#didn’t help my case by disappearing for months but hey

[pommunist]

who are the closest friends you’ve made in your time on mcytblr/qsmpblr/trafficblr etc?

im not sure i could quantify and hierarchise the closeness i have with my tumblr friends plus it would be kinda weird to play favourites when talking about relationships :/

anyway, that being said i have a favourite and it’s @fitpacs

[castielthinkr]

UNCONDITIONAL [uhn-kuhn-dish-uh-nl] adjective. not limited by conditions; absolute

sam x fem!reader ft. dean cw suggestive (mdni), little bit of angst, set sometime in the early seasons bc i love baby sam, reader is shorter than sam, switch sam my beloved wc 1014

summary sam can’t get enough of you notes whiny sam ib this scene from house of wax

when dean had left the two of you alone in a motel room for the night, he hadn’t imagined he’d wake up to sam alone and miserable.

and yet, there he was.

“where’s-”

“she’s gone, dean,” his brother had huffed, “long gone.”

he hadn’t prodded any further. you were one of sam’s many soft spots. a hunter yourself, you knew the risks of getting close to people. sam had thought that with both of you being hunters it would offer some reprieve, would allow you to open up to him and begin something, anything. he was almost desperate for you, but you left anyway, claiming it was too dangerous.

of course, he knew that most hunters isolated themselves. bobby and gordon sprang to mind immediately.

still, he had hope.

you saw each other again some months later. this time, you’d helped the boys on a case, sticking around long enough for sam to get to know you somewhat better. it frustrated him to no end that he couldn’t get further than the walls you’d built up, but he understood.

you hadn’t spent the night together the way you had three times before then, instead parting ways at sundown with a kiss that could have rivalled romeo and juliet. sam was addicted to your lips, your eyes, your body. you weren’t faring any better; sam’s body on yours and the noises he made played on your mind constantly.

and then: radio silence. once again.

even dean was beginning to worry about you. you normally checked in with them, especially after a tough case, but they’d heard nothing for weeks upon weeks.

that was, until you showed up at their motel door.

dean had ushered you in out of the rain immediately after taking the necessary precautions (read: splashing you with holy water). you were tired, a little bloodied, and soaked to the bone, but otherwise okay. he sat you on a bed and brought you a towel, allowing you a moment of peace before he threw questions at you.

“you’ve had sammy worry sick, y’know,” he said, giving you yet another once over.

“i know, i’m sorry. i’ve been on a long hunt. no cell service for weeks,” you said, wringing out your hair.

“and?”

“a werewolf clan. six of them. had to pick them off one by one and the last one chased me here. i killed it on the border of town and by then i had nothing. no supplies other than the clothes on my back and weapons in my hand and god knows what in my pockets,” you explained.

dean whistled. “so how’d you find us?”

“i called-” you started, as the door swung open. you tensed, immediately relaxing the second you saw a mop of brown hair atop a lanky frame.

“sammy,” you whispered.

sam’s head snapped to you, which dean took as his cue to leave.

“hey,” you said lamely, standing.

“where have you been?” sam said immediately. you could tell he was torn between being mad at you for disappearing and worried at your complete absence from the world.

“a hunt. it’s a long story. i had no cell service for two weeks,” you said, stood stock still. you didn’t want to startle the man in front of you, instead letting him come to you.

“i’ve missed you,” he all but whispered, closing the distance between you and putting his hands on your waist.

“i’m sorry,” you replied. he leaned down to kiss you, one hand coming up to cradle your neck.

your lips met, beginning slow but soon moving towards something more like hungry. you’d been starved of each other for too long, and sam didn’t intend to let you go this time. he chased your lips as you backed away for air, moving once again to the bed.

“that one’s dean’s,” sam said against your lips, directing you to his own bed. you giggled, making your way over and allowing sam to sit on his bed. you stood inbetween his legs, craning your neck down a little to kiss him more.

he slipped his tongue in your mouth, pulling you impossibly closer to him. you ran your hands across his broad shoulders, down his toned chest, as his own danced up and down your back, occasionally reaching your ass. he moved back towards the headboard, pulling you onto his lap. you straddled his thighs with your own, practically crawling to him. you looked down at him through half-lidded eyes as he looked at you, nothing but adoration on his face. you leaned in once more, connecting again.

sam’s hands travelled further, spreading across your waist and against your stomach, settling eventually underneath your thighs. yours migrated down, feeling his abs and oh so carefully brushing his obvious erection. at that, sam let out a whine, which he tried to stop almost immediately. you smirked at him.

“haven't heard that one before,” you said, teasing him.

he rolled his eyes playfully. “yeah, well, i was on top last time.”

“maybe we should do this more often then.”

sam’s response was to pull you in again, to which you let out a gasp, making him smile into the kiss. he ran his hand through your hair and you moaned, at which point dean chose to enter the room again.

“c’mon guys, i don’t wanna see that shit,” he complained dramatically, covering his eyes.

you sighed and rolled off sam’s lap. he pulled a pillow onto it in your place to hide the bulge in his jeans.

“don’t just barge in like that then,” sam retorted, obviously annoyed at his brother.

“‘s not my fault you two chose to get it on in our shared motel room!”

you rolled your eyes at their bickering, leaning down to get the towel you’d forgotten the minute you saw sam and using it to dry your hair. looking over at sam, you knew it would be hard to leave him again. you couldn’t stay forever - all three of you knew that - but maybe this time you could stay for longer.

[the-avengers-not-the-nazis]

Strange human emotions

Summary: Castiel has been experiencing some rather strange emotions, especially ones that revolve around you.

Word count: 1.7k

A/n: No one really writes about Cas, and it’s a shame because him, Sam and Dean are my absolute favorite. But I hope you enjoy ;)

༺═────────────═༻

He could feel it coming up again, that same burning feeling in his chest that keeps him up deep into the night. Not that he can sleep to begin with, but still the feeling invaded his every thought as he waited for you and the brothers to wake up. 

Cas didn’t know how to explain it, these strange human emotions that he had learned over the years, he didn’t understand them. He knew the ones that you and the boys had taught him, how it helped him learn to express how he felt to others. And he was truly grateful for it. 

But, the ones that he was never taught always worried him. Like when he could feel when someone is staring at him, even though nobody is in the room with him. Or even worse when you are near, or when you touch his shoulder when you walk past him, or how about when you speak to him so beautifully that he feels his stomach churning into a weird fluttery feeling. 

There must be something wrong, Cas would conclude, pacing the bunker’s library in the dead of night. Maybe you had been taken over by a shapeshifter and this was the universes way of warning him. 

Yeah, that had to be it, but how would he tell Sam and Dean that? For Chucks sake you are one of their closest friends, how could he tell them that they would need to kill you?

No. No, he couldn’t kill you. He just needs to figure it out a bit more by morning, he couldn’t just go on a killing spree. It wouldn’t be right. 

But if you were in danger or you are the danger then he would need to speak to the brothers about this. But, how?

Cas sat across from you and Dean, Sam to his right of the booth as he stared out the fogged window. The falling snow momentarily capturing his attention, the way each flake was built uniquely different from the other. 

It amazed him how something so beautiful could end up in a world like this. 

“Hey, Happy meal.” Dean suddenly spoke up, dragging Cas away from the window. “You gonna focus, or are we gonna have to tell you while we fight the sons of a bitches?”

“I’m focused.” Cas told the older man, his hands coming to rest in his lap. 

“Mhm, yeah sure.” 

Sam cleared his throat, turning his computer to face the others as he began to explain the current case to them. “So, Sophia Cocklen had reported her husband missing, nearly a month ago. And as of three days ago both her brother and eldest son have disappeared as well.”

“Has to have something to do with the men,” you spoke up, dipping a French fry in your ketchup before popping it in your mouth. “Because Sophia’s sister, mother and two daughters hadn’t been touched at all over the past month.”

Sam nodded, clicking on another tab as some police reports popped on screen. “That’s what I thought as well, but the thing is that none of them have any bad records on there name. And…”

Sams voice seemed to drift off, running farther and farther from his ears as the same burning feeling began to arise from his chest. He glanced at you for a quick second, the way you looked at your work and took it seriously. The way your eyes seemed to have a small sparkle in them when you spoke. 

And especially the way your hair slightly fell in front of your eyes, hiding that sparkle that made his stomach erupt. It made him want to reach over the table and push it out of your way, just so he could catch another glimpse of…

You pushed your hair out of your face, halting Cas’s thoughts completely. Why was he thinking that? What were you and the boys talking about? Why did his body’s vessel feel so warm and sweaty? Was it getting hotter? What if you had turned evil? What if this was your way to slowly kill him off?

Him. Castiel, an angel of the Lord. Struck down by a woman that was more than likely possessed by a monster. 

“Cas?” You questioned, facing the angelic being who seemed to be almost in a trance. “You alright? You look like your sweaty.”

Cas pulled at the collar of his trench coat, the feeling of sweat sliding down his neck. Boy, did he hate how the human body can physically act when you don’t need it to. 

“Yes,” He told you rubbing his hands against his pants legs. “Yes I’m fine it’s just a little warm in here is all.”

“Really?” Dean asked, taking a quick sip from his lukewarm coffee. “It’s pretty cold in here to me, what about you Sam? Y/n?”

“Dean.” 

“I’m just saying, you gotta focus in, Cas. You’ve been acting real edgy for the last couple of weeks.”

“I’m fine,” Cas told him, trying not to drag the situation down the rabbit hole. “It’s probably just… allergies.” 

The boys and you shred a quick look with one another, knowing well enough that angels don’t have allergies. “Cassie?” You questioned leaning forward onto the table. “You don’t get allergies.”

Cas felt his face warm up, “That was just the first thing that came to mind.” He told you, his fingers fiddling with one another. “That’s what you all do.”

Dean smacked his lips, letting out a quick ok before continuing with his conversation. “As I was saying we need to go and search every place that these men where last seen at. And normally I would say go by ourselves to save them, but I’m not so sure what we are up against just yet. So Sam and I will head down to the bar the brother was last seen and Cas, you and Y/n can go and search the junkyard.”

Everyone agreed to Deans order, quickly finishing up their lunch before they need to head back out. Well almost everyone agreed. Cas sat there in his seat, pondering if he should pull Dean or Sam aside and ask if these feelings he is getting about you is bad or good. Because he does not want to harm others but at the same time he didn’t want to hurt you either. 

He wanted to beat his head against the table, the thoughts that raced through his mind aggravated him. But what could he do about it? Wait… you and him were going to the junkyard to search for clues of the missing family members, he himself could interrogate you there. But, how?

༺═────────────═༻

At the junkyard, you and Cas kept you voices low, barley speaking a word to one another as you inspected the place. Your flashlight shined about the place, scoping out any and all items that could appear useful for the case. 

“So, Sam said that the dad and son used to work here. Almost like a father-son business, you know?” You told him, shining the light in the angels direction, mindful not to blind him in the eye. 

He nodded, unable to stop the fluttery filling the further he walked with you. It was killing him, he wanted to ask you what you were doing, because he knew for a fact it was neither of the boys. But, at the same time he didn’t know how to bring it up. 

On one hand he could slowly bring up the topic, have a simple conversation before he would ask you. Though, on the other hand, he could just flat out ask you if you were trying to kill him. Because, that’s what it surely felt like. That you were killing him slowly and purposefully.

Cas came to a quick decision, he would hold a conversation with you then ask you. Simple as that, no harm no foul. 

“Cassie?” You asked, that soft voice of yours causing his chest to burn and his stomach to twist into knots. What the hell were you doing to him? “Are you alright-“

“Are you trying to kill me?”

You were shocked by his sudden question, his straightforward tone and seriousness catching you off guard completely. “… No?”

“It sure doesn’t seem that way.” He continued to accuse, folding his arms over his chest like he’d seen Dean do plenty of times before. “Would you care tell why you are trying to kill me?”

“But, I’m not?” You told him, voice uncertain and slightly laced with worthy. “Why would you think that?”

Cas glanced around the junkyard, almost as if the answer was somewhere written in the piles upon piles of junk. “My chest has been burning every time you come close to me, or how about when my stomach make me feel like my vessel is going to induce vomiting. When I know for a fact that I don’t eat anything to make it do so.”

You stood silently, letting the words sink deep into your skin. His chest burned? His stomach felt like he was going to throw up? Why the hell would he have thought that you were trying to kill him? It honestly just sounded like his vessel was sick, or maybe he—

You cut your thoughts short, and it suddenly clicked in your mind. A sly smile gracing your lips as you walked towards the angel. “Oh, Cassie~” You sang out, free hand coming to play with the sleeve of his trench coat. “Do you have a crush on me?”

Cas furrowed his brows, eyes dancing across your face as you came closer. “…No? At least I don’t think so.”

A chuckle left your lips, standing up on your tip toes you gave the angel a quick kiss on his check. Watching as a light blush crept upon his cheeks. “I like you too, Cassie.” You turned back to the junkyard, flashing your light at an empty bathtub and broken mattress, leaving the poor angel stuck in his spot. 

Cas lifted a hand to where you had kissed him, the ghost of your lips making his heart stutter in his chest. Damn you, he thought to himself. Damn you and these strange human emotions. 

[first-edition]

Wishes

Spencer reid x reader

(Not proof read my bad)

Soencer is turning 30 and you are the only one who remeberd

Confession kissing Spencer crying fluff

(Hes a blurb while i get back into writing sorry I disappeared lol)

You’ve been planning this for 2 weeks getting the decorations and presents and setting up his schedule so he’s be free. You’ve been talking to Emily about it but somehow it got lost in all the work and she’s forgotten you’ve tried to do the same with the others but they forgot as well.

“Hey! Spence.” You call to him. He spins around in his chair to face you.

“Hmm?” He asks

“What are you doing tonight?” You ask.

“I was gonna go see my mom but that got cancelled hospital difficulties so I was gonna go to the library of olden books.” He says giving you a small smile.

“Oh I’m well did you wanna come over maybe I could go with you?” You ask.

“Yeah sure that’s be great I can talk about the making and weaving of how hard covers and soft covers were made.” He chuckles

“Yeah!” You smile and nod walking off passed Morgan’s desk. As he eyes you in confusion.

———

The entire rest of your evening is filled with the large library soencer taking your hand and leading you to each book talking about how they were made and crafted and the kind of paper they used.

You actually found it quite interesting it helped that you had been crushing on him for the past 2 years and him as wel to you.

He bought a few books for an obscene price before you faked the realization that you had to rush home and since he drove you both hurried into his car and drove to your place.

“It’s fine Spencer I can just grab it and we can continue to another library before it’s too late out.” You smile as you open your door all the lights off not helping with the time of night as your home seems to be a menaching place to be.

“Light switch to you left.” You say as you disappear into the darkness. He closes the door behind him and turns on the light. The sight of balloons and presents with a mini banner that says happy birthday strung across the ceiling.

“Happy birthday spencer!” You exclaim holding out your arms. His expression drops as he looks around at all the things for him. You rush to the fridge to take out the cake you had made of his favorite flavor.

“I also got a cake. And custom ordered the flavor as well as the decor. The presents are all for you and I-“ you stop as you look at him setting the cake down. Tears fall down his cheeks and his bottom lip quivers.

“S-Spencer…oh I-I’m sorry I know you like cupcakes more but they didn’t have any and I just through may if you wanted you could eat it by your self if yo-“ with out saying anything else he cups your face and presses his lips to yours in a deep kiss which you kiss back.

It lasts for a few seconds before pulling away.

“Thank you..thank you so much you have no idea how much this- how much you mean to me and not just for doing this.” He says his voice breaking you wrap your arms around his neck kissing him again before pulling away to speak.

“You’re welcome I wouldn’t miss your birthday.” You say a smile on your face.

The rest of the night is spent with him opening every present he could’ve ever wanted eating cake and watching a movie before you’d both fallen asleep on the couch.

A few months would go by before the case in Vegas where he and Emily would be talking and she’d ask him how old he was.

“Common it can’t be that far how old are you 29.” She says rolling her eyes before Spencer has time to correct her.

“I’m thirty.” He says her expression changes in shock as she realizes.

“We missed your birthday?”

“No..not everyone. Y/n remeberd planned a whole thing.” He says smiling looking over at his girlfriend who talks with jj.

“Fuck….i forgot she wanted me to come over for that. I’m so sorry.” She apologizes Spencer shakes his head adjusting his glasses.

“It’s okay.”

“Hey! There’s a spot new place down past Luxor if you’re hungry.” You skip up to him holding onto his arm.

“Actually I made a reservation as Caesars palace for us.” He says.

“W-what!? Why.” You smile looking up at him. He leans down to you ear whispering to you.

“Happy birthday.” He says this time it’s his turn to remember your birthday.

[hurdy-girly]

Bruce sat in front of the bat computer, pinching the bridge of his nose. A dead end.

Again.

He’d been on this case for weeks now. He’d found a hundred leads, and every one had led to less answers and more questions. He could probably make a sweater with all the grey hairs he’d been getting, and his hairdresser could probably buy a bike off of the dye costs alone.

He was the greatest detective in the world. And yet he had no clue who this guy was.

He really only had his instincts to thank for him noticing Tim approaching. If it weren’t for his frankly absurd levels of over preparation over the years he would have jumped out of his seat when the boy leaned over him to squint at the screen.

“Hey B.”

Tim sat down next to him. His body language was relaxed and casual, but Bruce didn’t miss the glint of concern in his eyes.

“Hey Tim.”

Bruce opened a new folder. All of them were starting to look the same.

“…this case is giving you a lot of trouble, huh?” Tim looked at the screen, glancing over the text. Bruce had missed so many dinners that he was pretty sure Alfred was going to drug him to drag him to the one tonight. He wasn’t surprised his children had picked up on it, too. “Do you need a second opinion?”

Bruce bristled a bit before meeting Tim’s eye. But Tim was just concerned. Not judgmental.

Bruce wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to his kids being that gracious with him. Or with anyone being like that.

“…it may be helpful.” Tim seemed surprised at Bruce’s admission. “Especially because all of this happened while I was… gone.”

“Oh.” Tim grew silent. The two had discussed the events and effects of Bruce’s disappearance into the time stream before, but it was still a tough topic between them. Between everyone. “…so. What’s the deal?”

Bruce sighed, pulling up his original files. “While I was gone, this person appeared. His case would be unalarming, but… this guy was everywhere. Tens of countries, none of them legally, all within the span of a few months. He ended up on several government wanted lists. He seemed to be everywhere. So many organizations locked onto him, but he just… kept getting away. No one could track him down, and… I’m starting to think I can’t either.”

Tim frowned, scooting closer to the screen. “And we didn’t look into this guy sooner?”

Bruce shook his head. “He seemed to slip through the cracks. But this guy… he got places no one should have been. My current working theory is that he’s a meta, or some sort of magical entity. I’m considering sending John some of this to get his opinion.”

Tim blinked. “That bad, huh? What’s this guy’s name?”

Bruce sighed. “I’m not sure. There were a couple I found, and I’m not sure if any of them are even the true name. There was one that got noted down a bit more often than the rest.”

Bruce pulled up his first document.

“Alvin Draper.”

Tim fell very quiet.

Bruce looked over at him. A bit of worry hit him. Had Tim met this guy before? Why hadn’t he said anything? Was everything alright?

Who was this guy?

“Okay, B? I’m gonna hold your hand while I say this.”

[pkg4mumtown]

Medicine at Midnight

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x GN!Reader

Rating: Explicit (18+ only)

Summary: A night out with Hotch and his team leads to either the best or worst mistake you could have made.

Content Warnings: smut 18+, alcohol, GN!reader (no Y/N), friends with benefits, strong language, first person POV

A/N: My entry for @imagining-in-the-margins Criminal Minds Friends with Benefits Challenge. It also happens to be the first CM fic I’ll be posting but certainly not the last! I’m currently working on a multi-chapter Hotch x Male!Reader fic, so stay tuned. I’ve also added the playlist I used for Hotch inspiration at the end of the post.

Also available on AO3

I barely managed to enter my apartment and drop my gear to the floor when the shrill ringtone of my cellphone broke the otherwise pleasant silence.

Fuck. Me.

I plead to whoever is listening that it’s not my section chief calling about a case. I ripped the cellphone from my pocket, too frustrated to even look at the caller ID as I snapped out my last name.

“Rough night?” came the deep, soothing voice on the other end.

Oh.

“Hey, Aaron,” I sighed and relaxed. “Sorry, I thought it was another case.”

“It’s okay. Are you busy?” He asked and I could hear the slightest hint of hope in his voice.

“Depends on what you’re going to ask me and...what I’ll get in return,” I stressed. “I just got home.”

“I can promise free drinks,” he chuckled, the vibrations buzzing through to my end of the phone. “The team is going out and Dave just went out of town.”

Hotch doesn't need to say more than that for me to understand what he’s asking. He wants a social buffer and for free drinks I’ll do just about anything for him.

~

His team had helped the DC Field Office with a case that I oversaw about six months back. The case had quickly spiraled out of control with multiple unsubs, and I begged my chief to let us call the BAU in for help. While they didn’t swoop in and solve the case in a matter of days, they certainly got it back to a manageable position. What would have taken months of work was quickly cut down to two weeks.

Since it was still relatively local, Hotch’s team would go home every night and come back bright and early. One of the first nights with them on the case, I waved them goodnight; standing like I would be leaving shortly after them. As they disappeared out of sight, I sat back down and stayed firmly planted at my desk. I was still flipping through files over the umpteenth coffee of the day when soft footsteps stopped in front of my desk.

“You’re still here?”

Hotchner.

“Yea, I’m just...” I gestured vaguely to the files. “I don’t really know what I’m looking for anymore. Just hoping I can find something.” I gave him a tight smile as he hovered by my desk. His bag was nowhere in sight, so it was clear he had no plans to leave either.

The grim smile on his face confirmed that he was doing exactly the same.

“I’m sure he's waiting for you at home,” he nodded to the picture on my desk as I went back to looking at the files in front of me.

“That’s my cousin,” I stated without having to look. “No one’s waiting for me, I promise you that. Plus, you don’t seem like you’re leaving either, so...”

“Got me there,” Hotch smirked, shifting his weight nervously as I paid half-attention to him. “I won’t snitch if you won’t? My son is with his aunt, so my apartment is a little depressing.”

At that confession, I looked back up at him as his expression turned crestfallen.

“Deal. You can pull up a chair, if you want.” I suggested, seeing that the floor was pretty much empty now and it seemed cruel to make him sit by himself wherever we were able to stuff his team on the cluttered floor.

This went on for the next two weeks that the BAU worked with us and each night the ice broke a little more. That extra hour or two after the team left progressed from talking about the case to talking about ourselves. It was surprisingly easy considering his personality on a case, but once his defenses came down, he was more relaxed and even threw in a smile that I began to notice was quite rare.

I began noticing his nearly imperceptible antics when he was stressed. His tight expression would feign focus but his white-knuckled grip on whatever was in his hand told a different story. I caught myself pressing a finger to his tight fist throughout the day, making him aware of what he was doing before removing my fingers as soon as his fist loosened. At some point, he stopped straining his hand muscles, but I’d feel his finger pressing firmly against one of mine whenever he was near me. It was usually brief, just enough to feel the ridges on each other’s fingers before his touch was gone.

After the case was over, I never expected to hear from him. Hotch’s number stayed saved in my phone from the case, but never once did I expect to see it flash across my screen while driving home one night. Drinks became a nearly weekly occurrence between the two of us—provided neither of us were on a case—and while nothing more ever happened, I couldn't tell what his endgame was. We chatted about the weeks we both had, family, sorrows—all of it—all the while our hands pressed against each other just to feel another person.

I chalked it up to anxiety for him and loneliness for myself.

~

Despite our nights out together, we never went out with his team, and I hadn't seen them since the case all those months ago. So, it was a little unnerving to accept his invitation. How would he explain us being on friendly terms now despite not knowing each other prior to the case? Would they even care? Does it even matter?

“Uh, sure. Where at? I just need to change,” I answered him.

“I’ll pick you up in twenty?” he asked, and I shouldn’t have been surprised at his need to drive by now.

Control freak.

“Okay.”

“See you soon.”

I changed into something more comfortable, but not too comfortable. I didn’t want to look like I wanted to stay home curled on my couch.

Even if that sounded heavenly right now. Hotch could come, too.

When Aaron sent a text to tell me he was here, I was out the door in a few seconds. The inside of his SUV lit up as I opened the door, revealing him dressed in a dark, long-sleeved sweater and jeans.

“Hey,” he greeted me as I climbed in.

“Thanks for picking me up.”

Once I was seated and buckled, I rested my arm on the center console next to his. His sleeves were pushed up to his forearms, his hair tickling my skin as he took off. At the first red light we hit, he adjusted the radio and brought his hand back down to land directly on mine.

He didn’t move it, and I didn’t want him to.

The air was thick with booze and sweat as we entered the bar. It was different from the one Hotch and I usually frequented, preferring something quieter and lower key than this one. It’s crowded, not surprising for a Friday night, but it sure did make it more difficult to locate his team. This time, I'm the one initiating contact, pressing two fingers into his palm as we approached where the team was tucked into a back corner booth. I removed my fingers before they noticed our approach.

“Hotch!” They all greeted him at varying levels of excitement with empty glasses already littering the table.

How long had they been here already?

Morgan had begun moving the team deeper in the booth to make room for us when I recognized a member of their team who I had only seen via a computer screen.

“Hey, nice to see you again,” I greeted everyone, having to raise my voice as the music battled with the overlapping conversations around us. “You must be Garcia,” I reached over and shook her hand as we slid in.

Her excitement was contagious, and I couldn’t help myself from grinning as she spoke and reintroduced the team by first name. There were looks and eyebrows exchanged between the others as they likely wondered exactly what I’d feared, but none of them expressed their questions verbally.

“Drink?” I heard Hotch ask as a waiter came by and I nodded to him, knowing it’ll help my nerves.

I didn’t even need to tell him what drink to order at this point.

“Thanks,” I smiled and felt him shift closer to me until our legs were practically glued together.

It must have been my lucky day because the team kept the conversation topics relatively light as the night wore on. There were plenty of shots going around—Hotch only agreeing to have one with them in solidarity—coupled with food, a few spill mishaps, and raucous laughter. Hotch laughed and smiled with them but not nearly as loudly. He did surprisingly well anxiety-wise, so I wasn’t entirely sure why he wanted me here in the first place. I was having fun, though, and he’d insisted on paying for me, so I didn’t think too hard on it.

My hands were both above the table fidgeting with the condensation on my glass as we loudly discussed the current topic. Hotch tapped his fingers on his glass rhythmically with one hand while the other dropped below and landed on my leg. I jumped at the contact and hoped everyone was too inebriated to notice.

No dice.

Spencer's glassy eyes snapped to my movement briefly, JJ made eye contact across the table with Penelope, Emily stared me dead in the eyes, and Derek stared at Hotch. If I wasn't also in the same line of work, it might not have been so noticeable considering they hadn’t stopped the conversation.

Hotch played it off, slouching back against the booth and laughing at whatever Emily was recanting, looking a little more at ease with the touch.

Now, I notice the difference.

As nonchalantly as possible, he relaxed his arm, slipped his hand between my knees, and tucked his palm under my leg to cup where my hamstring met the bend in my leg. I could feel his warmth through my pants and the way his thumb obsessively traced the inner seam near my knee.

I almost thought they would ignore the way he was leaning noticeably closer, and I was sorely disappointed when Penelope spoke up after Emily finished.

Penelope's eyes were perceptive, and she leaned forward playfully while Derek leaned into her with his arm draped over her shoulder, “So, you two,” she began. Her eyes were twinkling with far too much mischief and now I believed every word from Hotch about how much trouble her and the man next to her got in to together, “You’re...?”

I grinned, laughing off her intrigue and kept my voice as steady as possible, “We’re friends.”

Derek in this state was even more blunt, teasing Hotch further with a smirk playing on his lips, “With benefits?”

Penelope gasped that he followed up with that line while the others hid giggles behind their drinks.

Hotch’s brow furrowed and he lifted his drink off the table as a flush rose up his neck to his cheeks. He took a sip while looking in my direction and I held his gaze. There’s a look I didn’t quite recognize there. “Without sex?” he finally said once he swallowed and set his glass down, “Then, what’s the benefit?”

The entire table erupted into laughter. Derek and Penelope were practically laughing on top of each other, Emily was laughing behind the hand clasped over her mouth with huge, surprised eyes, and Spencer was laughing into JJ's shoulder.

I was just as surprised as them and hadn’t broken eye contact with Aaron yet. His hand had reassuringly squeezed my leg as he smirked to let me know he was joking. With a challenging glint in my eyes, I finally responded as the laughter died down a bit. “My delightful company, asshole,” I shoved him with my shoulder. “And someone to talk to and...did I mention my winning personality?”

Hotch laughed, closing his eyes and leaned heavily back into me. He moved his hand from my leg to wrap his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.

“Dick,” I murmured playfully through a fake frown.

Aaron just slid over a leftover shot as consolation.

The rest of the night passed in a blur, but the sudden mention of sex has me sweating underneath my clothes. Hotch’s heavy arm and sweater did nothing to help that. It wasn’t like I was unaware of his attractiveness; I was simply unsure of his intentions considering we had never spoke about our relationship. There were plenty of times I had to talk myself out of kissing him despite how easy it would have been, but the look in his eyes when he said that had me digging up all those thoughts again.

It wasn’t a terrible idea. We were both single, busy, and hung out enough as it was. I liked to think were both mature enough to handle something like that. I took another long swig of my drink with a deep frown that I didn’t realize was there.

“You okay?” he dropped his head to murmur close to my ear.

He snapped me out of my thoughts, and I gave him a reassuring grin, “Yea.”

The bar crowd grew thinner and thinner as time passed. Reid looked like he could fall asleep any second and JJ was the only barrier holding him up. The team soon rose, promising to take cabs home to reassure their boss that they were all responsible adults.

Derek gave Aaron one last sly smirk before following Penelope and the others. Hotch just shook his head at him with an amused sigh.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight,” Aaron murmured once they were gone, his voice low now that the bar was much quieter than it was hours ago.

“Of course. It was fun,” I leaned my head on his shoulder.

Despite the absence of the others, he didn’t retract his arm, and my heart started pounding a little faster at the thought. His touch felt more intimate after all that and it made my thoughts race.

How much was I reading into this? How wrong was I? And did I want to do something about it?

“Ready to go? It’s almost midnight,” He asked.

I nodded, finishing my drink.

The drive back to my place was quiet and I fiddled with his hand the entire drive. Between that and my constant looking over at him, he definitely knew something was wrong.

“What’s on your mind?” He raised an eyebrow and gave me a quick glance but refocused his eyes back on the road immediately.

“Hmm?”

“You’re being weird. Is it what I said back there? Because I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” he gave me his full attention once he pulled up in front of my building.

“No, no, you’re fine,” I squeezed his fingers. “Just a lot on my mind,” I sighed. I looked out at my apartment building next to us and pursed my lips.

Fuck it.

“You—uh—wanna come up?”

There was absolutely no other reason for me to ask that. He had to know why I was asking without me saying it outright.

Right?

My nerves were on fire and my mind raced with all the possibilities he could come back with. Silent, Hotch took a beat to think and reached for the keys in the ignition, “Sure.”

Oh.

I was hyper aware of Aaron’s presence as he followed me upstairs to my apartment door. My hands were practically shaking with anticipation as I fiddled with the keys. Once I was inside, I left the door open for him and heard him lock it behind me. The click cemented my determination on the matter.

“Make yourself at home,” I nodded toward the couch and started flipping lights on. “Want something to drink?”

“I still have to drive,” he declined, his eyes following me to the kitchen.

“You can always stay here,” I reached up into my cabinets for two glasses and poured a drink for myself and a scotch for Hotch.

“Is that so?” His voice rumbled behind me, much closer than he had been a few seconds ago.

When the hell did he sneak up on me?

I turned to face him, finding him far closer than I imagined. I passed him his drink, which he took a tall sip of, and I hurried to catch up.

That sip must have given him the courage he needed because he set the glass back on my counter and took another step forward. His hand found my waist with a light touch. It wasn’t hesitant by any means, but light enough to ask permission to continue. Unlike the nervous movements in his hands earlier, his hands were confident and intentional now.

“Is this okay?”

“—eah,” I struggled to say as my voice got caught in my throat.

Hotch took the glass from my hand and set it behind me, crowding what little space I had left. We were tense with anticipation as we both leaned in, giving each other enough time to back out. His nose brushed mine, then his lips, before he was fully pressed against me. His tongue flicked out making me gasp and open mine wider. My hands slid under his sweater, feeling his warm skin beneath my fingers. We stayed like that; exploring, consuming, devouring until there was a pause between us. The was air heavy with desire and our breathing.

As I caught my breath, I reached back and grabbed my glass, taking the opportunity to throw back the last of the liquid. Aaron did the same, keeping his eyes fixated on the way my lips wrapped around the glass. I left my glass on the counter and took his hand, tugging him toward my bedroom. I heard his glass clatter on the counter as he left it behind in a rush to follow me.

I threw him a look over my shoulder and tugged my top off, throwing it off to the side. Aaron didn’t need to be encouraged anymore further and ripped his hand out of mine to follow suit. Clothes and shoes were haphazardly discarded until there was nothing left between us. I barely had time to sift through my drawer for the essentials before he was grabbing me around the waist and tugging me onto the mattress. His mouth reconnected with mine, his fingers digging into the mattress as his hips ground down against mine.

“Fuck me, please,” I panted as soon as our mouths separated.

“Gladly.”

He blindly reached for the condom I tossed near him. Once he located it, his oversized fingers fumbled with the packaging. The task was eventually accomplished with minimal difficulty and only a couple giggles as he accidentally pinched himself. The laughter eased the butterflies in my stomach, and I hoped this wouldn’t fuck up whatever we had going for us prior to tonight.

Aaron quickly snatched the bottle of lube and coated his fingers generously. As his fingers pressed against my entrance, I whined in anticipation and wriggled my hips to get him moving. I watched his eyes flutter shut as he put more pressure, jaw dropping in concentration as he focused. As soon as his fingers breached, he couldn’t help himself.

I felt the wet heat of his mouth descend on me, his tongue swirling and lips sucking on my overly sensitive skin. I was torn between tilting my head back to enjoy the feeling and wanting to watch his mouth work. I finally decided to look down, my breath catching as I saw his eyes already trained on me through his lashes. His cheeks hollowed ever so slightly as he sucked making me reach to grab his hair for any sort of purchase. The noises that came from him were sinful and I eventually had to pull his head away once I felt myself ready.

“Need you, please,” I pulled him up to me, feeling him pull his fingers out gently.

We were both understandably impatient with the mix of alcohol and lust. He reached for a pillow with his clean hand and stuffed it under my hips for a better angle. With one last pass of lube over the condom, I felt the blunt press of him against me.

“I’ve got you,” his breath stuttered as he guided himself inside slowly.

My fingers dug into his shoulders as he bottomed out before moving down his back and urging him to go. I let out a moan of relief as his hips started moving, rocking into me slowly at first. Without warning, his mouth sealed over mine and swallowed the gasp I let out as he sharply thrusted, hitting exactly where I need him to.

“More,” I mumbled against his lips.

Aaron was efficient, even now, and repeated himself until I was a whining mess underneath him. He sat up, making enough space to slip his hand between us. I clenched involuntarily as his calloused fingers stroked me, bringing me that much closer to release.

“You feel so good,” he panted. “Squeeze me again.”

I do as he asked, squeezing around him each time he pulls out. The groans pulled from his chest only added fuel to the fire and I didn’t know how I ever survived without hearing them. My hands couldn’t stay still, moving from gripping his arms to running across his collarbone and chest.

“I’m gonna come, I—” I had cut myself off by bringing Hotch’s mouth back down to mine.  My muscles tightened as my release washed over me, fingers digging into whatever I can reach while I clenched around the cock still driving inside me.

Aaron removed his hand from between us, doubling down on his efforts to finish himself. His head tucked into my neck, giving me an even better opportunity to hear Aaron’s moans as he reached his orgasm. His hips stuttered as his release pulsed throughout his body, making him tremble in my arms. When he couldn’t handle the overstimulation anymore, he let himself slip out of me.

He let out a deep hum as we caught our breath, pressing one last kiss to my neck before pushing himself up to his feet. He cleaned himself with a grimace with me not far behind, eager to get the slick substance off my skin. I headed straight back to bed, flopping on the slightly sweaty sheets.

I’m too tired to fix that, I decided.

“I meant it, you can stay,” I mumbled in the dark as I heard his movement pause somewhere between the bed and the bathroom. “Don’t need you getting behind the wheel right now.”

“Mm, thanks,” his sleepy voice returned.

The bed dipped beside me and soon the length of his body was pressed against my back.

~

A sharp jolt pulled me out of my deep slumber. Through the haze I finally I heard the piercing ringtone of a phone. It’s not mine, I realized as I listen to it a second longer. The bed shifted next to me and frantic footsteps thudded across my floor as Aaron looked for his phone.

If he ended up with a case, it was going to massively suck for his hungover team.

“Hey, Jess,” he answered in a far less panicked tone than his feet originally suggested. “Uh, yea. Yea, one is good. Okay, see you then.”

He came back into the room with a more relaxed posture than when he left. He sat on the edge of the bed on the side I was still curled up on, watching him move with sleepy eyes.

“Just Jessica letting me know she’s dropping off Jack at my place at one,” he relayed.

A quick glance at the clock let me know it was only 10:00 AM, which wasn’t bad considering the night we had.

Aaron's hand found my ankle through the sheets, letting his hand glide up to my calf and back down. His face was contemplative though not as outwardly noticeable as the way I chewed the inside of my cheek.

He spoke first.

“That was,” he started, letting a smirk spread over his features, “fun.”

“It was. I…wouldn’t mind if it happened again.”

“Me either,” he punctuated with a squeeze of my calf.

There was a comfortable silence for a minute until he spoke up again, “I’m just—I'm not really looking to—.” He stopped and started again, “Since Haley died I—I’m just not...”

He didn’t have to explain to me the fact that his ex-wife slash high school sweetheart being murdered had done a number on his psyche. I didn’t blame him.

“I get it, Aaron. I’m not either. I’m way too busy and—I just don’t want to,” I replied. It wasn’t a total truth, but it also wasn’t a total lie. I was too busy but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to.

For Aaron, though? I would take what he gave me.

He relaxed a little, his eyes a little sad and I wondered if he could see right through me.

I hope he didn’t.

“I should go,” he murmured, leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to my cheek while the other side was pressed into my pillow.

When he pulled away, I turned my head to really look at him head on, not expecting him to come back down and kiss me again. This time on my lips, slowly and sensually; a far cry from the desperation last night.  When my eyes opened, he was already up and looking for his clothes.

“I’ll see you next weekend?” I rubbed my hands over my face, sitting up as he gets dressed.

He flashed me a look as if to say “obviously” and threw my discarded top at my face.

“Be careful,” I called after him.

“You, too,” he paused, patting his jeans to make sure all of his belongings were in order. When he was satisfied, he gave me a gentle smile and headed in the direction of my front door.

“Lock the door behind me!” he yelled back before opening the front door and shutting it behind him.

I rolled my eyes and flopped back over onto the bed on my side. I still smelled his scent on my sheets and wondered how I could have thought that this would be a good idea.

~

Ever get the feeling nothing else will do?

I could hear you singing

I can’t explain, I need

Medicine at midnight

But it ain’t no cure

Medicine at midnight howling

But it ain’t no cure

I may be sick but you know I’m yours

-Medicine at Midnight, Foo Fighters

[theheartbreakprincesss]

red lips and rosy cheeks, a criminal minds imagine

pairings: fem!reader x bau!team (platonically of course) and fem!reader x spencer reid (if you squint a little)

word count: 800ish

warnings: none i think. no use of y/n because i don’t really vibe with that. no angst, a little fluff, maybe? it’s mostly just funny i think. also not beta-read, or like we say in ao3, no beta we die like men.

author’s note: i have been binge-watching criminal minds for a couple weeks now and of course i’m obsessed with it, and this visual of spencer becoming a little flustered over seeing his crush all dressed up popped into my mind. it’s my first time writing an imagine with the reader as the main piece in the story, so idk be gentle with me? i also never wrote for criminal minds and i’m only in season 4. i just wrote this instead of sleeping or actually writing my other fics. sorry if this is terrible anyway. i’m open to feedback! thanks for reading <3

Working for the FBI could be a handful, sometimes, but the job had its benefits. You could catch criminals and help people, make a difference, you know? But something you would never expect to count as a benefit was the possibility of being called in the middle of a date.

You didn’t even want to go on that date, but your long-time friend Emma had insisted she knew a guy that would be perfect for you. Emma knew you since you both were undergraduates working on their degrees, so you had figured it wouldn’t hurt to give the guy a chance.

It wasn’t your best moment.

Not that the guy turned out to be a psychopath or something like that. But the ice of your drink had barely started to melt when it became clear that Sean wasn’t the guy for you, and by the end of your martini, you could see that Sean was too self-centered and trying too hard to be something he was not, with the fake watch and the well-pressed but clearly cheap suit and exaggerated tales of his life. An hour into the date and you were begging to the universe to offer you a way out of that bar.

Thankfully the universe seemed to listen to your plea, and you let out a relieved sigh when you saw Garcia’s name on the screen as the phone rang. Apparently, Hotch wanted everyone at the office right that moment.

That hurry was what prompted you to go into the BAU headquarters straight from your date, thinking that a stop by your apartment to change would take too much time and that you could take the clothes out of your go bag and change out of your outfit once you got there.

“Hey there.” you greeted as you walked into the bullpen. “Is everyone here yet?”

“Rossi and Prentiss are on their way.” Morgan said from his desk. “Wonder boy is getting coffee.”

“Oh, okay.” you mumbled, moving to take off your coat and wondering if you would have time to wipe off the red lipstick before the briefing.

“Damn, pretty girl.” you heard Morgan say, that suggestive tone in his voice that annoyed the life out of you. “Did we interrupt something?”

“Only the most boring date I have ever been on.” you scoffed, nervously fixing your dress. It wasn’t inappropriate or something, just very different from what you used to wear. It had been Emma’s idea, actually, to pair that black sleeveless dress with knee-high boots. “He spent the entire time talking about himself.” you rolled your eyes.

“Oh, look at you!” Garcia exclaimed as she got into the bullpen. “You look like a million bucks, darling.”

“Thank you, Pen.” you said. “What’s the case about?”

“A woman went missing in Indiana this morning in the same way three more disappeared in the last month before they were found dead.” JJ told, walking out of her office. “Oh, hot date tonight?” she asked.

“Disappointing, actually.” you laughed. “Can we not talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” you heard Spencer’s voice from behind Penelope.

“About her date.” Garcia said. Spencer joined them as they all stood near your desk, two coffee mugs in his hands. His messy hair was the first thing you noticed, looking like he had been dragged out of his bed. He handed you the second coffee mug, the one with little cartoon kittens stamped on it, then his eyes really focused on you.

“Oh, thank you.” you mumbled, taking a sip of it.

“I– yeah, I…” he stammered, eyes moving up and down, up and down.

“Are you alright, Doc?” you asked, using the nickname you had given him a few weeks into working together.

“Ooh, I think you broke pretty boy.” Morgan laughed.

“It’s probably the red lipstick.” Garcia pointed out, joining Derek in his laughs. You waited for one of Spencer’s famous info-dumps, where he would talk about how red lipstick used to be made out of crushed beetles in Ancient Egypt or something, but he was still silent, lips parted like he meant to say something but couldn’t figure out what.

“Do you need me to reset you or something?” you were now having a bit of fun with it. It wasn’t like you were trying to be mean, but both of you had been dancing around unspoken feelings for a while now.

“I… you look pretty.” Spencer finally managed to say.

You put the mug to your lips, trying to hide the blood that was rushing to your cheeks as Morgan whistled.

“Go on, wonder boy.”

“Derek? Shut up.” then, you looked at Spencer again, who was timidly smiling at you.“Thanks.” you mumbled.

Spencer looked at the mug on your hands, focusing on the stain of your lipstick on the rim of the mug.

“Uh, did you know that the first known red lipsticks were created by crushing gemstones in Mesopotamia over 5.000 years ago?”

•

[justmeinadaze]

Little Girl Gone Part 7 (Steddie X You)

Warnings: Doms Officer Steve Harrington/Gangster Eddie Munson & Sub Doctor Fem Reader, SMUT, light smacking, some degrading (whore, slut), dirty talk, etc

*inhales, exhale, shouts* ANGST! ANGST EVERYWHERE!

These three deal with time apart, Eddie is acting a bit irrational due to the last chapter, mentions of torture and death but none detailed here, Eddie does talk about a couple of his victims but they are bad people, Y/N is slightly interrogated again, mentions of Eddie's abuse from his father so child abuse trigger, lots of apologies and promises. Reader gets slightly spicy here. Cliffhanger ending (You're welcome.)

Word Count: 5259

Series here/ Donate to my Ko-Fi

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Eddie’s intense eyes penetrate yours, his chest rising and falling as he breathes heavily in anger.

“I am in charge of you.”

“You control me in bed, yes, but out here I am your partner to and your doctor. You need to rest, Eddie.”

Grumbling under his breath, the gangster grabs his jacket and heads for the door. 

“I can heal at my own place. I don’t need either of you getting in my way.”, he growls before stomping out of your apartment.

As you glance towards Steve, you notice his facial features harden as he silently begins to clean up the mess they both made. Once your living room was clear of any evidence of Officer Douglas, the other man pulled a pack of cigarettes you didn’t know he had, lighting the end and leaned against the back of your couch.

“Do you want me to leave to?”

“I didn’t ask him to go; he chose to. I want you both here.”

“Maybe I should leave… Maybe this was all a mistake, bringing you into this.”

“Fuck you.”, you hiss causing his head to jerk your way. “Yeah, Steven, fuck you. I just lost someone I cared about, I was attacked, and I told you both I loved you but THIS may be a mistake?! FUCK. YOU!”

Fuming, his jaw clenched as his eyes became glassy and he rose to his feet without saying another word, leaving your apartment, and slamming the front door.

***

A month later, you found yourself in a police integration room again this time completely unsure of what they were going to ask. You hadn’t heard from either man but you knew they had to have been busy from what you saw on the news. 

“Hey, Y/N.”, Detective Hopper sighed with a smile your way as he entered the room alone. “I’m sorry to be bothering you again.”

“I haven’t seen Eddie in a while so I don’t know how much help I can be.”

“You two are no longer together? Hm. Is that why Allen Munson’s associates are seemingly disappearing?”

“I don’t even want to know how you got from A to B and I still don’t understand how you became a Detective.”, you sneered. “Is that why you brought me down here? I told you that Eddie’s not a killer. Why don’t you ask the rival gangs like the Carvers or some shit?”

“Because Jason Carver and some of his men left down. We don’t know where or exactly but his father said he went on vacation. Personally, with other gangsters and police disappearing I’m not surprised.”

“Police?”

“Mhmm… we lost 3 other uniforms in the past month and upon searching their homes found some incriminating evidence that they were working for Edward’s dad. It makes me extremely nervous, Y/N, the things we’re uncovering.” Jim’s eyes scan you over as you fold into yourself and sigh. “Y/N, how well do you know Steve Harrington?”

Your head shot up as your brows furrowed at the question. 

“Your partner? He’s a dick who’s always rude to me. Why? Do you think he’s involved with Eddie’s dad?”

“Honestly, no, but I have to take into account that he’s been building a case against The Munson’s for a while and hasn’t gotten any head way in over a year. Add in some coincidences I can’t ignore like him being jumped by the Carver’s and then a week later a few of their members turn up dead. He, um, also went to you for treatment and a couple of months later you’re dating Allen Munson’s son.”

“Well, Detective, like I said…I’m amazed you’re allowed to still work cases with the conclusions you jump to. May I leave now?”

“Yes you may.”, he grumbles. “We have a car watching every move he makes so don’t do anything stupid, doctor.”

“Hm. You have a cop watching him yet you didn’t know we broke up. May want to check your intel or become a better liar.”

After collecting your things, you power walk to your car and as soon as you slam the door shut, you break as you begin to sob. A soft tap on your passenger side window made you jump before you realized it was only one of the men responsible for your broken heart. 

“What do you want, Steve?”

“Is everything ok? I didn’t know you were coming down here.”, he replied as he climbed into your vehicle. 

“Don’t worry. I always told you two I would never rat either of you out so—”

“That’s not what I meant…”, he whispered before heavily sighing. “Usually, they keep me in the loop when it comes to things involving Eddie. No one told me they were integrating you. Did someone break in again?”

“No. No one broke in or has come after me. Probably because Eddie is slaughtering them all.”, you say with distain making him flinch. “You need to tell him to be more careful, Steve. He’s being too obvious with what he’s doing.”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t talked to him in a month so it’s not like he’ll listen to me.” As your head swiveled his way, he turned to gaze out the windshield not willing to meet your eyes for fear of you seeing how hurt he really was. “I call and he doesn’t answer. I went to the compound and they told me I’m no longer welcome.”

“Steve…”

“I guess that whole year we were together and he told me he loved me was all bullshit. Especially if he can throw me away so easily.”

“He’s in a lot of pain—”

“And we’re not?”, Steve snaps. 

“You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to play victim when you left me to. I haven’t heard from you either, Steve. Why have YOU stayed away?!”

“Because it hurts too much! I love you both but what he’s involved in right now could get you killed. It almost did! You guys think I’m this big tough cop but seeing him get beaten the way he was… seeing you fucking shaking in his arms with those bruises on your neck… it kills me! I feel like I failed you both.”

As he wiped the tears he tried to hide, you did the same before turning to fully face him. 

“They, or at least Hopper, thinks you may be working for Allen.”

“What?”

“The dots he’s connected brought him to that conclusion and with the three cops that have apparently wound-up dead—”

“I guess it’s not that big of leap but, Jesus, I’m not that much of an asshole. From the research I’ve done, I think those three plus Officer Douglas were the only ones in my precinct who worked for him. He may have some guards in the prison on his side especially with how easy it was to move Gabe and Eddie around to get them in the same block.”

When you become silent, he can’t help but release a heavy sigh. 

“Thank you for telling me what they know. I’m still always working to keep you both safe.”

As he reaches for the door handle, your hand grabs his wrist. 

“I may have an idea of how we can help him and we may only have to kill one more person.”

“We?”

“I want to help, Steve. I love him to.”

#############

“Miss Y/L/N, I’m sorry but… I was told to not allow anyone that isn’t a part of his crew up to the loft especially you or Mr. Harrington here.”

“I’m not asking for permission, Marcus. We’re going up there whether he likes it or not but I was hoping we could avoid any theatrics.”, you replied with a hard tone. 

Sighing, he leaned over to call upstairs but before he could say a word you took the phone from his hand. 

“Eddie, Steve and I need to talk to you.”

“I have nothing to say to either of you and there’s nothing I want to hear.”

“You said you loved us. The least you could do is face us one more time. Or is little gangster too scared?”

His growl reverberated through the receiver before you handed it back to the gentleman who nodded and tilted his head towards the elevators. 

“Y/N, are you sure you want to do this?”

“More than ever.”

“Ok. If for any reason, you get uncomfortable or scared, tell me and I’ll—”

“Protect me. I know, Steve. Don’t worry. After the month I’ve had, I can handle anything he throws my way.”

When you both finally arrived on the top floor, you took one last long breath and entered his apartment. The smell smacked you in the face immediately, the scent of sweat, alcohol, and blood. His loft was a mess with papers and clothes thrown haphazardly everywhere. There was a chair placed in the middle of the living room with dried stains of his last victim underneath. 

What killed you was the photos strewn along his coffee table of a young Eddie with his mother with a big smile painting his face. 

The man himself was in his kitchen with a seeming calm demeanor as he poured himself another glass of whiskey. Wearing only his black sweats, you were able to see that his bruises and burns were all mostly healed.

“I see you DO listen to me sometimes when I talk.”, you start as you gesture towards his chest. 

“Is that why you’re here, doc? For a checkup? That usually doesn’t require a police escort.”

“That’s not why we’re here but it’s good to know physically you’re feeling better since you didn’t feel the need to update either of the people who love you.”

“Hm. Well, I’m busy so what the fuck do you both want?”

Steve chuckles beside you but even you can hear the pain hidden underneath. 

“Still easy to cast aside huh? Even with us right in front of you.”

“You two have each other and I have my team. You’ll survive.”

“I haven’t seen either of you in over a month.” Eddie’s demeanor falters slightly at your admission giving you slight hope you can reach the man you met before. “Steve said it was a probably a mistake bringing me into your world and like you he left. I get to watch you fall apart all by myself.”

“Is that really why you haven’t reached out to her? To keep her safe?”, the gangster asks. 

“Was I wrong? Between your fucking killing spree, detectives accusing me of working with your father—”

“What?”

“Hopper called me in today asking about the most recent deaths and then asked about Steve. The coincidences he sees drew him to that conclusion.”

“Fucking idiot.”

“I know.”, you agree with Eddie. “We want to use that to our advantage though. I was thinking Steve could make Allen believe the same thing.”

Eddie cackled at your suggestion to a mocking degree as he placed his hand on his stomach to control the laughter. 

“Oh my god, sweetheart. That is the best joke I’ve heard in a long time.”

“Why? Why would it be so unbelievable for him to work with your father?”

“So you’re going to go undercover, Stevie? You’re going to do what he asks to get him to trust you like murdering innocent people; people like Y/N.”

“I’m not innocent. Not anymore thanks to you two.”, you growl. 

“You’d be surprised what I’m capable of after finding out a year of my life was wasted on a man who didn’t fucking love me.”

Again, the gangster’s hardened image faltered, visibly so as his eye lids fluttered and he sauntered backwards to refill his drink. 

“You think I didn’t love you?”

“I haven’t heard from you, Edward. After everything I’ve done for you and you just disappear without so much as a fucking goodbye? To be honest, after what I’ve witnessed recently, working for your dad will be a piece of cake since you want to be like him.”

“That shit… doesn’t hurt me anymore. Do you know why?”, he asks as he steps closer to you both. “Because I am better than my father ever was and now everyone else will know that to. If you cross me and align yourself with him, I have an answer for that.” Eddie pulls out his gun and places it under the officer’s chin. “And if you want to go play with his team have at it but if I find you robbing one of MY buildings or killing anyone on MY team, I’ll make an example out of you to.”

It was your turn to laugh as both men glanced your way. 

“I don’t mean to laugh but it’s just so cute. Little gangster playing tough like his daddy. God, Eddie, when I first met you, you were a man to be respected. So many people were in your corner because of how you ran this city. Now you’re just this little boy pretending. You became exactly what Allen believed you were…weak.”

Stomping in your direction, his fingers wrapped around your throat as he pushed you back hard against the wall. 

“You need to shut your fucking mouth before I do it for you.”

“Yeah? Do it then.”

Something flashes through his eyes then, a mixture of the man you fell in love with and the boy wanting justice against the person who continually hurt him from childhood to now. Releasing his grip, he slowly backed away from you but right as he turned around, you placed your body in front him. 

“Come on, Eddie! You said when I met you that you and Steve had tempers that most women couldn’t handle. Well, I can, trust me. I can handle anything after what you both have put me through!”, you huffed as you shoved his chest hard. “What about you, Steve, huh? Or are you as much of a pussy as he is now?!”

The officer knew what you were doing. If you couldn’t engage the gangster, maybe, pushing his partner would entice him enough. His beautiful eyes penetrated yours and you saw the question within them. 

Are you sure?

“Please…”

As soon as the words left your mouth, his eyes darkened and you were once again confronted with the version of him you hadn’t seen since he pointed a gun in your face asking you to help the man he loved.

######################

Steve’s feet slammed loudly against the hardwood as he made a beeline your way and grabbed your throat just below your jaw. 

“You think we’re pussies, little girl?” When your head tried to turn to see if Eddie was even paying attention, the officer forcefully yanked you closer till his nose was practically touching yours. “No. Don’t look at him. Look at me. I’m asking the fucking question. I said do you think we’re pussies?” Answer. Me.”

“Yes.”, you answered roughly as you clung to his wrist. “You made me believe you loved me. You told me I was safe with you! You lied to me!”

“No.”, Eddie’s rugid tone responded beside you. “We warned you. We kill people. I kill people and don’t even think twice about it. I’m a bad man, sweetheart, raised by an even worse one. This past month I have proven to him and everyone else that I’M now above him. I’m someone to be feared. You should be afraid of me, Y/N.”

You’d be lying if you didn’t say the way he was speaking was scaring you but you tried to keep your resolve. 

“I’m not.”

“You will be.” Abruptly, he shoved you to the sofa and climbed on top of you. You fought against him, your hand connecting to his face hard before he returned the favor and pinned your wrists above your head. After pushing your legs open with his knee, he rolled his hips allowing his hardening cock to rub against your pant covered core through his sweats. 

Even with all the layers, he ground himself in just the right way to hit your clit making you groan. 

“Eddie.”

“Fuck, that’s it, little whore. Moan my name.”

Fingers appeared above you and you glanced up to see Steve leaning to lift your shirt while the gangster took the opportunity to yank off your pants blocking his way. After pushing down his sweats enough to free his length, he maneuvered up your body till he was hovering over your face. 

“Open.” You try and push against his hold on your hands but he doesn’t relent. “Open. Now.”

When you do what he commands, he mercilessly guides his cock between your parted lips. The sound of your gags mixes with his grunts as he thrusts his hips. 

“Goddamn it. That’s right, Y/N. We trained you good. Fuck. Breathe…breathe through your nose—”

When his voice cut off, you opened your eyes to see both men passionately kissing each other above you. Steve’s face softened for a moment as if he was glad to be able to taste the man he loved again before remembering everything he had been through as well. 

“Look at you, baby. Being in charge…just like your father…a ruthless killer.”

“I’m better than he—mmm—ever was.”

“Oh, yeah? Show me. Show me what better looks like.” Eddie’s palm curled around the back of Steve’s neck and in return the officer leaned his forehead against his. “Come on, honey. You’re someone to be feared now, right? Show me. You already showed me you don’t love me; that you could use me. Use me again.”

At the accusation, the gangster tackled the other man to the ground and pinned his arms to the floor as you coughed, panting trying to catch your breath. You watched as they wrestled each other before Eddie flipped him onto his stomach, reached underneath him to unbuckle his belt, and pull down his pants to his ankles. 

The sound they both made when Eddie guided his cock inside of him was a mixture of passion and pain. The pain of them missing how the other felt but the euphoria of being able to feel them again. You slid down to the floor, placing yourself beside them and tenderly ran your fingers through Steve’s hair as he moaned while the gangster slammed into him roughly. 

Eddie’s breath warmed the back of your hand as he laid down flat on the other man’s back and rolled his hips as he clung to his chest. 

“This is…who I am…Steven. Who—fuck—who I have to…be.”

The officer shook his head as his own fingers above his head squeaked as he dragged them along the floor beneath him. 

“Excuses… Y-You’re afraid.”

“What the fuck do I have to be afraid of.”, Eddie grumbled in his ear.

“…Dad.”

The gangster delivered a couple of hard thrusts that had a high-pitched whine leaving Steve’s lips. 

“I’m NOT afraid of Allen Munson.”

“No, you’re not.”, you clarified. “You’re afraid of your dad. You’re afraid of the man that hurt your mother and called you both weak. The man who sent adults after a child to jump him after school. Who hurt and tortured a little boy for not being what he deemed as perfect.”

Eddie’s rhythm slowed to almost a stop while he listened to you speak. His long hair was blocking his face but you could tell you were getting through. 

“A coward who abandoned his only son with his brother to manage a gang of men who cared even less about his child than he did.”

 A broken sob left his throat as he pushed off Steve and leaned his back against the couch. You crawled towards him, climbed into his lap, and pushed his hair back with your fingers as you kissed his forehead. 

“Baby, you’re not that same little boy. You have more control now than you think and that scares him.”, you whispered as he wrapped his arms around you and held you tightly to him. “That’s why he did what he did, Eddie. You’re stronger than he will ever be so he had to make you feel like a child again. Don’t let him win. Don’t become him.”

When Steve sat up and laid his head on the man’s shoulder, he turned and smashed his lips messily to his. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I do love you, Steve. I never once used you or Y/N. It killed me not having either one of you next to me. I’m sorry. I love you to, Y/N.”

Steve’s hands suddenly gripped your waist as he laid you back down on the floor and ran his cock through your folds before guiding himself into your cunt. Amber eyes locked with your own when he felt ring laced hands land on his shoulder and he grunted loudly as Eddie slid into the man above you again. 

Your legs tried to wrap around them both as they pumped their hips. Steve fell against your body as his cock hit every sensitive nerve inside you, building you up as you ran your nails through his hair and down his back. 

“I’m s-sorry, honey, for—mmm—for hurting you. I love you, Y/N.”

“Cum, Steve. I need to feel it.”

His pace hastened, his ass pushing back into Eddie who groaned and his length pushing deep into you. The sound of his heavy pants in your ear had you clenching around him till you came and he quickly followed, moaning your name as he warmed your walls with his release. With a few more rough thrusts, the gangster grunted as he spilled into his partner before collapsing on the floor beside you.

As soon as Steve pulled out of you, both men’s eyes followed you as you rose to your feet and headed to the kitchen to a get a rag to clean yourself. Coming back into the living room with a bottle of water, you threw on your shirt and panties as they quietly put on their boxers. 

“So, Steve and I were thinking that he could pretend to work for your father so we could him in front of you on your own terms so to speak.”

When you spoke your tone calm but there was a shake behind it you prayed they didn’t hear. As a doctor you were trained to hold it together under pressure. This was no different. 

“You can do whatever you want; torture him, kill him, I don’t fucking care. Whatever gets him to leave us alone. After that you can stop all this chaos and I can go back to my own life.”

“Alone?”, Eddie asked.

When you didn’t responded, their gaze shifted towards you just in time to see your eyes glaze over and your bottom lip tremble. The gangster kneeled in front of you, taking your hands in his. 

“You left me… I wanted you to stay but… you left…”

“I know. I know, sweetheart and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you; both of you. You were right. I became that little boy again and just…”

“How many people have you killed in this last month, Eddie?”

His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows in fear knowing you won’t like his answer. 

“Me personally or my team?”

“Jesus Christ.”, Steve sighs as he rubs his palms over his eyes. “My department clocked a total of 23 men. Three of them cops. How many were by your hand, Ed?”

“Eight were killed by me but I tortured them all for information.”, he answers flatly as his eyes remained locked on yours. “Those eight knew about Y/N or you, Steve. Pat Chase, a lawyer for a few of the gang members around town had pictures in his suitcase of you in your cruiser and Y/N…crying behind her clinic. Calvin Thomas, junior police officer at Steve’s station, threatened to murder a couple of your patients including that little girl with asthma. Mason Fletcher, manager at one of the local mechanic stores and a friend who I helped when his wife passed away, said when Steve’s chief sent the cars for a tune up, he planned to tamper with the brakes.”

Eddie’s jaw tightened as he continued. 

“I remember each and every one of them still. Out of those 23 people, ten of them were people I trusted and do you know who commands them? Allen Munson. This is the kind of man they follow even after everything. Y/N what you’re suggesting is very dangerous but even more so because… I don’t know if I could follow through with killing him if given the chance.”

“What if you don’t have to kill him but we can still separate him from his allies. Cut the head off the snake.”

They listen as you speak, allowing the details to sink in before agreeing with what you have in mind. Taking his hand in yours, you start to head towards the stairs to guide him to his bed but are tugged back when he doesn’t move. 

“You never answered my question. When this is over…will we be over?” When your gaze shifts to the floor, Eddie wraps his arm around your waist and brings you closer to him as he leans his forehead on your own. “I understand if you want to leave but if you stay, Y/N, I promise I will do whatever it takes to make sure you never feel alone or hurt like that again. I love you so much. I’m so sorry.”

Your lips meet his as hug him tightly to your body while he continues to whisper apologies. 

“I’ll stay, Eddie. I forgive you.”

After the gangster prepared a bath and slowly placed you in the water, he paused when he noticed Steve’s moving was a bit more rigid than he normally is. Rising to his feet, he scanned the man over. 

“Steve, are you ok, sweetheart? Did I…was I…too rough?”

Shaking his head, the officer carefully climbed in behind you before taking you in his arms and pulling you against his chest. 

“I forgive you to, Steve Harrington.”, you murmur as you lean back to kiss his cheek. 

Placing a finger under his chin, Eddie tilts his head till Steve’s eyes meet his. 

“I’m sorry, baby. I—”

“It’s ok, honey. I’m just…sore…and tired. I missed you both.” 

The three of you sat there in silence fully absorbing the events of the last month and how things were about to get a lot harder. As you were being dried, your fingers ran over Eddie’s remaining bruises and burns.

“I’ve still been doing what you said, keeping the wounds iced and clean.”

“They look a lot better.”

Steve passed by you both and placed himself on the edge of the bed as he pulled his shirt over his head. The other man kneeled in front of him and took his hands into his own. 

“My Paladin. You do so much for me and yet I pushed you to the side. This past year, I’ve been the happiest I’ve ever been and not because you help me with my organization but because you loved me for me, Steve. You don’t see a gangster or a Munson. You always saw Eddie.”

The officer’s eyes water as a heavy breath escapes him. 

“This will never happen again, baby. I promise.”, the other man coos as he straddles his lap and circles his arms around him and you watch with a small smile while they cling to each other. “I love you. I missed you so much.”

“I missed you to, nerd.”

When they finally detached, they laid down in bed, reaching for you and putting you between them. 

“Are you sure you want to go through with your plan, Y/N? It’s not going to be easy…for you or Steve.”

You nod as you tenderly reach out to caress his face and fold the officer’s hand that’s resting on your hip. 

“I’m sure.”

########################

Three Days Later

Allen grunts in frustration as he steps up to the glass partition and throws his body into the chair across from the man he believes to be his son’s best friend. 

“Mr. Harrington, how can I help you today? Any friend of my son is no friend of mine.”, he says all too casually as he chuckles under his breath. 

“Yeah, well, I’m not your son’s friend anymore.”, Steve growled in anger. “He took something that belonged to me. I warned him but that fucker didn’t care.”

“Oh? What did he take?”

“Y/N.”

Allen’s eyes widened in amusement as he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. 

“Jesus. This woman must be fucking special. How did she end up with him and not you?”

“I saw her first when she helped me at her clinic. After Eddie was hurt, I took him there so she could help him to. I didn’t expect it to become romantic. I told that fucker I loved her and she was mine but he still went after her. I did everything I could to split them up but, unfortunately, she’s loyal.”

“Hm. Sounds like my wife; weak. So what exactly do you want, officer?”

“It’s not so much what I want but what you do. I want to help you take Eddie out of the game.”

Allen laughed as well as a few of the guards who could hear the conversation. 

“You want to help me? Why don’t you just arrest him again and bring him in?”

“On what? All the charges we have aren’t sticking and even though he’s running around killing your people, he’s not leaving anything incriminating behind.” At Steve’s mention of the men he was losing, the prisoner grumbled low as he glared at him. “He’s going to keep coming at you till either all your people are dead or he is. I can help you, Allen.”

The man thinks for a long moment before smirking his way. 

“How do I know I can trust you? How do I know this isn’t something my son conjured up.”

“Well, one, Eddie isn’t that fucking smart and two, I did something you haven’t been able to in almost 2 months.”

“Yeah, Harrington, and what’s that?”

“I killed Y/N.”

Allen’s head tilts as he tries to hide his shock at the officer’s statement as the other man smirks his way. 

“How’d you do that?”

“I slit her throat in his apartment.”, Steve answered as his smile grew. “You should have heard the way Eddie cried over her. That’s what that selfish asshole gets. She was mine.”

No longer amused, the prisoner leaned on his elbows and met the officer’s angry expression with one of his own. 

“I don’t believe you.”

A loud thump filled the area as Steve smacked a Polaroid picture against the glass. 

“I thought you might say that. She’s buried next to his mother if you want to go look. Oh wait…”, he teases sarcastically as he gestures to the prison. 

Loud shouting startles the guards as a door flies open just in time for Eddie’s father to see them tackling Wayne to the ground. 

“What the fuck did you do, Allen!? She was a good woman and you took her away from him! You fucking asshole! Get off me!”

“Self-righteous prick.” Allen thinks for a moment as he fully takes in the man in front of him. “Ok, Steven. Ok, I may have some use for you.”

###################

@5tud10-54r4h @munsonzgf @eddiesguitarskills @supraveng

@lilaclazer @ima1986 @micheledawn1975 @foreverminliv @corkadymu

@lemme-slytherin-that-dick @joannamuns9n @dashingdeb16 @sashaphantomhive @corrodedcoffincumslut @aactuaaltraash @nailbatanddungeon 

[bluesworldd]

PT1. Infunami !

↳ pairings: miles 42 x reader

↳ cw/tw: cursing, like 70% proofread, miles going through it, pet names: my love.

↳ genre: angst.

↳ synopsis: miles missed one too many dates and the truth comes out. poor miles

↳ blue says: lets just act like i didn’t disappear for a few months, thanks! enjoy

spoilers ahead !

┄┄ ︰ ┄୨୧┄ ︰ ┄┄

fuck

…fuckkkkk

10 missed calls…

miles rushed to get his suit off. fuck how many times has this been? he couldn’t help but think. five..? no five was to little… maybe 10? quickly he called the familiar number.

…ring

…ring

“please leave a-”

fuck. miles had no clue on how he was going to comeback from this one.. its been six months since the two of you started dating and within those six months miles had only took you on about twenty-five dates (yes he counted). now hear him out, 1. the two of you are teenagers and its not much two teenagers can do. 2. it would be way more if you considered cuddling together in your room as a “date”. look miles wasn’t proud of it ok? he s been busy with school and the prowler stuff so hes had a lot on his plate and trust, he does love you, more than you think, but its been a rough couple of months and he cant even remember the last time hes had over six hours of sleep. But fuck it, that was besides the point, now he had to focus on trying to not lose the person he loves….again

quickly he sent a text.

hey..im so sorry about tonight.

he checked the time…only 10:25, you should still be awake. miles knows that because your a bit of a night howl and just like him its hard for you to get sleep most nights…but for different reasons.

anyways.

idk if your still up but if you are just know im coming over.

fuck..im sorry seriously

just please text me back…

after a minute of nothing, in more suitable clothes, miles quickly ran out of his window and straight to you place. ok morales think… maybe a gift? no. miles knows you better, he tried to do that last time and he quickly realized he couldn’t buy your affection back. man that was a shitty three weeks, you had ignored him for a long time before he was at your door for hours begging to talk with him.

miles waited on the sidewalk before a cab stopped near him. getting in he was consumed by his thoughts. so what then? will they even buy the being at work bullshit again?

“kid where to!?” quickly snapping out of his thoughts miles told the cab drive your street address. only 10:33…fuck where did the time go? recently time for miles seemed to be slipping away and fast. never a slow moment to catch his breath or sit down and focus. that seemed to always be the case, especially after…anyways. maybe he could just tell the truth? he chuckled silently to himself. yeah..like thats a fucking option.

“where here” “oh yeah thanks” pulling his wallet out he handed the driver a twenty and a five. “just keep the change” exiting the car miles immediately headed for the back of your apartment where your fire escape was. he couldn’t bother going to your front door, after 6 p.m, no visitors, or rather no boyfriends were allowed in, specifically your mothers orders.

ok morales, just pray you don’t lose your relationships tonight, worry about the rest later. after climbing to the fourth floor he was meet with your window. please be open, please be open, please be- he lifted up the window.

thank god. miles made sure you weren’t in your room before climbing in. ok…now or never. going over towards your door miles knew this was risky. on the off-chance that you mother was up he would be really fucked. before he could open the door someone opened it first.

…miles let out a sigh of relief as he saw your face.

“what the-?!”

he quickly grabbed your wrist and pulled you into the room, shutting the door behind him. “….fuck?” you let out a disappointed sigh. “miles..what are you doing here?” a trick question he knew that you knew he was here to apologize but he didn’t say that part out loud, being a smartass would get him nowhere. “look i am beyond sorry-” “yeah i know miles” damn he could hear the hurt in you voice. you had your back turned to him now, focusing on getting you vanity in order. “…if you allow me, i can make it up to you this weekend” “yeah, i know miles…” is that a yes or…? “so…what day do you want to-” “i can always trust that you’ll make it up to me miles but what after?” ok..what? “what do you mean my love?” sighing you turned around to face him again. you couldn’t help but to roll your eyes, quickly mumbling “why do i even bother”

“ok look miles ill um talk to you later ight? it’s getting late anyways” you made your was towards him trying to get to you door. miles stopped you. “fuck, look i know i fucked up but please dont shut me out” he went to grab your hand but you stepped back. yeah, im fucked. “just please hear me out…” “you’ve released ive been hearing you out four times this month right?!” you said, your tone slightly rising. “and im beyond grateful my love, seriously i am, but if you can just hear me out one more time i can explain” turning back around you went to sit down. “well the floors all yours morales” usually, in any other instance, petty comments like that would have pissed him off but he had no right to be upset as of this moment.

“right…ok, i was called in late today. my manager said it was important and i couldn’t just bail on him you know..?” you slightly chuckled. “even you don’t believe that miles” ok yeah thats fair. “just please let me make it up to you my love.” he took a small step towards you “i already said i know that you will” now he was just confused “yeah so what does that mean? you’re saying nothing and everything at the same time” “it means i know that you will make it up to me miles, you always do, but what about after?” “will anything change…?” you voice grew smaller. miles wanted to respond but practically couldn’t. the room was left silent before you spoke up again “right, if thats your final answer than i think you should just-” “no, no, no. i promise i can change, you just have to be…” you glared at him “right…look i couldn’t be more grateful to have you as mine and i seriously dont want to lose you, just please..”

…a silent pause filled the room.

“than tell me the truth” you replied quietly. another silent pause followed. miles couldn’t do that, or else he would definitely lose you. “i..i cant do that.” your face contorted in confusion with a bit of anger. “and why exactly cant you?” you two stared at each before you made up your own conclusions “i see, maybe your too busy entertaining someone else ?” you huffed out. bow it was time for miles to be confused. “what?? why would i-?” miles sighed “no of course not i would never and you know that!” “so than whats the problem miles?! why exactly can’t you tell me the truth?” your voice gradually got louder, your patience clearer at its end. “if i do than you’ll be upset with me, so upset that you’ll most definitely break up with me” miles said quietly, a slight wobble in his voice although it was still prominent enough for you to hear. now you couldn’t help but be concerned. miles rarely got emotional during intense fights between the two of you, thats not to say miles is emotionally unavailable, just that he always stayed cool under pressure and fights.

“miles i cant be more upset with you than i already am, plus im the one asking for the truth so i can’t be mad at you, no matter what it is” you were slowly walking up to him now. hoping to reinsure him. “ok…listen, i cant tell you the full truth but please know im being completely honest when i say that: most times when i cant make it to our dates its because of my work..” you two stared at each other, miles was unable to read your face, although if you asked him, you looked pretty conflicted. as if you were deciding if he was telling the truth or not. after a small pause you came to your conclusion. “you know what miles? if its so hard to just-“

“fuck, ok im the prowler does that help?!”

the room grew silent as before, neither of you uttering a single word.

┄┄ ︰ ┄୨୧┄ ︰ ┄┄

©️bluesworldd 2023 || All rights reserved. Do not repost, reupload, translate, modify, copy, or claim my work as your own.

[deancaspinefest]

Take The Long Way Home

Author: sidewinder | Artist: caught-a-dragonfly (Sarah)

Posting on Monday April 15

Two months ago, the world didn’t end. But for Dean Winchester, who fully expected to sacrifice not just his life but his very soul in order to stop Amara? The celebration has been clouded by the disappearance of his best friend, Cas—the friend he’d started to realize meant more to him than he’d been willing to accept until now. The last anyone’s seen of Castiel was when he was banished from the bunker by Toni Bevell. The Brits swear they don’t have him. Neither Heaven nor Hell claim to know of his whereabouts. All of Dean’s calls, texts and prayers to the angel have gone unanswered, and Dean can’t help but worry that a "Winchester win" has once again come at a terrible price. One day hope finally arrives in a lead from an unexpected if not always trustworthy ally. However finding Cas might end up being only the first step in saving him—not simply from the forces holding him captive, but from the prison of his own mind.

Keep reading for a sneak preview!

As Dean approached the galley, he saw the light on there already, meaning he wasn’t the only early bird up and about today. His mood brightened with a momentary spark of hope—Cas rarely slept, and when he was around the bunker, he usually enjoyed hanging around in the kitchen to read or watch cat videos and shit all night on one of their laptops. But Dean’s bubble of hope burst when he saw it was just his brother, sitting there in his sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt, chugging a disgusting-looking green smoothie. Sam was no doubt ready to head out on his morning self-imposed torture session—that is, a five-mile run looping around the bunker to Lebanon and back.

Kid seriously had to be the devil’s vessel if he found that kind of physical torment enjoyable.

“Hey,” Dean grunted at his brother.

Sam looked up from his laptop at Dean and nodded. “Hey. You’re up early.”

“You too. Couldn’t sleep?”

“Rarely do.”

Yeah, that was something they had in common. “Anything up?” Dean asked on his way to fill the coffeepot with water. 

“Not really. Just restless, I guess. I found a case, maybe. Not that I was looking for one,” Sam added quickly. “But while I was searching for any signs of Cas, or Lucifer, I came across a news story about some strange deaths in Wichita. It’s not far from here, and—”

“If you wanna go hunt whatever it is, go for it,” Dean cut him off. “Take mom. I know she’s itching to get out of here and do somethin’ other than stare at our ugly mugs all day.” 

“Dean—”

“No, Sam. I mean it. Until I know where Cas is, I just can’t. My head’s not in the game.” A distracted hunter was a dead hunter. That was the rule their father had drilled into them as soon as they each could carry a weapon, and learn about the things that went bump in the night being real. A week ago, Dean had let Sam talk him into going on a “milk run” hunt to clear out a small vampire nest near Toledo and he’d nearly lost his neck thanks to not fully concentrating on the job at hand.

“Okay, I get it.”

“Do you?” Dean snapped. “Cas has been missing for two months, Sam! We have no idea where he is, if he even—”

Dean cut himself off. He couldn’t say it. Not out loud.

If he even survived.

(continue reading on Ao3 on Monday April 15)

[fanfics4all]

Shadows of the Past

Request: Yes / No This is based off of @haileygarciasunshine prompt list that I found here!

Don’t be shy, request things! <3 Have a nice day/night

Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader 

Word count: 894

Warnings: Mentions previous abuse

Y/N: Your Name 

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK! 

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you! 

Masterlist 

If you enjoy my work, you could also show support by buying me a coffee! 

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

*Spencer’s POV*

The clock on my nightstand glowed dimly, casting a soft light across the bedroom. It was the first real break the team had gotten in months, and for once, Y/N and I were home- no jet, no late-night paperwork, no gruesome crime scenes waiting for us in the morning. Just us. But even in the stillness of our apartment, something felt… off. I stirred, blinking against the darkness, before realizing what had woken me. Y/N. 

She was beside me, tangled in the sheets, her body tense. Her breathing came in sharp, uneven gasps, and barely audible whispers escaped her lips. I could see her fingers clenching at the fabric of the blanket, her face twisted in distress. 

Nightmares. Again. 

I sat up, immediately reaching for her. She hadn’t told me they had come back, but I had noticed the exhaustion in her eyes, the way she’d zone out sometimes as if lost in something far away. I should have asked. Should have pressed more. But I wanted to respect her space, to let her tell me when she was ready. Now, though, I couldn’t just let her suffer. 

“Y/N.” I mumbled, gently brushing my fingers over her arm. 

“Wake up, sweetheart.” She twitched but didn’t wake. Her breathing became more erratic, her whimpers turning into a soft, choked sound that made my stomach tighten. 

“Hey, hey.” I whispered again, this time cupping her cheek lightly, my thumb brushing over her skin. “It’s just a dream. You’re safe. Wake up, Angel.” 

Her body jolted, and with a sharp gasp, her eyes flew open. They were wide, wild with fear as she sat up abruptly, her chest rising and falling in rapid, shallow breaths. She looked around, disoriented, before her gaze finally landed on me. 

“Spence…” She breathed, her voice trembling. I immediately wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into my chest, feeling the way she was shaking. 

“It’s okay.” I whispered into her hair, pressing a soft kiss against her temple. 

“You’re safe. I’ve got you.” 

She clung to me, her fingers gripping my shirt as if I might disappear. I tightened my hold on her, heart aching at the realization of just how much she had been holding in. I knew where her nightmares stemmed from. I knew about the ex who had hurt her, and had taken pieces of her that she was still trying to reclaim. I had thought- hoped- that those wounds had begun to heal. But our last case must have torn them open again, and she hadn’t told me. 

After a moment, she exhaled shakily against my chest. “I- I thought they were gone…” She admitted, barely above a whisper. “But that case, it-it brought everything back.” 

I pulled back slightly, just enough to see her face in the dim light. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, her expression one of exhaustion and quiet pain. I gently tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, my fingers lingering against her cheek. 

“Why didn’t you tell me the nightmares are back?” I asked softly. “You know I never minded helping you through them.” 

She looked away, her lips pressing together as if she was trying to hold back the words she didn’t want to say. 

“I didn’t want to worry you…” She finally admitted. “You already do so much, Spence. You’re always taking care of me, always making sure I’m okay. And I just… I didn’t want to add to that. Not when you already deal with so much.” 

My heart ached at her words, and I shook my head. “Y/N…” I murmured, tilting her chin up so she would look at me. 

“Taking care of you isn’t a burden. I love you. I want to be there for you, no matter what.” 

She swallowed hard, her hands still gripping my shirt like a lifeline. 

“I just… I thought I was past it.” She whispered. “I thought I was getting better, and then this case- it felt like I was right back where I started.” 

I sighed softly, brushing my thumb over the back of her hand. 

“Healing isn’t linear.” I reminded her. “Sometimes, things resurface, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean you’re back at the beginning. It just means you need time. And I’ll be here for as long as you need me.” 

She exhaled shakily, nodding against my chest. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She admitted. 

I pressed another kiss to her forehead. “And you’ll never have to find out.” 

We just sat there, wrapped up in each other, the only sound in the room was her slow breaths and the steady beat of my heart against her ear. Finally, I shifted, tugging the blanket back over both of us. 

“Come here.” I murmured, easing her back down into the bed. She curled into me without hesitation, her body fitting perfectly against mine. 

“Try to get some rest.” I whispered. “I’ll be right here if you need me.” 

She nodded, her fingers curling gently into my shirt. “Stay close?” 

“Always.” 

I held her a little tighter, feeling the tension slowly leave her body as sleep began to reclaim her. And even as I lay awake, listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing, I silently vowed to help her through this, however long it took.

Tag list: @les-bio-lie @tashy-bear @ashwarren32 @hollie-blogs-blog1 @lover-of-books-and-tea @nerdygaloresposts @teenwolfbitches28 @kmc1989 @drw0301bieber @lady-of-lies @ravenmoore14 @ravenempress101 @cillianchamp @rowanthomasknapp @rachelxwayne @ready-4-fanfiction @madammarvellous-blog1  @pettyjayy @bruisedfists-and-splitlips @answer-the-sirens @andreasworlsboring101 @reidssmile @currentfangirl-futuremedexamines @mggstyles @satans-0-spawn @emofairygay @thesoftestwarlock @liz-owl @dracoswhvre​

[ariathelamia]

Hellhound HRT Month 9.5, (4 month Wolf, 5.5 month Hellhound)

Warning: This story gets a bit dark at the end.

Tic Tacs and New Clothes… 

Well… This little segment is gonna be hard to remember…. but remember I must… … since I myself… actually am unable to write or record anything right now but… ngh… better recount the steps on what got me into this predicament… 

So there I was, strolling down the shopping street of Hyper City, slurping some cold soda I got from the restaurant since I really needed something to keep me cool today. Since I pretty much burned through all my favorite shirts and tops except for this one, trying to get a hang on that flaming core of mine. Speaking of! Something I noticed about the fur on my chest is that some of it started to get REALLY solid… From the looks of it, the texture it’s taking on really reminds me of what Nyarlathotep and Mars have on their heads… I believe I remember Mars calling it a “crest”, another sign that I myself am not just becoming any kinda hellhound… but an Eldritch one. Don’t think I ever heard of something like that existing, which means there’s no one I can really ask about what to expect but to be fair… when was this ever the case in my transition, ever since I did that ritual. I shrug to myself, thinking that hey, just gotta be the first one so I can teach others that might choose this down the line~ sorta like Felic- i mean Felix that helped me figure out how to work my tail. Thinking about that just made me kinda excited, and I just had to give that pill bottle in my pocket a little tab… why was I so goddamn stupid to bring it with me… 

I decided to go get some tic tacs at a kiosk, was craving sweets that day like crazy! 

Putting those in my left pocket I strolled down the street, without a care when I accidentally bumped into someone…. A woman, not much taller than I was in a blue dress, I got worried that I might have hurt her… maybe she bumped into my chest? I didn't know so I sprung up and helped her. Looks like i wasn’t the first person she bumped into today, and she decided to be kind enough to suddenly and unexpectedly pat the dirt off my pants and shirt. I was trying my best to keep her hand that was patting my shirt from accidentally touching my crest so she didn’t cut or burn herself. After she was satisfied she stood straight, dusted herself off as well and then looked me in the eyes… something about them was odd… they were kinda… glassy, oh god was she about to cry?... no it seemed different... (Of course it felt different-... that's when it must have happened-... god i was such an idiot.. AM such an idiot-... urgh… focus FOCUS!!) 

We… said our goodbyes and she left down the road smiling… I sighed, put my hand into my right pocket and pulled out the little tic tac bottle… popped two into my mouth and-... god they tasted weird…  still sweet but something about them was off… they melted quickly and i decided to just shrug it off to my taste being different now, and headed to my destination.

A friend of mine told me how, when she transitioned into a Lamia, she definitely needed some fitting clothes that also kept her warm and mobile, and found this pretty awesome place that apparently other people she knew frequented and keeps all kinds of pretty cool clothes for pretty much any kinda therian out there.  So yeah i hoped they also had something fireproof that doesn’t melt or burn away, but also got more style than that stupid blue and gray hospital shirt they gave me in bulk…

So yeah I ended up finding that place pretty quickly, the “Heart Mender Boutique”. Looked pretty neat from the outside… but something made my hair stand up for a second when I decided to enter…  By now I could already tell, something bigger hid in this place. But I just shrugged it off, popped a few more tic tacs from my dispenser I grabbed out of my right pocket.. must have been like… 10 or 12 at once… after all the first two pretty much disappeared right away. That same shiver ran through my body again and I had to stop myself from gagging… even though the taste didn't seem so bad?? damn my body was getting weird (... getting weird my ass…) …. Anyway I looked around for a second by myself, checking some of the strange designs they had, some of these shirts were HUUUUGE, others really freaking tiny… some had extra sleeves for wings or extra arms… some were a bit more loose which probably could fit some nice amount of furr in, without pressing it all against your body… pant’s with tail holes… clothes that were waterproof… there were even some labeled to be “Shapeshift resistant”... still wonder how THAT works… but i couldn’t really find the fireproof ones… if they even had any… so I had decided to look around for some customer service… Didn’t take me long to find some that seemed to know what they were doing. There was a older woman, dressed in a lavender dress and a purple overcoat, neat dark purple hairstyle and a certain skin complexion that i just couldn’t remember the name of, even if i tried, who did later introduce herself as Willow, talking to another, younger employee with messy long hair and a clothing style that was quite more my kinda thing, which i would find out is called Samara. I approached the two since I weirdly felt even the slightest bit of a connection to them in my gut, waving to the two and interrupting their talk.

As it turned out I hit the jackpot since Willow was apparently one of the owners of the store, who was quite happy to help me out. Not that the other one wasn’t giving me a few looks up and down, already checking me out to probably see what kinda clothes could fit… though now that i think back on it… she did seem a bit tense after i approached… just like willow… but i just wrote it off to having been suddenly pulled out of their conversation by a hellhound with a smoking hot top… literally. Anyway after I put out the smolder on my shirt, I got led to a section of the store I must have missed before. She showed me how some of these clothes here were worn by all kinds of species with a bit more heat to go around… elementals, dragons… and apparently we also found something that seemed to be quite a fit for me. Some neat shirts with logos of bands and places I never heard of… but seemed to be popular where Willow came from. Turns out these were apparently styles from, what i knew as the “Sonic and Shadow” franchise, which i formerly thought were simply video games… leave it to Hyper City’s connection to basically every kinda dimension to make you realize that… reality is a lot more wobbly than you thought, (and that comes from someone who’s been pulled through eldritch dimensions).  While I was picking out some clothes, with the help of Willow and Samara, having a nice chat with them about our… quite similar experiences when it came to interactions with other citizens, we were approached by a third person… A man that looked about the age of Willow, his hair was slightly graying, styled in dreadlocks with a few golden ornaments, glasses just like Willow… a large loose overcoat with simple beige pants and a black shirt. Now with all three around me I couldn't help but notice that… the feeling I had when I stepped into this building was largely coming from the presence these three gave off… I meant to mention it in our talk but… well lets just say the man who introduced himself as Dominic, apparently the husband of Willow, seemed to be quiet… intrigued by me… as in… he started to hide his real intend of “interviewing” me, with casual smalltalk and a lot of questions. He was very formal.. like.. uncomfortably so, but that's probably just a me thing since formality to me is just uninteresting behavior… I usually keep stuff close to the chest and speak my mind as thought. Anyway he asked me a bunch of stuff about my transition, how it’s going, what kinda other changes could be expected so that we could look for clothing that has those in mind… I didn't know it was just odd to me so I kept the fact I clocked them as other eldritch beings to myself for now. They were very good at hiding that fact but… I have been around mars and that stupid tentacle bitch enough to be able to kinda.. feel that connection and recognize it, even if it is as well hidden as theirs is.

Why did I hide it? … Well my record with eldritch has been 50/50 right now, and i don’t know if these are like mars who transitioned… or like Nyarlarthotep who were born this way and i didn’t wanna get more eyes like THAT on me… 

I tried to keep my answers as short and truthful as I can, while still just trying to pick out some clothes for myself. They were nice overall but that could be just a charade… maybe… urgh i hate how paranoid i have become… if only i had talked to them more openly… maybe what happened later could have been prevented… maybe they could have helped out now… 

I did end up buying a bunch of clothes to replace those i lost, taking a quick look at the “looking for part timers” poster behind the counter and putting that at the back of my head, and popped a few more tic tacs since damn, all that talking and questioning and finding out made the sugar craving pop up again. I did get a quite confused look from Samara who was packing the clothes when I did that… Asking me if that’s normal… I did raise an eyebrow myself, holding out the now almost empty pack of tic tacs to her and asking if she wanted one… she declined quite profusely and just finished packing the bag and handed it to me… maybe she’s allergic?... Are eldritch allergic to tic tacs? WILL I BE ALLERGIC TO THEM? IS THAT WHY THEY TASTED SO FUNNY?!... It’s kinda embarrassing what mental gymnastics i did there…

I grabbed one of those store cards with me and waved them goodbye, vowing to return for some more clothes once I get more money…. I hope I can still keep that vow…. 

Everything seemed perfect… I got a bunch of new clothes… met some quite nice people… had no ill run in with a pedestrian calling me slurs or a danger… and i even finished my pack of tic tacs… I had put my new clothes into my home, actually put one on ‘cause the one I was wearing had a couple burn holes by now… weird how that happened even though i had made sure to keep myself calm and happy at best… anyway i decided to do one last stroll through hyper city to end the day… best decision I made cause otherwise I’d probably be homeless after this. 

While strolling through the streets I ended up noticing that… my legs felt really bad.. like.. they hurt quite a bit so i decided to find a place to sit down… ended up walking into an old skate park i knew was around the corner.. plenty of benches and space here. I was texting my Therapist about the day, her name is Amber, it’s the one Mars frequently goes to and recommended to me. For someone who works with Erian she’s actually quite nice and really helpful! Though while texting my phone suddenly seemed to overheat… luckily i managed to send her a last message about where i’m headed for the night, just to finish off my report of the task she gave me to get those clothes and get some sense of normalcy. 

That's when things got bad… Not only did my phone overheat.. it started to melt in my hand! that's a baaaaaaad sign of overheating for me.. I quickly dropped it to keep the damage minimal and to the casing alone, can’t afford to burn through another-.. and did a check on my core. It was BLINDINGLY bright after i removed the shirt… how did i not notice that?! How did I not notice how hot I was actually getting!? I looked behind me and noticed the smoking smoldering footprints I left behind me and panicked… I NEVER got THAT hot before. I looked down, noticing not only that I pretty much burned off my pants and boots, which were  sadly not AS fire resistant as my top, but also that… I was literally melting the concrete ground beneath me. This is bad… really bad. I did here the clattering of my tic tac pac which must have just fallen through the remains of my pocket, when I noticed something that shook me to the core. In front of my very eyes, that tic tac bottle seemed to shift- INTO THE BOTTLE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HOLD MY HRT MEDS!

How was this- why !? Empty!? when- the tic tacs- oh no… no no no no no NO NO NO!!!!

With that realization… came the pain… like my body was finally allowed to register things again. At a very bad time. The heat was disastrously painful… I felt like I passed out and got jolted up by it alone multiple times before I even hit the floor… hit the floor? When was I even falling… Why couldn’t I feel my feet anymore?!

That question got answered the second I looked down… My feet had literally broken off by the ankles, as I was looking at the crumbling bits of paw formed ashes that used to be MY paws. I clutched my chest as I heard the park's sprinkler system spring to life, though the water even didn’t make it halfway to my body to give me that sweet release of cold I so desperately craved by this point. The park quickly filled up with a thick fog of smoke and steam… and I could feel myself slowly sinking into the ever melting ground beneath me.

By then I also started to lose the feeling in my hands that were clutching my chest… I looked at the slowly graying claws and fingers that broke off of my body, like the ashes of a cigarette that could no longer hold on to the rest of it. I started vomiting up thick globs of red and gold glowing liquids, whose consistency reminded me of magma… were those my organs that melted?!  Probably…

I couldn’t help but be reminded of that time I met Nyarlathotep… she warned me… how I would end up burning up into a pile of ashes… I thought she was just trying to scare me… I never thought she was actually right… 

Tears of the same kinda hot liquid started streaming down my face.. by now the only thing i could feel was heat… and pain… and fear. I didn’t want to die… I DON’T want to die… 

In my head I kept crying out for help… the only thing that kept me from crying out in my voice was that my lower jaw had already turned to ashes itself. Only pathetic noises and yelps of pain came out of that fiery half maw of mine. As my body seemed to be covered by darkness.. and brimstone. 

Something I hadn't noticed and only started to realize later, was that the smoke and steam covered up the strange material that formed out of the molten concrete and whatever my body was leaking at the time… until it formed a hard shell that must look like a black and red glowing blister on the ground.  Despite not having a heart anymore… at least none that i could feel… I could still hear a beat…  The shell itself seems to beat LIKE a heart… with every single one the glow intensifies for a second.. before dying down… The beating of this shell… this Chrysalis… ended up calming me down enough to realize that… the pain was… gone?... I… was gone… but yet I was still here… molten and broken down into what I believe to be a shining sphere of heat… is this what it thought to be my flame organ?.. 

Whatever it is.. it seemed to contain everything of me… my entire being was now condensed to this single, white and gold glowing orb… 

I don’t know what is going on… and I am beginning to more and more lose my grip on reality itself… I keep rerunning these memories in my… i wanna say head but… urgh i don't know!!

I can hear the noise of sirens outside… some people shouting orders… but they are too muffled to make out what they are saying..  I feel myself slipping away again… when will I wake up again?... Will I be able to recount what happened today?... Is it even still today?...

Will “I” even be the one waking up again? … Why can’t I help but imagine this damn grin of Nyarlathotep… telling me in her obnoxious voice how she was right…?

Why is it that I somehow WANT to see her again…? 

Damn… here comes the darkness again-... so… calming… so…

...

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

Edit: FORGOT TO MENTION!! Samara, Willow and Dominic, as well as the Heart Mender Boutique were created by the wonderful @home-sweet-hive and star in his ??? HRT series!! Go check it out!!

Also the Nyarlathotep mentioned in this story appears in @dawning-mars Eldritch HRT! Definitely check it out, it's amazing!! It even has me in it now X3 - Nia

Start | Previous | Next (Coming Soon?)

[spectersgirl]

Taking Care of You (Life’s Like This p.2)

Harvey Specter x Reader

The original request prompt was “Harvey specter takes care of his pregnant wife” and this is part two!

————

Harvey paced restlessly inside his office, his worry evident. You’d had a rough time with morning sickness throughout your whole pregnancy, but from what he had seen, today was particularly bad. He’d watched you run back and forth to and from the bathroom all morning. He knew you’d feel much better if you’d let him take you home, but he also knew you well enough to know that you’d worry about your workload the whole time if he didn’t take over some of it.

As you hunched over your desk, battling nausea, the door opened, and Harvey stepped in silently. He moved to your side, rubbing your back as you leaned into him, feeling completely drained. He hated seeing you like this.

"Hey, you okay?" Harvey's concern was palpable.

You managed a weak smile. "Just another rough morning, Harvey. I’ll be fine.”

The look on your face was enough for Harvey to make his decision. With a firm nod, he guided you out of the chair, supporting you as you stood. "Nope. Let's get you home."

“Harvey, I have work to do.”

He shook his head at your protest.

“And you won’t get anything done anyway if you keep having to run to the bathroom to get sick.”

You sighed, knowing he was right.

Back at home, Harvey took charge, settling you on the couch with pillows and a blanket. He disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing with ginger tea and saltines, the only thing you could keep down on days like this.

"Here, baby. This should help." he assured you, kneeling beside you, holding the cup as you sipped slowly.

"But your case..." you worried.

"I've got Mike on it, he can handle it." Harvey reassured you. "Right now, my only case is taking care of you."

He stayed by your side, tending to your needs while you dozed off, the stress of your pregnancy visible on your exhausted face. As you slept, Harvey worked quietly, taking calls, reviewing documents, anything he could do for your cases so you didn’t get behind.

You woke a little while later, still nauseous but eager to at least read over the documents you’d taken home with you in preparation for the next day.

"You should be resting" Harvey insisted.

"I have work to finish," you protested weakly.

Harvey shook his head. "I've got it. Your health and our baby come first."

With a loving smile, you relented, allowing yourself to relax while Harvey took care of some of your workload.

Weeks passed, you had good days and bad, and Harvey was so patient with you through it. From late-night cravings to sudden emotional outbursts, he took each moment in stride, his only focus and priority being taking care of you.

One evening, you found Harvey sitting in the nursery, surrounded by baby clothes and toys. His expression was a mix of determination and tenderness as he carefully organized everything into the various pieces of furniture he’d put together.

"You don't have to do all this alone, you know," you said softly, watching him.

He looked up to you, a smile tugging at his lips. "I want to. It's for both of you."

You walked further into the room, sitting in the rocking chair and cradling your bump.

“You’re gonna be such a good dad.” You said with a soft smile.

“You think so?”

“I know so. You’re already the best husband to me, I know when the baby comes you’re going to be amazing.”

As the months passed, you both attended doctor's appointments, marveling at the ultrasound screen as you watched the baby moving around. Harvey held your hand tightly during these moments, his eyes gleaming with pride and love.

The bond between you and Harvey grew stronger as time went on, which was something you didn’t even think was possible. You’d spent hours discussing names with him, imagining what the baby was going to be like, debating whether it was a boy or a girl since you’d opted to keep it a surprise. Together, you picked out a few gender neutral names, opting to choose one once you had the baby.

You couldn't have asked for a better partner than Harvey, who seamlessly balanced his career and the difficult task of caring for you. As your due date approached, his dedication for you and the baby only intensified. He was constantly on standby, making sure you always had everything you needed.

When the day finally came that you were in labor, he never left your side. Calm and encouraging, he held your hand through every painful contraction and allowed you to squeeze as hard as you needed to as you pushed.

The first cries of your baby sounded throughout the room, and the look of pride and love on Harvey’s face was one you wanted to remember forever.

“Congratulations mom and dad, you have a beautiful, healthy baby girl!” The nurse exclaimed.

You looked up at Harvey with wide eyes and a huge grin.

“You were right, we have a baby girl!” You said excitedly. You had thought it was a boy the whole time, while Harvey was firmly team girl.

As you held the tiny new addition in your arms, watching Harvey's eyes well up with pure joy, you knew he was going to be an amazing dad.

[flowersandskeletons526]

"Rusty Kitchen Scissors" - Warriors Concept Album fanfic

Inspired by a headcanon I made wayyyy back when I first joined the fandom about Cochise being the resident hair stylist. Enjoy!

--------

Cochise wasn’t exactly sure what to make of the Warriors’ new tagger. 

When Ajax first brought her in, Cochise had still slightly doubted her existence. In her defense, Ajax had been out for weeks with no results before coming home with a busted face telling some fantastical story about a phantom tagger, who she’d talked to for all of two seconds before said phantom disappeared for another week. Cochise wondered if she should give Ajax a cognitive check in case she’d lost her mind. 

But then she came home with a young woman with sad eyes and tense shoulders in tow, and Cochise was shocked to find that the phantom tagger was not a phantom at all. Well, maybe. The newly dubbed Rembrandt was a wisp of a woman, who stayed silently close to Ajax’s elbow at all times like a wraith. She had the biggest brown eyes Cochise had ever seen on someone, always flitting around watching everything, half suspicious and half terrified like she was just waiting for someone to tell her this was all a cruel joke. Cochise understood why Ajax was so reluctant to leave her alone.

One main thing Cochise noticed was the girl’s hair. It was long, down to her waist, and more than a little tangled like it had been months since she really brushed it. She was constantly pushing her bangs out of her eyes and Cochise caught her trying to wash spray paint out of the ends with a wet paper towel more than once. She wondered if she should offer to help her take care of it, but Rembrandt was still so skittish that she decided to leave it alone until she got a little more comfortable being with the Warriors. 

Until one day when they were alone in the apartment, and Cochise saw Rembrandt heading towards the bathroom with a pair of old kitchen scissors in hand. 

“Uh, hey Rembrandt?” she called. “Where you going?”

Without looking at her, Rembrandt said, “I’m cutting my hair.”

“No you’re not!” Cochise cried in a panic. Rembrandt jumped and nearly dropped the scissors, whirling around and staring at Cochise with wide eyes. Cochise grimaced and raised her hands apologetically. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to yell. I meant you can’t cut your hair with those.”

Rembrandt’s shoulders relaxed to their normal level of tense as fuck. “Why not?”

“Those’ll fuck it up. Do you want my help? I’m usually the one that does everyone’s hair in this house. Ajax will tell you, I’m the one that did her braid crown. Plus I’ve got scissors that are actually meant for that.”

Cochise could see her thinking about it. She knew Rembrandt didn’t fully trust them yet and she didn’t blame her. Ajax hadn’t told anyone but Cleon the specifics of the situation Rembrandt had had before moving in with them, but she knew enough to know it was bad. She was about to back off and let Rembrandt just go about hacking off her hair with kitchen scissors when the tagger said, “Okay.” 

Cochise grinned. “Great. Go grab a chair, I’ll get my scissors.” 

Standing behind Rembrandt in the kitchen, she set the scissors on the table and went about brushing her hair out. “So, how short were you thinking?” she asked. “Couple inches off?”

“Up to here,” Rembrandt said, and motioned near her chin. 

Cochise paused, frowning. “You sure? That’s quite a bit shorter than what you have now.”

The tagger pressed her hands together, squirming uncomfortably a little in her seat. “I… I wasn’t allowed to cut my hair in my old house. My… He said it would make me look… queer.”

“Are you?” Cochise asked without thinking. Rembrandt started to get up. Cochise was quick to crouch in front of her, putting a comforting hand on her knee. “Woah, hey, easy. It’s okay. Me, too.”

Rembrandt’s eyes widened. “You are?”

“Yeah. I play for both teams. So does Cleon. And Ajax and Swan are full send.” 

“Really?”

“In a world like this? We find each other.”

Taking her place behind Rembrandt again, Cochise went back to brushing her hair out, humming quietly. There were a few places near the ends where Rembrandt still had spray paint stuck, but she left those alone. They’d be cut off, anyway. Rembrandt seemed to relax a bit, flinching only a little when the brush hit a snag or Cochise’s hand bumped her shoulder.

She picked up the scissors. “Ready?”

“Ready.” 

“You wanna do the honors?”

Cochise guided Rembrandt’s hand with the scissors, pressing the blades below her fingers. Rembrandt took a deep breath and slowly, carefully made the first cut. She held the long lock of hair as Cochise went about her work, staring at it contemplatively before letting it fall to the floor with the rest. They sat in comfortable silence, watching Rembrandt’s hair be snipped away piece by piece. Cochise left a few extra inches and double checked the length she wanted it at before fully taking it up. 

As Rembrandt closed her eyes for Cochise to tidy up her overgrown bangs, Cochise saw her fighting a smile. Cochise couldn’t help but smile softly upon seeing the quiet joy on the woman’s face. She was happier than she’d ever seen her in the few weeks of her being with the Warriors. 

Cochise put the scissors on the table and grabbed a broom. “Alright, let me sweep this up and then you can go look.”

“Okay.” 

They went to look in the bathroom mirror together. Rembrandt broke out in a wide grin when she saw her reflection. She leaned over the sink, toying with the ends of her curls that already seemed bouncier without the extra weight pulling them down. 

“So?” Cochise bumped her shoulder against Rembrandt’s. “What do you think?”

“It’s perfect,” Rembrandt beamed. She sounded close to crying. 

“Going to be a lot cooler in the summer, too.”

“Yeah.” Rembrandt didn’t hug her - she didn’t expect her to - but she did lean against Cochise and she figured that was as close as she’d get for now. “Thank you.” 

“Any time. And please, for the love of god, never try to cut your hair with kitchen scissors again. Ask me when it gets too long.”

It got a laugh out of Rembrandt, and Cochise was happy with that. 

They sat on the couch together, Cochise watching a sitcom and Rembrandt doodling in her sketchbook until Cleon, Swan, and Ajax came home. Ajax was the first to notice Rembrandt. The enforcer grinned as she sat on the arm of the couch beside the tagger. 

“Got your first Cochise style haircut?” she asked. Rembrandt nodded, smiling up at Ajax. “It looks good.”

If Cochise hadn’t been looking straight at them, she might have missed the light blush that spread across Rembrandt’s cheeks. She definitely didn’t miss the light, nervous laugh as Rembrandt mumbled a quiet “Thanks.” 

Cochise turned and caught Cleon’s eye. The warlord raised her eyebrows and glanced knowingly at Ajax and Rembrandt. Cochise smirked and nodded. 

She mouthed, “Totally.”

Cleon barely contained her laugh. Rembrandt and Ajax were too lost in each other to hear it. 

[marvelwitchergilmore]

Bloody Pardon

Summary: Anthony Lockwood x Fe!Reader ~ Despite your feelings towards Anthony Lockwood, you're starting to think that nightmare you had about locking him in a trunk chest might have actually been a dream.

Disclaimer: no idea on legally binding marriages but we'll ignore that for this fic. Quill Kipps platonic relationship with the reader (frenemies + his crush on Lucy)

You laughed nervously. “What?”

Lucy stood up from her corner of the sofa to look at the wide-eyed George. “George? Please, please tell me this is an April Fools.”

“Given that it’s the middle of November, this is definitely not an April Fools.” George replied. 

“George!” 

You hadn’t meant to call his name so loudly, but the information he’d just given you pardoned your reaction. 

“What if you just ask him about it? Maybe he’ll have an explanation.”

“An explanation?” you questioned before laughing. “Oh, he better. Or else, I’ll kill him.”

Lucy jumped in front of you and pulled you back. “Wait, no. Don’t. Not yet. Look, we don’t even know if he knows yet.”

“How can he not know?”

“You didn’t.”

“He’s the one who probably signed the papers in the first place, Lucy!”

“Look, why doesn’t one of us just go and ask him?”

“Great!” you forced a smile. “I’ll go.”

“Absolutely not.” Lucy pulled you back again. “George, you go.”

“But-”

“George.”

“Fine.”

George disappeared from the doorway and made his way upstairs towards Lockwood’s room. He’d been up there most of the day running through multiple papers on the business and the cases that had come through in the past couple of days. 

“Lucy?”

Lucy turned around and found you slumped against the arm of the sofa. 

“Hey,”

Pulling your hands from your face, Lucy held onto your wrists and knelt down. “Look at me.”

“How could this have happened?”

“I don’t know. But I do know Lockwood.”

Lucy paused for a moment. “I don’t think he will even know what this is about.”

“But if he has…”

“Then we’ll deal with it and I’ll help you bury his body in the back garden. You’ll get through this. We all will.”

“I don’t even know how this could have happened.”

Lucy pulled you in for a hug, tightly. “How about I pop the kettle on? Make us some tea? Two sugars?”

You nodded. “Thanks.”

“Come on.”

However, before either of you could get out of the living room, Lockwood came running down the stairs, George quick on his tail. “Lockwood?”

Lucy called his name but there was no breaking his concentration from the paper in his hand that had both his own handwriting on and somebody else’s. He rushed around the place before making his way into the kitchen. 

Luckily, you managed to catch the door before it slammed behind him and you made your way inside. 

“Lockwood?”

“Something’s not right.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Saint’s would have said something. Surely, he would have-” 

He was talking about the case. 

“Lockwood? Did you not hear anything George told you?” Lucy asked before turning to her left. “You did tell him, didn’t you?”

“Yes! Whether he listened or not, I don’t really know.”

“Lockwood!” you called his name again, but still nothing. 

“Tony!”

Oh, boy. 

You took the paper from his hand and slammed it onto the counter top.

“My- what? Am I in trouble?”

“Trouble? Have you not listened to a word George told you?”

“When? Oh, no. But I think I’ve almost solved-”

“We’re married, Tony!”

Lockwood’s face went from a smile to a confused and nervous look of curiosity. “What?”

“Surely, you would have known? After all, you were the one who was left alone in the courthouse three months ago.”

“Courthouse? What are you talking about?”

Sighing, you made your way to George who handed you the three pieces of paper he’d found when down at the CourtHouse himself. 

“Mr and Mrs Lockwood.” you read the first letter. “Congratulations on your marriage, enclosed you will find another copy of your marriage certificate…” you continued to read the rest of the letter before shoving it into his chest and reading aloud the next two. 

“A letter, sent to me by your Great-Aunt. Welcome to the Family. Now, as much as I love all of you as my family, I would have liked to at least be made aware that I was suddenly in need of changing my last name.”

The final piece of paper was a letter from Mark Smith-Kensington. 

“We have recently been made aware of your nuptials. In this case, you are in need of updating all of your personal information for the Post Office, as well as medical forms and driving license.”

You pushed the final letter against his chest. “What did you do Lockwood?”

Lockwood’s head was spinning. How could this have- oh. 

“Lockwood?”

Lockwood turned to both Lucy and George. He knew something. Maybe not what they suspected he knew, but he definitely knew something. 

“Please don’t be mad.”

“Mad? Ooh, Lockwood.” you had to laugh, or else you might have cried. “I am so far past mad. We are married and you didn’t even bother to, I don’t know, ask me? Tell me, even, that you’d decided to use my name for a marriage certificate.”

“It was meant to be fake-”

“I beg your bloody pardon?”

“It was meant to be fake. Remember how I told you I managed to get into Jameson’s Club so we could prove Harold was the murderer. Well, they didn’t exactly let single people in.”

“Oh, my god.”

“I swear, I thought it was fake.”

“Well, it’s very, very real Lockwood. Very real.”

“Where are you going?” Lockwood called after you as you made your way out of the kitchen, grabbing your jacket that lay on the back of the kitchen chair. 

“Out. Don’t follow me.”

You didn’t know how far you had travelled but eventually you came to a stop at a small, quiet park. You sat down on an old wooden bench that was donated by Harriet Smith - some wealthy heiress from New York who had spent her childhood in the park. 

After a while, you heard a voice. And it definitely wasn’t the voice you were expecting. 

“Hello.”

You sat up straight for a moment and looked around you before you found Quill Kipps standing behind you in a pair of jeans, a shirt and a grey woollen coat. 

“Oh, hi.”

“Mind if I-”

“Sure.” you smiled before he made his way around and sat next to you, leaving enough of a space between the both of you. 

“What are you doing this far away from the house?”

“I needed a break.”

“From…”

“Look, if you want me to shit-talk Lockwood, you can go and find someone else to do that with.” 

Quill studied your face for a short moment as you looked at him before turning back to look at the trees in the park. 

“What’s happened?”

“What?”

“No offence, but you’re not the best at hiding your emotions when it comes to Lockwood. What’s happened between the both of you?”

“Nothing.”

Kipps called your name in a soft tone. Despite your feelings towards him, you’d each found yourself in each other’s company in the time of need. And from that, a small friendship blossomed - despite the fact that both of you disliked it greatly. 

After all, you were both still rivals. 

You sighed. “Fine. You are looking at the new Mrs Anthony Lockwood.”

“What?”

You turned to look at him, “Lockwood and I are married. Apparently, the form he made me sign to get into Jameson’s was a marriage certificate.”

Kipps didn’t know where to put himself. He knew Lockwood could be reckless and stupid at times, but he didn’t think he would be that reckless and stupid. 

“I’d offer to kill him but I’d wager you already have that planned.”

“Death certificate is signed, sealed and delivered to the Grim Reaper.”

“Need a clean up crew?” Kipps offered. 

You laughed, “Thanks.”

“So that’s why you’re out here? Escaping your husband? I have to hand it to you, it’s a good alibi.”

You smiled again, keeping your arms folded across your middle. “Honestly, I…I don’t know whether to be mad and kill him or just…”

“Sit here forever?”

“Yeah.”

“Mind if I stick with you, for a while?”

“You don’t have your own surprise marriage, do you?”

Kipps laughed. “No. I just…I-I’m thinking about asking out a girl.”

“Is she cute?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you like her?”

“A lot.”

“Is she kind?”

“Yeah.”

“She Lucy?”

Kipps half answered you before turning his head to you where he found you with a smug smile on your face. 

“How did you-”

“Oh, please. I see you when you’re around her. You’re either blushing like an embarrassed toddler or you’re as speechless as a toddler.”

“Do you think she knows?”

“No. Or, if she has, she hasn't said anything.”

“Oh.”

Kipps seemed a little defeated at first. “But you should ask her out for a coffee at least. I have a feeling she’ll say yes.”

He smiled. “Great.”

“At least someone in that house will feel good about their love life.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” you shrugged. “But once he reads that letter, he’ll realise that his Great-Aunt Violet is coming for a visit to officially meet her new great-niece. So, that’ll be fun.”

“Well, I’m here if you need any back-up.”

“Thank you, Quill.”

“Anytime.”

Eventually, Quill helped you up from the bench and you both made your way back to Portland Row. On the way, you both stopped inside a small cafe for some food and a tea, making sure to pick Lucy up a loaf of bread and some doughnuts for George. 

Unlocking the door, Lucy met you at the bottom of the stairs where Quill called for her to talk. 

“Are you okay?”

“I will be.”

Making your way into the kitchen, you placed the packet of doughnuts onto the table for George. 

“Oh, thank you.”

“Where’s Lockwood?”

“In his room. He’s been on the phone to the marriage people since you left.”

You nodded your head and popped the kettle on, managing to make two cups of tea before Lockwood even thought to leave his room. 

Knocking on the door, you entered and found him with the phone and the back of his hand pressed to his head, his eyes shut closed. 

“Thought you might fancy a cup.”

Lockwood jumped at your voice but quickly tried to recover. 

“T-Thanks. Thank you.”

Pulling up a chair, you sat beside his desk, crossing one leg over the other. 

“I’m really sorry,” Lockwood began. “I - I know it was stupid. A completely stupid idea. And, I don’t want to just make an excuse.”

“But it was for the case.”

“I should have still thought. But, I swear. I swear to you, I really thought it was fake. If I’d have known-”

You nodded. “I know. I know you would have done. But…Tony, what are we going to do?”

“I’ve been trying to find out how to get a divorce but they keep sending me round the houses.”

“Did you read your Aunt’s letter?”

“Not fully.”

“She’s coming up to visit us in a week. Apparently wants to officially meet her niece.”

“That’ll be something.”

You nodded and the pair of you sat in a quiet silence for a few moments. “I’ll figure it out. I promise.”

“Thank you, Tony.”

[lesbicosmos-writes]

very late but here's my prompt fill for @paynelandpromptfest day 3!

i've been so busy with school and other stuff i couldn't get this finished on time but oh well it's here now!! i'm also working on one for the day 6 prompt so that should be up soon <3

prompt: mistletoe

summary: charles keeps putting mistletoe up around the office as an excuse to kiss edwin, crystal is a little shit (affectionate) and decides to pull a prank about it

notes: this was very crystal-centred for a payneland fic but idfc i love my girl

also on ao3!

it's tradition, crystal!

Crystal couldn’t take them much longer. Well, she could, and would, but that didn’t mean she’d enjoy it.

“Really, Charles?” she sighed after walking into the office with a cup of hot chocolate to find Charles hanging yet another sprig of mistletoe up, slotting the ribbon tying it together under one of the slats in the ceiling above Edwin’s chair.

“What?” Charles asked innocently.

“This whole room is practically a mistletoe forest!”

“It’s décor, Crystal!”

“Décor that also just so happens to be an excuse for you to kiss your boyfriend every ten seconds while we’re on case research!”

“I dunno what you’re talking about, it’s just pretty,” Charles argued, his mouth curling up into a smirk.

“You’re unbelievable. When I told you you two are like a dead married couple on acid, I didn’t think it could get worse.”

Charles grinned, giggling a little.

She loved them, really. Of course she did. And she was always the first person to step to their defense if a client with outdated views – or one who was just a bit of a dick – said anything about them. Only she was allowed to bully her best friends like that.

At that moment, Niko and Edwin walked into the office, both laughing about something.

“Successful trip?” Charles asked, having just jumped down from Edwin’s chair and leaned back against the desk.

“Yes, I believe it was. Maggie’s antique shop is always a delight,” Edwin said, his brown overcoat disappearing into thin air.

“And I dragged him to HMV,” Niko smiled, as she placed her tote bag down, then took her own coat off and hung it on the stand next to the front door.

“She did.”

“Aces.”

Edwin strode across the room and took his usual seat behind the desk, placing the knickknacks he bought in the bottom drawer.

“Hey, mate,” Charles said as he looked back up.

“Yes?”

Charles pointed to the ceiling above Edwin, smirking.

“Oh. That’s interesting. Well then, I think we both know what we have to do now.”

“Oh yeah?” Charles teased, leaning closer.

Edwin pulled him in by his braces and crashed their lips together.

Niko giggled. Crystal faked gagging.

“I thought you said you wanted to get straight back into researching the Graveyard Goblin case when you and Niko got back?” Crystal asked, her arms folded.

“Of course. But there’s always time for mistletoe,” Edwin replied, finally moving away from Charles’s lips.

“It’s tradition!” Charles grinned.

“It is tradition, Crystal,” Edwin agreed.

Crystal scoffed in amusement. It was almost funny seeing Edwin like this. He was usually so annoyed at distractions to their cases, but since it got colder and the festive decorations went up, he was much more relaxed – and much more lenient about taking breaks to indulge in his boyfriend. Charles had told Crystal that Edwin had always adored Christmas, so maybe that was it. She had to admit, it was difficult to get too annoyed about anything when there were brightly coloured lights strung around the room, and a little snowman plush smiling at them from one of the bookshelves.

That didn’t mean she was going to let them off that easily, though.

Over the last few months, Crystal had gained much more control and understanding of her newly realised psychic abilities. Edwin had been helping her delve into her subconscious, exploring the extent of her powers – and through their little sessions, he had also taught her some magic.

He had only taught her a few novelty spells, just to get her started, but one of them had been perfect for the situation at hand. Perhaps if Edwin didn’t want to be pranked, he shouldn’t have told Crystal how to cast such prank-worthy magic.

She had to do a little extra reading herself to figure out how to adapt the spell to this specific circumstance, but that wasn’t too difficult, and within a week her plan was set – and she had a sprig of enchanted mistletoe.

“You coming, Crys?” Charles called from the top of the staircase of the office building.

“I just totally fucked up my makeup!” Crystal lied, shouting back from the bathroom. “You guys go on without me, I’ll meet you at the café!”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, you three go!”

“’Kay, we’ll see you there!”

Crystal smiled to herself in the mirror. It felt good to be enacting a harmless prank for once. From what she’d learned from the memories David had stolen from her, most of the tricks she pulled had ended in at least one person getting hurt in the process. It made her so angry, and guilty. How could she have done that? How was the person who did all those terrible things her?

She shook the thoughts away. No. She wasn’t that girl anymore.

When she was sure Charles Edwin and Niko would be halfway down the street by now, she made her way down the stairs and hung up the mistletoe in the main doorway to the building.

Now to wait. And have a nice day out without stressing about cases.

It was a nice day out. Crystal caught up with the others at a small café, which was hidden in one of the more supernatural parts of central London and run by shapeshifters.

The four of them had found a booth, Niko and Crystal sitting opposite Edwin and Charles. Crystal could tell the boys were holding hands underneath the table and found herself smiling at them. She really was glad they finally got their shit together – it was a little easier to deal with the old-married-couple-ness when they were actually both aware of their feelings. Aside from holding hands in public more often and disappearing occasionally while out on jobs to make out in an alleyway though, not much had really changed between them. They were still two best friends above everything else – just best friends who happened to kiss annoyingly often, and put mistletoe around every inch of the office as an excuse to do so.

After they’d all had hot chocolates at the café – including Charles and Edwin, since this café had recently come up with recipes that ghosts could enjoy too, leading to a huge surge in business – the four of them ventured to Leicester Square to look around the Christmas market. Crystal and Niko got hot dogs for lunch while Charles and Edwin were over by the huge Christmas tree, eating…each other’s faces, it would seem. A female ghost was watching them in a mix of awe and mild scandal – based on her outfit, the girls guessed she died somewhere in the 1950s. Crystal chuckled.

Soon, it was getting late, so the group headed back to the office. Crystal had told Niko about her plan while Charles and Edwin were off on one of their little dates in the afternoon, so the two of them hung back behind the boys to get the best view of the action.

“Well would you look at this?” Charles said as they approached the entrance to the building, spotting the mistletoe hanging in the doorway.

“Charles,” Edwin said fondly, “when did you have time to put that there?”

“This one wasn’t me!”

“Mhm,” Edwin hummed, unconvinced.

“I’m serious! It wasn’t! It must’ve been Ethel!”

Ethel was a psychic who lived in the space directly below the office and ran a spiritual shop, doing tarot readings for local ghosts. Crystal wouldn’t have put it past her to pull something like this, which is why she decided to hang the mistletoe there in the first place: the boys wouldn’t question it.

“Well, you know what we’ve gotta do.”

“Actually, Charles, I do not believe I do know,” Edwin teased.

“Come here.”

Charles held Edwin’s cheek in one hand, gently pulling him in to softly brush their lips together.

It would have been a really sweet moment…if the mistletoe didn’t open itself up the second their lips connected, raining a strange substance over their head that covered both of them in glittery spectral goo.

Crystal immediately burst out laughing, watching as the boys slowly moved away from each other, wiped the bright purple ooze from their faces and turned to face her.

“You should see your faces!” she laughed, and Niko joined in, giggling at the sight before them. “God, I wish you two would show up on camera, this would be priceless!”

“Very funny, Crystal,” Edwin said, clearly intending to be sarcastic but the slight amusement was not completely hidden in his voice.

“This is hilarious,” Crystal confirmed.

“It is pretty funny,” Charles giggled, turning to face Edwin, his eyebrows creasing in amusement.

How could Edwin not find it funny when Charles was looking at him like that, his face covered in whatever the bright purple substance was that Crystal had cursed the plant with? He was soon smiling, too, reaching up to wipe some of it away from Charles’s cheek.

“This is payback for the number of times I’ve had to witness you two being all lovey-dovey the last few weeks,” Crystal grinned, gesturing between them with her hands.

The four of them laughed, and didn’t stop until they’d climbed all four staircases and got inside the office.

“This was a very good prank, Crystal,” Edwin said.

“Thank you,” Crystal replied proudly.

“But…” Edwin continued, a smile growing on his face that made Crystal a little scared. “If you thought this would stop us being – how did you put it – all lovey-dovey, you are sorely mistaken.”

With that, Edwin strode across the office, grabbed Charles by the face and kissed him soundly despite both of them still being covered head to shoulders in gunk.

“Seriously guys? Come on!” Crystal groaned.

She’d come to accept by now that there was no escaping them. Even with enchanted purple goo.