other was with his grandmother. In neither portrait was he smiling. Now thinking about it, you don’t recall him smiling on your wedding day too.. Just how cold is this guy? You had a pensive look, bringing a finger to your chin. He doesn’t meet me in the room and he doesn’t even smile.. Is he aloof to everyone around him? You were now doubting if he’d be fit to be king in the future. 

Ah. You probably shouldn’t be thinking that way of your husband. If he knew, you’d most likely be stripped of your title as princess and sent back home where you’ll most likely have to face Her Majesty in the queen’s court back home. “Heh.. I don’t want that..” You itch your cheek, sweat dropping at the mere thought. You've only met her once— when she was congratulating you on your marriage— and just as the rumours had said, she was beautiful, yet held a menacing aura of authority. But I guess that’s normal if she’s queen..

“Princess.” Snapping you out of your continued, meaningless thoughts, a voice from just further down the hall had caught you off guard. You look ahead and see that one of the doors had opened and that somebody was standing there, most of their body seen and what could not be was hidden by the large, oak door. “I had been waiting a while for you. Don’t you understand that my time is precious to be on wait for you?” The person— er, fae— was wearing glasses and had her hair up in a tight bun. Her outfit was almost like that of a butler’s, having a tailcoat, but instead of uniformed pants, it was a pencil skirt. She had an air of authority and seemed to always look down on you. 

“Tch. You humans really are so clueless..” She mumbles under her breath and from the distance you were in, you couldn’t hear her. However, you did see the sharp look of disdain on her face before telling you to hurry up and to get inside the library. It was where you had your history lessons after all. 

“Honestly, what do you take us for?” She speaks her mind once you sit down on your seat across from her. “You will be at the prince’s side; instead of daydreaming, learn about this country’s history and its citizens, will you?” She snaps and slams a heavy book on the table in front of you. You stiffened, heart beating fast at the fright. “Sorry, but I’m only late by 3 minutes..” You sweat dropped at her angry, wide arm gestures as you defend yourself. 

“THREE!? My time is precious. How many—“ At that moment, you learned to tune her out once you’ve ascertained she was going to go on and rant to your face. Since day one, you’ve established that she didn’t like you very much despite you trying your best to be polite and flatter her. She would nitpick every little mistake she had seen in you even though she wasn’t an etiquette teacher. When she does, she’d talk for hours, essentially wasting time that could have been spent on learning. On a good day, she will glare daggers at you and then continue on with the lecture or rant for half an hour.. 

That’s the thing. There was never a good day for her. 

At this point, it was best to drop the flowery words saved for her and just let her rant endlessly. 

—

“Will the prince be joining for dinner today?” You ask to no one in particular, letting either of these maids stationed in the dining hall answer. When there wasn’t an answer, you assumed that it was a no and that they had decided to not answer to the likes of you whenever you asked. You wanted to sigh, honestly, at the lack of a response. 

So there you were, only hearing the sound of your own cutlery as you took small bites of your meal. It wasn’t because you weren’t hungry, but you were sure that these maids will have something to gossip about in scorn later should you make an error. Even if you were new to the country and their customs may be different, you were well learned to know that servants shouldn’t be treating someone of status, especially such as yourself, in such a manner. Alas, you could only resign yourself to just let bygones be bygones. 

If you were to scold them, your name will surely be the talk amongst nobles for a long while, most likely saying how you will be a spiteful queen. Your reputation would only go from bad to worse, seeing as a ‘mere’ human is lecturing creatures like them. 

You kind of miss your home and your father.. Even if it was just you two left, everyday was a cherishable time. Even with these short days that felt like that’s been dragging its seconds a bit too long, you find yourself reminiscing the life you left behind a little bit too much despite only having gone to your new forever home just short of a few days ago. 

… “I’ll be going to my room now.” You dab your mouth with a cloth napkin just in case you had any of the dinner smeared on your face and stood up. Whatever was left of your dinner was promptly cleaned off the table and thrown into the bin. 

I could really use a warm bath today.. You walked the somewhat familiar halls thinking to yourself. Today felt eventful even though the most stressful thing was only dealing with these gossiping faes and the headache they give you. You were excited to dip yourself in a warm tub full of nice smelling body oil and stay in there until the water got cold. Even without anyone being there, a smile forms on your lips with an almost quiet giggle. 

—

“Kufufu, are you sure this is what you’ve decided on doing?” Unbeknownst to you, crimson-coloured eyes bore into your figure. It was dark, that much was true since it was way past the time for the sun to be out, but the moon could outline the silhouette of a man. The only thing that could be comparable to the moon’s light at that moment were the strikingly deep colour of his eyes that illuminated even more in the dark. He stares at you from another window on a higher floor just across yours, breaking out in a smile and a light chuckle. The only thing keeping you two apart other than those walls and windows was the courtyard built in between. “She’s quite cute. I’d hate to leave such a pretty thing alone for so long without her husband.” 

Those same focused eyes break away from your form after speaking to a much taller man beside him that had piercing green eyes that outshined the moon— much like the prior’s. He says nothing to the short male but continues to stare at you. “Hmm, now that I think about it, she’s around Silver’s age, yes?” The shorter one continued on talking, putting a finger on his chin. “Don’t you think they’d be good friends?” 

The one who he was talking to seems to be ignoring him and poor he who has come to a conclusion that his companion is off in his thoughts to be paying attention to him. He sighs. “It’s been almost a week since she’s last seen and talked to you,” he points out carefully, doing a gesture as if he was shrugging but his arms stayed hovering in the air for a bit before dropping it completely to his side, “I know humans have a short lifespan, unlike our kind, but I do not believe that you’ll be able to go all her life not speaking to her just as you had planned. It would do no good to the plan of strengthening our relations with the humans.”

“She’s afraid of me.” At last, his tall companion speaks. “The first meeting.. And the day of the wedding.. When she looked at me, I saw fear in her eyes.”

Again, the short man sighs. “That is to be expected, Malleus. She is, after all, a human. You know how they are– they fear things that are unknown to them but if you’d just try, I’m sure she’ll warm up to you in no time–”

“But what if she doesn’t?” The prince finally tears his eyes away from you. “Lilia, are you certain that she’ll be fine having me as her husband?” He narrows his eyes, a bit of uncertainty was read in them. 

The male could only smile at him. “Do you trust me?” was all he asked, though cryptically. However, that was enough for Malleus to return his gaze, watching you disappear to your shared bedroom. Something swells in his heart, yet he does not know what. 

Once the door closes with a soft thud, he stands there for a while, silently watching at the door where you had just disappeared. He was often silent and staring off into the distance, but that didn’t mean his head was merely filled with air. Just a moment earlier, his heart smiled a bit when he saw the small smile on your lips, happy to think that you might be finding life at the Valley not too hard. 

Only when coming to a silent agreement made in his head, does he now turn his back away from the window. His robe flutters behind him, the sound of it heavy and rich, perfectly displaying his wealth. He walks deeper into the shadows– the unlit parts of the castle that the moon could not reach– and then promptly disappears with only the clacking of his heels making presence. 

Lilia stands by the window, watching as the young prince vanishes from his sight. He looks back at the hall you walked and the door you closed. A smile crosses his lips once more. His eyes became soft at a thought that will not be shared with anyone and for him to simply dwell on it. 

Now alone, he takes a deep breath in and breathing out of his mouth, his heart feeling lighter. He closes his eyes. “Oh my, it seems that age is catching up with me, kufufu,” he softly mutters, still smiling. He takes a bit of time for himself on this serene night before opening his eyes again. The small, yet meaningful smile warps to that of a big one with his eyes lighting up. Suddenly, the visage of a parent disappears from him entirely. 

He turns smoothly on his heels, heading to the same direction where Malleus had gone off too. “Ah, where is Silver? That boy, I hope he hasn’t fallen asleep somewhere unsafe..” With a merry smile, he leaves his spot from the window. 

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[ochomasaio]

Gojo Satoru ex husband

You try to leave Satoru in the past but let's be honest, he is Gojo Satoru, he never stays behind. After some months of searching you, there you are, on the opposite sidewalk.

You were his little sunshine, the pure source of positive energy in his ruthless everyday life. And now you had made him the happiest man in the world again after your positive pregnancy test.

He is Gojo Satoru but he is also a human. He made a big mistake. Drinking and ending up sleeping with another woman. Satoru truly didn't know that the woman wasn't his wife. He wasn't in place to understand that. He called the women by his wife's name all night they spent together.

Morning wasn't late to come and wake up next to that woman. In 1 minute he was already out of the apartment. He never had been ready faster. He runs home and tries to remember last night. Open the door and call for you. Nothing, search every room and again nothing. Calling you? Your phone was closed. His pulse began to rise. Is it possible you found out? So fast. He hadn't realized it yet. Did something else happen?

Ready to leave in search of you his blue eyes fell on a note on the compound by the door. But that wasn't the scary part, your wedding ring. You had placed it on top of the note. He grabbed the note and read it like water.

I believed we had a happy marriage

I had. I wish you all the goods

Y/N

Only that. You haven't written anything else. The baby? Oh! No god wouldn't be scared of him right now. You leave so fast, how the heck was it possible to find out so quickly? Someone must have told you about that. Oh! If he finds him he will't be able to tell even "good morning" without thinking twice, if he lets him talk again.

Now it had been 7 months since the day you left. His life was worse than ever. He had vowed to find you no matter what. He slept little, ate little and worked non-stop. The divorce papers you had sent him months ago from an unknown location were still untouched on his desk. There was no way he would positively sign off on this divorce.

He was sitting in the back seat of the car on his way home from Jujutsu Technical High School, stopped in traffic. Lost in his thoughts watching the cars go by, passers-by coming and going. And there! There you were! He couldn't believe it! You were walking on the sidewalk so close to his house. You were under his nose all this time. Wide eyes, a half-open mouth that almost created a smile. You were walking so beautifully, wind was blowing your hair in the spring breeze. A beautiful spring dress that erased your 7 months pregnant belly.

As quickly as he recognized you, he jumped out and appeared in front of you.

"My love. Y/N I find you!" Satoru said barely held back tears with his huge palms holding your tiny ones. You weren't as happy as him to watch him. Well that was lie. You were as happy as him to watch him again. To touch you. After 7 months in an unknown country he was there. But you don't let your heart fool you. You didn't show him that you missed him.

"What do you mean? You are coming with me. You are my wife!" No you don't. You ask him to leave you alone but his love for you was huge enough to even let you blink without helping you from now on. "You are my wife! Of course I didn't sign the fucking papers!" "I love you! You know it! About that night -" You didn't want to hear that. It doesn't matter anymore! He sleeps with another woman even if he had regret it, you didn't know he was drunk anyway. You thought it could happen again. She wouldn't go back with him. You would go back to your family. Raise the child there. You were crazy to think that Gojo Satoru would you even think to let you do that.

The tension had increased, you had to limit your conversation somewhere else. The small house you were renting was a few steps away. All in all it was a room with a bathroom and besides it was cold. How the hell did you stay there pregnant woman. He turned his gaze a little and saw an electric heater. He had left you to live alone, in your condition, in this cold place. He was trying to contain himself thinking about you trying to warm up to it. What did you eat? "I'm taking your things and we go home, I'm gonna cook-" You had made your decisions. You wouldn't let him break your heart again.

"Baby, come on, your things, your life is back in our house." The only things you left behind were the ones he had bought you himself. As long as you were married, he didn't let you work. He wanted you to live comfortably, he never believed that his money was only his. They were yours.

How could he convince you to stay with him, that it was a mistake. You couldn't take this argument, this pressure anymore. You felt a sudden malaise, holding your stomach with one hand and the other trying to support yourself on him. He tried to help you recover, he wanted to but all he ended up doing was calling your name with you in his arms. You opened your eyes and tried to recover. He would take you to the hospital right now. But you didn't want to, you just needed to get your face wet.

He could not understand how you were so insensitive to your health and that of your child. He refused not to visit the hospital. You just passed out! And oh my god! He also lost his own land under his feet when you looked at him with pain and told him that you had passed out again. In a place like this. Without help. If you didn't wake up? Stop his thoughts of the scenario before imagining your destiny.

Here you go again, in your shared bedroom. You stand up from the bed but before standing in your feet he stops you and puts you back to lay down. As long as you were asleep he ended up calling a doctor and checking you up at home. You accept your loss. You weren't able to leave him behind. But he knows that soon or later you would understand and forgive him but until then here he is protecting you, keeping you warm and full of food 24/7.

[justmystical]

The Forgotten-2

Pairing: Lucifer X Butterfly!fem!reader

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel x Star vs the forces of evil

Warnings: this takes place before Season 1, Alternative Universe,

One| Two |Three |Navigation

A few months has passed since you met a man under a tree, now knowing his name as Lucifer Morningstar. You instantly became friends with him because of some shared interest.

You always sneak out of the Castle because of this.Loving spending time with your new friend.

Always meeting up under the Apple tree and tell stories about your day. Well sometimes there were day's he didn't show up and you never questioned it , after all he didn't say anything about his life and you didn't tell about yours. Only about neutral things.

Another days ,you just got back from the Earth Dimension and still no sign of your Beloved friend Lucifer.

You sighed

"Princess (Name) Butterfly!" You heard someone call out , you turned around to see Glossaryck and felt sweat drip down on your face.

"hey Glossaryck"you smiled awkwardly and did gunfingers to him. You didn't attend your lessons today and ran away to meet up with Lucifer unfortunately he wasn't there.

"running away are we Your Highness? learning magic is important as Princess of Mewni blah blah"he said but the end you felt your ears shut down to see your sister and you heard Glossaryck sigh

"Eclipsa!"you said running and waving hand to her as Glossaryck,She smiled when she spotted you.

"hello (Name)"You smile faltered, Your sister doesn't call you by your name,only your Nickname that was given to you by your Father.

"My Queen"Glossaryck bowed

"ahh Glossaryck can you give some privacy for a moment?"he looked at you with hesitation "Don't worry Glossaryck I won't run off somewhere " you explained and he sighed but nodded.

As Glossaryck left ,you and your sister were alone in the hallway.

"ok,tell me what got you down?"you saw a her having an inner battle in her head.

"what do you mean (Name)?"she asked faking her confusion.

"Eclipse, I'm your Little sister and one of your closest friends . infact your only friend so , i know when something upsets you" You told her and she bit her lip. You waited patiently for answer.

"well umm , it's just that..."she hesitated "as you know our family has the tradition to pass the wand down to an heir and-"

"YOUR PREGNANT?!?"You cut her off and saw her laughed.

"heaven's no! But the people were wondering when will there be introduce to another Princess in the Palace..."

"A new heir...?"you questioned

"wait with Shastacan?"you saw her face pale.

"SHASTACAN?!"

"well who else would be..."

"uhh, he's such a narcissist!" You ranted about how bad her Husband is and Eclipsa face grew paler than before.

You noticed this and stopped "Sorry Eclipse..."you felt bad for her she didn't even want to marry Shastacan but it was your mother's dying wish.

After that, you were about to go Glossaryck for your lessons but you passed a familiar room.

The Rooms of Queen Tapestry.. eh you didn't really know what this was room was called.

You walked in, seeing all of your ancestors and you uncle,your uncle became king when you mother died. Since you and Eclipsa are still very young,he took over for awhile. Next to his was...

Your Mother.. Solaria the Monster Carver.

You did miss you mother Truly, you didn't even felt Keekee transform and now she was comforting you.

"mother, hopefully you had a good reason for Eclipse to marry Shastacan,right?"you told her but no one answered.

You felt bad when you found out about this dying wish of your mother. You knew Eclipsa was inlove with someone else but didn't know who?

You wanted your sister to marry and have children with someone she loves, not someone who she was forced with. You walked around to see your sister's Tapestry about to be begin.

A Lot of people were confused of why it hasn't even begun yet when Eclipsa became Queen. You eyes widened as it as being made.

Does this mean Eclipsa's fate has been written?

Keekee followed you as you meet up with Glossaryck, you were learning some spells and read about a butterfly form.

"i thought we we're done with that mewberty butterfly form ?" You asked.

"that is , well how do i explain this to...ehh basically different from Mewberty and it's more powerful when you are in this form" Glossaryck explained.

More powerful?

Can only unlock in time of need?

You feel like this could help you defend your sister from monsters."I'll keep you safe Eclipse..."you muttered

"huh?"

"nothing!"

After another day you snuck out and went back to earth.

And finally you saw him

"Lucifer Morningstar! Where have you been?!"he heard you and flinched.

"hey n/n"he smiled awkwardly as you walked to him with arms crossed on your chest.

"okay before you kill me..."he said grabbing something from his bag and it was a...

Duck?

"i was making this for you,i made it to looked like you a little also putting some details like the marks on your cheeks-" you cut him off with a hug.

"thanks Luci"he was stunned and now very red.

"y-your w-welcome"he stutter and tried to hides his blushing face from you.

"are you blushing?"

"am not"

"yes you are~"

"stop~"

"hehe"

A/n: sorry if its short , and has little Lucifer content but don't worry in the future 🥹

[xfancyuu]

~ a different kind of spicy, cheongyang chilli pepper vibe. [rhaenyra targaryen] 18+ SMUT

happy pride! i hope my lgbt+ people are enjoying themselves this month, i know i am! alt title could be if you wanna know how i can show you right now, anyways stan ateez, stream the world ep 2 and fuck your gf. reader is afab with she/her pronouns. my requests are OPEN please send away! i'd assume this takes place somewhere during rhaenyra's marriage to laenor. [1,555 words]

i am in NO way responsible in your fanfic consumption MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!! i don't even know where to begin with the tags on this fic, lesbian sex, dom/sub dynamic, overstimulation, talks about wanting children, dirty talk, daemon reference and i think(?) it's positive. lmk if i missed any.

Spending your nights with Rhaenyra had given you solace you never knew you needed. From the feeling of her soft skin pressing against yours while the two of you slept, from the comforting presence she had provided you continuously. You knew your love for each other could never be shared publicly and it often times made you sad but when the two of you were together alone it made up for all the secrecy.

Nobody had bothered to question why you shared Rhaenyra's bed more than her own husband, but you were her lady in waiting, you were the person she was closest to and if Laenor was happy nobody could say anything against the arrangement.

It had been an unusually warm spring night, the sun had trouble setting at a decent time and you had almost stripped down to your undergarments in the garden. It was just too hot, you didn't know if being in Rhaenyra's presence made you feral or the heat was truly getting to you. So much so you had stripped yourself of all clothing while Rhaenyra waited in bed for you.

She, too, had chosen to sleep naked, claiming the heat was also too much to bare — you knew the truth, though. Rhaenyra had a dragon, the weather wasn't the cause of her nakedness.

Your night had been mostly uneventful, the two of you had laid in bed, Rhaenyra reading to you while your head was in her lap, the closeness you felt to her was much different than anything else you'd ever felt, the two of you often read in this position though you'd never felt the softness of her thighs in such a position before. You didn't know what possessed you to kiss the tops of her thighs but she never complained, her breathing getting heavier as you continued to do so, though you had promptly stopped when she had closed the book.

"We need to sleep, Y/N." Rhaenyra spoke, playing with your hair after placing the book on the bedside table.

"I think you may be right, Nyra." Came your response, your head moving from her lap and choosing to place a kiss on her lips, the kiss remained chase with Rhaenyra's hands placing themselves on your hips as to make sure you didn't lose balance.

She was the first one to pull away, and while it took you a second to compose yourself, you laid on the left side of the bed, choosing to forgo covering yourself, the heat was far too unbearable for you even with the moon blessing you with its presence.

Despite the heat it didn't stop you from cudding into Helaena, your head was placed on her chest and while she too complained about the heat, she didn't complain about your current position.

Your dream had been so vivid, choosing to show you images of yourself and Rhaenyra in various positions and committing various acts you doubt her real life counterpart would ever allow you to put her in.

Perhaps you could bring yourself to your peak rather quickly, the fear of waking Rhaenyra was within your mind but the way your fingers were playing with your bud felt too good, you wanted to prolong it. As long as you didn't stick your fingers within yourself, Rhaenyra had claimed your cunt as her own, not allowing even yourself to place your own fingers in there. She was possessive over you, wanting to give you as much pleasure as you could take and even more. You often left her room on a morning feeling as though you were on cloud nine though having to ignore the overstimulation, she did make it hard for you.

You were being loud, moaning, moving around the bed, trying to bed as quiet as you possibly could yet that didn't help you, Rhaenyra had woke up, not happy in the slightest. Disturbing her sleep was one thing but touching yourself had truly flipped something within her, she was on top of you within seconds, removing your hand away — almost instantly killing your impending orgasm.

"Who gave you permission to touch yourself?" It was rhetorical, Rhaneyra very rarely allowed you to answer back to her, "I swore you promised you were mine, body and soul, yet you think you have the right to touch your body?"

You didn't respond as Nyra had opened your legs further to gain access to your already wet cunt. You could tell she wasn't happy. She was the one who would do this to you, the one to turn you on and make sure you were satisfied.

"You've done this to yourself?" She asked, her fingers entering you without much resistance, the wetness you'd caused leaking out of yourself while her fingers continued to enter you.

"Only thought about you." You responded, legs opening wider, feeling her so deep within you almost had you reaching for your bud once more but stopped when you saw the look on Rhaenyra's face.

"Is that meant to make me feel better?" She asked, increasing the speed of her fingers,

"I only ever think about you" you reiterate, though the words had come out breathy, the feeling of Rhaenyra's fingers within you had started to build up your previously killed orgasm. Rhaenyra knew you were sensitive but she hadn't realised you were this sensitive, being able to cum in few seconds after she'd entered you.

"That's it baby, cum all over your queen's fingers, be a loyal subject, give me what I want." Her words had tipped you over the edge, the orgasm you so badly wanted had been given to you though Rhaenyra hadn't stopped her movements while your thighs shook and tried to close on her hand though with her own leg being between them it was almost impossible.

"Nyra, please." Your words were cut off by Rhaenyra kissing you, it wasn't soft nor chaste, it was with hunger and purpose, brutal even. She hadn't stopped, though her lips found their way to your neck, leaving marks as she went along.

"You want another one? So insatiable, you'd think i've left you untouched for months." Despite your begging she had chosen to interpret you wrong. Rhaenyra got like this sometimes, and most times it left you unable to walk or to fulfil your duties properly. "You can give me another one, can't you?"

"Want to, so badly." Telling Rhaenyra no would have been fruitless — you also enjoyed when she was like this, giving you everything you wanted and then more.

"Tell me what you want."

"Want you to stay inside me so badly, wish you had a cock so you could put a baby in me." You were babbling now, though it was true, you wanted to be filled with Rhaenya's heirs, to give her a life that was expected of her.

"We could make that happen, have you fuck Daemon so he can give you Targaryen babies."

"No, no, no, no, no," you repeated like a mantra as she continued her brutal pace within you, "only want you, I'm only yours."

Rhaenyra had taken your whining as a sign you needed more, her thumb had begun to play with your enlarged bud and it had made you cry out, moving your hips to meet her hand easier.

The two of you continued, Rhaenyra whispering filthy things in your ear, about how you were her perfect girl, about how she'd get Daemon to fuck you next, about how you'd be perfect with your and her child and it was enough to make you to come undone a second time. The intensity of this one hitting you harder than the last.

"I can't do another one Nyra." You choked out, wrapping your arms around her neck and pulling her down to kiss you once more, this was sweeter than the last, portraying nothing but love and tenderness rather than the lust filled ones you'd shared before.

She pulled away, both from inside you and away from your kiss, making you pout. "I think I want to see you pregnant, you've seen me pregnant with three children yet here you are without a child."

"Jace, Luc and Joffrey are my children too." You insisted, "But if you want me to birth a child myself, you have to find the man and I won't fuck anyone without your permission, you can even tell me what to do." You joked, your own husband had not so tragically passed moons into your marriage. An old disgusting man who only wanted you for your body and the children you could have provided him with, ironically he lived as he died, fucking you from behind — you wouldn't admit it to anyone but the sight of him on the floor was hilarious. Despite this you'd played the mournful wife, crying at the correct things, wearing all black. Though nothing could stop you from entering Rhaenyra's chamber and truly letting the one you love have you.

"We should seek a man worthy to give us a child." You knew who Rhaenyra wanted, you yourself wouldn't be too opposed to him either, especially if Rhaenyra was there. "But right now, I'm not done with you just yet, you won't be leaving this bed for at least three days." your exhausted state couldn't wait, she made you tingle in all the right ways and you'd happily provide her with as many orgasms as you could provide, even if it destroyed you.

i hope you enjoyed this! i've never wrote nyra before and i'm obviously team green but i love her and i believe in gay rights/wrongs and she fits the bill. sorry if this is bad it's the first time i've written sapphic smut.

[kiankiwi]

Husband Jacob comforting hormonal pregnant reader 🩷

You had no ideas why you were crying. You just were. There was often no point to your tears at this point in your pregnancy so you often just had to feel your feelings until you calmed down and were able to go about your day.

Jacob was up and on set before you even got up so you were used to waking up alone. Because he didn't get to see you in the morning, he would facetime you to say good morning and have a little chat because he had missed out on his morning with you.

He just so happened to call when you were mid sob. "Baby? What's the matta?" (his R's sound like a/aw to me lol) He asked, his eyes filling with concern. "You just--" You continued to sob and Jacob put his hand up, "Breathe baby, you're okay, breathe with me." He helped guide you through a few deep breaths so you weren't choking and coughing as you cried anymore.

"Just give it a second and then tell me what's up okay? Do I need to come home?" You shook your head in silence as you put your sleeve over your hand and wiped your face. "Take a deep breath." He took a breath with you to calm you even more so you didn't feel as silly.

"It's stupid..." You chuckled, laying back down in bed. "No, no baby, your feelings are never stupid okay. Can you talk to me, tell me why you're so sad?" That made you chuckle again because you felt so silly. "I'm not even sad! I just... you didn't wake me up when you left so I didn't get a goodbye kiss and then when I went downstairs to make a bagel, we're out of cream cheese and I'm too tired to go to the store and the store feels too public anyway, I feel like everyone's gonna be staring at me with this huge bump and I just.... argh!" You screamed out your frustration into Jacob's pillow which of course smelled like him and that sent you into a new wave of crying.

"What baby, what?" "Argh, your pillow smells like you!" You yelled, frustrated still. Jacob couldn't help but smile at that.

"Here bub, I see your water bottle is behind you on the nightstand can you take a drink please?" You nodded, guiding the straw into your mouth and taking a long pull. "Good, good job, keep doing that today okay?" You nodded.

Jacob got closer to the camera of his phone, so close that you could only see his mouth and facial hair. You laughed. "You wanna know a secret?" He asked, looking off somewhere on set so now you could only see one of his eyes. You grabbed Jacob's pillow and cuddled it. "What?" "I did give you a kiss goodbye, I tried to wake you but I knew you were probably gonna be sick as soon as you woke up so I left you be. I still gave you a forehead kiss though, I promise." You nodded. He was right, you did puke as soon as you got up for the day. "Thank you. I was really tired, I was up late reading again." Jacob smiled. "Is the book good?" You nodded, grabbing the 800 page monstrosity off your nightstand and showed it to him where you had left off.

"Damn baby, you can kill someone with that thing?" You quirked your eyebrow. "Don't piss the pregnant lady off." Jacob nodded. "Here how about I send an uber eats out for the cream cheese and maybe some chocolate too and they'll drop it off so you don't have to go anywhere?" You nodded, wiping at your eyes again. The nice gesture caused your eyes to well up again. "I'd really like that, thank you."

"I'm happy to help baby, is there anything else you want?" "Nutella... and maybe some cheetos? The jalepeno ones..." Jacob expected some weird items to be added to his shopping list. "Got it bub. I gotta get back now but by the time I get home, I want you to have drank that whole water bottle okay?" You nodded and just to make him smile took another long drink from your straw.

"Thank you, I'll see you in a few hours okay? Go and get my Rugby sweater if that'll help too?" Your eyes lit up at the mention of his old sweater. He blew you a kiss "Love you baby! Give the bean my love."

"We love you too!"

***

I meant for this to be a ficlet but then I got inspiration and it was quite fun! I hope you liked this

@eee-lordy @mooodyblue

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#8: The Last Letter (1.01)

gif cred: @vidco

Rick's 'last' letter to Michonne made my heart break into a million pieces. It was beautiful and devastating and also a major testament to the way Richonne’s love was the pulse of Rick’s life and without Michonne, that pulse essentially came to a stop 😢...

But backtracking a bit, after that powerfully acted scene between Rick and Okafor, Rick sits alone in his apartment with a drink as he stares out the window and again looks like he loathes the window's constant reminder that he’s stuck far from home.

I just know whenever Rick comes back to that cold bare apartment he would so rather come home to a home with toys on the ground, paintings on the fridge, his wife’s cat statue on the mantle - any signs that his home is the home of his family. The apartment reflects his emptiness and it’s clear he resents being here stripped of being a husband and father which is what he loved being more than anything.

This scene also always makes me think perhaps on this very night, an adorable little boy with Rick’s good kind heart is sitting at a dinner table asking the love of Rick’s life for more tomatoes, while Rick is forced to sit in this apartment alone, looking fine and depressed with just a drink to nurse his woes. He should be at those family dinners right now with Michonne, RJ, and Judith. The CRM has to burn for taking this from him. 😞

Rick, clearly a little buzzed from his drink is about to get up when Pearl urgently enters. And she enters without knocking to which I was like Thorne, ma'am…

She tells Rick to turn on the TV and they see that Omaha has been destroyed. Pearl is understandably overcome by this news.

She then expresses a lot of belief in the CRM and their secrets and how the CRM is the answer to creating a future and Rick looks up at her sorta just checked out. You can tell it's difficult for him to be present at this moment after his whole hope of going home has been completely crushed by the previous Okafor exchange.

gif cred: @clonecaptains

Pearl gives him more info about the little girl that he saved and then she says, “You and me and that girl…we all want to be somewhere else with someone else” and Rick again has a quiet emotional reaction as he turns away from her with tears in his eyes. Bringing up Michonne & Judith with these CRM people is always a sensitive thing for him.

Pearl adds, “But we got stuck in the right place” and Rick doesn’t look at her but tilts his head and reacts like he clearly disagrees with that assessment. If this place doesn’t have Michonne and Judith it can never be the right place. 

She then says Rick is gonna see that this was for the best someday and she says she’s not sorry she stopped him, stating, “I’m not sorry I saved your life, even when you didn’t want it to be saved.”

gif cred: @twdfranchise

And the way Rick looks at her. He has this weary smile as he lets her know point blank, “You didn’t save my life.” First, he’s like don’t be taking credit for Michonne’s work lol. Michonne truly saved his life and every one of his kids' lives. She's the one who brought Rick back time and time again. 

Also I think Rick feels like if I can’t go home then I don’t have a life to live really, let alone a life to save.

gif cred: @twdfranchise

It seems the way Rick sees it, Pearl just helped play a part in keeping him stuck here permanently.

And it’s super interesting how he delivers all this with a drained smile because I think he knows what he’s contemplating right now and is pretty resolved to go through with it. Almost like he’s coming to terms with the fact that he doesn’t plan on living much longer so Pearl didn’t save his life because he’s seriously considering taking it after enduring such painful hopeless circumstances.

But Pearl begs to differ saying, “Yes I did.” She takes a sip of Rick’s drink without asking and then breaks the glass on his floor which again…imma need her to chill throwing glasses around Rick. Idc if it’s your schtick, Pearl, it’s a hazard.

gif cred: @twdfranchise

Before leaving Pearl says, “At least there’s one more good man in the world, hmm? One more good man to try and save the world…whether he wants to or not.” This was Rick getting yet another reminder that even though he doesn't want power, power wants him.

gif cred: @twdfranchise

Pearl leaves and we’re brought back to the teaser moment as Rick sits alone and nears ending it all by his own hand. Which I’ve discussed this scene in the first TOWL post, but just to add - now knowing the exact circumstances that led him to this point, when he looks out the window and at the drawing of Michonne it just feels like he’s thinking 'I really won’t ever see her again outside of these sketches.' 🥺

Like he had probably fought so hard to never even entertain the idea of not seeing Michonne again because, like his wife, he too tries to not fantasize about failing. But now, that very possible reality of never seeing her again has sunk in and it's killing him.

gif cred: @vidco

And as he stares out the window at the view of the city that he hates, he seems to be accepting that this might be the last view he has.

This city that’s supposed to promise its residents a new life is the very reason Rick wants to take his. 😞

With the glass shard from the cup Pearl threw placed to his neck, Rick then has flashes of memories from his childhood home burning and, while we don’t know it at this time, it becomes clear these memories popped into his head at this moment because it’s a reminder of the sacrifice his dad made for their family.

And now Rick is going to make the ultimate sacrifice for his family. Deciding to stay alive to save the world for his girls all while feeling dead inside without them.

source: myobsessionsspace

So then begins Rick’s last soul-crushing letter to Michonne. 💔

The scene cuts to Rick waking up alone in bed for his first official day as the walking dead. It says a lot about Rick’s resilience that it took five years before he ever became this broken.

But he’s only human and can only take so much (especially without the family that fuels him) and so now he’s arrived at what he believes is the point of no return, no returning home that is. And as he wakes in this bed, you just know he’d give anything to return to the mornings when he’d wake up to his arms wrapped around Michonne. 

Rick says, “I thought about ending it. Just stopping it all.” And I think it’s moving how he even wanted Michonne to know the darkest places he went to. Like she gets access to even his suicidal thoughts. He says, “But then…then it would all just be for nothing, wouldn’t it?” I like that he poses it as a question, even if rhetorical. He knows Michonne would say the answer is yes and would be so glad he didn’t go through with it.

gif cred: @nobleriver

Also, the survivor and protector in him wouldn’t let him go through with it because if he can in someway still save his girls from afar he’s going to try.

He says, “All of it for nothing. I couldn’t do it” and Rick’s face and the vulnerable delivery and breathing within this letter is so well executed and just makes my heart ache.

We see him writing the letter and I really like the detail of him having a ton of pages ripped out of the notebook. It goes to show he’s been writing a whole bunch to Michonne over the years. 

Then we enter the depths of despair with Rick as he says, “But I still decided to die. I’ve been writing you letters the whole time. Reaching out to feel something. Writing just to imagine you could read them.” Ok I’m crying. 😭 Like that’s so beautiful and painful and I appreciate that Rick is so aware that connecting with Michonne in any way possible is the only way he can feel alive here.

gif cred: @taiturner

Seeing him write in that chair with his hand missing, just knowing he’s been through so much hardship and pain alone...y’all it’s too much. 😭 

When Rick says, “This is my last one, the last letter I write to you that you’ll never see” the first time I heard it and every time after my heart just drops. I was shattered because this was him feeling forced to close the door on her and him in a way I’d never want to see. 🥺 Had me fully like...

After that Okafor exchange, Rick has finally accepted that all his hope of telling Michonne all this in person one day might be futile.

It’s also very poignant to have this letter occur over a montage of Rick restoring an office and moving up the ranks. As he declutters the conference room and becomes more involved in the CRM machine, he’s building things for them and bringing their vision to life while he himself dies inside. It’s a tragic and impactful contrast. 

Then Rick says what he’ll say a total of three times throughout this one letter - “I love you.” 🥺

I adore hearing him tell her 'I love you,' especially while under these sorrowful circumstances. He says it so certain, like it’s something he knows will never change nor fade even if he has to be dead now and give up on seeing her.

gif cred: @candiedblue

Something I’ve said in many of my posts is all versions of Rick love Michonne. It’s just the truth. And even Dead Rick - the Rick who has had to shut himself off and feel nothing to survive as the walking dead - even he still loves Michonne. In fact, it’s like now all he is is love for her and their daughter and there’s no other part of his humanity he entertains or recognizes anymore. 

By saying 'I love you' at this moment it’s him saying even tho this is the last letter, it’s not at all because he doesn’t love her. In actuality, it’s the last letter because he loves her so passionately that if he doesn’t kill the parts of himself that long to escape and be with her then he knows he’ll always try to get to her and he believes that will only put her in danger. So in a way, like Okafor, he too had to kill the idea of being with his wife. But even so, he still wants Michonne to know over and over that he still loves her. 

Rick says, “I don’t see the dead anymore or the ones I lost.” This will come into play big time in the immaculate fourth episode. And it’s such a traumatizing thing to realize you don’t see anyone you love anymore. That would make you lose yourself entirely. 😞 So Rick's super forlorn, I'm super verklempt, it's a lot. And the letter only grows more devastating as it goes on.

The most painful part of this letter for me is when Rick devastatingly says he also doesn’t see the sun, the sky, or the water and “I don’t see you anymore.” 😭😭😭😭

The way he says that. 😥 The way his voice breaks just a bit saying 'anymore,' knowing that it was seeing Michonne that was keeping him going before this. 🥺

So many of us have always said that when Rick looks at Michonne he sees the sun, the moon, and the stars, and his whole universe. And sure enough, Rick confirms that here by saying if he can’t see her anymore he literally can’t see anything anymore - no sunlight to lead the way, no sky to reach new horizons, no water to cleanse the pain.

He can’t see any of those things in nature because it was Michonne who lit his path like the sun, who made him rise up higher than the sky, who washed away his fears and pain and replaced it with hope and joy. Their love was an electrifying life source and without her, he can't live and the whole world goes dark.

And I firmly believe that this is such an accurate in-character response from Rick. Like this isn’t something he’s saying because TOWL is an epic love story so they have to dramatically play up their romance and yearning - no this is truly how deep Richonne’s love goes and has always gone, to the point that Rick could see his entire world fade to black without the hope of having her in it. 

gif cred: @perryabbott

Rick says, “I just see what’s ahead” and when his voice breaks as he says this it feels like his heart is breaking finally accepting that being with her is no longer what’s ahead. Now what’s ahead is far more cold and bleak as he says, “metal rotors, and gun oil and blood.” The beauty of nature replaced with the dark lifeless things of this apocalypse.

It’s interesting because you’d think when the world ended and turned into an apocalypse all those years ago, that’s when all you’d see ahead is blood and guns. But Richonne and their family managed to carve out such a beautiful life that it wasn’t until Rick lost them that he stopped seeing the good and beauty in the apocalyptic world.

And my heart melts over how this implies that part of why Rick could still see the sun, sky, water, and beauty in the world all those years ago was because he was with Michonne. 

Rick goes on saying that all he sees is “What I have to do, what I can do to help save the world even if you never know I did that.” An ultimate act of sacrifice.

And then the greatest loverboy to ever walk the earth says, “I love you so much. I love you so so much.” And what I love so so much is the way he has to tell her this and emphasize it. 😭 Like you can just feel that as Rick writes this last letter he’s still so overcome with love for her and all he wants is to let Michonne know she still has his entire heart. Even the dead version of his heart is hers.

I'll forever adore hearing this. It made me think about how we went from being so eager to hear Rick say I love you just once in TWD to now hearing him say it three times in one letter in the first ep of this miniseries. TOWL is a blessing in every way. And the way he repeats it in this letter it really feels like he could say 'i love you' 100 times and he wouldn’t feel like it was enough to convey all the love he has for her.

Rick burns the phones and letters as he tells Michonne he loves her so much. And seeing him burn those, I was like...

One; I wanted Rick to still be able to keep those phones just to have some bit of his girls with him. And two; I was like Rick, your wife is on her way to save you and I want her to have the chance to read all your letters like you hoped she would. Like I really wanted Michonne to be able to read those letters one day - especially because, while she'll later say it in a moment of tension, Rick really is a great writer. 😊

This last letter right here would have Shakespeare applauding Rick. Even tho maybe it's good Michonne never got this letter because it would be absolutely heartbreaking for her to read. But I just love that Rick earnestly and honestly pours his heart out to Michonne so romantically in words. This was yearning at its strongest.

But Rick burns these items because he believes he has to burn this hope of being with them for their sake. Plus, these phones and letters are essentially what got him “caught” by Okafor in a way so he’s getting rid of the rest to not risk any more exposure again. But also, these phones are what got Michonne to realize Rick is alive so they did more good than damage.

gif cred: @nerd4music

As he burns the phones and letters it’s Rick following his dad and grandpa's footsteps and adopting the mindset that sometimes it's for the best to die and live and it’s an act of protection to let things burn, no matter how painful the sacrifice. And honestly, this is a huge act of love from Rick because he’s literally dying for his wife and daughter. Ending his life to save theirs - something he's always been willing to do as evidenced by the bridge sacrifice.

And as fire is one of the most prominent motifs in TOWL, I really like the theme of it for its duality. Fire both cleanses and destroys and Rick will wrestle with figuring out which one he does on this TOWL journey.

The most heartbreaking letter in history then concludes with Rick saying, “I tried. Please just know I tried.” as he stares into the fire, watching the flames burn away the last few parts of the Rick he once knew.

He so longs for Michonne to know just two things: 1) he loves her with everything in him and 2) he tried as hard as he could for her.

But as hard as he tried, things just haven’t worked out so he ends the letter saying one more time in a broken whisper “I tried…but I failed.” And well if TOWL wanted to shatter my heart then mission accomplished because this letter never fails to break me. By the end of this letter Rick and I were in the same boat because I was watching like...

It’s hard enough to know Rick decided to die while still alive. Like that’s such a painful choice. Especially because choosing to die is different than choosing to become numb imo. You can still technically 'feel' numbness, but when you decide to live but die, you stop feeling anything, not even numbness. You shut off your humanness just to get through the pain.

And since our humanness switch is never meant to be turned off it’s no easy feat to turn it back on. Speaking from experience, once you shut off that switch, sure you stop feeling the pain but you stop feeling everything else too and it takes time and a lot of love to turn it back on. Like even love almost becomes a 'concept' more than a feeling because you're so alienated from having love in your life.

Fortunately, the woman who loves Rick more than he’s ever been loved is on her way to love him back to life. And thank goodness, because Rick needs Michonne desperately.

But then on top of all this, the aspect that makes this last line of the letter so heartrending is Rick didn’t just die but feels he died a failure.

Every day that Rick struggled to break free and had to live knowing his wife and daughter were out there and he couldn’t hold them, protect them, or love them added such a painful layer to his sense of failure. And it’s heartbreaking to hear his final letter conclude not by saying he tried but just couldn’t escape the oppressive CRM, but rather “I tried, but I failed.” It gives us insight into how much Rick’s mindset is that he is the cause of the failure.

He thinks this is on him and feels he’s let them down. He didn’t just ‘die’ disappointed, he thinks he ‘died’ a failure even despite really being a victim of his circumstances. And when I tell you that breaks my heart. It really really does. 💔

And now Rick just has to live dead and thinking he fell short of the one thing he thought he’d never fall short of which is finding his way back to his family.

That has to change him on a foundational level -thinking he’s failed and let his family down by not being able to overcome the CRM and get to them. I hate that he had to carry that false thought that he’s a failure for so long. 

This letter also shows that Rick is the literal embodiment of loving his wife more than life itself. He feels there is no version of him that can be alive without her so he has to die. And even dead, he knows he'll still always love Michonne which makes this outcome a punishment worse than death because at least in death you don't have to be aware of your loss. 😞

But let me stop here because...

I'll conclude by saying - Rick's last letter was painfully beautiful and tragically romantic. I love that his love for Michonne makes him want to write poetry and prose about how he feels about her and how much she means. I get it because Richonne’s love has me writing for days too. 😇

After this letter, I so needed a reminder of the light at the end of this super dark tunnel and once again, Rick’s dreams came to the rescue to deliver in all ways. 🙌🏽

I mean this next scene delivered Richonne, it delivered gorgeous chemistry, and also it delivered pizza and a ‘proposal’ so naturally it’s my favorite scene of the episode. 😊👌🏽

[adventuringblind]

Drive With You Forever

Chapter Five: Cats, Cluelessness, and difficult communication

Max Verstappen x Reader x Charles Leclerc x Lando Norris

Chapter Summary: a brief interlude in the off-season before 2020, Sebastian adopts Charles, Max struggles to communicate his feelings, and the reader makes a new friend 👀

Warnings: mentions of SH, reader over does it again, seizure like episode, Lando is awkward, Charles is awkward, Max can't do feeling well yet, jos verstappen

Notes: ah yes, the gang is all here now. I have more action coming in the next part. Maybe also some fluffy stuff. I've been trying to get some blurbs done for what isn't shown in the long chapters because I've had to cut down on some things. I would love to give y'all some content of our duo, trio, or quartet doing something specific.

Previous <-

Masterlist

The end of the season means a bit of a break for the drivers. A chance to spend some time with their families. For her, it means spending time with Sebastian and Hanna in Germany.

The trio had wanted to officially introduce themselves. They knew, but the three barely got a chance to interact all together. It would be nice to catch up anyways.

They are all sat at the dining room table. Even the littles wanted to join in on the conversation. Mostly they spout of randomness as they listen but it’s still endearing to everyone.

The three are sat in a row. Charles far left, the female in the middle and Max on the right if her.

“So I’m curious, who gets the middle of the bed?” Seb laughs at his own question. Hanna playfully hits his shoulder. Charles and Max both look at her. She just rolls her eyes as they both start laughing.

“Are you three moving in together?” Hanna asks this time. Genuine curiosity, unlike her husband.

Charles almost chokes. He hadn’t thought about it.

He’s thankful he’s not the first to answer. “Are you saying you want me out?” It’s a playful question from the girl. She’s smiling like an idiot at the banter.

“Of course not. You’re welcome here forever.”

Max swallows his food then joins the conversation. “We were actually planning on moving some things to my apartment since we’re here.” Now Charles feels out of place. Was he not asked yet for a reason? They hadn’t been together long so it would make sense. “Charles lives in Monaco already so I figured his things would be easier to move.” Max explains.

Now he’s confused. Something Max can clearly see. They make eye contact for a moment and Charles is left a mess. “Unless you don’t want to anymore?”

Charles is shaking his head no at lightning speed. He definitely wants to. He’s tired of living alone and throwing himself pity parties over breaks. Plus, he learns he sleeps better when he's not alone.

~

Moving feels more sentimental to her this time. She had more stuff than when she was fifteen.

Sbeastion offered to let them fly private with him to help move her stuff to Monaco. She wanted to, but it was unnecessary. Most of her belongings that she needs fits into an extra suitcase.

Max and Charles both kept asking her if she had anything else. It was getting on her nerves a bit.

Hanna and Seb had done the same thing when she first came to Germay. Though she had less then. Hanna had taken her to get some new clothes because her t-shirts all had holes in them.

Flights were weird. The first class has two seats for each row, meaning that one of them got to sit somewhere else. They often played musical chairs on the plane because of this.

She'd always had an affinity for even numbers.

It was an interesting dynamic they had created. Charles and Max are barely a month apart, and she's just turned nineteen. They get to do things she can't yet. But she's gentle and knows exactly what they need and is far to gentle for what she's been through.

Charles felt that he was playing catch up with the other two. He was new to this and still new to them. He, however, was the best at communication between the three.

Max, having grown up in an interesting family setting, is aggressive and protective. His communication skills are lacking, but he would do anything to keep his significant others out of harms way.

Today was one of those days that Max was struggling communication wise. It had started after an intense phone call where the other two were attempting (and failing) at deciphering dutch.

She'd offered to sit next to him if he needed consoling, but he decided to sit further away from the two. Leaving them to figure out what happened.

This had brought the thoughts of even numbers. If they were flying with four of them, Max wouldn't be able to mope alone.

"Do you think it was Jos?" Charles asked. His eyes had been on the Dutch for most of the flight.

"I would assume so given that he was speaking Dutch, and he doesn't do that with many people."

Both sigh. Jos had been on Max's ass about moving up into a championship title. Che was ready to have some words, either him, next time they were together, and Charles was going to start making a point to celebrate every placement in a race.

It didn't take long to get to Max's apartment. It's not the most luxurious, but it's comfortable. He's planning to get something worthy of the three of them after he gets a title.

Max had successfully locked himself away in his bedroom. The other two left to figure out what he needs. Maybe it is just a time thing?

"Is he usually like this after a call with Jos?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "It depends on if he's praising or berating."

"Can we help him?" Charles is eyeing the closed door and her. His brain working out every way to get him to open up.

She smirks. There always one thing that cheered up Max.

~

Max was choking back tears. He felt weak. Like he was never going to he enough.

He felt bad for stomping off the way he did, but he didn't want his partners to see him like this.

He hears the soft rape of knuckles against the door. "Mon Amour? Can we please come in?"

He grunts, but the Monegasque takes it as approval.

Charles peeks his head in. His gentle steps are coming closer to Max. He doesn't look up. He just keeps his head buried in his pillow.

Charles doesn't say anything, which he appreciates. Just sits down on the edge and lets Max's body dip towards his. Then he's running his fingers through Max's hair.

It's not long before another set of footsteps are padding into the room. These ones softer then Charles, telling Max it's y/n.

She's successfully moved both Jimmy and Sassy into the room from their hiding spots and is holding his favorite movie. She sneaks in and closes the door behind her.

They spend the next couple of hours lying in bed with the cats and watching their movie.

Max feels himself calming down. They don't talk about anything. Aside from occasionally copying the lines from the movie they've watched far to many time.

It's after that he feels like he can say something. His mind finally grounded back to reality. "I'm sorry for shutting you both out. I was just... agitated, I guess."

The Monegasque has his fingers back in his hair in an instant. "It's okay, you needed space. Do you want to talk about it now?"

The youngest places sassy on his chest as a way to comfort him. Her hands intertwine with his.

"Just frustrated that my dad thinks I'm not trying. He started spouting that I'll never get anywhere at this rate."

"That a lie. Jos is obviously lacking brain cells." The youngest pipes. "I can throw him into a wall if you want?"

The idea actually makes him smile.

~

Charles was the next to move things in. Though it was mildly awkward explaining to his family why he was moving somewhere else.

Turns out he can't keep a secret. His family is accepting. Pascale welcomes both into her home. She takes a particular liking to the quiet girl who is still always between the two older boys.

His stuff takes up more of the apartment than hers. The contrast of red and blue is now showing everywhere.

"If Charles is red, Max is blue, and I'm always in the middle, does that make me purple?" She spouts while unpacking a box of ferrari shirts.

Max spits out the water he was drinking. Charles starts wheezing. And she is laughing at her own comment.

"Where did you come up with that, Chéri?"

"Just a thought I've been sitting on since we started dating."

"You're not wrong, though." Max is wiping his mouth clean from the water.

~

It's weird going places together. Not errands and things, but social gatherings. Charles has asked to keep things private for now. He's not fond of the questions people have about the nuances of their relationship.

They came and left separately. Usually, depending on who wanted to leave first, the other would wait about fifteen minutes.

A few months into the break, Lando Norris decides to call Max and invite him and his lover to a party. He does the same for Charles a minute after he hangs up with Max.

The three of you have to hold in your laughter as Charles tries to get through the phone call listening to the same details.

Despite what Lando said, this was not the type of party any of you are used to by now. At least not Charles and Max. She'd been to few and got overwhelmed by it all pretty quickly. Sometimes, she'd use it as an excuse to get the boys out of the apartment so she could have the cats to herself and play around with her powers.

Charles and Max both hate it when she does it alone. They've found her on the floor passed out on multiple occasions. She doesn't care, though. The visions and nightmares of her father were more reason to keep going.

Regardless, this party is small. Just a few drivers who had been in town or live in Monaco are here with their partners.

Kika and Pierre, George and Carmen, Alex and Lily, Carlos is here along with Daniel. Charles is seated in a solitary chair. The couches have been taken. Daniel and Lando on either side of him.

It feels nice and intimate in a way. She hadn't seen many drivers just get together to hang out like this.

Charles is ever the gentleman and offers her the chair, which she takes. Him and Max are now making themselves comfortable on the floor in front of her.

They're eating, drinking, laughing, and sharing stories from the past. It's nice and relaxing.

She taps Max's shoulder, alerting him that she's going for water and asking both boys if they need anything to which they reply no.

She spots Lando in his kitchen getting a drink. It's not an alcoholic one, just juice that looks like it could be alcohol.

She turns on his tap for water, and Lando jumps out of his skin. His eyes rapidly look between her and his cup.

"I like to mix my alcohol with juice...?" His voice sounds unsure. Does he think it's not okay to just have juice?

"Juice is a good choice, in my opinion. Alcohol is strong and feels funny sometimes."

Lando visibly relaxs. "Promise you won't tell anyone? They laugh at me sometimes when I do this."

"I promise."

~

Lando was around more after the party. He seemed comfortable around her and Max. He'd opened up about his anxiety to them and played far to many games with Max.

What they were not expecting was for Lando to show up at their apartment door at three o'clock in the morning. His breathing uneven body shaking like a leaf.

She knew what this was. She'd had plenty of panic attacks.

She guides him inside to the couch and is trying to asses the situation. Get his breathing to calm down so he doesn't hyperventilate.

It takes ten minutes until he's calm.

"Did something happen?"

"Just a nightmare, and I couldn't calm down after."

"Did you walk here?"

He nods his head yes. Exhaustion flooding his eyes.

"Is Max asleep?" He asks.

"Should be. He sleeps like a rock most of the time." They both giggle. Lando is now able to relax in a calm environment.

They are interrupted by two sets of footsteps. Charles and Max come barreling into the living room. Panic on their faces one minute and embarrassment the next. Lando staring at the with the utmost confusion.

The older boys are shirtless and in sweats. Max's arm protectively outstretched in front of Charles.

"...oops."

~

Lando is not stupid. He may be the youngest on the grid currently, but he's not stupid.

He saw how the three of them looked at each other. Charles definitely touched them both far more than what friends do.

Originally, he thought he was crazy for watching them. Yet he couldn't help but be intrigued. How they all interacted. How they just flowed together.

Now he sits on their couch. Max looks like he's guarding Charles and y/n. The Dutch has yet to sit down and is leaning against the wall. Charles is sitting across from him with the females head in this lap. His fingers running through her hair.

It's a terrible feeling. Like he's left out of whatever this is. Three of his best friends spend all their time together, and he's just here. Young and naïve Lando.

"Did you have a feeling this would happen, Mijn liefje?" Asks Max from his perch on the wall. She shakes her head no in response.

Lando had heard about her knack for predicting future outcomes. He'd heard rumors about magic and tarot cards, but she'd never said anything to him.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here in the extra bedroom, and I can't take you home in the morning."

"That sounds nice, thank you."

~

She woke up exhausted. She felt guilty for not having warned Max and Charles. Her mind to far gone that they were mad at her. She spent her night trying to get any glimpse of their future but didn't get anything useful.

She hid herself away in the master bathroom. The wet towel and the floor her new best friend.

She could smell breakfeast. Max is cooking for all of them. They learned quickly not to let Charles cook. Lest they all die.

She was in bed with them this morning. Only crawling out from their hold when she felt them stir.

Every question puts her further into the fog. Was she going to lose them? Are they upset with her? Is Lando okay with them? Would he tell people?

It's too much for her head.

She goes for another attempt. She knows she's overdoing it. The further she goes with less time in-between brings her closer to the edge of her body going numb.

Nausea creeps into her stomach, but she sees them. Further down the line. Happy and four.

Four? This could be shocking, and yet somehow, she already knew. Her mind just needs a but of confirmation that it's possible.

The nausea gets stronger. Her nose is bleeding heavily. She pushed it past the limit.

They won't mind, though.

~

Max is making breakfast and quietly humming to himself. Charles has his hands on his hips, the two of them swaying back and forth to the tune.

"Do you think I should go check on her?" Charles mumbles into his shoulder.

"She may want space after last night, she was taken off guard and might need to peocess." He explains, then turns his attention back to the pan.

"I'm worried, though. She was crying last night after Lando went to bed, and I don't think she slept."

Lando slides around the corner. His face lighting up at the smell of food. "Can I... can I have some?"

Max laughs at the Brit's excitment. "Of course. I made enough for all of us."

Lando sits himself on top on the counter. Watching the Dutch and Monegasque lean into each other. He takes notice that someone is missing. "Is y/n okay?"

Both boys sigh with heavy concern. "She had a rough night." Explains Charles. His body is fighting the urge to go get her. "I can't take it anymore, I'm going to check on her."

Charles leaves Max and Lando in the kitchen. His legs taking long strides back to the bedroom.

"So you guys all sleep together? Not like sexually- I guess - I mean at night to sleep."

Max smiles at the Brit. His curiosity was nothing he didn't expect. "Yeah, we pile into the same bed at night. All of us sleep better that way."

Lando hums. His palm rubs his face with anxiety. "Would you ever add a fourth?-'m asking for a friend..."

Max already knows. Somehow, someway, he already knows where this is going. "Depends. It took months of discussion before Charles joined us. But I'm sure if the right person came along, we'd be open to it." Max turns around to face Lando and shoots him a reassuring smile.

Lando's cheek tint pink, and Max knows exactly what he wants.

~

Charles leclerc is usually someone who panics. This time was no exception.

He'd seen plenty after his six months of being together with his partners. Particularly how the femal among them is prone to violent behaviors against herself. He's seen all of her powers now and how they affect her if she uses them too much. He's been there to help soothe her after night terrors while Max fetches her water.

He was glad she opened up to him about her past more. He knew the generally what had gone on but no details, nothing like what he knew now.

The prospect of her father coming back for her at some point is what drover her to the breaking point on most days.

Now, Charles is faced with a locked door and the sounds of thrashing from the other side. He'd tried picking the lock, something him and Max both learned to do after instances like this, but his hands are far too shaky to maneuver the pins.

So he does the only other logical thing and breaks the door down. Only enough that he can lean it somewhere and not let it fall on her, but it felt cool to kick it in.

Charles has seen a lot of things, but this is completely new. Her muscles are tensing at a rapid speed, and her eyes are rolled back into her head. Her breathing movements are unatrual.

"Max!"

It takes ten seconds, and he's there. His body and mind reacting to the situation. He's trying to hold her in his arms. Attempting to wake her up from whatever trance she's in.

Max hisses through his teeth when he touches her. Her skin in his searing his hands. Yet, he pushes through.

Charles feels helpless. "What can I do?"

"This has happened before. She must have forced a vision. She'll come out of it, we just need to make sure she dosen't die in the process."

The two boys are then lifting her body of the floor. Charles now carries her to the bed while Max runs around grabbing things. Mostly ice to cool her down. Charles rambles on to her about nothing and everything. Max said they should talk to her, giver her some to help bring her back.

Both of them forgot they left Lando in the kitchen. The Brit left to finish making breakfast in light of their emergency. Again, they are shocked to see his pale face watching the scene unfold before him.

"Can I help?" Is all he can manage.

"Do you want to trade places with me? I think the liquid benadryl might help."

Lando is taking over for Max tentatively. He takes the ice pack from the Dutch and places it on her forehead.

Lando can see the sweat and tears mixed with fresh blood. It's scary, and he's nervous. Why are they not taking her to a hospital?

Normally, she's the one calming him down. She always knows exactly what he needs to hear. He's not been in this position, and it scares him to see her like this.

He slides one hand down to her bicep. His fingers tap out the melody to her favorite song. A trick she used on him to bring him back to earth when he got in his head.

About halfway through, she's sucking in a breath, her body sitting straight upwards. Her eyes are no longer stuck to the inside of her head. She's still sweating like mad, and her body is twitching, but she's awake.

She's breathing heavily. Dry heaving and coughing into herself. Her hands are quick to find Charles and grasp at him, searching for the familiar comfort.

Lando watches her intently. Her sobs are painful. They sound broken, like whatever she's just been through was some sort of of torcher.

"Chéri, can I set you with Lando for a moment? I need to tell Max you're awake." Charles whispers gently. Lando takes note of how he's cradling her. His hands on the back of her head and under her legs to support her weight.

She barely nods her approval. Her body is slid close to Lando, who embraces her. Attempting to replicate what Charles was doing. He finds himself tapping the same melody on her knees.

"Was that you tapping? When I was asleep?" She chokes.

"Yeah, could you feel it."

She nods her head against his body. "You brought me back, thank you."

Lando lets his body relax into hers, knowing he at least did one thing right today.

~

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