#but i can sleep in my home without men stomping and yelling about

[eviclair]

🎉🎉🎉

IM FREE

[kelyon]

Courtship 4: The Day After

After her date with Mr. Gold, Lacey goes back to her normal life

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It was still dark when Lacey heard a loud pounding somewhere outside. Ignoring the racket, she rolled over in bed and sunk deeper into the covers. It was so warm and she didn’t have to wake up yet. The store didn’t open until nine.

The second series of knocks was harder to sleep through. They were coming from the side door, the entrance to the part of the building where they lived. These were determined knocks, knocks that knew they would be heard, knocks that had all day and wouldn’t stop until they were answered. 

Lacey stayed in bed, slowly stretching out from the curled-up position she’d slept in. Dad’s heavy footsteps lumbered from his bedroom, through the other rooms, and down the stairs to the door.

Good, Lacey thought as she closed her eyes again. Whatever it is, he can take care of it.  

Then her father started yelling.

Groaning, Lacey dragged herself out of bed and pulled on whatever warm clothes were at the top of the pile on a chair by her dresser. She plodded through the apartment, down the stairs, and out around to the back of the shop. Her father was by the door where they took in deliveries. He was shouting at two men in workman’s overalls. 

“No way in hell I’m opening the door for you. You have no right to be here! This is private property!”

“Indeed it is, Mr. French.” 

Lacey turned and saw Mr. Gold walk out of the darkness and into the ring cast by the security light over the back door. Even on his cane, he sauntered through the snow in the path cleared for him by the workmen and the dolly they’d wheeled over to the back door. He had a large key ring in his free hand, with the key ready to go. With utter calm and professionalism, he unlocked the door Dad had tried to keep the workmen from entering. Muttering thanks, the workmen went inside, pushing and pulling the dolly that held a very tall cardboard box. 

Only when they were inside did Mr. Gold deign to look at Moe French.

“It’s my property.”

Dad rumbled some words Lacey hoped Mr. Gold wouldn’t be able to decipher. Then he started shouting again. “You can’t just have people barge in here without any notice! What the hell do you think you’re doing, Gold?”

Mr. Gold made a show of putting his keys back in his coat pocket. “According to your rental agreement, all requests for repairs must be made as soon as a problem is observed. I could penalize you for not informing me of your faulty hot water heater.”

Hidden in the shadows away from the action, Lacey bit the inside of her mouth. She had told Mr. Gold about the hot water. How was she supposed to know he’d actually do anything about it? 

“How the hell do you know anything about that hot water tank? It’s none of your business--”

“It is entirely my business, Mr. French,” Mr. Gold snapped. “It became my business the day you sold me this building.”

“Biggest mistake of my life,” her father muttered. 

Something inside Lacey winced at that. They’d sold their home to Mr. Gold so they’d have enough money to pay for Mom’s second round of treatments. Treatments that had ultimately failed to save her. Was Dad saying it would have been better if they hadn’t even tried?

He was still yelling at Mr. Gold, who was ignoring him to keep an eye on the workers inside.

“We’ll have your God-damned rent! It’s only been three days! You don’t need to give us the shakedown. We’ll pay it!” 

“Oh, I have every confidence in that, Mr. French. After all, you know the consequences if you fail.”

“That’s why you’re fixing up the place, isn’t it? To kick us out! I’ve lived here for thirty years, Gold!”

“Fascinating.” Mr. Gold moved away from the door. “Well, it seems my men have things well in hand here.” He looked at Lacey’s father. “I’ll know if you cause them any trouble, Mr. French. Have a good morning.”

Dad clenched his fists and glared bloody murder at Mr. Gold. Then he stomped off into the building, already haranguing the workmen. 

Mr. Gold was halfway to his car. Lacey ran after him.

“Hey!” 

He stopped and turned around. They faced off in the shadow of the building, between the orange street lights and the white light over the back door.  

“Good morning, Miss French.” His politeness was more genuine than it had been when he was talking to her father. “Sleep well?”

She stepped forward. “Are you really gonna evict us?”

“That’s up to your father, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lacey rubbed her arms over her chest. “This is just a crappy time of year to be homeless.”

“Not the best time of year not to have hot water, either.” There was a slight degree of good humor in his voice. “I take care of what belongs to me, Miss French. You’ll do well to remember that.”

He kept going to his car, and Lacey followed him, not sure of what else she could be doing right now. He stopped on the sidewalk before getting in. His back was turned to her, but Lacey got the distinct impression that Mr. Gold was hesitating. He was making a decision.

He turned around to look at her.

The light was better out here, but it wasn’t like seeing his face gave her much of a window into his soul. He kept his gloved hands over his cane. His thumb and index finger rubbed together. It was a long minute before he spoke.

“I enjoyed last night,” he said at last.

Lacey pressed her lips together. “So did I.”

“You should come to my house on Friday.”

Now she allowed herself a grin. “Should I?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’d like to have you for dinner, Miss French.”

Lacey snickered. “The way you said that, it makes it sound like you want to eat me.”

He tilted his head, clearly pretending to have no idea what she was talking about.

“I’ll pick you up at eight o’clock.”

“I can walk to your place. It’s not that far.”

“Nonsense,” Mr. Gold said firmly. He looked her up and down, at her pajamas and the motley outerwear she’d grabbed on her way out of bed. “Not as long as you don’t have a coat.”

Lacey opened her mouth, then shut it. Telling him that she did have a coat, just nothing she wanted him to see her in, probably wasn’t the sexiest move. He was offering to take care of her. Why not let him?

“Okay,” Lacey said. “Eight o’clock on Friday. I’ll see you then.”

He nodded. “Grand.”

****

The rest of the morning passed without incident. Since she was already awake, Lacey decided to make herself an actual breakfast for once. She sniffed the milk before pouring it into her oatmeal. It was a little funky, but not that bad. The motto around here had always been that if you didn’t gag at the first smell or taste, it was probably fine. 

She could live with it. 

When it came time to open the store, Lacey decided today was the day she’d make a display window for Valentine’s Day. They had to let people know that the holiday was coming and they should order--and pay for--their flowers today.

The display window had been Mom’s pride and joy. She put so much care and craft into making something unique for every holiday or season. Lacey had helped her with last Valentine’s Day, when even the act of reaching up and stapling a paper Cupid to the wall could exhaust her.

Despite years of example, Lacey didn’t have her mother’s knack for telling a story with plastic figures and tissue paper. Right now she didn’t have the heart to try. All she could manage was to drape an already-faded red tablecloth over a pile of empty boxes and cover it with an arrangement of all the red and pink merchandise they had. It was rinky-dink and pathetic, but that was an accurate advertisement for Game of Thorns. The store had never generated business because it was good, only because there was nowhere else in Storybrooke to buy flowers.

Dad spent the morning in the back of the shop, glowering at the workmen and grinding his teeth. From what Lacey could tell, he wasn’t actually causing them trouble, as Mr. Gold had warned him about. He was just doing all he could to make sure they knew they weren’t welcome. They left around mid-morning. When Dad came to the front of the store, grumbling and banging into things, Lacey took the opportunity to make herself scarce. He could stew over his misfortunes while sitting in front of the cash register and waiting for phone orders. It was Wednesday, and Lacey had the afternoon off. 

****

She refused to feel guilty about enjoying her first hot shower in months. Mr. Gold was right, the building was his property. He had an obligation to make sure it was livable, just like they had an obligation to pay their rent. That was the deal. Dad could have told him as soon as the water heater started fritzing out. They could have had hot water months ago instead of making do with constant DIY repairs. 

Stepping out of the shower, Lacey saw her reflection through the condensation on the bathroom mirror. The hickey Mr. Gold had given her stood out on the pale skin of her neck, right at the nape. A shiver went through her when she looked at it. 

The purple mark didn’t hurt if she touched it. It was already lighter than it had been last night. Yet somehow it felt indelible, as permanent as a scar from a branding iron. This mark changed her. Mr. Gold had made this while he was fucking her asshole, after they had shared exactly one dinner date, after she had served him and knelt at his feet and agreed to obey every order he gave her.

Everything that had happened last night felt unreal. A romance novel fantasy, so bizarre and so perfect it might have been a dream. But it wasn’t a dream. It had happened. The proof was on her very flesh.  

Lacey’s teeth started to chatter. Even if the water was hot, the air was still cold. She turned her hair dryer on at the hottest setting. It would make her hair brittle, but she didn’t care. She relished wave after wave of electric heat as it flowed over her.

For her weekly lunch with Mara and Janine, she put on clean jeans and a ribbed white turtleneck from the back of one of her drawers. The sweater wasn’t her style and never had been, but she needed it if she was going to cover up the hickey. It had been twelve hours since her date with Mr. Gold had ended. She wasn’t ready to let anyone know about it yet, not even her best friends. 

****

Granny’s Diner was just around the corner, so Lacey opted to go without her ski jacket. Even without worrying about Mr. Gold judging her, that jacket had become absolutely loathsome. She’d never wear it again if she could help it. 

Janine was already in their usual booth by the window. She was writing in a small notebook and occasionally punching numbers into a pocket calculator. Her pinched face and furrowed brow made her look older than she was--which was only eight days older than Lacey. With her blonde hair and worry lines, she looked just like Mom. All three of Uncle Peter’s kids had the Woolverton look, wispy hair and sky blue eyes.

When she saw Lacey, Janine swept the notebook and calculator into her purse. She got out of the booth and gave Lacey a hug. 

“Hey, stranger!”

Their entire lives, the two cousins had never gone longer than a week without seeing each other. They didn’t used to be physical, but hugs had become mandatory as life had kept kicking them deeper and deeper into the dirt.

“Have you ordered yet?” Lacey asked as she sat down on the other side of the booth. 

Wordlessly, Janine put her hand flat over the rim of her coffee cup. 

“Is that it?”

“End of the month. This is one of those weeks where I had to decide who was getting lunch money, me or Chloe. As usual, the little sister won.”

“Yikes.”

Lacey had five dollars in her pocket, the last of her Christmas delivery tips. She’d been planning a hearty lunch of water and french fries and maybe there’d be enough left over for her to get some nail polish. Small luxuries, but at least she had them. At least her money never had to stretch far enough to cover a kid.

“Well, I’m glad you could hang out, at least.”

“Oh yeah, my schedule was wide open. That’s the problem.”

“Mine too,” Lacey sighed. “I hate January.”

The bell rang over the diner’s entrance. Their friend Mara bounced in. Her round cheeks were flushed--whether from the cold or from excitement remained to be seen. She pulled off her hand-knitted hat as she made her way to the booth. Her straight brown hair crackled with static electricity. After another round of hugs, Mara sat down next to Lacey. Ruby Lucas, the waitress on duty, came up to the table. 

“This is everybody, right? What are we getting today?”

Mara leaned forward like she had to speak first or she’d explode. “A basket of your finest chicken strips, for the table!” 

“Ooh, big spender,” Janine joked when Ruby left.

“I had an order today.” Mara drummed her hands on the table top. “A big one. I’ve got all the bills paid and I have ten whole dollars for discretionary spending.” 

Despite her obvious glee, Mara rolled her eyes to downplay her success. She knew what a small victory it was in the grand scheme of things.

“Hey, that’s better than some people,” Janine said. Even small victories were victories, and they deserved to be celebrated. 

Lacey smiled for her friend, but couldn’t keep herself from the mental calculations. How much richer you felt with ten dollars to spend instead of only five, and how much more money five dollars was than one dollar. Such small differences between amounts, but they meant so much where it counted.

And Mr. Gold was tossing around fifty dollar bills like they were nothing. 

“What was the order?” Lacey asked Mara. She had to keep herself from wallowing in the unfairness of it all.

“Well I can’t tell you who it was, but it was a lot of lingerie and it was all black and sleek.”

“Oh my God, was it Mayor Mills?” Janine’s eyes went wide. 

Mara raised her hands in a show of innocence. “I didn’t say that!”

“Oh my God, this is huge! This is the Mayor!”

“Was it all professional stuff?” Lacey asked. “Or was there anything, like, spicy?”

“Oh, I don’t want to think about that.” Janine scrunched her face up. “Not with the Mayor. I mean, obviously she’s gorgeous, but we have to give the woman some privacy.”

“She is gorgeous,” Lacey agreed. “I don’t know why more people don’t throw themselves at her. I hope she is seeing someone--or lots of people. Mayor Mills deserves to be happy.”

“You don’t need to be in a relationship to have nice underwear,” Mara said passionately. “If the people of Storybrooke understood that, I’d be in business for the rest of my life.”

“While you’re spreading that gospel, tell people they can have nice haircuts too,” Janine said.

“Or send themselves flowers.”

Back in high school, Lacey had tied her future success to going to college so she could get a good job and make something of herself. Mara and Janine had taken the direct route and started their own businesses. Sugar’n’Spice was attempting to be a boutique for lingerie and intimates. Hair Today! ran out of Janine’s basement. That idea had made much more fiscal sense when Uncle Peter and Andrew were both bringing in an income and Janine’s salon could function mostly as a semi-profitable hobby, at least until she got her start. Now Janine was responsible for the welfare of her entire surviving family. 

“New month will start soon,” Mara offered Janine some hope. “The little old ladies will get their widow’s pensions and they’ll come in for their perms.”

“Yeah, I know,” Janine sighed. “And my mom will get her widow’s pension and we can buy some freaking groceries.”

“And then,” Mara kept trying to lighten the mood. “It’ll be Valentine’s Day! Lacey and I will start rolling in cash.”  

Lacey snorted. “Not this year.”

Curiosity brought Janine out of her slump. “What’s going on?”

“Rent,” Lacey shrugged. 

One word said it all. Her friend and cousin both nodded in sympathy. 

“Best decision my mom ever made was to use Dad’s life insurance money to buy our house from Gold.” Janine held her coffee cup close to her chest. “I still owe him for my business loan, but at least he can’t kick Mom and Chloe out on the street.”

“He would, too,” Mara agreed.

Lacey looked down at her hands. 

Ruby came back to the table with the basket of chicken strips and the fries Lacey would pay for. All three of them dug in.

“How are they doing?” Mara asked Janine. “I mean, besides everything.” 

“Oh there’s a lot of ‘everything’.” Janine rubbed her forehead with the hand that wasn’t holding a chicken strip. “Right now it’s mostly Chloe.”

“Is she okay?” Lacey asked the stupidest question in the world. How okay could any kid be after losing her father and her brother on the same day, a little more than a month ago?

“We got a letter from the school. Apparently she keeps playing car accidents and funerals--like, every time she has free time to play. Dr. Hopper says that’s a normal way for a kid to process trauma, but it is freaking out the other kids. He wants her and Mom to come in for grief counseling.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Mara said. “If she’s gonna get the help she needs?”

Janine shook her head. “Mom won’t go. She keeps saying talking about it won’t help because talking about it won’t bring them back, so why bother?”

“Jesus,” Lacey whispered.

“She has a million other excuses. She doesn’t want to pull Chloe out of school for appointments, and she doesn’t want to walk in the snow, and we don’t have a car anymore, and even if we did, she’s never driving again.”

“I could drive her,” Lacey offered. 

She understood why Aunt Terri didn’t want to drive after her husband and son had ended up in a crumpled heap on the side of the highway leaving Storybrooke. Lacey even understood why her aunt didn’t want most other people to drive her around in most cars. Lacey did not understand why the Game of Thorns delivery van should be the exception to the rule. Maybe she thought size meant safety. Or maybe she understood that the damn thing would never go over twenty miles an hour, so she’d have plenty of time to walk away from any oncoming vehicular doom.

Janine slowly nibbled on a French fry. “That might work, actually. If I let Chloe know you were coming, she’d get excited about it. And Mom wouldn’t want to disappoint her favorite niece.” She shrugged. “If anyone can get her to do something, it’d be you, Lace. You can do anything.”

Lacey made herself grin. How many times had she heard that lie before? But she had to pretend it was true. She had to pretend there was anything that could be done to help her family. “I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Me too,” Mara said. “And my mom. We’ll do anything for you guys.”

“I know,” Janine said in a small voice. “And we appreciate it. It just…” She shook her head. “There are some problems nobody can solve.”  

“My mom says time helps,” Mara looked back and forth between Janine and Lacey. “She says it’s the only thing that does.”

Mara’s mother, Irma, had lost her husband to a redhead with a boob job just after Mara was born, so she was the resident expert on getting over things. For a long time, that had been the worst thing that had happened to any of them.  

Lacey stared at the table. “What are we supposed to do while we’re waiting for the pain to stop?”

“Survive,” Janine said. “It’s the only option. I guess it’s better than the alternative.” 

While the three of them contemplated the bleakness of that statement, a girl in a housecleaner’s uniform came up to the booth. It was Ashley Boyd. She had gone to school with them a million years ago. Now she worked at the bed and breakfast side of Granny’s. 

“Um, Lacey?” She was almost inaudible over the noise of the diner. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Oh, uh, okay. Sure.”

Mara got out of the booth to let Lacey out. Ashley took her to a quiet corner by the restrooms. Now that they were away from the hustle and bustle of the diner, Lacey saw that Ashley’s eyes were red-rimmed. She clutched a wadded-up Kleenex between her hands. Lacey put her hand on the other girl’s arm.

“Ashley, what’s going on?”

“Um, have you talked to Sean lately?”

A pit formed in the center of Lacey’s stomach. Sean Herman was one of Hunter’s friends, another rich kid who looked at responsibilities like they were distant planets. When Lacey had first started with that crew she’d assumed that Ashley hung onto Sean for the same reason Lacey attached herself to Hunter--because rich kids were fun to be around. They had their own cars and there was always money for pizza and beer and they could party all night without having to worry about waking up in time for work the next morning. Only slowly had Lacey learned the horrifying truth: Ashley was in love with that idiot. She didn’t fawn over him because he was this town’s version of a prince. He was a prince to her because of how much she loved him.

And now she was crying at work and asking about him. Nothing good could come from that.

“I’m sorry, Ash. I don’t think I’ve seen Sean since the summer, at least.”

“He’s not answering my calls.” 

Ashley’s mouth screwed up and her blue eyes seemed to quadruple in size. She was going to start crying again. 

Somehow, this had become Lacey’s problem.

“Hey, no. It’s okay.” Lacey gave her a few awkward pats on the back.

She was not actually friends with Ashley. They’d barely been acquaintances in school and after graduation had only talked to each other because their boyfriends were friends. But she had to try to make things better for her. She had to be a human about it.

“I’m--” Ashley sniffed. “I’m late.”

That took Lacey a second. Then the pit in her stomach widened. “Like, late late?”

Ashley pressed her lips together and nodded.

“Oh shit,” Lacey whispered. “What are you gonna do?”

“I wanna talk to him first!” Ashley opened up the already-damp Kleenex. “I tried to go to his house, but his dad…”

Mr. Herman had never liked Ashley. Whenever Lacey had been around him, he’d always made some remark about Old Town girls taking advantage of promising young men. Trapping them, he would say. He was not going to like Ashley being pregnant.

“Listen,” Lacey said. “I’ve got Hunter’s phone number.” Unfortunately, it was still taking up space in her brain. “Maybe he can get Sean to talk to you, if you call him.”

Still teary, Ashley nodded. 

Lacey went back to the booth to get Janine’s pen and notebook. She scribbled the digits and handed the paper to Ashley. 

“You’re gonna be okay,” she lied.

Sniffling, Ashley took the paper and went back to work. 

Mara waited until the other girl was out of the room before she asked, “What was that about?”

“Word to the wise,” Lacey slid back into the booth. “Don’t bang anyone who’s too stupid to wrap it up.”

Mara snorted. “That’s not a problem for me.”

“Poor kid,” Janine said. “I mean the baby, if she has it. That’s just what we need in this town, more kids growing up in poverty.”

“Maybe she’ll do the smart thing and get an abortion,” Lacey said. “That way she’ll only have her own life to ruin and not anybody else’s.”

“That’s harsh,” Mara said. “I mean, you never know what could happen. Ashley and Sean could get back together, raise their kid in a loving home. They could have a happy ending.”

“In Storybrooke?” Lacey looked at her friend, incredulous. “Are you kidding?”  

****

She stopped by Dark Star Pharmacy after lunch. There was a shade of burgundy nail polish that was a pretty good match for Mr. Gold’s leather couch. Memories burned like secret flames in Lacey’s mind, of what Mr. Gold had done to her on that couch. What would he do to her on their second date? What other tastes did Mr. Gold want to indulge in? What did he crave?

What was he going to take from her this time? And what would he end up giving her in return?

Crossing the street, Lacey let the thoughts warm her. What would dinner be like at Mr. Gold’s home? What would they talk about? How long could they keep talking before animal passions took over them both? Lacey imagined herself stripping him down, pushing off his suit coat, pulling him down by his tie and unbuckling his belt while he did the same to her. His hands would be everywhere as he tore at her clothes, as he took off her--as he pulled up her--

Lacey stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the sidewalk.

Shit.

What the hell was she going to wear?     

[idealisticrealism]

TCL 2x08 recap

Well, I guess it’s not surprising that I broke my record with this one lol. Honestly this episode made me suffer so goddamn much and I loved every single minute of it. 

So in honour of the hiatus this week, have this very belated monster instead lol

Like seriously, you already know you’re ~In For It~ when the ep opens with Thony watching her baby boy sleep like she’s been sitting there practically all night ugh.  And then her hurriedly packing a bag with enough clothes to last at least a week or more and not even waiting for the rest of the household to wake up before getting Fi to get them out of there?? God you just know she spent the whole night thinking about the danger she’d put them in, and all the choices she’d made, and now she’s doing what Thony does and Trying To Fix Everything Herself. At least she finally tells Fi a tiny bit more about what’s going on with Garrett and the FBI though (sidenote: I find it really cute to imagine the conversation last night where the family is all ready to go to bed and Garrett is just like ‘oh don’t mind me, I’m just gonna hang here on your couch for a couple hours… any chance you have an iphone charger?’ lol). But ugh I love Fi’s “If we go, we go together” to Thony bc firstly these two and their sisterhood gets me every time, but also it’s reminiscent of Arman’s “We’ll do it together” from 2x07, and now I’m emotional thinking about the fact that for years Thony could only truly rely on herself, and now she is surrounded by people who love her, who want to help carry her burdens with her and who would do anything for her. Plus the whole “Oh so this is about him?” / “No, it’s about you! It’s about our family” exchange is so goddamn amazing because the truth is that it’s both– Fi and the kids are her family, but now Arman is her family too, and she is doing whatever she can to protect them all ughhhhhh

Ugh Chris and Fi continually have such incredible scenes together. I love their dynamic, the conflict and the support and the way that they’re still always a team. There’s such a well done mix of parent-child dynamic (like her reassuring him when he started to freak out that the cops had come back), and a kind-of-team-mates situation (him helping get the kids ready to go to JD’s, etc), which makes a lot of sense for an oldest child and a single parent. Chris has shown before that while he’s definitely a moody teenager lol, when it comes down to it, he really does take that ‘man of the house’ role seriously and if Fi’s biggest protector– like when he got in between her and Marco and defended her when Marco was yelling at her in like 1x09 or whenever that was. Which is probably partly why he ended up going to the police station too, because he couldn’t face her being punished in order to protect him when his whole job (as he sees it) is protecting her. 

Honestly this show just loves stomping on my heart– Thony’s face as she says goodbye to Luca just kills me, because it just takes me back to 1x06 and “I just want to hold Luca without thinking it’s going to be the last time, you know?” ughhhh.  Back then it was Luca who could be taken from her at any moment, and while tbh that still remains a possibility (whether from rejection of the liver, or one of Kamdar’s men coming after him), now the fear is more that she might be taken from him, that she won’t live to see Luca and the others come home. And god the shot of her standing there alone as they drive away, not even able to force a smile and a wave as they go?? I already feel personally attacked by this episode and we’ve literally only just gotten to the title credits ugh

Ok as much as I hate female characters being killed off to further the development of a male character, I do kind of look forward to seeing what happens with Garrett as a result of all this. Also oooh his suggestion of a mole is interesting– hopefully not Jefferson though, bc he’s cute and I like him haha. I think Garrett might be grasping a bit at the mole idea because if that’s not the case, then he’d have to face the idea that maybe it was him that messed up and left her vulnerable somehow. Also lol getting Kamdar on profiteering is so Al Capone; he’d probably love the idea of following in such famous footsteps. He’d have his lawyers get him off immediately though, bc lbr he can afford the best. But damn Russo’s “[these men are] never the ones pulling the trigger”-- don’t we know that all too well ugh

Of course Thony is doing housework lol– I’m going to take that as a subtle throwback to 1x01, when she was frantically cleaning the kitchen after Theo’s murder and Fi said that she does this when she’s spinning out. Bc though she looks outwardly calm rn, I definitely think she is spinning out, especially with the way she freezes at the knock on the door. But ugh the way she practically slumps in relief at Arman’s voice just gets to me; she’s there alone, spending every moment in fear of someone coming to hurt or kill her, and then the one person she feels safest around– who has literally proven (twice!) that he’d kill for her– turns up instead. (I’m not crying, you’re crying). Though I’m guessing she was expecting him– from the way they talk about meeting with Garrett, it sounds like they’ve been in communication between last night and now; plus, given that Fi took the van, Thony has no transport to get to any meeting location. But ugh the way he only ventures a few steps into the laundry– far enough that he gets a small glimpse of the rooms beyond, but still not really entering her home, because he has no idea whether he would be welcome in that space or not. And when he sees the neatly made bed that is clearly Luca’s, and hears the kind of eerie silence that never exists in a house full of kids, he knows what she’s given up because of him. I love his “you should have gone with them”– telling her that she doesn’t need to see herself as trapped like he is, and that he wouldn’t blame her if she left, even if it caused Kamdar to retaliate against him. Her safety is what matters to him more than anything else. And then omg when he says he’s going to stay with her (Is anyone else hearing faint strains of ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’ playing in the distance or is that just me??), and she just nods???? (never mind me, I’ll just be over here screaming into a pillow for a few minutes at the idea of them staying there alone together aaaahhh). But also oh man I am obsessed with the fact that the old Thony would have said that she was fine, that she was handling things and she could manage on her own. But now she has learned to trust him, and to let herself rely on him to be there for her. She knows that she’d be safer with him there, and she also knows that he doesn’t have a place of his own at the moment– but above all that, she just wants him there. She needs him, and she’s still hurting for the both of them about what happened last night– you can see it in the way her eyes are less able to hold his, and hear it in “I keep playing it in my mind… what he made you do…” ughhhh.  I love her line “maybe we could have done something different” because I could see him instinctively taking that to mean she wished that he had found another way, had made another choice rather than shooting Maya; but she’s actually wishing they’d been able to do something that would have prevented Robert ever using him in that way, would have prevented that pain and burden being put on him. Like I definitely think she is struggling a lot with Maya’s death, but when it plays over in her mind, I don’t think it’s Maya that she’s focused on. I think it’s Arman’s face that she keeps seeing, the panic and then the pain as he realises what he’s going to have to do, and the devastation afterwards, his tears in the car still haunting her. Honestly even though this show hasn’t given us a Thony-crying-in-the-shower scene since the pilot (which is both a good thing and a tragedy, honestly lol), I’m absolutely certain she sobbed in the shower last night after taking off that red dress. Crying for Maya, for Garrett, for herself; but above all, for Arman.

And now, standing here with him in the laundry, she seems like she’s trying not to cry again, her voice all low and her body tense, and it’s only a minute before he cracks and has to reach for her; he’s clearly been holding himself back from her but he just can’t anymore. But ugh the gentleness of the way he touches her arms– instead of just pulling her into an embrace, he basically asks permission to hold her, giving her the chance to either step back and maintain her space, or to lean into his support. And though she hesitates for the tiniest moment– which I’m interpreting as her being afraid to hold him because she feels that if she does, she might not be able to bring herself to let go– she soon gives in and just lets herself have this, lets herself lean into him and wrap her arms around him. Tbh I wasn’t sure at first if her arms were still kind of between them, but after many rewatches I’m convinced she’s definitely holding onto him– and plus I stg there is a sound right before she sighs, like movement against fabric, and I choose to believe the sound mixer person put it in there as the sound of her arms wrapping around him under his jacket lol. And then oh god the sigh. The way she closes her eyes and lets out that breath, lets herself have just those couple of seconds to forget everything else and just be held by him?? Help??

Except ugh that’s all she allows herself– after that one brief moment, her eyes open again and her jaw clenches, and she bites her lip and holds on just that little bit tighter before she forces herself to move back and away, getting them both back on task. And he lets her go immediately– the whole time through the hug he kept his grip light, giving her the control, and honestly the hint of reserve in the way they hold each other makes perfect sense. For him, it’s about not wanting to push her; for her, it’s about protecting herself. She may trust him completely, and be able to rely on him for anything, but she’s careful with her heart, and he’s still married. He’d never deliberately string her along or hurt her, of course, but his situation is still complicated and she doesn’t know what is going to happen. What she does know, though, is that she loves him, and that this might be all she ever gets to have of him. 

God it is such a blessing that the caddy is so recognisable (and probably very inefficient in terms of gas lol), because it means that the bike is the go-to choice for transport these days, and I am so supportive of this lol. Not only is it hot, but I am definitely into all the semi-embracing involved haha. Like what’s the bet Thony actually holds him closer than she needs to on the ride, sinking into him in the way she couldn’t allow herself during their hug? And ugh they look like such a sexy matching pair with their jackets (ngl I saw a jacket the other day that looked a fair bit like the one she wears in this ep, and I ended up buying it lol), which just further highlights their partnership as they face off against Garrett. But oh boy, this is awkward: “now we’re going to take Kamdar down for murder. Him, and whoever pulled the trigger [...] I’m going to make sure every one of those bastards rots behind bars” and lol well if they were planning on trying to tell you the truth before, Garrett, they sure ain’t now.  And ugh the way Thony stands up to him and says that they can’t help him catch Maya’s killer, and Arman immediately looks at her– possibly wondering if she’s about to tell the truth, but trusting her enough not to try to stop her if she is– and then instead she protects him, using logic to explain to Garrett why they can’t help, yet still lying to him just like she’d said she didn’t want to do. Honestly I love so much that even despite her reluctant regard for Garrett, and the way she feels indebted to him for the ways he’s helped her family (though lbr that’s got to be tempered by the ways in which he has previously also hurt her and her family), there’s no question about which side she’s on. Even from the start, her loyalty to Arman outweighed Garrett’s threats and the power of the law behind him, and though she wants them all to be on the same side, she will protect Arman to the end, even if it means completely betraying Garrett and screwing him over. Still, she and Arman are caught between a rock and a hard place rn, trapped by both Kamdar and by Garrett. But if they can take down one, they can be free of the other, so they agree to set up the meet to trap Kamdar. I love that when he brings out the listening devices (sidenote: they’re cool and I’d probably choose the USB or the necklace lol) Arman immediately refuses to let Garrett put her at risk by making her wear one, while Garrett tries to push her into it by using her family as an argument– and I could have easily seen that escalating into a conflict between the two men but Thony just calmly uses logic again and tells Garrett about Kamdar always checking for wires. And ughhhhh that means that this is yet another moment where the writers could have given me the gift of the Robert-making-her-undress reveal but didn’t! Goddammit haha. Anyway to Garret’s credit, he does actually listen to her most of the time, which is why I can’t help but have a certain fondness for him haha. But ugh I’m forever obsessed with all the little glances between Thony and Arman in this scene, the silent conversation happening that Garrett is not a part of– this is some legit married behaviour lol

Okay I’m like unreasonably delighted by the fact that Thony brings Arman in through the front door this time? Like look it could have purely been due to filming factors (ie, having the whole thing shot in the kitchen/lounge area saves having to film them walking through the laundry first), but still. The symbolismmmmm. @enigmaticfox has already made this amazing post about it (seriously go read it) and like she said, there’s something so impactful about the way Thony opens the door wide and grants him access (get your mind out of the gutter Laura), and then when he hovers in the kitchen– looking to her for direction, not wanting to overstep his bounds– she instantly invites him further into her space, the place that is her home and her sanctuary. I love that she takes her shoes off– part habit, of course, but also a sign of feeling comfortable and secure– while he leaves his on. Which is also likely partly habit, since leaving shoes on in the house is common in the US, and also when a guest in another’s home in Mexico. But I also think he is half-expecting to be dismissed at any moment, and so taking off his shoes would feel kind of presumptuous, like it would be sending a message that he’s now here to stay regardless of what she wants. And ugh the way his eyes move around the space, taking it all in, and then focus over in the direction of Luca’s room– while he doesn’t look directly at her bed, I’m choosing to believe he clocked it and realised that that area is her ‘bedroom’, and so despite his intense curiosity about this aspect of her life that he hasn’t yet seen, he respectfully keeps his gaze away, letting her have her privacy. And then ugh I could even get all metaphorical about the way he sits on a single chair while she sits on a couch (aka, furniture which is designed to be shared by multiple people) and also with one of Luca’s toys right next to her– her family isn’t there, but they’re there, always beside her; meanwhile he's alone, visibly separate– except that with her body language, she bridges that gap between them. And don’t even get me started on the way she crosses her legs up under her, much like she does when around her family– like with her taking the shoes off, this is another sign of how safe she feels with him, basically the human equivalent of how a cat will only sleep with its paws tucked under its body when it's around people it trusts. You don’t sit like that if you feel there is any chance you need to escape the situation or protect yourself; it's purely the way our instincts are wired. But ugh anyway of course his first question is to ask her if she’s okay– he knows her, can see she’s struggling just from the look on her face, from the way her eyes are mostly fixed elsewhere rather than meeting his; and all he wants to do is try to ease that burden. I think that being in her space– what is so clearly a family home, but now completely devoid of that family– has really highlighted to him what helping him has cost her, what it could cost her if they don’t get this situation with Kamdar and the FBI resolved as soon as possible; he suddenly feels he’s done nothing but drag her into danger and pain and emotional turmoil, and you can hear in his voice that when he says “then you can get back to your family and forget about all this” he also means forget about me. And then when her response to that is to look him in the eye and tell him “We have to be done with this guy”, you can see how it affects him– there's something so soft and grateful in the way he looks at her ugh, knowing that even after everything she’s been through because of him, she still hasn’t abandoned him; that they’re still in this together. 

So I’ve decided that Agent Chan is one of my favorite side characters lol. She was there during the hotel raid in 1x10 as well, right? Though ugh her not-super-subtly pointing the mic and talking into her earpiece is making me stressed lol. As is the fact that Armony literally cannot control what Kamdar will say– god how terrifying to walk into that situation, knowing that they’re being listened to by the literal FBI, and knowing that Kamdar is exactly the kind of man who loves both the sound of his own voice and gloating over other people's misfortunes? Honestly it’d be a miracle if they managed to pull this off without him saying something that tipped off the FBI about their involvement with Maya’s death. (Also sidenote, but something I love about this show is that we repeatedly see cleaning ladies? Like I mean this one that’s just walked past Armony may turn out to be plot-relevant, but we also see them when they have no bearing on the plot at all– like at Cortes’ place, and in La Habana, etc. I like to think that the show is reminding us that these women are always there, and they are not invisible). Anyways I swear that Joseph has never checked either of them at the door like this before, but sure I’ll just roll with it haha.  And then oooooh damn who do we find in the office? Not Kamdar, but Nadia. I have questions about this, because firstly Arman said they’d ‘set up a meet with Kamdar’– so did they actually contact anyone to say they were coming? Or did they just rock up? Because if they’d contacted Joseph or whatever, then surely they should have known Kamdar was out of town. Unless Arman contacted Kamdar directly and the devious prick just thought it would be funny to have him be faced with Nadia instead when he got there? Which tbh would be consistent with his character, and would also answer my next question, which is when the hell Kamdar put Nadia in charge, considering that last night at the party she seemed very out of the loop. So ok headcanon time: Arman messaged Kamdar to make a time for the meet in the afternoon, and RK (I’m getting sick of typing Robert or Kamdar lol) decided to have a little fun, and immediately called Nadia and told her he wanted her to run things while he was away. It’s genius, really; he gets to score points with Nadia by showing her he trusts and values her, and he gets to set up Arman to most likely have another fight with Nadia while also not getting his cut for the deal. Win-win for RK lol.

Anyway I do like that Thony was the one to suggest aborting mission first; though lbr that was likely mostly because the whole point is to get RK, but at the same time I think she wants to leave Nadia out of things if she can. (another sidenote: I find it very satisfying that Garrett believes Thony and Arman had no idea about Nadia’s connection to RK lol– oh Garrett, you sure miss a lot, don’t you buddy). But ooooh then Nadia insists that she’s RK’s right hand, and so they can deal with her– and tbh I think that that pisses Thony off big time, because Nadia’s supposed to be Arman’s wife, and yet she chooses to ally herself with the man who is trying to destroy him?? I think that that is the moment when she decides that she can’t keep going out of her way to try to protect Nadia, especially since doing so potentially endangers herself, Arman, and her family. Both she and Nadia have chosen their sides, and so now it's just a matter of bahala na– whatever happens, happens. Of course Arman can’t see it like that, and simply has to protect Nadia; partly because she’s family, but also because he’s already betrayed her once by falling in love with Thony, and can’t face the idea of betraying her in this way too. And while Thony understands his need to protect her, I can see her being frustrated about it, especially given her temper– like is he really going to put protecting Nadia above potentially saving the rest of them??? 

Okay the fam all rocking up at JD’s and being welcomed so warmly is just so cute ugh. I just love them?? And then ugh J-Fi being all cute in the kitchen (while putting away the biggest slices of pizza the world has ever seen??) and Jazz watching them is just so funny– I know, girl, I ship it too. Although apparently JD’s gf is called Laura so maybe I should ship that instead, out of solidarity to a fellow bearer of the name lol. (Ngl, I would date this man in a heartbeat haha). But ugh this height difference kills me, and so does their comfort together ugh. He’s sweet and kind and he makes her laugh, and he loves her family like they’re his own (bc they are). So please pleaaaaase writers let them be together ughhhhh

Ooooh Garrett is Big Mad about Arman sabotaging the sting, and lbr Thony’s not delighted about it either. But ugh the way she looks at him every time he says ‘my wife’ and defends Nadia so vehemently? You can see how much it hurts her, each time a sharp reminder that he’s not hers–  she used to have better armour to protect her from that reality, but the more time she’s spent with him, the thinner it’s gotten, and now every reminder pierces straight through. And yet even despite that, she still comes up with a way to get RK without endangering Nadia– but she doesn’t do it for Nadia’s sake. She does it for him, and then when she realises that there’s no way to make the plan work without him taking back his place in Nadia’s life– and all that that entails– she does what she has to do and lets him go, even though it means breaking her own heart. (I’m fine, I’m not crying, shut up). But god this scene was so fucking LOUD with things unsaid; for example, when Arman says he can’t get the keycard bc of being kicked out, the natural response from an outsider, ie Garrett, would be ‘well just kiss and make up then??’ because of course the expectation is that as the dumped party, he would be wanting to fix things and get back together. And then there’s the way Thony suggests it– the “well maybe you should reconcile” where she almost manages to hide the unwillingness with which she says it (it’s the tone and the maybe that gets me, bc someone who was emotionally unaffected in this situation just wouldn’t sound like that). And then to immediately follow that suggestion– that very reasonable suggestion of a man making up with his wife after a big fight, aka something that most people would presume he wants and is already actively trying to do– with the statement “It’s the only way we can protect our families”?  Like honestly they’re both acting as if she’s sending him to the gallows rather than back to the life he was living literally less than a week ago, which is not at all a normal way to behave in this conversation– that is, unless you’re sacrificing the very thing you want most, and telling the man you love to go back to his wife even though it means the two of you can never be together. Because like I said in this ask, it would be a real dick move for Arman to go profess love and devotion to Nadia, and then drop her again the moment he got what he wanted from her– and so if he is going to go ahead with this reconciliation, he has to be all in; he has to commit to making his marriage work, because both he and Thony have too much honour to do otherwise. Which means that getting the keycard for Thony will basically be his parting gift to her, and they both know it; it’s in his quiet ‘alright’ and his grave expression, and it’s in the way she looks at him like the words I don’t want you to do this are screaming inside her head. Which, honestly, is a huge fucking deal in itself; even if she’s not admitting anything aloud, she’s still letting him see what she previously would have done her best to hide, and I can’t help but feel that that– the truth written all over her face, the silent admission that this was never just a one-sided thing– is her parting gift to him.

Meanwhile Garrett is just over here seeing all this intense eye contact and mutual angsting and is all like ‘Seriously guys? Right in front of my salad??” lolll. Like honestly, if he didn’t know they were in love with each other before, he sure as hell does now. Though unless he really is an absolutely terrible FBI agent, he’d no doubt have already had some fairly major suspicions based on… well, everything these two have done since they met lol. And I mean the way he looked right at Thony when Arman said Nadia had kicked him out of the house suggested he has a pretty clear idea of what’s up haha. But ugh okay headcanon time: Thony can’t face the idea of the long ride back home with her arms wrapped around Arman– possibly holding him for literally the last time– or the conversation that he might try to have when they get to the house (she’s holding things together right now, but there’s no knowing how long that will last, especially if she has to Talk about it), so she asks Garrett to give her a ride back, saying something about how they don’t have much time so Arman needs to go and start working on the keycard (read: on Nadia) right away. And Garrett looks between the two of them and then is all ‘right, sure, yeah’ and so she just turns and heads straight for the car, and Arman immediately takes a step as if to follow her and reach for her arm, but then he stops and clenches his jaw and turns back to the bike without a word, his movements jerky and rough as he shoves on the helmet and then roars out of there, leaving Garrett standing in a cloud of dust. And Garrett just sighs and shakes his head, then walks around to get into the car. Thony’s staring out the window and he can see the muscle working in her jaw, so he just starts the car without a word, and neither of them say a thing until they reach her house and she starts to get out. “Hey, Thony,” he says quietly, and when she half-glances in his direction, he adds, “I’m sorry.” Because even though he thinks she’s definitely better off being as far from Arman as possible, he knows a little about having a broken heart. She tells him that Kamdar needs to go down for everything he’s done to them, and Garrett promises her that he will. Then she nods and climbs from the car, and he watches as she disappears into the house alone. 

But ugh anyway. I appreciate the symbolism of Arman ringing the doorbell rather than letting himself into the house; it’s not his space anymore, and he doesn’t have a right to be in there without her permission. (And maybe he knows she’ll be more receptive to him if he’s seen as being especially respectful of her boundaries, who knows). Ngl the ‘what the fuck bro’ look she gives him when she sees him standing there is actually kinda funny though. But ok I really want to know how long has passed since they saw each other in the office– probably no more than a few hours, right? Bc I assume Garrett wanted to meet with Thony and Arman pretty much right away after the sting went bust, and I assume Arman went right to the house when he left the meet, so it can’t have been super long? Though tbh I would love if Arman didn’t go straight to the house, and (headcanon time lol) instead took a different road back to the city and ended up stopping by some ravine somewhere, tossing his helmet away from him with a roar of frustration before violently hurling rock after rock over the edge, until he finally slumps back onto the bike, both physically and emotionally exhausted. And then he still doesn’t go to Nadia, but instead rides straight to Thony’s place, sitting there behind the back fence for who knows how long before finally letting out a curse and taking off for ‘home’. But ugh anyway my point (before the headcanoning lol) was that I respect how quickly Nadia went from that sleek sparkly blue number in the office, to her (very cute) around-the-house wear lol. I guess she was upset by the altercation in the office and headed home soon after? Also I love that despite literally being on a mission to woo Nadia back, the first thing he does is order her to stay away from Robert. Like bro are you trying to suck at this? But then ugh when she tells him to leave her alone and go back to taking care of ‘Thony and her kid’– and I wonder if she wishes now that they’d had a child together, so he would have had more reason to stay, since it clearly seems that she alone isn’t enough? Loved that she repeated the ‘there is no us’ and says that he made his choice– but tbh, part of the whole problem is that he hasn’t made his choice? He’s been actively avoiding it this whole time, because while he knows he’s in love with Thony and wants to be with her and would do anything for her, he still loves Nadia as his family, and doesn’t want to just completely abandon her. Especially considering the fact that if she came over from Argentina with RK all those years ago, she likely has no family in Vegas; Thony at least has her little family unit around her, but Nadia has no-one but him. Well, him and RK– and as he says, she’s not safe with RK. Loved getting that bit of backstory that she’d left RK because of being afraid of him (honestly though I am SO curious how one gets away from a man like that and stays in the same city without him trying to drag her back in; unless getting married to a guy who had the protection of a major crime family had something to do with that….?).

Anyway I'm also loving that this scene is proving some of my theories right about Nadia thinking she can control Robert, and also wanting to be around him because he values her. And then she tells Arman to go, and he pauses, clearly trying to find the right thing to say, and settles on the truth, that he’s worried about her. But she’s not interested in hearing it, because she knows that that’s not the issue here. And ugh the shininess to her eyes as she asks him if he loves Thony just hurts me. I hate seeing the pain she’s experiencing because of the two of them and the connection they share– one that they ever intended on, but never stood a chance against, but still. It sucks. I love that even as he made himself lie and say no, it comes out as barely more than a whisper, rather than a firm denial; and then he can’t just leave it there, because on one hand, the lie feels too much of a betrayal of Thony, and on the other, he can see that Nadia doesn’t believe him anyway. But he can’t tell the truth either, because if he were to let that yes out there, she would never take him back; she has too much pride to knowingly be with someone who's in love with someone else. So he settles for the middle ground, because he knows that framing his feelings for Thony as unclear and uncertain and confusing is something Nadia could accept, especially when he says with all honesty that he loves her.  Because he does! She’s his family, has been practically the only family he’s had for years, and he wants them both to always be in each other’s lives. But he hasn’t been happy as her husband for quite some time, and Thony’s appearance in his life just made him able to understand why.

But anyway hooooo boy I do have to say that was some impressive kissing haha– ngl on my first watch I practically had to watch this scene through my fingers, but I’ve built up a bit of a tolerance now lol. And ok I don’t know how much of it was deliberate manipulation, but I did like the way he was very respectful with her, going slow and not pushing, letting her decide if she would let him kiss her or not. And damn when a man can kiss like that, who could blame her for letting him??? 

Gotta say I don’t think I have ever seen a show have scene transitions so goddamn rude as going from Arman seducing Nadia on a goddamn countertop, to Thony sitting motionless and alone in her dark and empty house for hours, to Thony’s entire family laughing and having fun together in the warm light of JD’s place without her???  Like jesus christ writers, why must you hurt me in this way????? (Though ngl the camping in the living room thing was fucking adorable). But ugh Thony calls Fi, reaching out to her family while sitting on Luca’s bed because it’s the closest she can get to being with him, and it’s also a reminder that she’s doing this for him, to keep him safe. And ugh the somberness in her voice is such a contrast to the loud and laughing voices of the family, and even though she tells Fi she made the right call (about sending her family away, about sending Arman away) it seems more like she’s trying to convince herself than Fi. And then she sees Luca, and it makes her really genuinely smile for a moment– and then all too soon he’s gone to play with his sibling-cousins and the call ends and she’s hit again with how completely alone she is. (Like literally when was the last time she spent an entire night alone?? Definitely not since Luca was born, and ughhh that knowledge hurts me).

And then the next thing we see is her curled up on top of Luca’s bed, looking so incredibly small, and tbh I think the writers were having a competition to see how many times they can make me almost cry over Thony in this ep because god dammit this hurts?? Having her so alone and terrified is just awful– and then when she’s startled awake by the sound of someone outside and runs to grab any weapon she can, knowing how little chance she has of protecting herself?? Fuck. She’s so caught up in the panic that even after she hears Arman’s voice, she forgets she’s holding the knife for a moment and has to put it down in the laundry, but then she doubts herself again– she’s been wanting to hear his voice, wanting for him to show up and stay with her like he’d said he would before everything went to hell– so she has to peek out through the blinds to be sure it really is him there. And then she lets him in, heart still racing but her terror replaced by relief– not only that there wasn’t some intruder breaking in to get her, but also that Arman was there, and she wasn’t alone. I really wish we knew what time it was during this scene– ie, like midnight vs just barely pre-dawn, because that would change her perspective of why he’s here. I’m going to assume it’s just late at night, and so she’s looking at him secretly hoping that he’s come to tell her that he failed with Nadia, that there would be no reconciliation and that they would find another way to get access to the office. And hoping that maybe then he would ask if it was still okay for him to stay, to watch over her so she wouldn’t be alone… but instead he says that he’s just stopping by, and then hands her the keycard– and she just stares at it for a second, because let’s be real, it’s like he just handed her a certificate that has ‘JUST RENEWED MY WEDDING VOWS! ALSO MOST DEFINITELY JUST CAME HERE FRESH FROM HAVING EXCELLENT SEX WITH MY SUPER HOT WIFE’ emblazoned across it in fucking giant neon print.  And god the way she takes in a breath and opens her mouth like she’s trying so hard to find something neutral to say– even something simple like ‘okay thanks, I’ll call Garrett’– but then she makes the mistake of looking up at him and the words just die in her throat because she can’t do it, she can’t pretend like this is fine, like it doesn’t hurt to have him standing right there in front of her but now even further out of her reach than he’s ever been. The fact she doesn’t hide that pain from him is huge– yet another wordless admission that she previously never would have allowed herself– and he sees it, and it hurts him too, knowing that he can’t fix it. He’d probably been lying there staring at the ceiling while Nadia slept, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to say to Thony, because how do you tell someone that you love them and wish you could be with them, while actively taking steps to be with someone else? No wonder she cuts him off– I don’t think she could have handled it if he’d tried to tell her what he felt for her right then. So she brushes it all aside with an “It’s fine”– even though they both know it is absolutely not fine, but he respects her decision anyway and doesn’t try to continue the conversation, knowing that he doesn't have a right to try to close the distance between them that he himself has just created.

Ngl when I watched the ep for the first time, I viewed both this moment and the ‘maybe you should reconcile’ scene as him thinking her response meant she didn’t feel the same way about him, and being all angsty like ‘how could she just send me back to Nadia like she doesn’t even care?? Waaaaahhh she doesn’t love me back’ lol, because the idea of him wallowing in completely oblivious misery while she was wallowing in fully-aware misery was pretty damn delicious haha, but then the moment I watched those scenes again I was like ah no he for sure knows exactly what this is doing to them both, and tbh that’s actually even more delicious lol. Because that means that mixed in with all the turmoil and angst and pain, there’s a glowing thread of ‘oh my god she loves me back’ (or at the very least, ‘omg she wants to be with me too’ in case he doesn’t dare hope that she’s like truly ~in love~ with him) but that in turn makes the turmoil worse because it shows exactly what he’s giving up. And I’m honestly so proud that she let him see the truth, let herself be vulnerable and open instead of hiding what she really feels away behind layers of hastily-rebuilt walls. Bc they’ve been doing this dance for so long already where they’ve been practically shouting their feelings for one another through their actions, even as they don’t dare to breathe a word of it aloud; but now they’ve finally at least acknowledged that they’re there, even if they haven’t put a name to them. Which would be really fucking amazing if it wasn’t happening in a situation where they both think that any chance of being together is now gone hahaha. But ugh anyway she manages to bring things back to business by mentioning Garrett (a sure way to kill any romantic moment lol) and then sighhhh she opens the door and shows him out, which is some more downright rude symbolism from the writers tbh. Also this reminds me, I answered an ask about this scene here, which also has my interpretation of his “I don’t know how much time I can buy you”. (Ngl I am immature so I giggle at the implication that he cannot satisfy a woman for very long lol, but also c’mon we already know that’s totally not the case for him haha). But tbh I do love that line, because while he’s mostly trying to protect her by encouraging her to get in and out of the office as quick as she can, there’s also a hint of a plea there; like he’s saying that this reconciliation is by no means guaranteed to last, and is begging her not to give up on the two of them just yet. Which makes her tiny nod mean even more; lbr, he’s going to be clinging to that faint spark of hope in the days ahead. But ugh the way she glances out at him through the blinds one last time while locking the door behind him, and then looks down at the keycard she’s still holding, her jaw clenching? She’d gotten what she needed, but the question is– was it worth it??

Okay seriously, seeing Nadia wake up looking so happy and satisfied really sucks haha. (I mean, this is a great sign for how much Thony is going to enjoy her future life with Arman lol, but damn I really did not need the reminder of all the sexing that occurred– so thanks for that writers, you absolute sadists lol). Seeing her react to the empty bed beside her was hard too, and then the way she smiles at him when he appears with coffees?? Like dammit he’s already broken her heart once and now it’s almost definitely guaranteed to happen again– and even worse this time, because I’m convinced she is going to find out that this make-up was a ruse to allow him to steal her keycard, probably when he inevitably confronts her about the marriage certificate and she realises that the only way he could have seen it is by accessing the office. Not only will the realisation that he used her like that– and even worse, used her in order to help Thony– absolutely shatter her heart, but it will be such a huge blow to her pride that I wouldn’t be surprised if she legit tried to murder him lol. And tbh I wouldn’t be able to say that it’s not warranted, because holy shit this really was a betrayal of epic proportions (no matter how good his intentions were or the fact that he was trying to protect her, it was still unforgivable), and like I said in one of those previous Asks, their relationship will never, ever, ever recover from it. Which tbh is why I couldn’t hate all the Arman/Nadia in this ep, because the way it happened (Arman fighting to get her back, not for her, but for Thony) was literally like watching the titanic get put on a collision course with the iceberg; there’s nothing but absolute catastrophe lying ahead. Plus that’s not even to mention the fact that he was able to convince Nadia to take him back so easily, which clearly shows that the only reason they hadn’t reconciled earlier was because he actually hadn’t even been trying at all. Regardless of what he’d been telling her, he didn’t actually want to get back together with Nadia– especially not when her leaving him had freed him from the obligation that had kept him bound, that had kept him apart from Thony– but it wasn’t until the moment that Thony asked him to reconcile with her that he'd realised it. And then it didn't matter, because like he said in 2x04, he always does whatever it takes to keep Thony safe– even breaking his own heart.

Phew honestly it’s a relief to have an FBI scene, bc this ep is just too goddamn heavy lol. I’m happy to see Agent Chan again, and I hope she was the one who actually messed with his car haha. And then ta-da, looks like the cleaning lady we saw earlier did turn out to be plot-relevant after all, as Thony has put on her trusty cleaning-lady-disguise and taken her place. But ugh I can’t help but think about the fact that she’s in here alone, literally risking her life to get them all free of RK, while Arman is busy canoodling in the comfort of his king size bed. Though lbr, I don’t think anyone hates that fact more than Arman– how awful it must feel, to be deliberately deceiving one woman you love in an incredibly hurtful way, all the while knowing that the woman you love even more deeply is in danger and yet you’re here betraying her (no one will ever convince me that he doesn’t feel like he’s cheating on Thony right now) instead of there protecting her. Aaaand oops I managed to make the FBI scene about Armony lol. Also I get what Russo means with her comment, but I still take offense at her calling Thony ‘your girl’ lol. She is only one man’s girl (and as the song goes, he needs her, lol) and that man sure as hell ain’t Garrett. But ugh of course RK has a fucking advent calendar instead of a safe; thank god Thony gets lucky and finds the ledger after only a few goes, rather than having to search the whole fucking thing lol. But the ledger is not the only thing that she finds– and whatever that piece of paper is, it’s clearly hugely important, because she risks going back to get a photo of it even though she can see Joseph already headed her way. But ugh I do appreciate that Garrett was ready to rush in and save her, but looks like he has learned his lesson about busting in after what happened with Cortes. But also omg the stress of Joseph walking right past her in the hall?? Good thing the old cleaning-lady-invisibility appears to still be effective. Though ngl I was imagining a scenario where he and the other cleaning lady are a ~thing, so when he sees her there he goes over to flirt a bit, and then he realises it’s Thony and they stare at each other like wtf lol. But of course that would not have gone well for the mission, so I guess I will just have to give up on my Joseph x Faceless Cleaning Lady ship dreams for now haha. 

So Thony’s sitting in the kitchen looking at the photos on her phone (or lbr, one in particular, aka the mystery paper) and there’s the knock at the door, and she freezes for a moment, waiting– and then as soon as she hears Garrett’s voice she goes to let him in. And tbh I wonder if her waiting to hear who was at the door wasn’t just about making sure it wasn’t a potential threat, but also maybe she was wondering if it was Arman again, and so she hesitates because she’s not sure she can face him right now? Especially because they’ve now achieved what needed to be achieved, so technically he could call off the reconciliation with Nadia (though as I’ve said before, they both know he actually can’t/won’t, not without it making him an utter bastard). But maybe I’m just making stuff up here lol. Anyway I find it kinda interesting how she and Garrett are a little matchy matchy in their blue tops, like she and Arman had matched in their black jackets. Maybe the costume department showing her connection to both of them? But again, probably just me making stuff up. And then lol of course he casually does the social faux pas of scrolling through someone’s photos without permission, and she gets the phone back real quick, clearly to stop him seeing the pic of the mystery paper. But okay so he tells her they can get RK on criminal profiteering, and I’m confused again about the way he’s changed his tune?? Earlier in the ep he was super against the profiteering charge and was determined for him to go down for murder. What changed?? Or is Garrett planning to use the information gained from the ledger to trap RK in some other way? I need answers lol. But ugh it genuinely sucks when he is all compassionate towards her now because it just makes her feel so much more guilty about Maya… which is why she tries to make it clear to him how grateful she is for everything he’s done for her and her family, and how he’s not to blame for what happened with Maya. I guess she’s hoping that he will remember this conversation after he finds out the truth about Maya, and will know that she did genuinely care for him and that she wasn’t just using him the whole time. (Sidenote, she thanks him for everything he did for her family ‘last night’ but it was actually the night before that. Keep up, writers! lol). Also I can’t remember what ep it’s from, but I swear Garrett has said ‘good work today’ to her before and I’ve decided it’s his little catchphrase lol

Ughghhhhhh have i mentioned lately how much I love the De La Rosa family?? The pureness of the sibling bond between all three kids, and the way that all of them (Fi included) are able to have fun and be silly together? Like ngl this video game scene was an incredibly accurate family depiction haha. Also I love the melodic little sound Fi makes as she walks into the room, like a happy little wordless greeting? God she’s so cute, I want to be besties with her lol. Anyway honestly being here on this little ‘holiday’ with JD has been good for all of them ugh. But oooh the conversation between Fi and JD about Thony is interesting– she tells him it’s unfair for him to say he doesn’t want Jazz anywhere near Thony until the FBI stuff is over, but honestly is it unfair? He’s her father and he doesn’t want her in danger, and I mean before now it wasn’t like there was a way to remove Jazz from that situation, but now he’s back and has a safe place for her to stay, and she’s far better off with him than at the home where Thony’s enemies could find her. And his point about Thony putting them all in danger is kinda fair too tbh. Of course I’m a Thony supporter all the way, though, so I want to say ‘It’s not her fault! She didn’t have a choice!’.... except that that’s not entirely true. With regard to season 1, it was; she was doing whatever she had to do to save Luca, and if that came with a small risk to the family as a whole, she had no option but to accept that and take steps to minimise it as best she could. But now– with all the stuff with Kamdar– it’s different, because it’s not Luca or the family that she’s trying to save, it’s Arman, and she did have a choice. Bc honestly, after 2x04 (when Mr Motel Mustache is dealt with), she could have basically walked away from it all– she didn’t need to continue getting meds with Arman and selling them to help his and Nadia’s debt. And when the fight in 2x05 happened and Arman said they were done, she could have decided that they really were over and that she needed to remove herself from his world, and from him, and he wouldn’t have tried to force her back in; even with RK telling him to get Thony to come clean the office, if she’d outright said no and told him she wanted nothing more to do with him, he would have called one of La Habana’s cleaners and then just gone and borne the consequences of RK’s displeasure himself. But the truth is she was never going to do that. She was never going to walk away from him, not when he needed her– even though she knew it meant putting herself directly in the sights of a man as dangerous as Robert, she did it anyway. But the real question is, if she’d known then everything that would happen as a result of helping Arman, would she still have made the same choice? (Honestly, my gut says yes).  And okay anyway I love that Fi defends her and says that Thony’s the only one who’s always been there for her, but I mean really? How? They’ve been living in separate countries for 15 years, and who knows if Thony has ever even been able to visit before– not to mention that in the past 5 years she’s been completely occupied with just keeping Luca alive and also not going bankrupt from Marco’s assholery. Like I appreciate Fi’s loyalty but I have some questions lol. But oooh yessss at JD’s insistence that they all stay with him until it is all over, I fully support this! Bc as much as Thony being all alone hurts my soul, I love the J-Fi and kids family dynamic– and I mean, Thony’s house being empty means that Arman can come over and that they can…. talk….. without being interrupted lol. Just saying, those two have some reconciling of their own to do  :P

Speaking of the reconciling, god the way Nadia looks like she’s walking on air as she heads into the club is absolutely killing me (though again, what an excellent sign for future-Thony’s happiness haha) bc ugh it’s not fair that the source of her happiness is built on a lie, and that the whole thing is going to come crashing down around her very soon and leave her even more brokenhearted than before– bc let’s be totally honest here, this reconciliation was doomed from the start; we can’t control who we love, and despite Arman’s best efforts and intentions, at this point it would be easier for him to stop breathing than it would for him to stop being in love with Thony. Plus like I said before, there’s no way the man is going to be able to just ignore the marriage certificate– the evidence that she’s been lying to him since they met, and also the thing that could potentially mean their own marriage is void– and so when he inevitably confronts her about it, she’s going to realise that he got into the office somehow, and put two and two together. And ugghhhh even despite my love of Armony, that moment is going to be so hard to watch, because while Nadia has her flaws, she doesn’t deserve this.  And ugh we see just a tiny glimpse of that hurt when she realises the keycard is gone and is faced with the horrible possibility that Arman took it– but of course Thony protected him and left it somewhere where it would be found quickly, but would also still be believable that Nadia would leave it. Which is just even further manipulation of Nadia and ugh it feels gross to watch (though at least we know that both Thony and Arman feel terrible about it, and are only doing it because they have no other choice).  But ugh anyway on a happier sidenote, it’s cute that Nadia waved to the bouncer on her way in; I bet she’s made friends with all of them and they think she’s the best, and I could totally see her with a whole little army of loyal bouncers lol. (So look out, Arman! haha)

Okay so I might be getting a little conspiracy-theorist here, but I’m going to say it anyway: what if Russo is dirty??? Like what if Russo actually was the mole, and has been indebted to RK this whole time??? I mean I know Garrett found the tracker in Maya’s things, and so he now believes that that’s how RK knew where to find her– but who brought him those things? Russo. Russo, who knows him very well, and so would have known that he would have taken absolutely every precaution to hide Maya, meaning that Maya’s abduction and murder would have had him convinced that there must be a mole in their department. And so she preempts that by planting the tracker in Maya’s things and letting him discover it himself, completely erasing his suspicions and leaving her in the clear. Which makes me also wonder if her big promotion is either a) because Kamdar pulled some strings for her to get her the job she wanted, or b) was her looking for reassignment so she can get away from RK without him threatening to expose her. And so what if the whole reason she is pushing for him to be brought down for profiteering rather than murder is because that’s run by a different department, and so RK won’t know that she was involved? Bc I can imagine that if her department tried to take him down, he’d be like ‘well you better make this go away or I’m telling everyone about our arrangement and taking you down with me’. And so while she can’t risk being the one to take him down, she desperately wants to be free of him, which is why she’s pushing for the profiteering angle. But anyway I know I may be way off base with all this, but idk this theory just has a grip on me now lol. Like I don’t think Russo is bad, I think RK just has her in a tough spot, like he has Arman and Thony and so many others. Plus, the way Russo says “Now you know you’re not to blame” after Garrett finds the tracker makes me believe that she didn’t just plant it to cover her own ass– she also did it so he would be able to forgive himself, because she genuinely does care about him and hates that he’s hurting. But ah well, I guess we’ll see in the coming eps whether I’m onto something here or not lol

Damn, the fact that Thony is waiting for Arman outside despite the lingering threat of RK sending someone to hurt her?? I guess she really doesn’t want him in her space rn / is really trying to keep her distance now that the situation between them has changed. (again, the fantastic post by @enigmaticfox really highlighted this).  But ugh I need to know what she said to him to get him to come over– like I assume she texted rather than calling (hearing his voice and knowing that Nadia was likely only in the next room would have just been too hard to bear), and she was probably careful with her words in the text because she knew that there was the possibility Nadia would see his phone. So did she use some kind of code or something, because a ‘we need to talk’ would definitely not go down well if Nadia were to see it lol. So maybe she made up something about there being an issue with the meds that they needed to sort out, knowing he would understand what she was trying to say– and then after sending it she immediately gets a text back saying ‘on my way’ like he’d been keeping his phone close and just waiting to hear from her. But ugh I feel for the position she’s in– caught between the need to protect her family, and the irresistible urge to protect Arman (even from himself). And even as she asks if he knew about the marriage, she already knows the answer; simply because if he’d known, he would have told her already. They don’t keep things from each other, not anymore, which is why she risked going back to the certificate to get a photo– she wanted to be able to show him the definitive proof, so he wouldn’t be forced to choose between her word and Nadia’s. (Sidenote: from the certificate itself, we can see that Nadia’s surname was De Leon, which is freakin badass; and also that she and Robert got married 8 years ago, which means the maximum amount of time that she and Arman have been together is probably about 7 years, but may well be less). But anyway ughhh the way Thony makes it clear to him that she genuinely wanted to help him protect Nadia, but that if the only way to take down RK is for Nadia to go down too, then she’s going to have to take it, because she has to put the safety of her family first. And then they just stare at each other, because they both know what this means; if he chooses to put his family (aka Nadia) first– and protect her even if doing so means RK walks free– then he and Thony will have no choice to be on opposing sides in this fight. 

And that’s the last place either of them wants to be. 

[casspurrjoybell-30]

Cry Me A River - Chapter 11 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

His Excellency

I sat, chattering among the four men I had grew accustomed to throughout my week stay here before I heard a strange thumping sound followed by yelling.

The whole dining area grew silent as everyone watched the grand door to the eating area as it swung open, revealing an extremely angry looking Keith.

'Keith?'

He peered around the room before his eyes landed on me as he stomped in my direction.

"You idiot," he bellowed.

'What did I do?'

I stood up from my seat as he reached me.

"What were you thinking leaving River for so long? Father..."

"What are you talking about? I'm in heat. Do you expect me to remain with my mate when I could pounce him at any moment and forcefully take him? Where is this coming from? Why are you here?" my voice when from angry to nervous.

'Did something happen to River? Is he okay?'

"Father got to him."

'No.'

"What did he say?"

"You know, the usual 'you are not worthy' followed by degrading and making your mate feel like absolute shit."

'Shit.'

"He's crying you know, cried himself to sleep. You should have seen his face when father brought up how innocent virgins were just your taste..."

"I'm going to rip his bloody head off," I growled.

'How dare he speak to my mate like that.'

'Wait.'

"Why are you here? You could have told me this through a letter..." I trailed off as my mind began searching for conclusions on its own.

"I'm here to take you home. You've been gone long enough. Your mate needs you and you're going to bloody chain yourself to a post if you need to,because if you stay here any longer you're going to come back to something you won't know how to fix. Michael suspects he's going through early signs of depression and he's doing everything he can to try to at least keep your mate from sleeping the day away in your clothes but enough is enough. He can't handle being away from you any longer. He's going to break. I can see it in his eyes. He's barely keeping it together."

My chest tightened at the thought of my beautiful mate, sweet, River, going through an internal battle on his own.

'No, he's not alone.'

"We're leaving," I declared as I made a beeline out the door.

Keith followed me as I entered my room.

I rushed to my dressers, pulling out heaps of clothing and stuffing them into any available luggage.

Keith watched from the doorway, not even bothering to offer help.

"Are you going to bloody help me?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Nope," he said popping the 'p'

"I'm good."

'Asshole.'

I packed two pieces of luggage before giving up and just leaving the rest behind.

'I'll ask someone to deliver the rest.'

"Let's go," I said swinging the two pieces of luggage over my shoulder and walking out.

He eyed the piles of clothes behind me but didn't say anything as he followed me to the entrance of the cave.

"Wait," I heard behind me, as I was about to climb into the waiting carriage.

I turned and saw Kaiden, Ron and Allen running towards me.

"Are you leaving, Alastair?" Allen pouted.

"Yeah, sorry," I said, ruffling his hair.

"Aren't you still going through heat..?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"What the bloody hell, Alastair?" Kaiden says exasperatedly.

"You're still going through heat and here you are hopping into a carriage like a bloody fairy princess or something! What the hell is wrong with you?! Get your ass back inside and eat your bloody porridge."

He points to the entrance of the cave.

Wow, never thought I'd see Kaiden go all mother goose on me.

I smiled.

"I can't, I have to go. My mate needs me."

Kaiden gave me a questioning look.

"Seems like it wasn't just me going crazy without him."

'I miss my beautiful mate'.

Kaiden smiled as he hit me hard on the back.

"Just don't pounce your mate, idiot," he smirked.

"Seems like it wasn't just me going crazy without him."

"I won't," I smiled.

We exchanged goodbye's before I climbed into the carriage, sitting next to Keith as I prepared myself for the long ride ahead.

*

I awoke sore, my head was pounding and my eyes burned from all the crying I had done.

'Why do I cry so much?'

'I hate being so sensitive.'

I felt a movement below me and my body seemed to move on its own as I jumped backward and fell off the bed with a crash.

"Are you okay, love?"

I looked up to see Alastair looking down at me from the bed, his hair in all directions and eyes glazed with worry.

I laid there with my mouth gaped open like a dying fish.

'What's he doing back?'

'Wasn't he not to be back yet?'

'Is this just a dream?'

I heard a chuckle as Alastair reached his arms over the bed and pulled me up into his lap.

"I missed you so much, beautiful."

He kissed my neck repeatedly as I giggled.

"S-stop. It tickles," I laughed.

I felt him smirk against my neck as I felt a moist warmth rub against my neck.

'Is he licking me?'

He paused and pulled away from me as his cheeks turned pink with embarrassment.

"Sorry, I guess my wolf missed you too, beautiful," he laughed.

I felt my wolf purr inside me as I smiled.

"My wolf missed you too."

I smiled as I cupped his face as kissed him lightly on the forehead.

His eyes were as big as saucers as I pulled away and I blushed in embarrassment of my bold action.

"Again."

I shook my head as my face heated up more.

"Please, one more time," he begged.

I shook my head.

"But I wasn't prepared, I didn't get to savor it..." he pouted.

His pout is so cute, like a puppy.

He grumbled about life being unfair as he pulled my into his arms and placed his head on top of mine.

I buried my face into his neck as I felt him begin to drift off.

When I was sure he had fallen asleep, I wiggled my way out of his tight hold so I'd be able to see his face.

He looks so peaceful, so serene.

He's so beautiful.

I bent down and kissed him lightly on his forehead before pulling away and looking back down at his beautiful form.

"I love you."

[personasintro]

bruhhhhh what about a drabble in which y/n is a little TOO drunk and jimin and tae cant handle her after they brought her back to her apartment so jk the mf king comes to beat her ass 🥊🥊🥊 ( and he is like able to shush her and shes intimidated by him ) 😏✨🤭

A part of Mutual Help series!

pairing: mh!jungkook x reader

warnings: explicit language

word count: 1.9k+

a/n: I hope you’re enjoying these!! please let me know what you think about it and if I should write more of them x

##

You’re not the one to usually get fucked up.

With friends like Taehyung and Jimin, you’re usually the one looking after them and calling them a cab so they get home safely. They’re the wild ones that love to party, talk to other women and spend the night making out with them, if not inviting them to their apartments for a casual hook-up.

So, when the time comes and you tell yourself to “fuck it” because you’ve to loosen up and release all the tension from your new job and the responsibility that comes with it, you’re the one that needs to be taken care of.

However, even though you’ve planned to drink a little more tonight than you usually do, you haven’t planned to get fucked up at one of those nights where Taehyung insisted on going to a club. Again.

To be honest, you’re not sure what he likes about clubbing that much. You don’t like it but you go, because it’s always fun with your friends. But there are other factors that make you literally go “nooo” when someone proposes to go clubbing. Like all the people, sweaty people, that don’t know anything about personal space. Some of them probably carry perfumes, most of them being women because you could always smell the mix of different perfumes whenever you’d enter the restroom. It’s not a nice smell though. It makes you vomit and especially when you’ve had enough.

Not mentioning all the intrusive guys who are drunk and just looking for a vagina they could fuck.

It sounds as if you’re going clubbing often, but you’re not. If it weren’t for your friends, you’d barely go clubbing because you’re not the type to want that on your own. It’s not usually your idea to go, if ever. But everything seems fun with your friends and honestly, you feel comfortable enough to go with them.

Friends, who probably find you very difficult and annoying at the moment as they’re trying to make you sit on the small bench in your corridor.

“I hate clubbing,” you mutter drunkenly at them, laughing when Taehyung gets on his knees in front of you and tries to grab your ankles to take off your heels.

“We know, you tell us that every time you get wasted.” Taehyung mutters, ignoring the way your mouth falls open in disbelief.

“Taehyungie,” Jimin scolds him, getting on his knees as well to help Taehyung who seems to have trouble with taking off your heels.

Giggling through the entire time, you’re suddenly reminded of something when you look at the two men in front of you, seeing nothing but the top of their heads. “I got two men on their knees.”

Taehyung looks up, cocking his brow at you and finding you extremely annoying as you’re laughing to the point your shoulders shake. Jimin chuckles, nudging Taehyung with his shoulder as he breaks out a grin before they finally get your heels off.

“Kook, we’re taking her to the bedroom!” Jimin calls out to Jungkook who must be somewhere in your apartment. You can’t remember where he went.

“Oooh, sounds… exciting boys!” you joke, your voice resounding in your apartment.

Jungkook chuckles at that, currently in your kitchen preparing you a glass of water and pulling out painkillers from one of the cabinets. You’ll need it for sure. There’s a lot of commotion coming out of your room, something about taking off your make-up which makes Taehyung groan loudly. Jungkook doesn’t fight off the amused grin, only because now Taehyung finally understands how annoying he’s being when he’s drunk. Or at least he hopes he understands.

Jungkook pulls a coke out of your fridge and pours some for himself and for the guys, knowing they’ll have to wait until you fall asleep so they can go. Honestly, Jungkook wonders if one of them should spend the night just in case you get sick. Which you probably will because he hasn’t seen you this drunk in a while. You mentioned something about work when you first entered the club and had your first drink. However, Jungkook wonders if the problem lies somewhere else and that is Heaven. Or whatever his name is.

You’ve been dating for a while and it’s been only over two weeks since you mentioned the relationship isn’t what it used to be. He can smell a break-up in the air and he wonders if you got drunk because it either already happened or you know it will. Maybe he’s just overthinking this. Maybe you just wanted to have fun and get fucked up like Taehyung and Jimin do on a daily basis.

“Jungkook!” Taehyung suddenly yells, the door being opened before they’re loudly shut, Jimin’s soft but loud voice heard for a second.

Jungkook straightens up, ready to make a way over there but before he can move, Taehyung already storms into the kitchen. Face read and annoyed as he looks out of breath, as if he was fighting off a—

“Demon,” Taehyung breathes out, “Y/N is a freaking demon when she’s drunk.”

Jungkook laughs, “She’s just drunk, Tae.”

“Yeah, and she just slapped me for apparently pressing her eyes too harshly when I tried to take off her make-up because she can’t go to sleep without taking it off. God, that woman is a nightmare when she’s drunk!”

“It’s not like you’re a dream when you’re drunk,” Jungkook murmurs, earning a huge glare from Taehyung who keeps his mouth shut because deep down, he knows he’s just as bad.

“Go there! She’s your responsibility right now!” Taehyung exclaims loudly as Jungkook rolls his eyes and puts his body to a move as he brushes past Taehyung.

He barely gets to hold the doorknob before the door is being pushed open again and exhausted Jimin makes eye contact with him. “Great, you’re here!”

Jimin is out of the room and quickly joins Taehyung in the kitchen. Bastards…

Jungkook warily makes it into your room, looking around and barely noticing the flying pillow aimed at him. He catches it at the last minute, frowning at you as you’re standing at the corner of your room next to your closet, still wearing the dress that you wore to the club.

“What was that for?” Jungkook exclaims, watching you drunkenly and messily walk towards your bed before you take another pillow. Before Jungkook knows it, it’s thrown in his direction all over again and he catches it effortlessly and stomps his way over to you.

You’re screaming as if he’s about to kill you, trying to get away from him by jumping onto your bed and getting off the other side.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Jungkook asks, trying to get you from the other side but for a drunk person, you’re quick and make it out of your bed while standing in the middle of the room.

Jungkook stands there, watching you with narrow eyes for a moment. You do the same thing, stumbling a little. Jungkook uses the moment of surprise and he rushes over to you, not giving you any time to react and even when you try to, he gets a hold of you.

“What the fuck,” Jungkook groans when you trash in his arms, “Calm down, you need to get to bed. You’re going to hurt yourself, you damn woman.”

“No!” you whine, gasping when Jungkook lifts you up while his arms are wrapped around your waist, tossing you to the bed.

“Stop it,” he scolds you in a warning, pointing his finger at you which makes you slouch your shoulders in defeat. “What’s the matter?”

“I wanna go clubbing!” you pout, slapping your hands beside your sides like a bratty kid which makes Jungkook roll his eyes at your behavior.

He hears Jimin and Taehyung peeking out behind the door, watching the scene in front of them with curious and amused eyes. Jungkook glares at them but they just grin at them, silently telling him “See?”.

“You’re acting like a brat, Y/N,” Jungkook comments, sitting on the edge of your bed as you dramatically gasp. “And you’re drunk. You wanted to go home just a few minutes ago.”

“Yeah?” you ask, holding your head high as you’re fighting off the pout again. “Well, I wanna go back. I changed my mind.”

“You can’t just change your mind,” Jungkook shakes his head, “You’re already home.”

“You’re no fun,” you comment, tossing yourself on the back as you stare at the ceiling. “I don’t wanna be alone here.” you almost whisper, not really sure why you just admitted that all of a sudden.

Just a minute ago you were having fun and wanted nothing but be alone.

“We could stay here…” Jungkook reminds you softly. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Can you? I think I’m gonna throw up once I fall asleep.” you admit, causing Jungkook to laugh a little. You sound so innocent and child-like. If you weren’t wearing that tight dress, he would actually believe you’re a kid for a moment.

“How about you change your clothes and put some pajamas on? We’re gonna set the couch and stay the night.”

“You’re not gonna fit there!” you whine, “Can you stay here with me?”

It wouldn’t be the first time you guys share a bed, but ever since you started dating Haechan there weren’t many opportunities to do that, nor were you looking for those opportunities. You’re not sure how he’d like that and just out of respect, you and Jungkook mutually understood you should tone it down even though nothing ever happens. You’re friends.

“You sure?” he asks, raising his brow. You might be wasted but you can still think logically, which couldn’t be said five minutes ago.

“Yeah,” you nod eagerly, “Can you rub my back though?”

Jungkook laughs, Jimin and Taehyung join too who are still watching the two of you and how easily Jungkook has handled you. “Deal, but be in bed in your pajamas once I come back. Or no back rubbing.”

“Yes, daddy.”

“Y/N!” Jungkook screeches, standing up as he looks at you in annoyance. You’re such a brat, you know he hates being called that and you’re still teasing and annoying him even in your current state.

Taehyung cackles and Jimin joins too, not being able to hold it any longer as Jungkook rushes them out of the door to give you the privacy. Once Jungkook makes it to your room to check on you, you’re patiently waiting for him and his back rubs patting the spot next to you. God, he thought you’d fall asleep.

But he joins you, rubbing your back just like he promised until you fall asleep so he can take a shower. Jimin and Taehyung are already sprawled on your couch, talking a bit before they fall asleep too. And when you wake up in the middle of the night, Jungkook holds the bucket for you until you fall asleep again, silently apologizing.

The next morning, Taehyung doesn’t forget to remind you what a pain in the ass you were which causes Jimin to scold him while Jungkook glares at his older friend. But you easily tell him to fuck off, reminding him all of the times he was the one being annoying and a pain in the ass.

Jungkook doesn’t fight off the grin he gives you. You can take care of yourself, maybe not entirely when you’re wasted but you can easily handle Kim Taehyung.

[jarofstyles]

hey besties, pls do a football player Harry (soccer in case ur american lol) and physical therapist y/n !!

I know absolute shit all about football (soccer bc we are American) but we can give it a go!!! Plz don’t be mad I don’t know anything about it cause it’s ✨make believe ✨

If you like this, check out our Patreon!

—-

He was a little shit.

A beautiful, charming, irritating, little shit.

When Y/N has signed on for this team, being the medic was something she had been passionate about for years. Having her own accident and making it so she couldn’t properly play anymore, it was her mission to still be involved in the game so how. Y/N’s own injury and healing process had her become more and more interested in the profession, and here she was.

It wasn’t everything she had dreamed of, as nothing ever was, but it was good. She got to sit field-side every game, close to the action. And every injury she got first look at. She helped the guys with their stretches, their previous injuries and keeping them from Re-injuring themselves, taking care of them and making sure their physical shape was the best it could be.

In general? She was happy. But there was one man who was a thorn in her side and a pain in her crotch.

Harry Styles.

The man who decided it was his personal mission to follow her around like a puppy dog. Popping up in her singular moments of peace during game day. Texting her and asking about very, very small twists of ankles and giving her the ‘🥺 maybe you should come and look at it…’ whenever he did so.

Not to mention his complete and utter want to get into her pants.

Now it wasn’t as if she couldn’t handle a few sexual jokes. Y/N was a big girl and knew 99% of the time, the guys on the team knew their limit. And Harry? Harry, in reality, was a gentleman. Never touched her inappropriately, ever. But the problem was… she kind of wanted him to.

There was no actual clause against staff members and players being together or hooking up. Nope, just frowned upon. Maybe a slap on the wrist. However Y/N knew, she knew that the moment anyone caught wind of her potential affections for any team member or acting on it? It would end with everyone thinking she slept with them to get the job.

Y/N worked long and hard. Tireless hours for make sure these men were healthy, fit, and at their best. She wouldn’t sleep with anyone for any job, and she was actually respected by this team which was something a lot of women weren’t in this field. She could not and would not throw it away for a good dicking.

Fuck, did she want to sometimes.

—-

Harry had these hands. The perfect hands, in her opinion. Big, strong with thinner fingers. Long fingers. A good sized palm, not overly veiny, just perfection in male hand scales. Luckily (or unluckily, whatever way you’d put it) she got to handle them often.

“S’sore today, doc.” He winced, sitting on the table in front of her. Harry’s wrist throbbed. It was rainy, and it was usually a wreck when it was the perfect condition. The ache was annoying, and he knew she had a solution.

Her lips pouted softly as she gently took the hand in place, thumbing over the part of the wrist where rhe injury had occurred. She had learned a while ago where to press, how to rub and get it to lessen before she wrapped it up. “Yeah… old injuries tend to never let you forget.” She sighed, pushing her glasses up into her hair.

Harry never could get over how fucking gorgeous Y/N was. From her nose to her lips, the pretty sparkle in her eye, the curve of her hip… he was obsessed. Not to mention the fact that she was so gentle with him. So kind and sweet, though he knew he got on her nerves with his teasing sometime. She could handle it and he always tried to watch to make sure he wasn’t going too far, but he couldn’t help it.

He was a silly boy with a bit fat crush.

Y/N didn’t bite for any of them. Everyone had attempted when she first came on, testing the waters. Her pretty face was welcome to all the blokes in the team, and there was something incredibly attractive about a woman who could heal. Nonetheless, she never gave in to anything.

In Harry’s case, he knew it was different. He could see her smile at some jokes, see her get the bumps on her skin when he brushed her a certain way. But she avoided the eye contact. Avoided the touches. And it drove him mad.

Of course she wouldn’t know he had actual feelings for him because he was a giant coward most of the time. He hid his affection in the dirty jokes and the teasing squeezes of her waist and teasing. He was a thick skinned man but a full rejection form her would hurt.

Her soft fingers gently massaged over the wrist, making him groan. His head tilted back and he let it out, hissing slightly when she pressed too hard. “Oooh, don’t worry sweetheart. Y’know I like it to hurt a little.” His wide smirk made her roll her eyes huffing under her breath.

Y/N was not having a great day. She had been harassed by an Ex all fucking night over her new job. Making all the damn assumptions that she was getting ‘trained by the team’ in a much more vulgar way, and she had cried half the night. To say she wasn’t in the mood was an understatement, but she was trying.

Harry was not what she needed today, because it made her feel worse. Her blatant attraction to him made her feel guilty. She should be professional and leave it with. The way she had squeeze her legs tighter while he groaned didn’t help her case. The ugly words of how they’ only kept her around for a potential fuck’ was ringing in her head.

Harry though, he was a little oblivious. Her hands were so talented, and he didn’t watch her face for once as she hit a good spot again and he let out another remark.

“Jesus, that’s good. Do those magic hands work everywhere?”

That was the straw that broke her. It wasn’t his fault necessarily, he was just playing. But her eyes watered, hand yanking away as she turned from him, walking over to the bench. Trying to compose herself was hard as the tears burned so hard in her eyes, hands shaking slightly.

Harry startled, not used to that. She never flinched away like that, never ignored his remark and walked away. Usually told him to fuck off, rolled her eyes, something. But the energy in the room immediately shifted and he was uncomfortable. What had happened?

Cautiously, he cleared his throat and stood up from the bench, licking over his dry lips as he spoke again. “Uh… Y/N?”

“S’all I’m good for, right?” She muttered under her breath. Frantically wiping under her eyes she tried to focus on the paper in front of her but she could feel Harry approaching.

He furrowed his brow, not sure if he heard correctly. “Wha-“

Y/N whipped around fast, eyes teary and wet. “I said, that’s all I’m good for right? Only good for my hands and sex and all that pleasure you can get from me?” She hissed. “Only good for a romp in the sheets and a pretty face to heal your wounds and put on band aids. Only good to make you get off and feel good and then what? I’m left here with nothing.”

The tears left her, her hands shaking as she grabbed her bag. Harry felt his stomach drop. Never, ever had he wanted to make her feel like that. Her crying? That wasn’t something he ever wanted to see again. He felt like he had taken a ball to the gut, hard. Those eyes he adored being full of pain, full of tears was his own personal hell.

“Y/N… wait, I’m so sorry, I didn’t-“ he tried to follow her to the door, stopping abruptly when she lifted a hand up to him. Her stomping had made him nervous. Now she was leaving without talking to him and he felt like a complete dick. It was their normal teasing, but he had crossed a line.

“Don’t. Just…. Just leave me alone. I’m going home.”

—-

As much as Harry had wanted to chase after her, he had already made her cry once. He wasn’t risking it again.

The icky, gross feeling in his stomach followed him all day. He was gutted. Not only has he apparently crossed a line with someone he respected, he had a fucking crush on her. The man was convinced no other feeling was worse than a crush being angry at him. Even if it sounded juvenile to place it like that.

Harry liked Y/N. He never ever wanted to make her upset in any capacity, let alone feeling like a sex object or violated. He prided himself on respecting women. And he had fucking failed. He needed to make it right, and fast.

-

He had found her address. In her employee file, and he knew that was bad but he needed to check on her. Regardless of what happened beforehand, she was upset by him enough to leave and go home and he wanted to make sure she was genuinely okay.

It was an overstep and Harry knew it. He had to try, though.

He arrived at her door step with a box of cupcakes and some flowers. Gently kicking the floor, he heard the door open and his heart broke a little more.

Y/N standing in front of him with swollen eyes. She had been crying, seemingly a lot. And she looked upset still. Though he expected her to close the door in his face and tell him to fuck off. But she didn’t.

Instead, she broke into tears again, throwing herself into his chest. Her arms wrapping around his waist, he nearly tumbled over but righted himself as he startled. Quickly he found himself recovering, wrapping his free arm around her and holding her. He was able to maneuver slightly and drop the cupcakes on her entry table, flowers as well before having his arms free.

“Hey…. Sweetheart, what’s the matter?” He whispered softly, gently placing a hand on her back. Rubbing it up and down, letting her cry into his tee shirt. It was worrying. Whatever happened was beyond him, but he wasn’t going to let that take away from the fact he had added and made it worse.

“I’m sorry.” Her muffled response was sobbed into his shirt. “I’m sorry for yelling… and saying you thought those things, you were playing and I…” she pulled back worth tear streaked cheeks and Harry’s look of pure concern making her lip wobble. “You didn’t do it. It was… he kept sayin’ that all the team wants is in my pants, and you make me feel guilty because you’re so…. Beautiful, and I never slept with anyone to get this job! Never. And then he wouldn’t leave me alone-“ she hiccuped, looking up at Harry as he caressed the back of her head.

“Who, lovely? Who wouldn’t leave you alone?” He asked with a calm tone. Of course he wasn’t. Someone was harassing her. And Harry would fucking take care of it. It boiled his blood to think of someone making her feel less than.

“My ex.” She sniffled again, slowly calming. Harry had that quality, she thinks. “He-He broke up with me for taking the job. Said… said that I was going to be a personal whore for all of you. And not do my job.” She took a shuddery breath. It was embarrassing admitting this to him, but he had been on the receiving end for a meltdown that wasn’t his to fix.

“Well, can I tell you something?” He brought his thumb up to wipe away some of the sticky tears from her cheeks. “You arent. You’re no one’s whore. You’re a respected, talented and intelligent member of our staff. You so happen to be incredibly beautiful, which obviously makes people find you more bewitching… but I know that we all look at you as a professional talent. They may have tried their luck at the beginning but you laid down the law quickly and they all understood.” He whispered.

“Me? I was trying my luck, because you’re incredible. And I think you’re lovely. But that isn’t a conversation for now. Let’s make some tea, hm? Relax. I brought you some cupcakes. I need to properly apologize for being inappropriate to you. Regardless if it was a joke…”

—

He sat next to her on her couch. The poor girl was better now, washing her face and a mug of tea in hand while Harry had helped himself to a vase and put the flowers inside. Carnations. He thought they were pretty, didn’t know the name until Y/N had fawned over them.

“I’m sorry for freaking out on you.” She said softly, her big sweatshirt swallowing her up. Before Harry could interrupt, she put a finger up. “I know that you were just playing, Harry. I let you flirt with me like that. And I enjoy it.” She could feel herself get warm in the face. “If you’ve noticed, I let you get away with it. I enjoy it. And you didn’t do anything out of line. I was sensitive… I was still raw and I hadn’t had much sleep because he had blown up my phone and regardless he was telling me things he said in person over and over again. So…” Y/N shifted in her seat and used her sweater paws to bring the drink to her lips. “When you came in… I felt guilty for finding you attractive. For liking what you said to me.”

Harry sat for a moment, quiet. So she had liked it…. And felt guilty. Now knowing the context? It made sense. For the life of him he was trying not to hold in to the fact that she enjoyed it, but he couldn’t. It made him excited.

“Okay. That makes sense. Usually.. I do a better job at reading your physical cues. Sometimes I can see something isn’t the right thing to say because you’re tense already. But I was in my own world cause you were making the pain go away and I felt good. It isn’t an excuse, though.” He gently grabbed her hand once she set down her warm tee, thumbing over the knuckles.

“I felt like such a dick. I still do. You know that? And it isn’t because I’m attracted to you. But it’s because I didn’t think about the position I’m putting you in by flirting.” He moved a little closer. “I would never try and jeopardize your job. I’ve been blinded by my own feelings for a while and I was trying to feel it out but I didn’t think to think it was because someone else or a group of people would look down at you for it.” He frowned.

It was so unfair. They wouldn’t care if he slept with her. But they’d ridicule her for sleeping with him.

“I just want to let you know now as well… I wasn’t trying to come on to you to have a hookup.” He hummed. “The feelings I’ve got are genuine. Alright? They aren’t just too get into your pants. And I never want you to feel as though that’s your only purpose. Ever. You have so much worth, and while I’m positive you don’t need me to tell you that, I want tok anyways.”

He was unreal. She really thinks so. How did a man just… be like him. He was a fan favorite and had charm but behind the scenes he was even better than anything they said.

“Yeah. I think I was afraid. Because… I’m the same, you know?” She shyly admitted. “You’re charming and I didn’t want to admit I let your charm get to me, but it has. It has very much. And I like you. I don’t know what to do about it, but I think it’s only fair I admit it myself as well when you’ve put yourself out on the line.”

Harry’s grin grew, dimples pocketing in his cheeks. She liked him back. His heart was ringing in his ears, the shy little look into her eyes making him want to explode. Fucking adorable girl making him feel such intense emotions…. It was incredible.

Thank god. He thought he was going insane.

“We don’t have to do anything in the sense of our job right now. But since we both know… would you want to explore it? I would say privately. Just get to know each other better. Talk. Hang out. Cook food together… maybe kiss.” He smirked slightly at the end, making her let out a laugh. Her laugh soothed his Damn soul.

“I think I’d like that.”

——

Part II maybe? Who knows

[sacredsorceress]

Secrets (One) || Bucky Barnes

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

summary: when your husband, bucky barnes, leaves to go to work intruders invade your home. although you escort your children to safety, when the intruders find you they have a lot of questions about the “winter soldier”- a name you’ve never heard before.

a/n: finally posting the first chapter! most of at least the first bit of the series is going to be absolute angst so I apologize in advance (if you’re looking for fluff to cleanse the palate you can check out my masterlist linked below)

word count: 2.6k

warnings: kidnapping, violence, angst, swearing

Prologue

masterlist || request || taglist

You woke up to the sound of the alarm clock blaring, darkness still encasing the room. Throwing your arm out to your side you reached for your husband, but before your fingers could feel his chest you felt the cold sting of metal catch your hand midair.

Although the room was dark you smiled, opening one of your eyes to peek at the man beside you.

Your wrist still in his hand, he smiled back at you, leaning down to plant a kiss on your forehead. “Go back to sleep, doll.”

You groaned, pushing yourself up to instead lean on your elbow. “Do you really have to go? It’s Saturday.”

He dropped your wrist from his hands, sighing as he kicked his feet over the side of the bed, silencing the alarm that sat on his night stand.

“I’ll be back before you even notice I’m gone.”

Instead of resting your head on the pillow and allowing yourself to drift back to sleep, you sat up in bed, slowly slinking your arms over Bucky’s shoulders and down his chest. Leaning into the crook of his neck from behind, you left a kiss on his jawline.

“I always notice when you’re gone, baby.” You hummed into his skin. “Gonna leave me all alone with those brats today?”

Even though the Sun hadn’t risen and the only light shining in between your shades was that of moonlight, you could see the tired smile form on his face. He chuckled and you wrapped your arms tighter around him, feeling his chest rumble with his laughter.

As much as you called your children brats playfully to your husband, he knew how much you adored them.

“They like you better anyway.” He said, picking up your hands that had been resting on his chest, leaving a soft peck on each of them before resting them back on the bed.

He pushed himself off of the bed, making his way over to your shared closet, tugging the first t-shirt he grabbed of his over his head and you watched him stretch as you laid back down in your spot, tugging the sheets tighter around you.

“That’s not true, James.” You said. “You have a metal arm! Do you know how cool that is to a four-year old?

You heard him chuckle, making his way towards your side of the bed. You felt him tuck you in tighter under the comforter and lean over, planting a kiss on your temple. “You don’t have to pretend for me, doll.” He whispered. “They’re smart to like you more than me. I know I do.”

You smiled as he pulled away. “Be safe, okay?”

“Always am.”

-

When you woke up hours later, it unfortunately wasn’t to the sound of an alarm clock, your kids shaking you or your husband’s kiss. When you woke up again it was to the sound of a vase shattering downstairs.

At first, you bolt up in your bed, throwing off the sheets prepared to yell at whichever one of your children had irresponsibly broken one of your possessions. When your hand reached the doorknob, however, you heard the sound of men’s voices echoing from downstairs.

You immediately rushed to your bedside, picking up your phone with trembling hands to dial your husband’s phone number. As you waited for Bucky to pick up you carefully opened your door and tiptoed across the hall over to your daughter’s room, praying that your floorboards wouldn’t creak beneath your feet.

When you saw your daughter still sleeping peacefully, sprawled across her toddler bed you breathed a sigh of relief. Tucking your phone between your shoulder and ear, you carefully picked up your daughter, resting your free hand behind her head to allow her to rest in the crook of your neck. Instinctively her tiny hands tugged on your shirt even in her sleep.

“Hello? Y/n? What’s wro-”

“Someone’s-” You paused, eyes widening as you heard two men now loudly arguing downstairs. “Someone’s here. I can- I can hear them downstairs, Buck. There’s someone in the house.”

At first he didn’t say anything and you were afraid he didn’t hear you properly until you heard him cursing on the other line.

“Y/n, listen to me.” You heard him say finally- you weren’t sure if you had ever heard him so serious. “In the basement underneath the rug there’s a door. If you open it up there’s a crawl space over there- take the kids and go hide there until I can get there.”

Even though he couldn’t see you, you nodded, tip-toeing out of your daughter’s room and into your son’s, still hearing shouting downstairs.

“Okay. Okayokayokay.” You whispered into the phone, reassuring yourself that you could get the task done. “Incase anything happens-

“D- don’t say that.” You heard your husband stutter on the other end. “You’re going to be okay, baby. I’m... I’m gonna get there soon, okay?”

“Okay.” You assured him, not really believing it.

Your phone still tucked beneath your ear, you shook your son awake and as soon as he opened his eyes, you placed see your hand over his mouth.

“You have to be quiet.” You whispered, just enough that he could hear. “Can you be quiet for Mama?”

Eyes still wide, you watched as your son nodded his head.

“There’s bad guys in the house, okay?” You said, pulling on his hand to help him out of bed. “So you and me and your sister have to go to the basement and wait for Dad. We have to be super quiet, okay? They can’t hear us.”

“L-like spies?” He asked.

“Yeah, buddy.” You smiled, trying to hold it together for the children in your arms. “Like spies.”

Picking up your phone one last time you told your husband that you loved him and without another word, you hung up on Bucky, slipping the phone into the pocket of your sweatpants. 

Squeezing your son’s hand and being sure to not step too heavily on the wrong floorboards, you peeked around the doorway to make sure no one had made their way upstairs. When the coast was clear, you tip-toed down the hallway to the top of your staircase. Listening, you heard more than two men arguing downstairs. 

You swore to yourself, afraid you wouldn’t be able to make it to the basement without getting caught when you heard the door to your garage swing open and the men’s feet slowly become quieter as they made their way into it.

Thanking God for your chance, you sped down the stairs, your children in tow.

Swinging the door open to your basement you raced down another flight of stairs, unsure of how much time you had left before they realized that you were there.

You moved your daughter out of your arms and into those of your son, pulling the rug off of the floor to unveil a hatch.

Seeing the hatch in the floorboards, a part of you questioned how you had never seen this before. How did you not know about this? What wasn’t your husband telling you, keeping random crawlspaces a secret?

Pulling it open you saw a small crawlspace hiding inside, about three feet deep and four feet wide. The only thing kept inside it was a large safe.

Assessing the situation you realized that you had two options- either attempt to take the safe out of the crawlspace, risking making a loud noise that would alert the intruders in your home to come straight for the basement... or safely hide your children in the spot that was left in the crawlspace.

“Shit.” You swore to yourself, hands trembling at your side.

“What’s wrong, Mama?” Your son asked, behind you.

At the sound of his voice, you spun around to face him.Taking a deep breath to compose yourself and smiling you kneeled in front of him placing your hands on  his shoulders.

“Everything’s okay, baby.” You assured him, smiling. “I just... do you think you can take care of Rebecca for me?”

Not speaking another word, he nodded still holding his sister in his arms.

Holding yourself back from allowing your voice to crack you pulled your daughter out of your son’s arms.

“I knew you could, hon.” You smiled and grabbing his hand you led him into the crawlspace, helping him jump down into the hole.

When he sat down comfortably in the corner of the crawl space, you carefully lowered your daughter into his arms. Fighting back ears in your eyes you pat his hand.

“Keep her quiet, okay?” You said, placing your finger over your lips. “I need you two to stay nice and quiet. I’m going to shut the top and you don’t say anything until your hear Daddy, alright?”

Nodding, your son hugged his sister tighter in his arms. Reaching out your hand to brush your thumb against his cheek you gave him one last smile.

“I love you so, so much- you know that?” You told him, sitting on your heels on the edge of the crawl space looking over them. “Now stay still, okay? I love you so much.”

And with that you shut the hatch, a loud sound ringing throughout not only the basement, but the house as you did.

When you heard multiple footsteps stomping down the staircase, you quickly threw the rug over the hatch and fell onto your back on the floor. Looking up from your spot you found three men standing above you- the one in the center looked older than all the rest and once your eyes met his, he took a step towards you, causing you to scramble backwards towards the wall.

Despite trying to leave his grasp, he leaned down, grabbing your chin in his hand and pulled your face only inches away from his.

“Where’s the Winter Soldier?” He asked, so close you could feel his breath on your face.

To say you were confused was an understatement. When you heard intruders break into your house, you were sure it would be to rob you, but now as this man stood in front of you, all he did was ask you a question you couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

“Who....” You shook your head, your eyes scanning the faces of the other men behind the one in front of you. “What? I... I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

Grasping your chin tighter, you could see the scowl grow on the man’s face.

“Don’t-” He sighed. “I know you know who he is.”

In your mind you ran through the name, but as hard as you tried it didn’t ring any bells. Frustrated and terrified you shook your head.

“I swear.” You told the man in front of you, desperately. “I don’t know who that is. You have the wrong person.”

The still unnamed man released your chin from his grasp before turning his head to look at the frame that hung on the wall beside him. Tearing it off the wall, he shoved the frame in your face.

“So, you don’t know who the winter soldier is?” He asked again. Looking at the picture you saw it was one of you and your husband from years ago when you had first bought your home. Shoving the frame closer to your face, the man pointed at Bucky. “Then who’s this?”

You glanced at the other men in the room before looking back at the man.

“That’s my husband!” You shouted. “Who the fuck is the winter soldier?”

As soon as you shouted the words, the man threw the frame against the wall and you jumped as you heard the glass shatter and fall onto the ground.

“That’s the winter soldier!” The man in charge shouted, pointing to the broken frame now lying on the ground.

You flinched as the man shouted and kicked the glass shards across the basement floor. 

You were so consumed in worry and terror over the situation that you could barely understand what the man was telling you. Who was the winter soldier? What did he want with him? Why was he telling you that it was your husband?

He paced across the basement and you watched as he finally stopped in front of the two men that were still standing above you and faced them.

“Fine. That’s it.” He grunted. “We’ll take her with us.”

Without another word, the man in charge shoved through the other two men and made his way up the staircase. As soon as he ascended the flight of stairs, the two men made their way towards you and as much as you attempted to make your way to your feet and scramble your way out of their grasp, their hands landed on your arms and pulled you towards the stairs.

“Let go of me!” You shouted, kicking your feet on the steps below you as they dragged you up the staircase from the basement. “You have the wrong person!”

The two men said nothing as they continued to drag you out of the first floor of your house and into the front yard where an unfamiliar car was waiting. As one of the men swung open the back door of the vehicle you struggled in the other man’s arms.

“I’m not the person you’re looking for!” You shouted again desperately and helplessly.

As the two men threw you into the backseat of the car, tying your hands behind your back before you could attempt to do anything else, you finally heard the voice of the man in charge once again, sitting in the driver’s seat.

“You’re right.” He told you, meeting your eyes in the rearview mirror. “You’re not the person I’m looking for... but... you’ll bring me the person I want.”

You listened as one of the men who had grabbed you, made his way into the front seat while the other slipped into the backseat of the car beside you, slamming the door shut.

“What are we going to do about the winter soldier?” The man in the passenger seat asked his boss.

“Don’t worry,” The man in charge said, shifting the car into drive. “The winter soldier will come for her... and he’ll pay for his crimes.”

-

As you hung up the phone with the last words leaving your mouth being a shaky “I love you”, Bucky stood in the corner of the room, staring at the phone in his hands, beginning to feel his hands shake and his heart practically beat out of his chest.

“Buck?” Sam asked, laying his hand gently on his friend’s shoulder. “Hey man, you good?”

Staring at the wall in front of him all he could think about was what he had done to you. Those weren’t random intruders- they couldn’t be. He had no doubt in his mind that they were after him, but you- and possibly even your children- were the ones who were dealing with the consequences of his mistakes.

“Barnes?” Natasha asked from her seat at the table, glancing between Bucky and Sam.

Squeezing his shoulder once again, Sam asked. “Who’s Y/n?”

Without turning to face any of them, still staring at the same spot in the wall- he finally spoke.

“My wife.”

You were his wife and you were in trouble all because of him. All because he couldn’t tell you the truth. All because he couldn’t protect you. You didn’t even know what you were getting yourself into.

“I have to go.” He said, brushing off Sam’s hand before leaving the room.

You were his wife and he was going to get you back- whatever it took.

[dienamights]

Road Mishap | K.Bakugou | Drabble

Where Dynamight pays you a little visit when someone is being a little too friendly on the road.

» Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x Fem!Reader.

» Word count: 1.1K 

» Genre: Crack, Prohero!au, fluff if you squint real hard but basically reader being a simp.

» Warning(s): Swearing, guys being assholes, suggestive themes(?), basically Kacchan flexing that he’s getting some ass. Characters are aged up.

» Author’s notes: ahahaha, what are you talking about, this isn't self-indulgent, no I didn't cry for hours after it happened to me today. @tteokdoroki​ iloveyou come laugh at my pain

I know its too long for a drabble but I HAD FUN WITH IT AND I ALREADY MADE THE BANNER AS A DRABBLE SO SUE ME)

» Masterlist | Requests

“Hah? The fuck you mean you’re being tailgated?” you heard the hoarse voice of your boyfriend through the speakers of your car as you looked through your rearview mirror, the fucking shit-piece of car swerving left and right to irritate you, the heads of five guys swaying with the car and grinning evilly.

“I mean I’m being tailgated Katsu, the fuck else would I mean?” you sneered, sending a glare to the center console of your car, hoping it would reach your dumbass of a hero boyfriend. You honestly didn’t know why you were calling him, Katsuki was busy being on the top 10 ranked heroes and you didn’t expect him to drop everything and run to save your quirkless damsel in distress ass.

But the car behind you sped up, the front bumper of their car kissed the rear bumper of yours, making you screech, a sob escaping your throat when your car jerked forward, hearing the maniac laughter of the douchebags despite your closed windows. You wished you didn’t leave the comfort of your home, knowing that no one in their right mind would even come close to harming the home of Dynamight, unless they wanted their asses blown off.

Katsuki was silent for a few seconds, before you heard frantic shuffling on the other end of the phone as you slowed down at a red light, the car behind you jolting left and right as the boys danced at their loud shit music. Yet, your ears couldn’t miss the deep growl in his voice.

“Send me your live location.” It wasn’t a question, nor a request, it was a demand. And even then, you were pretty hesitant to do as he told. You took a few deep breaths, wiping the few tears that managed to escape during your panic and tried to sound as convincing as possible.

“N-no its alright Suki, I’m almost home a-and besides you’ve got more important things to-”

“Y/N.” You gulped, not used to him directing that threatening voice at you, “I’m not asking you; I’m telling you to send it to me. Now.” No ifs ands or buts, so with a shaking grip, you did as you were told, right as the light turned green, the honks and tires screeching making you whimper as you pressed on the gas pedal to keep driving back home, only then realizing the fact that your boyfriend hung up on you.

“Great. Shouldn’t have called in the first place, real useless of you to call him knowing he’s got more serious things to take care of, people to save! Not just-” your self-scolding was cut short when you heard it, that loud, deafening, awful sound that always made your ears ring for hours on end. The earsplitting sound of your boyfriend, your hero. His explosions blaring and shaking your windshield as he all but flew to you, propelling himself and dropping down on the road between your car and the assholes behind you.

You slowed down and looked back at him through your mirror, watching as he brought both hands in front of him, palms lighting up in that scorching color that reminded you of fires that should never be put out, because they were so damned beautiful, the mesmerizing color of burning sunsets, the entrancing color of those crimson eyes that light up a smidgen, a speck – too quick you almost always miss it – at the sight of your smile.

The car behind you swerved to the left, – whether because of the man popping out of nowhere and standing in front of them or because his hands are about to blow a hole in them, you weren’t sure – crashing into the railing and activating the airbags of the car while stopping all together.

You turned on your hazard warning lights and slowed down to a stop at the side of the road by the sidewalk, getting out to check on your boyfriend – lowkey wanting to see him kick some ass.

You tried your best to hide your laughter as you saw him dropping his gauntlets, biting off his gloves while stomping his way to them and grumbling about ‘tearing their asses up to pieces for coming for his princess’, the – very oblivious – boys’ eyes lit up at the sight of the number 6 hero, cheering at him for being so quick to come rescue them.

Oh, you poor pricks.

Neither you nor the men expected what happened next, as Katsuki blew the door of the driver’s seat up, hauling the guy out of the car and holding him up by the shirt, yelling and swearing profusely at the cowering figure, while his friends hesitantly tried to free him from the hero’s grip. Only to be growled at and promised their turn in being murdered with no hesitation.

“You mean to tell me, that it took Red Riot, Chargebolt and Cellophane to get your punk ass off of these civilians?” The manager huffed, eyes glaring at the scuffed hero in front of him, falling onto the tv playing the news, the header “Hero Dynamight assaults innocent civilians” rolling at the bottom of the screen before looking back at the hero standing in front of him, who wore a scowl and simply rolled his eyes back at him, not caring about the reporter spitting rumors and accusations that were obviously told by the assholes standing behind her.

“Are we done here?” Dynamight huffed back, the shuffling feet of his comrades behind him irritating him because one, they dragged him away from those bastards before finishing beating them up and two, he wasn’t done kicking the motherfuckers’ asses. Yes, they were the same reason and no, he doesn’t give a fuck.

“You’re off of duty for the week, think about what you did and how you could improve as a hero while not harming the innocent.” The man at the desk declared, dropping his glasses on the surface and pinching the area between his eyes and preparing himself for the chaos Dynamight was about to make for being put off duty.

To his – and the other heroes’ surprise – all Bakugou did was scoff, mumbling a fine and asking if there was anything the manager wanted before he went home.

“W-wait a minute.” The man stuttered, “you know that means you’re only to come by next Monday, right?” an affirmative hum met his question and the man could only inquire for the reason behind the absence of the tantrum the hero always threw when it comes to him not working.

“Oh, its just Y/N is waiting for me at home to rail her for saving her life, and honestly I’d rather do that than hang around with you fuckers, later bitches” and then he just… left.  

its 3:35 am rn and now i feel better about myself so i can go to sleep without crying, thank you for coming to my ted talk

[misstressshelby]

The Good The Bad and Everything In-between

Summary: Living with two Shebly men has its ups and downs. A second part of my Lost Boy writing. (I suck at summaries)

Warnings: Language

Word Count:1,856

Paring: Tommy/Reader (Reader is GN but there is a slight refecne to pregnancy)

(A/N: I just want to say thank you for 50 notes on Lost Boy! I didn’t think anyone would he interested in a little headcanon I created. I guess we can all agree Finn deserved better. )

You longed for Arrow House even as it’s large gates came into view. Tommy planned to go eighty percent legitimate by the end of next year so that meant playing nice with the tofts. Spending all afternoon with the wives of Tommy’s business associates had drained you. You couldn’t remember if the pit in your stomach or the thumping in your head started before or after lunch.

All you knew was as soon as you entered the house you instantly felt better. Mary was waiting for you as usual. You had lived in Arrow House for a year now but still weren’t used to having maids around.

“Good afternoon Mrs.Shelby. How was your lunch?” Mary smiled as soon you walked in.

“Long Mary, very long.” You gave a tight smile back. Offering a ‘Thank You” as she took your coat.

Before you could ask her where the rest of your family was, Finn walked out of the living room. He was still wearing his school uniform he claimed to hate because it made him look like a “posh twat”. His tutor Mr.Chapman followed behind him shuffling papers into a briefcase.

“Hello, Finn, how's tutoring going?’ You asked.

‘Yeah, it’s alright.’ The redhead grunted back before moving to go outside.

“Are you finished with your homework?” You questioned already suspecting the answer.

“Nah I got a couple more pages but I wanna go to the stables. I’ll only be an hour I swear it.” Finn gave you the pleading look he’d mastered.

After considering it for a moment you nodded,” An hour Finn. Then you finish up your homework before dinner.”

The boy gave you half a hug on his way out. He had to lean down to capture you in his arms. He was only fifteen but he was already taller than you and your husband though Tom would never admit it.

Watching Finn run out the door you turned your attention to the tutor. The man was standing in the hallway fiddling with his bag uneasily.

“How is he doing Mr.Chapman?'' You finally addressed him.

“Well he’s doing alright I suppose.” He continued seeing your questioning stare. “He’s still struggling with a few concepts but he’s quick to figure things out.”

“Yeah, that’s the Shelby in ‘im” You chuckle to yourself. “Do we owe you for the week?

Shaking his head Mr.Chapman told you “No.No. Mr.Shelby already took care of it.’

Adjusting his satchel he quickly left out the same door as Finn. He never stayed long after their sessions.

Not giving it much thought, you headed straight to your husband’s office. He was already gone when you woke this morning and as silly as it was you missed him. After knocking against the door you pull it open before Tommy’s muffled “come in” could even start.

“Hello, Tommy, how ‘is your day going?” You greet him while making the short walk to his desk.

He looked up from his papers with a cigarette hanging off his lips to give a short “Busy.”, before writing again.

You didn’t let this deter you as you sat on the edge of his desk that wasn’t covered in files. Taking the cigarette from his lips you kissed him as if you had been deprived of him for months.

“The tutor just left. He said Finn is making good progress.” You informed him.

He watched as you took a drag off his cigarette with a glint in his eyes. Knowing you wouldn’t leave until he gave you the attention you demanded he leaned back in his chair.

“How was lunch with Minnie and Ida then?” He asked.

‘It was like every other boring lunch, we sat around and ate tiny food while they complained about the other wives. I've invited Minnie and Richard to dinner next Wednesday.”, You could feel your headache return as you told him.

Tommy gave you a curious look waiting for you to take another drag.

‘She was telling me Richard is looking into investing in the car business while it’s on the rise and all. So I figured we’d have them for dinner and if business happens to be brought up you two can talk about it.” You explain.

“So happens to be brought up?” Tommy teased.

“Yes, it usually happens at these things.” You tell him with a slight smile.

“Now you finish up whatever you’re doing. Dinner will be ready at seven.” You command slipping off the desk while putting the cigarette out in the ashtray.

Your husband let out a loud sigh which was never a good sign.

“Love, I have a lot of work to do ton-’ He started.

“Yes, and you can finish it when you come back from dinner.” You cut him off.

This was the ever-going battle in your home making Tommy stop working and take care of himself. But you’d be damned if you didn’t go down without a fight.

You lean over the side of the desk pulling him lightly by his silk tie into another kiss.

“Thomas Shelby, I will drag you out of this office. Don’t you think for a second I won’t.” You threaten him with a grin.

” Wouldn’t dream of it Mrs.Shelby.”, He smirked back.

At seven on the dot, you all sat down for dinner together as a family.

Finn talked for most of the dinner about school and his favorite football club going to the championship.

You mused about your plans for Minnie’s dinner Wednesday.

Tommy spent most of dinner listening, offering nods or the occasional “yeah”.

Once he and Finn started talking about a horse he wanted to buy for the races he didn’t stop. Long forgotten was the pile of contracts in his office.

For the first time since you woke this morning you were content. The moments you spent with your little family were the ones you cherished the most.

~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of a door slamming startled you awake. While the two voices yelling kept you from falling back to sleep. Before you could wonder what the fuss was about, an acidic taste overtook your mouth. You barely made it to the toilet, your knees hitting the hard floor as the bile rose. By the time you had emptied your stomach laying on the bathroom floor the screaming had stopped.

You couldn’t think about anything over the pounding in your head made worse from the buzzing of the lights. Making your way downstairs you noticed everything irritated you.

The fact that you tripped over Thomas’s shoes you had told him to put away last night. The coldness of the house even though there was a fireplace in almost every room. Even the way Mary greeted you with “Good Morning Mrs.Shelby.” seemed to drip with condescension.

As you reached the dining room you had a feeling the day was going to drag on forever.

Finn was glaring at his eggs while pushing them around his plate. Beside him, Tommy hid behind a newspaper with only a line of smoke to be seen.

The room was tense and you knew neither of the men would say anything first. Stubbornness also ran in the Shelbys.

“Do either of you want to tell what the fuck all the commotion this morning was about?” You snapped sitting in front of your own breakfast.

Finn gave you a glare before starting in,” Yeah Tommy won’t let me go to a football match with me friends. It’s fooking bullshit!”

In return, Tommy put down the paper with a sigh,” You’re not going to Manchester. I’m not discussing this again Finn.”

Both of them looked at you as if you had a say in the matter.

“If Thomas says no the answer is no Finn.” You settled.

“This is complete bollocks. You took me away from me friends in Birmingham and now I’m not allowed to have any friends here either?” Finn screamed standing up from the table.

“We never said you couldn’t have friends Finn. It’s just not the right time to go to Manc-” You tried to calm him down.

“ You’re not me fucking mother you can’t tell me what to do!” He slammed his chair against the table.

“You will not fooking talk too ‘er like that! This is me fooking house and what I say fooking goes.” Tommy said in a cold voice.

The table shook as he slammed his palm down on it, breaking his calm facade.

With that Finn stomped up to his room and Tommy to his office both slamming the door when they arrived.

Waking from a nap you had hoped would help with the sickness you felt you heard silence. You laid in bed for a bit longer feeling tears build up in your eyes. Instead of wallowing, you decided to make peace. You chose to try talking to the youngest first making your way to his room. You knocked on the door.

After waiting to hear a reply or shuffle come from the room you knocked again.

“Fuck off.,” Finn answered.

Ignoring him you opened the door anyway to find him lying on his bed still dressed from this morning. He simply turned away from you to face the wall instead.

You sat on the edge of the bed before trying to talk.

“Finn I know you don’t understand this but Tommy is just trying to keep you safe.” You started.

Finn scoffed and moved closer to the wall.

“I know you don’t know this because you’ve been so busy with school, but we’ve had some trouble in Manchester. There’s a gang up there the Scuttlers, who've been trying to move on us. We can’t protect you there Finn. That’s all it is.” Moving closer you put a hand on his shoulder.

``We're happy you’ve made friends at school really. It’s just one match yeah? You can hang out with them another time.” You tried reasoning.

“Yeah.” He grunted, not moving from his spot.

You decided you would take it before going to deal with the other man child.

You found Tommy sitting in his office chair finishing a drink before pouring another.

“ Who does he think he ‘is eh? Talking to me like that in me own fucking house. I should go up there and-’ Tommy began rambling pointing towards the door you just walked through.

“Tom, it's fine. I talked to him and explained everything. Just give ‘im a week and he’ll forget all about it.”You sat in the chair opposite of him.

Once you said that he seemed to relax a little bit.

“I’m still talking to ‘im later. He will not disrespect me or you like that again.” He told you.

To that, you chuckled, “ He’s a teenage boy Thomas he’s gonna argue. But I agree you should talk to him after you’ve both calmed down.”

Tommy nodded and took another swing of his whiskey. He walked over to where you sat leaning against the desk. To your surprise, he smiled.

“You’d make a good mum you know?” He leaned down to stroke your cheek.

“Yeah about that.” You let out.

[rebeccccccaaa]

pυllιɴɢ тнe тrιɢɢer

____________________________

Peтer Pαrĸer х Reαder

Ѕυммαry: You were given a mission to get rid of Peter Parker by Dr Otto Octavius. So here you were face to face and all you have to do is pull the trigger. 

Wαrɴιɴɢѕ: angst, implied sexy times (no smut tho), fluff, i think that’s it

αυтнor ɴoтeѕ: my friend helped me with this concept and i was so excited to do it! i don’t kow if this is my best work lmao but i hope y’all like it! 

_____________________________

 “What are you waiting for?” Peter asked you, facing away from you out the balcony.

You were currently about ten feet away from him with a loaded gun aiming for the center of his back. 

This moment was what you’ve been waiting for the past 6 months. You were an intern with Dr. Otto Octavius, or Doctor Octopus. You had seen the rage the doctor had towards Spiderman and now that Peter’s identity was revealed, Dr. Oc was determined to have him killed. 

He couldn’t kill a kid though, how awful the public would paint him if he did so. Mysterio’s plan to paint Peter a villain didn’t work so he had to wait until he grew up and fucked up something, anything. 

That didn’t work either. So he sent you. You trained everyday for combat and use of weaponry for this exact day. Peter, the newest owner and CEO of Stark Industries, was supposed to die. His tormenting would be over, but you just couldn’t pull the trigger.

You were his PA, so you studied him very closely. Too closely. You saw the side of him he kept away from the public, the side that would break down from the stress, the side where he laughed so hard he would tumble over. 

You started getting confused why Otto even hated Peter. He was… well, perfect. 

You learned so much from him and he was so admirable. Hardly any enemies besides middle-aged men who actually just hated Tony; him being gone meant Peter was their next target. Some days you even forgot what you were even there for in the first place. When you would meet with Otto to update him of your mission, you simply would roll your eyes at any insult or comment made about the poor guy. 

You thought back to all those times and you just couldn’t pull the fucking trigger. 

“Y/n?”

“Shut up!” you shouted.

Peter slowly turned around with his hands visible. 

“I’ve known about this day, so come on. Finish your mission,” he said.

You huffed and stomped forward jabbing your gun to his chest; your eyes bore into his. The gun was cocked, you just needed to pull the damn trigger and you be done; free of this stupid mission.

“I’m waiting,” he whispered.

“Shut up,” you mumbled. 

“You’re shaking.” 

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” you yelled. 

“y/n,” he whispered.

You screwed your eyes shut and raised your hand still holding the gun and swung across Peter’s face in a fit. You hit him on his eyebrow and he looked up at you with slight shock. He lightly bled but thankfully he wasn’t really in pain. 

You looked at him with teary eyes and your face dropped when you saw what you did in rage. You started apologizing profusely. And the rage wasn’t towards him, you were so frustrated with yourself. Confused and anxious. Your hands trembled and Peter gently took them in his hands. 

You looked at him and sighed. He just pulled you in a firm hug. You wanted to scream and cry and just let it all out. You couldn’t understand why you were breaking down. All you had to do was pull that fucking trigger and here were falling apart as if it was the hardest thing to do. 

“Look at me, baby,” he said cupping your face.

“I have to kill you,” you whimpered.

“I know but you don’t have to and I know you don’t want to,” he said.

“He told me to,” you cried.

“I know.”

“He's gonna be so mad.”

“Y/n, you don’t have to go back to him. You can stay here with me; I’ll keep you safe. I’d never let anything hurt you.”

“Peter.”

“I’ve got you,” he whispered and pulled you in a hug.

During these six months, you and Peter had gotten particularly close. Rumors were always written about you two in gossip articles. You had to remind yourself more than once and Otto why you were there in the first place. 

Otto got mad at you after four months for taking too long since you were hired as his personal assistance. You told him there wasn’t a good time to do so and he was convinced; but you were going to galas and parties as Peter’s date.

“Why aren’t you mad at me?” you asked.

“I don’t know. I just can’t.”

“I don’t deserve this.”

“You deserve the world, Y/n.”

Peter cupped your jaw and leaned in to softly kiss your lips; something he’d been wanting to do since you got hired. First, he thought it might be unprofessional but he moved past that quickly. Then he felt like maybe you didn’t like him that way so he didn’t push. And then, well, he found out why you were really there. 

But he knew, somehow, that you were stalling. You were putting off the ‘inevitable’ when you could’ve done so months ago. He didn’t mind your company so he never called you out. He knew you were falling in love with him too. 

His lips felt velvety against your lips and you couldn’t help but melt in his arms. He spun you around so your back was against the cold railing and his strong arms caged you in. 

You gasped for air since he took your breath away, literally. He couldn’t get enough of the taste of your skin, lips tracing along the side of the neck. His hands grabbed at your waist to pull you in close to his body. 

He could taste the salty tears on your cheeks as you kissed him back. Your arms wrapped around Peter’s neck pulling him flushed against your body; chest to chest. He pulled away once more and rested his forehead against yours breathing softly. 

“I’m taking you home, princess,” Peter chuckled, scooping you in his arms as you giggled too. 

You woke up the next morning, entangled in the sheets with Peter arms around you. Your head rested on Peter’s bare chest; his skin felt hot against your cheek. You looked up at him to see his eyes still closed.

He was so pretty, sleeping carelessly. You kissed his jaw and neck inhaling his cologne he still had on from last night. Your kisses woke him up with a pleasant smile on his face. 

“Good morning, darling,” he said, moving his body to face yours more.

“Hi,” you whispered.

“How are you feeling?”

“Sore,” you giggled.

“Yeah, I might've been a little rough, sorry,” he buried his face in your neck.

“Don’t be. I enjoy last night very much,” you smiled. 

Peter looked at you and there was long silence that settled between you two. What was supposed to happen now? You were supposed to kill him last night and instead you landed on your stomach on his bed as he practically fucked brains out. Not that you minded… 

“What happens now?” you whispered.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Darling, I promised you that I’d keep you safe. I mean it with everything in me.”

“He’s gonna kill you himself and then he’ll kill me,” you sniffled. 

“Y/n, look at me,” he cupped your face making you look at his eyes.

“If Otto can even get within a hundred feet of you, I swear to god, I’ll kill him.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” he chuckled; another blanket of silence.

“Did you mean what you said last night?” you spoke up after a bit.

“I did. But I understand if you don’t feel the same way. It kinda came out suddenly. I don’t mean to scare you-”

“I love you too,” you interrupted.

“Really?” 

“Yeah, I think so. All the time we spent together, I just- I couldn’t kill you because I- I love you. Please don’t be mad about that. I had no choice and I didn’t really know you the way I do now. I didn’t know the amazing guy behind the spiderman mask; but now I think he’s perfect.”

“You’re perfect,” he said against your lips before kissing you deeply. 

You wouldn’t say you regret the mission because without it you would never met Peter, seen how amazing he is; and you sure as hell don’t regret not pulling the trigger of that goddamn fucking gun. 

Peter kept his promise about keeping you safe away from Otto and away from anybody who was after Peter for whatever reason. And you couldn't be happier being with him.

[flowerflamestars]

okay i’m still obsessed with your idea of nesta and tarquin together!! would you mind giving us a little more on that, like how would they first interact, what would nesta think of him, all of that? thank you so much!!!! 💚💚

I would love to!!!

The important thing to remember about the Tarquin Draft is that is has the same main story as Daylight: Nesta in Day, Nesta the Library, Helion’s grumpy best, best truest friend ride or die companion.

So Nesta doesn’t actually meet Tarquin again until she’s halfway to okay. It’s plotwise timeline closest to where she is in the most recent chapter- feeling at home in her body, really hitting her stride as Librarian, gaining a reputation as just an absolutely formidable force who helps anyone who asks.

There’s been correspondence between the Library and Summer- Nesta, acting as a go-between for Kallias- but remember, no one uses her name. 

So it’s a big surprise when the Librarian arrives in Summer, pulls down her black and gold hood and...there is Feyre Archeron’s face, like a nightmare. Except not- wearier, sharper, older, devastation and salvation like the sunrise after a storm at sea- Nesta, who laughs in Cresseida’s face when the Princess of Adriata calls her a Night Court spy.

Nesta: wouldn’t that require belonging to the Night Court? Try my baby sister, if you’d like to yell about idiotic plans. Where are the books that keep eating people?

Cresseida is so wary, but Nesta, of course, isn’t actually going to leave before handling the cursed trove some Summer sailors pulled from the sea. She’s the Librarian.

Tarquin just...doesn’t want this. Doesn’t want to be proved inexperienced, that he can’t act for his people’s good by a beautiful woman again. But Nesta aggressively wants to help, and ultimately, he lets her.

And Nesta acts nothing like Feyre.

She takes off that cloak of office (listen, I’m picturing like, the coolest wide-legged, sleeveless white linen jumpsuit that has EVER existed, chic but functional), puts on a sunhat that she...magicked into her hand? and stomps into the shallows. Starts pulling sailors souls out of the treasure and hauling them to shore.

It’s terrifyingly efficient. And listen, Tarquin doesn’t give a shit about rank, so he, after some very blushy surprise because no, he did not know he had a competency kink and Nesta Archeron has tiny adorable little freckles on her shoulders- gets in the waves to help.

Nesta doesn’t even look at him.

What she does is save the lives of twelve of his men, pick up the faintly hissing, utterly cursed chest of books that started all this, and ask Cresseida is there’s a room where she can work. 

So they take her to the palace. 

The beautiful ambassadors rooms, windows and silk and the sound of water. 

It becomes clear that the curse is in fact, just a curse, but one that can only be broken under the full moon, which is two weeks away. So Nesta stays, being the only person who can keep that magic from spreading. The only payment she wants is to take the books back when she goes which leaves Tarquin, arms full of the traditional gift of pearls, VERY embarrassed.

But he gets over it. Tarquin is genuinely chill- he has baggage from the weight of his responsibility, of being fooled by the Night Court- but he’s also so, so young. Kind. Curious. He doesn’t want to judge Nesta on the actions of people related to her, and once she proves herself, he doesn’t.

And meanwhile Nesta is like, cool. Cool, cool, cool- I can’t sleep while I’m here, I can’t winnow home and sleep because the Library can’t suppress a curse from hundreds of miles away, I’m not going to steal the books like a fucking thief in the night like Feyre-

So Nesta does a lot of exploring. 

Tarquin comes into the harbor one morning, pink still streaking the sky. He’d been up in predawn doing Manly Boating Things with his navy- he walks through the harbor, lets the sounds his happy people sooth the rush of magic that still surprises him- to shape the sea, to cease the waves, to bend the world, to call the tide- and goes looking for breakfast.

Instead, he finds Nesta.

In line a line waiting for fresh bread and pastries, in another insanely attractive white outfit, looking at the sky. She’s alone- he’d given her guards, servants, knew damn well Cresseida was watching her- holding a basket, drinking coffee with her free hand.

So Tarquin joins her.

It cannot be overstated how genuinely charmed they both are with how normal it is. No death and war between them. No magic drawing them together. No real history- Nesta isn’t Feyre in the slightest- just a man with salt drying in his hair and a beautiful grin, asking if he can buy Nesta breakfast. 

Just Nesta, and the only High Lord she’s ever met besides Helion who isn’t aggressive. As she says, Nesta has as many problems with High Fae men as they tend to her- the siren song of power, challenge called to challenge by her very primordial being.

And listen, Tarquin is a huge, very physical dude. Summer faeries are touchy, in a friendly way. But he also, like Helion, is smart enough to pick up on how screamingly uncomfortable men make Nesta. He doesn’t know why, and noticing it made him feel a little sick- but he’s careful. Kind, funny Tarquin, whose managed in knowing her just a few days to figure out how to approach her without triggering her.

So Nesta says yes. Nesta probably says something snarky as hell about his High Lordly hospitality.

And Tarquin laughs- genuinely, beautiful.

He’s still laughing when they get to humble little window, and Nesta goes still. 

Tarquin clocks it- handles what they’re doing, gets Nesta out of the line of people without unnecessarily touching her. He sort of thinks she’s having a panic attack?- finds a nice quiet bench under a tree. He’s also pretty sure he’s making it worse just by being present, but he’s not going to leave her alone like this- so Tarquin just like, sits on the ground.

Which startles Nesta. She looks up- he doesn’t know her well enough to know what’s going on, so he’s extremely confused when Nesta goes: why is she here?

Tarquin: ???

Nesta: the HUMAN

There’s part of Nesta thinking the worst possible scenarios- what her past and the Night court taught her. 

But Tarquin just like, blinks? Sets down the pastry bag on the bench for Nesta and is says well, she was shipwrecked. A whole passenger ship from the continent last summer- she was going to the North, to start a new business. But she liked it here, and decided to stay. 

Nesta: that human woman, owns a business? Here. 

Tarquin, who’s starting to get what is happening here: Yes. She’s a Summer Court citizen.

Nesta eats a pastry. Nesta, face wry, eventually hands a pastry to Tarquin, who’d seemingly decided she needed them more than he did. Tarquin wolfs it down in three bites, just enough time for Nesta to grumpily confess: I’ve never seen a free human, above the Wall.

Tarquin, haltingly, shyly is like: well, I want it to be different. We all share the same world. Acting like we’re not all the same is how Hybern almost took over- 

By the end of the sentence he’d managed to look up. That was the voice a High Lord, a man who had power and would use it.

So they have this truce, a spark of very real, pretty damned charmed interest. They walk back to the Palace across the whole city, talking.

The next day Nesta is deep in working Librarianing while she’s there- and Tarquin just pops up. Draws as little attention to himself as possible to be like, here. I noticed your hat blew away yesterday? So I brought you a new one. And some coffee. Do you like it cold? Don’t let me get in the way, what you’re doing is important.

What he means by important: incredible. 

It had taken him ages to find her, because Nesta is apparently spending her spare time- does she sleep??- winnowing all over his territory, solving any problems anyone asks of her, bringing books to schools. Talking to regional leaders about what their educational needs are. Chatting with sea monsters so the fishermen understand they’ll be totally safe, so long as they always throw back in that one kind of crab that the baby krackens exclusively eat.

And look, it is a coping strategy. Nesta CANNOT rest by the sound of the sea- but she’d also realized this kingdom her sister had fucked with had been hit so, so hard by Amarantha, and then the war. That she can help, so she will.

But she just kind of stops. Tarquin left as quickly as he came she’s just there like- coffee. hat. BEAUTIFUL RESPECTFUL MAN. It’s not the vibe of her and Helion. It’s flirty but not...pressing? It’s nothing like how any faerie man (see: Cassian) who wanted her has ever, ever treated her and it’s just...so, nice.

He’s nice. Gorgeous. Easy to be around, which Does Not Happen to Nesta ever.

Nesta breaks the curse and leaves. 

Keeps her promise to the schools, visits to sit on the shore and talk to sea monster babies, so much more prodigious now that they have enough food.

Tarquin thinks she’s amazing, and he starts writing to her. For real Lordship reasons, but also just to see what she’ll say- he wants to know how humans live. How his cities could integrate them. Can they use magic? Will they, if it’s available to them?  

Tarquin finds someone- witty, beautiful, so intriguing- who believes in the value of his most difficult dreams. Nesta finds someone who looks at the most fraught, hurt parts of her- humanity lost, a terrible human life, that she still, even now, asks herself sometimes if she can belong, and treats those things as important and integral.

And they fall in love.

It’s a story about a lot of things- Nesta, who drowned to become, learning the whole seas of world will still for her, protect her. Tarquin who does revolutionize his kingdom, and spend centuries counting Nesta’s freckles as they peel and disappear. 

Love of choice. Nesta, in the sun, being adored. Tarquin, who so many people think is foolish, a reckless dreamer, defended by the most loyal person on earth. 

There’s small details i love so much it makes me want to go to the extremely troublesome work of writing them their own story- Nesta inviting the mermaids from the Night Court waters to live in a place no on is afraid of them. Tarquin who is both sort of a golden retriever but ALSO a proud, petty bitch when tried, draping Nesta head to toe in rubies for inter-court events. 

With Tarquin the story really embraces the idea of eternity- of possibility. They’re young, they’re equals in this eternal life. There’s so many years ahead of them, so many things they can do: they have time to go slow, to make changes, to learn each other inside and out as they become the people they want to be.

[heylookafanfic]

Title: What Could Go Wrong?

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x daughter!Reader, 

brief summary: With your dad, Aaron Hotchner, being the BAU unit chief, he did whatever he could to protect you. When you get invited to a party for the first time, sneaking out doesn’t sound so bad. What could go wrong?

word count: 3,706 words

requested: Nope, original! (send in those requests!) 

warnings: cursing, getting roofied, getting yelled at, predatory men

Your dad, Aaron Hotchner, was extremely protective over you not only because his job can put you and your brother, Jack, in danger but he already lost a family member and refused to lose another. Having an overprotective father meant you had a list of rules.

The door was to remain completely open when your significant other came over and no sitting/laying on the bed

No leaving the house after sundown

You can’t sleep over at anyone's house, they had to sleep over at your house

You have to ask to go somewhere

If your dad wasn’t home and the doorbell rang, you couldn’t answer it

And that is just the surface. You understood why your dad was so strict but you never got to have a life. To make things worse, your friends always post pictures from parties on Instagram and all you could do is sigh and keep scrolling knowing you’ll never get to go to one.

One day, you were in communications class listening to the professor lecturing about the upcoming semester project. Luckily, you got to pick your group for it and when they dismissed the class to find partners, you quickly turned to your best friend,Vanessa.

“I guess we’re partners, huh?” you chuckled

“Of course!” she said

“So, what do you want to make our project about?”

“I have no idea. I barely paid attention this chapter”

“Try to think out of the box a bit. What’s gonna make ours stand out?”

“Since the class is about communications, how about human interaction?”

“What about it?”

“Like how you haven't had any human interaction lately” she said with a smirk

“You know my dads strict. I can’t even breathe without him being on edge” you said

“You need to live a little Y/N. You’re in college and you’re still being treated like a kid.”

“I know, I know but I don’t know how to convince him to let up a bit”

“Here’s the thing, I’m going to a friend's kickback tomorrow night. This is your chance to finally hang out with someone who isn’t me, Jack or your dad ”

“He’s gonna say no regardless even if I tell him that you’re going with me.” you said

“I’m not saying to sneak out but...” she said with a shrug

“You know he has cameras around the entire perimeter of the house, right?”

“Just say you’re sleeping over at my house”

“Can’t do that either, remember? All sleepovers have to happen at my house”

“I understand having to be cautious because your dads in the FBI but doesn’t he realize that you’re in college?”

You thought about it for a second.

“That’s it! How about you sleep over but I’ll say that you forgot your meds. That’ll give us an excuse to leave”

“Won’t he be suspicious though?”

“Probably not. He trusts you out of all of my friends”

“You’ve got a point. What time am I coming over?”

“What time does the kickback start?”

“9 pm”

“Come over at 7. We’ll be finishing up dinner and it’ll give us time to get ready”

“Awesome”

The both of you packed your backpacks and went home. This would be the first time you’d be sneaking out and you were pretty nervous because so many things could go wrong but you’re with your best friend so, what could possibly go wrong?

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

*Hotchner Household- The next day*

You were in your room finishing up your psychology homework when your dad called you and Jack down for dinner

“Y/N and Jack, come down for dinner” he yelled from the kitchen

“I’m almost done! Give me two more minutes!” you shouted

“Come down now before it gets cold”

You sighed and closed your laptop. As you were walking out of your room, you saw Jack coming down the hall.

“I’ll race you to the dinner table. Loser has to wash dishes tonight” you challenged

“You’re gonna lose like you did last time” he said

“That’s only because you pushed me, short stuff” you chuckled

“I won fair and square though, didn’t I?”

“Anyway…ready, set, go!”

The both of you raced down the hallway and downstairs. Your dad heard all the stomping and already knew what was up. You lightly pushed Jack and he tumbled towards the couch by the living room. Your dad had his hands out by his sides, waiting to see who would finish 1st. You ran and tagged in, winning.

“You pushed me!” Jack complained

“I won fair and square though, didn’t I?” you chuckled

“Dad, Y/N cheated and they said that I’d have to wash dishes after dinner”

“Karmas a bit-” you were cut off

“Enough you two. Go wash your hands and make your plate” your dad said

*During dinner*

“So, how was everybody’s day?” he asked

“I found out that we’re dissecting a frog in class next week” Jack said

“They still do that?” he asked

“Yeah, everyone in my class thinks it’s cool but I’m not looking forward to it”

“Why is that?”

“Because, it’s gross. I asked if I could do an extra credit project instead but my teacher said no”

“Sorry bud. How about you Y/N? How was your day?”

“It was okay. We were assigned a group project yesterday so Vanessas coming over later to study. Is that cool?”

“Which Vanessa?”

“Dad. You’re kidding, right? The same Vanessa I’ve been best friends with since kindergarten?”

“Oh, her. Yeah, she can come over. What’s your project about?”

“It’s a research slideshow about human interaction”

“If you have time, you should drop by the office and ask your aunts and uncles for help. Especially your uncle Spencer. He’ll tell you everything you need to know; easy A” he said

Suddenly, his phone chimed.

“Work?” you and Jack ask

Your dad shook his head and took one last sip of his drink before getting up from the table. He was running around the house grabbing his go bag and work essentials.

“I don’t know when I’ll be back but if I’m not back later tonight, Y/N you know the drill” he said

“Close and lock all doors and windows, don’t answer the door, Jack is to be in bed by 9:30 and lights out at 11” you recited

“And Jack?”

“No video games or TV until homework is done and Y/N is in charge” he groaned

“Good. Y/N?”

“Yes?”

“Vanessa is the only one permitted in the house. Understood?”

“Yes sir”

“Alright, bye! I love you two!” he said

Your dad rushed out the door, hopped in the car and sped off to work. Your dad pretty much being on call can be annoying sometimes because he’s usually away for a few days and misses out on family time. Usually, it’s a bummer but tonight, it was working in your favor.

“Now what?” Jack asked

“How about we finish up dinner and I’ll help you with your homework so you can have the rest of the night to yourself?”

“Sweet!” he responded

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

*Later that night*

Vanessa had already been at your house for 2 hours and while Jack was getting ready for bed, you were about to leave for the kickback.

“What time did you say your little brother goes to bed?” Vanessa asked

“9:30”

She sighed

“We’re going to be late by then. Can’t we leave earlier?”

“We can’t. If I’m not here to make sure he’s asleep, he’ll be up all night”

“Jacks like what, 10? He’ll be fine. Plus, it’s a Friday night. It’s not like he has school tomorrow.”

You gave it a second thought. Jack is old enough to put himself to bed and the party wasn’t going to be worth going to if you were late.

“Fine. Give me a second and then we can go” you said

You walked down the hall to Jack’s room and knocked.

“Come in” he answered

“Hey bud, are you almost ready for bed?” you asked

“Yeah, I gotta brush my teeth though.”

“Listen, Vanessa and I are going out for a bit tonight. Would you be okay if you were by yourself for a few hours?”

“You can’t leave! Remember what Dad said? ‘No leaving the house after sundown’ ?”

“I know, I know but it’s only for tonight and since Dad’s out at work, I’ll let you stay up and play video games until I get back”

“Won’t we get in trouble? If he finds out, we’re gonna be grounded”

“He won’t find out unless we tell him….which we won’t. Right?”

Jack thought the situation through for a second.

“Right” he said

“Cool. Vanessa and I are leaving in about 5 minutes. Rules still apply to you though. I don’t care who rings the doorbell. If it’s not me or Dad, don’t answer it. Understood?”

“Yeah”

“Alright, all the doors and windows are locked so you’re safe here as long as they stay closed. I’ll be back in a few hours. Love you!” you said

“Love you too!” Jack responded

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

*At the kickback*

This was your first time sneaking out of the house and honestly, you didn’t think your plan would work. You thought that by now you’d be at home getting an earful from your dad because you got caught but, what perfect timing?! Your dad getting called into work the same night?! It’s actually kind of funny how things work out. What could go wrong?

You and Vanessa pulled up to the party and parked in the driveway

“You ready Y/N?” she asked

“Yeah. I just can't believe our plan actually worked”

“I know right? You’re old man needs to let you live a little. You deserve to enjoy your youth. Now c’mon”

As you two walk in, loud music blares from the speaker and there’s people everywhere. Beer cans on the floor and furniture, red solo cups spewed about the floor, the smell of weed in the air and you can tell every guy is wearing cheap cologne because of how musky it is. You thought parties like this only existed in movies.

You knew a few people but due to not being the biggest social butterfly, you decided to cling to Vanessa all night.

“Y/N, this is my old theatre buddy, Vaughn. Vaughn, this is my best friend Y/N!”

“Hey, nice to meet you!” he welcomed

“Nice to meet you too!”

“Vanessas told me all about you”

“She has?”

“Yeah! Best friends since kindergarten?! You two go way back”

“Definitely!”

“This is actually Y/N’s first kickback!” Vanessa chimed in

“Your first? You’ve never been to a party?”

“Not really, my dad’s very overprotective so I never get the chance to really hang out”

“What changed his mind?”

“Actually, he’s out of town at the moment so, he doesn’t even know”

“Ahhh, sneaky you!” he chuckled

“Hey, I’m gonna go get a drink really quick. You guys want anything?” Vanessa asked

“I’m good but thanks” you said

“I’ll go with you” Vaughn said

“Y/N, I’ll be right back but in the meanwhile, go get out of your comfort zone a bit” she said

“Nice meeting you….”

“Y/N” you said

“Y/N! Right. I’ll see you later” Vaughn said

Vanessa and Vaughn made off into the kitchen and that left you to your own devices. You still weren’t comfortable enough to go and be social so you made your way to the couch. Luckily, you spotted the host’s dog and whistled at it. It trotted over to you and jumped up into your lap. This would be your comfort zone for the rest of the night.

*An hour later*

The host's dog had surprisingly fallen asleep while you scrolled through your phone. You weren’t gonna lie. You were sort of envious that it could sleep through all the noise. As you continued scrolling you noticed someone heading your way.

“Is anyone sitting here?” a voice asked

You looked up to see a tall figure with broad shoulders.

“Uh, no. You’re good to sit”

“Thanks” he said

You resumed scrolling on your phone

“Nice dog” he said making small talk

“I’d say thanks but it’s not mine. It just curled up next to me and fell asleep” you spoke

“With all this noise?”

“Exactly what I’m saying!” you chuckled

“I’d kill to be a heavy sleeper” he said

“If only, right?!”

You two sat in silence for a second

“I’m Brady”

“Y/N”

“Nice to meet you. So, how’d you find out about the kickback?”

“My friend is friends with the host so she invited me”

“That’s a good friend!”

“Yeah, this is my first party actually”

“Really? How?”

“Overprotective parent”

“Ah, I know your struggle. Well, if you don’t mind, how ‘bout we drink to that?”

“Uh- okay. Thanks!”

“What’s your poison?” he asked

“I’ll take a beer please”

“A beer? Ooh, so you like to play it safe huh? I’ll be right back”

Brady got up and walked into the kitchen. You were actually excited because not only is this your first party but someone came up to you instead of the other way around.

“There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” a voice said

You turned your head and it was Vanessa

“What took you so long?”

“I was getting a drink, remember?”

“It took you a whole hour, 60 MINUTES, to get a drink and find me?!” you joked

“This place is huge”

“It’s a condo ‘Nessa”

“Anyway, you’ve been sitting by yourself this whole time? I thought I told you to go and socialize!”

“I did! I met this guy, Brady, and he’s getting us drinks”

“Oooo! I know you had a little game in that beautiful brain somewhere. Well, let me go before I ruin your moment. I’ll be in the living room if you need me” she said

Vanessa ran off again. Just as she left, Brady came back with drinks.

“Una cerveza for the party virgin” he said

“What?” you chuckled

“One beer like you asked” he chuckled

“Oh, thank you!”

“To your first party and to many more” he toasted

You two clanked your cups together and took a swig

“For someone who seems to be so sheltered, you sure downed it with no problem” he said

“Well, my Uncle Dave is italian so everytime we go to his house, he cohearses my dad into letting me have a little wine. He says the drinking age in Italy is 16 so, why not?” you chuckled

“Lemme guess, he’s the crazy relative in the family?”

“No, that’d be my aunt Penelope but he’s a close second”

The two of you talked about family, your dream career and your taste in music for about an hour. You were starting to think that maybe it was a good idea to sneak out. You would have never met Brady and the more you found out about him, the more you started catching feelings for him. Or maybe that was the beer talking. Speaking of beer, you were starting to think that that beer didn’t sit right with you. You started feeling dizzy and sick to your stomach.

“Hey Brady, I gotta go talk to my friend really quick but I promise I’ll be right back”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just not feeling the best”

“Do you want some water?” he asked

“I’m fine. I need to find Vanessa though”

You stood up and immediately sat back down

“Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want to lay down?” he asked

“I’m fine” you said

You didn’t notice but you started slurring your words. Things were going downhill and fast. Brady didn’t….no, he couldn’t have. Things were going so well with him and you thought you could trust him. He couldn’t have possibly done that to you. You couldn’t yell for Vanessa over the loud music let alone stand up without falling over. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

“Come on. I’ll take you to one of the bedrooms and you can lay down there until you feel better” Brady said

Fuck. You knew what you wanted to say but you couldn’t speak without slurring your words. Everything you said came out as incoherent. Brady stood up and helped you stand up, using him as a support. He started walking you towards the back until you felt a hand yank your hand

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” a voice yelled

Vanessa. Wait.. the voice was masculine.

Vaughn.

“I’m just helping them lay down. They’re tired” Brady said

“Leave them the fuck alone” Vaughn said sternly

“Mind your business dude” Brady retorted

“I know them so it is my business. I’m not going to tell you again. Leave them the fuck alone”

Brady dropped you but Vaughn quickly caught the rest of your body.

“Have fun with them, douchebag” Brady stormed off

Vaughn fireman carried you into the living room and sat you down

“Hey Y/N. It’s Vaughn. Are you okay?” he asked caringly

“Mmmrrmgh” you slurred

Shit.

“I’m gonna get Vanessa. I promise I’ll be right back, okay?” he said

Your head lulled around and you couldn’t move your limbs. All your energy was draining. This made him panic. As he tried to get you to squeeze his hand to get a response out of you, everything faded to black.

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

*45 minutes later*

You woke up but everything was blurry and everything sounded muffled. You were laying down but your sickness was worse because you were being jostled around.

“There they are. Hey sweetheart. Sir-” a voice said

You looked up and saw a dark figure. Your head was on someone's lap.

“Y/N? Come on sweetheart, keep your eyes open for me” the voice said

You took a few shallow breaths before attempting to sit up

“No no, stay still, okay?”

That voice was way too familiar and it made you feel at ease. There was only one person that could clear the clouds out on a rainy day with just their voice

“Aunt Penelope?” you softly spoke

“At your service!” she said

“Y/N?” another voice said

“Dad” you cried

“How’re they doing?”

“They opened their eyes a bit and heart rate is still pretty high but they’re stable” Penelope sighed with relief

“Dad? What’s happening?”

“Y/N? Can you hear me?”

You nodded your head.

“That’s an affirmative” Penelope relayed

”Listen, we’re heading to the hospital right now. You were drugged and you stopped breathing. We’re almost there so just hold on for me, okay?” he said

His voice was borderline quivering. He was scared but wanted to stay strong for you and the team. He already lost Hailey and lord forbid he was going to lose you too

Penelope rolled the window down a bit  so you could get some air but right before she could touch the button, your eyes closed again.

“Sir-”

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

*At the hospital*

You opened your eyes and saw a handful of blobs that got clearer as your eyes adjusted to the light.

“There they are!” said Rossi

“It’s about time” said JJ

“You were scared us for a second there, kid” said Morgan

Your whole family was there, excited for you to finally pull through

“Y/N!” Jack said excited

He hugged you and you had no choice but to hug him tighter. On any other day you’d be wrestling him for the remote but considering what happened to you tonight, you needed a hug from him

“For the record, I didn’t tell dad” he stated

Everyone laughed

“I got you lavender and chamomile tea, your favorite” Reid said popping his head in

“Uncle Spence!” you said

As you grabbed your tea, you saw your dad out the corner of your eye. Uh oh.

“Can we have a moment, please?” your dad asked

Everyone filed out and the door closed. He walked over to the blinds to close them.

“How’d you find out?” you softly asked

“Vanessa called me practically screaming that you were dead! You’re lucky that the case we’re working is local! What were you thinking?! You lied to me, waited until I left the house to sneak out to a party and thought ‘what could go wrong?’ ?!” he raised his voice

“Dad, I’m-”

“What? You’re sorry?! Y/N, before we got there, you died in Vanessa’s arms! How do you think I felt? I couldn’t get to you fast enough. I had to push my way through a bunch of teens just to find my kid dead”

“What do you want me to say dad? I’m sorry that you’re still dealing with trauma from mom dying, so much so that you’ve become a helicopter parent over Jack and I? If that’s what you’re looking for, it’s not my fault that she’s dead. ”

The room went so silent you could hear a pin drop.

“I didn’t mean-”

“I know”

Your dad started tearing up

“When I saw your body laying there, all I could see is your mom all over again. I was afraid that I’d have to tell Jack that his only sibling is gone, plan another funeral, and spend a lifetime beating myself up for not being there quick enough.”

“Dad, it wasn’t your fault though. It’s Foyet’s. He’s long gone now and you did what you could. This? This was my fault. I never should have snuck out. I never should have lied to you. Had I listened, none of this would have happened”

“None of this is your fault. It’s whoever did this to you’s fault.  The sneaking out part, I would have found out eventually and you would’ve been grounded until eternity but to find out this way? I could care less about punishment right now, all I care about is that the Hotchner kids are safe. The BAU might be my job but being a dad comes before anything”

He hugged you and squeezed you tightly.

“I love you more than you’ll ever know Y/N. Don’t you ever scare me like that again”

“Yes sir and I love you too”

A knock came from the door before being slightly opened

“Garcia wanted me to let you know that Quantico PD has the perp in custody and he’s being processed at the station” Prentiss softly said

“You hear that?” your dad said

You smiled

“I get to have a field day with him tomorrow. He has no idea what he has coming to him”

[buckysgoldenheart]

Late

Henry Cavill x Reader

Summary: Henry has a reputation that makes you cautious and it’s caused some disagreements. Everyone thinks you hate each other, but maybe you don’t as much as you let on. (fluffy ending, and idk, maybe angst depending on your definition).

Words: 2880

Notes/Warnings: I made this like mid-20s Henry during the Tudors filming, season 1. If I messed up with tenses somewhere, I’d like it of you let me know. I started this story out in the past-tense then changed it to present so I might have missed some stuff when editing, even after reading it 100 times over.

At the sound of the doorbell, you hop up from your sunken spot on the couch. After the day you had, the Chinese food on the other side of that wood slab is the only thing with the ability to help you recover before you must face a fresh 5 a.m. morning with Henry tomorrow.

God, you want that man to fall off the face of the earth. You don’t care if his disappearance meant you would temporarily be out of a job. Being an assistant on the set of The Tudors was something you had strongly considered sacrificing in the past if it meant never having to work with one very particular, blue-eyed, temperamental actor ever again.

You almost quit weeks ago but told yourself to suck it up. You can’t afford to unintentionally cause drama at your workplace, not after your last job; and getting that kind of reputation is not what you are going for. Besides, filming for the first season is almost over, and you will gladly welcome the long break before everyone needs to report back for season two.

The smile you were fully prepared to give the delivery man falls entirely at the sight on the other side of the door.

“What the hell are you doing here,” You huff out.

Henry crosses his thick arms over his even thicker chest and frowns back at you. “I didn’t get my script.”

A headache is already forming just from his proximity and you don’t bother resisting the urge to rub at your temple. “Well, I sent it to your house a week ago.”

“And I didn’t get it, so clearly you didn’t do a very good job.”

With an eye-roll, you say, “Is there some reason you had to come all the way to my apartment and bug me for the script when I will see you first thing in the morning?”

“Everyone else will have had theirs longer, and I wanted to get a good start on learning my lines, so yes, I have a good reason for ‘bugging’ you, Y/N.”

You hate the way he says your name. It passes his lips so softly every time and makes your heart speed faster than your liking. If another man said your name like that, you’d fall for him in an instant, but no, Henry seemed to be the only man possessing that thick, honey-sweet voice.

“Whatever,” You groan and turn on your heel. In your office desk are two extra copies of each actors’ script for emergencies, but a simple text from Henry would’ve sufficed; this is hardly life or death.

‘Hey, never got my script. Can you bring a copy in the morning?’ So damn easy.

You turn your head back when Henry’s heavy footsteps hit your hardwood floors. “Hey, I didn’t say you could come in,” You snap, eyebrows drawn together.

“What kind of person would leave their guest outside?”

The sass in his tone makes you want to pull your hair right out of your scalp. “You’re not my guest,” You say, but your blatant aggravation does nothing to hinder him and his body is a foot away from yours before you know it. Inches he has on you forces you to look up just to meet the smirk on his face.

“Stop acting like you hate me,” He says as he reaches a hand to grab yours.

“Excuse me?!” You quickly swat that hand away. “I am not acting like anything! Any negative feelings you are sensing from me are one hundred percent genuine.”

Henry scoffs and crosses his arms once again. “Oh, please.”

Your jaw drops in disbelief. He is unbelievable. Everything he does, everything he says, everything he is has had the power to make your whole body shake since the day you met him. “God, I can’t stand you!”

Walking away from him for the office, he follows close behind. “You know what, you’re not all that great either!” He yells at your back as you open the drawer of your desk to shuffle through the scripts. “You yap all damn day, talking to everyone else on set and making them laugh! You shoot that pretty smile in any direction and people flock to you like deranged birds!”

“So!” You pull out the script and hand it to Henry. Without giving it a glance, he snatches it from you and tosses it back on the oak wood surface of the desk.

“So? You’re distracting them from their jobs! We could probably get things done twice as fast if you weren’t around!”

“That’s—”

“And you are annoyingly beautiful!” He harshly interrupts. “Annoyingly! The men we work with will not shut up about it and I’m sick of listening to them talk about you the way they do! I end up hearing your name more times in a day than I hear my own, and I get called upon every five seconds! I’m practically forced to think about you!”

You blink at the increase in volume that makes the thin walls of your home quiver.

“I don’t know how many times your face manages to flash in my mind in the course of a week, but it’s starting to get to me!”

Your hands rise in disbelief before they slap back down to your sides. “That’s not my fault! But you’re one to talk! You’re well aware you’re ridiculously, unnaturally hot, and I fucking hate it! The women we work with won’t shut up about you. And you think I’m annoying? Imagine being surrounded by a pack of idiots that go on and on about how amazing you are, when the truth is, you’re so arrogant I can’t stand to be within two feet of you!”

When you try to walk past him, his hand wraps tightly around your upper arm. “Hey!”

“Leave me alone! I hate you!” You snarl at the rage in his eyes and try to shake him off you.

“You don’t hate me.”

You glare up at him. “Oh no?”

He gapes at you, seemingly stunned you have the gall to challenge him. The grip on your arm loosens until you are free. Winding his fingers through his chocolate locks, Henry shakes his head and clenches his jaw. “You are so...”

“So what? So irritating? So infuriating?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“If I’m such a problem, then go.” Ignoring his words, you point a finger in the general direction of the nearest exit.

“You want me to leave?”

“Yes! Of course, I do!”

He quirks an eyebrow and cocks his head. “So you’re going to grab me with your tiny hands and throw me through the front door, is that right?”

“I can’t fucking lift you!” You yell.

“Then I’m staying!”

“I think you’re really not! You can’t just demand to stay here! That’s not how this works!”

“Why can’t you just—God damn it!” He stomps his way back into the living room, script forgotten, and reaches for the doorknob. You follow him and let out an exhausted breath of relief, but Henry whips around to you again before you have time to revel in the feeling. “You know what, no. I’m not going anywhere until we settle this bullshit between us. I’m not going to argue with you anymore. I’m not going to act like I dislike you. I’m not going to keep playing this game, because it’s clearly not getting me anywhere; in fact, it’s doing the opposite.”

“Getting you anywhere?” You mumble.

“This whole thing is fucking bullshit and I’m over it.” He swallows. “Tell me what I did.”

“What?”

“You keep saying you hate me but have never given me a reason, so what did I do?”

Your jaw drops. “Are you kidding? You were just telling me I suck at my job, yet at the same time you don’t think I have a reason to be mad. You glare at me during work, you act like I’m an inconvenience, you—”

“That’s not what I mean.” Henry grabs your hand, and for a reason you couldn’t place, you allow it this time. “At the beginning, when we met, what was it that caused a problem between us? I’ve gone over our first meeting in my head about a thousand times and cannot figure out how I upset you so much that you’re still mad after months.”

You slip your fingers out of his palm, looking to the floor.

“Please just tell me,” He begs. “Please, I--”

“You sleep with the women you work with.” You spit out.

When he stares at you in confusion, you wince and say, “I have this friend…kinda. She was an extra on Hellraiser and claimed that you slept with nearly every woman on set, herself included. When I told her I got this job she said you’d probably try to get in my pants if I wasn’t careful, and I’m not cautious enough about men as it is, so—”

“You were mad at me before we met for something I didn’t even do?” He isn’t angry or looking at you like you’ve lost your mind; more like he can’t believe that was all it was. As if he had a simple solution to the problem that planted its roots deep into the both of you months prior.

“Whether or not you did, it’s not like you’ve been an angel to me anyway,” You say.

“Because I fucking panic when someone I want doesn’t want me! And you’ve made it very clear that you do not want me! You always seem so angry and…and I’m not very smooth, ok!? I say shit I don’t mean!”

“So you do want to get in my pants?”

“No!” He says quickly, then after a beat, sighs. “Yes.”

You give no response, so he continues.

“I swear, despite how idiotic I have acted, I really like you, and I don’t know who your friend is or why she would tell you I slept with a bunch of women on set, but I didn’t.”

You have to look away from him. His eyes hold too much sincerity and all it does is confuse you. You have spent too much time pissed to feel comfortable with the idea that it was potentially all for no reason, so you hug your arms across your middle and take a step back from him.

“Y/N, we need to talk about this.”

You shake your head. “I can’t right now.”

“Y/N—”

“It’s late, Henry. I’ll see you in the morning.”

You won’t meet his stare but can see from your peripherals his head slowly nod. You don’t look up until your front door closes softly behind him.

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

You spend the earliest hours of the next morning sipping coffee before everyone else arrives for work, wondering if the night before actually happened or if it had just been a very realistic messy mix of a dream and a nightmare.

The sun rises and you watch as it ascends each inch until it’s planted high enough in the sky to warm your skin. He’d be here soon, looking for you, wanting answers for any questions you hadn’t given him the chance to ask.

So, what, he likes me now? He wants me? You can’t wrap your head around it. But you suppose it makes as much sense as you saying you hate him when really what you’ve been is nervous. You don’t want to be used again by some man with more power than you. Pulling yourself out of that hole was hard enough and you have no desire to trip and fall right back in.

“Y/N. You’re here early.”

You jump at the first voice to interrupt the peaceful silence. It was the last moment you’ll have to yourself for the next fifteen hours at least.

Turning your head, you smile at your boss. “Morning, Em.”

“Henry’s here early, too,” She says. “He asked me to let him know when you came in, but seeing as you’re already here, you think you could just head to his trailer now?”

No, you want to say. I’m not ready. “Sure.” You half-heartedly smile, dumping the last of your coffee in the nearest trash can.

Each crunchy step along the gravel to Henry’s trailer feels less sturdy than the one before. Though, he isn’t in his trailer when you find him, but standing out in a grassy patch, throwing a ball to Em’s dog, Leo. It makes your heart pump hard to see him so casually soft. It’s the first time you are looking at him when his eyes aren’t already on you.

Leo loyally returns the ball to Henry three more times before you gather the nerve to step up to his side.

“Em said you wanted to see me.”

You notice him hold in a breath when he registers your voice, then tossing the ball once more, he says, “I’d have gone looking for you myself if I knew you were here.”

You nod, but you’ve yet to look at one another.

“The makeup artists are gonna have a blast today trying to make me look decent,” He says.

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t sleep all night. I spent it trying to figure out what to say to you but came up short.”

You scratch behind Leo’s large ears when he nudges your legs with his head. Henry gently grins, though you don’t see it. You shrug. “At least you don’t have as many scenes today.”

Henry chuckles. “That’s true.”

“I couldn’t think of anything to say to you either,” You say.

A moment passes as he blows out a deep sigh.

“Y/N…I don’t want to act like it didn’t happen. I know that’s what is easiest, but I meant what I said. The good parts, not the shit about you sucking at your job. You’re the best at your job.”

Finally meeting his eyes, the corners of your lips curve up just a bit.

“But I don’t expect you to feel the same about me.”

“Henry…”

He shakes his head and throws the ball for Leo after the pups persistent whimpering. “I’m not going to make things hard for you. Filming is almost over anyway and if you want, I’ll try to bother you as little as I can. I’m sorry I’ve been an ass, it’s just…you like everyone around here except me, but I’ve liked you more than anyone else since the moment we met. It’s no excuse--”

“It’s ok.”

He looks at you. “It’s not.”

“It is.” Without thinking, you place a hand on his arm. He stares at the touch you give him as you continue. “I didn’t have a good reason for treating you like I hate you, not really.”

“So, you don’t…hate me?”

“…No.” You look away in shame. “And I have a better explanation for that.”

He blinks, clearly relieved that every horrible thing he figured you felt for him was not, in your heart, the truth. “You don’t owe me one.”

“I slept with my boss once,” You rush out. “And, um…got the same warning as I did with you: sleeps with the other women he works with, will try to do the same with me. He did and I let him because I thought he liked me, but…no. All it did was make me feel like an idiot in the end.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I made a mistake.” You shrug. And suddenly, admitting that out loud, confiding in someone, knocks some of the painful gears in your head loose. You’d never told anyone the truth about your past. “Look, this is going to sound really odd but,” You swallow. “…Don’t stop bothering me.”

“Wait,” He turns his body fully to you. “What?”

Your lips thin, but then you smile, inch up on your toes, and go to kiss his cheek. All you wanted to do was provide a little reassurance, to let him know that you now forgive every misunderstanding between you, but the kiss lands a little too far to the right and covers the end of his mouth.

Immediately, you pull back a few centimeters and feel heat flushing your cheeks, but Henry tilts his head the slightest. He takes a breath, giving you a chance to pull back further, but when you make no move to abandon him, he connects your lips again.

It feels good. He feels good. So good it shocks you how much you don’t want it to end. And when you part your lips and his tongue touches yours, you can’t stop your hands from sliding up his chest before roping around his neck and tugging him closer. Only then does he greedily grab at your hips, his fingers digging into your flesh through the fabric of your t-shirt.  

Leo’s bark separates you minutes later, though you’re reluctant to allow it. You glance at the dog, chuckling at his rapidly wagging tail as he watches the scene before him. But when you look back to Henry, his eyes are already glued to you, their hue a little brighter and a small smile on his face.

“I’ll bother you as much as you like,” He says and tucks a wayward strand of hair behind your ear.

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

*reposted for tag testing reasons. 

[dizzydancingdreamer]

Men who I think would be soft for their baby for no other reasons than because I want them to be, in no particular order but still numbered ten to one because I like countdowns...

——————————————————————————

Part two —> part one here

——————————————————————————

This one’s for you @activist-af​, no Finn and Kol erasure here Lottie

——————————————————————————

10. Raleigh Becket

A really good man who is a little too impulsive at times and has pretty much no sense of self preservation and always seems to get himself into worsening situations

Is so fucking soft for his baby that it’s insanity

His baby is in no way the same kind of super soldier he is, she’s literally the softest baby in the world, and he’s just so careful with her

Like he follows her around the compound and just makes sure she’s okay

Eats every meal with her, shares a room with her, literally does pretty much everything with her just in awe

So many cuddles before and after a mission, lots of reassurance, kisses her entire face everywhere at least twice and has to get practically dragged away

Endures so much teasing from his partner

I don’t care if his character is suited for a dominant female you can’t change my mind on this one this man is soft as fuck

——————————————————————————

9. Ambrose Spellman

A reformed radical warlock who has been locked in one house for a hundred years and is itching to go on a self-destructive bender after cleaning up his family’s messes for years

In absolutely no position to be in a committed relationship but I don’t give a single fuck

He would follow his baby around like a damn puppy when finally free of the Spellman residence 

Oh she wants to go to witch school? He’s tagging along

She wants to go travel? Lead the way

The park, carnival, movie theatre, cafe, literally endless places he would follow her

Would read to her as she falls asleep and tell her all his little bits of knowledge on things that he collected during his time stuck in the house

A soft man that is final

——————————————————————————

8. Richard O’Connell

Cannot survive a normal, mundane life because it’s “too boring” for a man like him and would risk it all for a mummy invasion even if it means that he dies in the process

But by god he is so fucking soft I just know it

Keeps her safe at all costs even when she pouts at him and makes him take her with him when he travels

Refuses to leave her side when they go abroad because his track record with ancient curses is not great and there’s no way he’s letting some gross ass mummy hurt her

*dramatic gasp* HE ACTUALLY REFUSES SOME DANGEROUS MISSIONS FOR HER??? 

Does the thing where he leans into her hand when she touches his face and like kisses her palm

Definitely sleeps curled around his baby and wakes up at the slightest noise ready to hurt any intruders

I would literally do anything for this level of soft

——————————————————————————

7. Finn Mikaelson

A one thousand year+ original vampire who has absolutely zero sense of self preservation and actively seeks death because of how much he hates himself and would gladly bring his family down with him because mommy said so

Doesn’t quite fit the full dominant image but I don’t care he fits the soft part 1000%

Would bring her with him when he goes to see his family and is always wrapped around her the whole time

Endures all the teasing that would come with that for her because she’s?? Just?? So?? Cute and perfect???

Literally a thousand years old and would still absolutely crumple for his baby in SECONDS

If she cried it would literally be game over

There would be two people crying 

He would be crying MORE than her

Epic date night planner, meticulously detailed, would pay so much attention to the things she likes and picks up on even the smallest clues

God he’s so soft I want one

——————————————————————————

6. Clint Barton

Largely pushed aside Avenger who has been evil in the past and appears at times to miss the evil a little too much

This one doesn’t even need an explanation, I’m literally right and this one has proved himself countless times

This man is the love of my life so yes: I am biased

Badass, sarcastic, cold archer Avenger by day; soft, caring, gentle man by night 

Goes home, soaked with blood and sweat, and pulls his baby into the shower and just sags into her arms 

Lives for her fingers in his hair after a long day

And bubble baths with her 

Has gotten in trouble countless times for skipping important meetings but does not give a single fuck about it 

Teaches her archery and doesn’t yell once (which is a feat pointing to his softness because once he tried to teach Nat and they yelled at each other the entire time)

HE IS SOFT, CASE CLOSED

——————————————————————————

5. Bellamy Blake

Incited a radical uprising in a highly dangerous and sensitive situation for really no reason at all other than the fact that he wanted to be the de facto leader of something

As per usual, I don’t care about canon characteristics this is my world I can do whatever I want

Every bone in this man’s body is a protective one 

Yes, every single one (No, I’m not sorry about this)

Does not take shit from anyone about her, has definitely shut an entire group of people up for talking about her badly

Gets so nervous when she does anything even remotely dangerous and when she does he’s stuck to her side like glue

He’s so touchy and talks so quietly to her, not because he doesn’t want anyone to hear him call her his baby but because he just literally can’t bring himself to raise his voice he’s that soft for her

Does everything in his power to make sure she’s comfortable which is by no means easy in the slightest

So many forehead kisses that it’s almost barf worthy but he doesn’t care because she loves it and that’s all that matters

The radical leader is a fucking puddle of softness for his baby and that’s final

——————————————————————————

4. Loki

A trickster god who always teeters precariously on the edge of good and evil and no one ever knows which side he’ll favour at any given moment

Except when it comes to his baby then he’s good duh

Tiptoes around her because he would definitely be the type to go for a baby who jumps easily and he’s loud and kind of clunky so he’s always just slow and gentle 

So much gentle teasing and giggling like oh god it’s tooth rotting sweetness

He takes her hands and just puts them on him, like his chest and cheeks and jaw and arms

Anywhere he just wants her touching him all the time 

He rests his chin on her shoulder or head and reads whatever she’s reading or watches her go about her hobbies, kissing her cheek in between 

This girl would never work a day in her life she would be ridiculously well taken care of

Would burn down a city for her with little provoking 

As soft as butter for his baby

——————————————————————————

3. Kai Parker

Bringing back the “needs a therapist, not a girl” but sprinkle in a touch of volatile daddy issues that has created a man so hyper reactive to every negative situation whose only solution is to lash out because he figures no one loves him anyway 

But sweep all that aside because fuck it, I don’t like it 

He would worship his baby 110%

Is the type of man to let her do his nails and put as many face masks as she wants on him

Can’t sleep without her literally on top of him 

He so clingy and touchy, loves when she grabs his hand, internally screams whenever it happens

Has for sure killed for her that isn’t even a question it’s just a fact 

“He didn’t do anything” “he looked at you” “but Kai” “but baby” 

Would do it again

I DON’T CARE: HE’S SOFT FOR HIS BABY

——————————————————————————

2. Jasper Hale

A literal once upon a time confederate soldier who made child soldiers for his dom-vamp girlfriend because he was “in love”

This man has ripped so many heads off so many bodies but I don’t give a single fuck I know he goes home to his baby and just picks her up and does not put her down 

Face it, his family is rich, he doesn’t have to do anything, naps are definitely a big part of his routine and he’s always just snoozing with her on the couch, pulling her onto his lap and pulling a blanket off the back and they’re just asleep

Goes out for dinner with her, makes it through maybe twenty minutes, the entire time he’s waiting for it and then boom, the puppy eyes, game over, they’re home in minutes

Has skipped so many family functions 

Will make any excuse to just go the fuck home 

Sometimes he doesn’t even make an excuse he just fucking leaves

He’s touchy too I just know it look at that face the man lives for contact

The verdict is in-- 100/10 SOFT

——————————————————————————

1. Kol Mikaelson

Perhaps the angriest, most volatile, I-hate-the-world-and-everyone-in-it, thousand year old+ original vampire who has been stomped on so much and died so many times that he has no true sense of the world, trust, and love left

Oh GOD this man, this FUCKING MAN 

THE SOFTEST MAN HOLY SHIT

I don’t even care what y’all think about this one Kol is so damn soft

This man is the inventor of cuddling 

And he doesn’t give one single fuck about where and when I just know it

Family dinner? The witch market? CHURCH?? 

It doesn’t matter, he’s pressed against her 

Oh god this man is protective 

Maybe a little possessive too

I don’t care

His family calls him unpredictable so hey he may as well live up to it and burn down a bar or two or twenty for his baby

Shows her all of his witch things and rambles about them all

Is always pulling one of his shirts or hoodies over her head 

AGAIN BUBBLE BATHS I JUST KNOW IT 

He likes washing her back and just getting to be alone with her 

He likes it even more when she washes his hair like he just sinks to his knees and closes his eyes and gives into it

GOD MY HEART IS BEATING SO FAST FOR HOW SOFT KOL IS

——————————————————————————

[whatifxwereyou]

Ashes Chapter 3: Cracks in the Glass

Pairing: Liu Kang x Reader

Something is very, very wrong with Liu Kang. It's more than grief. You don't know if you can fix it but you certainly have to keep it from getting in the way of your work.

A/N: I'm loving this grief-stricken drama bullshit I've come up with. It's ridiculous! Hope you guys are having fun with it, too! As always, open to suggestions for shenanigans to input. Much love. Your comments and likes are always appreciated.

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You awoke to find that Liu Kang was already waiting on you. He’d always been an early bird. You and Kung Lao had been known to sleep entire days away. You showered, packed up your things, and got on the road. The hike would take nearly the whole day as long as you kept walking and didn’t get lost. With any luck you’d reach the spot marked on the map by the evening. If there was nothing there then you would have to rest and then hike back the next day.

You had faith that there would be something there but Liu was skeptical. You were in a place in your life where you had to believe that most people were good and wanted to help each other. Liu Kang tried to prove you wrong the whole damn hike.

It was awkward. Of course, it was awkward. Why wouldn’t it be? You made occasional conversation about the wildlife and how different it was from China but each topic quickly fell flat. He wanted to say things that he knew you wouldn’t want to hear. You disappeared inside your guilt. Then every conversation was you snapping at each other. Your map followed no clear path and you argued about which way to go. You’d called each other out and apologized a few times but it didn’t make the trip any easier.

As the sun began to set and the trees thinned out, you stopped. There was something else there. You had a good sense for that kind of thing. It felt like you weren’t alone but you couldn’t decide if it was people or animals. Either way, something was amiss.

“We don’t have time for another break, Y/N. It shouldn’t be far from here.” Liu Kang was tired despite his objection. He just wanted to snap at you.

“Shut up.” You hurried to catch up with him and grabbed his forearm as you caught movement. You nodded toward the tree to your right. You weren’t alone. Someone was watching you. Liu set down his bag behind him and you did the same. A rock whizzed by you, and you ducked out of the way. A dozen masked men and women ran out from behind the trees, cloaked and armed with sticks.

You turned so your back was to Liu’s and waited. With a yell, one of the masked warriors came at you. You knocked them to the side and ducked another blow. Then, wheeling back, you kicked another in the back of the neck and to the ground. Then you rolled over them and subdued them. They were being non-lethal so you would be too. It felt to you like they were protecting something.

You could hear Liu Kang fighting behind you and you swept the feet out from beneath another warrior. Then you ducked around Liu to grab the wrist of a man who reached for him in his blind spot. You stepped behind the warrior, twisted his arm back and flipped him to the grass. You yelped as you were suddenly grasped around the middle and tackled to the ground. He’d barely gotten you down when he’d been lifted off his feet and thrown back by Liu Kang. Liu stomped, grasped the air before him and filled it with the fire of his impressive arcana.

You leapt to your feet, out of breath but no worse for wear. Clapping your hands together, you rubbed them and then with a fluid twist of both wrists you used your ink arcana to summon two escrima sticks and then twisted them artfully. Ink spread up your arms and to your shoulders like armor to protect you. Then you stood back-to-back with Liu. There were double the warriors there had been to start with. “You okay?” Liu stole a glance at you behind him. You did the same and caught a scrape on his arm.

“Yeah. You?”

“Fine. You ready?” He gestured to the warriors who had you vastly outnumbered. With a swing, you allowed the sticks to disappear and changed your stance. You were going to make a run for it. It’d been years since you’d fought side by side with Liu Kang but now it felt like you’d practiced together every day since then.

“Enough.” The warriors surrounding you relaxed their stances. Then just north of where you stood, several of the warriors made a gap between them. An older woman walked through the gap, face stern. Her eyes were dark and kind and you didn’t feel threatened by her. With a wave of her hand, the warriors stood down and some even walked back through the forest. You exchanged a worried glance with Liu. “You have passed our test and are welcome here.” Her long brown, but graying, hair was pulled into a ponytail. She turned away and gestured for you. “Follow me.”

“Why attack us if we’re welcome here?” Liu was aggressive and you widened your eyes in panic. It was one thing to fight you on everything, but another to fight every stranger. Oh no. The woman stopped walking but the warriors left, presumably toward a village nearby.

“To test your might, young man.”

“It’s okay, Liu. Whatever this place is? It’s secret and important.” That was your not-so-subtle way of telling him to calm the hell down. You touched his forearm as he continued his aggressive stance and much to your surprise, he shoved your hand off. You stumbled. He picked up his bag and yours and then shoved it at you without looking at you. You took it and held the jade circlet close to your chest. Kung Lao would have smacked the back of his head for being such a jerk.

“Please. Follow me.” The woman requested again. You did as she asked and so Liu Kang, with a haughty sigh, did the same. The trees thinned as you walked and as you suspected, there was a small village hidden beyond. It was old but well loved. It reminded you of Raiden’s Temple in a way. Different, obviously, but it had a similar vibe. The buildings were wooden structures and the warriors who had defended the village were now busy about town, mask-less. There was a big bonfire in the middle of the town but it was only smoldering now. Several people were setting about cooking over it.

If you hadn’t been attacked moments ago then you never would have found them threatening. Liu’s posture suggested that he didn’t agree with you one bit. The woman led you to a house on the other side of town and up the stairs of her porch. She opened the door and led you inside.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Yes, thank you.” You had always been taught it was rude to turn down tea. Especially when you’d intruded on someone’s home.

“No.” Liu, who was usually polite, seemed to have lost that part of himself.

“Please, sit.” The woman gestured to the wooden table near her small kitchen and she set about boiling water and pouring tea for the two of you. Liu was uncomfortable and sat on the very edge of his chair. “What brings you to our village?”

“We have come from the Shaolin Order of Light in search of a man. I am here on behalf of Lord Raiden. The man we seek has a dragon mark and is known as Nightwolf.” Liu’s tone was all sorts of off. He’d been good at this once, you remembered that. Very good at it. He was going to get you kicked out at this rate.

“Why is it you and your Lord Raiden seek this man?”

“We believe…” You began since Liu was coming off rude and were surprised as he interrupted you. You even stuttered a little. You gritted your teeth and forced a smile but it took every instinct in your body not to snap at him for behaving like this.

“Our reasons are only for him to know.”

The woman studied you and so you unclenched your jaw and tried to act natural. “Nightwolf lives in solitude to commune with the Gods and spirits of nature. He is not to be disturbed except for matters of great importance.”

“This is a matter of great importance. I assure you.”

“I’m afraid that I must be the judge of that, young man.”

“Then you’re useless to us.” Liu stood from his chair and you covered your mouth in surprise.

“Liu, this isn’t… you can’t just… uh… calm down.” You decided to try to mediate instead of snap.

“We don’t have time to play games, Y/N.”

“She’s not being unreasonable. I’d want to know if it was me. And you would too. Don’t…”

“Fine. Then you figure it out.” Liu left without another word and you watched him go. You ran your tongue over your teeth and tightened your expression, holding back a thousand frustrating things you wanted to express about how he’d handled that so poorly. The woman made your tea and then sat across from you, a sympathetic smile on her face.

“I apologize.” You bowed your head respectfully. “Do you mind if I take a moment? I need to make sure he’s okay. I’m really sorry about this.” This was going so poorly. Raiden would have smacked both of you on the back of the head and told you to get your shit together, but far more eloquently.

“It’s no problem.” The woman, much to your surprise, seemed amused. “I’ve instructed my people to have a space set up for the two of you to stay as long as you require.”

“I’m so grateful for your understanding. He is too even if he doesn’t act like it.”

“Of course.”

“Oh.” You took a sip of the tea quickly. It was bitter and different than what you were used to at home but not bad. “Thank you for the tea. I’ll be back for it.” The woman laughed and nodded toward the door as if telling you to go. You then rushed out the door to follow Liu who was walking out of town through the trees. You caught up to him and grabbed his arm to make him stop. “What is your deal? You’re usually much more respectful than this. I expect this kind of behavior from Kung Lao, not you.”

“We’re wasting our time. Even if we told her the truth, who is to say that she’ll think we’re worthy of it? I’m tired of being pushed around. We’ll find him on our own.”

“This isn’t a waste of time, Liu. We just got here! You can’t be mad at them for protecting themselves! You don’t know what their lives are like here. We intruded upon their home, and they acted accordingly. This woman has been exceedingly kind since we were allowed in and has given us more information than anyone else. That’s valuable. You have to at least give it a chance.”

“What kind of information, Y/N? Some nonsense about solitude and communing with the Gods?”

“Says the monk who lives in a temple where he communes with an ancient god every day.”

“You know what, Y/N?” He began, raising his voice. You braced yourself for the rest of the fight that was coming and had a feeling it was going to get ugly and fast. Much to your surprise, he didn’t continue. Instead, he took a breath, looked you over, rubbed the back of his neck and walked away, dismissing you with a wave. What the hell?

“Liu?”

“Don’t follow me.” He scolded back at you. You stood staring in shock. He was not himself, not at all. You were worried about him. Closing your eyes, you prayed for him to find peace. Kung Lao’s death had broken him. And you had surely made it worse. That was probably why he’d avoided you. It was why you’d avoided him. Then again, you were grieving too. Neither one of you were your best selves right now.

You missed Kung Lao.

What would he have done in this situation? He would have followed Liu Kang and annoyed him until either they fought or he’d talked. You didn’t think that you had it in you emotionally to do that. You knew what was bothering him and there were no words that could fix it.

You made it worse. You had to remind yourself of that. He needed to cool down and you would let him have his peace.

Next Chapter >>

[mlovesstories]

Time is Money

Summary- YN feels ignored by her dad, Sam, so Dean, Mary, and John try to help. 

Warnings: selfish Sam, cussing

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Masterlist of Masterlists

“Daddy?” YN came into Sam’s study. 

“I’m busy, baby.” He flipped through some paperwork on his desk. 

“But I need help with my math homework.” 

“Ask Dean,” he said dismissively. 

YN sighed and walked out of the room. 

“Beast?” She tiredly approached her uncle. He could tell the defeat in her voice. 

“What’s up, beauty?” Dean used her nickname. 

“Can you help me with my homework?” YN continued looking at the floor. 

“Hey,” he took his finger and lifted her chin. “No pouting. Yes. I can help you. Show me what ya got.” 

After tears and frustration, YN finished her homework. 

“Thank you, beast,” she hugged her uncle. 

“You’ll always be my beauty. Even when you cry.” He smiled. 

“I love you.” 

Sam entered and was about to go to his room when he stopped and told them he was going to bed. Obviously still upset from her evening, YN sulked. 

“Aren’t you going to spend time with her? She had a rough day.” Dean asked. 

“So did I, and I’m exhausted.” Sam ran up the steps of the house. YN’s face fell. 

“It’s okay. Let’s go relax before bedtime.” Dean stroked his thumb over her hand. 

“No thanks.” YN started toward her room when Dean turned her and brought her into his body, her head hitting his ribs. 

“Yes. You need to calm down before bed. Hard day.” 

“Okay.” 

The ten year-old snuggled into her uncle until she fell asleep. Not having school the next day, Dean didn’t wake her to go to her own bed.

“Dad?” YN slowly entered her father’s room the next morning. 

“Huh?” He rolled over. 

“You said we would be going to breakfast today.”

“Oh I’m sorry, sweetie.” He looked at the clock. . I need to go, thanks for waking me up. Business lunch.” Sam shooed her out of the room as he scrambled to get ready. “Bye, YN!” He yelled at her as she sat on the barstool in the kitchen with a small, bland cup of coffee. 

Dean walked in with messy hair.

“Morning! I thought we talked to you about no coffee, beauty?”

“Yeah, well, he was supposed to take me to breakfast, but that didn’t work out. So I made what I knew how to.” 

“Again?” Dean asked, angry at his brother. YN nodded. 

“He had a business meeting and woke up late.” 

“That idiot.” Dean said to himself. “Come on. I have a later shift at the shop. Bring your computer to keep yourself busy while I’m working. We’re going to breakfast.” 

“It’s 11am?”

“Brunch, then. You wanna go or not?” Dean grinned. 

“Can I get chocolate chip pancakes and have some hot chocolate? PLEASE, beast? I’ll be good at the shop, I promise!”

“How can I say no to you?” He sarcastically sighed. 

“Yes!” 

They enjoyed their time together, and she helped Dean at the shop. She loved seeing her grandpa and all the guys she had known since she was little. They spent time with her and showed her how to do things… unlike someone else she knew. 

“Cher!” Benny shouted to get her attention. “You want to help me?” 

Turning from her computer on the desk, her eyes lit up. 

She practically ran to him. 

“Has your uncle taught you about wrenches?”

“Are you kidding? First thing I learned!” YN laughed. 

“Perfect. I need to go under the car. Can you hand them to me?” 

“If i can go under the car too!”

“We’ll see…” Benny rolled his eyes. 

“Sweet! Yes!” 

“Why did you take her to the garage?” Sam grilled his brother when he got home that night. 

“You didn’t tell us you had a meeting and I had work so I had to take her! I can’t leave the kid at home, you know that. Besides, she had a great time like she always does. Dad and Benny were there, what are you so afraid of?”

“Beast?” YN barreled down the stairs. “Can you-“

“I was talking to your uncle.” Sam interrupted her. “You came in the middle of our conversation without even asking if we were talking.” 

“Sorry, Dad. I didn’t know you were home. Never mind.” 

“What do you need? You might as well say it now.” Her father rolled his eyes. 

“I was going to ask Dean if he wanted to throw the football with me…” she was almost in tears from her dad’s cross attitude. 

“He can’t.” Sam growled. 

YN looked to her uncle, confused. 

“It’s okay, pretty girl. Go brush your teeth and then we can. Promise.” He smiled. 

She raced off to do as he asked. 

“YN listens to you.” 

“Well, yeah.” Dean said sarcastically. “I’m awesome.” 

“Whatever. I have a late court hearing. Gotta go.” Sam gathered his brief case and keys before leaving the house. 

John walked in as Sam left. 

“Grandpa!” YN abounded into his arms. 

“Hello, sweets!” He wrapped his long limbs around her. 

“What’s up, Dad?” Dean walked into the foyer. 

“On my way home, brought some food.” 

YN grabbed for it when Dean stopped her. 

“You just brushed your teeth,” he laughed. 

“Fine, fine. I’ll just put it away.”

“Have a candy bar anyway,” her grandpa whispered. 

“I heard that.” Dean said plainly. “Go, i didn’t see a thing.” He smiled at YN.

She scampered into the kitchen with the bag of food. 

“When will Sam get home?” John asked. 

”i don’t know. He never tells us anymore.” Dean shrugged as he led his dad into the living room.

“What?” 

YN walked back into the room and snuggled into her grandpa’s side. 

“He’s gone a lot.” YN looked at him. 

John shook his head in disappointment. 

“How much does Dad make an hour?”

Both men looked at her, confused. 

“Umm, I think he said $40 an hour?” Dean eyed her. 

“That’s a lot of money.” YN sighed. “Now I get why he doesn’t hang out with me,” she started to stand but John grabbed her jacket on instinct and the force of it made her land back on the couch. 

“You are not allowed to say that.” 

“Grandpa, he is always gone. Forget it. I need to go to bed. School tomorrow. Good night.” YN kissed John and Dean on the cheek before running up the stairs to get away from the tension. 

“He’s losing her,” John stared plainly. 

“Yep. I’m more of a dad to her than he is. I pick her up from school, I watch her, I pack her lunch. I don’t mind doing that. She’s my favorite girl, but he should be there for her.” 

“I’ll talk to him,” John groaned. 

Sam was dropping YN off at John and Mary’s house for a sleepover when John asked to speak to him privately. 

“Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”

“What? Dad, I gotta go-“ 

“Exactly.”

“Huh?” Sam titled his head. 

“You’re always going. When was the last time you had a meal with YN?” 

“Oh, don’t placate me.” Sam rolled his eyes. 

“This is my house and you will be respectful!” John growled at his son. 

“UGH,” Sam stomped out of the guest bedroom. “YN! We’re leaving!” He called out for his daughter. 

“What?” She almost ran into him, trying to follow his voice. “We just got here. I’m supposed to spend the night.” 

“We’re leaving.”

“No. Dean said I could and you did too. I got a good grade on my test, and Grandma said she was going to make me waffles. I’m not leaving.” YN turned to walk toward the kitchen. 

“Don’t throw a hissy fit. We got her. Go do your damn stuff. Remember that she is yours, not Dean’s,  not ours. Yours. Get out of here. She doesn’t want you here anyway,” his dad gritted his teeth. 

Sam’s eyes went wide. 

“Fine.” He walked outside of the house with a huff. 

“Come on,” John guided her to the kitchen.”Don’t worry about him. He’s being an ass.” 

“Hey! Language!” Mary grinned. 

“Grandma, don’t worry. He is old, forgets that I’m ten and shouldn’t hear big person words.” YN started laughing. John threw her over his shoulder. 

“Ah!” YN giggled. Her grandpa softly put her on the couch. 

“You know he loves you right?”

“Nah.” YN said, waving him off. “Dean does. He takes me places and lets me have fun. Dad just wants me to do homework.”

“Sam is very driven. He just doesn’t have his priorities right.” 

“Yeah, he DRIVES me crazy.” YN rolled her eyes. 

“He does love you. I promise. Come on, let’s go eat some dinner,” he smiled. 

That night, YN asked if she could do chores to earn some money. 

“Uhhh.” Mary looked good John, confused. 

“Why? We will always provide for you.” John looked at his grand daughter. 

“My dad makes forty dollars an hour. I need forty dollars so that we can hang out. I’ve already gotten twenty.” 

Her grandparents’ eyes went wide. 

“You don’t have to-“

“Yes, I do. He always says an hour is worth forty dollars to him. So i need forty dollars.” 

“No, sweetie.” Mary walked YN to the couch. “I didn’t know you felt like that.” 

“Well, he doesn’t pay attention to anything unless he is making money.” 

“Don’t you worry. He will turn around.” John walked away into a back room and pulled his phone out of his pocket. 

Sam walked into his house at 11pm. 

“Hi,” Dean said in the dark. 

“Dude, what have I told you? Don’t do that! I’m exhausted.” 

“Mhmm.” Dean rolled his eyes. Sam turned on the lights. 

“Why are you not in your pajamas? It’s late.” Sam tilted his head when he saw his brother in jeans and a Henley.  “Please tell me you are not about to interrogate me. You’re in your interrogation clothes at this time of night.”

“I need to talk to you.” 

“What now? I would like to get my beauty sleep.”

“Beauty would like to get her sleep too, ya know.” 

“Huh?” 

“Your beautiful daughter needs you. She climbs into MY bed, she relies on ME to have the tough conversations and discipline her. I don’t mind doing those things, but you should be doing most of it. You’re her father. She misses you.” 

“Don’t tell me how to raise-“

“I will, because i am doing it by myself, and she isn’t even mine! I love her! I do, but it’s your job. You don’t like it that I take her to the shop? Then you come home. You don’t like it that I make her pancakes three times a week? Come make her breakfast.” 

“Dean,” Sam started. 

“No. You know what she told me? Time is money. So she is trying to earn $40 for an hour of your time, since that’s what you make an hour as a lawyer.” 

Sam was about to bite back, but he stopped. 

“You told her that you are worth forty dollars an hour, and she wants time with you. That’s not fair, Sam. Go get your girl tomorrow morning after she has her damn waffles, and don’t come back without her.” Dean took off his shirt to change into his pajamas as he exited the room, sighing heavily. 

Sam stood in his place for a moment. 

She’s working to earn money? For an hour with me? What have I done to my girl? 

The next morning, Sam picked her up from his parents’. 

On the ride home, he took a detour. 

“Aren’t we going home?”

“I thought we could go shopping for those new shoes you wanted,” he smiled.

“That’s okay, Dad. I can get them later.” 

“You and I are going to have the afternoon together. It will be fun.” 

“Please just take me home,” YN looked out the window. 

“I haven’t spent time with my girl in a long time, so that’s what we are doing today.” 

“Fine.” She said plainly. 

“Good.” Sam decided he would welcome any response he got from her. 

They went to her favorite lunch place. Sam saw a smile reach her face when he pulled into the parking lot. 

She was quiet as they ate. 

“I heard you were earning some cash to hang out with me.” He curiously looked up at YN. She shrugged.

“I wanted time with you.” 

“I didn’t realize how much I hadn’t been paying attention to you. Your uncle set me straight last night. I’ll be better at giving you my time without forty dollars an hour. Time is money, except when it comes to family. Got it?” 

YN didn’t look at him. 

“Hey, I promise.” Sam tried again. 

“I hope you mean it.” YN grumbled.

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