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itsharleystuff · 1 year ago

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↳ II. 𝘍𝘐𝘓𝘓 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘝𝘖𝘐𝘋

Read part one here.

— 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: dbf!Joel Miller x afab!fem reader (no outbreak au).

— 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 10.6k (once again, I’m sorry)

— 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: after your steamy encounter with Joel during your homecoming party, things between you have been stagnant. Although, fate seems to be on your side when both Sarah and your dad have to leave town for a short while.

— 𝐖��𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬/𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: 18+ content (minors dni!), sex, p in v sex, Joel hits it from behind, blowjobs, some teasing, a bit of spanking, pet names (darling, sweetheart, honey), unprotected sex (pls do not attempt), cum eating, taking nsfw photos, Joel tries to be dom but fails, age gap (reader is twenty four, Joel is late forties), reader is kind of a brat, fluff and feelings (yes, this is a warning), alcohol consumption, brief mention of family death. Barely edited, sorryyy. No use of y/n.

—A/N: this can be read as a stand-alone but I suggest reading the previous part for a better understanding. Btw, there’s a couple of Easter eggs from the game in this! Also— I tried making a moodboard and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’ll probably stick to gifs in the future, lol.

“I like Indiana Jones," you babble, taking a sip from your coffee without looking at anyone in specific. "I was twelve and in love with Harrison Ford..."

"Okay, so that's one movie we're definitely not going to watch." Sarah chimes in, lazily chewing on her scrambled eggs. "How do you feel about Robert Pattinson?"

"That depends," you reply, moving your head side to side in a contemplative manner, "are we talking twilight or Harry Potter?"

You hear your dad snort on the other side of the table and see Joel chuckling beside him. Sarah crosses both arms over her chest and raises a brow at them. “What's so funny?"

"Nothing," your dad clears his throat and side-eyes his friend. "Just thought you two were a bit old for those crappy vampire movies. Maybe watch-"

"Forgive me, but I don't think it's a good idea to take recommendations from either of you," you cut him off, leaning back on your chair. "You're both obsessed with die hard, think The Godfather is incredibly complex and in your spare time watch construction programs. We'll be fine on our own."

"Touché..."

It's been three weeks since your homecoming party, and ever since then it has become a habit to have breakfast together every weekend. Today, Saturday, it was the Miller's turn to cook, which consequently had you and your father sitting at their table. As of now, you and Sarah were discussing your movie night, which had to be postponed due to her road-trip to San Antonio— apparently, she and her friend Ellie were going to visit some college campuses there.

It's also been three weeks since that little, hot encounter you and Joel had in your kitchen. And, contrary to your better judgement, both of you were more than eager to spend some extra time alone. Things since then had been uneasy, specially when being surrounded by others; always worried that someone might notice those stolen looks you'd share or sense the palpable tension that rose when you would stand too close to each other.

You try not to think about it. Except when you do. A swirl of memories would come flooding your mind in the most inappropriate moments, creating that heat that made you remember exactly how his fingers felt inside you, his tongue between your folds, the sloppy kisses and that feral, hungry look in his eyes while eating you out, touching you like you were the most precious thing on earth.

"How about pride and prejudice?" the girl wonders, standing up to clean her dishes and snapping you back to reality.

"Shit, I love period dramas!" your dad shoots you a reproachful glare at your language, but you chose to ignore it. "As a matter of fact, most of my designs are inspired by the Victorian and regency eras."

"Oh, yeah," Sarah recalls, "I remember I read about it in one of your blogs. Dad showed it to me, by the way..." Joel clears his throat loudly, making her giggle.

Although she had mentioned it before, it was still kind of weird that he acknowledged your work. At first you thought it was merely because he wanted to connect with you somehow, but lately he'd been asking if he could see your new sketches and would let you borrow some old magazines he had around the house. Your best friend, Sophie, mentioned he might've been trying to show his interest in you subconsciously. And she was that one psychic friend who believed in zodiac signs and angel numbers, so you decided to believe her.

In that moment, your dad receives an incoming call on his cellphone; he excuses himself and heads to the living room. Your eyes lock with Joel's, and the fact that he was uninhibitedly staring back at you drew a smug smile on your face.

"Are you interested in fashion, Mr. Miller?" he sulks out a dry 'no', but you could see him fidget with his watch nervously. "Pity. I thought maybe you could model some of my male designs."

Sarah genuinely cracks up at your comment, slapping one hand on the table. "You want dad to pose for you? Seriously?"

"Why not? I brought my Polaroid camera, I can get some very nice shots." You were partially joking, but deep down you just wanted to see how he'd react.

"I mean, I know dad's got his charm with women, or so they keep saying-"

"No way anyone says that," he rambles.

"But the idea of him modeling is probably the funniest thing I've ever heard."

The fact was that you didn't want to take pictures of him so anyone else could see them. You wanted them exclusively for yourself. A couple of naughty Polaroids to keep around for whenever you were aching for him —which has been nearly every fucking night since your arrival—.

"It was a silly idea," you finally agree, shrugging. Joel stands to take his things to the sink. "Do you really have to leave for the weekend? You're like, my only friend here."

"Uh, about that..." she leans in towards you and you can practically smell a scheme on her. "Would you be mad if I gave your number to someone?"

You can quite literally feel the man standing behind you tense up. "Huh?"

"Yeah, like... To a guy." She moves in her place, but there's still no answer from you. "He's my English teacher. His name is Will and he's super smart, young, really funny and very handsome, I might add. I believe he can be your new male model." Sarah adds that last bit with a grin.

When you turn your head to see Joel, there was a deep scowl etching on his face, his body remaining still as a stone.

"I don't know... As friends, maybe." You weren't sure why, but the idea of meeting anyone new didn't really sound appealing.

She opened her mouth to say something but before she could actually do so, your dad walked in again. He appeared upset, gesturing nonsense and muttering impassively.

"What's wrong?" your tone comes out concerned.

"I have a meeting in Boston," he sighed, resting a hand on your shoulder apologetically. "Apparently it's urgent and I have to catch the next flight if I want to be there by nightfall."

"Oh, don't worry," you smile at him warmly. "I understand. Besides, I'm an adult. I can manage a weekend by myself."

He nods, still seemingly aloof. "I know but- I just wanted to spend some more time with you."

And of course you wanted that too, but saying it out loud could literally bring him to quit his job. He was always very extreme when it came down to you.

"What time d’you leave?" his friend asks him.

"Half past four. Why?"

"I can drop Sarah off at Ellie's and then drive you to the airport, if you'd like." Such a caring friend, Joel Miller. So selfless. Helping your dad out, attending his daughter's every special need...

"Yeah, thanks a lot, man. Take care of my little girl while I'm away."

You see his eyes gleam with a mix of unknown emotions, "Will do."

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

The last few days had been no less than torment for Joel. Each moment that went by in which he didn't get a chance to be near you had him losing his mind. Badly. And it wasn't necessarily a physical thing— not always, at least.

Every morning, he would wake up and go to work, knowing for certain that when he comes back home he'll find you hanging around with Sarah or sitting out on your porch with a sketching notebook on your lap.

He liked to guess what you'd be doing.

Would you be playing board games with his daughter? Watching a movie or baking desserts? Maybe you were thrift shopping with your dad or simply going to the mall. And later on, when he finally gets to see you again, you'd tell him all about it.

Joel also liked to imagine what kind of clothes you'd be wearing. One thing he noticed is that you never stick to one particular style or aesthetic. One day you could be wearing pastel sundresses with ribbons in your hair; the next one could be long, black skirts paired with basic tank tops and multiple necklaces, or even something more extravagant, depending on your mood.

Seeing you was an experience— one that he could never get tired of. It's like every time he sets his eyes on you there's a certain color palette that changes constantly, or the feeling of gathering all your favorite songs into one playlist and then hitting the shuffle button. He never knows what to expect. Hence why he had given up on trying to relate you to the silly things around; like seasons, animals, artists or foods. Instead, he started associating you with feelings.

You were creative, unique and incredibly fearless. In a way, you made him feel uneasy, excited, thrilled, confident and many more emotions at the same time. If he had to describe you in one word, he'd say evoking.

Oh, how you pestered his brain.

He hated how much he thought about you, and how little guilt he felt from it.

Right now he was sitting on the drivers seat of his truck, waiting at the airport's parking lot. You asked him if you could walk your dad to his corresponding gate and he agreed. The downside: it had started to rain, probably not too bad for your dad's flight to be delayed but enough for your clothes to get soaked on your way back.

"Shit, I'm sorry," you muttered, shutting the passenger's door behind you. “The seats are gonna get all wet..."

"Here," Joel takes off his jacket to place it over your shoulders.

It feels warm and it smells like him, "Thanks."

He starts the car without saying anything else, keeping his eyes glued to the road. You, on the other hand, could not stop staring at him. Now that no one else was around, there was no shame in admiring his side profile, the way his muscles flexed and his hands grasped the wheel. There was something inherently attractive about men driving, but- Jesus... This image had your mind roaming around dark places.

Suddenly, realization sinks in— you're alone.

Alone with him.

"I, uh..." he taps the wheel with his thumb, still avoiding your gaze. "I wanted to take you out for dinner. The weather kinda ruined it."

The corners of your mouth hitch up in a silly smile. "Too bad. I really didn't want to be alone tonight."

Joel hums, appearing somewhat distraught. In reality, he was fighting for his life. The clothes you chose to wear today were not fitted for the rain; denim mini-skirt, high pair of boots and a white top that complimented your upper body. He tried not to look at the raindrops rolling down your thighs or note how transparent your shirt has become, forcing himself to stare at your hands and the many rings that decorated your fingers, seeing there the one he gifted you.

"How about you come over to my place?" you suggest, trying to catch his attention. "I'll need a shower and a change of clothes but... Maybe we can do something afterwards."

His tongue darts out to lick his lips, still avoiding your gaze, "Like what?"

This time your voice goes lower, a smirk spreads across your face and something in your eyes flickers; a darker, sensual spark.

"Oh, you know..." your hand carefully comes to rest on his knee. His thigh tenses but he doesn't say or do anything to push you away. "Whatever you want."

He swallows hard, feeling the pads of your fingers run circles on his leg, your nails mildly scratching over the jeans in a way that raises goosebumps on his skin and eases his nerves.

"I've got a better idea," he says, keeping his tone calm —barely—. "Why don't you come to my house instead?"

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Sure, but- what about my clothes?"

And then he smiles cockily, as if this had been his plan all along, "Wear mine."

Well, there was absolutely no way you were going to turn him down. With a bit more boldness, you slide your hand a few inches up his inner thigh, still rubbing soothing patterns. His jaw clenched, but remained silent and apparently unbothered.

"Joel?" his name rolled off your tongue sweetly, in a way only you knew how to. He uttered a 'hm?' in retort. "Did you miss me?"

"I've seen you nearly every day," he answers playfully.

You laugh, stopping your movements and simply resting your palm there. "So... No?"

"Didn't say that, darlin'." The truck suddenly stops at a red light as he exhales heavily, giving in to you at last. "But I'll let you guess."

A push and pull game, like a cat chasing a mouse. Your smirk widens. "I don't think so. Not as much as I have."

His eyes scan your body from head to toe, the way you sit with your legs slightly parted, back laying flat against the seat and face turned towards him with heated cheeks and low gaze. Unexpectedly, your hand draws back from his lap as you start looking through your purse and a frown forms on his face, baffled by the loss of contact.

"Which is why..." you take the Polaroid camera out and see a whole shift in his eyes, like he's about to burst in laughter. "I brought this."

"No," despite his categorical denial, you still held the object up.

"You have a green light," he curses under his breath and you hold back a chuckle. "Just let me have one, please."

He sighs in defeat, "Why'd you want that?"

The rain had started to settle down but the air was still pretty cold, all that could be heard besides your own voices being the drops that crashed against the car.

"Cause you're handsome," he rolls his eyes sarcastically. "And I like you."

Hell, you were always so straightforward. It made his heart jump inside his chest, wondering if it was gonna burst out.

"You won't like me as much once you meet that Will dude," Joel prattles through gritted teeth, remembering his daughter's suggestion from earlier.

"The guy Sarah mentioned?" your brows furrow subtly. "Why? What's up with him?"

He yanks his head to the side, glancing over at you for a second, "Nothin'. Just thinkin' out loud." In spite of your puzzled expression, he decides to grant your wish. "I'll let ya' take it. But only if I get one in return."

Your lips purse in a smile, "As many as you like, Miller."

He doesn't say anything in response, but his grin doesn’t fade either and you managed to capture it on paper. The image slowly started to become visible and your first thought was how well it captured the whole 'Joel Miller' essence. It was a simple photo of him driving with one hand on the wheel and the other arm thrown lazily over the backseat. That denim shirt hugged his arms exquisitely, the rolled-up sleeves adding to his appeal. He was looking at you when it was taken, so you could see more than half his face— and the way he was grinning, you couldn't help but think he appeared so much younger when he did that. The entire thing felt so much like him: snuggly, blue, genuine and you absolutely loved it.

"There," you show it to him as he started to pull over. "Isn't it nice?"

"Just keep it to yourself, aight?" the man grumbles.

"F'course," with a spark of joy, you slide the photo inside your wallet. "Wouldn't want anyone else peeking at that gorgeous smile of yours. That's a treasure of my own."

"Shut up-" he rumbled, turning his face the other way and opening the door, seemingly flustered. And out of all the amazing things you've accomplished in your life, making this rugged looking man blush was probably your greatest pride.

When he helps you out of the car, holding your hand firmly and cleaving to your waist; you wanted nothing more than to kiss him under the pouring rain, wildly and unhinged, just like last time. But this particular spot possibly had too many curious eyes of which you were unaware of. He obviously doesn't need to guide you through his house, since you already know nearly every corner of it, except for one. His bedroom. And apparently, that's the precise location he's taking you to.

"Please excuse the mess," he says, placing one hand on the door handle, "I haven't had a woman in here for ages, so I'm afraid I probably won't live up to your expectations."

"Joel," you snort, "it's been a decade and a half since you last dated anyone. Trust me, my expectations are pretty low."

He scowls, squinting both eyes. "You didn't have to say it like that..."

It's honestly better than you thought. His bed is nicely done, brown bedsheets striking as warm and welcoming; the walls were painted a pretty, light shade of blue that matched the grayish curtains on the left. The drawers in front of his windows had a bunch of stuff scattered on top of them: a CD player along with a few music discs, some papers, a cap and a pair of reading glasses, batteries, one screwdriver and a framed picture of him and Sarah at the beach. Meanwhile, the nightstand simply had one lamp and an alarm-clock on it. Over the bed's headboard were one poster of a music festival, the image of a landscape and an advert of what you guessed must've been a club, that read 'tacos and beer" on it. The door to the bathroom was on the right.

Messy, yet tidy at the same time. Very Joel-like.

"No way..." you murmur, eyeing the guitar beside his bed. "All this time I thought it was a myth."

"What?" he asks from behind you.

"Dad told me you used to serenade girls back in college and that you wanted to become a singer." A giggle escapes your lips, unable to contain it. "I remember saying he was surely making it up, but..."

"I didn't- I mean..." he clears his throat, scratching the back of his neck and feeling his chest swell with your laughter. "Oh, shut up!"

"Make me." The lingering, mischievous smile on your face made his heart pound and blood rush. "Come on, Miller. Shut me up, I dare you."

His eyes darken, but you don't falter for a second. He doesn't move a muscle, solely watching as you took off his jacket and threw it to the bed.

"You dare me?" his voice goes drops an octave, following your every move closely. "That's rather bold of you, sweetheart."

"Mhm," without breaking eye contact, you start taking off your boots. "And yet you're doing nothing about it."

Joel starts walking towards you slowly, holding your gaze intently. Your hair was damp and your clothes were still wet; it didn't really matter that the air was chilly cause you still felt warm all over. He soon invades your space, cupping your chin in his big hand and lifting your head upwards.

"Well, you're awfully quiet now, aren't ya'?" his hot breath fanned across your cheeks, the gap between your faces being basically invisible.

"I'm just waiting for you to start singing some random song by Alabama or Johnny Cash," you scoff. "Like a good ol' Texan ma-"

He doesn't let you finish the sentence, abruptly crashing his lips into your own. Joel isn't delicate about it and the fervor with which he kisses you makes your body stumble a few steps backwards. Your shoulders hit the wall and he pins you against it as your mouths find a way to mold perfectly, at a much nicer pace than last time. You throw your hands around his neck and let your fingers tangle in the curls around his nape, tasting the fresh mint on his lips. His hands rest on your hips, chests pressed together as the temperature kept rising with each second that went on.

You part your lips in order to grant him deeper access, feeling his tongue slide past your teeth and meeting your own in an ardent, heated way. It was perfect, until he broke apart, looking down at you with an asserted confidence.

"You really know nothing 'bout country music," he says in between shaky breaths, beaming. "S'that what you wanted?"

"Yes," you manage to say.

"Then say 'thank you'," Joel indicates petulantly, stroking your bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. "Go on, don't be such a brat."

You blink twice, your brain still buzzing with the sensation of mouth on you, barely capable of processing anything else. "But I want more..."

"You'll take what I give you."

Shit, when he said it like that- "Thank you."

"That's my girl," he straightened his back, opening the door next to you. "Now, get your pretty ass in the shower before you catch a cold, 'kay?" You roll your eyes and hear him chuckle. "There's clean towers under the sink. You can take some clothes from my drawers, or Sarah's if you feel like it. I don't think she'll mind."

"Understood." He can tell you're annoyed, which he finds funny.

"Don't be mad at me, angel." Joel tugs a strand of hair behind your ear. "Promise I'll make it up to you."

You nod distractedly, lost in the cocky spark on his eyes. "I'm not mad. Just hoping you fuck me real good if you're making me wait for it."

Your words almost make him choke on his own saliva. "Sweetheart, you're making it real hard for me to be a gentleman."

It makes your ego boost, in a sense. "I'll be quick. Can you get something for dinner, though? I'm starving."

"Shit, darlin', pick a struggle," he mocks as you enter the bathroom, "are you horny or hungry?"

"Oh, you jerk!"

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

6:15 pm.

You take a quick glance at Joel's alarm clock once you come out of the shower. It's been little more than an hour since your dad's plane took off. You hope the rain hadn’t made his flight any difficult, cause the weather turned out to be quite a blessing for you.

The cozy feeling of a nice, warm shower after being soaked under the rain was starting to settle in your bones, making your limbs relax. Then you realize, you smell like Joel. The scent of his soap, his shampoo, even his laundry detergent, is all over you. It's intoxicating in the most fantastic way possible, making your insides burn with a thrill of excitement. You took one on his flannels, —dark green with red stripes— and decided to wear it without anything besides your underwear. It was pretty big anyway, and covered just the necessary areas.

You slid your socks back on when all of the sudden you hear the faint sound of music from the floor beneath. Curious, you walk towards the noise, finding out Joel was in the kitchen, crouched down in front of the opened fridge. The CD player that you saw earlier on his room was now on the table, playing a melody that you recognized almost immediately.

"I like this song," you say, leaning against the wall. "That's Billy Idol, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he recalls, taking out a medium sized plastic box from the fridge. "Tommy made that mix. There's plenty of hits from past decades. I think you'll enjoy it."

The man finally turns around to face you and his face fails to hide his surprise. The way his prying eyes sweep your body in detail, taking his time particularly on your bare thighs, almost made you feel self-conscious if it weren't for that shadow of desire that crossed his eyes and the way his nostrils flared from a contained breath.

"How is he, by the way?" you ask, still on the subject. "Haven't seen him in a while."

"Who?" he clearly forgot what he had just said.

"Your brother," you call to mind, "how is he?"

Joel sets the box down on the table and drifts his gaze back to your face. "Fine, I guess. Last time we spoke he said he'd go to Dallas." He takes two glasses from the pantry and what it looks like a bottle of wine. "I-uh... There isn't any real food in here besides those strawberries and chocolates that this guy brought for Sarah. Should I order something?"

You shake your head and walk over to him, "This will do. Won't she get mad if we eat them, though?"

"Don't think so," he replies, pouring the red liquid into the glasses. "I'll blame you if she does."

"Oh, okay-" you cock an eyebrow at him and hold back a giggle. "Thought you didn't like wine."

"It's a fancy drink," he explains, "s'only for special occasions."

"Oh?" you take a sip from it, eyes boring into his. "And what's tonight's?"

Joel smiles conceitedly, jutting his chin out. "I've got you all to myself."

You snort, feeling the heat soar across your cheeks. He takes the snack box and with a sly gesture asks you to follow him into the living room, the melodic sound of the eighties tune turning to background noise as you do. The only lights on are the ones in the kitchen and the lamps beside the couch, shining a perfect light on his features.

"Come here," he calls, the leather squealing under his weight when he sat down. You set the glass down on the coffee table in front of the tv, going to sit next to him. "No, sweetheart," he grabs your waist and pulls you closer to him. "I meant here."

His legs part slightly, making room for you to sit on his lap. Your smile broadened toward a soft chuckle, settling yourself on his thigh. Joel immediately gets his hands on you, one on your lower back and the other merely resting on your upper leg.

"So, who's this mystery man that's been giving gifts to your darling daughter?" he scoffs in response, reaching for a chocolate from the box.

"Honestly? No fuckin' clue." You hum in surprise, drinking from your wine. "She never involves with them, thank god, and once they meet me they never come by again."

"I see,” you muse, “you're the overprotective type," you bite on a strawberry next.

"I wouldn't say it like that..." he sees the sarcastic glimpse on your expression and holds back laughter. "It's a dad reflex, I can't control it."

"Right, sounds convincing."

You stretch your arm behind the couch, setting your elbow and laying the side of your face on your palm. His face is very close to yours but all you do is simply stare at each other; Joel's big brown eyes glimmer with infatuation. “Can I ask you a question, sweetheart?" he asks lowly. "Somethin' more serious."

You wince in confusion, but still nod, "Sure."

He inhales sharply, taking a couple of seconds to actually say what he meant to. “Why are you here?" your frown deepens at his words. "I mean- Texas. I know you said you wanted to make up for the lost time with your old man, but... I feel like there's something else you're not saying."

It takes a minute for you to really sink in on his question. You nearly gulp down the alcohol before setting the glass down, avoiding his ardent gaze.

"Honestly?" you sigh, "There's so much to unpack that I don't even know where to start."

"Try." Although he didn't sound harsh, the effort he was asking you to put in wasn't something of your liking.

"Well, first of all," you meditate, clearing your throat, "the city didn't feel like home since my mom passed. It made me realize how much I missed here." He nods comprehensively, caressing the exposed skin of your thigh in a reassuring manner. "And then there's this- fear. Yeah, I guess it is fear... I've managed to accomplish so much in such short time that it actually fucking scares me to go any further and see that-" you stop, sighing and shaking your head. "That I've reached my limit."

For a moment, there's just silence floating between you, all that could be heard were the rain and a song by tears for fears.

"Darlin', look at me," he asks softly but you can't bring yourself to do it, embarrassed by your confession. "Please, let me see those pretty eyes of yours."

And it's practically impossible for you to deny him anything. Specially when he asks so nicely, when his hand grabs the side of your face so gently— you give in, just like that.

"You're afraid to succeed because you don't know what to do with yourself afterwards. Is that it?" You nod faintly. "Can I speak frankly?"

"I have a feeling you will anyway-"

"Yeah. A bit of tough love, but you need’a hear it." Joel strokes your cheek sweetly and you get shivers from the affection in the action. "Sweetheart, I know what you're going through. Shit feels like it's either moving too fast or not moving at all. And I know how scary that is. Trust me, there's still plenty of time for you."

You square your eyes to his, "Sure, bet you were frightened when you were twenty four."

"Terrified," he spoke truthfully. "Everyone I knew was getting married, moving out or working their asses off."

"And you?" he grunts, taking a strawberry from the box. "What were you doing?" Joel eats the fruit patiently, simply staring at you silently. "Come ooon, don't play hard to get."

"Gotta promise you won't laugh."

It's a tricky business for someone who makes fun of everything, and yet you simply reply: "I swear."

"Fine," he rasps out in fake annoyance. "I used to make my own guitars and- sell 'em sometimes. I'd also teach guitar lessons and horseback riding."

Your eyes widen in surprise and something flutters in your stomach. "Shit, that's actually pretty cool!"

He groans, rolling his eyes at the same time, "I told you not to make fun of me."

"No, no- I mean it." You shuffle on his lap, resting a hand on his chest. "And you sound passionate about it... Why'd you stop?"

The man shrugs his shoulders, tightening his grip on your waist. "It went well for a couple years but I eventually had to get something more solid. More so after Sarah was born." He takes a deep breath in, the smell of his own shampoo on your hair hitting his nostrils and catching him off-guard.

"You should teach me," you suggest with a smug grin. "I always wanted to learn."

"What, guitar or horseback riding?" he wonders, suddenly nuzzling his face on the crook of your neck.

"Guitar. I'm pretty good at riding, if you must know." You feel him chuckle against your body, his facial hair scratching your sensitive skin.

"We'll see 'bout that," his voice comes out husky as he starts kissing along your jawline.

Joel's common sense jumped out the window long ago, but the string of self control that kept him sane all this time couldn't bear the weight of you wriggling on top of him, semi-naked and with his scent all over you. Something primal took over him, a glimpse of possessiveness that he didn't believe himself capable of feeling towards you specifically. He wanted you to wear that flannel around town so people would look at you and know who it belonged to; whose bed you've been visiting. He wanted you to smell of his cologne so other men would know that you weren't free for them.

Your fingers run through his soft curls, messing his hair while he grabs the back of your thighs and manhandles you onto straddling his lap. He nips and licks over all your vulnerable areas, making your breathing start to labour. How could he possibly know this well the easiest ways to have you so desperate this quick? Leaning into his touch, yearning for him even with the smallest action? He wasn't aware of the answer himself, he just knew.

Joel instinctively throws his head back when you tug at his hair and seize the opportunity to duck down and lay a sweet kiss on his forehead. His hands coast up your thighs, splaying his fingers on your ass to squeeze the flesh. You hold back a giggle, kissing the curve of his nose before catching his soft, soft lips on yours.

He slides an arm around your waist, pressing his palm between your shoulder blades to keep you as close as possible. You feel your nipples harden when his tongue ran along your bottom lip— tauntingly slow, until you allowed him full access to your mouth, letting him taste the sweet mixture of wine and strawberries on your tongue. But his vehemence didn't make you any less eager, kissing him back with just as much passion and vigor, sinking your teeth into his bottom lip and mildly pulling at it with minor strength.

The action ignites a fire within him, seeing you on top, feeling your fingers roam around his cheekbones and along his jawline like you knew just how much fucking power you had over him... It was a new sensation, a new kind of desire he didn't recognize at first.

Joel's lips were swollen and his own excitement was starting to feel evident underneath you, which created a blunt ache between your legs. He usually appeared so big and mean, with those broad shoulders and permanent scowl on his face. Now, though... He seemed like he'd let you do just about anything with him, to him— it didn't really matter as long as you kept staring at him like that; through heavy lids, eyes sparkling with a profound, desperate need that spoke without words, saying 'only you get to see this side of me'.

You start grinding your hips against his, rubbing your clothed core above his growing boner in small, calculated circles as you shore yourself up with a hand to his chest. He merely admired you from his position, letting you have your way with him; all the while his gaze reflected patience, like he could take over the situation any second but enjoyed watching you lead.

"Joel," you call his name, leaning forward to kiss his chin, moving your lips all the way down his throat and feeling the nice scratch of his beard. Your hands grab the collar of his shirt as you come up to whisper in his ear: "Stay still."

Panting, he narrows his eyes in confusion, "What?" Though you don't give him enough time to figure out your words, getting back on your feet and parting his legs further with a light thump of your knee.

He observes your every move quietly, amused by your confidence and determination when you drop to your knees in front of him. Joel's cocky expression doesn't sway, not even when you drag your nails across his inner thigh, inching closer towards his very visible hard on. However, his body betrays him, selling a whole different story. His muscles tense, his jaw clenches and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Stop being such a fucking tease," he hissed, refusing to place his hands on you.

"Or what?" you drawl, coming to rest your palm on his crotch. A simple, feathery touch that made his pulse accelerate.

"You'll regret it," he warns grimly.

"S'that so?" you start to unbuckle his belt, way too slow for his liking, tugging down the zipper of his jeans. "I think I can handle it."

He smirked, his hand slithers to the back of your scalp and forces you to lock eyes with him. "Don't test your luck, sweetheart."

You pout mockingly, doing exactly the opposite of what he was saying while dragging down the fabric just enough to free his cock. Your new found courage falters for a second, finally seeing him in all his size and girth. He was, by all means, a big one, the amount of precome oozing on the tip telling you just how much he loved being teased, despite whatever words came out of his mouth. The mere sight of it sent a new heated wave of slick between your thighs.

Joel mimicked your expression scornfully, brushing his thumb across your cheekbone, "Too big for ya'?"

"None of that," you wrap your hand around the base, not really applying any pressure; though the sole warmth of your touch was enough to give him goosebumps, "we'll make it fit."

"That's my girl."

With a chuckle, you lower your head to kiss the inside of his thigh, the pads of your fingers softly grazing the veins on his length. His whole body shudders, leaking onto your hand and letting out a subtle gasp as you spread kisses all along his shaft. Your eyes peer into his soul when you gently place your lips to the slit, tasting the salty precome as he calls your name in what resembles a desperate plea. In a swift move, you finally take the tip in your mouth, swirling your tongue around it and deciding to put an end to his suffering. He mutters a gruff 'fuck' when you attempt to take him farther, pumping what you couldn't yet fit and snaking your free hand under the hem of his denim shirt to caress the soft skin of his belly.

"Shit, darlin'-" you feel the heaviness of his palm simply resting on the back of your head, not pushing or forcing you in any way, but allowing you to adapt to his size. "The only way to get ya' to stop talking is with a mouth full of cock, ain't it?"

You hum in response and the sensation is completely enrapturing for Joel, his callused fingers tangle in your hair to ground him as he releases a shaky breath. It's a huge challenge to focus on anything else but him; your mind whirring with a familiar dizziness while you bob your head up and down his shaft, intoxicated by the taste of him, the smell of him and every sound that escapes his lips, making your clit throb with need and your arousal pool in your panties, uncomfortably sticking to your skin.

For Joel, it's overwhelming.

He's never really been the noisy type during sex but heck— you were doing it for him. He's a panting mess above you, his hips buck ever so slightly in tandem with your mouth, trying not to lose it entirely. Your spit drools down his dick and the way your dark, dilated pupils sparkle with lust as you hollow your cheeks around him pulls a groan deep from his throat.

"That's it, you can take it," he coaxes when your nose nudges his pubic bone, the head of his cock hitting the back of your throat. "Good fuckin' girl, just like that..."

Enticed with the praise, you keep repeating the motion, sliding one hand to hold his hipbone for support and feeling his burning skin under your touch whilst the other plays with his balls to aid his pleasure. The obscene slick sounds mix in the air with his hoarse cursing, the rain and the faint music of kings of leon, sex on fire.

He looks so good from this angle, chest rising and falling with heavy, irregular breaths, head thrown back and both hands on you, keeping you angled for his cock. Drops of precum roll on your tongue as you keep changing the pace at which your head moves, tears welling in your eyes and jaw going slack. Shit, you're aching for him so bad that the only thing you can think of to relieve the need is squeeze your thighs together in order to create some friction. And it works, the action eliciting a moan from you that makes him fucking whimper your name.

"Bet your cunt's drippin' just from sucking my dick," he muffles a laugh that turns halfway into a sigh when you pay special attention to the ruddy, sensitive tip. "Fuck, I'm gonna cum-"

You can tell he is by the way his cock twitches in your mouth; his spine straightens at the heat gathering between his legs and he tries to pull you off against your will, uttering a warning that you chose to ignore. Joel's lips part in a throaty groan when he reaches his high, feeling the outline of your fingers digging harshly on his hip, your hand rubbing his length and your tongue lapping at his slit, taking in every single drop of his release until he's spent, right before pressing a soft kiss to it that makes him shiver. And hell— contrary to others, he tasted good; warm and thick, coating your senses.

His heart beats aggressively against his ribs and he loosens his grip on your hair, allowing you to get back on your feet while resting your hands on his waist. Although his eyes are barely open, he can quite literally feel your smile when you chastely kiss his lips. He chuckles breathlessly as you sit beside him, tugging himself back in his pants.

"We're not done yet," he says, grabbing the back of your knee and promptly engulfing your leg around his waist, maneuvering your body so that your back rests against the couch and he's crouched down, caged in the middle of your thighs. "I said I'd make it up to you and I will."

"Well, you've certainly got some stamina in you, old man," you poke fun at him, raising a hand to move those rebellious curls away from his eyes.

Joel smiles, caressing your cheek affectionately. "Always got somethin' to say, don't ya'?"

"Oh, Mr. Miller," you coo, enveloping your arms around his neck, "we both know just how much you love to hear me talk."

"Mhm," he leans down to kiss the corner of your mouth, "yes, I reckon you're right."

His big hand covers nearly half of your face as he holds you still, crashing your lips together. He kisses you deeply, vigorously, in a way that makes you wonder if you could possibly drown in a person's essence. His other palm slides between your bodies to start undoing the buttons of the flannel —his flannel— you were wearing. You can't help but whine when he draws back, watching you from above.

"Joel-" blood rushes through your ears and can feel your cheeks warm up as he takes in the sight of you, his fingers coasting down your throat and to the valley of your breasts, licking his lips when he sees your hardened nipples.

"You're fuckin' beautiful," he speaks freely, without holding back emotion, and it makes your heart skip a beat. "Such a sweet, sweet girl I can't get enough of."

"Then take a picture," you purr, "it'll last longer."

He stares at you through a measuring squint, a lighthearted smile forming on his face. "Since you insist." It takes a moment for you to realize what he means, until you finally recall that there's actually a camera inside your purse; one that he reaches for. "If I remember correctly... You said I could take as many as I like."

You lightly squeeze his waist with your thighs, feeling your whole body burn with anticipation. "I did say that..."

"Let's just pray your dad won't find these hanging around," he ponders, turning your face slightly to the side. "He'll have my head."

"And that would be terrible..."

He takes the Polaroid with one hand, the other coming to grope your breast as he backs off for a better angle, ultimately deciding to wrap his fingers loosely around your neck instead, purely holding you there. You glance at the lens, making your best "fuck me" eyes added to a cheeky smile, hearing him curse under his breath prior to snapping the picture.

"You've got the prettiest fucking tits I've even seen, sweetheart," he snarls, laying a palm flat over your lower abdomen while he waited for the photo.

"Has anyone ever told you you've got such a marvelous way with words?" he suppressed a laugh, safeguarding the picture on the back pocket of his jeans.

"Just a few women." Before you can even begin to act annoyed, he sets the camera aside and leans down to kiss your collarbones, the pad of his thumb kneading circles around your sensitive nipple. "Look at you, honey," he murmurs, "you're so easy to please... Or is it just because of me?"

You're panting, your back arching in response to his constant ministrations, every inch of your skin blushing under his attention. "I think it's-" you're cut off by the sudden need to swallow when he sucks a mark on the vulnerable skin between your breasts, "you."

His body vibrates with a laugh and you feel his hand palm your clothed sex, dragging his tongue over your delicate nipple, gently nibbling at it. You screw your eyes shut and let a single, fluttery moan slide past your lips when his thumb nudges your clit.

"So wet just from giving head?" Joel shakes his head in fake disapproval. "Who knew you were such a horny little thing?"

You are holding onto his bicep for dear life, fearing you might collapse into oblivion if you part from his body. His index glides across your slit over the drenched cotton fabric, making you squirm beneath him.

"You- you tasted good," you babble, mind all over the place.

"Yeah?" his chest swells with pride, "you should taste yourself, angel," his mouth travels across your abdomen, "sweetest thing I've ever had."

It's pointless trying to conjure a response, you're simply too far gone by now. He hooks your legs over his shoulders and buries his head between your thighs, flattening his tongue against the bundle of nerves. You whimper, running your fingers through his locks and bucking your hips to meet his face.

"Please," you blurt out, "Joel, please..."

"What, sweetheart?" he asks, moving the underwear aside to directly touch your clit, fondling it as he watched your slick coat his fingers. "What do you want?" But you can't conceive an answer, all that could come out of your mouth were those pathetic, desperate moans. "Use your words."

With his free hand he plays with your nipple, grabbing your breast with his entire hand. "I want you."

He tauntingly moves his fingers around your seam, refusing to go any further. "Say it again."

"I want you, Joel."

Cocky bastard.

He licks his fingers clean and starts getting off the couch, leaving you with a confused, dumbfounded expression that nearly makes him crack up.

"You didn't really believe I'd be fucking you on the couch, did ya'?" he teases, but all you can muster up is a barely audible 'oh'. "Come on, let's take this to my room. And don't forget to bring that camera of yours."

Mind still dazing, you obey his instructions, following him silently upstairs as he undoes the buttons of his shirt. For a second, he glances back at you, gifting a soft, reassuring grin before extending his arm to grab your fingers, holding your hand in a pure, intimate touch.

And just for that moment, you forget that he's actually your dad's oldest friend, that he's Sarah's father or any other thought of the sort. He's just Joel. Joel Miller, the only man that has managed to make you feel butterflies in the pit of your stomach, or that made you blush with merely a few compliments.

"Ask me to kiss you," he urges, taking the camera from your hands and carefully placing it on his bedside table, his eyesight fixed on you.

"Kiss me," you don't ask, you downright beg.

He does, though it's not like the previous times. He's tender, almost languid about it. His hands are on your bare hips while yours cup his cheeks; Joel's fingers reach to remove the flannel from your shoulders and moves his lips to the newly exposed skin, murmuring constant admirations. You feel your lungs clench and a tingly sensation on your lower belly.

"I'll take care of you, darlin'." You let the shirt slide down your arms and fall to the floor. "Gonna show you what you've been missin' out on by fooling around with those stupid boys." His words go straight to your core as he takes a step back to sit on the edge of his bed. "Take them off," he gestures to the last piece of clothing on your body.

You compel to his wish, stripping under his prying eyes while he lazily gets rid of his boots. His lips twitch in a smile when he sees the glistening mess he's made of you, promptly dragging you on top of him. Your hands lay flat on his exposed chest shortly before he switches positions, readjusting you on the middle of the bed.

"Joel, please just-" you whine when he keeps playing with your entrance, stretching you with his fingers. Your skin scorches with desire, knees weak from the growing heat on your lower body.

"Stop nagging, sweetheart," he grits through his own lust, his gaze impossibly dark. "I wouldn't want to hurt you."

"Joel, I'm too worked up, I-" you gasp when he curls his fingers inside you, hitting that particular spot that made your toes curl. "Fuck..."

"Come on, baby." He ducks down to kiss the skin behind your ear and his beard tickles nicely. "It's just the two of us now, feel free to be as loud as you need to."

His pants are undone and hanging loosely on his hips, the image being so blatantly erotic that only managed to get you more aroused as you fumble to get rid of his shirt. He chuckles at your eagerness, shrugging it out of the way and haphazardly kicking off his jeans and underwear altogether, discarding them on the floor with the rest of the clothes.

You take a second to revel on his naked figure, his tanned skin, broad shoulders and sturdy chest, the marked collarbones and every noticeable mole. His hair is messy from your fingers, a thin layer of sweat sticks some curls to his temples as his wild, hungry eyes bask in the view of your sopping pussy when he parts your shaky legs further. But the moment of appreciation is brief, both of you being edged and spurred on.

He maneuvers a hand to your lower back and aligns your hips with his, watching the way your hole drips for him, wetting his bedsheets. You're a panting mess beneath him, lightly scratching his shoulder-blades and biting on your bottom lip, looking up at him doe-eyed and all splayed out for him to take. Joel wants to tell you just how badly he's longed for this— how he's been yearning to have you so achingly bad. But right now, feelings overrun his thoughts, especially after hearing his name spilling from your lips, begging for him to take you.

"Relax, darlin'." Joel teases your slit with the head of his cock, rubbing it along your sex and coating it with your slick. Your head tilts backwards, dipping on his pillows, small whines keep spilling from your mouth. "I won't go easy on you."

"Great, cause I don't want you to-" your slurred words get muffled by the sudden feeling of intrusion as he finally buries himself in your cunt, letting out a filthy, guttural groan.

You close your eyes, feeling lightheaded and staggered from the way he was filling you up so nicely, the stretch being a tad painful at first, but the kind of pain that could only ever feel good. Then your whole body quivers from head to toe.

"That's it, you can take it," he mutters, peppering kisses to your chin and collarbones as he bottoms out. "Fuck, you feel divine-" The tight, warm grip you welcome him with resembles nothing he's ever had before. This is new, this is you.

You bear down on his cock, enveloping your legs around his waist and lifting your hips to encourage him. He holds you down with a firm grip around your neck, starting to set a pace with his hips as he draws out and then back in slowly, roughly, making your back arch. Your erect nipples brush against his strong chest and create a delightful friction that has you moaning louder than you could've expected. You're amazed by the way he thrusts into you, somehow mindful to hit every right spot inside you —needless to say that it was something that others could hardly manage before—, his pubic hair tickles the skin below your belly button, sending shivers down your spine that prompt you to drag your nails down his back.

"Look," he indicates, despite your inability to even think straight. "Look," he repeats harshly, using the hand that was on your hips to tilt your head downwards, forcing you to stare at where your bodies connected. It was obscene, the wet noises of your pussy and skin clapping against skin sounding purely pornographic. "Look at the mess you're making."

"Joel, I-" you can't form sentences properly, all your attention being focused on how good he's making you feel. "I'm so close, for god's sake..."

"Lemme help with that," he speaks breathlessly, pining your leg over the crook of his elbow to make his thrusts deeper, more precise. You cry out in bliss, feeling the heat expanding from your stomach to your legs. "Yeah, you're close, I can fuckin' feel it- fuck..."

Your walls flutter around him, squeezing his dick just right. He knows he's in too deep when you call out his name like it's the only word you can remember, when he wallows in the glorious view of your pretty face contorted in pleasure. He looses the grip on your neck and strokes your lower lip with his thumb, prodding you to keep eye contact as your orgasm washes over you. It's electrifying, a feverish kind of sensation that gratifies every nerve on your body.

He rests his forehead on your shoulder, overcame by the intense feeling of euphoria that your body was providing. You realize in that moment that the reason why Joel could fill that void so easily was because he kept prioritizing you above him. Your pleasure was his, too.

"Jesus Christ, Joel-" you mewl when he abruptly pulls out, “… Worth the wait.”

He laughs shakily, kissing your lips shortly. "Turn around, sweetheart. I want to fuck you from behind."

With a buzzing dizziness, you follow his instruction. God, right now you'd do just about anything if he asked you to. You notice movement from his part and patiently wait with your butt up in the air for him to stuff you again; instead, you hear the familiar clicking sound of the Polaroid camera.

"You fucker," you chuckle, "did you just take a picture of my ass?"

"Couldn't help myself," he groans, caressing the soft flesh before lightly slapping it. "You look too damn gorgeous." The hit on your skin burns nicely and you can't hold back the gasp that escapes your lips.

"Shit- do that again..."

You can practically hear his smile when he talks, "You into that?" he repeats the action with a little more force and the pain sends a shock of pure pleasure between your legs, your own fluids dripping down your thighs. "F'course you are, I should've guessed with that attitude of yours."

He plays with your swollen pussy, enjoying your tiny moans and the way your legs tremble as you fist the sheets underneath you, burying your face on his pillow when he spanks you again— this time so hard that it probably left a mark. But before the sting washes away he takes the opportunity to enter you in one swift move, holding your hips steady and trailing his fingers along your spine.

"That's my sweet girl," he praises a midst, starting to grind his cock inside you. "Taking me like you were made for it."

This is way more intense, the angle allowing him to hit deeper, harsher. His gruff moans become more frequent as he speeds up his pace, letting you know just how good you were making him feel. The sensation was purely fantastic, melting every thought away and just leaving Joel Miller to fill you in every sense of the word. His hands are never still, roaming your responsive areas, caressing the most sensitive and always taking care of your aching clit.

You might cry from the overwhelming ecstasy— the way his tip constantly hits the depths of your cunt with each relentless thrust has you seeing stars. Joel gets a thrill from the way you can't seem to get enough of him either, throwing your hips back to meet his unwavering pace, clawing at the pillows and moaning helplessly, pushing him close to his climax.

"Joel, it's too much..." you mumble. "Please, I can't-"

He hunches over you, kissing your nape to ease the overpowering sensations, "Yes, you can. You're a big girl, you can take it." And then your vision goes blurry, all you're able to hear being his disjointed, lewd moans; all you can feel is his hard, hot body flushed to yours, his cock twitching inside you and the wetness of your own body. "That's it, give me another one, baby- fuuuck..."

The buildup is so strong you nearly collapse, feeling yourself tremble as he chases his orgasm, fucking you through yours. His fingers reach your bundle of nerves and apply barely any pressure, which has you coming undone in seconds, absolutely soaking his dick and the sheets beneath you, chanting his name like a prayer. A string of curses falls from his lips as he pulls out and quickly manhandles your fucked out self to lay on your back. He exhales sharply through his nose, spilling his load all over your stomach without even touching himself.

You both stay there for a while, catching your breath and looking intently at each other’s eyes before he rolls over, going limp beside you. You stare blankly at de ceiling, suddenly feeling aggressively aware of your sticky skin covered in sweat and cum, the numbness on your lower body that will surely feel sore in the morning and all the marks he's left dispersed on you. You feel satisfied, fulfilled even. Joy bubbles up your chest and comes out in form of a giggle, one you're unable to hold back.

"What?" he asks, turning his face towards you with a half-smile.

"I don't know, I just..." you shake your head, still laughing. "I don't know."

He chortles in disbelief, holding out a hand to take some tissues from the bedside drawer and going to swipe his mess off your tummy and inner thighs. "Shit, I think I might’ve just fucked the sense out of ya'."

Joel sets himself between your parted legs, laying the weight of his upper body on top of you, resting his chin on your chest, eyes boring into yours. He looks so young like this, despite the greying hair and the small wrinkles, his beautiful brown orbs sparkle ever so brightly under your attentive gaze.

"What will your dad say when he returns and finds out his only daughter has completely lost her mind?" he jokes, cradling you in his big arms.

"Come on," you roll your eyes playfully, "we both know that if I had been in my right mind since the beginning, I probably wouldn't be in your bed right now." He doesn't reply, but his smile doesn't fade either. Joel nuzzles his face on the crook of your neck, kissing your pulse zone briefly before closing his eyes. You run your fingers through his hair, softly massaging his scalp in utter silence.

The wind was howling outside, rustling the tree branches, but at least it wasn't raining anymore. You can feel Joel's heart beating against your ribs, his deep breaths fanning across your shoulder and his unique scent all around you, on you. In spite of the cold air, your naked bodies are warm enough to stay comfortably in this position, at least for a while— however, there's something deep inside you that doesn't want this moment to end.

"Hey," you call him lowly and he hums in response, "can we order pizza?"

He nods faintly, "Anything you want, honey."

Anything.

If only.

"I'll call," you say. "Any specific requests?"

"As long as there isn't any pineapple on it, we're fine." You glance down at him, almost appalled.

"You don't like pineapple on pizza?"

"No. That's disgusting, come on."

"Oh, grow up!" he opens his mouth to retort, but when he sees your dismayed expression he can merely bark a laugh that you get infected with.

"Order whatever you want," he whispers in your ear. "But you'll have to promise something."

"What's that?" you raise an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Say you'll stay," he murmurs, slightly hesitant. "Stay here and spend the night with me."

The proposal takes you by surprise, so much that you actually stopped breathing. You ponder wether if you could or you should; because, at the end, what would a night really mean? What could possibly change?

Nothing, right?

Besides, no one had to know.

(...)

A few moments later you're downstairs looking for your phone, wearing nothing other than his green flannel. Joel decided to take a shower while you ordered the food and you chose to walk around the house, paying attention to the little details you hadn't quite noticed before.

Now that you see it, there are plenty of horse images here and there. Very Texan of Joel, you can't deny. Lots of pictures of Sarah growing up, some of him and Tommy and a good deal with your dad. None of his ex-wife. In fact, there's no proof that she even existed. You decide not too think too hard about it, since it was none of your business after all.

You pour yourself a glass of water and wander your eyes across the amount of pills he usually takes. Anxiety pills, painkillers, vitamins. What could possibly be troubling this middle-aged man so bad? Again, you decide to turn a blind eye and simply pick up the phone, expecting a message from your dad to tell you he arrived in Boston well and safe. Instead, you find that your direct messages in social media have new requests. Curious, you open them to see what the fuzz was about.

Hi!

This is Will

I don't know if Sarah mentioned me...

I'm her English teacher, haha

I hope you don't find this creepy, your profile popped up in my 'people you may know' section and since Sarah said she wanted to introduce us, I thought I might just say hi 😉

Honestly, with everything that went down you had nearly forgotten about Sarah's 'you should hang out with people your age' speech. And now that you were stalking his profile, he appeared to be maybe a couple years older than you— handsome in a boyish, intelectual way, if that made sense. Apparently, he studied in New York too, and lived in Queens.

Hi!

Yeah, I reckon she did

What's up, Queens? :)

You don't really expect a reply, not giving much thought to anything in the moment. Though, an involuntary smile twitches your lips when there's a quick message that reads "Not much, Brooklyn" and the writing bubble underneath.

After all, having a friend in Austin wouldn't hurt.

#pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal #joel miller fanfiction #dbf!joel #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller x y/n #joel miller smut #joel miller x you #tlou fanfiction #tlou hbo #the last of us hbo #the last of us au #smut

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missaengg · 3 months ago

Text

Drunk on You

Day 7 of Kinktober: Visions of Temptations hosted by @xxsycamore Featuring: Ikemen Villains | Ellis Twilight x f!reader Tags: mdni, smut and fluff, size kink, size difference, creampie, vaginal sex, established relationship Prompts: Size Kink | "Maybe I should be punished?" A/N: Combine the prompt list hosted by @natimiles, @valkyyriia, and @candied-boys found here with the dialogue prompt list hosted by @xxsycamore found here. Was so busy today I almost didn't get around to writing today's prompt, but pretty happy with how it turned out despite the very short turnaround time :) ao3 link here.

Ellis, despite being lean in stature, towered over you standing at almost six feet tall, and he loved it. He loved how he could hug you from behind and nestle his chin on your head. He loved how you buried your head into his chest when he hugged you. He loved the way you hopped on your tippy toes when you wanted to kiss him and he didn’t lean down for you.

And he loved how he dwarfed you when he was fucking you in bed. He loved the way his body covered yours when he was taking you from behind on all fours. He loved the way his arms enveloped you on his lap when you bounced up and down on his cock. He loved the way his hand could palm your ass as he held you up and fucked you against the wall.

Which was how he was currently fucking you, holding you up by the waist, your legs wrapped around his torso. He was buried as deep as he could go, which, despite all the times you’ve fucked, still surprised him, seeing his long length disappear fully into your petite pussy. Your eyes were closed, head back, mouth in that perfect little pout you made when he pummeled you. You clung to him tightly around his neck, a hand buried in his dark, wavy locks, and Ellis savored how light you were in his arms, how he could manipulate your tiny body against his cock in the air.

Ellis grunted into your shoulder, huffing with each constricting stroke of your walls along his shaft, his hands gripping your ass in place so he could thrust deeply up. Each breath brought with it the delicious scent of you, intoxicating and hypnotizing. His fingers grasped the soft flesh of your ass, each cheek fitting snugly into each hand. He was trying hard not to focus on the way your legs stayed so tight around him, keeping him buried in to the hilt with only an inch or so to move or the way your pussy clamped down around him in waves or the way his tip tapped your cervix with every tiny pump because he knew that if he did, he would unravel way too soon.

“Ellis,” you moaned – sultry, breathy sighs mixed with throaty cries of pleasure. “Ellis… Hah… Ellis…”

Ellis almost lost his composure at the mere sound of your sweet voice moaning his name, a long aching groan rumbling from deep within his chest. His dark, hooded gaze raked over the heated flush present on your face, sweeping along the hair plastered to your forehead by sweat to the sensual way you bit down on your succulent bottom lip. You looked disheveled and wild, thoroughly loved and possessed by him. Beautiful.

“Ellis.” An erotic little whine. “This is sinful.” A drawn-out, guttural moan. “You’re so… oh, fuck… so bad.”

Ellis agreed, smiling into your skin, the chuckle escaping him hot on your neck. “Maybe I should be punished?”

“Maybe… ngh… after you’re… hah… after you’re done with me.”

The little squeaks coming from you were too much for Ellis to ignore. He consumed your lips in a greedy kiss, desperate to taste you. He was drunk in his carnal desires, absolutely mad for more of you – more of your touch, more of your taste, more of your shallow breaths and throaty moans, more of the heated lust in the way you looked at him. He wanted, no, needed more of you.

“God, Ellis,” you whimpered into his mouth, matching the fervor of his dizzying kisses with a fervor of your own.

Ellis could feel your impending climax building, the grip around his dick growing more vicious and erratic, the delectable noises you were making intensifying with each swelling build.

“I’m close.”

Enraptured by your torrid whisper, Ellis feverishly increased his pace while planting searing kisses to every part of your face.

“Show me how happy you are.”

A passionate, strangled cry left your lips, and as you desperately convulsed around him, Ellis continued pushing into you, giving you something to milk until he too joined in your ecstasy spewing ribbon after ribbon until you were full of him. As you stilled, Ellis drank you in, captivated by the blissful glazed look you were giving him through half-lidded eyes.

God, you were adorable.

Panting into one another, Ellis touched his forehead to yours, carefully holding you securely against his shaking body. He could feel your heart beating rapidly in your chest, the way your chest expanded and constricted, your breasts pressing against him with every inhale.

“Happy?” he asked, mustering what little strength remained to will his vocal chords to speak.

“Extremely.”

Ellis melted when you nuzzled your face into the crook of his neck, though the prospect of preserving you at your happiest filled him with both excitement and dread. He inhaled deeply, but as if sensing his internal conflict, you interrupted him before he could verbalize his thoughts.

“But I think you can make me even happier tomorrow.”

This pleased him. Ellis sighed, partially in relief and partially in euphoric calm. He closed his eyes, resting his chin on the top of your head.

“I’ll make you the happiest you’ve ever been.”

#missaengg writes #kinktober #kinktober 2024 #visions of temptation 2024 #ellis twilight smut #ikemen villains ellis #ikevil ellis #ellis twilight #ikemen villains #ikevil #ikevil fanfiction

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valkyyriia · 6 months ago

Text

Banners and dividers by @/natimiles.

Birthday Jam-Bouree

Words: 789

CW: Fluff | SFW

Pairing: Ellis Twilight/Reader (unnamed, female pronouns)

Happy birthday to my best boy! 💜

Not posted on any other sites.

“You can open your eyes now, Ellis.”

Now given permission, Ellis looked around the room, his eyes widening in surprise seeing everything. All of this…?

“Happy birthday, Ellis!” She said warmly, a sunny smile on her face.

There was a small table to the side of the room that was piled high with dozens of neatly wrapped boxes. On the table occupying the center of the room was a beautifully decorated cake and a plate covered in all kinds of small finger foods. Ellis’ eyes narrowed in on a jar filled with a red substance of some kind, set enticingly in the middle of it.

“Did.. you really do all of this for me?” He murmured, looking back to his partner with shocked affection.

“Of course I did! It’s your birthday!” She rocked back and forth on her heels excitedly.

Ellis’ lips turned up at the sight. She really was too cute. “You really didn’t have to do all of this. I’d have been happy to spend my birthday making you happy.”

“Yes, but… it makes me happy to see you happy. You’re always doing what others want for the sake of their happiness and never really considering your own, so.. I wanted to get together all of your favorite things in one room.” She wrapped their fingers together and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. “So… let me spoil you. Please.” She smiled at him again, imploringly.

“Alright,” he acquiesced. “If that’s what you want. I can’t refuse you. But… if this ends up becoming your happiest moment, make sure you tell me.”

“Of course.” Her already bright smile turned radiant as she dragged him by the hand to the lone chair at the central table. She pressed down on his shoulders lightly to encourage him to sit. Once he was sat, she started introducing the things around the room.

“I know it looks like a lot, but there really isn’t as much as you think. Everyone contributed.” Ellis hummed in response, his eyes never really leaving her profile as she explained everything. Jude had even left his usual gift of a blank check with her this time. Ellis was only half paying attention to her words, though. He could look at what his partner and friends had gotten him later. Right now the only thing on his mind was how utterly adorable she was as she enthused on his behalf.

“What’s this about, Ellis?”

As she started to talk about his cake, Ellis let go of her hand and settled his palms around her waist instead. She tilted her head in confusion and stopped mid-sentence as he pulled her into his lap, her thighs parting on either side of his and her arms hooking around his neck.

“.. I wanted you to be closer.” His fingers rubbed gentle circles into her hip. “You can continue now.”

“I saw you looking at it so attentively earlier, so I’ll go ahead and tell you,” she began, her breath fanning over his face due to their proximity. “That jar you were staring at is more of that cranberry jam you love so much. We went through it so quickly last time I thought you’d appreciate having more.

“As far as everything else goes, you can have all the food you want. There’s more in the kitchens, so don’t worry about saving anything. It’s all for you today.”

“Thank you.” He kissed her forehead and reached around her to grab the jar of jam. He opened it and stuck a finger in, bringing it to his mouth for a taste. “Delicious.” He smiled with satisfaction. “But.. I think it could be improved.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “How? I thought it was your favorite?”

Rather than respond, Ellis dipped his fingers in the jar of jam again and gently spread it on her bottom lip.

“El-” she began, confused, but was cut off by Ellis’ lips capturing her own. He ran his tongue along her lip, tasting the jam alongside her own delectable taste. The tart sweetness of the cranberries exploded in both of their mouths as he kissed her deeply. Ellis pulled away after a moment, licking his lips contentedly. He ran his thumb over her lip again, admiring the color left behind by the jam. His partner was momentarily stunned.

“How does it taste?” He asked with a teasing smile.

“I think I might have to have another taste, to be sure,” she replied, breathless.

“I think that can be arranged. But,” Ellis whispered. “I think we’re going to need another jar by the time I’m done with you today. After all, you told me to eat all that I wanted. That includes you, right?”

Taglist: @natimiles @inkys-garden

#ikemen villains #ikevil #ikevil fanfiction #ikemen villains fanfiction #ellis twilight #ellis twilight x reader #ellis twilight/reader #ikevil ellis #ikemen villains ellis #otome fanfiction #otome fanfics #ikevil fanfics #ikemen villains fanfics #HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIS

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tofics · 7 months ago

Text

Broken - Chapter 4

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!Reader

Summary: A year has passed since Joel and Ellie have returned to Jackson when he finds you on patrol, half frozen and half burning up. Jackson takes you in and nurses you back to health, welcoming you as the newest member of their community. The more time passes, Joel realizes that you and him have more in common than he likes… Until one day, everything changes and you get a gift that he’ll never get.

Word Count: 5219 words

Warnings: Anxiety, so many feelings of shame, cursing, mention of male genitalia by name, mention of S/A, mention of S/H and finally, an itsy bitsy tiny bit of fluff!

Chapter 4 - It's Not You, It's Me

You wake in the early hours of dawn. It’s not as sudden and startling as your mornings usually start; shooting up from your recurring nightmares with a pounding heart and drenched in sweat. Instead you gradually come to the same way some people daze off to sleep, your consciousness drifting in and out of an awake state until your eyes slowly open.

The room is hazy and grey, specks of dust drift past the windows, barely visible in the twilight. Despite the bleak and cold scene, you feel warmth in your limbs and calmness in your chest. The first hiccup comes when your eyes trail a dust particle dancing around. As your eyes follow it across the room, you register the drawer, placed in the far off left corner instead of between the two windows facing the bed. Wrinkles form on your forehead as your gaze lingers on the piece of furniture, then deepen when you find a door instead of where the third window of your bedroom should be.

Where am I?

The answer comes to you when you try to sit up but are met with resistance: an arm wrapped around your torso. It’s loose, not anywhere close to holding you tightly, but for the split-second it takes you to place the arm with its owner, it feels constricting and threatening. You can feel your body tightening, getting ready to pump you full of adrenaline so you can escape your captor, but just then you spot Joel’s face and the memories of the past day flood your brain.

Ellie’s conversation. Your packed bag. Chopping wood in the ice-cold rain. Admitting you might hurt yourself, if you have to stay by yourself…

You wince when you remember your fall, the pain in your palm and knee suddenly present and stinging, but then your brain rewinds and you see yourself standing Joel’s kitchen again, unable to move at the thought of spending the night alone in your house, afraid of what you might do if there’s no one else to stop you.

The shame isn’t as searing hot as it was when you laid yourself bare to Joel. Now, in the hours after, it’s cold, sticky and slimy and foul-tasting. It trickles through your veins and coats your limbs from the inside out, eradicating every bit of warmth you accumulated over night.

Every single muscle in your body aches as you carefully slip out from under Joel’s arm. Your bones feel twice as heavy as the day before and the cut on your knee ignites in flames when you bend your leg. Yet none of these sensations compare in strength to the flight-instinct that has taken over. The idea of facing Joel when he wakes up, after everything he witnessed yesterday - it’s unbearable.

You’ve almost made it to the bedroom door when you hear him speak.

“Headin’ out?”

His voice is croaky, drenched with sleep, and somehow even more likable than his normal speaking voice. Your body freezes mid-step with your hand already on the doorknob. It feels like there’s a spotlight on you. Caught red-handed during your literal walk of shame.

“Uh.” You clear your throat and gaze at the floor, unable to meet his eyes. The goosebumps on your arms feel like tiny piercing needles.

“S’ okay,” he says when you come up empty on words. “You good to go? Want me to walk you home?” His offer adds another weight to your guilt-scale. It’s already so lopsided, the whole thing might tip over at any moment.

Joel begins to push his blanket back, seemingly getting up to accompany you home. It finally breaks you out of your trance.

Don’t. Please, don’t, you think, and when he halts his movements, you realize you didn’t only speak the words in your mind.

“I’m… I’m good. Uh… you should catch some more sleep. It’s still early.”

Silence fills the space between you two. Your eyes flicker up to his face when he doesn’t move or reply and what you see adds the final weight to the scale. There’s a hint of hurt written across his features, but it disappears just as quickly as it came. You see Joel’s walls coming down as his face hardens and you’re afraid you might throw up on his carpet, right here, right now.

The fuck am I putting this man through?

“Umh.” Your legs are itching to carry you out of this room at lightning speed, but you remain by the door, hand on the knob, held in place by guilt and something else that your shame refuses to name, but that you feel is owed regardless.

“Umh,” you repeat and it comes out even more coarse than the first time. “Y-uhh… thank you.” The shame in you howls in humiliation at your words, but you just bite down on your tongue. “You… uh, yeah. Thank you.”

It’s a pitiful attempt, so shallow in comparison to what he did for you, but it’s all you can muster. Whatever life-instinct brought you to the door promptly decides that you’ve paid your dues and before you know it, you’re out the door, down the stairs and back on the porch where you emptied out your stomach contents not even 24 hours earlier.

Joel’s known for his moods.

When Ellie and him returned to Jackson he had a hard time adjusting to the town’s climate. He’d brought his attitude, but he’d left his reputation back in Boston where people knew him, or at least of him. Here, besides Tommy there is only Maria who knows of his past and what he was capable of, and even though it’s clear she does not support the way in which her husband and his brother survived for many years, she condones it regardless. After all, you can’t forgive one man’s deeds to the point of marrying him and judge another man for the same actions in one breath.

The people of Jackson welcomed Ellie and him with open arms the same way they had welcomed his brother. The type of friendliness shown to Joel felt foreign and even dishonest at times, although he would later learn that the latter was not true and more his own distrust, born out of years of trauma and having to fend for himself. It took a while to dismantle the rough exterior that he had taken on over the years, one that people had learned to respect and fear in Boston.

But Boston had been another place and another time. Boston came before he was assigned a kid to bring across the country, a job for a reward and nothing more. He’d have never guessed he’d end up where he was now, without Tess but with Ellie, who had managed to heal the wound that Sarah left in his heart in a way that no one had been able to before. It wasn’t a replacement, a daughter could never be replaced, but Ellie brought something back in him that he forgot he ever had in the first place.

So even though he came to Jackson as a changed man, the people’s friendliness still irked him. Twenty years of conditioning are hard to shake, but he still tried, even if mostly for Ellie’s sake.

Still, there are things that can bring out the old Joel, the gruff and morose man who closes himself off from the community and speaks only in one-word-answers.

Today is one of those days.

Jackson’s people have learned to accept him the way he is on these days and to just leave him be, so when he barks at Jeff as he enters the stalls, the man knows not to take it personally.

“The fuck’re you doin’ here, man?”

“And a good morning to you too, Joel!” Jeff’s reply comes back dry and slightly sour. He’d been happy to be off morning patrol for the past two months. The riding didn’t go over well with his hemorrhoids, so he hadn’t been particularly thrilled when Tommy showed up at his door in the morning and told him he’d have to fill in for you for a couple of days.

“What?” Joel stills in his motions as the other man relays Tommy’s orders to him.

“That’s all I know.” Jeff shrugs and then lifts the heavy saddle on top of his horse - your horse - before adjusting its straps.

They ride in silence, much like you and Joel do, but it’s nowhere near the same. On top of it, Joel’s mind is anything but silent. Yesterday’s events keep running through his head on a loop, and his emotions shift with each new memory and thought.

The way you left this morning doesn’t sit right with him, but even more irritatingly, he doesn’t know why. He still hasn’t been able to fully pierce together what happened, but it’s clear that whatever set you off yesterday had nothing to do with him. He sees your outbreak for what it is - an outbreak - and there’s no judgement on his behalf, no damnation for your actions, as erratic as they may have been. He’s seen too much and been through too much to be in a position where he could allow himself to have an opinion on how you should deal with things.

And yet, he does have an opinion. It upsets him that you tried to sneak out this morning, although it’s less about trying to leave and more about the why. He could tell you felt ashamed as you stood by his bedroom door, avoiding his gaze at any cost. The feeling of humiliation rolled off of you in waves and struck him in the gut like an iron fist. It reminded him of the way he’d felt when the doctors were patching him up for his botched attempt at ending his own life. The vulnerability of having fallen apart openly and now having to face the aftermath. He recognized your shame as his own.

He hoped he could talk to you about it on patrol, but then Jeff showed up, and now he’s stewing in his own feelings and is close to boiling over.

Joel’s pissed at himself. There’s a snarky voice in his head that keeps taunting him about getting involved. This is what you get for caring, it says, in a disgusting sing-song-voice that he’d love to choke if he could. It’s the voice that accompanied him for so many years while he just survived. It became more quiet when he met Tess, even more when he met Ellie. He heard it less and less as they travelled the country together and he’s barely heard it since they settled in Jackson. It pisses him off that the voice is suddenly back, prominent and fucking annoying as ever, trying to drown out every other thought and opinion he has.

In his opinion, he’s the fool, not you. He should have found the words to let you know it’s okay when you got overwhelmed by how much you’d let him see. He shouldn’t have let you leave by yourself to fall into the hole of shame he’d fallen into himself so many times. But he did, and he’s pissed about it. He let your shame infect him and now you’re both paying for it.

The voice yammers on and on and it takes everything in Joel not to scream out loud in frustration. By the time him and Jeff are back from patrol, he has two plans to make it right. The first is to look for you and to talk to you, to make up for his lack of action in the morning. The second is to drown his thoughts in as many glasses of whiskey as it takes.

Plan A doesn’t go as he hoped it would. You’re not at lunch, and when he finally makes it to the dining hall for dinner, he only catches the sight of your jacket as you’re flowing out of the other exit.

He doesn’t have any better luck on the next day either. You’re nowhere to be seen, and he’s considering going to your house when Ellie plops down next to him with a heavy sigh and says “I’m sorry” with a more-than-guilty expression on her face.

“What’d you do?” He raises his eyebrows at her expectantly, momentarily distracted from his conundrum.

“I think it’s my fault that she flipped out,” Ellie says and pokes around her food discontentedly.

“I’m gonna need more than that, kid.”

The youngster sighs. Next to the guilt that’s written across her face, there’s also a hint of discomfort about her.

“I think she heard me and Jessica when she slept over. We were talking about… stuff and then I thought I heard something in the hallway. When I looked outside I saw her running to her house. I didn’t think much of it first, I thought she just forgot something on her way to the stalls, but then later, when you and her were in the backyard and she was screaming…” Ellie trails off, but Joel doesn’t need her to finish the sentence. He needs something else instead.

“What were you ‘n Jessica talking about?” His voice is serious, steady. He sees redness flowing into Ellie’s cheeks as she averts his gaze and focuses on her food.

“Umh… penises.”

The reply baffles Joel and he suddenly feels his own cheeks reddening.

Fuckin’ teenagers, man. He takes a big breath.

“O-kay. And?”

Ellie looks at him in confusion. “What do you mean, and?”

“Listen, kid, I get that talkin’ ‘bout penises might be’n awkward topic for y’all girls, but I doubt it’d warrant that kind of response on its own. So I’m askin’: what specifically did y’all say?”

“Oh.” The shade of pink on Ellie’s face turns a little darker before she responds. “Uh, remember when we came across those people-eating people, after the hospital in Salt Lake City?” Joel nods, and she continues. “I told Jessica about how that fucking preacher tried to, you know…” The sentence hangs unfinished in the air, and Joel’s hunger disappears within seconds. They never talked about what happened before on that day, not in detail. Ellie was too distraught at the time and he just wanted to see her happy again. She has told him bits and pieces since then, but never the full deal. He knew she’d tell him when she was ready. He had assumed things, of course, but in his fantasy, he’d never ventured as far as there. In his thoughts, she was traumatized from having to fight for her life, not because someone tried to force himself on her.

The idea of it alone turns his stomach and sends fire through his veins. The grip on his fork tightens to the point where his knuckles turn white and he takes a few deep breaths. “Did he?” Joel searches Ellies face and when she isn’t answering, he grabs one of her hands and holds it firmly, yet with care. “Ellie, did he?”

When she finally shakes her head, he feels a massive weight lifted off his chest. He squeezes her hand and she squeezes it back with a sad smile. At the sight of it, Joel’s once again overcome with the reality of what she’s had to face in her short life. Before he knows what he’s doing, he’s leaned over to her and has pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “It ain’t your fault, baby girl.”

“But-,” Ellie starts, but he shakes his head no and cuts her off. “No. It’ ain't your fault, Ellie.”

You have successfully avoided Joel for the better part of four days when he manages to corner you just before dinner. You’re distracted, filling the bread baskets at the far end of the dining hall when you hear steps approaching from you from behind, followed by the familiar sound of someone clearing his throat.

Fuck.

You’re not ready to see him yet, not yet ready for the questions which you’re sure are coming, not ready to give answers and to face the memories that’ll inevitably come with them. You let out a sigh and it almost sounds like a whine.

“Joel, listen-,” you start as you turn to face him, but you find him with his arms raised and the softest look you’ve seen on his face yet. It takes you by surprise so much that you forget what words were supposed to come out of your mouth next.

“Hey, you’re all good,” he speaks into your silence. “Just came to say I’m sorry if I overstepped that evening.”

Over the past few days, you managed to keep the waves of shame at bay, yet you feel another one washing over you at his unwarranted apology. Your face distorts into a grimace, an unconscious response to the guilt you feel towards the man in front of you. Here he is, apologizing to you, when it should be the other way around.

What’s wrong with me?

“You have nothing to apologize for, Joel. If anything, I’m the one that should be doing the apologizing.” You’re wringing your hands as the words tumble out of your mouth.

Joel just shakes his head. “Nothin’ you need to be apologizin’ for to me. I get it. Everyone’s got their bad days.”

This earns him a dry laugh and crooked, albeit sad smile. “That was way more than a bad day.”

“Fine, real fuckin’ shitty day then. Whatever.” He shrugs and returns your crooked smile.

For the very first time in four days, you find yourself laughing. “Yeah, whatever. Just had a mental breakdown. No big deal.”

“Now that’s the spirit.” Joel gently elbows you and the two of you share a laugh together. It feels good, but despite him making light of the situation, you still feel the pang of shame in your tummy at the thought of what you put him through.

“You should come over tonight, play cards with us. Ellie’s been asking about you.” The fine lines around his eyes deepen as he smiles. You can’t help but think how handsome it is. The thought colors your cheek a soft hue of pink. At the same time, you feel a twinge of guilt when he mentions Ellie. It somehow never occurred to you that in the process of avoiding Joel, you were avoiding her also.

Fuck. She saw all of that too.

“Ahh... I don't know, Joel. I mean... are you sure I didn't freak her out?"

"She's seen way freakier than you. Girl's been up-close with some clickers n'a bloater. Way more scary than you gettin' a lil' huffy 'n puffy for a minute."

"Pah." The scoff comes out paired with a dry laugh. "How reassuring that cordyceps is still scarier than me."

"Oh yeah. You ain't got a chance in that fight, missy. Infected got you beat by a long shot." He winks at you and you feel an involuntary grin spread across your lips. You try to hide it, but you can tell Joel has already seen it by the mischievous glint in his eyes. His face has triumph written all over it.

"So, you comin' over later or what?"

You don't have to reply for both of you to know the answer.

"Be right back, ladies." Joel plays his turn, then sets his cards down and gets up from the table. You hear him mount the stairs, presumably sauntering off to the bathroom.

You patiently wait as Ellie studies her own hand. She glances over to the crooked pile of UNO cards in the middle, then peeks over at Joel's cards facing upside down on his placemat. When your eyes meet across the table, she wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. "Should we...?" she whispers, one hand already stretched out towards his cards.

"Ellie!" You feign a gasp, but the grin on your face tells its own story.

"Come on!" Ellie urges you on. "Motherfucker's been winning all damn night!"

Her hand hovers above his stack of cards. Not even a second after your nod of approval she's got them in her hand, her eyes feverishly scanning the numbers and signs. "That asshole's got another +4 card AND two more blue +2 cards."

Your lips purse as yours and Ellies eyes meet over the table, exchanging meaningful glances. Then you both spring into action.

"Quick, before he comes back," you whisper and quickly disperse the leftover cards between the two of you. It only takes you a couple of seconds to find cards in the stack that will help both of you battle what looks to be Joel's fourth stop on his winning streak.

Not a moment later, everything is back in place and the leftover card's and Joel's hand are exactly where they were in the first place, down to the inch. You nod in respect for Ellie's precision, which earns you a crooked grin. You love these moments of banter between the teenager and yourself. Even though she frequently reminds you of her, the similarities have slowly turned into more of a comfort than a distressful reminder.

"It's cool you're back. I know it was only a few days, but he was even grumpier than usual when you avoided him."

Oh.

"More grumpy? Is that even possible?" You joke, but something inside you moves uncomfortably. Neither your outburst nor your absence had been part of the evening conversation so far, save for Joel's unwarranted apology in the dining hall.

Ellie snorts and rolls her eyes. "Like you wouldn't believe. You haven't even seen the half of it." Something in her face changes. "I think he missed you."

The idea shouldn't be as foreign to you as it is in this moment. From an outsiders perspective, you and Joel probably pass as friends. You've never thought about it before, there was never a reason to. Things simply were as they were, no need for labels or speculations about what you are or aren't. You just spend a lot of time with him and Ellie. You are a steady guest in their kitchen. So why wouldn't he miss you?

Did I miss him?, you wonder but come up empty on an answer. Shame had reigned for most of the past days. It left little room for any other feelings. The only steadfast companion it had was loneliness, which, now that you think about it, had howled louder than it had for a while.

It takes you a moment to realize that silence has settled between you and Ellie while you pondered over your thoughts. Ellie is watching you curiously, gauging your reaction with shameless curiosity. You respond with a small smile, choosing not to comment on her statement. You're not sure what you'd have to say anyway.

"I'm sorry, by the way."

"For what?" Your eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"For what I told Jessica a few days ago. I know you overheard."

Your stomach cramps up at once and you avert her eyes in shame.

"I'm sorry that did something to you," Ellie continues quietly and it breaks your heart right there and then, this young and cheerful girl dutifully apologizing to you over something that happened to her. It's so wrong and twisted and at the same time such a large testament to her character and her big heart.

"Oh, Ellie." You slide from your chair with a teary gasp and drop to your knees in front of the young teenager. "If anyone owes you an apology, it's that... that asshole who did that to you. You didn't deserve that, especially not at your age."

Your hands have found hers. You cradle them inside yours as tears drop down into her lap. You realize that some of them are hers, rolling over her cheeks and past the sad smile on her lips. "Yeah, well. I killed them. So." She pairs the heavy words with a lighthearted shrug, as if that could reduce the weight behind them. It tears at your heart and something inside you screams and roars as you're overcome with empathy and rage at the same time.

There are so many things you want to say, but you can't find the words for any of them. "Oh," is all that comes out instead as you wrap your arms around Ellie and hold her tight. You can feel how stiff she is at first, surprised by your embrace, but then her arms snake around your back. You stay like this for a moment, intertwined in each other's arms, your embrace saying everything to her that your mouth can't put into words.

"I'm sorry I overheard you. That wasn't my place," you say quietly before pulling back eventually. You find her eyes and gently press her hands, adding sincerity to your words.

"Eh." Ellie gives you another shrug. This time, however, her smile is more genuine. "I'm sorry, too. For whatever you went through." Her lips turn thin as she presses them into a line. "Must've sucked, whatever it was. You didn't deserve that either."

If you weren't already crying, you sure would be by now. Before you can reply anything, Joel steps back into the room. You quickly retreat to your seat and wipe your eyes, avoiding his questioning look as he scans the room. "Everything alright 'n here?"

Ellie answers in your place. "Everything's grand. Can we get back to playing, now that you're done pooping?" The humor is childish, but you can't help but giggle anyway. Joel shoots her a glare first, then grimly looks at you. "Sure, encourage her. Make her think she's a real comedic genius."

"She doesn't have to. I know I am." Ellie sticks her tongue out at him.

You're about to head out when Joel stops you by the door. "Hey, hold up." His hand reaches out and gently tugs on your wrist. Somehow he's acutely aware of the fact that it's the first time he's touched you since you left his bed that morning.

Stranger still, he feels a sense of longing at the touch.

How 'bout you get your head straight, he scolds himself. He held you to provide comfort. To help you out in a moment of need. Nothin' more than that.

"Hmm?" You hum as you turn back to him with an expectant smile.

Good, he thinks. You look good with a smile. A lot saner too than you did a few days ago. You had a dullness in your eyes that entire day, like you were far away and barely present inside your body. It was frightening. Way too familiar. You look better now with that smile on your face and color in your cheeks. Your eyes have more life in them too. Good.

Still, he has to make sure.

"You good?" Joel asks you quietly. He watches your face as you process the question and takes in every little detail; the way your brows furrow slightly, your shoulders tensing just a smidge, the brief moment where your lips tense up. All of it goes away as you sigh.

"Yeah." The waver in your voice doesn't go unnoticed by him and he raises an eyebrow. "I mean, no, but, you know. Gonna be." You rub your neck before you continue.

"I mean it," you say and there's sincerity in your voice as your eyes find his. "I'm okay. Not gonna... do anything stupid, you know."

Joel can tell you're uncomfortable being put on the spot like this, and he almost feels sorry, but he has to know, make sure you're good to go by yourself. He eyes you for a moment longer and scans your body for clues that might give away the opposite, but to his satisfaction, he comes up empty. Good.

"Alright," he nods. "'S' okay if you are though. Just lemme know. 'Kay?"

You shuffle your feet and scrunch your nose, obviously anything but inclined to let him know. Even though it's far from what he wants you to say, he can't help but think how goddamn adorable you look with your nose all scrunched up like that.

Get your head in the game, man!

"Hey." He nudges your arm, followed by an 'eyes-on-me' motion with his hands. "You lemme know. Got it?"

Unlike his request before, this one is now filled with authority. You've heard him give orders to other people in the same tone and now you're getting the look that comes with the tone. Joel's dark eyes are staring down at you in a manner that make it very clear that a 'no' is not an acceptable option. You squirm uncomfortably, but he keeps staring you down, all authority and nothing like the Joel that you sat at the table with for the past few hours.

"Fine," you press out eventually, if only to stop him from staring at you. Even though it comes out as anything but agreeable, it seems to satisfy him. You watch as his features soften and see the Joel you played cards with return.

"Good," he says and then leans forward and presses a kiss to your forehead in one swift motion. "G'night." He's barely mumbled his goodbye before he's back inside the house and has closed the door.

You, on the other hand, remain in your spot on his porch, dumbfounded by the fond gesture. You can still feel the touch of his lips where they met your skin just seconds ago.

It takes a good minute before you can get your body to move. The touch lingers on your skin like an echo that reverberates all the way back to your house. You can still feel it when you slip under your covers and pull them tight around yourself, snuggling yourself into a cocoon of blankets and comfort.

His lips felt so soft against your skin. You never thought his lips would be so soft. You never thought about Joel's lips before period, but still. It surprised you. He's kind to you, even more so to Ellie, but you see the way he responds to other people in town, the way he's sometimes downright gruff. You didn't think a man with such a tough exterior could be so soft.

Then again, what was he if not soft on the day you temporarily lost some of your marbles? Sure, he got rough and loud when you weren't listening, but you weren't listening, and he was just trying to get through to you, wasn't he?

What's a man if not soft when he holds you through you the night, through your pain?!

And - perhaps more importantly - what is a man to you when he holds you through the night?

The question is too big and layered with possibilities for you to have an immediate answer.

You mull over it as your eyes are getting heavy and your thoughts less coherent, a slow and steady vortex that carries you off to sleep.

His goodbye rings in your ears as sleep slowly pulls you under. "G'night," on a loop, followed by his lips to your forehead. A soft smile spreads across your lips while your eyes are already closed. "Good night," you whisper, and then you're out.

It doesn't occur to you once that you had no trouble falling asleep.

Series Masterlist - Mobile Masterlist

A/N: Finally, it's here! Took a bit longer than planned, but better late than never :)

Feedback is always appreciated! If you have any requests, feel free to send them my way. I'm always happy to practice my writing! :)

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters!

Tag list: @eternallyvenus @frogsdeservelovetoo @akisfoxdevil @southernbe @nutterbitter @sunandmuun @noisynightmarepoetry @puduvallee @picketniffler @yesjazzywazzylove-blog @orcasoul @foomoosworld @aryaharmon @lilmizmoz @ashleyfilm

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dean-winchester-is-a-warrior · 1 year ago

Text

The Dangers of Hope Ch. 2

Series Summary: When Y/N shows up at Camp Chitaqua with her little girl in tow, her bloodshot eyes leave no doubt that she's infected. Or is she? Everything Dean has come to know for certain over the last five hellish years, is about to be challenged.

Pairings/Characters in the series: Endverse!Dean x Reader, Emma (OFC), Castiel, Sam Winchester, Lucifer, Michael, Zachariah, Risa, Johnston (OMC), Patrick (OMC), Theresa (OFC),other survivors and soldiers.

Series Explicit 18 +/Warnings: Show level violence, some gore, angst, smut, fluff all the usual for a series of mine. ❤️ Endverse!Dean (that's a warning for his anger and callousness as well as his extreme hotness. 😁) Each chapter will have their own specific warnings.

Chapter Warnings: Not too much. A mention of recurring nightmares, some talk of fears.

Word Count: 4,240

A/N: So, I've had this idea for quite a while. Basically since I watched The Last of Us. I loved Pedro in the role of Joel, but I kept thinking how incredible Jensen would have been. Which then made me think of how amazing he was as Endverse!Dean which then led me to this idea. Lol! I've stolen the premise of Ellie's storyline from TLOU, but made her a grown up, a reader insert, and a love interest for Dean.

If you've never seen TLOU, don't worry - you don't need to have seen it to understand this story. 😊

I've taken some liberties with the Endverse in my story, changed a few things from canon, but kept lots of things too.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the story. It will be ten chapters and I will do my very best to post one chapter every weekend. ❤️

A/N 2: Thank you SO much to everyone who was so kind and gave such a lovely reception to the first chapter of the series. I hope you enjoy this new chapter too! ❤️

Series Master List || Tag Lists

The dividers used here were created by @saradika .

The big, wide log cabin seemed so completely empty after Dean Winchester left, as though his presence alone was what had filled it.

The blue-eyed man - Castiel - ran after him quickly, shouting an order to a guard outside to let no one go in.

So Y/N sat completely still, listening to the muffled sounds of camp life happening on the other side of the pine walls. Her exhausted brain was trying to comprehend what had happened, trying to piece it all together.

The first person she'd encountered had been the woman, Risa. She and another soldier had been guarding the border of the camp when Y/N and Emma finally stumbled out of the forest.

Y/N was fairly certain she would have been shot on site if Emma hadn't been there. Instead, their hesitation gave her the chance to swear up and down that, despite appearances, she wasn't a Croat.

The two soldiers had eye-balled each other and Risa had finally told the other guard to stay at the outpost.

“The Boss is still out on the raid. I'm taking them to Castiel.”

She'd pulled the heavy chains and manacles out of the guard post shack, and brought Y/N, cuffed and bound, to see Castiel. She’d met with him in the big cabin, tying Y/N to the table and then explaining things to him. He'd seemed a bit out of it at first, but then seemed to sober up quickly when Risa explained the situation to him a second time. Then he examined Y/N and made her tell him the story again. His face got progressively more dumbstruck as she spoke.

When he was informed that the Boss was back, he'd told Risa to take Emma away somewhere safe while they all talked.

Now, in the big, lonely cabin Y/N had to shake her head. She’d been so certain, in the end, that she was going to die. But Dean had walked away and left her breathing.

Just another miracle that somehow kept her alive for one more day.

The evening wore on and the light began to disappear, leaving only a dusky blue twilight inside the cabin. She didn't like the night time and the dark. It was a fear that had started with the poltergeist when she was sixteen - when every time she turned off the light and closed her eyes, something evil emerged to cause her pain and terrorize her in the dark.

Before long, the very last of the twilight left the room, and unknown, unkind darkness loomed all around her, and she began to feel the panic rising. But suddenly, just before it could take hold completely, Dean strode through the door, carrying a bright lantern that banished the dark. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to see him in spite of everything.

He moved to stand directly in front of her, almost exactly where he stood when he’d elected not to shoot her. She looked up at him and gave a slight smile, not knowing what else she could do. Then she thought to ask the question foremost on her mind.

“Can I see Emma? I'd like her to know I'm safe.”

“No.” He said, shooting down the request without hesitation. He moved over to a metal folding chair that sat at the end of one of the tables and pointed at it.

“I'm gonna sit right here, all night, not sleeping. And if you so much as twitch? I promise I'll put you down.”

Y/N still couldn't help but appreciate the light he'd brought in for her, and the fact that she was still breathing, so she gave another half smile. “Okey dokey.”

He looked briefly taken aback by her response before his scowl returned. He plunked himself down on the chair and folded his arms across his chest, sitting up ramrod straight. It didn't look very comfortable.

But then, her spot on the hard floor, chained to the table, wasn't all that comfy either. But she decided she was grateful that the length of the chain allowed her to comfortably move her arms around. That was something.

She leaned back against the wide metal leg of the table and tried to relax. But soon her active mind was wandering and she stole a glance at Dean, wondering about how very different he was now. Of course twelve years was a long time in the best of circumstances. Twelve years spent fighting monsters and battling through an apocalypse was bound to change a person.

As she stared at him he turned his head and caught her at it outright. She blushed slightly and decided to cover with a question. “Can I see Emma tomorrow?”

“No.” Dean said before going back to staring at the far wall.

His outright refusal was frustrating. But she worried that arguing with him might be considered “twitching”, so she kept her mouth closed.

The silence stretched out again and made Y/N antsy. She was used to Emma’s little-girl-babbling, her singing, and just her general five-year-old noisiness. The camp was mostly silent on the other side of the wall as well, only the crickets could be heard, playing their creaky songs.

Her eyes once again settled on the only interesting thing in the room, Dean. She tried to be less obvious about staring this time, but realized she’d failed when he spoke harshly without looking in her direction.

“Why are you staring at me?” His voice was full of annoyance.

“I’m not.” She said quickly and unconvincingly.

He finally looked at her and his face was cold and angry. She remembered that he used to have a really bright, beautiful smile.

“Why can’t I see Emma?” She asked, aware she was probably pushing buttons she shouldn't.

Dean ignored her and slowly looked away again. Y/N huffed out an angry puff of air and despite her worries about riling him, decided to argue. “She’s my daughter. I just want to make sure she’s okay, and let her know that I’m okay too.”

He remained silent and Y/N’s voice became desperate. “Please!”

Dean swung his head back to look at her angrily. “Look, I’m probably going to end up shooting you. When that happens, do you want her to have to go through all of it again? Or worse, have her sitting in the room when you turn and I have to take you out?”

Y/N felt a lump form in her throat, but she shook her head. “No.” She said softly.

Dean lifted his hand and then dropped it, looking away again. “So okay. Then shut up about it.”

Y/N was only a little offended and sighed slowly. After being quiet for a minute she spoke with another frustrated sigh.

“Okay, but do we just have to sit here? This is boring.” Her eyes lit up slightly. “We could play twenty questions.”

Dean looked back at her and his expression was finally registering as something other than angry or blank. He obviously thought she was nuts.

She shrugged. “Just to pass the time.” When he just continued to stare, she shook her head. “No? How ‘bout the alphabet game?”

Dean’s perplexed expression fell back into his usual scowl but Y/N trudged on anyway. “The alphabet game is where you pick a subject, like countries of the world, or 80s action movies or something, and then go back and forth, each having to come up with something that matches the next letter. Like if I said ‘Action Jackson’, you’d say…’Beverly Hills Cop’, then I’d say-”

“Shut. Up.” Dean said succinctly. His mossy green eyes were dark, and quiet frustration oozed out of him.

Y/N slumped back against the table leg. “Sorry. I talk when I'm nervous, and when I’m bored. So, it’s a double whammy here. Hence the motor mouth.”

“Go to sleep.” Dean said in a clipped tone.

“I have too much adrenaline for sleep. I WAS almost shot today, after all.”

Dean’s jaw clenched before he looked away from her again and leaned back slightly in the chair. “If you don’t shut up and go to sleep I may change my mind about the ‘almost’ part.”

Y/N bit her lip trying to suppress a giggle as exhaustion and adrenaline combined with her twisted sense of humor. The result was a loud snort that had Dean once again looking at her like she was nuts.

She smiled at him, wishing he’d smile back, and shared the movie quote that was tickling her funny bone.

“Good night, Westley. Good work, sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”

When Dean just stared at her silently, she shook her head. “Princess Bride? No? It’s a classic.”

She swore she saw his hand move towards the holster on his thigh and she raised her hands in surrender. “Okay. Sorry. I’ll be quiet now.”

Dean stared a while longer at her and she wondered if he really was contemplating shooting her, until he finally looked away and settled himself more comfortably in the chair.

She sighed. It was gonna be a long night.

***

Y/N was floating down a river in a little canoe. Emma was sitting across from her and talking to her, though she was still a baby.

“We’re lost, Mommy.” She said and Y/N shook her head. She had to keep her baby safe and that included keeping her safe from the truth.

“No we’re okay, baby.” Y/N said as the river got choppy and sharp rocks jutted out, waiting for them around every bend. They careened straight towards one, and Y/N could do nothing to steer the canoe around it; the one oar she had was mostly turning her in circles. They smashed into the rocks and the boat began filling with water.

“Mommy, the water is coming up.” Said Baby Emma. “We’re gonna drown.”

“No, we won’t baby. I won’t let us.”

Y/N tried to scoop the water out with her hands, but it was just too fast. They were sinking. Y/N grabbed for Emma but the baby began to float away.

“Emma!” Y/N called out to her daughter as she floated farther and farther away. But even though she was almost a mile away, Y/N could still hear her little voice right in her ear.

“You lost me, mommy. I can’t come back, I’m lost.”

“No! I didn’t!” Y/N cried out, jerking awake.

The cabin had sunshine pouring in through the east-facing windows. It was morning, she was alive, and so was Emma, she reassured herself, she was just out somewhere in the camp. Her recurring nightmare could be left in the shadows. She took a deep breath and looked over at Dean. He was staring intensely at her. She raised her hands.

“Sorry, not ‘twitching’, just a bad dream.”

Dean still didn’t blink. It was unnerving. “Did you really not sleep at all?” Y/N asked.

“Said I wouldn’t.”

Y/N took in his posture in the chair, straight and alert; he’d barely moved an inch all night. It made her smile and shake her head.

“Huh.”

Dean’s scowl was firmly in place. “What?” He questioned.

Y/N shrugged. “No, nothing. It’s just good to see that things haven’t changed much, after all.”

Dean scoffed. “Woman, everything in the world has changed.” He looked away from her. “And it just keeps changing every day.”

“Maybe,” Y/N conceded. “But yet here you are, all these years later, and you’re still protecting people.”

His head swung back towards her and he seemed offended. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Y/N lifted a manacled wrist and gestured beyond the cabin. “You sat up all night, in what I can only assume to be the world’s most uncomfortable chair, to make sure that everyone in the camp was safe from a potential monster.” She shrugged again. “Because you’re still protecting people.”

“That is not what this is.” Dean said angrily, and Y/N raised an eyebrow.

“No?”

“No.” Dean reiterated. “I am the leader of this camp, and leaders do their own dirty work. If you turn, I’m gonna be the one to shoot you.”

“To save your soldiers having to do it.” Y/N said with a nod.

“No!” Dean barked. It surprised her that he was so angry about what she was saying. It was obvious to her. The hunter she’d known may have turned into a soldier, may have gotten a little harder, but from everything she’d seen, he was still Dean Winchester underneath.

His face was a snarl now, though. “Look, I don’t want you thinking I’m some kind of benevolent nursemaid here.” Dean tried to explain. “Everyone in camp has jobs, has their roles. It’s how we’ve all survived so far. My role is to keep the camp guarded. And I do that so everyone else can perform their roles. It’s simply a matter of survival. If you turn into a Croat and start killing folks, that lowers our numbers, makes us all more vulnerable. That’s all this is. So don’t go thinking I’m some kind of bleeding heart. When the time comes, I will take you down.”

Y/N nodded slowly. “Okay.” She said calmly. She didn’t really believe a word of it. But she wouldn’t argue with his need to make her see him as deadly.

“I mean it. I won’t hesitate.” Dean said coldly.

“But,” Y/N looked at him and gave a small smile, “you already did. Hesitate, I mean.”

Dean’s jaw ticked. “Are you taunting me?” His voice was low and very menacing.

Y/N raised her hands, making the chains rattle. “No!” She denied vehemently. “I’m not taunting you, I’m thanking you. That hesitation saved my life.”

Dean’s glare was hot and angry. “Well, like I told you, things change real quick these days, so don’t tempt me.”

He turned away from her again and Y/N lowered her hands. His attitude was not what she’d expected. He honestly seemed insulted that she’d implied that he was a good man who made it his mission to keep people safe.

Silence descended again, until Y/N began shifting around, noisily rattling her chains.

“Stay still.” Dean barked without looking at her.

“I can’t.” Y/N said, slightly embarrassed. “I…I have to…pee.”

Dean turned to look at her for a moment and then shrugged. “Go ahead.”

Y/N’s face scrunched up in disgust. “Ew.” When Dean made no move to rectify the situation, she let out an annoyed huff. “Do you at least have a bucket?”

Dean continued to stare at her for a long time, before calling out. “Johnston!”

A thin man holding a rifle stepped in the door. He’d clearly been standing just outside. “Yes sir?”

“I need your help with the latrine.”

“Sir?” The young man’s face was confused and Y/N snorted out a laugh.

Dean shot her a dirty look. “Shut up.” He ordered. She bit her lip to stifle her smile.

He turned back to the soldier. “With her, Johnston.” He said, pointing at Y/N. “I need help taking her to the latrines. I’m gonna hold her chains, so I need you to keep a gun on her.”

“Oh!” The man was clearly very relieved. “Yes sir.”

Dean stood up and took a key from the inside pocket of his green canvas jacket, bending to unlock the padlock that kept Y/N attached to the table. He pulled her to her feet and she stumbled into him, her legs being slightly wobbly and asleep from her uncomfortable position.

“Sorry.” She said, suddenly shy as she stood so near him. She looked up into his face and was slightly mesmerized by his shining emerald eyes and the dusting of freckles on his cheeks. He really was remarkably beautiful, moreso today than when he’d come to save her all those years ago.

Dean just grunted and stepped back, holding her thick chains in his big hand easily. He took the lead, his long strides forcing her to jog along behind him or risk being dragged all the way.

The camp was still just waking up and she could smell coffee brewing around the campfires where people sat sleepily rubbing their eyes and then popping them wide open as the strange procession passed by them. She tried to smile at them, but the fear on their faces made her remember her bloodshot eyes, and she lowered her head. They probably thought their leader had gone crazy, dragging a Croat around on a leash.

After a few minutes of walking they reached a row of outhouses, plain but well built. Dean pointed to the one on the end of the row and Y/N went in. She stopped just inside the door, looking back at Dean.

“Are you going to let go of the chain?”

“No.”

She frowned and waved her hand at the wooden door. “I can’t close the door if the chain is in the way.”

Dean just shrugged in answer.

Y/N’s face was imploring. “Come on.”

Dean said nothing.

Y/N gritted her teeth. “Well could you at least look the other way?”

“No.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and let out a little growl of frustration. “For pete’s sake, I am in chains, and you’re holding on to them! Where the hell am I gonna go if you look away for a minute?”

Dean stared at her a moment longer before finally, begrudgingly, turning his head.

“Thanks.” Y/N mumbled, trying to pull the door over as far as it would go with the chain stopping it.

When she was finished, she came out with pink cheeks. There was no way both men hadn’t heard her peeing. There were definitely some real indignities involved in people thinking you were a monster.

When they got back to the cabin, Dean was locking Y/N back up to the table, crouched down beside her, when her stomach rumbled from hunger. He ignored it, double checking her manacles before walking out and leaving Johnston watching over her with his rifle.

A few minutes later though, a young girl, probably no more than thirteen, came in with a bowl of oatmeal and some canned oranges. She also had a cold glass of water on the tray and Y/N groaned out loud. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was until she saw it there. Her groan seemed to startle the girl who was approaching Y/N with considerable trepidation.

Y/N tried smiling again, knowing there was nothing she could do to change her bloodshot eyes, but hoping she could still show kindness in them.

“Hi.” She said softly. “My name is Y/N, what’s yours?”

“Theresa.” The girl said, as she came a little closer. “Boss told mom to make you some breakfast and she sent me to bring it.”

Y/N nodded. “Thank you so much. It smells delicious. Tell your mother I said thank you as well.”

Theresa nodded back and finally came up beside her to set the tray within reach on the floor. Then she scuttled away quickly and Y/N tucked into the food. The oatmeal was slightly stale and plain with nothing to go in it, but it was warm and filling and the oranges were sweet and juicy despite their slightly tinny taste. It was the best meal she’d had in well over a week and she was grateful to Dean, the man who didn’t care about anyone, for providing it for her.

She hoped Emma was eating well this morning too, and that she was somehow coping with everything. She closed her eyes and tried to send her daughter strength.

The next few days passed much in the same way. Dean would watch her every night, assuring her that he was watching for any signs she was turning. But a couple days in, she woke up in the night to see his head slumped onto his chest, exhaustion finally winning out over any remaining fears he had of her changing.

On her fifth morning, Dean was locking her back up to the table after a visit to the latrines (during which he now allowed her to take the chain in with her and shut the door), when he swore and grabbed onto her right hand. He pushed the manacle up further on her arm and examined her wrist where it had been rubbed raw on the underside.

“What the fuck? Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”

Y/N shrugged. “Didn’t hurt that much, and I figured you wouldn’t care, you know, if you were still figuring on shooting me.” She said with a teasing smile.

Dean gave her his usual dirty look. “Yeah well, I wouldn’t want you to die of sepsis before I get the chance.”

He called to Patrick whose turn it was to guard the cabin for that morning. When the red-headed man stepped inside, Dean told him to bring a first aid kit from the medical tent. When Patrick left, Dean pulled another key from inside his jacket and unlocked the manacle on Y/N’s right hand.

Her arm felt strange without the extra weight of the manacle and chain. Dean checked her other wrist, satisfied that she only had the one wound. When Patrick returned with the first aid kit, Dean began cleaning the raw spot on Y/N’s grubby skin.

As he worked, Theresa came in with Y/N’s breakfast. She pulled up short when she saw Dean there, since he was usually gone by the time she came in. Y/N tried to encourage her forward.

“Thank you, Theresa. Don’t worry, your boss is just fixing up a scratch on my wrist. You can still bring breakfast over.”

The girl hesitated before moving over to Y/N and setting the tray on the floor. “Have you seen Emma today?” Y/N asked.

Most of the time, she tried desperately not to think about what her daughter was going through. If she were to dwell on it too long it would drive her mad. As it was, the nightmare of watching Emma float away from her, was coming two or three times a night now.

The girl looked afraid to answer with Dean there and kept glancing over at him, clearly nervous. “It’s okay.” Y/N reassured her again. “Please, how is she?” Y/N asked, aware that desperation laced her voice.

Theresa looked up at Y/N, her big brown eyes far too wise for a thirteen year old girl.

“Sad.” She said simply before standing and scurrying out of the room.

Y/N felt like a knife was twisting in her gut. She closed her eyes and tried to stop her tears from falling, but simply couldn’t. Two fat tears fell down her cheeks as she stared into her lap. Without saying anything, Dean tied a bandage around her injured wrist before tying more gauze around her uninjured left wrist, protecting it from the rough metal.

He cleaned up the first aid kit and left without a word. It was a few minutes before Y/N realized he hadn’t re-manacled her right wrist.

All that day it felt as though a heavy stone sat in her stomach. She barely touched her breakfast (an egg and some sliced fried potatoes) and didn’t have a bite of lunch. She felt terrible wasting the food and insisted Patrick eat it. It tasted like ash to her and she simply couldn’t swallow. All she could think about was Emma and how she was hurting.

Her ability to compartmentalize her pain and fear was breaking down as worry and heartbreak took over everything.

That evening, Dean showed up earlier than usual. He walked right up to her and, kneeling beside her, unlocked her other manacle so that she was free of the chains at last. She gave him a quizzical look.

“What are you doing?”

Dean shrugged. “It’s been nearly a week that you’ve been here and almost two weeks since you got bit.” His usual scowl was highlighted by confusion in his green gaze. “I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but it seems increasingly unlikely that you’re gonna start foaming at the mouth any time soon, so…”

He stood up and moved away, nodding to someone outside. Risa stepped through the door and behind her, holding her hand, was Emma.

Y/N gave out a loud cry of surprise, too many emotions flooding her at once to articulate any actual words. She tried to leap to her feet, but ended up stumbling back to her knees as Emma launched herself at her.

“Mommy!” Emma’s tears and sobs soon choked anymore words out of her as well.

Y/N wrapped her daughter up tightly in her arms. “Oh, baby, baby!” She buried her face in her daughter's long hair, squeezing her too hard, she knew, but she couldn’t help it. She’d been so terrified she’d never get a chance to hold her again, so she savored the moment briefly before turning her head to where Dean was standing by the door.

Her throat was choked, but she pushed the words out. “Thank you. Thank you.” It was all she could say.

Dean didn’t respond and just walked out the door.

Jensen RPF and Any/All Characters: @lyarr24 @lacilou @deans-spinster-witch @globetrotter28 @suckitands33 @akshi8278 @evznackles @jackles010378 @impala67rollingthroughtown @krazykelly @candy-coated-misery0731 @envyaurora95 @spnwoman @deans-baby-momma

Dean Fics Only: @roonthelittlespoon920 @slamminmine @zepskies @deangirl96

Any/All Fics Regardless of Character or Fandom: @kazsrm67 @slut-for-evans-stan @sexyvixen7 @nancymcl @waywardcheshire

Everything Incl. Fan Edits: @k-slla @leigh70 @eevvvaa @kickingitwithkirk @foxyjwls007 @notinthislife50 @roseblue373 @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @avanatural @mrsjenniferwinchester @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone

#dean winchester #endverse!dean #endverse!dean x reader #dean x reader #dean winchester fan fic #dean winchester fan fic series #spn fan fic #endverse

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elliespassagerprincess · 1 year ago

Text

↳ [ Material/Masterlist ]

before requesting make sure you read the rules

each symbol represents the warnings for each post. Make sure you read the warnings before you start reading because my work can be triggering to some people!

🌺 - gore/violence 🌻- Huge trigger warning

🌸- fluff 🌼- nsfw/sexual themes

🍀 - pain and sadness 🌷- toxic

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

ellie williams

🌷🍀her sweet girl

🌸frostbite

🍀losing sleep

🌻🌺dark red

🌸wash day

🌼rose

🌸Comfort

🌸bubblegum

🍀I was all over her

🍀 do you still dream of me?

🌷Laundry

🍀bad dog

🌼 pretty girl

🍀 mary (angst edition)

🌸 things to do

🌺 satisfied

🌷 in my feelings (angst edition)

🌷🌺 dye it red

🌷 ultraviolence

🌷 karma

🌺🌻 twilight

🌷 window

🌼 in my feelings

🌻 mary (mental illness edition)

🌷brooklyn baby

🍀 laugh it off

🌺🌻 cool about it

🌷she calls me daddy

🌻🌺petals on the moon

🍀night shift

🌺🌻everybody here wants you

🌺 Emily i'm sorry

🍀 limit to your love

🍀 I'm not a mountain

🌺 one night only

🌸 fake it

🌻 together

🌺🍀 in hell

🌺 waste my time

🌼 poision

🌺🍀 Nobody

🍀 is there someone else?

🌺🌻 infatuated

🌸 All the girls you've loved before

🍀🌻 forever

🌸 moonlight

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

- series -

scream for me: In which not killing the pretty girl was the best mistake she ever made

part 1 part 2 part 3

Therefore you and me: All you needed was Ellie

part 1 part 2 part 3

Loser Ellie (hcs)

part 1 part 2

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- drabbles, hcs and short stories -

ellie taking care of sick reader (hcs)

toxic ellie (hcs)

douchebag ellie (hcs)

ellie warming you up (ss)

ellie saying you're a piece of art (ss)

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Abby Anderson

- oneshots -

🌸 mrs. postman

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- series -

Milf Abby (hcs)

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4

Baby

part 1 part 2 part 3

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- drabbles, hcs and short stories -

gamer abby (hcs)

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dina ???

🌸 one chance

#ellie williams #ellie williams x reader #abby anderson x reader #abby anderson #hbo tlou #writers on tumblr #dina tlou

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aquagirl1978 · 8 months ago

Note

Hello! I’d like to request for the Naughty or Nice celebration for Ikemen Villains and Ikemen Prince that you’re currently holding.

I’d like to request my new insomnia-plagued husband, Ellis Twilight with a nice to naughty (not considered smut, but like an insinuating prologue to smut that ends just about when clothes are about to be unbuttoned, if you get what I’m saying?) scenario where Ellis discovers the comfortable wonders of his female lover’s body, specifically using tits as a pillow and a nice ass as a stress ball, if that would be alright with you.

And I know it might be a bit fast, but I’m so excited for Ikemen Villains!!! I wanna romance Ellis already!!!

Anyway, I hope this request isn’t asking too much of you, please do take all the time you need! I hope you have a lovely morning/day/afternoon/evening/night and eat plenty of food and drink plenty of wa-wa! Thank you for taking the time to read this request!!!

☺️☺️☺️

Hi @onegianthotmess - thank you for this request. I hope I captured the essence of what you were looking for (I kinda didn't stop before clothes were unbottoned - whoops). Hope you have a great day!

Fade Into You

A/N: Part of my Naughty or Nice event Pairing: Ellis Twilight x Reader Prompt: nice to naughty exploring his partner's body Word Count: 644 Tags: fluff to spicy (no smut); reader is afab (no pronouns used)

Requests open for Naughty or Nice event

A soft knock at your door snapped you out of your reverie. “Come in,” you called out to your visitor, curious to know who was behind the door.

The door opened slowly; your smile was wide and bright as you recognized the familiar mop of wavy locks as dark as the night sky.

“I didn't think you'd be back this early,” you said pleasantly surprised. Ellis had left for a mission earlier that day; as you were saying your goodbyes he had told you not to expect him back before bedtime.

“Yeah, well, things didn't go as planned and Jude had to step in.” Ellis shoved his hands in his pockets as he gazed at you expectantly.

“Lay down with me?” you asked sweetly, patting the spot to your right, inviting him to join you.

With a soft smile, he silently crossed the room, his long legs carrying him in just a few quick strides. He took a seat at the edge of the bed; rolling over onto the mattress, he curled his body next to yours.

“...so soft…” he mumbled, his face nuzzled against your warm chest, his long arm thrown casually over your waist. Your hand cupped the back of his head, your fingers gently stroking the strands of his hair.

It felt so nice and comfortable, lying in bed with your body enveloped by Ellis’s, you wished you could stay like that forever. He pressed his body closer against yours – if he got any closer, he might melt into you, your bodies fading into one another.

Not that you would mind, you thought as you looked down at Ellis. He looked so serene resting on you, his eyes closed and a soft smile gracing his lip.

Wondering if he was asleep, you glanced out the window. It wasn’t yet night, the twilight sky still bathed in the very last rays of the sun.

His touch was gentle at first, just his thumb ghosting the curve of your hip. So gentle, you barely felt it. When his hand shifted, his fingers splayed along your hip, pressing into your skin, you felt it. Squeezing your soft flesh in his hand, he coaxed a sweet sigh to escape your lips.

No, he most definitely was not asleep.

Ellis tilted his face, his eyes darkening with desire as he met yours. Silently, he shifted his body until he was hovering over you, close enough for you to feel his heat. Your lips parted in anticipation, sighing softly as he gazed into your eyes too long for your liking.

His hips dipped, pressing against yours. Your breath hitched, your body flooding with warmth. As he brushed his thumb across your cheek, your eyelids drifted closed.

“So beautiful,” he whispered, brushing a kiss upon your waiting lips. You reached up, your arms wrapping around his shoulders, your fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. He breathed a pleased sigh into your mouth, his tongue sliding against yours in a slow, sensual dance.

With no sign of breaking the kiss, Ellis lifted his chest, his hands caressing your chest before his fingers found your buttons. You felt the smile in his kiss once he got the top few undone.

His mouth wandered, his lips placing a sweet kiss on your cheek and then along your jawline, he left a trail of quick kisses. His breath hot in your ear, he whispered sweet nothings in between nipping your earlobe. Your body warmed with each kiss, one growing hungrier than the last.

When his hand slid up your skirt and his hand squeezed your backside, his fingers digging into your skin, you knew what was coming.

Tagging: @redheadkittys @themiscarnival @coral-relevium @cyberk1ee @kookie-my-little-sunshine

Clinging to Ellis, your heart filled with happiness. You adored him. Trusted him. Loved him. Your heart beat wildly in your chest, ready to give yourself fully to your lover.

@pathogenic @ellisgivesmelife013 @ikemen-writer @nightghoul381 @judejazza

@xbalayage @xenokiryu @alydra @drachonia @ranhanabi777

@silver-dahlia @lunaaka @ikesenwritings @sh0jun

#naughty or nice #ikemen series #ikemen villains #ikevil #ellis twilight #ikevil ellis #ikemen fanfic #ikevil fanfic #otome #otome games #otome fanfic

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nightghoul381 · 7 months ago

Text

Ikemen Villains Translations Masterlist

Category key: Fluff- ☁ Angst- 💔 Spice- 🌶 Smut-🔞

Main Route Translation

Ellis Twilight-Masterlist

Black Wedding Event

William Rex:

Black Wedding Event Epilogue 🔞

Luxury Liner Event

William Rex:

p1 ☁ | p2 ☁ 🌶 | Premium End ☁ | Epilogue 🔞

Jude Jazza:

Part 1 ☁ | Part 2 ☁|Premium End ☁ | Epilogue ☁ 🌶

I Want to Know Every Inch of You

Ellis Twilight 🔞

No Room to Breathe

Ellis Twilight:

Part 1 ☁ | Part 2 ☁ | Premium End ☁🔞| Epilogue 🔞

Harrison Gray:

Part 1 ☁ | Part 2 ☁ | Premium End ☁ | Epilogue 🔞

Mirror Mirror, Who Will Fall into a Lewd Dream

Jude Jazza 🔞 William Rex 🔞 Ellis Twilight

Dead or Love

Ellis Twilight:

Part 1 ☁ | Part 2 ☁ | Bitter End ☁ | Premium End ☁ | Epilogue ☁

Elbert Greetia:

Dark If

Prologue ☁

Jude Jazza:

Part 1 ☁ | Part 2 ☁ 💔 | Bitter End ☁ 💔| Premium End ☁ 💔 | Epilogue ☁

Ellis Twilight:

Part 1 ☁ | Part 2 ☁ | Bitter End ☁ 💔 | Premium End ☁ 💔 | Epilogue ☁

Robin Doesn't Know the Evil Hidden in the Shadows

Ellis Twilight:

Part 1 ☁ 💔| Part 2☁ 💔 | Bitter End ☁ 💔| Premium End☁ 💔 | Epilogue🔞

#ikevil translations masterlist

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theidiotwhowritesthings · 1 year ago

Text

The Art of Failing [2]

Werewolf!Joel Miller x F!Reader, Vampire!Din Djarin x F!Reader

Series Warnings: violence and mild gore, mentions of blood and injures, reader is described as active and able to fight, eventual smut, loss of a child, angst to fluff, more warnings to come based on individual chapters

Chapter Warnings: violence, mentions of blood and injuries

Word Count: 9.6k

Summary: The Division of Mythological Affairs was created to protect and serve the supernatural community while keeping the knowledge of their existence a secret. You hoped to become an Agent of the DMA like your mother before you. Just as your dream begins to fall apart at the seams, you stumble across a missing persons report that could change everything. You are desperate to solve the case, to prove your ability, and you find yourself with unlikely allies⏤ a werewolf running from his pack and a vampire shunned from his coven. The stakes are high, lives are at risk, and success hinges on the three of you learning to work together.

[a/n: sorry this came out a day late, but thank you to everyone who wished me luck on my interview😌]

DANGER AT DUSK

"you better hold on tight, spider monkey." -twilight (film)

The idea you came up with overnight was by no means ideal. After getting back to your apartment, you and Joel traded phone numbers and you said you’d text him in the morning with an idea. Tossing and turning all you could come up with was a finding spell. The finding spell itself was a good-ish idea, but with only a name you’d need someone especially skilled to cast it. That was where the problem lied. The best person you’ve ever met when it came to finding spells was your ex-boyfriend who you avoided like the plague.

However, this situation was obviously dire and you weren’t going to let your discomfort get in the way of reuniting Joel with Ellie.

Standing in your kitchen, still in your pajamas despite it being late in the morning, you sent Gavriil a text requesting his help and he, unsurprisingly, responded very quickly. ‘So good to hear from you, my queen. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your arrival.’ You blanched at the nickname and groaned. You typed out a text to Joel as well telling him he could start heading over to your apartment to discuss the plan. He didn’t respond immediately, and you set your phone down to search through the fridge for some juice.

A knock nearly made you spill the juice you were attempting to pour. You nervously padded toward the front door and your first thought was Roberts had shown up since you weren’t answering his calls. However, a quick glance through the peephole relieved you of that worry. You unlocked the door and pulled it open with surprise, “Joel??”

“Hey.” He nodded. The flannel he wore was a different color but the overall outfit looked the same. You stared at him, your sleep heavy mind trying to wrap around the sight of him, and Joel took that time to drag his eyes up and down your body. You remembered you were just in your pajamas and squirmed in place. “Can I come in?”

“Right!” You stepped to the side and Joel passed you to enter. “I… I just texted you. How are you already here?”

“I was already in the neighborhood.”

“Already in the…” You blinked. “What time did you leave your house?”

You walked back towards your kitchen and Joel followed without answering your question. He sat down at the small dining table off to the side of your kitchen and cleared his throat. You raised your eyebrows and he sighed, “I didn’t go home.”

“You didn’t… Joel, did you sleep in your car?” You asked in shock. Joel shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “Why??”

“Don’t trust fangs.”

“The Mandalorians? Did you think they were gonna follow after us?”

“Dunno.” Joel drummed his fingers against the table. “Wasn’t gonna risk it.”

Your gaze softened at his words. It was touching that Joel essentially stood guard overnight because he didn’t trust that the Mandalorians wouldn’t come after the both of you. Your lips twitched into a small smile and you rubbed your arms. “Well, you should’ve told me. You could’ve, I don’t know, slept on my couch?”

“Didn’t need to. Not the first time I slept in my truck, won’t be the last, I reckon.”

“Still. Thanks.” You replied. Joel had been staring at his hands, but he lifted his gaze to finally meet yours. He gruffly shrugged away your appreciation, but a nervous energy lingered in his eyes. You pointed behind you to the counter, “Coffee?”

“Please.” Joel nodded. You turned to make a pot of coffee and the silence that filled your kitchen was far from uncomfortable. The machine was prepped with the pot in place and you were pressing buttons when Joel chimed up. “What’s the plan today, sweetheart?”

“Well,” You finished with the machine and turned back around, “I think our best bet is a finding spell.”

“Thought we talked 'bout this last night?” Joel shook his head. On the drive home yesterday, you had asked him if he attempted anything other than coming to the DMA for help and he confided in seeking out a Finder that came up with nothing. Either Ellie specifically was hidden or the location she was at had a charm to reflect finding spells. “Didn’t work.”

“For Ellie.” You held up a finger. “I want to use a finding spell on the Mandalorian⏤ Din Djarin.”

Joel furrowed his brow and rested his arm on the back of the chair so he could face you. “Thought you needed more than a name for that kind of spell.”

“Usually, yes, but I, uh, I know a guy.” You mumbled. The sound and smell of the dripping coffee swirled in the air around you. Joel took a slow deep breath and you assumed it was to soak in the comfort that came with the smell of morning coffee. “He’s a Xagrim warlock.” Joel’s face folded in a mix of surprise and wariness. The Xagrim clan of warlocks didn’t have the greatest reputation. The dark magic they chose to play with made them more weird than evil, but there was no denying that they had skilled members in their ranks. As you well knew. “So we’ll go see him.”

Joel nodded. “How do you know he’ll help? They aren’t known for their generosity.”

“Mhmm.” You grabbed two mugs and poured coffee in each. You asked if he needed anything for it, and when he shook his head you brought him over a mug and sat next to him. “He will definitely help us.”

“He owe you a favor or somethin'?”

“Something like that.” You said. Joel took a sip of his coffee and you shrugged and mumbled. “I, sort of, used to date him.”

Joel choked on the sip of coffee he had taken and it took him a minute to clear his throat. Finally, he motioned to you, “Really?” You bit your lower lip and gave an awkward nod. Surprisingly, Joel’s cheek twitched in amusement and you briefly saw a dimple before he coughed to hide a chuckle. “You dated a Xagrim warlock?”

“He seemed nice!”

“Was he?”

“Well, no. It wasn’t a, uh, good relationship by any means.” You sighed. Joel’s amusement vanished and you watched his eyes harden. He straightened up in his seat, and you could see the question in his eyes. You held a hand out. “No! It wasn’t⏤ He wasn’t abusive or anything. He was just… weird.”

“How’s that?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain.” You tried to find an easy way to explain it without diving into the entirety of the relationship. “I hate using the word obsessed because it makes me feel conceited or something, but… He was obsessed with me. In a weird way.” Joel’s shoulders had relaxed marginally and you shrugged. “But hey, you know what they say about hindsight.”

Joel raised an eyebrow at you, “He’s a Xagrim warlock, sweetheart. Seems to me like regular sight should’ve caught that one.”

You couldn’t help but laugh and you got to see a flash of that same dimple before it disappeared again. Joel took a long sip of his coffee and when he settled the mug back down his solemn air returned. That same understandable worry and anxiety clouded his vision.

“I’m gonna get ready, then we can get going.” You shot him a tight lipped smile.

“Thanks.” He murmured.

You picked up your mug to carry with you to your bedroom so you could finish it as you got ready for the day. It felt unusual to be getting ready for some place other than work. This time yesterday you had been pulling on your blazer and high tailing it to work to get coffee orders. You pushed aside the dress clothes in your closet to find something less formal. It still felt odd to wear what used to be your mother’s shoulder holster, but Gods forbid you need it and not have it. The last thing you pulled on was the same jacket from yesterday with the badge in the pocket.

When you stepped out of your bedroom, Joel stood at your kitchen sink washing his coffee cup. You carried yours over to stop him, “Hey, you don’t gotta do that.”

“Ain't nothin', sweetheart.” He mumbled and reached out for your mug. “You done?”

You hesitated before shooting him a smile and handing him your empty cup. It was an oddly domestic task to watch a man wash dishes at your sink, and it reminded you of how painfully single you’ve been. Your last date was a couple months ago and it hadn’t been terrible, but it also hadn’t led to anything. As for an actual relationship, that had been over a year ago and you were going to go see him right now. Joel turned off the water and it jarred you back to the moment. Joel shook his hands dry, and you got your head back in the game.

Gavriil lived in a neighborhood where the supernatural tended to drift toward. There was no specific area designed for non human housing specifically, but like found like. His house was a small one nestled in a cul de sac, and if you remembered correctly Gavriil had a few warlock neighbors as well. When you pulled outside of his house, you heaved an involuntary sigh.

“You sure 'bout this?” Joel asked.

You forced a broad smile, “Yes! Absolutely. Gavriil is gonna cast the spell, we’re gonna find this Din Djarin guy, and we’ll have our next clue to get us to Ellie.”

“Alright.” Joel replied slowly.

He still looked skeptical and you gave him a thumbs up before climbing out of the car. Before you could lose steam or determination, you sped walk to the front door with Joel only a step behind you. You rapped your knuckles against the front door and heard Gavriil calling out that he was coming. His voice alone made you cringe. The door swung open and Gavriil beamed at you. He was tall like Joel, but whereas Joel had strong, broad shoulders, Gavriil was skinny. Gangly would actually be a more apt term.

“My queen!” He cooed with a smile. He reached out for a hug and you held out an arm to awkwardly pat his shoulder and keep him from wrapping his arms around you. Just as you remembered him, he wore a full, elaborate suit with a bow tie. His blond hair pushed back and out of his face. “It is so good to see you again.” His blue eyes raked up and down your body and you resisted the urge to shudder. “Oh, how I have missed you.”

“Thank you for having us, Gavriil.” You sighed. “Appreciate it.”

“Of course, of course! Come in!”

Gavriil turned to hurry back into his house and you hesitated for only a second before stepping in. Joel’s hand wrapped around your elbow and your eyes widened in surprise at his touch. Joel’s brow furrowed in confusion, “You dated that?”

“Uh, yes.” You replied with a bit of shame. “It was… a phase?” It wasn’t an entire lie. Back when you first started dating Gavriil, a portion of the decision had been focused on annoying your mother. “It wasn’t a long relationship.”

“You seem uncomfortable, sweetheart.” Joel replied as he shut the door behind the both of you. “Are you sure you’re okay bein' here? I don’t like the way he looks at… I just don’t like him.”

You appreciated him looking out for you. It must have been a wolf thing. Joel was just naturally protective. “It’s fine. I promise. I know he’s kind of odd.” The two of you walked deeper into the house through a foyer hallway and into a living room. You scrunched your nose at the pea green color of Gavriil’s walls⏤ recalling the familiar walls with disdain. “But he’s a nice guy overall. He’s just…” Your words came to a halt as your eyes landed on a two foot by two foot sized picture of you and Gavriil still hanging on the wall. A table covered in rose petals and unlit candles sat under it. “…insane.”

“I cannot express to you how happy I was to receive your text, my queen.” Gavriil sighed. He must have noticed that you were still staring at the wall in shock. He chuckled, “I know. Beautiful, right? That was such a wonderful day.”

To be honest, you literally could not recall the day he was referencing. You were obviously in the picture and were out with him, but for the life of you there was no memory of that moment in your mind. You slowly shook your head, “Gavriil, this is…”

“Yes?”

“Look, I thought I made the text clear, this is strictly a business visit.” You said firmly. You motioned back to Joel. “This is Joel Miller. I’m currently working with him on a case⏤”

“I know what you said, but I can read between the lines.” Gavriil hummed. This had always been the problem with the warlock. He was delusional with the state of your relationship, and the pedestal he had placed you on was so uncomfortable. It tended to make your skin crawl. It wasn’t devotion or loyalty⏤ it was possession and obsession to a dizzying degree. “Let me get the two of you a drink. We can get around to the spell, and then afterwards the two of us…”

Gavriil was reaching out for you again. You were prepared to sidestep him and reiterate your boundaries, but Joel’s hand snapped out making you jump in surprise. Gavriil yelped as the wolf’s hand clamped down around his wrist. You turned your head to see his confusion from earlier had melted away into irritation. “It’s clear she don’t want you touchin' her.” Joel stepped closer but didn’t let go. “So either you keep your damn hands to yourself or I’ll rip 'em off. Got it?”

“G-Got it. I understand.” Gavriil blurted.

Joel roughly shoved the warlock’s hand back toward him. He focused back on you and you sucked in a sharp breath at the intensity of his gaze. Joel Miller was a werewolf with razor sharp claws and a snarling bite designed to kill, but the deadliest thing about this man had to be those brown eyes. Joel nodded, “You okay with that picture hangin' or you want it gone?”

“I… I’d like it gone.” You replied.

Gavriil jumped to try and pull it down, but Joel beat him to it. The wolf pulled the frame off the wall, slammed it onto the table so the glass of the frame shattered and tinkled to the floor, and when it was in pieces he took the picture itself. Gavriil watched, with terrified eyes, as Joel tore the picture to shreds right in front of him.

“This makin' my point clear or do I need to spell it out for you?” Joel demanded.

“Nope! I am⏤ I am on the same page.” Gavriil stumbled over his feet as he backpedaled down the hall. “Let’s do a, uh, spell! Spell time. Yeah, we can⏤ okay.”

The warlock rushed into a room stiff as a board and you let out an amused chuckle. Joel was already watching you when you shot a glance his way, and you shook your head, “You didn’t need to do all of that for me.”

“Was nothin'.” He shrugged.

“No, it was… thanks.” Joel gave you a small nod. “Anytime I’m mean to him, he just thinks I’m flirting with him.” You rolled your eyes.

You both drifted further down the hall. Joel shrugged, “I don’t think I’ll be havin' that problem with him.”

“Yeah, no, I don’t think you will.” You grinned and pointed to your own eyes jokingly. “The homicide in your eyes really gets the point across.” Joel chuckled. “But who knows? Maybe next time we have to hustle the warlock for a spell there’ll be a Joel Miller shrine hanging up.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s a little funny.”

Gavriil’s casting room was as you remembered it as well, though you hadn’t spent much time in here at all. Dark walls to match the deep red carpet, windows painted black, a circular table at the center covered in an ivory colored cloth, and the bookshelves lining the floors were overflowing with more than just aged books. Bones, greenery, feathers, and things you couldn’t even recognize from a singular glance. Tools and tricks of his trade. When you stepped in, you scrunched your nose at the sharp smell of magic hanging in the air. It tickled your nose the same way antiseptic cleaners would but there was a sickly sweet undertone lingering with it.

“For fuck’s sake.” Joel barked out gruffly.

“Sorry, I’ve been prepping for the spell.” Gavriil said while pulling things off his shelf to stack on the table. He rustled through a cabinet to find a golden thin, metal bowl that he set at the center of the table. “I know it’s strong. If you want you can wait outside⏤”

“Tryin' to get her alone??” Joel replied gruffly.

“Gods, no!” Gavriil balked and stumbled over his words before burying himself in boxes of his ingredients. He murmured under his breath and you could almost see the cold, panicked sweat dripping down the back of his neck. His hand shook as he found candles to light.

You sat down at the table and Joel took the seat beside you. A chuckle left you, “You’re just screwing with him now.”

“Maybe.” Joel shrugged and you loved the sight of the slightly crooked smirk that briefly graced his face. “Can’t say it’s not fun.” Joel being intimidating Gavriil just to be a little shit hadn’t been a side of him you expected to see, but you found it amusing. He tilted his head, “This seriously your type though, sweetheart?”

“No. I told you it was a phase.” You argued. “I don’t have a type. Not really.” Joel raised an eyebrow at you mockingly and you resisted the urge to shove him. “I don’t! And if I did, my type wouldn’t be gangly, obsessive warlocks.”

“Gods, I hope not.”

Gavriil glanced over his shoulder, “You know I can hear you, right?”

“Yeah?” Joel scoffed. “So?”

“Right.” Gavriil turned back to his work. You shot Joel a dry look and the wolf just shrugged at you nonchalantly. A minute or so later, the warlock was sitting down across from you and Joel with an armful of supplies. “This spell won’t give you an address by any means, but it will allow you to see what the person can see. Hopefully, you can identify their location based on that. It’s a quick look, only a minute at most. The tricky issue with finding someone by name is names can be common. Can you shut the door?” Joel leaned back in his seat and stretched his long arm out to swing the door shut. The room darkened so the only light came from the candles now lit on the table. “I can limit our search area which helps but…”

You shook your head, “Our guy’s name is Din Djarin. As long as you limit it to Austin, I think we’ll be good.”

Gavriil pointed at you in agreement and began to dust out a crushed red powder in concentric lines on top of the ivory cloth and surrounding the bowl. He poured water into the bowl, about halfway up, and sprinkled more ingredients into it. In terms of magic, you knew a spell or two off the top of your head, but those were two part spells that any chump off the street could pull off with the right materials. Nothing to the immense degree that Gavriil was putting together right now.

“The more minds working on this the better.” Gavriil said. “Place your hands on the basin and think his name in your head. Focus only on that name.”

You settled your hands on your side of the basin alongside Joel, and his fingers pressed against yours. His skin was warm, unsurprising for a wolf, but you didn’t expect to fill you with a heat of your own. From where his fingers rested on top of yours, up your arm, into your chest, and down to your core, you felt ablaze. Enough so that you nearly pulled away in shock. If Joel was affected by the touch, he didn’t show it. His face remained folded in careful, gruff concentration. You forced your gaze to the rim of the bowl and tried to shove every other thought out of your head save for the Mandalorian’s name. It didn’t extinguish the fire now burning in your chest, but it would have to do.

Gavriil began to murmur words in a language you didn’t recognize and an unusual breeze filled the air. The water in the basin began to swirl and the ingredients that had been floating at the top drowned into the water and dissolved until the water itself began to glow a light blue.

You were yelling the Mandalorian’s name in your head desperately. If this didn’t work you’d be back to useless with nothing to offer the wolf but condolences. Gavriil shouted a few more words and the candles blew out leaving the room in the dim glow of the water. An image began to swirl to life and simultaneously the three of you rose from your seats to peer in.

“That’s funny.” Gavriil hummed. You narrowed your eyes at the image glowing in the bowl. It was a plain hallway with ugly pea green walls and the door Din Djarin was apparently staring at looked suspiciously like the door you had walked through only moments ago. “Looks like my⏤”

The realization clicked with both you and Joel at the same time. Unfortunately, it was the same second that Din Djarin kicked down the door. The vampire came barreling through the door in his armor and slammed it directly into Joel who was sent to the ground with a grunt. In one movement, the Mandalorian flipped the table to take Gavriil down, not that the yelping warlock required much work, and a gloved hand clamped around your throat. You clawed uselessly at the hand as Din dragged you out into the hall to slam you into the wall.

You hissed in pain and your eyes widened as you found yourself staring at your own reflection as the Mandalorian’s helmet sat inches away from your face. In a low, deadly voice⏤ modulated by his armor⏤ he spoke a string of rushed Mando’a followed by English.

“Why are you searching for me? Who sent you?” He squeezed tighter around your neck and you winced in pain. Din pushed you harder against the wall as he barked out, “Where is Grogu!?”

You didn't have the air to voice your confusion, but it didn't matter. A large body tackled the armored man and you dropped to the ground gasping for air. You rubbed your neck instinctively and stared wide eyed as a monstrous sized, brown wolf wrestled the Mandalorian to the ground. They were a blur of russet and silver.

“Joel!” You cried out in concern. It was hard to see who had the upper hand. Every time Joel seemed to get ahead the vampire managed to slip out of his jaws, and whenever Din Djarin had him pinned down the wolf managed to twist away. All that actually mattered was the flash of red. They were crashing through Gavriil’s furniture, but the smears of red blood against the warlock’s carpet called out to you like a siren’s song. Joel was bleeding.

You sprinted back into the spell room and cursed when you saw a bookcase of materials had been knocked over. Based on the shreds of clothing scattering the floor by the splintered wood, you assumed that had been Joel. Quickly, still hearing the sounds of the fight, you scrambled for two familiar ingredients. You found the first, phoenix ash, but the second was eluding you.

“Gavriil! Where’s your dragon’s breath!?” You yelled. Gavriil whimpered in response as he hid under the remains of his table. You picked up a book and threw it at him. “Gavriil! Dragon’s breath! Now!”

The warlock crawled to the side, wincing when another loud crack came from the living room, and rooted inside a drawer before holding out a thin circular jar filled with the volatile air. You snatched it from his hand and opened the first lid to push in as much of the phoenix ash as you could then rushed back out to the living room while shaking it in your hand. You could feel the glass beginning to grow hot.

Din and Joel remained tangled with one another in a fight and as much as you wanted to help you knew getting in between the two able bodies would crush you in a second. Their combined strength would grind your bone to dust.

The jar was beginning to burn against your skin, but the moment you waited for came. Din grasped Joel by the fur and threw him hard enough into the unlit fireplace that bricks shook loose. You sprinted forward to jump onto Din’s back⏤ wrapping around him like monkey. Din’s hands reached back to grab you by arm and he flipped you over his shoulder. You hit the ground, losing all the air in your lungs, but as he was bent over and still in your face, you clapped your hands together and smashed the thin, burning glass in your hands. A bright flash of burning light went off directly in his face. Helmet or no helmet, with the bottled sunlight going off so close to him, Din grunted in pain and fell back and collapsed in a heap of silver armor.

That bought you at least a few minutes.

The downside to setting off the spell directly into Din’s face was that it had also succeeded in blowing back on you. You weren’t a vampire so it didn’t knock you out, and you had closed your eyes in time to avoid blinding yourself, but your cheeks burned as if you had been out in the sun too long. You felt shards of glass resting on your face but your hands stung too much to try and rub them away.

“Fuck.” Joel’s voice was suddenly in your space, he grunted out your name. Those same hot hands cupped one side of your face while the other carefully brushed away the shards of glass. “Sweetheart, open your eyes.” You slowly blinked your eyes open, wincing a bit, and were met with Joel’s eyes blown wide with worry. “There you go. Good girl.”

“Got him.” You croaked followed by a groan. Joel was kneeling beside you and he helped you sit up. “Are you…” Joel’s nose was bleeding and blood covered his teeth and stained his lower lip. Bruises lined his body and you caught sight of a cut on his side, but your gaze was derailed. Your eyes had set out on an innocent mission of ensuring he was safe and took a sharp nose dive into admiration. Joel had freckles on his broad shoulders, ones born of being out in the sun, and somehow he looked even more broad naked. Your gaze traced down his chest, peppered in dark and silver hair, to the small pudge of belly and then down to⏤ Your eyes snapped back up to his and you didn’t know how it was physically possible but your face burned hotter now than it did seconds ago with a literal handheld bomb going off above you. “Okay.” Joel’s brow furrowed and you cleared your throat. “Are you okay?? The fight?”

Joel shook his head, “I’m fine, sweetheart. Don’t worry 'bout me.”

“You don’t look fine.” Mindlessly, you reached out and brushed your thumb against the corner of his mouth where a bit of blood escaped. The touch lasted a second before you were snatching your hand back into your own personal space. “The um… the vampire.”

You turned in place, away from the very naked Joel Miller, and over to where Din Djarin still laid on the ground. Gavriil had come out of the room and your eyes widened when you saw he had drawn a large containment circle around the fallen vampire. He gave you a tight lipped smile, “I helped.”

“You did.” You blew out a tired breath and glanced back at Joel with a tight lipped smile. “He did.”

Joel groaned in exhaustion.

You sat cross legged on the floor staring at the vampire who was bound to wake up soon. Joel was off with Gavriil seeking out a pair of pants or some kind of covering, and you absentmindedly rubbed at your neck. Of all the parts of you that hurt, your neck was the least of your problems, but being pinned against the wall by your throat at the hands of a Mandalorian had been jarring. The entire moment had been so high adrenaline. You were only just now grasping everything that had happened.

There was a quiet gasp and you straightened your posture as the Mandalriaon sat up quickly. His head swiveled to the sides taking in the scene before landing on you. You awkwardly gave a wave, “Hi. Me again.” You shrugged. “Sorry about the bottled sunlight, but you were tossing around my friend so… I think we’re kind of even, you know?”

“Who are you?” He demanded, voice hoarse.

You quickly introduced yourself then motioned to him, “And you are Din Djarin. Right?” The Mandalorian didn’t respond. “That’s okay. Don’t actually need confirmation.” You cleared your throat and rubbed at your neck again. “So, is Grogu your kid?”

Din tensed, shoulders went stiff, before he jumped to his feet. You startled at the sudden movement, but Joel’s voice barked from down the hall. “Hey!” You pushed to stand and Joel rushed over. He wore a silk, kimono style bathrobe that ended mid thigh and strained against his wide shoulders. A laugh slipped out of you, and Joel turned to watch you slap a hand over your mouth. The navy blue silk decorated with a Japanese landscape and flowers was tied at his waist but you could still see most of his chest. Joel gave you a dry look and you shook your head⏤ keeping your hand locked over your mouth. Joel grumbled and turned back around. “Back off, bloodsucker.”

His voice still managed to carry the weight of his threat despite the ridiculous robe on him. You set a hand on his arm in reassurance. Joel held your stare for a beat before sighing and backing away from the trapped vampire. He crossed his arms and stood a step right behind you like a kimono covered guard dog. When you looked back to Din, you finally noticed the black ichor on his side. Vampires didn’t bleed⏤ not like we did at least.

“Shit.” You blurted and leaned to the side to try and see the origin of his wound. The suit under his armor was saturated in the black blood like fluid that oozed from his wound, and you could see torn material, but you couldn’t make out the degree of the injury. “You’re hurt.”

“Good.” Joel blurted.

You gave the wolf a glare that he didn’t wilt under and Din seemed to still no react to your reaction of his wounds. The air around you hung awkward and tense. Finally, you sighed and shifted your weight. “I think we got off on the wrong foot here.” You tried again. “You probably don’t recognize me, but yesterday morning⏤”

“I remember you.” Din cut you off curtly. “You were in the hallway. DMA Headquarters.”

“Yeah!” You nodded. “We passed one another. I spoke to the Captain right after you and I saw that you filed a missing persons report for your kid.” You motioned back to Joel. “This is Joel Miller. He came in later that afternoon for a similar reason. Him and I are working together to find his daughter and any other missing kid⏤ there’s been a weird amount of them this last month.” Din’s helmet tilted marginally and you wished you could see his face to garner a guess at how this was going. “We went to the Mandalorian coven to find you in hopes that maybe something you knew could help us.”

Din crossed his own arms, mimicking Joel’s stance, “I know. I was tipped off that someone was looking for me. That’s why I found you. I don’t need a human and a wolf chasing after me and getting in my way.”

“Fuckin' Mandalorian⏤” Joel grumbled.

You shot the wolf a light glare over your shoulder before turning back to Din. “Look, I know this isn’t an ideal situation by any means, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” You pasted on the best friendly smile you could muster. “Ipso facto, we’re friends!”

Joel and Din responded at the same time in an unsurprising way.

“We are not friends.”

“We ain’t friends with him.”

You blew out a breath and tried to get a handle on this again. “Look. I get it. Werewolves and vampires have been at each others’ throats for a millenia.” You clasped your hands together then winced at the stinging wounds that brushed against one another. “But you’re not that different.” Both men began to argue. “You’re both fathers.” Joel and Din went silent. “You’re fathers who would do anything to protect your kid, and right now that’s all that matters. Whether you guys like it or not, we’re on the same side.”

After a long pause that you prayed would end with agreement, Din shook his head, “How do you expect me to trust you either, human? You’re DMA and their hands have been in all of this. If the wolf had half a mind he wouldn't trust you either.”

“Well, actually I’m not officially⏤ wait, what?” You blurted. Din’s gaze was covered by dark glass, but you could still feel his stare boring into you. “The DMA… What the hell are you talking about?”

“You don’t know?”

You stepped forward, panicked and frazzled, and Joel’s hand wrapped around your wrist but you didn’t turn around, “Don’t know what??”

“The Division of Mythological Affairs is involved. Either in covering it all up or directly, I don’t know yet.” Din responded. Your jaw fell open to argue, but the words got caught in your throat. “I have an inside source. A siren that works with the DMA as an informant. She let it slip. That’s why I haven’t been back⏤ why I’m handling this alone.”

One of your hands lifted to rest on your forehead as you tried to wrestle together an argument. There was no reason to trust a vampire who had hearsay from a siren. There was no reason to believe that the DMA would have their hands in something so dirty. There was no reason for you to doubt the organization your mother had been a part of, the one you wanted to be a part of, except… Deep in your belly, there was a vague nagging suspicion. Not enough to vocalize, not enough to stomach, not enough to grasp. It left a shadow of doubt in your mind though and that made you nauseous.

You needed to talk to Captain Roberts.

Not listen to his voicemails or call him back.

No, you needed to sit down in front of him and demand answers.

At the very least, he could restore your good faith in the DMA and help you find the missing kids.

“How long has your child been missing?” Din suddenly asked.

Joel’s hand around your wrist, the one you just now noticed was still there, tightened at his question. He hummed, “It’ll be 48 hours tonight.”

“I assume they were taken from your home.” Din said. “Do you live in the Dripping Springs neighborhood?”

“Yeah, how’d you⏤”

“That’s where we were. The area at least, my son and I.” Din replied as his shoulders sunk. His next words were mostly mumbled to himself, “I never should have left him alone. I thought it would be safer, I was on a hunt, but…”

Determined, you tugged your hand away from Joel to kneel down and begin rubbing a break in the containment circle. Joel grasped your shoulder with a warning hiss. Gavriil, who you thought had stepped outside to hide, cried out in alarm. You hushed away their worries and broke the circle. When you stood back up, Din was closer. Nearly chest to chest, but you kept your shoulders back and your chin high.

“We’re gonna save them. Ellie.” You motioned back to Joel. Then you nodded toward Din, “Grogu.” The vampire stiffened. “All the kids. We’re gonna find and save them, but we’re stronger together than apart.” You sucked in a breath to settle your nerves. “Please, Din, will you help us? Will you let us help you?”

The silence that filled the room was achingly long, but Din finally gave a curt nod of his head. You couldn’t help but breathe out a sigh of relief. It was official. You had managed to string together the weirdest team in history, but it was a team nonetheless. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“Now, to catch us up to speed, I assume you’ve already tried a finding spell?” You asked. Din tilted his head at you deadpan. “Right. And it didn’t work. So, taken from the same region about the same time, both your son and his daughter can’t be found via tracking spell. I think that’s enough evidence to say this has to be connected. Although, I can’t figure out what the kids would have in common. A vampire and⏤”

“Grogu is not a vampire. Not… entirely, at least.” Din said. “I don’t think his other half is human, but to be honest I couldn’t guess the other side of his genetic makeup.”

“So, he’s mixed, just like…” You glanced back at Joel who looked surprised himself.

It wasn’t surprising for a Mandalorian to adopt a non-vampire child. They had a tendency to pick up stray humans as well. But if you had learned one thing from your mother it was this⏤ there are no coincidences in this line of work. If you didn’t have a good enough reason to visit Roberts at DMA Headquarters before you sure as hell did now. You wanted to look at the other missing person cases and see how many of those kids were mixed.

“I need to meet with someone. Joel, I’ll drive you to my place first so you can pick up your truck.” You said. “Then we can meet up at my place later today? After I, uh, get some more information.” Joel seemed agreeable and his dark eyes stayed narrowed at Din as if waiting for the vampire to annoy him in some other way. However, Din just bobbed his head once⏤ ignoring the wolf. You passed Din to step into the kitchen and rooted through a kitchen drawer to fetch a notepad and pen. “Here. Let me write down my address.”

“I already know where you live.” Din responded as you scribbled it down.

“You already…Wait, you already know where I⏤” You looked up to question him further but somehow the vampire was just gone. You scanned the living room as if his large, silver form would be hiding behind Gavriil’s skinny form or if he’d be cowered under the remains of the couch. “Oh.”

“Fuckin' fanged stalker.” Joel grumbled.

You tossed aside the notepad. If Din knew where you lived already, you wondered if that meant he had been following you and Joel all morning⏤ or even last night. Gavriil cleared his throat and you and Joel focused on him. He wrung his hands, “This has been fun, and it has been so good to see you, but erm…” The warlock scrunched his features up as he sought out his words. “Can you both leave?”

A sheepish smile flickered on your features, “Right. Thanks so much, Gavriil. Sorry about the…” You motioned out to the absolutely wrecked living room. “The mess.” The warlock was quick to usher you both our of his home and the last word you got in was the promise to send him some money to make up for the damages⏤ though you doubted you had the kind of money to fix much of this.

Standing outside his door, Joel hummed, “Good news, I don’t think he’ll be botherin' you ever again.”

“True.” You nodded and shot him a smirk. “Also, you got that really cool robe.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s a little funny.”

The best part of screening all your calls, and purposefully ignoring Roberts’, meant that you had technically not been fired yet. Can’t be fired if you refuse to talk to your boss. Nima had called you on your way in to check in on you after yesterday, and you got to inform her that you were working with a werewolf and a vampire to find missing children. Not just any werewolf or vampire either. A werewolf with no pack and a vampire shunned from his coven. You managed to render Nima speechless which was not an easy feat.

“Just please, please, please be careful.” She pleaded over the phone. “This sounds dangerous as hell.”

“I will, Nima.” You reassured.

“Yeah? Because from what I hear, you’ve already been choked out by a Mandalorian and you visited your weirdo ex.”

You nodded. “In my defense, the Mandalorian didn’t choke me out. He just…grabbed me roughly.” Without saying a word, you could hear her skepticism somehow. “Plus! Thanks to Joel, I don’t think Gavriil is gonna bother me again.”

“Really??”

As you walked into the Headquarters, keeping your head down, you told her about what Joel had done for you. You were half distracted during your story telling trying to keep an eye out for any face that could mean you trouble.

“We also destroyed half his house so that could be part of it.” You mumbled at the end of your story. You peered around the corner to see Captain Roberts’ personal assistant still sitting at the desk outside his office. The Captain usually ended up staying late. He had a bad habit of letting his work seep into after hours, but he never forced his assistant to linger with him. She left on time, and being that it was a few minutes after five she had to be leaving soon.

“Interesting.” Nima said. You pulled back around the corner and hid off to the side on your phone. “Sounds like he was very… protective over you.”

You snorted, “He’s a wolf, Nima. That’s kind of their thing.”

“Yeah, for their pack, which you said he does not have,” Nima replied, “Or…”

“Or?”

“Babe, do I really need to say it?”

“That would be helpful, yes.”

Nima scoffed, “He’s into you!”

You shook your head immediately as if she’d be able to see your disbelief, “No. His daughter is missing and⏤”

“I’m not saying he’s gonna be making a move. Obviously, his priorities are on his family as they should be, but I think it speaks to some level of interest that he’s instinctively protective of you.”

“That’s⏤ You’re⏤ No.”

It was a weak argument, but you couldn’t let your mind get stuck on that line of thought. It was distracting enough that you could easily recall the strong lines of his bare body. If you started picturing the taste of his skin on your tongue, or the warmth the brush of his hand alone could bring, you’d drown in your desire at just the sight of him. Right now, with the stakes being what they are, you couldn’t afford to let anything slow you down.

Nima began to argue when you spotted the very pregnant assistant leave her desk and start walking down the hall away from you. “Nima, I gotta go.”

You waited until she was in the elevator and off the floor entirely before hurrying around the corner to Roberts’ office. The door was locked with a code, but it was one you knew by heart. Once in, you shut the door behind you and began to search his office. Any missing persons report got stored with the Captain for at least a few months. Once enough time had passed, or if the case was solved, it got moved to the digital records alone. All of the kid cases you wanted to see would still be active.

The stack you were able to find in the filing cabinet was about half of the ones filed. You couldn’t find any others, but this would at least be a start. You dropped down into the Captain’s chair and began to flip through the case files. The main information you were seeking didn’t take long. Half-nymph. Half-vampire. Half-siren. Half-fae. Half-djinn. It was the trend you thought you might find. Just like Ellie and Grogu, all the other kids were mixed. You threw aside the folders and sunk in the chair. This was plainly obvious to see. It was a pattern that anybody off the street could look at and notice.

How could an entire organization, skilled and trained Agents, look at this and not see it?

Din’s words haunted you and you felt ill.

Realistically, you should leave now before you got caught, but you needed answers. You needed someone to look you in the eyes and admit to this disaster. You sat in Roberts’ chair waiting, knowing he’d have to be back eventually, but after ten minutes of wallowing in the worst case scenario thoughts that flooded your mind you began to nosily root around his desk drawers. In the drawer on the same side of his computer, you found a picture of Roberts and your mother. It reminded you a lot of the picture you kept of you and your mother at your graduation. They were celebrating and there was pride in Roberts’ eyes.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Your eyes snapped up to see the Captain standing in his doorway with his eyes narrowed at you in annoyance. You shook your head, “Nobody has fired me yet.”

“First, that is not the winning loophole you think it is.” Roberts replied and came around his desk. You stood from the chair and circled at the same time so your positions were reversed. “Second, I meant what are you doing in my office?”

“Finding answers.”

“Did you find them?”

You stayed silent and just stared. Roberts’ looked more worn down than before, exhausted, and the tired lines were carved into his aged features. He sat down in his chair and readjusted the mess you left on his desktop. “The missing kids.” You blurted. “Tell me the DMA is working on solving the case and they aren’t involved in any other unsavory way.”

“Cases. Plural.”

“No. Case.” You corrected again. “And the fact that nobody else sees that makes me seriously question what’s going on here.” Roberts remained silent. “You not giving me a straight answer isn’t helping, Roberts.”

“Kid, it’s not that simple⏤”

“No.” You repeated yourself, and you felt anger began to boil under your skin. “It is that simple. Hell, it’s black and white. Is the DMA looking the other way on this case purposefully??”

Roberts leaned back in his chair and his fingers drummed against the desk. You were too amped up to sit down. It was a miracle you weren’t pacing the floor in front of him. Finally, he flattened his hand on the desk and sighed, “The DMA now is not the DMA your mother was familiar with. Things have changed and not for the better.” You knew what his answer was most likely to be, but hearing it in his voice made it all the more real. “We are not actively pursuing the case.”

“Are you fucking kidding me⏤”

“Look⏤”

“They’re kids, Roberts!” You slammed your hands on his desk. “Literal children! The youngest I saw in the case files I found was a 2 year old!” Roberts at least had the decency to look ashamed at your outburst. “You’re okay with this??”

His eyebrows furrowed into a glare, “Of course, I’m not⏤”

“Then why aren’t you doing anything!?”

“My hands are tied!” Captain Roberts roared. It was the loudest you had heard him raise his voice at you and it was filled with desperation. “I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t, and the powers that be will not allow a low level Captain rock the boat.” Roberts always seemed to carry so much responsibility and respect that hearing him refer to himself as low level felt wrong. “They’ll get rid of me in a heartbeat and put someone in this office who will actively try to please them instead of just appeasing them when necessary.” Roberts scoffed. “The system is broke.”

You threw a hand up, “Then let’s fix the system.”

Roberts stared at you for a long moment before sighing, “You sound just like your mother.” He locked his jaw and rubbed his face once before adding. “She thought she could change the world too.”

“Roberts…”

His eyes darted beyond you, up to the wall where a clock sat, and he stood up, “You need to leave.” You began to argue. “This is not up for debate, kid.” Roberts pulled out a drawer to root around until he found one of his business cards. He flipped it over to scribble on the back. Roberts came around the desk to shove it into your hand and began to push you toward the door. “Find Agent Brancato. He’s undercover and I’m not the lead on his unit so I can’t offer any leaders, but he can help.”

“Roberts, come with me.” You turned on your heels to face him. “Help me find him and solve the case. Together we can⏤”

“I can’t, kid.” He sighed and reached out to squeeze your shoulder. His eyes scanned your features, “Your mother meant a lot to me. She was the daughter I never had and…” Roberts shook his head. “I wish you would let this go, but I know you won’t because she wouldn’t. Just please be careful.”

“I will.” You mumbled. A million more questions lingered in your mind, but Roberts was shutting his office door before a single one could be uttered. You stood there a little longer in hopes that the Captain would reopen the door and offer you more concrete answers, but it remained sealed shut. You heaved a sighed and began to leave.

The card in your hand had the name ‘Tim Brancato’ written on the back with no further information. It wasn’t a name you were familiar with, but if he worked in the undercover world that made sense. He wouldn’t be very good at his job if you had heard of him. You could always twist Gavriil’s arm into another name finding spell, but this name was a lot more common if you had to guess. Plus, most Agents warded themselves against that kind of spell.

The parking garage was empty which wouldn’t normally worry you at this time, but a ball of anxiety sat heavy in your gut right now. Maybe it was just the talk with Roberts that had put you on edge. You took steady steps to your vehicle but they slowed when you spotted someone by your car. Miles Jackson had his arms crossed as he leaned against the back of your car. You tensed at the sight of him. He caught your eye and lifted his hand to give you a mocking wave. Before you could react, rough hands grabbed you from behind and a bag was pulled over your head.

You screamed in alarm but a thick and heavy hand clamped down over your mouth through the bag. Multiple hands manhandled you and dragged you across the parking garage floor. You threw your elbows back and tried to kick out, but without a line of vision your attacks were useless. A car door slid open nearby, one found on a van, and you were suddenly shoved forward. You grunted in pain when your knees hit the metal of the van’s back.

“Get off me!” You screamed and thrashed but a knee pressed down in the middle of your spine.

As soon as the pressure was applied it was immediately taken off and you heard the familiar sounds of a fight filled the air. You scrambled to get the bag off of your head as something heavy hit the van hard enough to shake the entire thing. The second you had the bag off, you flipped over to face out the door and drew your gun. Panting, you held it at the ready, but the person standing outside the van door hadn’t been what you expected.

“Din?” You breathed.

He had his hand tangled in the jacket of an unfamiliar man who was half unconscious and weakly thrashing. Din’s helmeted gaze met yours and with little effort he threw the man in his arm back. You heard the heavy body hit the ground.

“Are you alright?” Din asked. You were still trying to let the shock wear off, and Din surprised you by holding out a hand. It shook you out of your disbelief. You took his hand and he helped pull you out of the van⏤ letting go of you as soon as you were on your feet. Two other men were lying unconscious at Din’s feet.

“Where did you… How did you…” You tried to decide which question you wanted to ask first.

“I didn’t trust you.” Din responded. “No offense.” You blinked and slid your gun back into the holster. “I saw you were coming here and I had to be certain you weren’t with them.”

“With them?”

Din nodded back toward the building you had left, “The DMA.”

You rubbed your face briefly and scanned the ground. “There should be one more guy. Miles Jackson.”

“A man got into his car and sped away. I didn’t give chase. Should I have?”

You pushed past Din to reach the barrier of the parking garage and peered over the edge. You were on the third floor and as you scanned the roads below you spotted Jackson’s flashy, red camaro. As he sped away, the vehicle faded into the distance⏤ merging with the red and orange hues that decorated the dusk skyline. “No.” You heaved a sigh and shook your head. “We gotta get out of here. I got the info we needed.”

“And that is?”

You reached into your jacket pocket and pulled out the card to hold out to the vampire beside you. His gloved fingers took it from you so he could read both sides. “That man. Tim Brancato. We find him, we find answers.”

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