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stories-by-rie · 3 years ago

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Chapter 2 - Heart of Silver

Four years before Evelyn gets herself cursed, she meets Ariel for the first time; and a second time, featuring a stinky Mare.

words: 2665 || masterlist

It had all started in a club. It was a tiny one, close to the university, with mostly students working and partying there. For many, it was both a good way to earn a bit on the side, and to get the mind off nearing exams. The music was mostly pop, with some nichey songs in between, mixed in a way where no one could really complain.

For Evelyn, it simply was too loud. She could feel the bass in her heart. The room’s air was hot and heavy, and smelled like alcohol and sweat. People were screaming over the music, laughing, possibly also being aggressive.

Her phone buzzed in her hand.

Mareike wrote, just leave, come over to mine instead, we’re having chocolate cake and watching old horror movies.

With a sigh, Evelyn typed her answer, I promised Kyla, I should at least stay a full hour. She held onto her first beer, but people pushed from all sides, so she slipped up anyway and felt the grip on her bottle lessen. Really, in such situations one had to set priorities, so she focused on the bottle, stumbled over someone else’s foot, and saw her phone fall to the ground. Over the loud noise, she didn’t hear it hit the ground, but she flinched nonetheless.

“Very sorry!” she yelled to whoever she had run into without even looking up, eyes on the ground. As she reached out to it, she saw her hand shaking slightly. Too much noise and too many people.

Her phone buzzed on the ground, the blue light showing her just where to reach.

“Broken?” A voice asked and when Evelyn looked at her phone, it indeed had a thin line running through the display.

“Just the display, I hope. Sorry, again.”

“No problem. You should have stuck with simple mobile phones, they don’t break that easily.”

Evelyn finally looked at the person who held a flip-phone in one of their hands, an alarmingly blue cocktail in the other that was only overshadowed by the bright blue of their hair.

“That’s so 2009,” was all Evelyn could say which was not a good thing for small-talk, but she blamed it on her anxiety or the alcohol.

“You don’t look like you want to be here,” the person said, tilting their head in a way that made the colourful lights reflect in their glasses for a moment.

“I really, really don’t want to be here.”

“Then why are you?”

“My… my friends are somewhere-” she pointed in the general direction of the dance floor where it was impossible to single out any familiar faces in the mass of dancing people.

“Ah,” was all the other said. For some reason, Evelyn was certain she was understood despite her stammering.

“I’m Evelyn,” she mumbled, ignoring the buzzing in her hand again. She wasn’t sure if she would meet the other again, if in any way exchanging names would matter. But she felt compelled to.

“Ariel. I use they/them pronouns, if you were wondering.”

Evelyn replied with a smile. She had been wondering.

“That’s a nice name.”

“Thanks, I chose it myself.” Ariel grinned and drank a bit of their cocktail.

And -- really, this could only be blamed on Evelyn’s anxious state paired with the alcohol -- she blurted out, “Ariel as in the Little Mermaid?”

Ariel nearly choked on their drink and shook their head. “Curses, no!” Even if they looked a bit amused and somewhat quieter, though enough to be heard, they added, “Ariel as in the Sylph in The Tempest by Shakespeare.”

Evelyn smiled and put the phone in her jeans pocket, held onto the bottle in her hand instead.

“Why are you here?” she then asked, even if it was probably a dumb question. Most people did come to party after all, but Ariel seemed to have come on their own and at least that was a bit unusual.

“I am glad you asked. I heard there’s a Mare living in the air vent in the restrooms. I came to kick it out.”

“By yourself?” Evelyn nearly dropped her beer again.

“Well, I hoped I would run into someone who is better with those creature thingies than me, but if this turns out to be fruitless, I am willing to drag the Mare out with my own hands.”

“Don’t do that! A Mare is much stronger than you and would cling to you instead! You would not even notice, just feel the pressure on your chest and suffer tremendously from bad dreams every night- that’s- that’s really not how you’re supposed to handle Mares!” Evelyn had spoked too fast, stumbled over her own tongue in haste to keep Ariel from making a mistake, and only now that she saw their -- victorious? -- grin, did she notice what she said. It felt as if she had walked straight into a trap.

“Sounds a bit like you know your fair share.” The way Ariel said it, they did not sound in the least surprised.

“You knew.”

“What are you in for again?”

“Psychology.” Evelyn took a step back, clutching her beer tighter.

Ariel followed her, narrowing their eyes. “Liar.”

“I studied Mythology and Mystical Practices before, but I didn’t graduate, so it doesn’t mean anything.”

“You still have the knowledge, though.” Ariel looked smug, sipping on their cocktail and Evelyn knew that they wouldn’t relent. But it really was not in her place to help.

“If there is a Mare in the vent, you should notify the building’s janitor, so that they can then call a company that specialises in this. The insurance might not cover the victims’ therapy if the whole situation isn’t handled following the book, so. Please, really, don’t mess with it. Sometimes it’s better to just leave these things alone.”

Nausea spread in her stomach. It was time to go. She really had indulged her friends for long enough, wherever they might be amusing themselves. Her heart beat in an unsteady rhythm, calling for sleep or distractions. She turned around, looking at the green exit sign, but Ariel kept talking.

“I already did notify the janitor, but he didn’t take me seriously. So I then contacted the owner, but he would not even talk to me. That’s why I decided to take the matter into my own hands and you will help me.”

“I absolutely will not.” The thought alone made her skin itchy, made the air in the club even harder to breathe. She looked down at her phone, several messages demanding to be read. She quickly unlocked it and opened the group chat.

I’ll head home, hope you still have some fun! Had a nice evening ^^

To Mareike’s messages of, r u home yet? just send an emoji that ur fine, she replied with a sparkles emoji.

“I’ll go,” she said, looking up to Ariel, but they were already gone. A hint of guilt crept into her bones – maybe she had been too harsh? But her heart beat so fast it made her cheeks feel hot, so she really needed fresh air. She put down her beer on a nearby table and fought her way through the sweaty bodies until she saw the night sky above her. The summer heat was not much better.

The second time she met Ariel was roughly two weeks after their first encounter, on campus during lunch time. Ariel was sitting – lounging – on a bench under some birches. The small leaves were barely enough to provide shelter from the staggering sun. Evelyn really just noticed them because their iced coffee fell right out of their hand, rolling all the way down to her feet.

“You lost something,” Evelyn said and held out the cup to them. She felt more than uncomfortable the longer she stood there, but she had started it now, maybe feeling still a bit guilty for the last time. The lid had kept most of the coffee inside but some of the cold and slightly sticky beverage still dripped down her fingers. Ariel pushed up their heart-shaped sunglasses, their own glasses underneath, and looked at the cup quizzically. Since they had last met, Ariel had gotten deep shadows under their red-rimmed eyes.

“You look awful,” Evelyn said, forgetting about the existence of her verbal filter.

“Thanks, it’s the exams.”

“What do you-”

“Doing my Masters in Curses.”

“That’s a thing?”

Ariel froze a bit and then mumbled, “I am sort of making it a thing?”

They finally took the iced coffee out of Evelyn’s hand, took off the lid, chugged it all at once and threw it into the bin next to the bench.

“Sounds very cool. And useful,” Evelyn mumbled and nearly missed how Ariel’s eyes shut again, only for them to flinch back awake. “You seem incredibly tired, though.”

“It’s the stress, don’t worry. It’s giving me bad dreams, is all.”

They looked each other in the eyes, communicating silently that they both knew that the other knew. It was Evelyn who finally broke it.

“You can’t be serious. You really went into that vent to get the Mare alone? You can’t just do that.”

Ariel just shrugged and let the sunglasses drop down again. “Well, actually I could. It wasn’t even hard. I just climbed from the toilet seat to the air vent – which is much smaller than it looks in movies, by the way – and crawled through it following the snoring sounds. Then I saw the Mare – which was the ugliest thing I laid sight upon so far, by the way – and hunted it through the maze. Just that I kinda lost it after ten seconds or so. I swear I could still hear it, but it was just too dark and I didn’t really think to bring a flash-light. Damn, it really scared the shit out of me, because I kept turning around? But there was nothing.”

“That’s because the Mare climbed onto your back and stuck to you then. I told you that would happen, but you didn’t listen. So of course you are tired now, you’re haunted by it.”

“Ah, right. You did say that.” Ariel rested their head on their hand and pouted. “That’s the bad dreams then.”

“Yeah. Mares eat good dreams, so you only have the bad ones, and more of them to fill the blanks.” Evelyn sat down next to them, a little helpless.

“I never have good dreams, though. Just weird ones. The kind where a giant slug comes and eats my master thesis and I give it strawberries as a thank. I miss the slug, I used to call it Bob.”

Evelyn raised an eyebrow at them, uncertain if they were being serious, joking, or if it was the lack of sleep.

“Well, maybe you will get lucky and the Mare will lose its sanity and leave you alone soon.”

“That can happen?”

“No.”

Ariel groaned and stretched, only to slump down again. “What do I do now?”

“Hire a company to get rid of it. Just know that no insurance company is gonna cover it, because you dragged the Mare into your bedroom yourself. You basically asked it to come inside.”

Ariel pulled a face and sighed heavily. “I can’t afford that. Can’t you come?”

“If you study curses, haven’t you covered mythological practices in your bachelor's too?”

“Not really. Just in theory. In more practical terms, I already only focused on curses back then. I want to be a curse-broker, so I never bothered with anything beyond ghosts. You seem to be able to, though. You never once mentioned that you wouldn’t be able to help me, just that you didn’t want to.”

Evelyn didn’t answer. They were right, of course. She had learnt everything she needed to know long before she had entered uni for the first time, growing up as the daughter of the owners of a company specializing on mythological creatures. Studying that at uni was supposed to only give her the licence to work in the field, she hadn’t gained new knowledge at any point.

“Have you ever considered that I might really suck at dealing with creatures? I might make the situation worse for you,” she then mumbled, staring at the blue sky behind the birch leaves. She said it barely loud enough to be understood.

“Do you?” Ariel worked through their bag and pulled out two lollies, offering one to Evelyn.

“No,” she replied truthfully. “I am really bad with curses, though.” She unwrapped the lolly and put it into her mouth. “Curses are more my sister’s expertise.”

Something in her voice must have betrayed her feelings. The hurt, the anger, the resentment. It was all she had to say to be understood. Ariel stayed silent for a long time as they sat on that bench, letting the lollies turn their tongues green. When lunch break was over, students walked over the campus to different buildings, but they stayed seated.

“She’s not dead, tho, is she? Wait! Did a Mare kill her?” Ariel then suddenly asked, their voice a bit shrill that it made Evelyn giggle.

“Nah, don’t worry. Mares aren’t high class enough to kill you. Maybe the after effect of the insomnia would in due time, but I don’t know many cases in which it went that far,” Evelyn explained and bit on the lolly stick after the sugar had dissolved inside her mouth. “My sister’s fine. She went abroad.” Evelyn then frowned as the trees’ shadows moved with the sun, the bright light blinding her now. They had sat there for a while. “To the USA. I haven’t seen her in a while, it’s been one and a half years.”

“You were close?” Ariel asked softly. Evelyn heard how they were more serious now.

“Yeah. I mean. I am pretty sure that I am always closer to people than they are to me. But we got along well. We were a good team. She got this really good research opportunity in Philadelphia though. It’s good she went.”

“But you still miss her.” Ariel handed her a new lolly with a grin and she accepted.

“Yeah, I do. Of course, I do.”

“Hm.” Ariel unwrapped their second lolly as well, eyes still droopy from their accidental nap. “Is she the reason you don’t go in the field anymore?”

“More or less,” Evelyn started, and the fear of oversharing hit her. But Ariel had asked, in some way at least. “After she left, I tried to make up for the gap she left behind. It did not work out well. I messed up this one job and no one got hurt, but it just reminded me that I was kinda raised into it all and it felt wrong so I left.”

“Huh. So you dumped your whole study subject?”

“Yeah. I worked without a license. My parents covered it all up, which just felt even more wrong. I should have had to face the consequences, or at least my parents. I should have gotten banned from field work anyway, so leaving was the only choice to make.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Sometimes. A bit.”

“I have just the thing. Back at home there’s a Mare that I can’t afford to kick out professionally. It’s kinda stealing my sleep.”

Without Evelyn noticing, they had come closer, a slightly mischievous grin on their lips. There really was no way to say no to them now. At some point she must have said something close to a yes, because Ariel was dragging her down the stairs towards the town and their apartment where the Mare occupied their bed. Evelyn wondered every now and then if all that conversation had been some detailed plan to lead her into that trap until she followed Ariel home to help them with the creature. But then again, she somehow had also followed Ariel into that new, quite weird friendship between them, so she did not actually mind that much.

----

previous chapter || WIP intro || masterlist || next chapter

#writeblr #novella #my writing #original fiction #fantasy #urban fantasy #ghosts #curses #wip; heart of silver #heart of silver chapter 2 #tw alcohol

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reality-exodus · 3 years ago

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Episode 7 1/2 pt.2

"For Duskwood?" The driver asked through the speakers and I shot up looking around "Yes... wait a moment please." I spoke up as the loud sound of the speaker woke me up from the abstracted oblivion I had sank into during the route of the bus. The bus stopped, it didn't go to Duskwood it left me in the outskirts. I took a deep breath and disembarked the vehicle. It was high time I met my, for so long, pen friends. It had been a week since Richy's early passing, I haven't been able to talk to anyone but Jake, who was filling in the group for my progress via Lilly. I didn't talk again about this subject to anyone.

I got out of the bus and my gaze fell on the magnificent forest of Duskwood. It indeed looked scary... and dark. I hadn't realized that I was staring at it insistingly until I heard a horn and shot my head to that direction to notice two familiar faces with beard. I smiled at the vision of them expecting me on the road and started walking towards where the car was. Dan got out of the car and he raised his arms up as I was approaching with my suitcase.

"M/C" He sighed and pulled me in a hug, I let out a soft chuckle and hugged him back rubbing his back. He was taller than me, nothing compared to how he was as when we first talked to each other.

"Hello Dan" I let out a sigh of relief as we both tightened the hug for some moments. "How are you?" I asked him as we broke the hug and looked at each other. Things were sort of awkward, it was normal and it didn't bother me.

"We are doing the best we can... Hopefully you will upbeat Jessy a bit. But we will have time for that" Dan sighed and picked up my suitcase and I got in the backseat.

"Hello" I greeted Thomas as he turned and looked at me from the rearview mirror.

"Hey there..." I sighed and smiled awkwardly as Dan shut the door of the car, getting in.

"So how was your trip?" Dan asked me as I put on the utility belt. You never know what happens.

"Tiring... dull." I exhaled once again taking out my phone as I felt it vibrate and blushed a bit as I saw Jake's contact popping up on my screen. "It's Jake ..." I sighed and looked at them.

The boys looked at each other and sighed. "I really do want to talk to him..." Dan huffed looking at me with the corner of his eye. In the past he told me times galore to not trust the hacker... But well who knew I fell in love with him.

I took a deep breath and slid my finger upon the screen. "Hey..." I smiled blushed looking at the camera. "Hello M/C. Are you alright?" Jake was heard, he still had the voice altering application.

"Yeah... I am with Dan and Thomas actually. They just picked me up from the bus... They are here actually." I spoke to him and there was some silence.

"Hey Hacker!" Dan exclaimed loudly to be heard.

"Daniel, Thomas" Jake was heard.

"How are you doin?" Dan asked at the same tone.

"I am good. Still working on Hannah with M/C..." Jake spoke up.

"Good... Now if you'll excuse us we are busy." Dan said rudely.

"Dan!" I exclaimed annoyed frowning at him.

"Do not worry M/C. Text me when you are available..." Jake said and finished the call before I could even say goodbye.

"Good one Dan" Thomas huffed as his expressionless face was fixed on the road.

"Yea Dan, way to go" I deadpanned as I took out my headphones in order to listen to some music.

"Don't let his ass drag you down. Here connect your phone to the car." Thomas offered trying to repair the atmosphere Dan ruined.

"Oh Thanks... I appreciate" I smiled a bit to Thomas' intention and connected my phone to his car radio and put on my music. "You are probably the rap sort of guys or Metal or Rock. Billie Eillish and Bishop Briggs won't be your type of music..." I commented.

"Well You are not worse than Jessy... she listens to Justin Bieber." Dan laughed as 'Good girls go to hell' started being heard.

The way was long and Thomas said we were going on Phil's place where both me and Jessy would stay. I had fallen asleep on the backseat. I was extremely tired from my trip and the boys closed the music to keep me sleeping as Dan said I was even snoring.

"M/C" Thomas extended his hand and shook me as I ended up laying across the seat. "Wake up, we are here." He said smoothly and I blinked my eyes open sitting up. I fixed my dress and got out of the car as we moved in the block of flats with Thomas who was helping me with my bags. Dan did not do well with Phil so Thomas would show and help me upstairs.

I knocked the door as Thomas was leaving, he waved at me as Jessy opened the door. I took a deep breath at the footsteps I heard and the door opened soon and I faced a redhead girl, she was pale, and her hazel eyes were red and swollen from the grieve and the tears. I knew it was Jessy, I could recognize her despite the blues that worn upon her petite figure. She was shorter than me but with elegant curves. She was more beautiful in real.

"Excuse you my brother is not here." Jessy spoke with a huff, her shaking voice sounded angry.

"Thank god then..."I replied "I wouldn't be that fond of his arrogance right now." I added with a sigh.

"Oh my gosh M/C" she exclaimed and hugged and I responded rubbing her back. I expected the hug and I really liked it too."Its so good to finally meet you Jess" I sighed as I placed my chin on her shoulder as she is shorter than me.

"Me too." She sniffed. "You must be tired come on in" Jessy dragged in my suitcase and closed the door behind us.

"Indeed I am, I even fell asleep at the car on our way here..." I sighed. "I am going to make something for you to eat, you change and pick a movie and I'll get the pizza, no mushrooms extra tomato sauce." Jessy said and I smiled brightly at her as I moved to the bathroom and put on my pajamas and crushed back at the couch we were sitting before. "I am ready with a film." I spoke as I set up the TV with my laptop. "What movie?" Jess was heard. "V for Vendetta" I said with a smile as I texted good night to Jake. "You can't be serious?" Jessy let out a small laugh as she poked her head to look at me. "No really that's the movie we are watching." I nodded gazing at her innocently. "Is this some sort of type you have?" she asked as she sat next to me placing the pizza and the wine on the coffee table and covered both of us with the blanket. "Is this a Jake reference?" I asked and blushed as I took the glass of red wine. "You are really smart aren't you?" she giggled and I sighed in relief as she seemed to be forgetting reality, with Richy.

I've been thinking about all day long. What he said, he heard a scream calling his name specifically, and then he recognized Hannah's voice. And then the his wide eyes staring right at me as his last breath was abandoning him. I haven't told anyone, not even Jake. The only thing I want is to find Hannah in one piece. I don't have anyone to worry or miss me... Atleast not someone who knows me. And things with Jake are really blurry but he simply denies to say anything or give me a hope...

I fell asleep on Jessy's lap during the film and I felt her stroking my hair, cover me better with the blanket and then leaving. I didn't pay much attention I was too tired for it so I let sleep take the best of me.

I shot my eyes open at the sound of cricking that came from the main entrance. I didn't move an inch from my position in fear... The man without a face? The governmental pursuers of Jake? I sincerely do not know which is worse. I surveyed the dark living room at Phil's place, seeking for something, an object, that I could defend myself with. I caught a glimpse of the wine bottle me and Jessy drank earlier. I extended my hand and grasped it as I fell off the couch and crawled to the hall standing by as a figure with a long coat stepped in and looked around.

I lost no time and brought with force the bottle to his head as he let out a gasp and turned around. It was too dark for me to see any features upon his face I made a move to punch him in my effort to prevent him from doing what ever he was to do to me and Jess. He grabbed my wrist and turn me around stretching my hand to my back and pinning me to the wall as he leaned his face to my face and

"My sister usually has less violent friends M/C" I heard him whisper as he breathed down my neck and stroked my waist.

"Phil Hawkins" I breath out in relief and let loose.

"In flesh" He chuckled and let go of me still holding my hand. "And you are M/C..." He spoke in realization and switched the light on and looked at me.

"Are you alright?" I asked feeling embarrassed as I was trying to calm down.

"I am but you will have to pay me back for the hospitality and my destroyed hair." Phil had a smirk upon his lips as his eyes were upon me.

"Oh of course" I nodded recovering from the embarrassment from before. "What can I do for you?" I asked politely.

"Oh many things. But how about I take you out for a drink. You can see me on duty too." Phil smiled softly.

"Sure I could ask the rest to come too." I smiled politely making an effort to avoid him.

"I was hoping for something more private but whatever makes you feel better." Phil spoke and stroked my waist discreetly and I pulled myself to drink some water.

"Um I should go and sleep, Jessy will wake me up in a few hours for... for the funeral." I stuttered and sat down "Good night Phil." I spoke and covered myself with Jessy's pink blanket.

"I would be better with you cutie but Good night" Phil waved and winked at me vanishing in the corridor.

I laid back down and closing my eyes praying that sleep will come after this scare. But it didn't so I reach for my phone

'Jake? Are you awake?'

'M/C everything alright?'

'Yes, I mean, I was sleeping Phil walked in his house and I got scared and attacked him... I am still edgy'

'I assure you are safe. Are you alright now?'

'Yea I shooed Phil to sleep and laid back down. Can you imagine I slipped away only with a cocktail date at aurora's with everyone 😊'

'Well I knew you were smart. Did he tried anything cute?'

I choked on my water as I saw the screen, I liked that he didn't bother being elegant and discreet with the question 'No I put him back in his place.' I said as the smile wouldn't leave my lips any time soon.

'You should sleep, the funeral is in three hours' He texted

'You are right, Sweet dreams Jake' I texted and placed my phone to the coffee table and heard it buzz with his reply, I didn't see it now. I wanted to see it in the morning.

#duskwood #duskwood thomas #duskwood hannah #duskwood jessy #duskwood richy #duskwood dan #duskwood lilly #duskwood phil #duskwood jake #duskwood cleo #duskwood everbyte #everbyte studios #duskwood mc #duskwood mc x jake #jake x mc #jessy x mc #phil x mc

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thatsassyhufflepuff · 4 years ago

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Stronger Than Blood Chapter 25: Felicity

Summary: Hufflepuff witch Felicity Zabini struggles to find normalcy as she enters into her 6th year at Hogwarts, reeling from her father’s sudden death and her mother’s quick remarriage into the Zabini family. If only she had known that discovering Draco Malfoy falling apart in the bathroom would spiral into so much more.

Word count: 3.8k

Warnings: cursing, angst, fluff

Ao3

I woke up to the sound of tapping against my window, Draco’s arm slung over my waist. He hadn’t even covered himself up with a blanket. I had to roll my eyes at that, but I appreciated the gentlemanly gesture all the same. I glanced around my room before transfiguring one of the bean bag chairs into a blanket. I made quick work of draping it over my boyfriend’s sleeping form before I moved to my window as quietly as I could.

A truly majestic owl greeted me with an indignant hoot, as if to say, “What in Merlin’s name took you so long?” I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“Who might you be?” I murmured in a low voice, stroking the snowy white owl’s feathers with two fingers. It only allowed me to pet it for a few seconds before he -- it seemed like a he, anyway-- pecked at my hand impatiently, practically shoving the letter tied to its leg at my hand. I glared at it before untying the envelope from around its leg. The little wretch left as soon as I offered it an owl treat from the jar I kept on the windowsill.

I glanced at my alarm clock. It was only six in the morning. Who on Earth would be writing me this early? I tore open the envelope. The parchment enclosed inside the envelope was exquisite, with intricate designs on the corners, some sort of family crest embossed on one corner. I was reminded of the stationary Mr. Zabini used. Whoever sent this letter came from money, that was certain. Before I had the chance to read the letter, a little handheld mirror fell out of the envelope and into my lap.

“What the--” I caught it before it hit the ground, placing it back in my lap. Now I had to know who had written me. I turned my attention to the letter, hoping it contained an answer. The handwriting was breathtakingly beautiful, reminding me of calligraphy, except it was easier to read.

Miss Zabini,

I apologize for writing to you at such an early hour, but I’m afraid my curiosity has gotten the best of me. Would you join me for tea as soon as you’ve read this letter and prepared yourself accordingly? No need to dress up. Your Hogwarts uniform will do. The mirror included in the envelope is a Portkey to Malfoy Manor that will activate in half an hour.

Sincerely,

Narcissa Malfoy

I nearly choked on my own spit. Draco’s mother invited me to tea! I glanced over at him, wondering if I should wake him. He looked so peaceful that I decided against it, instead getting dressed as quietly and as quickly as I could.

***

Thirty minutes later, I was standing in front of Malfoy Manor. It was enormous, even bigger than my own home. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my robes, gripping my wand, which helped me calm down just a bit. If this was a trap, I knew how to defend myself.

The sun was just beginning to rise as I approached the front door. I couldn’t quite stop my hand from trembling as I knocked.

To my immense relief, Narcissa didn’t answer the door. Instead, a male house elf stared up at me, covered in a rather dirty dish towel. “Miss Zabini?” he asked in a timid voice. I smiled, hoping to put him at ease.

“That’s me,” I confirmed, kneeling so I was at eye-level with the house elf. “But please, call me Felicity. What’s your name?”

“M-miss wants to know my name?” The elf wrung his hands, looking around nervously, as if waiting for someone to appear out of thin air to beat him, the poor thing.

“It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you. Do you know Draco Malfoy?”

The elf shrunk back unexpectedly. “Y-yes, I know the young master. He h-hurts Dobby. Says mean things to Dobby.”

Of course he does, I thought, rolling my eyes. I made a mental note to scold him about that later.

“I promise I’m not going to hurt you, Dobby. Is that your name? Dobby?” When the elf nodded, I grinned conspiratorially. “You see, Draco is my boyfriend, and I promise that I’ll scold him most severely for hurting you. He won’t do it again.” I stood, holding out my hand to Dobby. “Would you please escort me to your mistress?”

Dobby’s eyes shone brightly as he took my hand. “Dobby likes you,” he announced. “Miss Felicity keeps the young master in line.” He patted my hand before leading me further into the Manor.

Though I didn’t have a lot of time to take in the Manor, I noticed that the layout was very similar to the Zabini estate. Perhaps all of the rich pureblood families compared blueprints when they built their homes centuries ago.

In any case, Dobby pulled me into what must have been the drawing room. I turned, opening my mouth to thank the house elf, but he disappeared with a crack before I could get the words out.

“He has a bad habit of disappearing on you,” An amused voice noted from the corner of the room, and I turned back around quickly. Narcissa Malfoy stood from an overstuffed armchair, seeming to glide over to me. She was beautiful, with Draco’s platinum blonde hair that was oddly mixed with black. Her eyes were cornflower blue, and she wore an elegant black dress that fit her like a glove. I brushed off my robes, feeling severely underdressed.

“Mrs. Malfoy, I’m so sorry, I didn’t--”

The Malfoy matriarch held up a hand to silence my apology. To my surprise, her eyes softened when she saw the way I shrank back from the sudden movement. “You’ve nothing to apologize for, dear.” she said. “And please, call me Narcissa. Mrs. Malfoy makes me feel old.”

I laughed at that. “You’re beautiful, Mrs.--I mean, Narcissa. I doubt anyone would dare to think of you as old.”

She gestured towards the table where the tea kettle already sat. “You’re sweet. Please, won’t you join me?”

I nodded before following her hesitantly. Narcissa sat in her original chair once more. I opted to take a similar chair that was seated to her left, a coffee table between us. “How do you take your tea?” she asked as she rang for Dobby, who appeared right away.

“Two sugars, please.” I answered.

Soon, we were both settled in our seats, sipping at our tea. “I, er…” I started, setting my cup to the side. “I thought about waking Draco up, but he looked so peaceful that I couldn’t bring myself to wake him.”

A perfectly sculpted blonde eyebrow lifted at that, her gaze sweeping my attire. “I confess, I can’t quite imagine my son sleeping peacefully in the Hufflepuff Prefect’s dorm.”

I felt my cheeks burn. “He’s been nothing but a gentleman, I promise. Last night was the first time he stayed, and he slept on top of the duvet.” I shook my head, smiling fondly. “I think the Disney movies wore him out.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I…” I swallowed hard. “Well, he was being a bit of a prat, and so I figured I would make him suffer through Disney movies to make it up to me.”

Narcissa laughed, surprising me. “He’s always hated musicals. And he sat there with you the whole night?”

I snorted. “I threatened to burn his balls off. Of course he did.”

His mother laughed yet again, and I smiled at her shyly. “Oh, I like you, Miss Zabini, and obviously my son does, too.”

“Call me Felicity,” I insisted, which earned me a gentle smile and a nod.

We chatted for a little while after that. She asked me questions about myself, about my likes and dislikes. She asked about Draco, about how long we’d been together, about how we came together in the first place. Narcissa didn’t seem surprised that I couldn’t stand her son at first.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve called you here now...of all times especially.” Narcissa stood from her chair. “Come, take a walk in the gardens with me.”

I chewed on my lip. “But Draco…”

She waved her hand impatiently. “He won’t be awake for another hour. I’m his mother, I know these things. Walk with me, Felicity.”

The words were polite enough, but they weren’t an invitation--they were a command, so I rose from my seat, hurrying to follow the older witch.

Her garden was beautiful. Flowers of every kind bloomed, some that weren’t even in season, no doubt sustained by magic. The tense lines of Narcissa’s mouth seemed to relax as she breathed in the fragrances of her garden.

“First and foremost,” she began, turning to me. “I wanted to thank you. As I’m sure you’re aware, this year, and the last, honestly, have been…” Narcissa searched for the right word. “Difficult for Draco, to say the least.”

“I know,” I murmured, shaking my head. “I wish he would let me do more to help.”

“That’s what I wish to thank you for,” She took my hands, squeezing them briefly. “You’ve helped him more than you realize, Felicity. I’ll be the first to admit that he’s always been spoiled. That’s my fault, I’m afraid. I’ve doted on him too much. But with the Dark Lord’s task, and now…” She shuddered. “That is to say, I haven’t seen my Draco happy for a long time. You’ll understand more of what I mean when you have children of your own, but it’s hard to watch your children suffer. You’ll want to do anything to ease their pain.”

Narcissa sat on a bench nestled in the middle of the garden, patting the spot beside her. I took a seat obediently. “My family is everything to me, dear. I would do anything for them. I’ve had no idea how to reach Draco. He was so bitter, so withdrawn, that I was afraid he was turning into…”

“His father,” I guessed. She nodded grimly, but then her eyes were brimming with tears.

“I was afraid that I’d never see him happy again. I never expected for him to be happy during all of this.” Narcissa gestured around the Manor vaguely. “But you’ve given me my son back, Felicity, and for that I can’t thank you enough.” Then, the Malfoy matriarch surprised me yet again by wrapping her arms around me in a hug. I only stiffened for a moment before I was squeezing her back.

“You’ve raised an amazing son, Narcissa.” I told her, my breath hitching with emotion. “He just...just needed someone to care for him. Someone stubborn enough to force their way into his life.”

I realized I was crying when Narcissa reached forward and wiped a tear off of my cheek with a silken handkerchief.

“I’m sorry,” I wiped my eyes. “It’s just been so long since…”

While Draco’s mother had let go of me, she wrapped her arm around my shoulders, hugging me to her side and stroking my hair gently, just like my mum used to do before dad died. I let out a strangled sob at the gesture.

“Dry your tears,” She let go of me after a moment, turning to face me on the bench. “There’s something else we need to discuss. But any time you need a mum, you know where to find me.”

I wasn’t surprised that Draco had told his mum about my family situation. I simply nodded, giving her a smile as I tried to rein in my tears. Once I composed myself, Narcissa took my hand, covering it with both of her own. While her eyes were still warm, something else lurked behind them. Sadness? Guilt? It was impossible to tell; she had an impressive poker face.

“How much has Draco told you about our family traditions?”

I blinked. “Um, not much, honestly. I know how your family feels about those who don’t have pure blood. I know that you don’t marry for love in your...circles.” I paused, pursing my lips in thought. Draco and I had been dating for around 6 months at this point, and I didn’t think I was in love with him, not in so many words, but I was definitely falling for him. His presence was intoxicating, equal parts beautiful and terrifying. He may have annoyed me to no end at times, and he was so bloody stubborn, but it was getting harder and harder to imagine my life without him by my side.

Narcissa sighed. “You have to understand, the...disdain for those not of pure blood has been passed down for centuries. Lucius’s father would be horrified to see a half-blood on the grounds of the Manor right now.” Her smile was apologetic. “I can’t say that I’ve been any more tolerant in my lifetime. To my ancestors, magic is a birthright.”

“So…” I started slowly. “In your eyes, I don’t deserve to be a witch because my father happened to be a Muggle?”

Narcissa looked away from my face for a moment, her gaze distant. “Six months ago, I would have said exactly that. But seeing how happy you make my son, and meeting you now…” Her blue eyes focused on me once more. “You’re good for him. That much is clear. It’s been a pleasure to meet you, my dear. You’re lovely, and anyone who can keep my son in line is a saint. I should know, having raised him. You have my utmost respect.” Her lips twitched with a smile.

“I think you’re the saint here, Narcissa,” I laughed. “But thank you.”

She patted my hand before brushing an errant curl off of my forehead. I was struck yet again by the motherly gesture but managed to hold myself together.

“Draco will be waking soon.” she said. “But there’s one more thing you need to know.”

I found myself holding my breath, a feeling of dread spreading over me.

“If the circumstances were different, I would give you my blessing to court my son. As I said, you’re good for him.” She took a breath. “But I’m afraid I can’t afford you the luxury you deserve.”

My stomach dropped. “What are you saying?”

Narcissa was the picture of graceful serenity. “I cannot give you my blessing to court my son.”

I was sure I’d heard her wrong.

“You're not serious?”

Her lips thinned. “Quite, actually.”

I stood up from the bench, backing away from her, grabbing on to the arm of a marble statue that was situated behind me so I wouldn’t fall.

“You said…” I gulped. “You said I’m good for him.”

“Indeed.”

“Then why…?”

She gave me a sad smile as she folded her hands on her lap. “Because, Miss Zabini...Draco is promised to another.”

My world tilted on its axis. I backed away further, nearly tripping over a small statue of a garden gnome.

“You’re lying.” I said, my voice shaking.

“Believe me when I say that I wish I was. I’m sorry.” Narcissa’s reply was so calm that it made me want to scream. My eyes stung with tears.

“Why on Earth did you invite me here, then?” I asked, a single tear slipping down my cheek. “Just so you could…” My voice caught. “Just to see my face when you tell me I’m not good enough for your son? That he’s been engaged for Merlin knows…” I felt like retching, screaming, and crying all at once.

Narcissa didn’t rise from her seat on the bench. I clenched my fists at my sides. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening...

“How long?” I whispered.

“My dear…”

“I am not your dear.” I gritted my teeth as more tears fell. “How long, Narcissa?”

She let out a breath. “I sent Draco an owl just before Dobby led you into the drawing room.”

“You what?”

Mrs. Malfoy chose that time to rise from her bench to move towards me, but I backed away. “You have to understand,” she told me softly, her blue eyes glittering with tears. “If it were up to me, Draco could be with someone like you. All I want is his happiness, and it seems that you are his source of happiness. But his father...our family is closely linked with the Dark Lord, Felicity. He would never accept you, nor would Lucius. I’m sparing you that pain, not to mention the danger--”

“You’re sparing me?” I scoffed incredulously, wiping at the tears that trickled down my cheeks. “Sparing me because pleasing You-Know-Who matters more than your only son’s happiness? Because your husband is a bigoted fool?” I glared at the woman. “Forgive me if I fail to see how that’s sparing me pain.”

Her blue eyes turned chilly. “I am doing what’s best for my family. A war is beginning, Miss Zabini, a war where you and Draco will be enemies. Besides,” she sniffed. “Astoria won’t talk to me, her mother-in-law, as you just did. You’re lucky I told you in the first place. It’s the least I could do. And I am sorry.” The woman turned away from me after she tossed me another handheld mirror. I barely caught it in time before it hit the ground. “Your Portkey activates in thirty seconds. Farewell, Miss Zabini. In a different world, we might have been family someday.”

With that, Narcissa Malfoy strode back towards the Manor without so much as a glance back at me.

***

“Fliss?”

Draco’s whisper was the only thing that made me realize I was back in my dorm. My head snapped up. He had gone to his dormitory to get a fresh uniform and a shower, judging from the wet strands of hair that clung to his forehead. When our eyes met, I couldn’t contain my sobs any longer. I let out a cry and rushed into his arms.

The Slytherin embraced me so tightly that it was almost suffocating, but I was crying too hard to care. Draco wisely cast a wandless Muffliato, whispering reassurances that I didn’t have the heart to comprehend, stroking the back of my head with his free hand.

“Did you know this was coming?” I choked out, my voice scratchy. He grimaced.

“I--I was afraid they might try something like this, but I’d hoped…” He rested his forehead against mine, taking a deep breath. “I had hoped that since we’ve been dating for six months now that they’d finally let me be happy. I should’ve known.” The laugh he released was hollow. My heart clenched painfully inside of my chest.

“Who is she?” I asked after a moment, squeezing my eyes shut. I didn’t want to know, yet I had to.

I felt him cup my cheek in his hand, the Malfoy family ring cold against my skin. I leaned into his palm, my throat tightening. “Open your eyes, Fliss.”

I didn’t want to. It was too painful to look at him, but I opened my eyes anyway, hating the tears that leaked out when I did. Draco wiped at my tears with the pad of his thumb before lowering his head and kissing me desperately, his hands drifting down to grip my waist. Usually his kisses were gently passionate, but this was different. This was intense, like he couldn’t get enough of me and was afraid this kiss would be our last.

“Draco,” I breathed his name, pressing a palm against his chest and giving him a little push, feeling his thundering heartbeat under my fingertips. He chased my lips with his own as I pulled back, though I wanted desperately to kiss him until I forgot about everything else.

“Who cares who she is?” My boyfriend mumbled, his hands tightening on my waist. “She’s not you.”

“Draco,” I repeated firmly, reaching up to fiddle with his tie. “Who is she? We have to be realistic, we can’t--”

He cut me off with a firm kiss. “Stop. I don’t want to be with bloody Astoria Greengrass, Fliss! She’s a Slytherin two years below us. Practically wizarding royalty.”

I wrinkled my nose. “She’s what, fifteen?”

Draco shuddered. “The giggly phase. And spoiled as hell if her older sister is any indication.”

“Dray…” I reached up to pat a platinum blonde lock down. “Have you looked in the mirror recently?”

He frowned. “Why, is my hair sticking up?”

“No, Draco. You look as perfect as ever, don’t worry.” My boyfriend’s grin turned smug even though I rolled my eyes when I said it. “What I mean is, it’s rather ironic to complain about someone being spoiled when you are, in fact, spoiled yourself.”

“You see!” He threw up his hands triumphantly. “It would be a terrible match. I could never be with someone so similar to myself.”

“You…” I snorted. “You do realize you just admitted that you’re spoiled, right?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed. “I said no such thing. Can we go back to the part where you said I’m perfect? I liked that part better. Care to tell me more?”

“I’m sure you did,” I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my cheek against his chest, inhaling his familiar, musky scent, relishing the feeling as his arms automatically encircled my waist. “And as much as I’m sure you’d love me to stroke your ego until its size is unbearable,” He laughed into my hair at that. “We have to talk about this.”

Draco blew out a breath, tilting his head so his lips were against my ear. “What is there to talk about?” he asked, running his fingers through the hair that hung halfway down my back. “I don’t want to be with her. I want to be with my bloody girlfriend.”

“Tell that to your mum,” I mumbled into his chest. “She’s already referring to herself as Astoria’s mother-in-law. And apparently Astoria won’t talk to her like I did.”

He held me loosely away from him. “Do I even want to know what you said to my mother?”

“Probably not.”

“Now I definitely want to know.” Draco pulled away from me, beginning to pack up my bag and his, but he raised two pale blonde eyebrows at me in his, “I’m waiting,” look.

I shifted my footing. “I...may have called your dad a bigoted fool. To her face.”

Draco laughed loudly, forgetting our bags for a moment as he crossed the room and pinched my cheeks between his fingers. “You’re adorable if you think I’m going to let you go without a fight, Felicity Grace Zabini.”

I giggled as he kissed both of my cheeks, but my expression quickly sobered as his words sunk in.

“I’m afraid you might have to.”

He arched an eyebrow at me. “Might have to...?”

I swallowed hard.

“Fight.”

Chapter 26

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pizza-soup · 4 years ago

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Sorry I've been missing in action.

Long story short I got very injured at the labs, but I've been making a fast recovery. For the more detailed, graphic version, you can read below. Warning: Mention of hospital, blood, car accident.

As I mentioned, I got really injured at work beginning on February 21 at around 9 PM. It was during a routine check at some of the sites, one in particular needed our higher clearance because there had been a breach at a fence that past week, so I, and two other guards went to check out any tampering of the fence again. They say it might be vandals but a lot of them say it was some kind of large animal. The road to those sites are a single path through the woods, lit with a few lights, no curves, just a flat road with a hill on one side. It hadn't snowed that week either, so no fear of ice or anything. It was just a routine jeep trek.

It happened so fast. Our vehicle was knocked over, I'm not even sure how, but we were rolling in the dark down a hill, hitting trees. I remember the shouting, holding fast, and the glass. I remember crawling toward a tree and trying to sit up against it or maybe I was put there by the other guard, Dolores, I remember her telling me to stay awake. I asked her if I was dreaming. It didn't feel real. I asked what was happening to me because I couldn't move right, everything felt so slow and muffled. I passed out by the time they got us into the medical ward. I don't remember them putting me in a gown or putting in an IV. I woke up later, I buzzed the call button out of fear and pain. My whole left side was throbbing. A nurse was relieved I finally came to. She gave me pain meds and called the doctor in.

I was told there had been an accident, that much I already knew, but no one was killed, just injured. I lost a lot of blood, my uniform was soaked in it and they had to cut it off me. Part of the metal from the door frame folded in and pieced my left shoulder and I had minor cuts on my hands and arms from the glass. My blood pressure dropped so low they were scared my heart might've stopped. I was given blood, hooked up to a lot of things and I would have to stay under watch for a few days. There was a lot of tests they needed to do to figure out just how bad my injuries were.

For the next few days I was just sleeping, I couldn't sit up without feeling dizzy. I had to lay semi flat, my blood pressure was still very low. My left side was still throbbing and the stitches itched. A lot of bruises developed from being tossed around like I was, mostly on my arms because I was shielding my face and head. My minor glass cuts stung while batheing. Nurses came in every few hours to check my vitals, help me use the restroom, shower, help me eat, ect. I got so tired from the smallest things. I couldn't call anyone, my phone was in my locker. I finally got someone to help me call my brother to tell him what happened. My brother was naturally scared, he thought something happened to me and he was sad to know he was right. He wanted to see me, but he couldn't, I was in the medical ward on lab property. He wanted to call our mom to tell her but I told him to wait, there was a possibility that I might be transferred to a local hospital where they can visit me, and I didn't want her panicking and trying to drive up here in bad weather. It's best she waited til things cleared up.

After the first week I was transferred to a local hospital after getting a bunch of tests done. No brain trauma, no broken bones, no blood sugar issues or thyroid problems. I could sit up in bed by then and eat on my own. I still couldn't walk very well without feeling really dizzy, again, low blood pressure. A lot of minor bruises were fading away. I never had my anemia officially confirmed, but they confirmed it and had me take daily iron and placed on a blood building diet in the new hospital. I was tested for covid, I came out clear.

My brother and mom visited me daily, and the other doctor said I was recovering really quickly, that gave us a lot of hope. I could be out of there by a few days, though my blood pressure was worrying her. Seems it wasn't so much the blood loss, but that it might have been an underlying condition already linked to my untreated anemia. She would get the in-house dietitian to include a bit more natural sea salt to my iron rich diet, as well as tell me what I should eat at home and that I need to drink a lot more water than I normally did. This is a problem I've had for awhile, I forget to drink enough water. The doctor warned me I better remedy that immediately especially with low BP. My mom was already taking notes. She really wanted to just take me home already. I really liked her being there, I'm not that shy about my body, but I honestly felt better having my mom bathe me and comb my hair instead of strangers doing that. She was also a lot more gentle around my stitches and bruises.

Eventually I did come home, I still needed a lot of rest and help getting out of bed. I had to fight the urge to clean house, help with groceries, ect. I'm so used to being self sufficient. I felt so frustrated that just walking around the room would tire me out, when I'd hike for miles just a few months ago. I was tired of sleeping and sitting down. But there wasn't much else I could do. I did a lot of origami, my bro got me a coloring book, I watched a lot of movies, took my iron -which is nasty btw-, ate meals that were saltier than I normally would prepare but my taste buds would have to adjust. I was happy my new diet included a lot of fish though.

I did have some close calls. I really thought I could stand up in the shower instead of sitting, and wound up calling for my mom to help me up after collapsing. I collapsed again when I was trying to cook dinner for myself. My face, according to my mom, was drained of color and my breathing was shallow. I felt so dizzy and nauseated. She nearly wanted to call the hospital again. My bro said I was pushing myself too hard and I always had a problem with not asking for help. That I needed to learn to stop being so damn stubborn and rest. To anyone else, that sounds harsh, but he knows me way too well, probably better than our mom. I do have that problem, I do push myself too much. After that, I decided to be more patient with myself. I was sick and might be sick for awhile.

This week I'm doing a lot better. I can do my daily things now, I even went to get groceries and take a little walk to the river. But I can't over do it, I can't stand up or walk for too long, and I can't lift anything heavy, otherwise I get bouts of dizziness and need to sit down. The pain isn't as bad on my back anymore though it's still very sore, my arms, especially my left side, have a dull pain. I can't sleep on my back and left side, only my right and on my stomach. A lot of the cuts on the back of my arms and hands have scabbed over, minor bruises are gone but major ones on my shoulder and neck are still pretty dark and tender. I'm still finding glue spots on my chest and stomach from the medical tape and the EKG patches they put on me, but a bit of lotion is taking it off. My stitching, according to my mom, is definitely going to leave a pretty bad scar above my shoulder blade, but it's fine. My body has a lot of scars here and there from close calls, but I consider them ' Marks of Life'. They're proof I survived and thrived.

It'll take time for me to really feel like I'm back to normal. My mom refuses to go back home until I make a full recovery. She hasn't tended to me like this for a long time, mainly because I rarely get sick. I trait from my dad's side. We don't get colds or flus for years, no history of cancer, heart issues or diabetes, and his family usually remain active to their elderly years, not to mention our graceful aging. My dad used to say it was our native blood, we're just built tougher. The only thing that could kill us is getting injured like this. God, he'd be so worried about me though. I remember how he'd fuss over me when I skinned my knee as a child or got my allergies. If he was alive, he'd probably refuse to let me do anything out of bed, but then that's exactly what I should be doing anyway.

I got a report on the other guards health yesterday. Dolores and Elijah. She was the least hurt out of all of us, just a dislocated arm, mild whiplash, and some really bad glass cuts on her chest and arms, she's home recovering with her husband and kids. Elijah was the driver and got knocked unconscious with a bad concussion, his entire left arm was sliced by glass and metal, he lost a lot of blood like me and is recovering just as slow as I am. He opted to stay in the lab medical ward because he doubts his roommate can care for him at home, he's on a lot of pain meds, so he sounded distant on the phone. I think out of all of us, he's going to take the most time to recover. I told him I'd pray for him and if he wants, I can visit. He appreciated that a lot. I thanked Dolores for helping us that night, she was the one trying her best to keep us alive and sent the distress signal on our ARK devices so they could find us in the dark. Without her, I think we would've bled to death.

God, it feels like a distant nightmare. I still can't figure out how we were knocked off the road like that. Something hit us out there and it was strong. I felt the impact in the backseat, but I didn't see it. Dolores says it looked like a bear, but bears aren't that strong. Eli says he saw horns, so maybe a bison. Bison are that strong, especially against a little jeep. The incident is still under investigation. The lab is also very concerned about how this happened. It's possible the same thing that hit us, has been tampering with the fence.

One less thing to worry about is the hospital bill, the accident happened on lab grounds, everything is taken care of through them, probably because they don't want to get sued. They are giving us another two weeks before we report back in to the doctor for another round of tests and physical tests, as well as check to see if my stitches were still secure. Our return to work solely depends on our results, we may not be able to come back until late April. They really want to be sure we're okay. Because I'm an 'Ophanim' aka Tier 3 guard, I'll also be given a mental test before being hooked back into Selene. They just want to be sure there's no cognition issues and I can sync properly to her. I may have to do a refresher since I've been away for so long, but I'll worry about that when it comes.

Well, if you read this far, thanks. I hope I didn't scare you all too much. I am doing a lot a better though, I promise. I'm getting stronger everyday, though activity on this blog will be slow. Send me some prayers, good vibes, whatever. I'd really appreciate anything. Hope you've had a good month, better than mine hopefully.

#Update #medical trauma #accident tw #injury tw #daily update

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barnes-dameron · 5 years ago

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Across the Way

Modern!Poe Dameron x reader

Summary: During the quarantine, Poe spots an attractive woman that lives in the building across the way.

Word Count: 2.2k

A/N: this is inspired by the song “Across the Way” that I watched on Jake Gyllenhaal’s insta

*not my gif

It was day 32 of quarantine, and Poe was about to lose his mind. He was a people person by nature, and having to be home was absolutely not his thing. At first, Poe thought it would be good for him. He could finally get around to cleaning his apartment, get some work done so he wasn't so behind, and work out his muscles. Well, he discovered that he hated cleaning, work kept piling up as he procrastinated, and he’d rather sit on his couch and watch TV than exercise.

He was sitting at his desk in front of his window, which overlooked the street below and faced another apartment building, similar to his own. Poe had some work to do that Leia gave out last night. He stared at his laptop for so long that his eyes began to sting. He brought up his hands to his face, rubbing his eyes as a frustrated groan let out from his lips. The minute he opened them back up, something caught his attention.

It happened so quick. He couldn't remember what caught his eye exactly, but he remembered the end result. There was a woman standing in the window of the apartment building across the street. He was mesmerized from her figure to the shape of her face. Poe has seen attractive women before, but he's never seen a beautiful one. She wasn't wearing any makeup, her hair wasn't styled in any way, and she was wearing simple clothes, an old t-shirt and sweat pants. How can a woman look so gorgeous with little to no effort?

Poe let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. He focused his eyes a bit more, trying to see what you were doing. He saw a book near the window ledge, as well as a potted plant. He couldn't see inside, but maybe if he squinted harder...

But BB, Poe's corgi, decided to let out a stream of barks, breaking Poe's concentration. He broke away from the window to look towards BB, who was barking at an ant on the floor. Poe let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. When he went to look out the window to see the woman, she disappeared. She was no longer in her window, and Poe let out another sigh. He didn't even know your name.

Day 36 approached quickly, and Poe continued his monotonous routine. But he did add something new: looking out the window and try to see you. The woman in the window who comes and goes. Sometimes he’d catch a glimpse of your silhouette whenever you stood further in your apartment. He would then try to see if he had any telekinetic power and draw you closer. But alas, it would always fail.

Poe sat at his desk, looking out the window whenever he wasn’t looking at his laptop. He didn’t see you at all that day. Poe would casually glance over at his clock and see how the time passed by. He didn’t get any work done that day. He was afraid he’d miss you if he looked at his screen for too long.

The sun sank down as the dark curtain of night was pulling over the sky. The streetlights below began to turn on, illuminating the side walks in pools of light. Poe saw some apartment windows light up while others remained dark due to drawn curtains.

Poe shut off his laptop, got up from his spot, and ate dinner alone, except for BB. He watched a movie to ease the loneliness, but all he could think of was you. He wondered where you were at, and if you enjoyed your day; what you ate today, or did something new and excited. The movie ended. Poe got up, grabbing his near empty beer bottle while doing so. He glanced at the window, out of good luck, and for the first time that day, he saw you.

You were standing near your window, a glass of wine in hand. Poe whipped his hand up to glance at his wrist watch. It was around 10 o’clock. He looked back up at you, and to his surprise, you looked back at him. You never looked at him. Poe’s heart beat faster in his chest, he felt heat creeping up his neck to reach his cheeks. How is it that someone so far can feel so close? He took a deep breath.

Poe raised his beer bottle to you, and was pleased when you returned the gesture with your glass. A silent toast, to what, Poe didn’t know nor did he care. He raised the bottle to his lips, draining it of it’s contents as his eyes remained on you, watching you sip your wine. When you pulled the glass away from your face, Poe saw you smile.

Poe had trouble sleeping that night. He laid awake in his bed, your smile plastered in his mind.

Day 45 came in a blink of an eye. Ever since the night of day 36, Poe noticed that you spent more time at the window as well. Sometimes he’d see you reading a book, other times writing in a journal. He was so enthralled in your being, that he could watch you do whatever all day. He did that once, too. Leia definitely wasn’t happy with him.

One day Poe had a zoom call, but he didn’t listen to a single thing. That day, you seemed to be drawing something. He was so interested on how you concentrated with such intensity, your brows furrowed in the middle. It took Leia over the whole duration of the meeting to snap him out of his daze. He apologized profusely to her, but he didn’t mean it. He didn’t regret watching you.

Today, Poe decided to do something to get your attention for a change. He found a speaker in his room, and grabbed his phone. Poe opened up his window, and placed the speaker on the edge. He set it on the loudest setting, and played music. Poe waited by the window for you to emerge from yours, and when you did, he was graced with your smile. Poe smiled in return, and began to play an air guitar in effort to keep up with the music. His heart skipped a beat when he saw you laugh. If the music wasn’t so loud, Poe was convinced that he could’ve heard it. For a split second he was disappointed for missing the opportunity.

As the music continued to play, Poe started to dance along and was so pleased to watch you dance in return. Poe made up some crazy dance moves, but he was always bested by your eccentric ones. The entire time he was smiling as he moved across the floor before his window. He was having the time of his life until a knock at the door interrupted.

Poe whipped his head around towards the direction of the door, and then went to answer it. Hux, his annoying neighbor who finds a problem with almost everything, stood on the other side, an annoyed expression draped across his face. Poe let out a sigh as he slumped his shoulders. He always hated Hux. Hux held such a high standard for himself that he thought Poe was ever beneath him despite the both of them living in the same size apartment on the same floor.

“What do you want, Hux?” Poe asked, annoyance dripping from his voice.

“Do you mind at all?” Hux began. “Your music is too loud. I can barely hear myself in a very important meeting that I happen to be conducting. So turn that music down, or I will have the landlord do it for you.”

Poe rolled his eyes. The landlord was wrapped around Hux’s finger, and Poe knew he had no chance against him.

“Fine,” Poe sighed in a rush. Hux nodded, and was about to turn around to leave before Poe replied back. “Oh, and Hux, ease up on the gel; you’re looking more weasely than usual.”

Poe didn’t pretend to ignore the little pet name that Hux called him: Scum. Poe, choosing not to say anything that would take up more time, closed the door and hurried to the window. To his disappointment, you weren’t present at yours. Poe cursed at Hux. You probably thought that he left to go do something else. Poe approached the speaker, turning down the music before turning it off completely.

Day 54 crept slowly. It was like time stood still in his apartment. The only pleasure he got was seeing you, but after that, time crept by at a tortoise’s pace. He tried not to think about you too much, but he always failed himself. Poe would catch himself looking far too often at the window, in hopes you would be there. He had done it so often that he was convinced it’s now a habit.

Poe went by his day the same way. Around dinner time, he saw you bring your food to your window. His eyes widened in surprise. He quickly ran to his kitchen, slapped his leftovers into the microwave, grabbed a beer, retrieved his food, and rushed back to the table by his window. He smiled when you made eye contact with him once again. To him, it felt like a date. Granted there was no candle light and you two were in separate buildings, sixty feet away from each other. But for some reason, it felt perfect. There were no words spoken, but your expressions said everything. This was the first time during the quarantine that Poe felt excited. He genuinely felt happy.

He didn’t get much sleep that night either. All he could think of was you. What did your voice sound like? What did your laugh sound like? What was your favorite color? Your favorite movie? What was your name? That question plagued him the most. He didn’t know your name.

When Poe finally fell asleep that night, you were in his dreams. You were wrapped in his arms: no six feet distance, no face masks, no worries whatsoever. It was in Paris, at a little cafe. Your chairs were so close together, that you were half sitting on his. He had his arm around your shoulders as your head rested against his. The Eiffel Tower was in the distance, standing tall against a pale violet sky as the stars began to appear. It felt so real, that Poe woke up right away. He thought you were in his arms, but alas it was just the blanket. He cursed himself and shoved his head into his pillow, trying to go back to sleep and continue his dream. But it didn’t work. He’ll just have to wait until morning to see you.

It’s now day 75. Poe was sitting at his desk by the window, per usual. This time, he occupied himself by looking down at the street below. The sushi place on the ground level of your apartment building was open so there was a long line of people standing six feet apart with their faces adorned with masks, waiting to get their food. Poe grew an interest in looking at the handmade masks of some people. He remembered on day 66 when you made one with your sewing machine, next to your window.

He moved his gaze from the street to your window. You were there, and his heart felt light. Poe brought out the hand that was tucked underneath his chin to wave at you. He smirked as you smiled and waved in return. You held up your index finger, a signal for him to wait. He nodded his head, and you disappeared into your home.

After a short while, Poe straightened his back and leaned forward on the desk as you returned to the window with a piece of paper in hand. He had to squint and concentrate his eyes a little to see, but once he read it, his heart soared.

It was your name.

Your name was written across the sheet of paper in big black letters, drawn on by a large Sharpie. His eyes scanned that paper a thousand times, taking in the letters. He said it aloud, trying it for the first time. He thought it had a musical sound to it. It rolled off his tongue naturally, as if he was meant to say it. He smiled to himself. He held a finger up to you before going on a search in his apartment for paper and a marker. The paper was easy, but the marker was harder. He had to settle for a dark pen, but he colored in the block letters as best as he can so it could be readable to you.

Poe rushed back to the window, and held up the paper, pressing it to the glass. His name was written sloppily and rushed on the paper. For a minute, Poe felt a little self-conscious. He watched as you leaned in a bit, but butterflies flew rapidly in his stomach when he saw your smile and nod.

There were two things that went through Poe’s head when he went to bed that night. One, he finally knew your beautiful name. Two, he couldn’t wait for the quarantine to be over.

Who knew that he would meet the perfect woman during this quarantine? And she was only across the way.

#poe dameron #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron x you #Oscar Isaac #oscar isaac x reader #star wars #Star Wars The Force Awakens #star wars the last jedi #star wars rise of skywalker #fanfic #quarantine

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anotheronechicagobog · 4 years ago

Text

The Crackship Sails To Molly’s - Jay Halstead x Ethan Choi

written by @anotheronechicagobog

A/N: Homophobia, the Catholic church, Catholic guilt, mention of canon-compliant violence, mention of two men having sex, it’s all pretty mild but I wanted to make sure it was all in the warnings, also I don’t like Doris and it shows

A/N 2: What do you guys think their ship name would be? Choistead? Haloi?

A/N 3: If you have a problem with LGBTQ people please go fuck yourself

They ran into each other at the last place they thought they would. Since Jay and Ethan had both been in the military, though in different factions, they figured they might run into each other at military events, they already had. But literally bumping into each other at an LGBTQ+ military personnel picnic? That shocked both of them. Ethan took notice of Jay’s pansexual flag pin and Jay looked at Ethan’s bisexual one. After the initial shock wore off, Ethan smiled, he was happy to know that he wasn’t alone in his social circle. Sure, Leslie Shay was a loud and proud lesbian, but they didn’t have anything in common and just made sure to say ‘hi’ whenever they ran into each other and buy each other nachos whenever they ran into each other at pride events (don’t ask, it just became their thing). Ethan went to give him a ‘dude hug’, as Leslie had dubbed them, when he noticed the fear etched onto Jay’s face. “Halstead, are you okay?” Honestly, he looked like he was about to burst into tears. “Jus- uhh” Jay hiccuped and Ethan was now justifiably worried. “Don’t tell Will.” And then Jay ran away from Ethan and the gentle arm he’d had on his shoulder like a bat out of hell. Jay could still feel the warmth of Ethan’s hand on his right shoulder as he drove away.

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

Ethan didn’t tell Will. He didn’t give any indication that he knew something Will didn’t. He understood how important it was for him to keep quiet, but at the same time, it was so hard. Ethan wanted nothing more than to march up to the redhead and beat some sense into him. Will had obviously made to Jay that he wouldn’t be accepted if he came out. And he didn’t care, quite frankly. He had absolutely no sympathy for homophobes, he was done giving kindness and sympathy to people who wished that others wouldn’t exist because it deviated out of what they considered ‘normal’. So he’d gone back to being impassive and straight-faced. He pushed all of his feelings down because if he allowed himself to feel anything it would be complete and utter rage.

The next time he saw Jay was when he’d come into the ED to interview an assault victim. Apparently, there was a group of men catfishing and then assaulting LGBTQ+ men. Ethan’s heart ached just thinking about the case, all of the injured, betrayed victims. And Jay. Ethan didn’t want to know what was going through his mind, he probably viewed this as another reason not to come out.

The eye contact between them was brief, but Jay showed him vulnerability, and then thanks when Ethan gave him a sympathetic smile. Just trying to untangibley reach out and connect with his aching soul. And then suddenly it was gone, the grace that had bound the two of them temporarily, and Ethan had to watch with a sinking heart as Jay emotionally shrunk in on himself. “How’s our victim doing, Choi?”

“Not great, I’m afraid. He’ll live, but there’s going to be long lasting health problems for him.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Yeah, it is.”

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

Two days later, after the catfishing homophobes were caught, Ethan ran into Jay outside of Molly’s. His eyes were dark, broad shoulders were slumped, and he moved like his mind possessed all the strength his body just couldn’t muster. “Hey Choi- uh, Ethan?”

“Yeah?”

“Could we go somewhere to talk? Maybe get a drink?”

“Well, we are standing outside of a bar.”

“Somewhere that’s not packed to the seams with nosey people who know who I... Don’t want to hear what I want to talk... About. Y’know what? This was stupid-”

“How about Osso’s? Over on Folger street? It’s not a bar, but I’m starving and their booths have curtains.”

“Yeah, that sounds great, actually, thanks.”

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

“I figured out that I was bi when I was fourteen. I was watching The Mummy for the first time and I couldn’t stop thinking about how hot Brendan Fraser was. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Rachel Weisz was hot too, but Brendan really got my attention. When the movie was over, uh, well let’s just say that my Catholic guilt took hold. My mom knew, I told her when I was seventeen, and she kept trying to set me up with her friends’ daughters. She didn’t care, just told me that she loved me and that there was nothing wrong with me, but that I shouldn’t tell my dad or Will. She didn’t sugarcoat anything, she took me to this secluded spot on the pier and told me about homophobia and how bad it was, not just morally, but that it ran rampant, and that my father and brother were two heavy believers in an institution who made it their mission to oppress as many people as possible. Looking back, I think my dad knew, don’t know how or if he actually does, it’s just more of a gut feeling. My brother is still incredibly Catholic, he’s become more accepting over time, but it’s clear that while he’s okay with strangers being LGBTQ+, he’s not okay with anyone he’s close to being anything other than straight. The, uh, my first time I was nineteen and it was during my rangers training, with one of my now best friends, who I dated during that time for a while. Everything kinda fell apart when we got discharged. Mouse or-”

“Greg Gerwitz. I remember him.”

“Yeah, we broke up after we were discharged. Well, he broke up with me. Neither of us were handling being back well but he was handling it worse. It hurt like he;;, I missed him so much. After I started in Intelligence I brought him in as a CI. I just wanted to know he was okay, be near him again. But he was not the same man I’d fallen in love with. He was an addict, had a record, a small one, but still. I broke my heart almost as much as our breakup did. A little later I got him a job as our tech guy. It was good having him around, especially cause he was coming back, y’know? He’d quit his habits, became a law-abiding citizen. It was great. Then, he asked me out, asked me to take him back, and I did. Without a second of hesitation. Being together again felt amazing, but then he got his record expunged, dumped me, again, and went back to the rangers. It completely tore me to pieces, I got time off and didn’t get out of bed for two weeks after he deployed. Uh, wow, sorry to unload all of that on you. And that was probably a lot of information you didn’t want to hear-”

“No, no, Jay. It’s actually nice to talk about this, even though I’m out and open, I don’t actually get the chance to talk about it all that much. I’d actually like to share if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, go ahead.”

“I was twenty-one when I figured it out. I was on brief leave in the navy, just a couple of days without duties while we were docked in Puerto Rico. I got pretty drunk, a guy I was dancing near was pretty drunk too, he kissed me, I kissed him back, and one thing lead to another. When I got back to port the next day, my friends all asked where I’d gone off to. I told them I got laid. It didn’t really hit me until the following night when I was in my bunk, lying awake because I couldn’t forget the feeling of his lips, or the callouses on his hands, or... Other quite honestly filthy details I probably shouldn’t share in a public place. I couldn’t sleep properly for two weeks, I come from a traditional Korean family. All I could think about was how they’d react. What would they do if they found out? I found out when I was twenty-nine. My sister, Emily, had somehow found out, and when she burst through the door, drunk off her ass, at the first Thanksgiving I’d been able to attend in five years, she announced it to everyone when I tried to calm her down and get her up to bed. The look, on my parents’ faces, I couldn’t even look at my grandparents. I just said sorry and ran out. I crashed at a fling’s place for a week. I couldn’t bring myself to pick up the phone or to go see them. I felt like someone had put my chest through a trash compactor, I couldn’t stop crying. I had lost my entire family in less than ten seconds. You know that subtle, back of the mind dread you feel when you’re boarding a plane for your next deployment? Normally, you push it away, accept it’s a possibility but try not to think about it. I welcomed it. I hoped I’d get killed, that I wouldn’t make it home. But then... My grandparents were at my gate. Their faces just lit up and they welcomed me with open arms. They both hugged me and made me promise to come home, not to be a hero. They gave me hope. They loved and supported me, went toe-to-toe with the rest of my family for me. I’ll never be able to thank them enough.”

“They sound really great, I’m glad that you have them.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Suddenly the heavy curtain closing off their booth from the rest of the world was pushed to the side. “Gentlemen, your food is ready. Who ordered the grilled salmon?”

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

Ethan and Jay had grown much closer, having bi-weekly dinners. Sometimes at Osso’s, sometimes at Bartoli's, sometimes at their own apartments. They’d become close, close friends. But because drama followed them around like a moth to a flame because it felt like they lived in an overly dramatic tv show sometimes, it couldn’t stay that way.

Jay started to watch Ethan when he licked his lips after he took a sip of a drink, when the muscles in his arms lengthened themselves when he reached for something, that twinkle he got in his eyes whenever he got cocky. Jay knew what was happening from the first moment he found himself looking at Ethan’s lips for more than a millisecond. He was falling in love. And all that he could do was loathe himself for boarding a vessel with impending doom.

Reasons I Can’t Fall In Love With Ethan

Will doesn’t know I’m bi

Ethan works with Will

Ethan is in the reserves and Mouse left me to go back to a warzone, it would kill me if it happened a second time

His ex, April, is currently trying to get back together with him

April also works with Ethan and Will

Ethan doesn’t love me so I’d just be ruining our friendship

Jay looked down at his list and recited it in his head, over and over again. He needed to memorize it, live by it. If he didn’t his entire world, which he just finally found comfort in again, would crumble to the ground.

Jay didn’t distance himself from Ethan, his heart wouldn’t let him, but it got harder and harder to ignore his ever-growing feelings. But he couldn’t tell Ethan, he couldn’t be with Ethan, he knew that far too well. So the next time Ethan confided in Jay that April had made a move on him Jay did something incredibly, fabulously, thoroughly idiotic. “You should ask April out, man. I think that you guys would be great together.”

Yup.

He actually did that.

Sigh.

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

“Alright, who is she?”

“Excuse me?”

“Come on Jay, I’m your brother. I know you. The last time you looked like this and were drinking vodka, of all things, was when Erin left. You only drink vodka when you’re experiencing troubles of the heart.”

“I drank vodka when Mouse went back to the rangers.”

“After he’d broken up with you to go back to the same warzone he’d almost died in.”

Jay choked on his drink and felt his heart plummet out of his body and onto the floor. Burning tears blurred his vision and Jay felt more afraid than he’d ever felt in his life. He’d been shot at, blown up, shot at again, taken hostage, tortured, and he never felt this scared, this small. “Jay? Oh my god, Jay are you okay? Breathe, man.” But he couldn’t. Why couldn’t he breathe? Why was his chest so tight? Why couldn’t he move? Suddenly he was yanked off of his couch and onto the floor, his head shoved between his bent knees. “Deep breaths, Jay. Just take slow deep breaths, in and out, just like me... Okay... Good, name five things you can feel, four things you can see, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.”

“Uh... floor, couch leg, carpet, coffee table... you... Um, I, uh, I see...”

“Four things you can see.”

“Jeans, scrubs, crumbs, Kim’s wine stain... Hear, u-uh, Netflix, heating system, the Needlers arguing again...”

“Your neighbours sure do fight a lot, but you’re doing great. Keep going. Two things you can smell.”

“... Pizza and your terrible cologne...”

“Ignoring that, one thing you can taste.”

“Your terrible cologne. Seriously, Will, your supposed to spritz it, not douse yourself in it.”

“Well you’re feeling better, but you’re still shaking. You feel a bit cold, get back on the couch I’m gonna grab you a blanket.” Will was right, he was still shaking, and he felt cold to the bone. His heart was pounding so hard it was terrifying and his chest was still tight... But he was feeling better. Panic attack. He’d gotten them before, along with anxiety attacks, night terrors, and paranoia. All connected to his PTSD. He’d just never had a panic attack about his sexuality before, only about the action he’d gotten overseas and in Chicago. When Will returned with a thick fluffy blanket he’d gotten from Kim for secret Santa, the same night she’d made that wine stain on his carpet, Jay was on the couch and gripping his knees tightly, trying to get a grip on himself. Will had also brought Jay’s first aid kit and was checking him over, after he’d been wrapped up like a traumatized child, and Jay released a shaky breath, unable to look his brother in the eye before speaking at the same volume as a mouse. “How long have you known?”

Will stopped what he was doing and regarded his brother. Jay was older and had always been Will’s hero growing up but right now... He just looked like he needed a hug. “I’ve known since you were nineteen. You brought Mouse back to visit with you while you guys had leave and when mom and dad had work and I had school, you guys had the place to yourselves. I realized when I was a couple of minutes away from the house that I’d forgotten my lunch, so I went back to get it. When I walked in you guys were making out on the couch. You were really... into each other, you didn’t even notice me. I was gonna bolt to the kitchen and back... But then you took off each other’s shirts and started reaching for belts so I bolted. I love you, Jay, and I don’t care who you have sex with, but I never want to actually see it.”

“Jeez, I’m sorry we must have traumatized you.”

“No you didn’t, I would’ve reacted the same way if I saw you with a girl... Which we both know is true cause you and Erin had a very bad habit of not closing your bedroom door.”

“Sorry about that... If you’ve known all this time, why have you never said anything? I mean you used to make these weird comments about being related to gay people, but...”

“I thought that you needed to be the one to tell me. It was your closet to exit, I thought it would’ve been rude to force it. And about those comments, I don’t know, it’s just you never told me. More and more time passed, and from the letters you were sending mom I could tell you and Mouse were still together but you never said anything. I was trying to give you hints that I don’t care, your sexuality doesn’t matter to me. I love you no matter what. The only reason that I brought up any of this now, forced you out of the closet... I’ve never seen you like this. It rivals when you came back. You are hurting and I want to be there for you, but I can’t if you won’t talk to me, if you won’t let me in.”

“But I’m sinning. You’ve always been more devout than me.”

Will scoffed. “Have you been reading the news? The Catholic church really can’t decide what’s right and wrong considering all they’ve done and covered up. Plus, did you really think I was going to make all my life choices based on the teachings given to me by men who forced us to wear plaid suit jackets for elementary and high school? Really, I can’t wear plaid anymore, I don’t understand how you can tolerate it, I swear I’ve got plaid PTSD.”

“Well, maybe it’s cause I actually have PTSD and there are far worse things to go through than having to wear plaid to school every day.”

“That was a bad comment, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright... So you’re really okay that I’m bi?”

“As long as you're happy, I’m happy.”

“You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that and mean it.”

Jay was tearing up again, but this time they were happy tears. Will just wrapped his big brother in a hug and relished ina feeling of closeness that he hadn’t felt since they were kids.

“Okay, now seriously Jay, who’s giving your heart trouble?”

“I don’t know, Will...”

“As long as it’s not Connor Rhodes I don’t care.”

“Well...”

“Oh no-”

“Ha! Just kidding! Your face, seriously, what did that guy ever do to you?”

“We’re not talking about the man who thinks he’s smarter than me. C’mon, tell me who it is. Is it someone I work with?”

“It’s Ethan Choi...”

“You guys have been spending a lot of time together over the past year, so I can see that. And he’s pan, right? Yeah, I think that you guys would be cute together and I think he’s got a thing for you, honestly. Why don’t you ask him out?”

Jay fell back and groaned. “I told him to ask out April the next time she hits on him.”

Will just blinked and stared at his masochistic and self-sacrificing moron of an older brother. “Why would you say that?! You clearly like him! You idiot!”

“... I’m gonna need the vodka back if we’re gonna keep talking about this.”

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

Jay felt like the weight he’d had on his shoulders was traded for another. He wasn’t worried about Will despising his existence anymore, but now he had to watch Ethan date April. And on top of all that, Will was always on his case about his miserably non-existent love life. So yeah, he wasn’t really enjoying his life at the moment. He was currently sitting up at the bar at Molly’s, avoiding ‘chexton’. He could hear April’s giggles and Doris squawking “you’re so perfect for each other!”, “I’m so glad you got back together!”, and “I call maid of honour!” over and over and over again. He knocked back the last of his beer when his phone buzzed.

Mouse: Hey Jay, I’m back on leave for a couple of days, just got off the plane. Want to meet up?

Jay: Sure, you up for a beer at Molly’s? I’m here right now.

Mouse: Actually I was thinking of a different kind of meet up. Your place? Just the two of us?

Jay: Sounds like a plan.

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

Jay and Mouse spent the two days he was home screwing each others’ brains out. That really was the best way to put it. Their time together was hot, heavy, and passionate. They wouldn’t get back together, no, but there was a bond there that would always remain. They’d both had tension that needed to be released and release it they did. Jay dropped Mouse off at O’Hare early on the third day. “Hey, thanks for this weekend. It was nice, it was good to see you again, Jay.”

“Yeah, you too. Stay safe Greg.”

“It’s Greg now?”

“You’ll always be important to me. You were the first man I loved, but you’ve left me twice. I need to move on.”

“It sounds like you already have. I’m happy for you, you deserve nothing but happiness, Jay. But, uh, should you have just spent an entire weekend naked with me if you’re with someone?”

“He doesn’t love me back.”

“Is he straight?”

“No, but he’s pan and got a girlfriend.”

“I’m sorry Jay. For your situation and everything else.”

“I know. Stay safe.”

“I will.”

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

Jay turned on his phone for the first time since he told Mouse to come over. He was met with an abundance of texts and missed calls. The texts were mostly from his colleagues, asking if he was going to be at Molly’s. A couple were from Will, asking if he wanted to get together to watch a game. The person who’d sent him the most texts and had made most of the missed calls was Ethan. Jay didn’t bother going through them all, he just sent his brother and Hailey quick text messages letting them know he was alive and would be at work on time, he’d just spent the weekend with a friend. He called Ethan as he made his way through the city. “Jay? Are you okay? Where have you been? I’ve been so worried, I called your brother and Hailey and none of them could tell me anything.”

“I was okay, I was at home the whole time.”

“But I went by your place, I knocked on your door, no one answered.”

“Oh, that was you? I thought it was Karen from down the hall. I was a little... Busy.”

“All weekend? Alone in your apartment? With no assigned case or old case that’s been bothering you?”

“Well, I wasn’t alone, actually.”

“What?”

“Yeah, Mouse was on leave for the weekend so he came over.”

“... You were alone with your ex-boyfriend for an entire weekend... Doing what?”

“Each other.”

“Damnit, Jay.”

“Eth-” And then Ethan hung up. Jay was confused and distressed, but he’d arrived at the district so his relationship with Ethan would have to wait. Well, friendship, not relationship.

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When Voight needed someone to go collect a statement from an accomplice at MED Jay’s reaction rivalled that of Katniss Everdeen. He was given a couple of odd looks, but he and Hailey made their way to the hospital, Hailey side-eying him the whole way. “Do you need to talk to Ethan?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“He hounded me for two days because you weren’t texting him back. He was really worried, Jay. What’s going on with you two? I mean, he was acting like...”

“Like what?”

“Like a worried boyfriend.”

“We’re not dating Hailey. Why would you think that?”

“Because you two look at each other the way Trudy and Mouch look at each other. Like you’ve hung the moon and the stars for each other. I don’t judge, Jay... You’re always really happy around him. I think you’d be good together.”

“He’s dating April.”

Hailey scoffed and rolled her eyes so hard her head rolled with them. “No, they’re not dating. She was acting like it, and Doris was yapping away about it on Friday at Molly’s, but Ethan was just quietly sitting there the whole night, he looked really uncomfortable honestly. A couple hours after you left he asked April if they could speak in private. It didn’t stay that way for long. Ethan had tried to tell her that he didn’t want to get back together and didn’t love her anymore, and she was upset, obviously. But it seemed like she understood. She hugged him and went to sit back at the nurses, but I guess she told them and Doris blew up, screamed at him, made a huge scene. April had to actually take her home. Ethan immediately came up to me and asked where you were.”

“Oh.”

“So you volunteered us to talk to him?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

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

“Hey Ethan.”

“Can we talk, Jay?”

“Yeah, I’d really like that.”

“The doctor’s lounge is free, we can talk in there.” They entered the darkened gray room together, both feeling the tension between them. It felt strange to just stand there, in the middle of the room, and Ethan wasn’t meeting his gaze. So Jay sat down, hoping that Ethan would follow his lead. He did. “I’m sorry that I worried you.”

“Don’t apologize, I should actually be apologizing to you. You didn’t owe me an explanation, we don’t have the kind of... Relationship that warrants you letting me know when you’re going to disappear for a weekend with your ex. We’re just- We’re just friends.” Jay was silent for several moments, trying to think of what to say. How to phrase what he was feeling. There didn’t seem to be an eloquent way to phrase it, so he decided to just jump in and hope he didn’t get hurt. “I don’t want to be friends with you Ethan. I want to be more than that, I love you. I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but- I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I’ve been trying to distract myself, with Mouse most recently, but it didn’t work. It doesn’t change that I really want to kiss and date and be loved by you. Will you go out on a date with me?”

“Yes, there is quite literally nothing else I’d rather do. How about tonight, because I don’t think I can wait any longer. And I love you too.”

“I know that the wall behind us is basically just a window but I really want to kiss you-” Thankfully Ethan didn’t care about that, and gave Jay a kiss so incredible, he saw stars.

... And missed Hailey and Will high-fiving behind him.

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

After informing the accomplice that he was being arrested for armed robbery, obstruction of justice, and public urination, Jay and his partner left MED. Jay was so happy he was practically vibrating as he skipped out of the hospital. His, highly amused, partner got into the passenger side of his truck and thumped his shoulder. “See? I told you that he likes you.”

“How did you figure out I’m not straight, anyway? I’ve... Played that pretty close to the vest. I only told Will a week ago.”

“You know Nico’s Diner over in Greektown?”

“Yeah.”

“My family owns it. I started working there when I was nine, I think? I worked there through high school and college. And I go there once a month to catch up with my brothers. You used to go there all the time with this guy and you’d hold hands and kiss him quite a bit, so I figured you were more than friends. I recognized you when I walked onto that robbery scene a couple years ago.”

“So you knew, this entire time, that I was bisexual and you didn’t say anything to anyone? Why not?”

“It wasn’t my place to tell Jay, besides, I didn’t know that you were bisexual, just that you liked men. I just spoke up now because you were really hurting Jay, it was so obvious, and it was obvious that Ethan was hurting too. I really hope that you guys are happy together.”

“Thanks, me too.”

“Soooo... Where are you gonna take Ethan on your big date?”

#One Chicago #chicago med #Chicago PD #ethan choi #jay halstead #ethan choi x jay halstead #jay halstead x ethan choi #will halstead #hailey upton #greg gerwitz #greg mouse gerwitz

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wr1ter-reader-dreamer · 5 years ago

Text

The Worst Surprise (Pt. 3)

Joker x Reader

Masterlist

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 4

Their faces haunted every moment of my life, looming over me and stealing away my sleep. During the day every fiber of my being longed for J. At night, the memory of his betrayal plagued me with nightmares. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get any respite from the torture.

Since becoming his, I hadn’t spent a single day away from J. We both got antsy when we didn’t see each other, so J made sure that he never had to be away for a full twenty four hours. No matter what, he would always come home to me. However, now I had spent a full two weeks away, and my body was not having it. When I laid down for bed, I couldn’t get comfortable. I found myself craving the feeling of his strong arms around me and the relaxing smell of his scent. On the rare occasion that I did manage to fall asleep, Harley’s ridiculously perfect face crept into my mind. The exact details of the nightmares were different, but the endings were always the same. They ended with J harshly rejecting me, choosing to be with her instead, and me jolting awake, tears in my eyes.

Despite how much I hated the nightmares, the time I spent awake was worse. I missed J with every piece of my heart, and I hated it. The asshole had cheated on me, but I still loved him and wanted to be with him. In an attempt to get away from the pain and self hate, I got a job, anything to get me out of the small apartment I was renting. The job was at Barnes & Noble, a place that would have normally brought me comfort, but now did nothing to numb the pain. Still, it gave me something to do and money to live off of. I still had plenty from my Jeep stash, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever. Nothing ever did, apparently not even love.

This morning my alarm woke me up from another nightmare. My head was pounding and my cheeks were stained with tears, but by now I was used to it. Sighing, I rolled over and turned off my alarm. My body protested when I tried to sit up, still exhausted from my fitful sleep. With a large yawn, I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. The tile floor was cold against my bare feet, causing me to shiver. Blindly reaching into the shower, I turned the nob all the way to the left, making the water as hot as it could be. While I was waiting for the water to warm up, I scrutinized my appearance in the mirror.

I had changed since I left J, and I didn’t like it. My once bright blue eyes had lost some of their color, and now appeared dull. My long blonde hair fell around me in a tangled mess caused by tossing and turning all night long. I had lost weight because I had a hard time forcing myself to eat. Up until this moment, I had forgotten how self destructive I tended to be. It had been a long time since I didn’t have J making sure that I was taking care of myself.

Absentmindedly wondering how I had survived before him, I bent down to pull a towel out from under the sink. After placing it on a hook next to the shower, I stripped off my clothes and checked the temperature of the water. The water burned my hand, but I didn’t care because that was how I liked it. Stepping into the shower, I positioned myself under the stream of water. I allowed my muscles to relax as the water ran over them.

I stayed in the shower until the water got cold, then stepped out and wrapped the towel around me. Walking out of the bathroom, I headed for my closet. Shifting through my meager amount of clothes, I pulled out one of my work shirts and a pair of dark skinny jeans. Humming softly to myself, I set the clothes on my bed and stepped over to my dresser. I pulled out a black lacy bra and a matching pair of panties. After drying myself off, I slipped my clothes on.

Once I was dressed, I made my way back into the bathroom where I started to apply my makeup. I applied only a light layer of foundation and mascara, wanting to keep it mostly natural as not to draw attention to myself. I then brushed through my hair, which took at least ten minutes. Making a mental note to braid it before I tried to go to sleep tonight, I began pinning my hair up as well as I could. When I had got it to lay as flat as possible, I turned to the wig sitting on the edge of the counter. Sighing, I picked it up and slipped it over my hair. The wig was short and black, the opposite of my natural hair. I had needed to change it, knowing that J would easily recognize me if he ever got close enough, but I hadn’t been able to make myself dye and cut it. So I bought a wig instead and forced myself to go through the long process of securing it every morning.

It was interesting to see how changing something as simple as a person’s hair changed their entire appearance. When I was done securing the wig in place, I was unrecognizable. Nobody who had known me before would be able to tell that it was me if they saw me. I was no longer Azrael. Now I was Evangeline Montgomery, a young woman who moved here looking for an escape from her overbearing family.

When I was done getting ready, I checked my phone for the time. I found that I had just enough time to eat breakfast before I had to leave. Walking to the kitchen, I made a bowl of cereal and sat down on a bar stool at the counter to eat it. The cereal was bland, but I forced myself to finish it, knowing that I needed to eat something. As soon as I was done, I rinsed out my bowl and placed it in the sink. Grabbing my purse and making sure to lock the door on my way out, I left my apartment.

Barnes & Noble was only about a twenty minute walk from my apartment. On the way there, I let the noise of the bustling city distract me from my thoughts. Although I didn’t really like large crowds, I had chosen a big city because they were easier to disappear in. If I had chosen a small town in the middle of nowhere like I would’ve preferred, it would have been easier for J to find me. Plus people tended to like to meddle in each other’s business in small towns which was something I didn’t need.

Arriving at work, I found Kara, one of my coworkers and my only friend in this city, opening up the store.

“Hey Kara,” I said, causing the girl to jump and drop the keys. I laughed lightly as she turned around and stuck her tongue out at me.

“Thanks for the scare, Eva, I’ll remember that the next time you’re wondering around the shelves,” she said, smiling at me and bending down to pick up the keys. She then preceded to unlock the doors and make her way inside.

Kara was the only bright spot in my days. She was a kind but sarcastic girl, and the only one of my coworkers who bothered to try to get to know me. We had become friends after our first conversation, bonding over our mutual love of Eddie Redmayne. She was the only person, besides my boss of course, who I had given my number to, and I was honestly grateful to have met her.

“So, did you get anymore sleep last night?” she asked, beginning to prep the store for customers.

I slid my hands into my pockets as I followed her, “No, I had another nightmare.”

She looked up at me and frowned, “Honey, that’s every night this week.”

I just shrugged. Kara had managed to pull some of the truth about my situation out of me when we were at lunch one day. I had reluctantly spilled that I missed an ex boyfriend who cheated on me and that it was causing me to loose sleep. Since then, she had fretted over me like a concerned mom.

“I know what you need,” she said suddenly, looking up from the cash register that she had been in the process of turning on.

I raised an eyebrow, “And what’s that?”

“You need a night out at the club with me and some of my friends,’ she grinned, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

I immediately shook my head, “No, Kara, I don’t have the energy to go out.”

Kara just rolled her eyes, “Mark my words, Evangeline, I will convince you to come, and you will enjoy yourself.”

Smiling at my friend, I shook my head again and made my way to the back of the store. After placing my purse in the break room, I began pulling new books out of their boxes and putting them on the shelves. Before too long, I had lost myself in the mindless labor of stocking shelves.

I spent the rest of the day organizing books and helping customers. Every time Kara and would pass by me, she would add another reason to why I should go out with her tonight. After about an hour of hearing her plead and bargain, I decided that I would go. It would be nice to get to dance again, and I didn’t really have a reason not to go. It’s not like I had anything waiting for me at the apartment.

Even though I had decided to go, I didn’t tell Kara. It was funny to watch her get frustrated with me and walk off muttering to herself, so I continued to make her think that I wouldn’t go. Sometimes I was a little cruel, but I knew that she wouldn’t hold it against me. At the end of both of our shifts, I found her in the break room.

I grabbed my purse and turned to my friend, smiling at her, “Ok, Kara, I’ll go with you tonight.”

She immediately turned to face me, squealing and grabbing my hands, “Yay! We’re gonna have so much fun!”

Kara dragged me back to her apartment, saying that we could hang out there before it was time to go to the club. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching movies that we both loved. For the first time in weeks, I laughed so hard that my sides hurt. It felt good to just hang out and have a girls’ day, something that I hadn’t had in over a year.

At about nine, Kara decided that it was time to get ready. She dragged me to her room, pushing me towards her bed as she went to her closet. I watched as she flitted through her clothes, trying to find something she deemed worthy for me to wear.

“Here, this is perfect,” she finally said, shoving some clothes in my arms and pushing me towards her bathroom.

After stripping out of my work clothes, I slipped the outfit on and looked in the mirror. I smiled at what I saw, immediately deciding that I loved what I was wearing. The outfit consisted of a pair of high waisted shorts and a shirt. The shorts were a glittery gold with silver zippers on the pockets. They fit me perfectly, showing off my legs nicely. Kara had paired the shorts with a simple black, long-sleeved crop top. Looking in the mirror, I had to admit that I looked good.

When I emerged from the bathroom, I found that Kara had slipped into a sexy red dress that looked amazing on her. She grinned when she saw me, holding out a pair of black thigh high heels for me to put on. I clumsily put them on as she slipped into a pair of black stilettos. Taking a look at myself in her full body mirror, I decided that my makeup needed to be more dramatic.

Kara instantly agreed when I suggested it, leading me into her bathroom where she kept her makeup. She handed me some gold eyeshadow and black eyeliner, saying, “The more dramatic, the better.”

As I applied my makeup and she curled her hair, we continued to talk and laugh. I found that it was super easy to be around Kara, and I was starting to believe that I could make it without J. He wasn’t the only person in the world who could lift my spirits.

We were about to walk out the door, both all dressed up and ready to go, when Kara stopped me. She told me to wait at the front door as she scurried back to her room to get something. Shaking my head at her forgetfulness, I grabbed my purse off her couch and went to stand by the front door. She was grinning when she came back, hiding something behind her back.

“This is for you, to complete your outfit,” she said, bringing her hand to the front and revealing a beautiful gold necklace.

I smiled at her gratefully, taking it and fastening it around my neck. With that we were finally ready to leave, and we made our way downstairs and out of her building. Once on the street, Kara hailed a cab.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked as one pulled up in front of us.

“We’re going to meet a few of my friends at The King,” she answered, opening the door and sliding into the cab.

My mind immediately went to J, my King. I thought about how this outfit would have made him purr, and God I loved it when he purred. This is the kind of outfit that would’ve made him keep me close to his side, not wanting anyone to have the chance to get too handsy. It was definitely the kind of outfit that he wouldn’t let me leave the house alone in.

It didn’t take long to get to the club. The building was packed, a long line spilling out of the large black doors and around the corner. As Kara paid the cabbie, I took a chance to look up at the club. It wasn’t as nice as J’s, but it was definitely a nice place. ‘The King’ was lit up in large glittery-gold letters above the doors. The building looked new, and I had a feeling that the interior would be quite modern.

I followed Kara to the door when she was done with the cabbie. The bouncer seemed to recognize her and immediately let us both in, much to the chagrin of the couple at the front of the line. Making a mental note to ask her about it later, I followed her through the club. The music was pounding, the bass pounding through me and helping me to relax. I was right about the interior being modern, but I was surprised to see how simplistic it was. With a name like ‘The King’, I had expected it to be overly lavish.

Kara and I pushed our way through the crowd, making our way to the back of the club. We made it to a wall lined with leather booths and high topped tables. Kara stopped for a moment, seeming to be looking for someone, before heading towards a booth in the corner of the room. Sitting at the booth were two men and a woman.

“Kara!” the woman squealed above the music, standing up and pulling my friend into a hug.

“Amara,” Kara said when she pulled away, “I’d like you to meet Eva.”

I smiled at the stunning platinum blonde, giving her a small wave.

Amara smiled at me, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Eva. I’m Amara and this is my boyfriend, Nico.”

She slid back into the booth, wrapping her arm around the man who had been sitting next to her. Her boyfriend, Nico, nodded at me, and I gave him a small wave. Nico was a massive block of pure muscle, dwarfing the petite woman who was nuzzled up against him. Despite his huge size, he was handsome with his black hair and brown eyes.

“Hey Kara, aren’t you gonna introduce your friend to me?” a voice called, instantly pulling my attention towards the man sitting next to Nico. He smirked and winked at me, causing a light blush to bloom across my cheeks.

Kara rolled her eyes, “Eva, this is Amara’s obnoxious brother, James.”

James grinned at me, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Eva.”

I gave him a small smile, “It’s nice to meet you too. It’s nice to meet all of you.”

Seeing that we all seemed to be getting along, Kara smiled and slid into the booth next to Amara. This left me to slide in next to James, who seemed all to happy to have me next to him. We all talked for a while, laughing and getting along like we had known each other for years. I found myself enjoying all of their company, so when James asked me to dance, I agreed.

Standing up from the booth, I allowed James to take my hand and lead me to the dance floor. It was extremely crowded, but we managed to find enough space on the edge for the two of us. My back pressed up against James’ front, I began to move my hips to the music. It took only moments for me to completely loose myself in the heavy bass. Forgetting all of my troubles, I felt a sense of euphoria wash over me as I swayed and grinded against James to the beat. Here, dancing at the club, it was easy to forget what had happened just a few weeks ago.

After hours of alternating dancing with James and dancing with the girls, I decided that it was time for me to go home. Saying my goodbyes, I gave Kara a hug and promised Amara that we would hang out again. As I left the club, I noticed that the line outside had disappeared, everyone either getting inside or moving on to another club. It was easy enough to hail a cab, and I gratefully slid into the seat. I gave the driver my address and closed my eyes as he pulled out onto the street.

It took about twenty minutes to get from The King back to my apartment. I had to fight to stay awake as we bumped along the road, my body absolutely exhausted. Grinning, I realized that tonight I would finally be able sleep without nightmares.

The cab pulled to a stop outside my apartment building, and I slowly got out. I paid the driver, then blindly made my way upstairs. Yawning as I approached my door, I dug around in my purse for my keys. I finally found them and pulled them out, slipping them into the door only to realize that it wasn’t locked. Frowning, my body immediately went on high alert. I never forgot to lock my door and this morning was not the exception.

Pulling my gun out of my purse, I slowly pushed open my door. I cautiously entered my apartment, finding the lights already on. After finding nothing out of place in the living room and kitchen, I made my way down the short hallway to my bedroom. I kept the gun raised in front of me as I slowly walked to my room, listening carefully to see if I could hear anyone.

When I reached my bedroom door, I found that it was only partially open. I slowly pushed it open the rest of the way, but paused before entering. Taking a deep breath and steeling myself against whatever I might find, I swung into the doorway. Aiming my gun straight at the figure sitting on my bed, I almost screamed.

The figure on my bed grinned, “Azrael, so nice of you to finally come home.”

#jared leto!joker #jared leto!joker x reader #joker #joker x reader #x reader #x y/n #reader insert #y/n #fanfiction #jared leto x reader #jared leto #part 3 #angst #joker x reader angst #the worst surprise

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judylicious · 4 years ago

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“I’m glad we both have found back to you.”

Alan Rubin x fem!Reader (chapter two)

Word Count: 1.850

Fandom: Blues Brothers

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Blues Brothers characters or movies.

Warnings: mentions of violence, abuse, death, murder, angst, swearing, age gap, fluff and slight smut

Summary: You met a handsome musician and his band, including a surprise form your past.

chapter 1

chapter 3

chapter 4

A couple days later Alan was meeting Kelsey for lunch at a cozy bistro at Blue Island Avenue. “So you’re not gonna ask me?”, she remarked before taking a big sip of her coffee and gave him a curious look over the rim of her cup. “About what precisely?” “My parents.” “It seemed like I blindsided you with that question before, didn’t want to push you…” “Still just as taken back as before I see.” She took a deep breath.

“Mum’s dead, she passed away when I was 17, around Christmas.” “I’m… so sorry. What happened?”, he replied in a soft tone. “She fell down the stairs… You remember we had those big stairs made out of marble in the hall? Yep. She.. fell… according to the Police.” Alan raised an eyebrow. “Well, I saw my dad pushing her. Cops said he was trying to get a hold of her arm as she lost her balance but.. I saw it, you know? He often was violent with us, if he was home at all.” “I had no idea, I never noticed how troubled you were”, he admitted rather guilty. Without thinking he grabbed her hand that lied between her plate and the empty bread basket made from raffia, starting to softly caress the back of her hand with his thumb. “Oh it’s okay, really. You were hired for teaching me how play the horn, no more, no less.”, she gave him a reassuring smile. “C’mon don’t act like it was just that. We did get along pretty well. I remember one time you begged me for weeks to take you with me to that Miles Davis concert and although you had promised me to keep me awake during the ride back, as soon as your head hit the passengers seat you were knocked flat out.”, he shook his head but grinned widely. “I’m sorry but I had to prepare myself for sneaking back into the house at - what was it? 4am?” They both laughed and exchanged a look of familiarity. “Believe me, I fought desperately to stay awake. Kicked myself for missing out on a 3 hour ride alone with you in the car at night.” Kelsey suddenly blushed. “You didn't have the slightest idea how much I was into you, didn’t you?” Hold on what am I doing? Shut your big bazoo “Well…” Alan felt caught off guard and tried to ease the tension. “You were a teenager, don’t teenager have a crush on everything and everyone?” Kelsey put on a smile “Yeah, I guess so.” She took heart “But not me… I-“ “Can I get you anything else?” She was interrupted by the waitress. “Think we’re fine, thanks!”, the trumpet player gave her a nod. Kelsey checked her watch. “Damn, I’m late for the backshift, I’m so sorry Alan I totally lost track of time.” “No harm done, girl.”, he explained as he put some money on the table.” “Thanks for taking over the bill.” He smiled “Next time is on you then.”

When they stood outside the small bistro Kelsey couldn’t help herself but gave Alan a big tight hug. He seemed utterly surprised about this gesture but quickly put his arms around her. “Thanks.”, she murmured, squeezing her eyes. The slightly older man had his eyes closed as well, inhaling her scent, feeling more secure than he had in a long time. Starting to feel embarrassed she got off of him and looked around for the nearest bus station, realising the next bus was already in sight. “I gotta catch that one!” “Is practise still on for Thursday? Your place?”, he called after her. “Sure! 5pm, bring your horn.”, she waved at him and got onto the bus.

In preparation for Thursday Kelsey practised extra hard - on the other hand though she knew she shouldn’t take a heavy toll on her lip, that would only make things worse. I have to play decent tomorrow, at all costs. And even as her tones got real crappy, even more crappy than usual, she kept on playing, wanted to go over everything and every scale she had learned so far. However after 3 hours she was physically exhausted from trying to catch those high notes and her mouth piece left a dark, red circle around her lips.

And then finally - it was Thursday, just before 5pm. She checked herself in the mirror one last time before she changed her outfit for the 4th time that day. Perhaps I should go with the dress I wore first. But before she could get undressed another time there was a knock at the door. So she had no choice but to stay in her pleated skirt and red blouse. Alright, keep your head, relax, you got this. “Hi Alan, please come in.” The tensed girl was greeted by a big smile. “Nice to see ya.” The trumpet player stepped in and went into the living room, where everything was already set up. “How about we get right to it, hm?”

They both took a seat and she flipped one of the exercise books open. “So last I’ve practised these eighth notes in 3/4 - time.” “Did you warm up before?”, Alan tried to test her. “Yes I have.”, she responded quickly. “Good, then give it a try, I’m curious!” Oooh boy, here we go. Kelsey started to play the étude but already messed up the first few notes. Nervously she put her instrument down and glanced at Alan who wasn’t showing any reaction. And so she tried again. She played the whole piece but some of the notes didn’t come out at first try, so she messed up with the beat as well. When she had finished, she sighed in annoyance and didn’t even give Alan a glance. “Alright, how about you listen to what it’s supposed to sound like, to give you an idea.” And with that the grabbed his own horn, cleared his throat and played the little practise piece. Needless to say he did a perfect job on it. Kelsey couldn’t help herself but watch the man at her side while he was playing and it made her smile. He makes it look so easy. I mean it is, it’s freakin easy and I’m nothing but a failure. “Now it’s your turn again. Perhaps using the metronome will help you.” He grabbed the little gadget and set the right beat and speed. Listening to the soft “tick tick tick” sound Kelsey tried started from the beginning. Again a few notes simply didn’t come out at first try but just an airy sound, so halfway through she stopped. “No, no, come on keep going!”, the professional bolstered her. And so she did. “Heck! This is a waste of time, I’m sorry.”, the girl snapped and got up, taking a few steps away from her chair. “C’mon it is not. It will take some time, that’s all. I know you probably don’t wanna hear this but you haven’t played for over 5 years, meaning you HAVE to consider yourself as beginner and that’s okay.” Alan tried to calm her. “Look that’s not it. I suck, okay? I. SUCK. S-U-C-K!”. She was fuming. Putting extra emphasis on every letter as she spelled it out when tears began to run down her cheek. Alan jumped to his feet. “Hey, hey, don’t cry hun! I know it’s tough but you will get there. Believe me, I didn’t sound any better when I started.” “I’m so fucking dumb…” Kelsey murmured under her breath and turned away from the man who placed his hand on her shoulder. “Why are you saying this?” She turned around but didn’t look at him. “Dumb. I mean for walking away from it in the first place. I could be playing so well by now if I hadn’t quit.” The musician gave her a sympathetic look. “You had just started college. It’s okay to think about other things than playing the horn at that age.” “You didn’t.”, she countered and felt the need to look at him. Alan chuckled “Yeah but I attended Juilliard School of Music at the age of just 17 to become a professional. You chose a different path and you keep telling me how much you love your job.” Kelsey turn her head away from the man, who softly grabbed her chin and lifted her head up forcing her to look at him. He carefully wiped away one of her tears on her cheek. “Listen. The most important thing is that you have found your way back to it and the trumpet its way to you… To be honest I’m glad both of us have found back to you.” He cupped her face gently in his hands, staring into her green eyes. Her breath hitched as he leaned in to drop a soft kiss on her lips. As he slowly pulled away, she crushed her lips on his again. Eagerly and desiring for more, she forced him to stumble a few steps back until he hit the wall. The kiss deepened, his big hands wandered to the back of her thighs, exploring her skin while going all the way up to her ass. Realising she wore a thong he gave her bare butt cheeks a determinant squeeze. Thank God she skipped on her tights today. Uncontrolled she ran her hands through his dark, slightly wavy hair, which he thankfully hadn’t slicked back today, caressing the shorter hair at his neck with one hand. The kiss became sloppy when both started to explore the other one’s mouth with their tongue. He lifted her right leg, bringing her knee up to his hip, which allowed him to pull her in even closer. As she grabbed a big fistful of his gorgeous hair, a deep moan left his mouth which brought her back to reality, so all of the sudden she pulled away. “I’m - so sorry.”, she stammered, trying to catch her breath. Alan cleared his throat “No need to apologise.” He awkwardly looked around the room. And then there was this weird silence, neither of them knew what to say or do next, so they just stood there, avoiding the gaze of the other until Alan screw up his courage.” Soo.. tomorrow night we play at ‘The Hideout’. Perhaps you’d like to come by.” Tomorrow?! “Sounds good, I’ll try to make it.”, Kelsey smiled. “Nice” he said nervously while grabbing his jacket and horn. He looked at her once more, wondering if he should kiss her goodbye. He took half a step towards her but his alarm bells went off reminding him that the situation was already embarrassing enough. “Guess I’ll see you around then.” And with a few quick steps he reached the door of her flat and left, feeling like a fool. Not only like a fool but like a goofy teenager. Kelsey closed the door behind him. Tomorrow!? I agreed on meeting Elwood after the gig. We made plans to see the Sonny Boy Williamson act starting at midnight.

#blues brothers #blues brothers fandom #Alan Rubin x fem!Reader #Alan Rubin x Reader #blues brothers fanfiction #fan fiction #Mr. Fabulous #Elwood Blues

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luckysevenwrites · 4 years ago

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I don’t want to sleep alone

Hobi and y/n have been friends for years but after a night of watching scary movies together and someone not being able to sleep alone, they tell each other how they feel about one another

Watching a horror movie was never a good idea, you hated them, and they always gave you nightmares or you spent the whole night wide awake jumping at every noise you heard. Still, here you were sitting in the living room squished between Hobi and Namjoon’s girlfriend, who loved horror movies. She loved them so much that you were a little worried about her. She never jumps at any of the jump scares, whenever there is an extremely gory scene she just continues to watch with avid interest. It wasn’t normal.

Hobi for his part was terrified and you were glad that you weren’t the only one who was losing their mind watching this god-awful movie. At the start of the movie you had curled into Namjoon’s girlfriend anytime something scary would happen, but she never comforted you. You then quickly moved to the other side of the couch and got comfort from Hobi. Even though he jumped and screamed all the time he would at least embrace you anytime you leaned into him or would hold you tight and let you bury your face in his neck and he would tell you when the scary part was over. How he knew was a mystery though because while you were hiding in his neck, he was hiding his face in your hair.

Eventually the movie came to an end and you and Hobi both let out a sigh of relief while everyone else seemed unfazed by the movie. Taehyung and Jimin were on a couch together and while they had jumped a few times they looked fine. Namjoon had jumped too, throughout the movie and would sometimes turn into his girlfriend’s leg. Then there was his girlfriend and Jungkook who hadn’t made a sound the entire movie. Both now were completely fine. Jungkook had his head buried in his phone probably texting his soon to be girlfriend. Namjoon’s girlfriend was running her fingers through Joon’s hair and smiling at him. The only person who had escape this night of horror was Jin and his girlfriend because he was meeting her parents for the first time the lucky duck.

“Joonie, you ready to head out,” his girlfriend cooed and again you questioned if she was for real? How could anyone be so calm after watching what you had just watched.

“Yeah let’s go before it gets to late,” Namjoon tells her as he stands from the floor and reaches out for her hand pulling her out of the couch and into his arms. The two of them wave goodbye to you all and make their exit.

“I’m going out quick I’ll see you guys later,” Jungkook tells you all and everyone looks at him with questioning eyes. Jungkook has yet to tell you all who he has been seeing.

“Does he think that we don’t know he’s seeing someone?” Tae questions.

“We’re going to find out eventually he should just tell us,” Jimin pipes in, “should we follow him and see if we can figure out who he’s seeing?”

Tae and Jimin get a mischievous look in their eyes and you know that they are going to follow Jungkook. They look at you and Hobi to see if you want to come with. But there is no way you are leaving the safety of their dorm and going home in the dark. Hobi shakes his head quickly no, probably thinking the same thing as you.

“You two are such scaredy cats, it makes sense why you’re best friends,” Jimin teases you both, you flip him off as you curl into Hobi who just laughs as the two boys head out after Jungkook.

“Just so you know I’m ending our friendship after tonight. When you invited me over for movie night you should have told me that it was going to scary movies.”

You glare up at Hobi who is looking down at you with a small smile on his face. For a moment you forget your train of thought getting lost in looking at him. Your best friend was truly a beautiful man and sometimes it just hit you how good looking he was. Hobi quirks his one eyebrow up at you, as he notices that you have been staring at him a little too long.

“Don’t end our friendship. I didn’t know what we were watching until the movie started. I was as surprised as you were,” Hobi tells you not questioning you and the look you gave him. Hobi was good at not questioning the looks you have been giving him for the past few months. He had to have an idea though of how you were feeling about your best friend.

“Fine, but only because it would be way more work to find a new best friend.” Hobi laughs as he wraps his arms around you and pulls you in close to him. He kisses your forehead before resting his forehead on yours. For a moment, the two of you just sit in the comfortable silence that surrounds the two of you. The moment is ruin though when your phone vibrates causing you to jump and crash your head into Hobi’s.

“Sorry,” you squeak as you rub your head and Hobi does the same. You reach out for your phone and turn it to silent. “I am not looking to walking to my car and going to my place tonight.”

“Don’t, just stay the night here. You can have my bed and I’ll take Namjoon’s bed. It’s not like he’s coming back tonight.”

You could almost kiss Hobi with the offer that he just made. You know that everything you saw in the movie wasn’t real but you were still freaked out, part of the reason why you jumped when your phone vibrated, and you did not want to drive home alone and then spent the night alone in your apartment. Also, you hadn’t seen Hobi in weeks and missed spending time with you best friend.

“Thanks, Hobi I really didn’t want to go home by myself,” you admit. Hobi gives you a warm smile and reaches out for the remote.

“Of course, now let’s find something fun to watch so I’ll be able to sleep tonight.” The two of you curl back up in the couch and scroll through Netflix looking for something to wash away the memories of your horror movie. As the two of you settle on a movie you glance over at Hobi and can’t help but think that anyone who dates him will be lucky. He is the best person that you know, and he is always putting others before himself. You feel a little sad and jealous at the thought of someone else getting to have moments like these with him. You quickly shake off the thought and instead focus on the movie and the time you get to spend with him.

Later that evening curled up in Hobi’s bed you jump for what must be the millionth time. You had hoped that the two movies you had watch with Hobi would have washed away the memories of that stupid horror movie but, here you were wide awake and jumping at every sound you’ve heard. You knew that you were being silly you were perfectly safe and Hobi was just down the hall there is no reason for you to be afraid. But you were. You reach out for your phone and call Hobi. You can hear his phone ringing and hope that it wakes him.

“Y/n?” Hobi’s sleepy voice questions.

“I can’t sleep I’m still thinking about that stupid movie,” you confess as you roll onto your back and stare up at the ceiling.

“It’s not real and it freaked me out too. But we both know that there is no one coming to chop us up with a chainsaw.”

“That you know of, but people are crazy. It just might happen,” you argue. Mostly because you don’t want Hobi to hang up and partly because you do believe it could happen.

“Just close your eyes and think happy thoughts,” Hobi’s drowsy voice drifts over the line to you.

“Hobi,” you whine, “I’ve been trying to do that all night and it’s not working. Every time I hear something I jump, and my thoughts keep going back to that movie.

“Well what do you want me to do to fix it?” Hobi questions you, he sounds more awake now then he had before.

“I…I don’t know,” you mumble, “All I know is that I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”

“Okay, I can fix that,” you hear rustling and then the phone goes dead. You continue to listen and hear Namjoon’s bedroom door open and then close. In a few seconds the door to Hobi’s room is opening and in comes Hobi. He shuts the door and shuffles over to the bed. When you don’t move over, he plops on top of you and then rolls to the side. He shimmy’s his way under the blankets and pulls your back up to his front and wraps his arms around you.

“Hobi,” you start to question.

“You said you didn’t want to sleep alone I’m fixing that. Now be quiet and try to sleep. I’m here in bed with you and while I may be afraid of everything, I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Thanks, Hobi,” you whisper. His only response is to give you a squeeze.

As you lay in Hobi’s arms feeling warm and safe your mind starts to wonder and not to thoughts about chainsaw and blood. Instead your thoughts start to drift to Hobi and your friendship with him. The two of you have know each other for almost four years now and in that time the two of you have grown close to one another. You couldn’t imagine your life without Hobi in it. He was the person that you always wanted to share your good and bad days with. He was the one that always popped into your mind when you were planning your life. It was how you knew that Hobi was more to you then just a friend. And you wanted him to know that you had feelings for him that went beyond being just friends. You maybe could have waited till morning but once the thought came into your head you couldn’t wait to tell Hobi.

“Hobi,” you called out.

“Y/n.” he whines and you almost laugh at how grumpy he sounds.

“I’m sorry but it’s important. I promise,” you assure him as you turn in his arm to face him.

“What is it?” He questions while keeping his eyes closed not wanting to give up on falling back to sleep just yet.

“I thought that you should know that I like you,” you tell him.

“Y/n I know that it’s why we’re friends.”

“No, I mean I like you as more than a friend. I like you a lot Hobi and I think that you know that, but I just wanted you to know and I don’t want you to be questioning how I really feel about you.”

Hobi stays quiet for so long that you think he had fallen back to sleep and did it during your confession. But he let’s out a deep sigh and leans forward to press his lips to your forehead. He leaves them there and you think that is going to leave it at that before he finally speaks.

“Right now, I don’t like you but, normally I like you as more than a friend too,” you smile at that as Hobi pulls you into his chest and breathes you in, “can we go to sleep now that we have straightened everything out? You aren’t home alone, you’re not sleeping alone, and we both confessed our feelings to one another. Is there anything else that I’m missing?”

You try not to laugh but can’t stop the quiet giggle that slips out. You nod your head before giving Hobi a kiss on his jaw and get comfortable once again wrapped up in Hobi’s arms. Sleep this time doesn’t take you long and before you know it, you’re in dreamland. Hobi watches you for a little bit a small on his face before following you into dreamland as well.

#bts fanfic #bts hobi #bts drabble #bts one shot #hobi x reader #hobi x you #hobi x oc #hobi x y/n #hobi drabble #hobi one shot #hobi fluff #bts scenarios #bts imagines #hobi scenario #hobi imagine

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silverarmedassassin · 5 years ago

Text

Come Back to Me // Part Two

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 2084

Warnings: Mentions of a car accident, traumatic brain injury, and memory loss. this is going to be pretty angst heavy throughout.

A/N: Feeling a little meh about this part. It’s too early in this process to be hitting writer’s block, lol. I’ll blame the current state of life and my decreasing motivation to do anything.

Thanks for reading! Feedback is welcome :)

Come Back to Me Masterlist // Masterlist

Slowly but surely, the wires and tubes start disappearing. By your fifth day awake in the Compound, all but the heart monitor and a few electrodes are carted away from your room. Dr. Banner reassures you daily that you’re making “great progress,” and that, hopefully, your memory will return to normal soon. You’re still not sure what that means.

You sigh as you look towards the holoscreen Dr. Banner had installed in your room to occupy your time. You had access to thousands of T.V. channels from across the world and a seemingly endless supply of movies to watch, but you never took advantage. Instead, you kept a live feed of the Compound grounds on. Tony Stark had had a few of the security cameras’ feeds rerouted so you could have some kind of window to the outside world.

Between your bouts of unconsciousness and mindlessly watching the outside, members of the Avengers would trickle in from time-to-time. You’d met almost everyone on the team, even members you’d never knew existed. But, while you enjoyed getting to meet and know each of them, you’d found comfort in just a few.

Steve, of course, was at the top of your list. The super-solider had made a habit of visiting you daily, usually multiple times a day. He’d bring a meal and a deck of cards and spend hours telling you stories. He talked about everything - life growing up, his experience in the war. He talked about it all, but he would always tread lightly when the Soldier, Bucky you would remind yourself, was brought up.

You hadn’t seen Bucky since that first day, at least not fully. When Steve would stop by, you’d often catch a glimpse of the man just outside your door. You’d sometimes hear him talking with Banner after the doctor came to check on you, but Bucky never made it in the room. And for that, you were grateful.

The others didn’t mention him much, only Sam on occasion. But it was usually in an off-hand, humorous kind of way. That made you like Sam. Unlike Steve, he didn’t talk about Bucky like he placed the sun in the sky. You understood Steve’s fondness, remembered that they were childhood friends despite it all, but it still left a bad taste in your mouth. With Sam, though, it was jokes and conversations about learning to cope with this new, unfamiliar life you’d woken up in.

“Knock knock,” a voice sing songs from the doorway, drawing you from your thoughts. You look over to find Wanda with a large container of take-out in her hands. You can’t help the smile that spreads across your face.

Wanda had quickly become another comfort during your time. She was caring, witty, and overall a great person to talk with. Aside from Steve, she spent the most time down with you. When it was announced you were awake and able to see visitors, she promptly brought you down a pair of pajamas and a decent stack of clothing so you wouldn’t have to lie around in the uncomfortable hospital gown.

“I figured you might be hungry, so I brought you a little something,” Wanda says as she moves to sit in the chair next to your bed. “How are you feeling today?”

You smile weakly. “Tired. My head kind of hurts, but I’m okay.” You shrug and take the container from Wanda’s outstretched hands. “You haven’t seen Steve, have you? He usually stops in by now.”

“The team got called out this morning. A few others and I stayed behind to man the Compound and take care of you,” Wanda smiles and winks. She knew how much you hated being doted on.

You and Wanda sit and eat lunch together. She’s in the middle of a story about her brother when there’s a soft knock on the door. When you turn, you find Dr. Banner’s smiling face peeking in through the crack.

“You’re awake,” he exclaims as he shuffles in, holopad in hand. “I’m glad. I have some news for you.”

Bruce brings over the roller chair, the only normal, doctor-like piece of furniture to be found in the high-tech room, and sits. “I’m pleased with the amount of progress you’ve been making. Brain activity is back in the normal range, your ribs are healing nicely, and your vitals have been steady. To the point where I feel comfortable releasing you from the medical wing.”

You perk up then, looking from Bruce to Wanda with a wide smile on your face. “I can go home?”

It’s not that you didn’t enjoy being at the Compound. The food was great, the company was even better, and, despite it all, you felt more relaxed than you had in years. But you were starting to get stir-crazy. You missed the routine of day-to-day life.

“Well, not exactly,” Bruce takes his glasses off and slips them on top of his head. “While I’m comfortable with you not being monitored twenty-four-seven, I would like to keep an eye on you, just until your memories return.”

“If they return,” you grumble.

“But,” Bruce ignores your offhand comment, “I’ve already talked with Tony about you staying, and he set up a room for you. It’s far more comfortable than this sterile place, and you’ll have an actual window to look out instead of a screen.”

“It’s right by mine and Steve’s,” Wanda says reassuringly as a grimace settles on your face.

“That’s nice and all,” you say, “but what about my life? Rent? My classes? I can’t just abandon everything.”

The duo shares a look before Bruce speaks. “You’re...you graduated two years ago. You don’t remember that?”

“Of course I don’t remember!” you shout. “I don’t remember anything. And it turns out I don’t even remember myself.”

You bury your face in your hands before they can see the tears in your eyes. It wasn’t right to shout, but you’re so frustrated and upset about the situation that it just happened. All you wanted was to go back to the city, see your friends, and return to normal life - whatever that looked like for you now.

Graduated? Two years ago? Exactly how much were you missing?

>>>

Dr. Banner was right, the room they set up for you was much nicer than where you were staying prior.

After your mini-meltdown, Bruce and Wanda explained that your expenses would be taken care of back home and that they’ve already been in touch with your boss. Apparently, he’d been very understanding of the situation. Wanda then wheeled you through the seemingly endless halls of the Compound pointing out various offices, rooms, and common areas before getting to your room.

It was definitely better than the medical ward room, twice the size even. Despite the ultra-modern design, it felt homey. Wanda informed you Steve and Sam had gone to your apartment in the city to grab some of your personal belongings so you didn’t feel so out-of-place.

It was nice seeing your favorite blanket draped across the bed and a stack of books on the nightstand. You can’t help but wonder if you’ve already read them or not. Wanda doesn’t leave you much time to think about that, though, as she is intent on showing you around your spacious living space.

The bathroom looked like it belonged in a space station and, if it weren’t for Wanda showing you, you probably would never have figured out the shower. She even showed you the closet, which was stocked, allegedly, with your own items.

“Why are you all being so nice to me?” you ask as you try and make yourself comfortable on the edge of the bed. “You don’t even know me.”

Wanda smiled sadly before coming over to sit next to you. “Oh, Y/N.” She wraps you up in a hug and doesn’t offer a proper explanation. “Why don’t you get some rest and we’ll talk more later?”

As she makes her way from the room, you realize how tired you’re actually feeling. Maybe a little nap wouldn’t hurt.

>>>

It’s not until several hours later that you wake up. By how dark it is in your room, you can tell it’s well into the night. Your mouth is bone dry, and you contemplate if it’s worth getting up to get something to drink when your stomach growls. That settles it.

As you carefully slide out of bed, you check the illuminated alarm clock that’s set on the bedside table. 2:15 a.m. When Wanda showed you around earlier, you didn’t see any of the other Avengers, so you assumed it was only Wanda, Bruce, and you at the Compound. Hopefully, you think, neither is still awake.

You decide to forego the wheelchair that Bruce had insisted you use when you came up to the room. The kitchen wasn’t too far, after all. You make your way down the dimly lit hall as quietly as you can. You don’t hear anyone else or see any lights on, so you figure you’re the only one awake.

Your stomach rumbles again as you get to the kitchen. Wanda hadn’t actually shown you where anything was, so you rummage through the cabinets before finding a few cans of soup. You grab a few to get a better look at your options.

“You’re up late,” a deep voice says from behind you.

You jump and drop one of the cans of soup onto the floor, startled from the unexpected guest. You turn to find Bucky standing on the other side of the kitchen island, watching you intently. He only breaks eye contact when he bends to pick up the can of soup that rolled across the kitchen.

“Wa-Wanda said I could help myself,” you say as he makes a face at the soup. “If it’s yours I’ll replace it, I promise.”

“No, it’s fine,” Bucky laughs, setting the can on the island. “But this stuff is awful. Wanda made spaghetti for dinner, have some of that.” Your eyes never leave him as he walks over to the fridge and pulls out a large bowl before also setting it on the counter and sliding it over to you.

“Thanks,” you say quietly as you peel back the cling wrap and place it in the microwave behind you. You close your eyes and take a deep breath to try and calm yourself. You felt uneasy having your back to Bucky, but it felt safer than having a staring match with the assassin. Ex-assassin, you remind yourself.

“Wanda wanted to wake you up for dinner, but I told her not to. Figured you needed the rest,” Bucky says. You turn slightly to look at him and offer a small, forced smile. You just wanted him to go away. When he starts rummaging around for a bowl and cereal, you realize he’s probably not going anywhere anytime soon.

“When did you guys get back?” you ask quietly as you turn back to the microwave.

“What? Oh, no I sat this one out. But the team isn’t back yet, part of the reason I’m up.”

To distract from the looming figure across the room and the knot in your stomach, you start going through the many draws looking for a fork. Bucky must catch on because, a few moments later, a fork is being slid across the sleek counter in the same manner as the bowl of spaghetti had been.

“Top drawer next to the fridge,” he says. You can hear the smile in his voice.

The fact Bucky was being so nice, so generous was confusing to you. When you looked at or thought of him, all you could see was the silver-armed assassin who literally destroyed an entire block of D.C. and nearly killed his best friend. Making sure you were rested and fed was the last thing you’d ever imagined from him.

With the microwave beeping, you quickly grab the fork and bowl without letting it cool. You’d had no intention of eating in your room but staying out in the kitchen with Bucky was too uncomfortable. You thank him again and quickly shuffle back towards the hall your room is in.

“Hey Y/N?” Bucky calls from where he’s seated at the island. You stop and wait for him to continue. “I’m glad you’re okay. Really.”

You don’t turn, only nod and continue down the hall. You try to ignore the churning in your stomach as you do so.

>>>

Tags: @tricksterwinchester @themarveledwriter @numwoon44 @wonderlandmind4 @basicjetsetter @igothroughphasesalot

#bucky x reader #Bucky Barnes x reader #bucky/reader #Bucky Barnes/you #Bucky Barnes/reader #bucky x you #marvel #marvel fanfic #marvel x you #marvel x reader #marvel/reader #marvel/you #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #bucky barnes #captain america #bucky fanfic #Bucky Barnes fanfic #Jen writes things

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carsontheleft · 4 years ago

Text

One sentimental moment

Summary: Gwilym and Ben know each other through an app and set up strict boundaries for their relationship - sex only, no feelings. When Gwil is hurt, Ben needs to figure out what he really wants.

Pairing: GwilxBen

Comment: I want to dedicate this to you, @laminy. I realize that this piece of writing is not really worthy of being dedicated to someone of your talent, but I wanted to do it since it were your stories that got me into writing again after quite some time. ITBASM means so much to me, really, Rami and Joe’s place in London, the flat in Aber, the boys and their cats feel like family, like home to me. I can reread the series a million times and still not be bored, I always cry with them, laugh with them, want to hit them over the head when they’re being stupid. And your snippets are glorious! You manage to answer a range of various prompts and every single one of them is so well-crafted, so full of feelings, I’ve actually turned on the notifications for your blog so I’ll never miss a post. If this is wildly inappropriate, if you don‘t like this one-shot at all, please feel free to ignore it. This is just something I wanted to say (and yes, I totally missed the deadline from the Appreciate the Queen Creators Day...). This blog has like 2 followers but I wanted to get this out here. I hope I can show my appreciation this way, because your writing (and subsequently you?) just mean so much to me. I hope you can somehow enjoy this <3

When Ben’s phone rings he’s on his way to the hospital. The caller ID says Sex on LEGS and he has to bite down on his lower lip not to laugh. It’s what Gwilym described himself as on the app they met on and frankly, he’s not wrong.

“Hey Gwil.”

“Ben”, Gwil just says, his voice is deep and rough, sounding like he just woke up and it sends tingles down Ben’s spine, settling right into his crotch. “Listen, uh, I’m sorry but I won’t be able to make it tonight.”

“Oh.”

That isn’t what Ben has hoped for. He thought Gwil is calling him to set the mood for their, well not date exactly, but their date. He is an expert at driving Ben to edge and leaving him hanging there for the rest of the day until they finally met up in the evening.

“Yeah, I- I’m really sorry, I’ll make it up to you, I promise – ugh”, there’s a rustling of sheets in the background and Gwil groans slightly.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just a cold, Ben, I’m okay, it’s just a bit… not sexy.”

Ben can see him scrunching his nose, frustrated about his inelegant choice of words and has to stifle his laughter again. He also has to hold back on the offer to come over and look after Gwil for a bit.

What they’re having isn’t like that. It’s not a relationship, they’re not dating, it’s just sex for the sake of it. Mind-blowing good sex. The best sex Ben’s ever had. But nothing more. They’re probably not even friends. Ben knows what kind of rope Gwil prefers to use, but not his favorite movie. He knows the size of condoms he needs, but not if he’s still friends with his mates from uni.

Ben made himself swear to not get hung up about it. They even have a contract about the nature of their arrangement that clearly states that, if one should catch feelings for the other, he’s to tell immediately.

But Ben doesn’t have feelings for Gwil. He just likes him in a regular way, only with the bonus that he loves Gwil when he gives Ben orgasms that make him feel like the world is exploding. And he just doesn’t want him to feel bad. Like a normal, decent person does with their acquaintances.

So, no feelings.

“Okay, alright. Then feel better soon. How ‘bout you just text me when you’re better and we can set up a date or something?”, Ben cringes a little, that sounds like he’s talking to some random dude from Ebay that wants to buy his old TV.

“I’ll do that. Have a nice day, Ben.”

“Yeah, you too. See ya!”

He hangs up and fights the urge to bash his phone through his skull. Smooth, Jones, real smooth.

His cancelled date dampens Ben’s mood a bit when he visits one of his mates, who’s fallen down a ladder and managed to crack what seems like all of his ribs. But he’s trying not to let it show, tries to stuff it away and tells himself he’ll just have a cozy night in with a movie and some popcorn.

He’s leaving the hospital again when he spots a familiar figure limping down the street in front of him. It’s a bit embarrassing but no understatement to say that Ben would recognize the shape of this back, the long, slim legs and the warm hazel colored hair just about anywhere.

“Gwil?”, he calls running up to him and only now fully realizing that Gwil is using crutches, has a brace on his left knee and sports a generally disheveled look.

“Gwil!”

It takes Ben standing in front of him for Gwil to finally look up from his task of navigating himself through the busy street.

“Huh- Ben! Wha-What are you doing here?”

“What am I- Jesus, Gwil, why didn’t you tell me you were in the hospital?!”, Ben can’t stop himself from fretting, not with the way Gwilym looks. Angry red scabs are coating the right side of his face, just like his knuckles. The jacket he usually wears for running is torn up. There’s a flush to his face that indicates he really shouldn’t be out on the streets alone with whatever’s in his system.

“Well, I’m not. At the hospital, I mean”, the taller man indicates at the street with one of his crutches as clearly not the hospital, and stumbles forward when his legs don’t quite hold his weight.

Ben immediately steps forward to steady him with a tight grip on his shoulders, whereas Gwil tries for a dopey grin but winces when it painfully pulls at his road rash.

“Oh my god”, Ben mutters to himself. This is not okay, Gwil really shouldn’t be on his own right now. Fuck not caring, fuck this, them, being something akin a business partnership, this is more serious.

“Is someone picking you up?”

“I pointed at a guy and told the nurse he’s my roommate and here to pick me up.”

“And they just believed that? Without seeing you walk out together?”

Gwil shrugs and then hisses.

“She was busy”, he takes a deep breath and seems to sober up a bit. “But I can get home on my own, don’t worry Ben. It’s not long with the tube.”

“I know”, Ben frowns at him, then makes a decision. “I’ll take you home.”

“You don’t need to-“

“Consider it a service to myself, okay? ‘Cause I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight not knowing you made it home in one piece.”

Ben just plows over Gwil, because this aspect of him, this ‘I-don’t-want-to-inconvenience-you’-thing, that he knows and that he can handle.

“Okay.”

Gwil is surprisingly quiet, so Ben doesn’t waste any time and flags down a taxi and carefully maneuvers Gwil into it.

“How did this happen anyway?”, he asks after he’s given Gwil’s address to the driver.

“A cyclist ran me down yesterday morning. Ran a red light and right into me.”

“Shit, mate”, Ben bites his tongue, cursing his sheer stupidity. ‘Shit, mate’? Really? How much of an insensitive prick can one be?

Gwil doesn’t seem to notice his inner struggles, he’s closed his eyes, relaxing against the head rest.

“So, what did the doctors say?”

“That I’ve been lucky, he could’ve pushed me against another car or something. So it’s just scabs and bruises. They might operate on the knee, they wanted to see if it heals on its own first. Apparently, I’m young and fit enough for that to happen. Doesn’t feel like it at the moment”, Gwil scoffs. He’s kept his eyes closed while talking and Ben debates if he should let him sleep.

“Looks like it.”

He leaves it at that. Gwil dozes for the remainder of the drive while Ben keeps a watchful eye on him. It’s different to see him like this, soft and unguarded, for once not in full control of his surroundings.

But Ben doesn’t mind. Sure, having Gwil in control during sex, being able to let himself be completely at his mercy is nice, exhilarating even, but he finds he likes this too. Inside of him flutters the urge to care, to protect, something he would never have associated with Gwil, but it’s there and it nearly burns through the insides of Ben.

The taxi comes to a stop and Gwil startles awake, begins to look for his wallet or phone or anything to pay with, but Ben hands a few bills to the driver and climbs out of the car to help the other man getting out.

“So, ah, thanks for the ride, appreciate it. But please, don’t let me keep you, you were probably busy before you stumbled over me.”

“Actually, I’m not, took a few days off.”

There’s a moment of awkward silence and Ben can see the cogs turning in Gwil’s head as he figures out that Ben took time off to prepare for the evening they had planned and to recuperate from it.

His face turns apologetic and Ben uses his chance to butt in.

“Why don’t I help you settle in? Just get you comfortable with a cup of tea, you look like you need one.”

“I-“, Gwil is surprised by Ben’s sudden resolve and determination. “That’d be nice, thanks.”

Ben knows Gwil’s flat, technically. He’s been inside multiple times; he knows the cracks on the ceiling of his bedroom and the feeling of his sheets. The dark blue towels are familiar to him and he knows that there’s a toothbrush in the mirror cabinet if he wants to use one.

But being in Gwil’s kitchen in daylight, looking for tea and mugs, it’s something else entirely. Somehow it fleshes Gwil more out, makes him more of a person, a real person. Not that he hasn’t been before, but there is a difference between knowing someone as the person that ties you to the bedpost and seeing the person’s collection of destination mugs.

It takes a bit of the mystery away, but Ben really doesn’t mind that. It may paint a whole other picture of Gwil, but he’d be lying if he didn’t find it endearing.

When the tea is done, Ben returns to Gwil who’s sitting on his sofa and looking uncomfortable.

“Here’s your tea. I’m not sure how you like it.”

“Thanks.” His smile is tight and there are some lines around his eyes that betray how much he’s hurting sitting up like this. Before Gwil’s struggle to reach the milk on the coffee table draws out, Ben intervenes.

“Here, let me.”

He adds a splash of milk and hands the tea over to Gwil.

“You know, you really don’t need to do this. I can get by on my own, there’s no reason you should feel obligated to take care of me, I don’t expect this from our relationship”, Gwil says after some quiet minutes where they just sipped their drinks. On second thought he adds: “And I’m not sure if that came up during the negotiation, but I’m not really a fan this playing doctor thing, or up for it, so-“

“Jeez, Gwil, it’s not like that!”, Ben cuts in before Gwil has the chance to make this even more awkward. It hurts bit to know that Gwil sees their relationship just as sex and not more of a personal connection, but Ben deems that his own fault. He wanted sex without the added trouble of a relationship, and he got just that.

“Am I not allowed to be a decent human being and to make sure you’re alright?”, Gwil doesn’t seem convinced at all, so Ben decides, in a moment of some sort of mental blackout obviously, to go all in.

“I like you, okay? As a person with a character and not just with a great dick. And I don’t like the thought of you hurting and being on your own. You’ve taken great care of me these last weeks, I don’t think I’ve thanked you for that, so just let me take care you! Even if it’s in a different way.”

Gwilym says nothing to that. For some minutes that might as well stretch out into hours he just stares as Ben as if he just declared that the earth is flat and is breaking apart. It makes Ben so uncomfortable that he considers to either wave a hand in front of Gwil’s face to make sure he hasn’t checked out mentally or to just leave, this apartment, the city, the country, change his name, grow a beard and work as goat farmer on an isolated island in Greece.

“You do.”

“What?”

“You do thank me. Every time you orgasm. It’s a bit weird, actually.”

Ben blushes, honest to god blushes and the plans for the goat farm seem to be a really good idea.

“I, uh- I’m sorry? I didn’t know that. I just… yeah.”

“It’s sweet. And I’m sorry if I offended you, it’s just- I’ve been doing this a while now and the anonymity of the app lets some people forget their manners. Or decency. It’s…”, he sighs, and Ben can feel it in every inch of his body. “It’s generally safer not to expect anything. I’m beginning to think I might be the wrong person for ‘just sex’ after all.”

Okay, no. Ben’s gotta put a stop to this, it’s not fair to the both of them. They need to have this talk when they’re both in full possession of their mental capabilities and not doped up and/or in pain.

“Hey, we don’t need to talk about this right now. How about I’ll help you out of these clothes and into something more comfortable so you can rest?”

Gwil is soft and pliable, which makes changing his clothes easy, although his pants are a bit tricky. Ben needs to remove the brace, get the tight running pants off, the brace back on and only then he can stick Gwil’s ridiculously long legs into a pair of soft pyjama pants.

“You’re good at this”, Gwil remarks once they’re done in the bathroom and hobbling to his bedroom. He’s panting and a drop of sweat makes it slowly down his temple.

“I was training to be a nurse.”

Ben grunts a little when Gwil has to lean almost his whole on Ben in order to lower himself down on his bed.

“Why did you stop?”

“I couldn’t draw the line between the person and the patient”, Ben shrugs and rearranges Gwil’s pillows for him to lay down comfortably. “It was so hard to draw blood from kids. Even harder when someone didn’t make it. I loved it but I figured my job shouldn’t leave me crying almost every night.”

“Mhh”, Gwil hums, his eyes already closed when Ben covers him with the blanket. “Thanks, Ben.”

“Get some rest, Gwil.”

Upon waking, Gwil isn’t too sure of his surroundings. He’s in his own bed, yes, but there are noises outside, some clanking and a rushing. It takes some time until he realizes it’s someone in his kitchen making tea. But-

Ben.

Oh shit.

Oh no.

Gwil shoots up and doubles over immediately when his body screams at him in pain by the sudden movement. His groan is guttural, but that’s not even on the forefront of his mind, there’s Ben. Ben, who stumbled over him at the hospital, took him home and put him to bed. Ben, who, apparently, is currently in his kitchen making tea.

This is not okay, far from it, really. This goes against everything they agreed upon in their contract.

“You’re up!”

“Ben!”

The blonde needs only a second before he knows what’s going on.

“When I made the tea, I noticed your cupboards were pretty empty, so I went out to get some groceries. Just the essentials”, he holds up his hands, well, the one hand not holding a mug.

“You didn’t need to do that.”

“I know”, Ben sits down on his bed and looks at Gwil, a steely resolve in his eyes that Gwil hasn’t seen before, “But a thank you should be enough to make up for it.”

“Thank you.”

It’s more of a mechanic response, because what Gwil actually wants to do is insisting that he’s fine, that Ben really didn’t need to get him groceries, that he can get by on his own. But Ben seems to have another idea.

“Listen, I know what you want to say. Me being here with you like this is violating the contract and not the nature of our agreement. But I don’t fucking care. If me taking care of you means we can’t have sex anymore, fine. Well, not fine, obviously, but okay, I’ll take it. There’s nothing that could make me just leave you alone like this. If you’ll have me, of course.”

“I…”

Gwil is not sure what to say. Ben just said a lot of words and his sleep- and pain-addled brain is a bit slow on the uptake.

“Is there anyone you could call? Who’d come over for bit?”, Ben asks softly.

“No, not really”, Gwil doesn’t know why he’s ashamed of that but he can’t bring himself to meet Ben’s eyes. “My family doesn’t live here, and my friends, I don’t really- I wouldn’t want-“

“To bother them? You’re a moron, Gwilym Lee”, despite his words, Ben smiles at him. He reaches up and brushes a strand of hair out Gwil’s face. He can’t help but lean into the soft touch.

“Are you okay with me staying here with you?”

“Yes.”

And he really is, much to his own surprise. He likes Ben like this. In a soft sweater, with a mug in his hands. He might like him like this even more than he likes him naked.

“Do you want some painkillers?”

“Yes, please.”

Ben places the mug on the bedside table and opens the drawer to pull out a bottle of pills. He smirks at Gwil.

“I might not know how where you keep your sugar, but I do know where your painkillers are. And I’m okay with learning that other stuff.”

#harlee #ben hardy #gwilym lee #borhap cast #hurt/comfort #appreciation post #painkillers #accident

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babyspiderling · 5 years ago

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“Control” Steve Harrington x reader

Steve Harrington - Control Janet Jackson

Not requested

First time I fell in love, I didn't know what hit me So young and so naive, I thought it would be easy

August 1982

“I don’t understand how you like this stuff!” I roll over to sit up on Jonathan Byers bed. “How do you not? It’s so easy to move to, he has a nice voice, don’t even get me started on his dancing!” He looks up from his workbook with an incredulous look. “Y/N, I get it, you’re a dancer. But seriously? Michael Jackson? I thought I taught you better than that.” I shrug, “Well, I happen to like Disco and Hip-Hop. Not everyone could like The Clash, or else they wouldn’t be so indie.” We sit and study, or at least try to. We eventually migrate next to each other, hands intertwined. Everything felt simple then.

November 1983

Will had gone missing. Jonathan was up all hours of the night looking for him, and for some reason Nancy would always happen to be around. “Hey Jon, you wanna watch a movie tonight? I think we both need to destress.” He looks back at me, dazed and confused. “What? Yeah, sure.” He turns to look back at someone across the lunchroom. As I follow his gaze, no one but Nancy Wheeler ducks her head down, not wanting to get caught. Everything in me sinks at the realization, but I smile at him anyways.

It’s been hours since movie night was supposed to start, and Jonathan had still not shown up. Sighing, I put away all of the snacks I had prepared, put the tape back in the box, turned off the TV, and went to bed, crying myself to sleep. The next morning, I don’t see Jonathan or Nancy until second period. I watch them silently communicate across rooms or hallways, Jonathan disappears at her signal, leaving me alone during lunch most days if not all. As Jonathan leaves again, not even bothering with an excuse this time, I break. I gather my things and blink away the tears, heading to the library for peace and quiet. I cry in a secluded corner of the library, muffling my whimpers with my hand. How am I going to fix this?

October 1884

Jonathan didn’t want to go to this party. I didn’t want to go to this party. But Nancy wanted to go to this party. She wanted Jonathan to go to this party. That’s how I ended up dressed as Stevie Nicks, all in black and hair big. I had grabbed a soda, wanting to stay sober and keeping my mind in the right place. I watch Nancy and Steve have an argument, resulting in her white blouse to stain red. I had lost Jonathan not long after we arrived, choosing to people watch instead of looking for him. Feeling claustrophobic over the amount of bodies in the main room, I head outside. I watch the new guy do a keg stand for a surprising amount of time, and observe the costumed teens mill about the lawn. By the time I re-enter the house, Nancy is gone, and I’m done partying. I bump into a wall of a person in the hall, looking up at none other than Steve “The Hair” Harrington. “What are you still doing here? I thought you were taking Nancy home?” Rolling his eyes he leans against the wall. “Yeah, I thought I was too, until your boyfriend did it for me.” I gasp, hurt filling my chest. “Oh. Ok, cool. I guess I’m walking home tonight. Guess I should probably get started then if my ride is gone.” As I turn to walk out the door once again, Steve grabs my wrist. “No, there’s no reason for that. I’ll take you home. I mean we both get fucked over, might as well be hospitable to each other.” Nodding, I mutter “I need a drink. Fuck being sober.”

I take another sip of “Pure Fuel” as Springsteen blasts through the stereo system. I felt the buzz kick in as I move out to the living area. As a bass and drum heavy song comes on I feel a grip on my hips. I throw my head back to see the offender, coming face to face with the “New Keg King”. I shout “Can I help you?” over the music with a raised eyebrow. Leaning in, he says into my ear, “I’m hoping you can sweetheart.” Ok, if that’s how he wants to play, then let’s play. I swivel my hips hard against him, his grip tightening. I smirk and grip the back of his neck and his left hand on my hip. Spinning in his arms, we face each other. We keep dancing together, intertwined in a sweaty mess. He moves us against the wall, leaning to nibble at my neck. I catch Steve’s eye, and he holds up his keys, time to go. Rolling my eyes, I push the keg king off of me. “Well, I’ve had so much fun sweetheart, but I’ve got to go. Have a nice night.” As I walk away, I feel his gaze burn into my backside. Linking my arm with Steve, I ask: “Alright big boy, where to?” We get in the car, and I rest against the window, the buzz wearing off, leaving exhaustion behind. I tell him where I live, and fall asleep. I wake-up slightly at him opening my door, and he picks me up. “Parents aren’t home. Key under the mat.” He gets the door open unexpectedly easily. “What room?” Cuddling further into his chest, I grumble, “Upstairs, third door on the left.” I once again doze off, not waking until morning.

When I was 17 I did what people told me Did what my father said, and let my mother mold me

Summer 1985

“Y/N, you need to get a job. How are you going to get a car? Or pay for college? Your mother and I are not always going to be here for you.” I nod at my father's words. “Yes Sir.” My mother opens her mouth to give her two cents in. “Oh, Y/N, before you go, let me help you with your make-up today. You always have to be presenting yourself, you want to make me proud, don’t you?” I look down at my plate, nodding, and take another bite of my waffle. “Oh, and Y/N, maybe we can start a diet. Don’t want an embarrassing figure now honey.” Pushing the offending food around my plate, I respond “Yes Ma’am.”

I'm in Control - Never gonna stop. Control - To get what I want. Control - I like to have a lot. Control - Now I'm all grown up

I ended up getting the job at Scoops Ahoy, much to my Mothers chargain. “Y/N, are you sure you can control yourself around so much sweets? I just don’t want you to get any bigger than you already are.” Desperate to prove my mother wrong, I eat salads every meal, run the mall during my breaks, and always make sure my make-up is immaculate. I squeeze into the uniform my mother demanded I get in a small. It miraculously fits my waist snugly, but pulls at my hips, and rides high on my thighs. The shirt is short and tight around my torso, making it uncomfortable when teenage boys stop by only on my shift, doing everything in their power to stay at the counter and oggle what the uniform brings attention to. One of them grows brave and leans over the counter, “Did you sit in a bowl of sugar? Because it looks like you’ve got a pretty sweet ass.” I turn red in embarrassment, cursing my mother for my “blessings” and her insistence on the overly tight uniform. As I do my best to deflect their eyes and serve them as fast as possible, Steve comes out of the back, his shift starting. His eyes flicker between my red face and the boys ogling his co-worker. He pushes me behind him as he confronts the boys. “Alright guys, how can I help you? Our U.S.S Butterscotch is really good, and two scoops will only cost you a buck. So what’ll it be? Oh, and Y/N, Robin needs you in the back.” I open my mouth to protest, but he just nudges me towards the door. Reaching the back, I look at Robin. “Steve said you needed me?” Her eyebrows scrunch together. “What? No, I haven’t even talked to Steve today.”

We all sit in the bathroom, bloody and bruised. Talking about random shit. Parents end up being brought up in the conversation. “Ugh, my parents want to control me. My dad wants me to be an adult, and my mother wants me to be just like her. She made me get that stupid uniform in a small, she wants me to do my make-up dark and perfect, she wants me to be the skinniest girl out there. I bet she wishes I was made out of clay so she could mold me exactly how she wants me to be.” Robin mutters “My parents just want me to get a boyfriend. Like that’s going to happen.” We both turn to her. “What does that mean?” Blinking, she realizes what she said. “Oh, uh, I like girls. I don’t like boys like that.” I grimace as I scoot closer to her, taking her hand. “Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to tell us that. Just do you know, you’re not missing out on much. Guys are bullshit.” Steve shouts a “Hey!” at my accusation, but I give him a look that says “Seriously? Be honest with yourself.” He raises his hands in surrender and turns towards me. “Alright, why didn’t you want anyone to get close to you when you first started working here?” I swallow thickly, thinking through my answer. “Everyone else has been in control of what happens in my life for so long, I wanted to take that control back. I thought, if there was no one to try to take control, I would never have to lose control. Stupid I know.” They both shake their heads at my answer, just sitting in peaceful silence until Dustin bursts in the door. “Guys, we’ve got to go.”

After this is all over, Steve takes me home like he did almost a year ago. I rest against his window, sleeping off my injuries. I wake up as the car stops, but it's not outside my house. “Steve? Where are we? This isn’t my house.” Putting the car in park, he turns back to me. “No, it’s not. It’s my house, thought it would be easier to get you patched up and rested here than getting you home and needing to explain it to your parents. You can call them and tell them you’re with Robin or something.” I go to stand and walk into the house, but my legs give out. Steve picks me up from off the ground and carries me into the house. We patch each other up, band-aids here, ice packs there. We spend the night watching cheesy tape after cheesy tape, neither wanting to sleep and see the nightmares under our eyelids. As we both doze off, too exhausted to stay awake any longer, I feel Steve kiss my forehead and whisper “You talk about wanting control, but you’ve had control over me since Halloween.”

#steve harrington x reader #jonathan byers x reader #song fic #stranger things x reader #steve harrington #jonathan byers #billy hargrove #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction

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stellar-imagines · 5 years ago

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SCENARIO REQUEST: ❝malaise.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: Bakugou Katsuki ]

「 You knew about it before he told you but then again, it wasn't something that one would casually mention to their lover anyway. So, you stayed quiet about it until one day, you decided that keeping quiet about it won't do any good.」

Angst ahead!

[ Part 2 ]

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

It was during the winter, just a year after you had graduated from UA. You had been dating Bakugou for two years already but went your own way to pursue your dream. Your boyfriend had joined an agency that travels around the world while you started your own business with your friends from the Department of Support, specializing in repairs, creating new equipment and etc. You also did hero work. Thanks to the equipment you and your friends have created, it gave you the ability to participate in combat. The two of you shared an average-sized apartment in Tokyo, preferring a simple abode rather than a fancy one.

Bakugou had just returned from Hokkaido. You welcomed him with a warm meal that you knew he would want after such a long trip. His phone that sat on the countertop went off and you couldn't help but peek.

'Hey, wanna grab dinner at your favorite place? <3' There were a few messages that came after the first one but you didn't need to read all of them to figure out what was going on with your husband and this mysterious person texting him.

There was this sick feeling growing in your stomach that you couldn't ignore. Bakugou comes back from his shower and dragged you to the dining table to eat. Along the way, he picks up his phone but he paid no heed to the incoming messages. After dinner, he helped with the dishes like usual and sat on the dining table afterward. At that moment, he began to go through his messages while you stayed behind in the living room to finish your report.

"I have to go to the shitty celebration tomorrow Don't wait for me and eat. I'll be back before midnight." Bakugou told you, pressing a kiss on your forehead. You hummed in response, watching as he retreated into your room.

You tried telling yourself that the text didn't mean anything.

On that Christmas, you had plans for the two of you. Not really a plan where you spend the whole day together but you prepared a present. No matter how hard Bakugou worked, he always came home to you, complaining about how shitty his day has been. Weeks have passed and nothing much has changed, you were grateful that it didn't change. But on this very day, the beginning of what you feared just occurred.

"Overnight? Staying for the entire week?" you said in disbelief.

"Yeah, something came up and we have to go to Miyagi tomorrow." Bakugou muttered. He watched you for a few moments, you had stayed silent when he spoke about the explosion in Miyagi that destroyed a handful of homes and how they needed help.

"Well, it can't be helped. I'll help you pack. What time are you leaving?"

For the duration this thing happened, Bakugou felt this ugly feeling bubbling inside him. He hated coming home being tired to do anything with you. After two whole years of being in a relationship with you, he could tell something was missing. He still loved you, cared for you but why does it feel foreign? He likes coming home to you. You gave everything he wanted even though he never asked for it verbally. A warm bath, delicious food, sometimes a massage that can lull him to sleep.

But he always had this one desire that you could never satisfy.

He took a few breaths, lips a bit swollen. The person on his lap shifts a bit before getting off and adjusting their clothing. Bakugou doesn't say anything the entire time, watching as the woman in front of him grabs her coat from the hanger. His office was dark and it was snowing outside. The woman pressed more kisses on his jaw and neck. Bakugou clicked his tongue.

"Don't leave marks, idiot."

"You're no fun. We've got this far and you're still hesitant." she says, pulling away with a small pout.

Bakugou feels that thing again. Guilt, the gut-wrenching pain, the regret. But he shakes his head. He was able to satisfy his other desires. These were the things he never did with you, he didn't know why he never did initiate it with you. If he had, he wouldn't have to seek for someone else.

He came home just a little after midnight. The weather grew a bit warmer and there were signs of the sakura flowers blooming. It was Spring. The lights were mostly off, except for those in the hallways that you always left on just in case he got home late. His hair was a bit disheveled and there was a kiss stain on the collar of his white dress shirt. Before he retired, he washed it off and changed his clothes in the living room. He tries to be as quiet as he can when he enters the bedroom, knowing that you had already fallen asleep.

You slept on your side of the bed as usual but your body was facing his side, one hand reaching out to his side. His heart clenches at the sight. In the middle of the night, you often searched for him, extending a hand which he would put over his body and pull you close. Bakugou notices the way your face turns into one filled with pain when your hand landed on nothing but the sheets. He sits on his side of the bed, right hand reaching to hold your extended hand but hesitates.

He didn’t deserve this.

It has been at least four months since your discovery and you decided to talk about this. It scares you how calm you were about this whole things. Maybe it was because you told yourself, 'It's not like we're married or anything.' Still, what a normal girl do was yell, scream and cry at the discovery. All you felt was pain and betrayal, like someone stabbed you with a knife, pushed it deep inside and stirred it around like a toy.

You find it ironic that you were wrapped in his arms when you finally decide to tell him. Bakugou was warm, his touch was gentle and he was in a good mood today. Perhaps because it was a day off, for the two off you. He has the chance to relax for a day, at least. The television was on, playing some movie that you can't even recognize but it served as nothing but a background for the two of you. This made you wonder for a while. Did he do this with whoever he was seeing? Cuddle in the couch and getting cozy with one another? You wanted to know, and at the same time, you didn't.

“Katsuki?” you whisper as he stops messing with your hair. He hums in acknowledgment and looks down at you. You didn't look up at him, keeping your gaze on the steaming mug of tea sitting on the coffee table. Your heart is racing and there was a small voice in the back of your head telling you to not do this. But your heart hurts, it's crumbling into tiny pieces that you know if you don't say it, it will crumble to dust.

“I know you’re cheating on me.” you said it so casually that it shocked Bakugou and yourself.

His heart stops and doesn't respond. How could he respond anyway? The ugly feeling overtook his senses and a voice in his was chanting, you fucked up. You took his silence as proof that you weren't making assumptions.

“It’s been a few months since I knew.…On winter, I suppose?” you don't know what to feel.

“I’ll be out by tomorrow morning.” you pull away, heading to your bedroom, leaving him alone in the living to think about what he had done.

You didn't cry in front of him but you did it when you were alone. Bakugou felt like Midoriya punched him in the face with his Full Cowl. His lips start to quiver, his heart is beating faster and he was starting to find it hard to breathe. It was minutes after you left that his tears begin to fall. He really doesn't deserve you after all. He made you cry, he hurt you.

He did this.

He broke you.

He remembers the first time you saw each other. He remembers the first time you kissed. Your first date where you tried to hold his hand in a crowded train. All the times you told him you love him. They say your memories come rushing before death but Bakugou wanted to say that it doesn't only happen in that certain time. He leaned back onto the couch, covering his eyes with his arm. You always supported him from the sidelines, making new and advanced gear for him to use in work.

It was nearing midnight when you felt Bakugou laying down on the bed. He just lays down, wrapping his arms around your body and pulls you closer. You keep your eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. He sniffled.

You actually want to know why he's crying. That wasn't the only question you had in mind. Why did he do it? Did he feel any guilt? Well, he's crying, so he does feel guilty. But still, why? Was it because you weren't enough? Did he want something more from you? Were you lacking something? Bakugou was an amazing person, a Pro Hero who's going up the ranks faster than anyone else. Ah, of course, it's because you couldn't keep up with him. You weren't that famous like him, maybe he felt ashamed to be dating you. In the end, whose fault was it? Your head was spinning that you wanted to hurl.

When you woke up, Bakugou was already awake.

You start packing and he helps you. Much to his surprise, you didn't pack everything because you didn't have enough space to fit all your clothes in. He doesn't say anything and neither did you, it was silent when you both packed. But eventually the silence has to end. When you stood on the door, he didn't know what to say until you were standing outside the door with a suitcase.

"I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, I-It was — I’m an asshole and you didn’t.....you didn’t deserve this. I don't deserve you at all. I'm the fucking worst. I—"

"I know you are. You're genuine when it comes to this."

You stare at each other for a while and you can see that his eyes wavered, growing teary.

“I just need some time for myself right now, I hope you understand. I can't trust you that easily.” you look him in the eyes and his face contorts into pain. He takes a step forward, holding onto to your wrist before you could leave. It was gentle, not too forcing but with the purpose of catching your attention. You cup his face with your free hand. He kisses you, passionately like the first time. He holds your face in his hands and engraves the feeling of your lips against his for the last time. You kiss him back, softer and with equal passion.

You were first to pull away and make eye contact with him. You probably didn't realize it but you were crying when you met his gaze. He was also crying, tears falling down his cheeks. A sigh left your lips, but you smiled and wiped his tears away.

“I still love you, you know that, right?” you mumbled. His eyes widen in surprise. You never even mentioned about wanting to break up with him but at this point, how can he call himself your boyfriend? You never said anything about ending things with him, because you still had feelings for him.

"Goodbye and take care of yourself. See you when I see you,"

"Katsu."

He breaks down when you were finally out of sight.

Total: 1984 words Published: 08.09.2019

Thank you for requesting! *｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و*｡ Hello, please don’t kill us for making it so angsty. I have been scolded by this person here (↴ ) for attempting to end this piece happily when anon-san didn’t request for a happy ending. (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ ― author Hibiki/Lou

Thank you for requesting! Scolded this one ( ↑ ) for trying to make it a happy ending when no one even requested for it. This was meant to be angsty so we left it hanging with some loopholes. ― author Natsuki

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

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itsreallylaterightnow · 5 years ago

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Let’s Just Order Take Out From Now On for @blondsak

Aunt May’s always been a pretty bad cook, but never before had she poisoned her nephew

It was just going to be a simple weekend together. It was a long weekend for Peter with school, so he, May, and Happy decided to take a trip up to the compound. They had driven up on Friday as soon as Peter got out of decathlon practice. Peter and Tony had spent hours working in the lab until Pepper had called them up for a movie night.

Saturday had been a day filled with sparring and lab work. Tony and Peter had been eating a late breakfast when Peter had - looking at his waffles - said, “I wonder if I could stick to a non-stick pan?” And it had turned into a four-hour evening of seeing if there was anything Peter couldn’t stick to. The answer had been, so far, nothing.

May had walked into Tony’s lab at 4:30 to find Peter and Tony sitting crisscross on the floor, Peter’s hand in a bowl of water.

“What on earth is happening?” she asked, furrowing her brows as neither of the boys looked at her. She cleared her throat.

“Testing out… to see if I can stick,” Peter had responded, eyes glued to the bowl of water in concentration.

“Stick to what, exactly?”

“Water,” Peter had responded.

“Wow. Alright well. when that fails, you two come on up to the family floor. Dinner is almost ready.” And, watching them with genuine interest as to why they were both considered genius’, she stepped out of the hall.

Peter and Tony turned up in the kitchen not much later, looking disappointed.

“I can’t believe that I don’t stick to water,” came a grumble from Peter.

“But you do stick to wet things. I don’t really understand why you can’t stick to water.” Suddenly Peter perked up, whipping his head around to look at Tony.

“Do you think I could walk on water? Like those water spiders do?”

“I think that since the spider that bit you wasn’t a water spider… then probably not.” Peter just hummed, shrugging his shoulders. He turned to see May and Happy standing at the kitchen island chopping up pickles.

“Are those the- “

“Pickles I made myself last year? Yes, yes, they are,” she had said, a proud smile crossing her face. Peter had smiled before laying across the island to reach into the jar. She swatted at his hand, but he came away from the jar with a pickle, nonetheless.

“You’re going to ruin your dinner!” she jabbed as she resumed chopping. Peter took a big, crunchy bite before leaning forward and grabbing the rest of the jar.

“To be fair, I’m pretty sure I could eat every jar of these pickles and then some and still be hungry enough for dinner. Enhanced metabolism and all,” he had joked. May just set aside the few pickles she had chopped and continued on with cooking.

Peter ended up eating the whole jar, and he could attest to the fact that pickles were one of the few foods his aunt could make well.

They were halfway through dinner, Peter thoroughly enjoying the potato salad when May gasped and buried her face into her hands.

“I’m so dumb! I knew the potato salad was missing something!” Peter looked down where his fork was digging in.

“What’s it missing? It tastes great.” May just gave him a look.

“I chopped up the pickles for it but never put them in.” She went to stand, but Happy grabbed her arm.

“Sit and enjoy your dinner, it tastes just fine without the pickles,” he said, smiling.

“Are you sure? Because it’ll just take a sec- “

“I’m sure. Come on, this is great.” And just like that, it was forgotten.

After dinner, the crew migrated to the living room to watch another movie. Peter had ended up on the corner of the couch, feet tucked under Tony’s legs for warmth as the group watched Good Will Hunting. Peter smacked his lips; his mouth was uncannily dry. He reached down for his water and took a sip. It didn’t help very much, but he really didn’t think anything of it.

As the night progressed, Peter let out a yawn. He moved his mouth around, his face feeling a bit strange. All of the work with Tony had really taken it out of him. By the time the movie was finished Peter was exhausted. His eyelids weighed him down.

“I’m going to head to bed guys,” he muttered, pushing himself to his feet.

“Spider-baby’s already sleeping? You’re getting old on me Pete,” Tony joked as he put his arm around Pepper.

“Yeah well, during all of our – tests, who’s the one doing all the work?” Tony had just chuckled before saying a goodnight.

Peter brushed his teeth quickly before slipping into his pajamas. His stomach felt a bit tight, and he guessed he must have been much more tired than he had thought. He climbed into his bed with a groan, going to scrunch his eyes closed. His face felt oddly… weak? Like he couldn’t move the muscles like he normally could. But the pull of sleep drowned out any thoughts he may have had about the strange feeling.

*****

Waking up to his spider-sense going haywire was never something Peter enjoyed. He would jerk awake with a gasp, looking around frantically to find the problem. But this time when the creeping sense of danger spiked and Peter woke up, he could hardly move.

God, he felt terrible. His throat and mouth felt like they were stuffed with cotton, he could barely breathe, and within a second, he realized he was about to throw up. Peter went to turn over and found himself flailing awkwardly. It was as though his arms and legs were weighed down by ten tons. He could hardly get them to move. He grunted, turning himself on his side, and puked off the side of the bed.

“Fri-," his voice cracked like he hadn’t drunk water for a week. “Lights… Tony…” He tried to stand, needed water. He didn’t even make it to a semi-standing position before he ended up on his face – thanking God that he hadn’t fallen in the vomit. He couldn’t move, and he couldn’t breathe, and he had no clue what was happening.

The lights flickered on in the room, but it didn’t matter because he was just staring at the wall opposite him, dragging in ragged breaths.

He heard pounding footsteps coming down the hall. Tony. Tony would make this better.

“Peter! Pete!” Someone fell on their knees beside him, and hands were rolling Peter over. He stared up at Mr. Stark’s face. The man looked about three seconds away from passing out himself. “FRIDAY, call Helen. Have her meet me in the Med bay. What’s wrong with him? Is he safe to move?” Peter’s spinning brain couldn’t keep up with everything Tony said.

“Dr. Cho is on her way, I am unable to get a read on the reaction Mr. Parker is having, although it looks to be some kind of poisoning. He is safe to move; I would recommend immediate medical treatment.” By the time FRIDAY was saying ‘treatment’ Tony had already lifted a completely limp Peter into the air. The man grunted at the deadweight but took off down the hall.

“Open the elevator, take us to floor three.”

The events were swirling around Peter. His chest felt like it had when Toomes had dropped the building on him, and he couldn’t move anything. He wanted to throw up, but it seemed as though his stomach was paralyzed as well. He was seeing double Tony’s staring at him.

“You’re alright. Just breathe, okay? Helen’s going to meet us in the Med bay. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to be fine.” Tony was staring down at him looking frazzled, his eyes wide with anxiety. Peter wanted to respond, to tell Tony he was sorry for freaking him out so bad, but his vision was getting darker and darker as the cracking wheezes rattled from his throat. He wanted to explain that he had no idea why he was feeling like this, that he hadn’t done anything reckless to get sick. He felt them moving again, then there were new voices.

“Get him on the bed! FRIDAY, run-down on symptoms. Stark, grab the oxygen mask from behind you.” Peter could hear FRIDAY’s voice, but things were making less and less sense. Something was put over his face, a cool rush of oxygen pulsed into his mouth. He would have sighed with relief if he could have. Then a hand was on his eyes, and something so bright was being shone in them. He grunted again.

A hand slipped into Peter’s loose one, and he felt it squeeze.

“Peter, can you squeeze my hand back?” Helen’s voice came from… somewhere. She was asking him to do something. He liked Helen. Wanted to do what she asked – but he couldn’t remember what it was anymore. “Peter can you hear me?” Who was Peter? Why was he hearing someone? He didn’t know.

He got one last glimpse of a worried face – felt a sharp pain in his stomach – inability to move – couldn’t breathe – it was getting dark again.

*****

Peter woke up to a quiet beeping beside his head. The first thing he felt was the oxygen mask over his mouth, pushing cool air into his lungs. He could feel an IV in his arm, and a soft hand in his. He heard quiet sniffles beside him.

With a mammoth effort he peeled his eyes open, looking down to see May, face buried in the mattress with his hand gripped in hers. He could see her shoulders shaking as she cried. Peter licked his lips as he squeezed her hand.

She shot up suddenly, looking at him with wide eyes.

“Hey baby, oh God it’s good to see you awake,” her voice shook as she raked her free hand through his hair. Peter blinked heavily.

“Wh’re y’o cryin’?” he muttered, and he had no clue how she understood him, but she did. “Am I dyin’?”Her face visibly paled at that, and Peter caught movement from a chair behind her. Mr. Stark looked exhausted, his eyes dark and his hair was a mess as he stepped beside May.

“You’re not dying. Well, not anymore. You’ll be fine,” Tony said, his voice firm. “Your aunt took a page out of my ‘self-deprecation’ hand-book,” Tony said, as May flashed him a dirty look.

“Wha’ happened?” he asked, reaching a clumsy hand up to the mask. Tony caught him before he made it and pushed his hand back onto the mattress.

“Let’s leave that there until Helen says otherwise.”

May sniffled and looked down. “I poisoned you. I- the pickles… it was Botulinum poisoning in the pickles. I- I’m so sorry, Peter. I can’t believe – I don’t…” She broke off, looking down as more tears trailed down her face.

“You didn’t mean to. Plus, ‘m fine,” Peter said, but he felt his eyelids growing heavier again, the exhaustion of the … well, he didn’t know how long this whole ordeal had been, but the exhaustion was prevalent anyways. “It’s a good thing you didn’t put them in the potato salad,” he muttered. That would’ve been bad since they didn’t have spider-healing. Peter felt his chest tightening as he thought of May, Happy, Tony, or Pepper having gone through the same thing he had.

“Hey, bud – you alright?” Tony asked, and Peter noticed the heart monitor was steadily increasing its pace as he forced a few deep breaths.

“I’m fine. I’m fine.” He muttered, noticing how neither adult in the room believed him.

“Yeah, well – it’s hard not to blame yourself when you poison your nephew,” she said. She wouldn’t look at him. He hated that she wouldn’t look at him, so he squeezed her hand harder.

“May, it’s not your fault. Please don’t – don’t feel guilty. It happens,” he had said, stifling a yawn.

“It does not happen, Peter. I’ve never heard of anyone else poisoning their-” He squeezed her hand again.

“Don’t. ‘m fine. Plus, I’m really tired, and I won’t be able to sleep if you’re crying by my bed,” he teased, blinking heavily.

“Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?” she said, but Peter smiled softly as he heard the guilt leaving her voice.

“Eh, that’s okay.” He closed his eyes, sighing at the feeling of her hands in his hair once more. “Let’s just order takeout from now on.”

#fanfic #Peter parker #Tony stark #may parker #whump #poisoning

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