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wardenparker · 27 days ago

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In the Still of the Night, ch 5

Zach Wellison x female reader Co-written with @absurdthirst

Grown up and looking to the future, Zach Wellison and bunkmate Shane Morrissey are working for a new cruise line that offers its guests a vintage Vegas experience on the Mediterranean. The romantic atmosphere is rubbing off on many of the crew members, and Zach finds himself to be no exception when he meets the beautiful lead singer of Shane's band.

But being wrapped in the seductive arms of an atmospheric cruise is a far cry from real life. How will their relationship fare on dry land? They can't know unless they try.

Rating: E for Explicit 18+ Word Count: 5.7k Warnings: *Blanket warnings for this story include: Cursing, alcohol, food, cooking, eating, discussion of clothing/costumes. Mentions of prison time served, mentions of past homelessness.* Somnophilia (consensual), vaginal sex, unprotected sex, morning sex, discussion of sex. Summary: A few weeks into your relationship with your soulmate, new steps lie ahead. Notes: These babies make me so stinkin' happy.

Ch 1 ~ Ch 2 ~ Ch 3 ~ Ch 4

It takes no more than a week for you to really understand how bad you have it for Zach. The butterflies of this new relationship have only intensified, and every night you snuggle deep into his arms wondering honey how you could have gotten so lucky that have a soulmate this wonderful.

There’s a profound sense of peace that has come with discovering you are his soulmate. A soothing of his soul that he never realized was as turbulent as he now knows. Even as hard as you both work, as tired as he might be, nothing is as relaxing to him as having you curl onto his chest in the tiny, single person bed you manage to share while his fingers brush up and down the smooth curve of your spine. “You sounded good tonight.” He praises, “but that’s every night. The crowd was eating it up.”

“Love songs are a lot easier these days,” you admit, pressing a soft kiss to his chest. “Seems obvious, I guess, but it’s true.”

“Miguel told me that the next cruise is already booking up for dinner every night.” He huffs. “Reviews are through the roof.”

“That’s because your food is fucking amazing,” you remind him, humming softly as his fingers graze up and down your spine.

“Most of the reviews have focused on the vibe of the club.” He gives you your dues. “And that’s all because of you, baby.”

“Neither of us can take a compliment.” It’s something you definitely have in common since you’ve noticed it plenty since you started dating and discovered your soulmate status. “But we love to give them.”

“It’s hard to accept that there might be some redeeming qualities in me.” Zach admits quietly. “But I refuse to see anything negative about you. It simply doesn’t exist.”

Leaning up on your elbow, you drop a kiss on his lips and sigh. “Ditto.”

He smiles softly at you, wearing his heart in his eyes but he doesn’t care. You seem to feel the exactly same way by some miracle. He reaches up and caresses your cheek and down your neck. “I got so fucking lucky with you.”

Turning your head to press a kiss to the inside of his wrist is easy, and you smile against his skin before lying back down on his chest. “You’re amazing. I just want to help you see that.”

“God, I could never imagine being here a few years ago.” The sounds of the engine room are muffled but almost melodic when combined with the sound of the water against the outer hull. The rooms for the crew are below the waterline, but Zach doesn’t mind that. There are worse places to sleep.

“Can I ask…?” Zach always says you can ask him anything but this is sensitive. When he nods you bite your lip and continue carefully. “What happened? With discharge and everything, I mean?”

He knows you deserve to know. “Nothing bad.” He promises, twisting his head and looking up at the ceiling as he tries to figure out what to say. “I wasn’t kicked out or threatened with the brig.” He sighs softly. “I went over to Iraq with my unit. My friends, my brothers.” His voice gets softer. “I was the only one in my squad that came home alive.”

“Shit.” You squeeze him gently, your arm around his waist holding onto him like an anchor and a promise. “I’m so sorry. I—I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for you.”

“I felt guilty- I still feel guilty.” He admits, his voice thick with emotion. “I’m not special, why did I live and they didn’t?” He’s not looking for an answer, because there isn’t one. “Rodriguez was married to his soulmate. Had a fucking baby on the way.” He closes his eyes. “Fucking IED made sure he never met his little girl.”

“There’s no good answer to why some people come home and others don’t.” It doesn’t help anyone to pretend to have a great insight here. You asked for Zach’s story, and you’ll support him through it. Just keeping it simple. “I can only say that I’m grateful you came home.”

“The worst part?” He closes his eyes. “All of their wives knew. Down the fucking second, when their soulmates died.” He huffs. “Didn’t need the knock at the door to know their worlds were shattered.”

“They knew the risks,” You remind him gently. “That doesn’t make it better, I know.”

“Not a fuckin’ bit.” His tone is ironic. “I blamed myself. How could I not? Everyone asking me to tell them about that last day, those last minutes before the world went to shit and we—” he swallows harshly. “I felt like they blamed me. Hell, I blame me.” He admits. “If I had seen something, maybe they would still be here.”

“I’m sure that if there had been a sign to see, you would have.” Unable to undo what was done that day, the best you can do right now is to reassure him. Remind him that it isn’t his fault, because you’re absolutely certain it wasn’t.

“I still felt guilty, couldn’t look them in the face.” He knows a lot of it was projection, but he couldn’t help but feel like they hated him for living. “Stopped visiting, talking to my buddies that were left.”

"It's whole new world out there, baby." You promise him, the tone of the night reduced to quiet murmurs between you. "You don't have to walk through any of this alone anymore. The memories or the hard times, I mean."

“I don’t think I would have been a good soulmate back then.” He loves touching you, finding comfort in it as he strokes your skin. “After the grief came the anger. I was angry. Angry I lived, angry that I felt abandoned, even though I was the one pushing people away.”

"Maybe there's a reason we haven't met until now?" It's the most encouraging thought you can give him in this moment and you hope it helps. "Maybe this is the right time and the right place for us."

“On a cruise ship in one of the most gorgeous locations in the world?” He smiles. “Seems like a dream to me.”

“You think the Powers That Be just wanted it to be romantic for us?” You smile a little at the sweet idea. “I like that.”

“I think you deserve romance.” He chuckles quietly. “And I’m not the most naturally romantic kind of guy.” He shrugs one shoulder. “Need all the help I can get.”

“I don’t think that’s true at all.” With one hand you brush his growing hair out of his eyes and smile. “You’re more romantic than you think you are.”

He’s pleased by that answer. “Yeah?” He hasn’t done much, but if you think that he’s romantic, then he must be doing something right.

“Wasn’t it your idea to sit and watch sunrise yesterday morning because we both had to be up early and you wanted to start the day in a way that didn’t feel frantic?” When he had said it at first you thought he was joking, but no — you had really gotten out of bed together early yesterday morning to slip off to his favorite hiding space and watch the sun rise over the Mediterranean Sea together. It was incredible, so perfect that you had almost teared up.

“It was.” He admits, happy you had thought that was romantic. He has simply wanted a peaceful moment with you and it was his favorite way to spend the sunrise.

“Well, it was pretty damn romantic,” you tell him with absolute certainty.

“As long as you think so.” He leans up and kisses you. “That’s all that matters to me.”

“I absolutely do.” And steal another kiss before he can lay his head down again.

He's calm with you, peaceful. That part of him that thinks the worst or sometimes drowns out the positive is quiet. Filled with you. He’s slept better in the weeks that you’ve been wrapped up in his arms than he ever had before. “What’s your schedule tomorrow?” He asks. “Bingo again?”

"Actually?" You grin at him lazily. "The cabaret cast is doing bingo tomorrow. I have the afternoon off. What time do you have to be at the club?"

“Weeeeelllllllll.” He grins. “I’m planning on getting off the ship to go to the local markets.” He tells you. “Want to be my helper?” He is allowed to go to the local markets to pick out fresh ingredients whenever he feels it’s necessary and he wants to get some fresh caught fish.

"Ooo, a shopping date?" The grin on your face spreads wider. Learning about Zach's work has shown you how deep his passion for cooking really goes. The fact that he sort of fell into a culinary career and has ended up loving it is so wonderful to see. He really lights up talking about work. "Absolutely!"

“Good.” He chuckles. “We can sleep in since the market won’t be open first thing.”

"What a treat." You laugh quietly, wrapping your arm around his waist again to get comfortable. "That means I'll have time to wake you up creatively."

“And how do you want to do that?” Your sex life is amazing and he is blown away that someone as sexy and incredible as you wants him.

"Where's the fun in telling you now?" Teasing always comes with a raised eyebrow, and in the shine of the nighttime through the windows you grin at him all over again. "It'll be whatever I dream up. A surprise for both of us." The conversation about consent had happened early on, with both of you agreeing that being woken up for sex was high up on your list of pleasurable experiences.

“Now I’m ready to go to sleep so I can wake up.” He jokes with a snort.

"Let's do that, then." Anytime you can make him smile it counts as a victory in your book, and you press a kiss to your tattoo over his heart. "So we can both have excellent dreams and an even better morning."

Zach smiles softly. “Goodnight baby.”

“Goodnight, baby.” Your mind is already half drifting off, sleep taking over, and you lay your head down with a contented sigh. “Love you.”

Zach’s eyes pop open, heart pounding as he absorbs what you just said and the weight of it settled down over him like the warmest blanket. He tightens his hold on you and sighs softly. You’ve already drifted off to sleep so he’s just talking to himself right now. “I love you more.”

******

Morning comes too soon for all the wonderful dreams you’ve been having lately, but the trade off is that you get to wake up in Zach’s arms. It’s a more than fair trade, in your opinion.

He’s still sleeping when you open your eyes, snoring softly with the blankets mostly kicked off because he gets warm in his sleep. It does, though, give you a gorgeous view of that reliable morning wood he sports every day without fail, and you hum to yourself.

He’s already on his back, so why not climb on top?

Zach hums in his sleep, shifting slightly when you move. Used to the occasional times when you get up during the night to pee or grab the water bottle he keeps on the desk. So he doesn’t wake up just yet.

It doesn’t hurt the situation that you have consistent dirty dreams about Zach. It means that you wake up just as ready as he does, so that when you carefully sit up in bed to straddle his hips and sink down on his length, you’re drenched and wet with wanting him before you even sit up in bed.

The second you clench around him, Zach wakes up. His eyes aren’t even open but he knows what you’ve done. Moaning your name, he reaches for your hips with a sleepy smile as he finally looks up at you. “Good morning to me.” He rasps out.

"Good morning, gorgeous." It's easy enough to bend over and kiss him, keeping the motions of your hips fluid and intimate as you move on him in the morning light.

“Jesus.” His breathless curse is against your lips and he twitches inside you. “Can you wake me up like this every morning?”

"Maybe." You laugh against his lips, the sound only barely less raspy than his voice as he groans. "Only on mornings I don't use my mouth."

“But then maybe I wake you up using my mouth.” He poses. “Make it even.” He’s woke you up with his fingers and his cock, but not his tongue so far.

"Anytime, baby." Zach is an enthusiastic pussy eater, and that is never an offer that you're going to turn down.

“I want to- fuck—” you grind your hips down and squeeze his cock tight inside your molten walls, making him lose his train of thought. He groans and then tries again. “One night- that dress.” He manages. “In the club. Eat you out on stage.”

"Fuck." You almost lose your rhythm with that image presented to you, and your hips stutter at the thought. "The red one?" You know exactly which dress he's talking about. You have a dark red satin gown with a high slit up one thigh and a low neckline. The band always gets the best tips with that dress.

“Yessssssss.” He twitches again, his eyes darkening with lust at the thought of you in that dress. He’s imagined it many times but he’s just now gotten the courage to say something about what he wants. “Imagined laying you out on the stage.”

"I'll rip out the fuckin security cameras," you promise him, shivering with the fantasy. His hands have found your hips and are keeping your rhythm steady, but you swear you want to suggest throwing on robes and running to the club right now to play out the scene.

“You would be so loud in there.” He teases with a grin. “But it would be worth it. My baby is gorgeous when she’s cumming.”

As if to prove his point, the moan you let out when he snaps his hips up is deep and vibrates through the both of you with surety. "Then—fuck— make me cum, baby."

Zach plants his feet in the bed and holds tight to your hips. Rocking his hips up in desperation, wanting to hear your cries and feel you clench down around him. “Tell me how good it feels.” He grunts.

Your babbling brook of words runs over, always ready to praise and encourage him. Always ready to curse and moan and cry his name out into the day or night. With him you somehow always feel fuller than ever before, and you will happily tell him every time how good he feels inside you. How he feels like he was made just for you.

Zach loves praise, but there is something so satisfying about the panted, breathless praises you give him while he’s deep inside you. As if you can’t get enough of him. Mirroring that same needy mess he always finds himself twisting into for you.

Mornings spent like this always send you both into a sort of trance. Dissolving into such adoration for each other that it's useless to think of anything else. There is an extra layer to it this morning, for you at least, with words you dreamt of the night before still swimming in your mind. This isn't the right time to tell him you've fallen in love with him — not while he's literally inside you with both of you on the verge of cumming. But you'll be damned if your heart isn't pounding in your throat as you think it as loud as you can.

Reaching up, Zach cups the back of your neck and drags your head down to plaster his lips against yours. The knowledge of your sleepy confession has him even more sure of himself and he groans into your mouth.

It sears both of you for the same reason though neither of you is aware of it, snapping more connections into place and tangling you together even further.

His arms band around you, rocking up into your body as he pushes you both towards the edge of bliss. He moans softly when you grind down on him as he thrusts up. “Cum for me.” He begs.

It barely takes more coaxing than that. It barely takes more than those deep, long kisses and the way you desperately grind into each other for you to unravel for him. You cum with a shaking, gasping cry and smother the sound into the crook of his shoulder so his neighbors won't complain about the noise.

“That’s it baby, fuck, that’s it.” Zach groans softly, overwhelmed by how perfect you feel. Rocking up into you to work you through your orgasm and work himself towards his own.

“Cum for me, gorgeous.” It’s his turn to have encouragement, even as you feel nearly limp against his. “Feels so good when you fill me up.”

“Fuck baby.” He whines your name and his fingers dig into your flesh. “You can’t— you can’t say shit like that and expect me to last.”

A deep, throaty giggle bubbles out of you and you nip at Zach's neck under his ear where he likes it most. "Don't want you to last," you coo in his ear. "I want you to cum."

It’s not hard to give in, not when you are practically begging for him to. He twitches deep inside you and feels his belly start to pull taunt. “Fuck— I—fuuuuuuuuck.”

You talk him through it, murmuring honeyed words in his ear and letting your fingers trail up and down his back as he slowly floats back down to earth. It's practically a bragging right that you can feel the warm, sticky combination of the two of you dripping from your pussy.

"Shit." You sigh happily. "You're amazing."

“That’s you, baby.” He buries his face into the crook of your neck and breathes in the scent of you. Warm sleep, sex and your unique scent is probably his favorite scent in the world. He would bottle it up if he could. “I’m so goddamn lucky you love me. Don’t know how the fuck I got so lucky.” He mumbles into your skin.

"How...?" Impulsively, you almost draw away from him. Just to look into his eyes. But you exhale shakily instead — laughing at yourself. "Am I that transparent?"

“No.” Zach frowns slightly, wishing he hadn’t said anything. “You said- right before you went to sleep last night.”

"I said that out loud?" There is a thread of embarrassment in your voice, very thin but it's there. Instead of shame, though, you are all laughter. "I only meant to think it very loudly. But I guess..." You turn your head to kiss his cheek. "I can't be upset about it when it's the truth."

“I love you too.” He promises softly. “More than anything else in the world, I love you.”

"I love you so much." It feels like a star bursting in your chest to be able to say it, though you did not even realize you had been holding it back.

It makes him sigh, a soft, dreamy sound as he feels like he could float up and away into the clouds. The smile he gives you when he pulls back is positively beaming.

"Two weeks." You laugh softly, feeling giddy as you return his bright smile. "I can't believe that's all it has been."

“The best two weeks of my life.” He agrees.

"It feels like forever and no time at all." Something which continues to mystify you every single day.

“I never understood that when someone else said it.” He admits, chuckling at his own inexperience with soulmates. “But I do now.”

“It’s weird,” you admit, snuggling into him. “But I love it.”

“Yeah.” He chuckles softly. “How do you—” he hesitates, knowing that it might be a little too soon. It’s only been two weeks after all.

You raise your head to look at him “How do I?”

He bites his lip. “It’s too soon and if you tell me it’s too soon I completely understand.” He promises before he takes a deep breath. You arch a brow at him in confusion and he blows it out. “Howdoyoufeelaboutpossiblytalkingtothequartermasteraboutgettingasoulmatecabin?” He rushes out in a quick hodgepodge of words, stringing them together nearly incoherently.

“Absolutely.” There is nothing there for you to think about. No wiggling of pros and cons. No debate. Only the way your heart pounds and your cheeks burn thinking of getting to be with him all the time. “Yes. One hundred percent.”

He had been expecting you to baulk. To have some – valid – reasoning on why you should wait, so his expression is completely astonished when you spit out your answer so quickly. “Yes?”

“Yes.” You stretch to kiss him, lingering in that moment and breathing him in. Your soulmate.

He grins again, like a kid who’s woken up Christmas morning to find everything on his Christmas list under the tree. “Yes.” He nods. “We can— I’ll talk to him today.” He promises. “So he might come talk to you.”

“The only thing he’s gonna hear from me is how much I want to live with my soulmate.” The two of you sit up together, tangled in blankets and grinning like idiots. “Shane can stop bitching about us kicking him out.”

“Yeah.” He chuckles. “Diana is getting a little antsy to talk to him alone.” He admits. “I would normally go to my spot for a few hours to give them some privacy. Or just go to sleep.”

“This is payback for all the times I’ve left the apartment to give them privacy,” you assure Zach, not worried all that much. “They’re great roommates but our place is tiny and they’re loud.”

“So you figure it’s our turn?” He hums, slightly amused by the idea.

“Oh, absolutely.” Even in the midst of giggling, you can’t stop kissing him. Zach is completely addictive in his own unique way. “No question.”

“If we don’t like it, we can always change it up.” He reminds you softly. “Just because we are soulmates doesn’t mean you will like living with me.”

“The same goes for you.” Although you don’t think it will turn out that way, it’s good to try to be realistic. “If I have some habit you can’t stand living with then we need to talk about it. Okay?”

“What? You are as perfect as you appear and small woodland creatures come and clean the house everyday while you sing to them?” Zach snorts. “I’ll be fine.”

“Oh yeah,” you roll your eyes at him and pretend to huff but end up laughing. “The woodland creatures love commuting to a cruise ship.”

“Seagulls and rats?” Zach jokes, shrugging one shoulder. “I guess we can’t be picky out here. But I draw the line at an octopus making the bed.”

“The octopus will be very disappointed to hear it, but I’ll let them know.” This lightness he has, the levity to balance his more serious moments, is so welcome. It’s such a comfort. “I really do love you,” you murmur, almost sighing. “So much.”

“Still don’t know why.” He huffs softly. “But I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“You definitely shouldn’t.” A smirk splits your face, and you turn to get out of bed. “Especially since I’m about to suggest we shower together.”

“God, is it bad that I hope that the soulmate suites have a bigger shower?” He groans, although he’s already nodding.

“They might.” You waggle your eyebrows at him. “I heard some guys on the last cruise pretended to be soulmates to get one.”

“Now that’s a little fucked up.” Zach snorts, although he’s not exactly opposed to it. You do what you have to do sometimes.

“That’s how nice they’re supposed to be.” The shower in the room he currently shares with Shane is barely big enough, but it’ll do. At least for now.

“Then we will definitely have to talk to the quartermaster.” He hums as he follows you out of the bed. Is it fair that soulmates have better accommodations? No, but nowhere in life is completely fair.

******

It’s after you get back from the fish market that the quartermaster comes to find you. You’re on your way to the club to warm up when you’re stopped in the hall but a man you’ve only met once or perhaps twice before, but his uniform is enough for you to be sure of who he is.

“Good afternoon.” He smiles slightly as he glances down at his clipboard before he says your name. “Do you have a moment to discuss your quarters?”

“Of course.” It takes a slight gathering of your skirt — you wore the red dress that Zach fantasizes about tonight and it has a small train — but you pop down from the stage and other the man a seat at the nearest table.

“Zach Wellison has requested soulmate quarters with you.” He starts off, looking up to gauge your reaction. “Does that sound right?”

“Yes.” The sleeveless dress with its low neck shows off both your tattoo and Zach’s neatly, so you don’t have to worry about revealing proof or anything like that. “We discussed it very recently and he volunteered to be the one to put in the formal request.”

“I see.” He glances at the tattoos and looks down at his notes, finding that they match the description of the ones he had been shown by the chef. “Well, I see no reason to deny the request, unless you have no wish to cohabitate?” He lifts as brow as he looks up at you. “Forgive me, but I like to make sure that no one feels pressured to share a cabin with their soulmate.” He explains kindly.

“Of course, and it’s reassuring to know that you’re looking after your staff so well.” Not everyone gets as lucky as you and Zach have, even if they do find their soulmate. You know that. “But I do very much want to live with him.”

“Of course.” He gives you a soft smile. “Congratulations on finding each other.” He offers before he signs off on the paper and stands. “You will have a cabin assigned in the next two days.” He explains.

“Thank you very much for your time.” The door of the club opens again as you stand to shake the quartermaster’s hand, and the rest of the band pours in. Shane raises a knowing eyebrow at you, but Keo, Rick, and Cliff all look suitably confused.

“Something wrong?” Keo asks, turning towards the quartermaster as he walks out of the club.

“Not at all.” As short as the conversation was, you still feel like you need to stretch. “Just working something out with the quartermaster.”

Shane smirks. “Awesome.” He hums, aware of what that might be and the fact that he doesn’t have to find other places to crash every other day. He likes your roommate, but he felt it would disrespectful to Diana to share a room with her.

“It should make things a little less complicated.” It hasn’t exactly made your relationship with River an easier these last two weeks, but she has been great about understanding how important the beginning of your relationship with your soulmate is. This will take the strain off of things and let your friendship with her be easy again.

“I don’t understand.” Rick huffs, not exactly the most observant of the group.

You laugh, clapping your bandmate on the shoulder. “I’m shacking up with my soulmate, Rick. It’s all good.”

“Really?” His eyes widen and he grins happily, knowing how much you deserve to be in love and thrilled for you. “That’s great! When’s the wedding?”

"One thing at a time. We're moving in together plenty fast, no need to race to anything else." Is it maybe starting to be a fantasy that leaks into your dreams from time to time? Maybe. But that's why it's so important to have living together be the next step.

He chuckles softly, as if he’s not convinced and shrugs. “I’m still surprised that Shane and Diana haven’t tied the knot yet.” He admits and absorbs the halfhearted shove from his bandmate. “She wanted to get through her residency.” Shane huffs, although it’s more that he wants to be able to significantly contribute more than her wanting to get through the toughest time of becoming a doctor.

Keo smirks, putting on an over-the-top, dreamy voice. “It’ll be a winter double wedding. With the Rockefeller Christmas tree in the background.”

“It might be.” Shane huffs, secretly pleased with the idea of a gorgeous winter wedding to his soulmate. Bright lights and white snow, such a difference from his goth phase. “White tuxes with greenery for the lapels.”

“You gonna make us wear tuxes?” Cliff complains but the underlying grin in his voice says he’ll do it wear whatever Shane wants.

“Hell yeah.” Shane snorts, rolling his eyes. “And put your hair up in a ponytail.”

“We’re gonna make you brush it,” you tease, knowing Cliff will hate that.

“I don’t need to do a thing to my hair.” He shakes his mane out as if to prove it.

“You need to use conditioner.” Keo points out, rubbing his fingers through his own soft hair. “Anyway, it’s all moot. Our job is to do what the brides tell us, right?”

“It would be his wedding too.” Cliff scoffs. “Not just Diana’s.” He looks over at you. “Or yours.”

“I never said a word about me getting married,” you remind them. Both of your hands are held up in innocence. “Not seriously.”

“Oh please.” All of the guys scoff. “We all know you secretly dream about the white picket fence, two point five kids and a dog running around the yard.” Rick teases.

“Two point five is a weird number of kids and it sounds traumatic, so I’ll stick to just one or two.” It isn’t a secret that you want a family. A loving partner and kids and a home to call your own. You don’t disguise the fact that you want it. It’s just never really been a possibility with any of the people before Zach. And nods that you have someone you can see it with? Yeah. You’re absolutely dreaming about it.

“Three.” Keo predicts with a grin. “I can see you wanting to be outnumbered.”

“Three is…” You sigh softly, realizing you must look ridiculously dreamy and besotted. “It’s a lot. But I don’t think I would mind.”

“See? I told you.” He chortles and reaches out to bump your shoulder playfully. He is happy for you and it’s amazing to see you dream about more than your career.

“Shut up.” Even though you huff at him, you bump his shoulder back and grin. “I’m as surprised to see me this happy as the rest of you, for the record.”

“You kind of deserve it.” Cliff jokes. “Just a little.”

“Only a little.” Rick agrees, smirking when you laugh and huff at them both.

The group laughs and Shane shakes his head. “Okay, okay, we have more pressing issues to worry about than this.” He reminds you all. “What are we playing tonight?”

“What are you in the mood for?” Keo asks, sitting down at his drum kit.

“I’m not sure.” Shane always defers to you for the set considering you are the one who knows what your voice can handle. “What were you thinking?”

“Tribute nights always go over well. A Night with the Rat Pack or even Elvis. That First Ladies of Jazz theme we did a few weeks ago went over well, too.” There have even been adventurous nights where you do full scores from some musicals. Those are best with specific crowds, though.

“Well, you let me know what you want to sing.” Your library of musical talent is vast and he loves pushing the band to match it.

When the other guys all seem to feel the same way, you suggest a Rat Pack themed night and start warming up. Zach likes Dean Martin a lot and you won’t pass up the chance to sing for him.

“Okay.” Shane starts to shuffle through the sheet music and put it in order. He knows that the music is loaded onto the iPad that is on the stand, but he prefers to also have paper copies. “Sounds like we have about fifty minutes of performance here.” He announces. “Any other songs or you want to wing it and entertain them?”

“How do you feel about a piano and vocal moment?” You look around at the guys curiously. “Moon River or In the Still of the Night? Something gentle and sweet.”

He chuckles softly. “You are so sentimental now.” He teases playfully. “That sounds good to me, you decide.”

“We’ll see what we’re feeling? About halfway through the set.” You nudge him though, and don’t even feel bad for a Moment. “You can’t tell me the introspective love songs don’t have you missing Diana.”

“Every damn night.” He admits shamelessly.

“Then you tell me.” The two of you share a small smile of mutual understanding. You understand Shane a whole hell of a lot better since you have your own soulmate in your life. “Whichever song makes you think of Diana more is what we’ll do.”

“In the Still of the Night.” He smiles as he tells you, “that’s the song we should play.”

“Absolutely.” It is the right choice, and you can feel it too. Because Moon River is a dream. A sweet one. But In the Still of the Night is a singer who can’t get their mind off of loving someone — not at all. And you have never understood that more in your life.

------ Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356 @ajathegreats-blog @haylzcyon @beardsanddetectives @kirsteng42 @ladykatakuri @adancedivasmom @madiebear @tanzthompson @emilianamason @bigsdinger @xocalliexo @pedr0swh0r3 @avaleineandafryingpan @charlyrmv @avidreader73 @iceclaw101 @loveslide @elegantduckturtle @becsworld @julesonrecord @its-nebuleuse @itsrubberbisquit @mikeyswifie @guelyury @lizzie-cakes @for-a-longlongtime @vabeachazn @purplerain04 @weho2kcmo @madnessofadaydreamer

ItSotN: @greenwitchfromthewoods @copperhalfcent @ariavitiellos @spishsstuff @76bookworm76

#Pedro Pascal #Pedro Pascal character fanfiction #Pedro Pascal fanfic #Zach Wellison #Zach Wellison x female reader #Zach Wellison x you #Zach Wellison x f!reader #Brothers & Sisters #Shane Dio Morrissey #Shane Dio Morrissey x female OC #NYPD Blue #soulmate au #Soulmate Sunday #cruise ship au

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crowandmousewritingco · 4 months ago

Text

Crimes Against Each Other

Pairing: Dio x trans!reader

Words: 2.9 k

Rating: M (18+ MDNI)

Summary: You wronged Dio, but was it all your fault?

Warnings: Blackmail, stabbing, inaccurate court room proceedings (I tried my best) implied abuse (off screen) smut city, male terms for genitalia (cock, and dick), praise and degradations, use of the term "sir," swearing.

Author: Mod Mouse

Notes: This is my second entry in the Roll-A-Trope put on by the lovely @burntheedges. I struggled a little with this one, but I liked how it turned out! This time is was enemies to lovers (a personal favorite on mine.)

To say that Dio hated you was an understatement. You were a rat in his eyes, someone who was willing to use him as a scapegoat for whatever scheme you had going on. Dio had trusted you telling you secrets that only he knew, and he was actually feeling an attachment to you. But then you had the audacity to tell the police that he was guilty of the accused crimes. When he was dragged off in handcuffs outside the hotel that night, he saw you talking to the brown haired police officer and pointing in Dio's direction. So there was no denying your accusation.

His anger seethed as he paced in his holding cells, rage rolling over him in vicious waves. The guard had already warned him several times about kicking the bench, but he didn’t care. He was angry and he was gonna let everyone know about it. That earned him a nice shiner and a few bruised ribs, but that didn’t hurt nearly as much as your betrayal. He didn’t want to admit how much he liked you, but that bridge had burned that night leaving anger in the hole in his heart where you once resided.

Dio kept his anger seething until the day of his trial. The fire in his eyes was evident as he stared ahead, led by two officers down the bright white hallways of the holding cells. It was only a short walk before they entered the nice marbled building of the court house. They sat him down by his table unclasping the handcuffs behind his back before re-cuffing his hands in his lap. Both lawyers made their way into their respective areas. Dio’s attorney briefed him on his case, and he nodded understanding the explanation. As he waited for the judge to arrive, he took a quick look around the room seeing all the familiar faces in the crowd. His eyes squinted when he saw you, but something stirred in him when he saw the state you were in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reader POV

You squeezed your hands in your lap to keep yourself from shaking. Terrified wouldn’t even scratch the surface on how you felt. You were so anxious you barely paid attention as the court proceedings began with opening statements. Each lawyer brought several witnesses up to give their statements to the jury. But you didn’t hear a word. You only tuned in what Raven gave her testimony, but even then you didn’t want to hear what she had to say. Her voice made you flinch with every word.

Soon though you would get a moment's respite when the judge calls for a recess. You follow the crowd out to the hallway. A phone. That’s what you need right now. You tried to stay calm as you scoured the hallway for a sign of that metal box. It wasn’t long until your eyes landed on the red lettering and you weaved your way through the bodies, hurrying to claim it before someone else had a chance.

Shakily you took the quarters out of your pocket and one at a time put them in the coin slot under the number pad with a clang. You took a deep breath as you held the receiver to your ear and dialed the one person you could count on, muscle memory kicking in as you pressed the numbers. It took a few rings before the familiar voice rang through. “Hello?”

You sniffled. “H-Hi mom.” Tears began to blur your vision and you quickly wiped them away.

“Oh hun what’s wrong?” She asked her soothing voice to help calm your nerves.

“D-Do you ever have to do things you don’t want to do but you have to do it because you love the person?” You asked, twirling the cord between your fingers.

“What happened hun?” She asked you, the maternal concern lacing her words.

And you couldn’t hide anything from your mother. “I-I had to rat on my friends.” Your voice shook as you confessed in the bustle of the hallway. “They didn’t do anything wrong. I…I went out with a police officer for a bit but he was an asshole and wouldn’t let me go and told me that if I didn’t help him as an informant then…”

“Honey, you need to tell them what happened. Where are you?”

“I can't, it's too late. I’m at the trial now. We’ve recessed, I can't…” You teared up feeling the immense weight of the situation on your shoulders.

“Then there’s still time. I believe in you. You're my kid after all.” Mom encouraged you. The strength you got from your mother was something you always admired.

You took a deep breath letting the soothing sounds of your mother’s voice wash over you. “Thanks mom.”

“Now go get em tiger.” She replied and you hung up the receiver.

You sighed leaning your head on the cool metal, letting yourself calm down before you had to go back into that stuffy room. It was cut short when you heard a voice. “You didn’t wanna rat us out huh?”

The sudden voice made you jump and you looked over at the mystery voice. Dio had stepped away from the police officers flanking him, leaning against the marbled wall. You glanced down at the scuffed handcuffs and you started tearing up again. “N-No Dee–Dio. I’m sorry.”

Dio silently stood up and walked over to you, his platform books clunking against the tile. He went to speak, going to gesture at you when you flinched back, memories of your ex flashing in your mind. Dio paused looking at his hand then back to you before looking back at his tattooed palm. Confusion filled him as both the betrayal was fresh in his mind, but his memories of affection still reacted at your flinch, “Who hurt you?”

“N-No one.” You replied as you straighten your back.

“Bullshit, people don’t just flinch like that,” Dio replied with an odd sense of calm.

You bite your lips as you cast your eyes down, unable to make eye contact. Tears now flowed down your cheeks in a small river.

Ringed fingers gently lift your chin to meet Dio’s dark eyes. “I won’t be mad.”

Few moments ticked by before you answer. “I dated the wrong guy, and now…now I have to be an informant for the police.”

Dio opened his mouth to speak when the officer alerted them to return to the courtroom. “There seems to be a story there. I’ll tell my lawyers what you told me, and all you do is tell the truth on the stand.” He stated holding your gaze in his dark eyes for a few more beats before turning around letting himself be escorted back. You stood there a few seconds longer, taking deep breaths before you followed suit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You may take the stand now,” The judge ordered as you stood from your place in the audience. With your eyes forward you strode forward with your head held high trying to make yourself as confident as you could. But inside you were shaking like a leaf. With fists clenched at your side, you stepped up the stairs to the witness stand.

Once you had been sworn in and sat down in your seat as the sleazy prosecutor approached the witness stand. “Were you present the night of the stabbing?”

“Yes,” You answer simply.

“Can you tell us what happened that night?” He asked, leaning against the bannister.

You took a deep breath and glanced over at Dio who with the subtlest nods urged you on. With that bout of encouragement you continued. “We were at a party, just me, Dio, Raven, X and Alex. Dio was not the one to stab him.”

A low mumble ran through the crowd as the truth came out. The lawyer paused and looked back at you. “Is that the truth?”

“It is.”

“Then why is that different from the story you told the cops?” The lawyer asked, trying to intimidate you.

But you weren’t scared of him. He wasn’t the scary one right now. “I-I was blackmailed into becoming an informant for the police.”

“Objection, I don’t think the witness is of sane mind.” The prosecutor accused as he approached the bench.

“I am of sane mind, your honor.” You replied, staring down the lawyer.

The judge glanced between the two of you. “Objection overruled. Not relevant to this case. Please continue with your statement.”

“Thank you. I had been dating one of the officers a few months back, but when he became increasingly violent with me, I left him. But he didn’t really like that so he blackmailed me with some…not so savory pictures of me. If I didn’t get him this information he would release them to everyone I knew.” You admitted as a tear streamed down your cheek.

The crowd murmured once again before the judge brought his gavel down again. “Order!” The judge gazed down at you. “Can you name the officer who did this to you?”

You looked up at the judge before surveying the crowd. “I-It was Officer Ryan. I have voicemails he sent me threatening me. I saved them if anything were to happen to me.”

A figure in the crowd stood up and pointed at the bench. “You lying bitch! I never fucking did that you cunt!” A weight formed on your shoulders as the nights of screaming came back into your mind, his words bite into your spirit once again. Security was quick and grabbed his arms, dragging him out of the courtroom. A shaky breath escaped your lips as the room returned to normal.

The sleazy lawyer rubbed his temples. “No further questions, Your Honor.”

The defense attorney took to the floor and asked. “Why exactly would Officer Ryan want to know information about this crime?”

“He was Raven’s drug dealer. After Raven realized Dio didn’t want to be anything serious, she went into a bit of a spiral. And being the manipulative man Ryan was, he convinced her that Dio and me were the bad guys and sought revenge. Raven was a way to get back at me.”

“Why Raven?” He asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

“We’ve been best friends since high school. He knew we were close and that I was spending more time with Dio than she was. She was the perfect candidate for hurting me.”

“With this new information, can you tell us exactly what happened that night?” The lawyer asked.

You nodded as you started your tale. “We were hanging out in the hotel room that night around 9 that night. We were drinking together and sharing a pack of cigs for the group. Just one of our standard hang out parties. I never was much of a drinker so I was a lot more sober than the rest of the group.

“Everything was chill until Alex started making moves on Raven. Now at this point Dio had told Raven that he didn’t want anything serious with her so she was in a rough spot. So we were just handing out when Alex tried to hit on her. I think that’s what broke the camel’s back. When he went to put his arm around her shoulders she whipped out her knife and stabbed him.

“Of course we were all scared and when I screamed she whipped around with the knife pointed at me. She screamed about how I’ll pay for this. By then Dio grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the hotel room. But when we got to the lobby, police were already there and arrested him.I tried to run away but Ryan dragged me outside so when the actual police arrived it made it look like a legitimate arrest.”

When you finished your story, the court room was silent and you wished for the earlier ruckus. The judge was the one to break the silence. “Court will recess for three days.” He hit the gavel and stood from his stand.

The crowd started to disperse and you stayed on the stand staring out at the mingling crowd. A cocktail of emotions flooded your brain. Relief to finally have that off of your chest, but at the same time dread from what the future might hold. Those thoughts spirled in your head so much that you didn’t notice Dio once again approaching you. “Seems like you could use some cheap ass Chinese food.”

You chuckled and you made your way down from the stand. “You know me too well.”

Dio smirked and together you walked out of the courtroom. You hoped your nerves would calm down with a full stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With stomachs full of greasy food, and an agonizing long walk you stood together in front of Dio’s studio apartment. The awkwardness still hung between you despite the dinner conversation. How desperately you wanted things to go back to what they were before the terrible events. You picked at your fingernails until you gained the courage to speak.

“Look I’m-”

“Come up to my apartment,” Dio interrupted as he turned to unlock the door, not saying another word.

You followed him silently up the creaky staircase that led to a door with peeling red paint. With the lock undone he pushed into his apartment and you followed him inside. As soon as the door was closed behind you, Dio pushed you against the wood giving you no time to speak before he kissed you with passion you’d never felt before. Of course you were caught off guard, but you came back to senses and kissed him back with equal force.

“I’m sorry,” You whispered against his lips.

Gently but with enough pressure he grabbed your chin forcing your eyes to meet his. “Look what you did hurt me,” He answered bluntly, and you tried to drop your gaze from his piercing eyes. “But the hurt was different from other pains I’ve experienced. You’re my fucking kryoponite.” He softly growled.

Confusion filled your head. “W-What do you mean?”

He chuckled softly and shook his head. “I’m in fucking love with you. Even after all this shit. It hurt more because I care about you.”

“But–” You started and Dio covered your mouth with his ringed hand.

You squinted in annoyance but he smirked. “There’s the attitude I love.” He removed his hand and began kissing you quickly and passionately. And you happily returned the energy. You loved him too, and you hated having to do what you had to do.

Dio pulled you into his living room without breaking the kiss. With a light shove, you fell back on the worn cushion with a little bounce, though you weren’t alone for long. Dio climbed on top of you taking your lips in his once again.

Your fingers found his curly hair and as you kissed him you gave them a tug earning a moan from Dio. “Good fucking boy.” He growled. His praise shot straight to your dick.

“Fuck Dio I need you so fucking badly.” You moaned and Dio gently wrapped his long fingers around your neck.

“That’s not my fucking name.” He smirked.

You swallowed feeling the pressure against your neck. “Sir.”

“Good little slut.” He growled and released your neck.

Stars danced in your vision as the blood flowed back to your head. You only came back to your body as you felt the chill of Dio’s rings on your stomach. Shivers course through your body as he dipped his fingers into your pants. You gasp as his fingers expertly stroke your cock.

“Fuck Sir,” You throw your head back against the cushion. Dio’s fingers played with all the sensitive areas sending you quickly to your orgasm.

“I’ve waited too long to see you writhe on my fingers.” Dio purred and he didn’t stop as electricity surged through your body as you came. Legs shook as Dio never let up on his movements. Instead he sped up, sending you into an overstimulating high. Words escaped you as your brain was filled with endorphins.

You weren’t sure how many times you had cum for Dio but eventually he let up, pulling his fingers from your pants. He smirks and hungrily licks your arousal from each finger savoring the taste. “Fucking hell you taste downright sinful.”

Blush dusted your cheeks and you covered your face. “Don’t say shit like that.”

“Why? Afraid you might like it?” He teased and you pulled him down on top of you. Dio chuckled as you kissed him though this time softer.

The two of you stayed like that for a long while, kissing and just enjoying the touch of each other once again.

You broke off gently kissing his cheek. “So what does this make us?”

Dio smirked. “Were the orgasms not enough of an answer?”

You rolled your eyes. “Sorry my thought process was a little stunted. Spell it out for me.”

“I want to be your boyfriend. I almost lost you today and I’ll be damned if that happens again,” He answered, kissing your wrist.

“Even after everything?”

“You got up there and told off that son of a bitch. You ain’t some drone. You’re a tough guy and I like that about you.”

“I love you Dee Dee,” You whispered gently, kissing his forehead.

“I love you too,” He blushed and nuzzled his nose into your neck. Together you laid there cuddling like you were the only two people in the world. The trial could wait a few more days. What mattered was that you were Dio’s and you loved that.

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