#ends up sitting alone. not even with vi or anyone who IS left like oh I don’t know the COMMUNITY HE BUILT

[seilon]

well I finished it. you know someone in one of my classes the other day was talking about how the final edit of this show cut out a fair amount of content for the sake of sticking to netflix’s time limit and how you can kind of just Feel that void when you watch it. and i understand now

[i-literally-cant-with-this]

A/N ::: *puts finger up and opens mouth like I may actually have ANYTHING of importance to say but changes my mind and closes my mouth and puts my finger down because let's face it ... I don't have shit to say that anyone really needs to hear.*

C/W ::: Language, more broken heart stuff, angst? Longing. No smut yet. aged up character. You'll all see my handy dandy 18+ thing when there is. Thank you for reading, I do appreciate it. ❤

WC ::: just about 1,800

Part I

Part II

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part III

You stared at your phone for another few minutes before you turned it off. Sitting it down on the nightstand - your nightstand, you stood up and began looking around to collect some things - your things - from around Katsuki's place.

He hadn't taken down any of the pictures of you guys that were scattered about the space. There were innumerable frames hung on the walls, sitting on the mantel, and end tables. You guys at the fair, at the beach, on vacation. On staycations. There were a few things you hadn't gotten to do yet. But you'd always assumed that what you two hadn't done, you would eventually get around to doing at some point.

You grabbed your favorite photo - the two of you in the middle of the carnival, mid-kiss. It was so rare to see a moment where Bakugo was fully relaxed and happy. The person who took the photo was from out of town. They were 'so captivated by Katsuki's unique looks' they snuck the photo and then approached you to show you what he'd captured in the sweet but unspoken display of true love.

It broke your heart to remember that. Was it supposed to hurt this much? You've been heartbroken before. But this was physically painful. It was like your lungs couldn't take in air. Your stomach churned like you'd just been in a car for 4 hours after eating spoiled food. Your eyes burned from the tears that hadn't stopped and they ached from the tears that already fell.

You were exhausted and you still had to get all of your things together and back to your apartment before Kats got home. For the most part, if you were being totally honest with yourself, you didn't want to see him. It wasn't because you couldn't bear the thought of his face, but because you didn't know if you could keep yourself from falling to your knees in front of him and asking why all of this was happening.

But you know why it's happening. You’re why it's happening. It was hard for you to carry this alone. Somewhere in this mess, you know he was responsible for something. It was just a matter of figuring out what his slice of this shit pie was.

You went to the kitchen and stood at the fridge for a minute before you pulled out a half-empty bottle of white wine and made yourself comfy on the couch and watched whatever movie was left sitting in the DVD player.

It almost made you vomit to see that it was his surprise 25th birthday party you’d planned. You didn’t even know he had all of that stuff put onto a disc.

It was turning out to be from-the-bottle kind of night.

The next thing you know, you were waking up on the couch. Your right hand down your pants, your left hand cradling the empty wine bottle, and Katsuki standing over you. A smirk on his lips and a growl leaving his mouth. “Long night?” He asked, taking the empty bottle from you.

“I - I - when - oh ��� shit.” Pulling your hand from your pants, you know you turned a red brighter than a sun-ripened strawberry. “Kats it’s …"

He shook his head and calling you a dumbass, he turned and walked into the kitchen to rinse and put the bottle in the recycling bin.

You got up and followed him, standing close to him but not too close that you were invading his space. It was almost like you were sent back in time. You watched him work around the kitchen like it was second nature. Like it was any of the other days you two had been in there.

He had such a strong presence that you had to look away before he caught you staring.

He sucked on his teeth and asked, "It's what, y/n?" His voice soft and gentle. It wasn’t the way he normally spoke. It wasn't like him to sound so quiet and fragile. It was almost like he was trying to break you in a way that wouldn’t cause too much damage.

"It's - it's nothing. I just wanted to know how long you were there." You looked at him, a nervous smile tugging at your lips. You didn’t know where you stood. Was this a joke? Did he know how much you missed him? How much you still loved him?

Katsuki leaned back against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. "I got home 3 hou- I mean, a little while ago. Don't worry about it, ok? You're fine. You just looked so cu- uh, so comfortable and I didn't wanna bug ya. Why didn't you sleep in the bed? You could've, you know. Didn't have to sleep on this shitty couch." He laughed quietly.

"Hey! I picked out this couch." You wanted to reach out and squeeze or slap his bicep but fought off the urge.

"Yeah," he snorted. "And? I thought that was mutually understood that you pick out shitty furniture." His smile was so warm. You felt the overwhelming desire to kiss him. To touch him. Anywhere. You wanted to brush the hair from his face. To smooth down the perpetually creased skin between his eyes. Something.

Dear God. Anything to feel his warm skin.

But you couldn’t. Not now. Maybe not ever again.

"Ok, well, I should get going. I didn't get a chance to get all of my stuff out of here. I don't know what I left. I'll buy you a new bottle of wine," you said as you picked it up to look at the label. "Huh. Never heard of this one before. It was really good. Thanks. And uh, well, sorry. I hope it wasn't anything special. Jus' throw my shit out, I guess. If I -"

He moved and stood in front of you, one hand on the bottle, the other in his pocket. "I'm not going to throw your stuff out, y/n. Don't be so damn dramatic about it. Jesus."

"Eh, if I didn't already miss it, I don't think there's much of a point in me having it back." You felt stupid as soon as you said it. It hadn't been years since you had last seen it. Maybe weeks, and even that was being generous. Katsuki was right. You were being dramatic about it.

You were both standing there, each of you had a hand on the empty wine bottle. Both of you were waiting for the other to say something but neither of you had any idea what to say or do with yourselves.

Moving first, you let go of the bottle and reached into the pocket of his sweats you wore to retrieve the key to his apartment. "I uh," you tapped it on the marble counter as tears burned your eyes again. "Heh," you said, choking on the lump in your throat. "... fuck. Kats ..."

His face fell when you said his name. And it wasn't too much longer before his arms were wrapped around your waist and his face was in your neck. "God fuckin’ damn it, y/n." Katsuki held you tighter than he ever had before. His grip was vice-like and you knew that you couldn't go anywhere without a struggle. So you gave in.

You held him back and tried to steady your breathing. It was hard to believe that the last time you two were in this position was less than 2 weeks ago. "I know, Katsuki. I know. I ... miss you so much." You couldn't hold it back any longer. The tears began to stream down your face, soaking the collar of his shirt and the hair that poked out from behind his ear.

You wanted to kiss him. To pull his face to yours and breathe in the scent of his skin. To feel his breath on your lips.

But you couldn't. Not like this. Not when you both were still so lost and confused about what had happened.

It took you several minutes to pull away from him. Your body didn't want to let go of him. Your soul didn’t want to let go of him. You needed the physical comfort that his embrace provided. It was a home that you couldn't find anywhere else.

You pulled back and wiped your face with the sleeve of his hoodie. "I'm sorry, Kats. I'm so sorry. I have to go. I have to finish getting my shit out of here. Please, can you just let me get my things another time? And I'll be gone." You choked back a sob and turned away from him, not wanting him to see your face anymore.

He reached out for your hand and took a deep breath. "Y/n, stop. Just ... just wait, ok? It's fine. You can take whatever you want. I don’t give a shit. Take the bed. The couch. The tv. I really don’t care. But you gotta … Just stop this shit. Stop runnin’ away ... stop fuckin' runnin' from me. Don't leave like this. Don't make me live without you completely. I don't -" He pulled you back and looked at you, his eyes red. "I can't ... don't want to lose you. You're ... you're the ... Fuck. Please, just don't make me lose you." His voice cracked and he leaned his forehead against yours. "I'll fix whatever it is I did wrong."

Your heart sank. You didn't know what to say. He hadn't done anything wrong. It was your fault. Your issues. Your baggage.

"No, Kats. You haven't done anything wrong. It's not you. It's … ugh fuck. I have to fix some things. And I have to deal with the fact that we can't fix this. At least, not - not right now. Please, let me get my things when you're not here and that'll be that. OK?" You started to cry again as you pushed the key to him again. "I love you, Katsuki. I don't think I'll ever love anyone like I love you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

It hurt a little when you gave in to the comfort that you had been going without. But it would have hurt more to not reach for him. Even though it had been a short while, you couldn't believe how much you missed his touch. His smell. His warmth. It was like he was a drug that you couldn't live without. And while you knew that it wasn't healthy to depend on someone like that, you couldn't help but want to give in to the temptation. You were weak and would give into him. No questions asked.

Just one ... last ... time.

Taglist ::: @arlerts-angel @darkstarlight82 @millennialmagicalgirl

[lxvejohnny]

The endless beginning

part eight

scream VI fanfiction with implied ethan x oc!

find the masterlist for this fic here. it's a long one folks! enjoy!

After Kirby practically exiled Gale out of their plan due to, no press being allowed, Amelie sent her off with a hug and was given a threat to call her if anything happens.

Amelie decides to send Dean another text, asking him if he was okay because she hadn't heard back last night. Though, once she got back to the apartment, she was incredibly distracted for the rest of the night.

Now, everyone has joined at a park in public in attempts to set Ghostface up. With Tara, Sam, and Amelie as decoys, detective Bailey nearby for backup, and Kirby in the van to track the call, they were ready to set the caller up. Amelie separates from the sisters, after much reluctance from Sam and her other friends in the van, deciding that they were more likely to receive a call if more of the targeted victims were alone. Back in the van, Ethan expresses his panic to the group about Amelie going off by herself while the two sisters remain together. He knows that she won’t get hurt, she can’t with all Ghostface’s currently away from her, but he still feels a sense of panic at the thought that she could get hurt. And, he knows he has to keep up the innocent act for his friend’s around. So, as Amelie begins to walk away from the two with a quick smile, she splits away and heads towards an open part of the park where dogs run and play around. She stares at the smiles on the stranger’s face around them and begins to wonder what their biggest worry in life could possibly be, if they have ever had to scheme in their life to trap someone who is trying to ruin their life. She also begins to wonder if she can ever appear as carefree as they do and live a life where she can go to a park and have a day by herself in peace, without any worry that someone is going to come up and try to kill her.

Amelie looks back to where Tara and Sam have walked far away from her, and she sees Sam pluck her phone out her pocket and answer a call. She can already guess who it is and stares at the girls, trying to gauge their reaction from so far away. She vaguely sees Sam pull the phone away from her ear and look at it in disbelief, almost appearing as if the killer abruptly hung up on the girl. Amelie jumps when she hears her own phone begin to ring and she furrows her eyebrows in confusion, if the killer called Sam already, why would they bother with her?

She pulls her phone out of her pocket and looks down at the unknown contact before answering the call.

Back in the van, Kirby stops her movement of detecting the call when she sees that Amelie is also receiving a call. Mindy notices her movement and sits up in her chair, “What? What is it, Kirby?”

“Amelie is also getting a call,” Kirby says and looks at the teens beside her. The two boys follow Mindy’s movements and sit up in their chair, Ethan pausing his snacking and looks at Kirby’s screen in confusion. She wasn’t supposed to receive a call, only Sam was.

“What do you want?” Amelie says into her phone, venom laced through her words as she looks around her to see if there is anyone nearby. She catches the two sisters staring her down from across the park and holds eye contact with them.

“Daddy Dewey doesn’t seem to be enough, does it?” The voice chuckles lowly through the phone. Amelie freezes in her spot and fear strikes her body. “Hopefully you said bye-bye to Gale earlier, I don’t think there is much time left.”

The voice was condescending, almost mocking her, and she can’t distinguish if there is more anger or fear running through her body right now. “Don’t you fucking touch her, you psycho.”

“Oh Amie,” the rough voice of Ghostface begins to taunt, “too late.”

The line ends and Amelie begins to run towards to the two girls who look to be waiting for her. The girl stops abruptly when she finally reaches them and even though they already know where the call is coming from due to Kirby’s tracking skills, they let her rush out, “He is at Gale’s. We have to go now!”

“My friend Danny works on the upper-westside, he can get there quicker!” Sam calls as her, Tara, Amelie, and detective Bailey begin running to the latter’s car.

“Yeah, or he can finish her off, if he has a possible reason to kill her,” Detective Bailey conspires from behind the girls.

“Fuck,” Amelie mutters as she stays ahead of the three. Sam looks ahead at Amelie and puts her phone back in her pocket after sending a text to Danny. “We have to get there now.”

“C’mon, wait! We don’t even know if it’s true. Sam, wait! Take a minute,” Bailey calls from behind the three sprinting girls, panting once they finally made it to his car.

“We don’t have a minute!” Amelie turns around and snaps at him. There was no way that anyone, not even the detective, would stop her from getting to Gale as soon as she can, not after that phone call she just received. She couldn’t risk losing another important person in her life, another parent at that.

“Amelie, you have to trust me. We gotta make the right call,” Bailey turns to face the girl and tries to reason with her, but her, nor the other two, are willing to listen.

“He’s already there!” Amelie shouts back as she looks at the man almost incredously, her hands flailing as she speaks. It was odd to her how relucent the detective was to go and protect someone who they know is in the same building as the killer.

“Guys!” Tara calls from behind the two girls and they turn to look at her. Tara sits in the driver’s seat of the Bailey’s cop car and calls for them to get in. Sam and Amelie look at each other before rushing to get into the car, making sure Bailey isn’t right behind them to stop them. Amelie opens the door to the backseat and jumps in, patting Tara’s shoulder as she shifts to the middle, proud of the small girl for coming up with this.

“Get out of the car! What do you think you’re doing? That’s an official vehicle!” Bailey’s voice begins to drown out as Sam rolls up the window and the two sisters make the decision to turn the sirens on while Amelie calls for Tara to hurry from the back. The three speed off towards the direction of Gale’s apartment, Sam in the front helping Tara with the directions and Amelie in the back nervously fidgeting at the idea that they might not get there in time. Amelie pulls her phone out and tries to give Gale a call a couple of times, each leading to voicemails which causes Amelie’s nerves to spike even more than they were before. She settles on sending texts to Gale, some of warning that the killer is there, and she needs to leave, and others saying that she loves her. She slides her finger down her contact list where she hovers over Ethan’s and licks her lips before pressing on the contact to call. She figured their friends needed an update on what was happening and if Ethan was there with her friends, it couldn’t be him, right?

“Hello? Are you okay?” Ethan picks up his phone almost instantly once he saw the girls name come up. Kirby and the twins perk up and try to lean closer to the boy once they see that it is Amelie calling.

“Yes, yes, we are okay,” Amelie begins, nodding her head as she speaks as if he can see her through the phone. Ethan puts her on speaker for all of them to hear what she is saying. “Look, we are headed to Gale’s right now, we-we took the cop car and Bailey should be heading back to you guys soon, I think, I don’t-I don’t know...”

She trails off as she looks out the windshield at all the lights and cars whizzing by. She lowers her voice as she continues speaking, her left hand free and picking at her fingers nervously, “I just wanted to call you, to you know, let you all know and to just tell you to stay safe, please.”

Blush rises on Ethan’s cheek, and he makes eye contact with Chad who, finally, looks at him back as if he were his regular roommate again and not some guy who he is suspicious of. He smirks at the boy and nods his head proudly at Ethan, looks like he was closer to getting the girl. Mindy looks at the two and rolls her eyes at their antics, knowing how gullible Amelie seems to be. 

“Yeah-yes, thank you, Amie,” Ethan sighs and decides to take the girl off speaker before stepping outside of the van door. He felt awkward enough talking to Amelie, he was not going to continue in front of people. “You guys too, Amie, please be safe, and call me or one of us if anything happens.”

“I will, Ethan,” Amelie mutters and lets out a chuckle. “This time around, I will.”

“I will see you soon, okay?” Amelie can hear Ethan also let out a quiet laugh through the phone and lets a small smile form on her lips. “And, uh, thanks for calling me.”

“Yeah,” Amelie whispers. She can see Gale’s building getting closer and decides that she needs to end the call now so she can get to Gale as quick as possible. Nerves flutter in her stomach again from the worry of what might be happening to Gale and from her finally being able to talk to Ethan. “You were the first I thought of.”

Amelie ends the call shortly after telling Ethan that she will see him soon and his heart flutters in his chest. Her letting him know that he was the first she thought of calling made him relieved that maybe she doesn’t resent him as much after all. While he knows that once she finds out who he really is, she won’t hesitate to either kill him or run away as far as she can, he can’t help but be hopeful that she does care about him still. He also knows that even though he doesn’t want her to get hurt- which she already has by him- and his family is aware of it, his word isn’t enough to stop his sister or his dad from touching her. All three of their drives to kill is high, but his family’s is higher to end the Riley girl once and for all.

After what seems like forever, the three finally reach Gale’s building and they run as fast as they can up the stairs to her place. Upon entering, they see the mess of her apartment and run in to find Gale on the ground with Ghostface on top of her, their knife about to enter her face.

“Hey fuckface!” Sam calls to the killer and their masked face turns in the direction of the noise. Sam picks the discarded gun up off the floor where she immediately begins to shoot towards the Ghostface who gets off of Gale and runs away and unfortunately, misses her shots. Amelie rushes to Gale as soon as Sam starts to shoot where she drops to her knees beside her body where she lays frail and bleeding out. Tara kneels beside Amelie and watches as the girl places her hands on Gale’s abdomen where a massive, bleeding wound stares back at her.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Amelie repeats as her shaky hands begin to overflow with blood. She begins to let tears well up in her eyes and her lip quivers when she really realizes the state that Gale is in. “We should have known that he was going to come after you, I’m so, so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Gale begins as she looks into Amelie’s eyes above her. Sam kneels on the other side of Gale, opposite from Tara and Amelie and she shares a look with Tara, pain lingering in both of their eyes. “He never got me. Tell Sidney, he never got me.”

“No, no, I won’t need to, okay? Because you are going to be okay,” Amelie looks at Gale and shakes her head at the older women. Gale's bright eyes are fading in front of Amelie and it is a sight she has never thought she would see; it physically ripping her heart from her chest and tearing it to pieces. Gale looks directly at Amelie's face, a faint smile painted on her lips. "You have your dad's eyes, Mel."

Amelie lets a loud and pained sob at Gales words. She sees her eyes begin to close and her breathe slow down and continues to shake her head harder. "No, no, no, no."

“Gale?” Sam leans over the women and calls her name. Her and Tara begin to call out Gale’s name in panic when they see her start to go still.

“No, no, no, no, please,” Amelie whispers brokenly as she looks around franticly at the women below her. Her hands still on the wound and she can feel her torso slow its normal up and down movement. She can briefly hear the paramedics arrive and she can feel Tara try to pull her away from Gale, but she can’t find it in her to leave her. “No, no, Gale!”

Her voice cracks as she pleads with tears streaming down her face, Tara managing to get her to stand but Amelie can’t even focus on anything around her but Gale’s almost lifeless body in front of her. She tries to convince herself that this isn’t real, none of it is, and she will wake up soon to find Gale in front of her alive, maybe her dad there to, ready to greet her with a smile. But she doesn’t wake up and this is real, this is her real life. Nothing but pain brews through her bones as she watches Gale, and she can almost feel her heart start to seize and shrivel up like an old prune. She thought that the greatest pain she could feel was when her dad got taken from her, and it was. But standing here, with Sam and Tara holding her arms back as she sobs, she feels the pain being doubled. Nothing in this world could have prepared her to lose Gale after losing her dad, and Amelie wonders if she can possibly live life normally anymore.

“We got a weak pulse,” Amelie hears the EMT say which reinstates some hope in her body that maybe Gale can be okay, but nothing will erase or make her forget the pain she is feeling from watching what just happened. Sam nods beside her with tears tracking down her face and she manages to push herself and the two girls out of the apartment so the paramedics can take care of Gale now. Nothing can prepare you for the hurt you will feel from losing another person who you consider a parent, and nothing can warn you for the heartbreak that will follow, dead or alive.

The last twenty minutes of Amelie's life seemed to be in fast forward for her because she can hardly even remember how they managed to get to the lobby of Gale’s apartment. She vaguely remembers being escorted out of Gale's apartment where she refused to leave the door, making sure she saw Gale being taken out of her place and into an ambulance. She also recalls finally calling Ethan once they reached the lobby of the building, where they currently reside, and very incoherently trying to tell him that Gale was badly hurt and they needed to come there now. She knows that right now, she is standing beside her friends who all can't seem to peel their eyes away from the floor, and Ethan's warm body pressed against her with his arm wrapped around her small frame. Her arms wrap themselves around his torso as she lays her head on his arm and her eyes fixate on the lights of the police and ambulance outside the window.

Silence has never been so loud as Amelie stares emotionless at the flashing blue and red colours, her eyes stinging from the amount of tears she shed and throat raw from yelling out in despair. Amelie really feels like this is it, any hope she had stored in her that they will make it out has left her body the second she saw Gale on the ground.

“Hey! I got here as fast as I could,” Danny comes rushing in and heads straight to Sam where she remains sitting. All eyes turn towards the man with the same idea in their minds; he coincidently was gone and got here right after Gale was attacked.

“Did you?” Tara asks him with hard eyes.

“I’m scared,” Mindy whispers as she looks straight ahead. “Guys, I really don’t want to get hurt again.”

“Neither do I,” Chad mutters beside Amelie. Nothing but pain lingers in their voices as they talk. Everyone is so scared, so fed up with everything they have been through and worried that soon enough, they won’t ever be able to bounce back this time around.

“I don’t want you getting hurt again, either,” Mindy looks at Chad before he places his head on her shoulder and brings a comforting hand to her knee, “I know, I know.”

"You either," Ethan mutters quietly, only for Amelie to catch. He looks down at her sad face nuzzled up to his chest and would do anything in this moment to make her feel better, his heart breaking at the sight of her being in pain. Amelie closes her eyes and tightens her arms around his mid-half. "Same goes for you, Eth."

“Maybe he gets to win this time,” Sam begins with pain in her eyes. Chad and Tara lift their heads off Mindy’s shoulders, and they all look towards the girl confused. “He wants to punish me, me. So maybe we let him. I will just give myself up-“

“-Sam, no-“ Amelie finally tears herself from Ethan's warm body and tries to interrupt but Sam just continues.

“-If this is what I have to do to keep you guy safe, it is worth it,” Sam finishes with tears beginning to fall down her cheek and Amelie shakes her head at the girl.

“No, we’re not doing that, Sam, alright? You went back to Woodsboro to protect me, every single day you make the decision to protect me. None of us would even be alive if it weren’t for you,” Tara says and waves her hand around to their friends sitting down on the bench where they all nod at the girl, agreeing. “You have to let us protect you this time. We’re a team, remember?”

Sam shakes her head to Tara to try and disagree, but she relents as Tara continues to say yes. Amelie finally drops her arms from around Ethan, deciding to quickly grab Ethan’s hand that is falling from her hold and gives it a squeeze before letting it go and making her way beside Sam. “Actually, we are a family.”

Quoting herself from a couple of days ago when she let Tara know that they are her family, she was going to do it again with the older Carpenter sister. Mindy eventually gets up too and repeats the word family, nodding her head. Chad lets a smile break through onto his face and claps his hands, also getting up. He places his hand in the middle of the small circle they formed, “Let’s go! Force of Five!”

Mindy places her hand on top of Chads with Tara and Amelie following. Danny also attempts to join in the circle before Chad lets him know that it was an us thing. Amelie can’t help the small smile she feels creep onto her lips at that and she looks to Sam, anticipating her to join in.

“He’s going to keep coming after us,” Sam begins again and their hands fall to their sides once more.

“Isn’t their somewhere, like, safe we can just hold up in?” Ethan quips up, almost reminding them of his presence. Tara shakes her head and says in despair, “He’s just going to keep finding us.”

“Great,” Ethan mutters. At least he tried, Amelie thinks.

Amelie catches Tara furrow her eyebrows as she pauses to think again about what Ethan said, maybe finding some place safe where it would be easy to keep Ghostface trapped in was actually a good idea. “We could use that though.”

Ethan smiles, glad that his idea actually proved to work out the way he wanted it to. He steps closer to Amelie, wanting to feel her close to him again although she was only a couple of feet away. Sam and Tara share a look before calling up detective Bailey, awkwardly letting him know they were sorry for stealing his car and pitching the idea of trapping Ghostface. Their circle expands as Ethan and Danny now join, listening intently as Tara talks to the detective on speaker. Amelie reaches out and links her pinkie finger with Ethan’s, he looks down and smiles at her as she continues to stare at Tara, determination swirling in her eyes. They are going to kill this motherfucker.

~

Amelie holds Ethan’s hand as they walk down the stairs to the subway to head to the Ghostface shrine downtown.

“Is this even a good plan?” Ethan asks nervously to the group. Instantly Tara replies to the boy pointedly, “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“So, we just peel off and let the killer kicks us off one by one, no thank you,” Amelie rolls her eyes at the boy’s words and nudges her shoulder into his. “We aren’t peeling off, that’s the whole point.”

“Let’s just get to the theatre,” Sam sighs as she leads the group in the direction of the subway. The area is so packed with people that the group does end up splitting off from each other. Amelie tries her best to hold tighter onto Ethan’s hand, but it gets difficult as bodies shove between all of them. She can see Mindy up in front of her also getting shoved back by people and even with Amelie’s 5’’5 height, she can’t see over the crowd in front of her or any of her friends. As she finally makes it to the subway doors, she sees Mindy hit the closed subway door and watches as Chad looks back at them through the glass before the subway sets off. Amelie sighs as she makes her way to Mindy and places her hand on Mindy’s shoulder. The girl jumps and whips her head around before realizing it was just Amelie and breathes out a, “thank fuck.”

She looks past Amelie and sees Ethan approaching the two girls and settles her face into a glare. She all but snarls at that boy, “get your Ghostface ass away from us, Ghostface.”

“No, Mindy, he’s okay-“ Amelie tries to persuade Mindy but the curly headed girl just grabs onto her hand and drags her away from the boy, “come on.”

Ethan peers over the people to look at Amelie where she gives him an apologetic look and mouths a sorry to him. Behind her Mindy looks at the boy tries to shoo him away from looking over at them, mouthing a look away to him at the same time. Ethan feels like he has nothing to do but oblige, almost afraid of Mindy and her protectiveness. He still looks over every now and then as they wait for the subway to check on Amelie, not too sure of what he is checking up for, but it may just be an excuse so he can keep looking at the girl.

Amelie feels bad that she just left Ethan to be by himself but she also knows that she should stay with her best friend during this time rather than leave her alone so she can stand beside the boy who makes her heart flutter. So, they wait until the next subway arrives and board it together. Mindy once again brings Amelie over the one side of the subway and Ethan stands away giving them their distance, but close enough so they can still see each other. Amelie closes her eyes as she leans against one of the walls of the subway and tries to focus on her breathing. She has never done great when it comes to moving transportation and often starts to feel sick whenever they start moving, especially when they are a constant stop and go motions. She remembers back when she was younger and her dad would take her places, he would always make sure she took anti-nausea medicine before they left and wouldn’t go ten minutes without asking her if she was feeling sick. One time she went with her mother and stepdad (though she doesn’t call him that) on a road trip and got sick on the trip to their destination. When they arrived, she begged her mom to let her call her dad and cried to him through the phone about how she was sick in the car and her stepdad got upset with her. Dewey reassured her that it wasn’t her fault, and it was her mom’s for forgetting to give her medicine or be prepared. Amelie knew that if her dad was still with her now, he would make sure she was prepared to go on a subway without him, especially knowing how back and forth those trains are.

Whenever Amelie does take the chance to open her eyes, she catches the sight of a Ghostface mask somewhere on the train and it doesn’t help the churning in her stomach. She can see Mindy from beside her try to raise her phone in the air, attempting to get a message to send through. Amelie presumes it is her trying to let the others know where they are, but she can’t be bothered to check her own phone or talk in fear that it might push her urge to be sick.

Amelie flinches when she feels Mindy jump from beside her and turns to see someone with a Ghostface mask decided to come up beside her. Mindy quickly moves to stand on the opposite side of the subway where she was previously standing, so now her and Amelie are facing each other. The person in the mask pushes in front of Amelie to take a seat in the empty spot beside her, causing Amelie to shift a couple of steps away from the guy before leaning against the wall again and closing her eyes. Ethan watches the interaction from where he is standing afar and decides to push his way forward slightly. He respects the distance Mindy enforced upon him so he isn’t too close to the girls, but close enough where he can still see them if anything were to happen.

After a couple a minutes, Amelie opens her eyes again to check how many stops they have left and straightens up when she notices Mindy got pushed to the back of the cart. Mindy looks back at her and nods her head with a pained smile, letting the girl know that she is okay even though they are separated now. Amelie looks back around the subway and can’t help but only focus on the amount of Ghostface masks around her. Her nerves get the better of her and she begins to panic at the idea that one, or maybe all of them, could be the killer. Her attention focuses on one that is sitting in one of the chairs, looking down, diagonally across from where she is standing. She wishes that she was beside Ethan in this very moment, knowing that his presence would make her feel a lot more calm.

The light in the cart starts flickering in and out for intervals at a time and Amelie decides that maybe keeping her eyes closed for prolonged periods was not a good idea anymore. When the light in the cart turns back on for the second time, Amelie looks back to the seat where the Ghostface costume was previously and notices that the seat was now occupied by some other passenger. Amelie quickly looks around to see where the person went but the lights turn off again briefly, interrupting her from finding the suspicious man. She feels her breathing stops when she hears a whisper in her ear and a hand on her mouth, “You’re fucking lucky this time, bitch.”

As soon as the masked person finishes, she feels a pinch on her arm where her gasp is covered by their hand, and then the individual vanish. The lights turn back on with enough time for her to gather that her arm as a small trickle of blood running down it, and that they probably just decided to nick her with their knife. Amelie quickly places her hand on her arm where the small cut is and tries to desperately look to see where they went. Her breathe quickens at the realization that was the killer and that they just let her off. That has never happened, almost ever, when the killer would just let someone live who they could have easily killed and panic settles in, realizing that they were going to go after Mindy or Ethan now. She looks toward Ethan and he turns his head at the same time, almost knowing that she was looking his way and she lifts her hand up to show him the blood. His eyes widen and he begins to try and push past the people in his way from getting to her. His concern her the girl spikes when he realizes that she was not supposed to get hurt, and wonders if it wasn’t a Ghostface who decided to hurt her. Amelie briefly sees a hooded figure standing closer to the end of the train where Mindy was before the lights turn off again, and Amelie already knows that she is who the killer is currently after.

So, in the dark, Ethan blindly attempts to make his way to Amelie and Amelie pushes through the lump of people standing in her way from getting to Mindy. The lights turn back on once again when the subway stops and people begin to flood out when the doors open. Amelie finally sees Mindy on the ground, holding her stomach and her eyes widen at the sight.

“Oh my god, Mindy,” Amelie drops to her knees and turns around to see Ethan catching up to her, his own eyes widening when he sees Mindy on the ground with blood on her hands. “Ethan! Help!”

Ethan and Amelie both call out for help as they try their best to lift her up, placing both of her arms on either sides of their shoulders and move without hurting her even more. The three manage to make it out of the subway doors and onto the ground, leaning Mindy against one of the poles as she groans in pain.

“Are you okay?” Ethan asks Mindy, panic stricken on his face. Amelie reassures Mindy as she takes of her flannel button up and bunches it up to hold onto the bleeding girl’s stomach. “You’re okay, you’re okay.”

“Yeah, I’m so good,” Mindy groans out. At least she still has her humor intact. Mindy looks at Amelie and then to Ethan, “godammit, I got it wrong again.”

Amelie almost wants to crack a smile at Mindy’s choice of words considering she is currently bleeding out and Ethan just continues to look between her and Mindy, evidently in panic at the situation. Two workers come running up to the three and begin to radio for police and an ambulance to their location. Amelie backs away and moves to kneel beside Ethan so the two people can look at Mindy without her in the way. Amelie feels her phone buzzing from her jean pocket and pulls it out to see a multitude of texts pilling in from her friends who they got separated from, all wondering if they are okay and where they are. Amelie realizes that as much as she wants to stay here with Mindy, she knows Ethan will and she has to get going now to be able to make it to the theatre on time. She needs to let them know the killer was just with them, and probably on their way to the theatre as they speak.

“Okay, I-I have to go,” Amelie looks between at two and stands up. Ethan and Mindy, although she is only able to give a side glare at the girl, both look at her like she is crazy.

“What? Amie, no!” Ethan immediately shakes his head at the girl and reciprocates her action to stand.

“Look, just stay here with Mindy, please, at least until paramedics show up. I have to leave now so I can make it to the theatre,” Amelie rushes out and looks between the two. Mindy lets out another groan of pain but can’t find it in her to protest. Ethan attempts to interrupt the girl again, but she doesn’t let him. He knows that if she goes now and makes it into that theatre, there is no telling what is going to happen to her, and he can’t be there to protect her from his family. Amelie cups her hands onto Ethan’s face so he can properly look at her, “I have to go, now. Trust me.”

Ethan knows that he won’t be able to stop her, he has tried multiple times before and he was yet to prevail. So, he nods at her and she gives him a smile. She looks at him for an extra second, visibly debating on her next move before pulling his face down closer to hers and places her lips on his. Amelie knows that this is not an appropriate time to be doing this but almost any movement they make could be their last, and with the mission that her and her friends were on, it truly could be. The boy freezes for a second, in complete and utter shock at what the girl is currently doing, before deciding to place a hand on her waist and kisses her back. Unfortunately, the moment doesn’t last long, and Amelie pulls away first, letting her hands fall back down to her sides. Her eyes flicker down to Mindy who looks repulsed at what she just witnessed before looking back up to Ethan. “Please watch her.”

“Yeah, of course,” He lies to her, nodding his head. He is still stunned from Amelie kissing him and can’t help but think about what would happen if the kiss happened during a moment where someone wasn’t stabbed or wasn’t attempting to hunt down a killer. Amelie turns away to begin heading up the stairs, but Ethan reaches out to grab her hand and pull her back. He needs to do this, needs to let her know that her kissing him wasn’t a mistake, and needs to let this happen just one more time before she finds out who he really is and wants nothing to do with him. He was wanted this girl for months now, and if this was the last chance he was ever going to have with her, he was going to take it. Plus, it would stall her a couple more minutes. He places his lips on hers again and their kiss only lasts for less than a minute, but enough time for each of them to reassure the other that their feelings were mutual. The feeling of their lips together felt so natural for the both of them, and neither wanted to let the moment end, though they knew it had to. Their kiss almost felt like a heart wrenching goodbye and Amelie was not too sure why, only sure that she didn’t want this to be the last time it ever happens.

“Be safe. Please,” Ethan looks down at her and says after they pull away. Amelie nods her head before turning to leave for real this time. And as Ethan watches Amelie runs up the stairs and into the busy streets of New York, he almost feels like none of what he has done for his family is worth it. Because although he has only known the girl personally for a couple of months, he feels protective of her in a way that he has never felt before. He believed that the only emotion he could truly feel was pain and resentment after losing his brother, but the girl seemed to light a spark in his dark soul, and he can’t help but wish that it was bright enough to light up all of his darkness.

Amelie, running through the crowds of people on her way to the theatre, direction purely based on brief acknowledgment of her location, feels her heart catch on fire from within her chest. Kissing Ethan made sense to her; it dimmed the pain in her arm and the shake of her hands, but something inside of her also felt like it was like kissing the devil. The softness of his touch could almost mask the burning of the flame he started on her heart. That kiss felt like a promise, but also like a sad ending. And Amelie couldn’t help but wonder if the fire he started was to hide the fact that kissing Ethan, meant kissing the man she thought he was, goodbye.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

msa but it’s a mecha anime

-there’s a pretty sizeable base of operations, with like a hangar for the robots and everything, but the only people consistently staffing it are vivi, lewis and arthur

-there should be more but whatever organization runs this place is like, stretched super thin right now. anyone who would normally get assigned to help them is dealing with way more pressing concerns so they’re left to deal with the local disasters and monsters basically alone

-compared to whatever world-ending threats the home team is dealing with, they’re pretty minor, but they feel pretty fucking big and important to the people flying two robots into the middle of them

-the robots are piloted by feelings or thoughts or whatever also. of course

-vivi and lewis are both pilots. their robots are a team. vivi’s is light and agile and can get swatted out of the sky and roll with it like it’s nothing, it probably looks a little foxlike

-lewis’s is bigger comparatively but is less mobile. it sort of resembles ghost lewis (in the very loose sense of black body + ribs + skull) it also has flamethrowers because of course.

-arthur’s not a pilot, he’s the mechanic making sure the robots work for more than one fight. he patches them up every night after they run them through fights. and during the day he’s fixing random shit on their high-tech base

-a running theme throughout the series is that the base is held together with duct tape and things are breaking constantly. this is because arthur’s doing the work of like five people minimum and ideally twice that. he barely has time to fix all the important systems that are actively broken, let alone do any kind of maintenance before things completely break down

-if he sleeps for more than half an hour at a time it’s a fucking miracle from god

-the shortage of hands is hitting vi+lew super hard, too. piloting the mechs isn’t easy and they’re in constant danger of getting hit, stabbed, impaled by shards of glass and metal, you name it. and if they get hurt? tough shit, there’s no time to sit around recovering, they get a break of maybe a couple days in between disasters and that’s if they’re lucky.

-in Mech Pilot School they’re like “do not operate a robot for more than two days in succession, seriously, it can do serious mental and physical damage” and then they tossed these two into the middle of nowhere where Everything Wants To Kill You with basically just a thumbs-up and a “hang in there!” poster

-so far they’ve managed to juggle stuff and take breaks and not die but oh man is it tough

-vivi’s the one more prone to getting injured, since her whole job is bouncing around in front of shit like an annoying little bug, but when lewis gets hurt it’s usually worse because it takes some strong stuff to breach his mech’s hull

-everyone’s got some level of medical training and they take turns medicing for each other. lewis will look after vivi if (when) she gets hit too bad to take care of it herself, she’ll do the same to him, and if they’re both out of commission arthur’ll take a break from sprinting back and forth across the ship to look after them

-lewis in particular is like, super anxious about both vivi and himself constantly. which only gets worse as he realizes he actually really likes his teammate and cannot stop caring about her even more

-at some point his mech (which again, is piloted by thoughts/feelings) is having recurring seemingly random problems and finally arthur has to just be like “there’s no physical problem you just can’t fucking focus on your job you very clearly need to talk about something”

-uhh on a less “i wanna hurt my favs” topic

-everyone’s got separate nicknames for the robots and all of them will vehemently deny that they do because that’s dorky and dumb, they’re better than that obviously (they all want everyone else to think they’re cool)

-not sure what mystery’s role in this is? i think he’s maybe a character that shows up sometimes when a threat’s too big for them to deal with on their own

-he flew with mushi back when she was alive/working and clearly still remembers her fondly. it makes vivi a little self conscious about like, living up to that awesome ancestor whose job she copied, and so she’s a little more prone to doing dumb risky shit when mystery’s around

-mystery’s actually trying his best to like, be a good role model and mentor her kind of, but he’s uhhh. not very good at it. he doesn’t know what he’s doing ok he specialized into being really good at piloting not talking to kids

-(vivi’s a whole adult but everyone younger than him is a kid)

-(nobody’s worked up the courage yet to ask how old he's even supposed to be considering he was mushi’s partner) 

-anyway basically it’s primarily a monster of the week show about giant robot fights and everyone being dorks and worrying about each other

[anbudrky2021]

The 𝔇𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔢 Sound of 𝒯𝒽𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇 │ 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕣 𝕆𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕠𝕟

Smut warning. Please click here for series description and TWs. 💕

Ch 4: Projecting

“Thor?” I was confused why he is was there.

“Who made you cry, y/n??” He asked again.

“Nobody,” I lied.

“You can’t tell me a lie without me noticing.” Thor stood, patiently waiting. “Was it Buck?” he had a look of concern, but not anger or malice toward Bucky, which surprised me. When I had come back from Wakanda and told him what had happened, he was so angry. I had never seen Thor so...enraged. So to see him calm was...weird.

“Just leave it alone. Please.” I softly spoke, hoping he would listen.

“I will leave it alone. You are not my responsibility. But please...” he looked genuinely into my eyes, “please let me know if I need to squash him.” He smirked for a moment.

“What are you doing here?” My last tear had dried up and I was now breathing like normal.

“Tony sent me. And Peter.” His eyes rolled slightly. “As much as this...man of spiders bothers me...he does care for you. And I can respect that. Also Tony wanted me to do some recon.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

”Recon? On what?” I whispered now, urging him to do the same. “Not King T’Ch-” he cut me off with a hearty laugh.

“No!!” He boomed. “Not T’Challa. He’s great. Tony trust that Black Leopard. Cheetah. No, that’s not it...Cougar. Capybara.” He looked up at the ceiling quizzically.

“Wow, Thor that’s not even a cat...” I laughed out loud. “Panther, hon. It’s black panther. And if you aren’t...spying on him who-”

“That’s why I was actually hoping on running into you...it’s Bucky. Tony wants to make sure he’s ready to come to the-”

“No. He’s not. He’s not coming back with us. He’s not ready. There. Now go home and tell Tony I already did the recon.” I started walking past Thor but he grabbed my arm lightly.

“This is why he sent me..the four of you are biased. He’s Steve’s best friend. Wanda is your best friend. You...have a history. And Nat, well she’s great but we didn’t want to make her be a double-agent. Not again...” he sighed. “So here I am.”

“Tony didn’t think you’d be biased in my favor? Or against it?” I retorted.

“Nah. He knows I can separate a mission from a woman. I do still care for you, y/n.” He paused for a moment. “I really do...I know it’s hard for you to be here with him around. Don’t forget to ask for help when you need it. You’re almost as stubborn as an asguardian woman and that is a feat.”

We both laughed. He’d told me that many times. He always said that was one of the reasons he liked me so much. I had reminded him of the head-strong women from his Home, in which he respected and loved so much.

We parted ways after saying goodbye. I was confused now. Thor made me feel so comfortable. So cared for. But so did Peter. I had destroyed my chances with Thor..but not Peter. Not yet. But being here with Bucky made my heart wrench out of my chest. I felt dirty. Like I had been a cleat chaser for a baseball team or something. Which is fine. I have done my share of sleeping around. But this group...this team I am a part of...it feels wrong sometimes. Nat hasn’t slept with any of them. Wanda only has eyes for Vis. Hope and Scott are basically married. I mean...I just...

“You’re projecting!!” Thor yelled from down the hallway.

“Jesus...” I whispered, now jogging away. How much had I projected?! And to whom?!

My mind started to dizzy. My fingers and toes felt like they were buzzing. My heart raced and my breathing was completely irregular. I propped myself up against the wall and slid down slowly. I took deep breaths, tried to think of something to distract me but my head was spinning.

“Y/n?” Nat’s voice was like music. She helped me up and walked me to my room. By the time we got there, I felt like I could at least stand. “Nat I am so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

She looked around the room. “What happened here?” She asked, pointing at the broken vase I had thrown at Bucky earlier. I didn’t even know what it was until now. Guilt sprang through me. T’Challa was so kind to let us stay here. And I broke his vase.

“Hey, you know you’re projecting right?” She asked, looking alarmed.

“Oh...no. I didn’t know that. That just happened with Thor, too...”

“Thor is here?” Now she was more alarmed.

“I Guess he hasn’t made that known yet...” I shrugged my shoulders.

“I think we need to see Shuri sooner than later, friend..” Nat motioned toward the door. I followed obediently. I was scared to think anything now. Not that I didn’t trust Natasha, but I didn’t know when or why I was projecting...

We reached the familiar medical and science bay, knocking quickly on the door. “Shuri!!!” Nat yelled through the door. “Hey we’re coming in!”

Natasha opened the door and saw Shuri speaking with T’Challa.

“My friends, welcome,” He gestured toward a seating area.

“This is my laboratory. I get to say welcome!!” Shuri almost whined. They both laughed. Their relationship is so sweet. It makes me want a brother. I would kind of have some if I would just keep it in my pants. I rolled my eyes at myself and then realized everyone was staring at me.

“Hey” Shuri said, chipper, trying to lighten the mood as always, “my bro can be yours, too! He’s taken. So he won‘t be trying any of that pants stuff!” She laughed. Everyone else looked horrified by the whole situation.

“So I assume I projected that thought as well, then...” I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. How about now? Can someone let me know if you’re hearing this? I thought, trying to purposefully project.

Nobody spoke. I sighed.

“So when I try to project, it hasn’t been working and apparently now when I am not, I’m just doing it?” I asked, and stated. I didn’t know.

Shuri nodded. “Did you just try?”

“Yes...”

“Then yeah...that’s what happening. But why?” She asked herself. She waved me and Nat over to follow her. “See you later, brother.” She kissed his cheek and he left.

“How long have I been doing this?” I asked, somewhat to myself but also to Natasha.

“Well, to be honest, on and off for a while. We just all thought you were...” she bit her lip. “remember when you were drunk and-”

“Yes, what about it?” I was exhausted now.

“We thought maybe you had a drinking problem you were hiding...after you and Thor ended things. And that’s why you were randomly projecting. But then Peter said during a meeting-”

“What meeting?” I asked, kind of hurt.

“We had a meeting...a few weeks after you and Pete started...anyway, um. In the meeting, nobody knew at that time that you had been seeing Peter. But he spoke up for you. He said you’d been spending time together-he said it was because he noticed you were sad-and that you hadn’t had a drop of alcohol. So then we all decided that something was up. We stopped sending you on bigger missions...” her tears pricked. “That’s when Steve talked to Bucky and Bucky talked to Shuri. And now we’re here...”

Tears escaped her eyes. Why is she crying? Nat doesn’t cry...

“Because Natasha cares about you. We all do, Y/N. And this isn’t normal for someone with you powers.” Shuri answered my projection.

I took a deep breath. “Ok, so now what?” I asked, concerned.

“Testing. Experimental activities. Anything to figure out what’s going on.” She patted the lab bed and Handed me some electromagnetic stickers with wires attached. “Head and heart please.” She motioned for me to take off my shirt.

I did as I was asked. My scars showed. The one thing I hated most about what happened. The scars. Shuri looked for a moment and then away from me, she shot me a nervous smile.

Nat rubbed my back as I sat, applying the stickers.

I feel like a child. And an alien. I hate this.

“This won’t take too long, y/n” Shuri reassured me. “I promise. And then you can sleep.”

“You’re not an alien. Or a child. We just want you better.” Natasha said softly. She’d be such a good mom; she’s so gentle and kind when she’s not kicking ass.

Both Natasha and Shuri laughed. “Very true. Nat is pretty awesome.” She winked at Nat. Nat’s smile faded and she sat in the chair Beside my bed.

Shit. I forgot. I’m sorry, Nat... I tried to project but it didn’t work.

When Shuri left for a moment I turned to Natasha. “I’m sorry, I forgot...and it was meant to be my own thought...” I looked at Nat with a pained look in my own eyes.

“It’s ok. I took it as a complement.” She smiled genuinely. “Plus, I feel like a mom 99% of the time with you all.” We laughed and then sat in silence.

After Shuri’s tests were done, Nat escorted me back to my room. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” She insisted.

“No, I am ok. Just tired. Plus I don’t know if I will project my dreams and they can be pretty crazy..” I raised my eyebrows.

“Uh, I don’t know if you mean nightmares or sex dreams but I do NOT want to see you having sex with Peter. Or Thor. Or Bucky. Or-”

“I GET IT!” I tossed a small pillow at her and she laughed.

“Alright, get some sleep. I will see in the morning. I will meet you and Wanda at breakfast. Steve is going to spend some time with Bucky.”

I nodded and got undressed when she left the room. I laid out my pajamas and went to the bathroom to shower off and get ready for bed. As I walked out in my towel, Thor was sitting on the same chair Bucky had been in earlier.

“Can I help you” I acted like I wasn’t phased.

“Yeah I have a question.” Thor said, standing up, walking toward me.

What the fuck. “Ok?” I asked.

“What’s a cleat chaser?”

I just stood, hair dripping, confused as ever.

“When you projected in the hallway. You compared yourself to a cleat chaser. What is that?” He asked again.

“Oh, it’s like...people who sleep with baseball players. Like, typically a lot on one team, I guess.” Really, he’s going to come here and ask that?

“That isn’t the only reason I came.” He responded, lightly.

��Y/N...you didn’t ‘destroy’ your chance with me.” He acknowledged my projection from earlier, again. “I just want you to be happy. You can’t be happy with anyone until you get better. And I’m not talking about your powers. I’m talking about your heart. Your soul. Your emotions.” he spoke with such power and authenticity. “You think I ended things because I thought you were selfish. And I did say that. I said you were selfish and cruel. I have pondered on this for months.”

I listened. Trying to to think.

“I am Thor. I am the literal god of thunder. Son of Odin. And I am the selfish one. I did not bother to see how you’re cruelty toward me, or what I saw as cruelty was hurt. It was pain and suffering. It still is. And when I restated what you’d said to me, the night we first hooked up. You’d said it was to numb the pain. And as we progressed in our...relationship or whatever you want to call it. I couldn’t let it go. I was angry. And I brought it back up, after we went to your mother’s house; Odin bless her soul...I brought it up and spat it back out to you. That I was sleeping around to numb my own pain.”

He was very close to me now. I could feel the heat from his large body vibrating onto mine. His voice was soft but somehow still booming. I gripped my towel and swallowed the knot in my throat.

“I was in pain...I’m still in pain. And I understand now. You weren’t being selfish or cruel. You were feeling guilty, hurt, grieving, angry, sad, and alone. And instead of letting you feel those ways, I took them as you not wanting me. Not caring. Not putting me first.”

Thor was still talking but all I wanted to do was hug him.

“I thought I was supposed to be your priority. And I did up until last night..” He laid his hand gently on my cheek, rubbing it with his thumb. “Y/N. I know now, your priority cannot be someone else when you’re hurting. I know that because no matter how many women I lay with, no matter how many ales I drink, my mind goes back to you. I can’t make anyone else my priority when my pain, it‘s you. I love you.”

I burst into tears and just fell into his arms. He patted my head and then held me close to him. I sobbed and sobbed for what felt like hours but he just held me.

“Thor..” I sniffled. “Thor, I can’t express how much that means to me. All I wanted from you was that. To understand I don’t have the capacity to love someone right now. I don’t, even after two years, have the willpower to prioritize someone else. When I do... they hurt me or they fucking DIE.” I sobbed again. This time, doubled over. My knees hit the floor. Thor got on the floor with me for a moment and picked me up. He brought me to the bed and laid me down gently, under the covers.

“Thor, my pajamas...” I cried, holding my towel against me.

“One second...” he grabbed them and helped me put them on. I tried to cover up but it didn’t work.

“Oh stop. I‘ve seen it all before.” He smiled, looking away respectfully. “Yeah, not lately though.” I finished putting them on.

“True...” he smirked. We looked at one another for a moment. I broke the silence. “Thor, will you stay?”

He looked at me solemnly for just a second. “You know I can’t do that...” he tucked me in.

“But-”

“Y/N. I can’t do that,” he insisted.

“Why?” I nearly pouted.

“Because any time I am in the same bed as you.” he trailed off. “And I respect Peter now.”

I blushed. I forgot about Peter. Maybe I am just as cruel as Thor thought I was before. Maybe he’s wrong. I’m not hurting. I’m just mean.

“You’re not mean, Y/N.” He soothed. “You’re lost.”

He was right...but all I wanted was his mouth on mine. My mind went to the day we decided to walk to the creek near the compound.

We had made it to the creek, just in time for Thor to roughly push me up against a tree. I had worn a sundress in hopes he would take advantage of it. His hands roughly ripped down the straps, releasing my chest from its confines. His right hand massaged one as his his mouth attached to the other. My hands immediately latched to his hair, pulling lightly. I could hear his soft moans from the sensation. The vibration against my nipple made me moan myself. My head rested against the tree for a moment before he popped up and reached his hands up my dress.

He yanked my panties down and I stepped out of them. He picked them up and pocketed them.

I pulled his pants down about to his knees and then his boxer-briefs. His cock was at full attention and ready for me. Although my pussy was literally throbbing for him in that moment, my mouth was also drooling.

I pumped his shaft with my hand for a moment before taking him in my mouth. He had one hand on the tree, bracing himself, and one on the back of my head. He was encouraging me to let him go deeper. I allowed it, prompting a gag from myself. He moaned and thrusted again. As he started to take control, fucking my mouth, my hands busied themselves with his balls and one on his thigh to steady my own self.

“Just like that...you’re doing such a good job. Fuck your mouth is amazing.” His thrusts became unrhythmic. I knew that meant he was close to cumming so I shoved him out of my mouth.

“Hey!” He said.

I turned to face the tree, stood on my tippy toes and lifted up my sundress for him to see how much sucking his cock turned me on.

“Oh, damn...“ he groaned, lowly. I felt his tip against my slit, gathering the glistening slickness, preparing to enter me. I used my hands to prop myself against the tree. He entered me slowly, both of us sighing in pleasure.

He started thrusting immediately, not really giving me time to adjust. Although it was painful for a moment, my body gave way and I let out a loud, shaking moan. “Do you like that?” he cooed in my ear softly. “Be quiet or we’re going to be caught...” he thrusted harder, eliciting a louder moan from me.

He reached down for A moment and before I could figure out what he was doing, he shoved my panties in my mouth.

“Shut it,” he warned. His hands now gripped my hips and he railed into my cunt over and over again. My stomach tightened and my moans were snuffed out by my panties. My eyes started to roll backwards as he reached around, stroking my clit just how I liked.

“I am going to cum,” he warned me. As he spoke, his voice was like grit and it was low.

I came, my cunt spasming around him. He came quickly after that, filling me up, leaking down my thigh. He pulled out of me, and spun me around to kiss my lips. I had already pulled the panties out of my mouth. We shared a moment of making out and then he readjusted my straps. He pulled his pants up and used my panties to clean up my thighs and cunt, placing them back into his pocket.

“I still have those panties,” Thor said, interrupting my thoughts. “They’re washed. But I still have them...” his voice was low, just like it gets when he’s horny. I could see his pants were tighter. We locked eyes for a moment and then he turned around. And he left.

[library-phantom]

Kanej Week - Day 6: Duplicity (fake relationships, fool’s gold) - I won’t say I’m in love

I wanted to do something funny for this prompt, but I’m not sure if it really worked though...anyway I recommend listening to “I won’t say I’m in love” from Hercules while reading it, since the parts in bold are the lyrics... 

Prompt:  Duplicity (fake relationships, fool’s gold) by @kanejweek​ 

Summary: 5 times Inej and Kaz lied to themselves and tried to ignore their feelings for each other and 1 time they didn’t

Warnings: none

-I- “Either we get the target or Heleen gets the Crow Club and Pekka gets whatever’s left.” “Wait...why would Heleen get the Crow Club?” Why did I tell her that?, Kaz asked himself as he quickly looked down to avoid Inej’s eyes. She had a slight tone of worry in her voice and he was the only one to blame. No, he definitely talked too much and he couldn’t look at her any longer at that moment, he would end up talking more than he wanted to. If he looked at her eyes again...he quickly stood up and walked away, leaving Inej alone at the table. No, I can’t risk saying anything else, he thought to himself as she called his name.

Try to keep it hidden, Honey, we can see right through you

-II- She was once again in his office that afternoon sitting at his window and feeding the crows while he worked at his desk. He never understood how she enjoyed doing that so often, maybe this is what made Kaz tell her to not make friends with them. Then he looked at her and the Wraith let Dirtyhands speechless. Nobody could leave him speechless, but the way she stood there with her eyes closed, her face turned towards the sun... Quick, say something, a little voice said inside his head.   “They don’t have any manners.” Really, Brekker? That’s the best you could come up with? “Neither do you, Kaz”, she laughed.  Long ago he learned magic wasn’t real, but Inej at that moment made him question that again. The sound of her laugh, the wind in her hair, the sun hitting her face…

No chance, no way, I won't say it, no no (You swoon, you sigh, why deny it, oh oh)

 -III- Inej tried to avoid looking at him, she kept her eyes focused on the papers on his desk. But, did he really have to take off his shirt in front of her? She tried to stop her eyes from following his movements with that wet cloth, how his muscles in his arms flexed while he moved, but the way her face was blushing was getting the best of her. She understood the trust Kaz had in her and she was glad for it...but, did he really have to do that at that moment? And why was she feeling like that while seeing him doing this?

My head is screaming "Get a grip, girl” Unless you're dying to cry your heart out

-IV- Nina was staring at her with shock as Inej told her about why she didn’t have the Dregs’ tattoo. It was true, Kaz did say he didn’t want to be the one to mark her again. Inej still remembered the comfort in her chest when he told her that. Now, as she thought back to that day, she realized there was something else to that, wasn’t it? Maybe there was something more than gratitude that she felt when he told her that, right? He refused to mark her skin, but maybe Kaz Brekker did leave a mark on her that wasn’t so visible to anyone else... 

You keep on denying Who you are and how you're feeling

-V- Kaz looked at the way Inej smiled when he told her his plans with the false plague also included the Menagerie. Even with that strange kind of powder covering her face, her smile was still enough to make him wonder what he should do to see that again. He also noticed how she didn’t let go of his hand when he helped her stand up and he tried to ignore the warm feeling at that. 

This scene won’t play,  I won’t say I’m in love

-VI- Inej couldn’t avoid the slight shock at seeing Kaz without his gloves actually holding her hand. If that wasn’t shocking enough, she felt his arms around her as a support when she saw her parents coming out of that ship. Was she still dreaming? No, said a small voice inside her said, it was real. His fingers were wrapped in her sleeve, did he ever actually take off his gloves outside his office? Inej couldn’t keep up with everything happening in front of her eyes: she had her parents again, she had her ship...Kaz also was a surprise that day, maybe she was right and it was worth it trying to save him.

//

Kaz was holding her hand...Kaz wasn’t wearing his gloves...Kaz had her body half pressed against himself...Kaz didn’t drown...Kaz didn’t feel the water rise...Kaz saw the tears of surprise and happiness in her face...Kaz heard that laugh again… “That’s the laugh.” Maybe magic was real after all.  Maybe that could explain what he was feeling at that moment

At least out loud, I won’t say I’m in love

[huearmy]

The Smell of Truth - III

Summary: After years being forced to fight in clandestine hybrid ring, Jungkook is now living in shelter, but life remains bad, the place is abusive, and nobody seems to want adopt him. Until one night a pro-hybrid activist group invades the shelter, and a woman in black smelling like truth promises that things will get better, and he decides to follow her wherever she goes.

Pairing: pitbull!Jungkook x human!Reader

Genre: fluff, angst, future smut maybe.

Words: 5303

Rating: NC-17

Sorry that it took forever, my head is messed up.

Chapter I  Chapter II  -  Chapter IV Chapter V  Chapter VI Chapter VII

For the first time in years Jungkook woke up on his own, when his body asked for it, without anyone waking him up with a bucket of cold water, or to meet some schedule. He felt numb and heavy, relaxed, rested. He stretched, sitting against the headboard in the dark room. He couldn't tell the time, since there was no clock, making him feel a little disoriented in space time. After so many years without freedom to come and go the boy was not sure what to do now. About ten minutes went by without anyone showing up to tell him to get up - and he didn't want at all, the bed hugging him - hunger settled in his stomach, as well as the urge to go to the bathroom. But could he really leave? He got up and tested the door. It wasn't locked. So he could leave the room, in theory. Without making a sound he closed the door again and went back to bed, thinking about what to do to make the best impression on the first day in his new home. He decided to make the bed and tidy up the room. When he opened the curtains, bringing light to the room, a pile of clothes on the armchair caught his attention - a pair of sweatpants shorts and a oversized t-shirt, a new toothbrush, a pink post it on top. These clothes are mine, but it’s for you to wear while we don’t buy some for you. I think it'll fit. By the smell it was obvious the clothes were yours, he didn't even need to read the note to know. It fit, but not the way Jungkook likes to dress up - he likes big clothes on him, to feel comfy, and your big clothes, wich are big for you, who are smaller than him, are just right to him.  Right now he was in clean clothes, smelling of fabric softener and you.  He put on his shoes and his cap too. Outside the window the now busy street was full of cars and people, making him excited to go out. But yet again, can he? Determined to be a good boy and not disobey, for you to love him, Jungkook sat on the edge of the bed and waited. More minutes passed before he heard light knocks on the bedroom door. He crossed the room in one step and opened the door as fast as he could, his tail wagging from side to side, but it wasn't you in the hall, his smile fell. It was the cat. "What are you doing?" Yeri asked, taking him by surprise. "I... I'm..." He stammered. She crossed her arms "You've been up for almost half an hour, why haven't you left the room yet? Are you alright?" "Yeah" He spoke so low that if Yeri didn't have feline hearing she wouldn't have understood a word. "I was waiting for Y/n." "Oh" Her confused expression softened. "She went to work." "She is not home?" Yeri couldn't understand the slight panic in Jungkook's voice at asking it, or why he didn't left the room by his own choice. She don't know the feeling of rejection like he does, or the pain of being treated like a animal. She knows she is privileged though, she don't need to understand to be empathic... And you asked her to be nice to Jungkook so... "No, and she asked me to keep an eye on you until she back." She smiled softly "Go wash yourself, Y/n let breakfast done for you." Jungkook loved the restroom, for no especial reason, he just he just never saw a bathroom so ... happy - all colorful and with little plants in cute pots, and smelling and clean like he never imagined a bathroom could be. Out of curiosity he decided to try the shower, turned the register slowly, and when the water started to fall he put his hand under it and ... oh, it was so warm. "Yeri!" Jungkook ran into kicthen , where the cat was waiting by the table, scearing her off. The white hairs on her tail were all standing on end when she answered in a hiss. "What?!" "Where do I find towels and shampoo?" He excitedly asked. Not quite understanding Yeri pointed to the hall. "In the closet under the stairs in the hall... But..." Before she could end the sentence he was gone, and the sound of the door of the bathroon closing againg. Jungkook love to shower, stay clean, water. This was often the only medicine he received after being beaten until he was unable to get up. After a while, the cold, limited water shower became the safe spot for him, where the world couldn't hurt him anymore, and he could just breathe. In the shelter the water was not so cold anymore, but there was still a time limit for each shower, it was still Jungkook's favorite time of the day, because he didn't need to think about anything other than himself. Now the water was hot and pressurized, massaging his sore muscles, more than the room you give to him, this felt like home. Of course Jungkook felt a litlle bit upset that you weren't home when he woke up, after all he wanted to see you, he never liked an owner so much that he missed them from one day to the next. But he wasn't going to complain, it's not like he's used to getting attention, in fact being alone was more common than anything. He understands that you can have more important things to do than show him the apartment or prepare and have breakfast with him... You are already too good to be real. He was rinsing his hair and ears, massaging his own scalp, when voices came from outside, caughting his attention. It was two voices, female. You were home. _________________________________________________________________________________________ You entered the apartment with arms full of shopping bags and document folders. You quickly dropped everything on the table or on the floor near the door, took off your coat to hang on the rack and kicked off your shoes. Your eyes searched the living room and kitchen, looking for Jungkook, without a sign of him. You tried to complete all your tasks at the office as quickly as possible and rescheduled some visits for other days of the week to be able to get home early to see him, you were anxious to know if he slept well, or if your male clothes fit him . The breakfast you prepared for him before leaving still wrapped on the counter. You frowned. "Where is Jungkook?" You asked to Yeri, who was lying on the couch by teh window, jumping through the channels. "Taking a shower. He just woke up." She said without looking away from the tv. You hummed. "Ok. Can you put on the news for me please. I didn't have time to check it today." Yeri complained despite obeying anyway, but you paid no attention to it, busy putting the mess you brought with you in its proper place. The TV journalist was talking about the economy updates, which was not the topic you wanted to see. The explosion of the shelter last night ended up on twitter trending topics, but you wanted to know what the official media outlets have to say about. On the internet your organization is seen as justice, everything you do is seen as a heroic act by many, and that brings strength to the movement. Those in favor of the slavery of the hybrids also speak out against you, but their ignorance only strengthens the abulutionist discourse too - in a slow process of difficulty, but there are so many people working for equality that you refuse to be shaken by these rotten people full of hate. This polarization of ideas, of course, also divides politics, and it is this part that interests you the most, because it is from the government that the rights of the hybrids will be guaranteed. Mess with the economy and popular opinion that it is possible to change the government, which is why you and your camarades love that much to explode some state buildings. "Why are you home? I was expecting you only in an hour." Yeri looked at you from the other side of the room with lazy eyes. "Ah, I have to go out to do some more sttuf, but I needed to come pick something... And maybe eat. I skipped lunch."   You decided to warm up the pancakes you made for Jungkook in the morning, and add toast and eggs to your meal. You heard the bathroom door and fast steps and was about to ask Jungkook if likes coffee, the moment you turned around he was already behind you, with a big smile and open arms to hug you. "Y/N!" You were enveloped by jungkook's long arms and squeezed against your chest, losing your balance the way he hit you with his whole body. By instinct and with no regrets, you hugged him back. His tail, which was already swinging from side to side, started to swing even faster. His dump hair was wetting you, and his litlle happy sounds were malink you soft. "Hi, Jungkook...." You give light taps on his back and opened up space between you two. " Let me see you... I knew the clothes would fit quite well. But if you don't like them, fine, they are only temporary, so you don't have to walk around in that shelter's hideous pajama." "I like the smell of it." He said smelling the shirt collar fabric. "Good. Because I'm a little paranoid about laundry." You really are. Actually you are kind of crazy tidy. "Are you hungry?" You softly said, still looking to how the clothes were wrapping his body. You didn't notices but you were making him blush with your stare. "Yes." He said in tiny. "Me too, lets eat breakfest together.". You reaffirmed your theory that Jungkook wouldn't be too picky about food, and that basically anything you put in front of him he eats happily. He just doesn't like coffee. And sweets are really his favorite. He ate the pancakes and egg with toast, plus a very large bowl of cereal, some fruit and a glass of juice. It wasn't just because everything was good, but he was happy you were eating with him, and that made him even more hungry. "Lucky me I have money." You still have a lot of questions in your head to do to Jungkook. You were curious about him in so many levels. Since from his habits and tastes to his past ... One doubt you have is: How is he so docile? His file said that he spent almost a decade in illegal dogfights. Most hybrids take less than five years to lost their and go feral, and then when they can no longer be controlled the owners put them down. But Jungkook doesn't. Furthermore, despite being a pitbull, he does not have his canine ears clipped, which is not common in the middle of where he came from. You wanted so much to ask... but you decided oposite it, thinking that it wasn't the moment. "Want more juice?" Jungkook offered, he was pouring himself more and saw your empty glass. "Of couse, thankyou, sweetie." You didn't notice the blush on his cheeks again, intending to pay more attention to the TV in the living room. Jungkook was not used to hearing praise like that, the most he heard from his former owner was 'champion' or 'good boy' when he won a fight and there was nothing satisfying about it. Your 'sweetie', on the other hand, accompanied by a smile from you, just because of a glass of juice seemed like the world to him. "Updates on the terrorist attack on a shelter in downtown Seoul last night: It was confirmed that despite the magnitude of the explosion and the damage to the building's structure, there were no victims, either by the hybrids or by the local staff. According to the authorities, the 100 hybrids that lived in the shelter were kidnapped by an anti-government organization as a form of protest, on social media entities defend that they were released by the Set Us Free movement." You got up and crossed your arms to watch the jornalist talking as aerial recordings of the burning building and post prints talking about took over the screen. "Early in the morning, a series of complaints linked to the shelter came to the knowledge of the police, involving corruption and money laundering, as well as mistreatment of resident hybrids. Among the evidence presented a list with names involved in the scheme ..." As the jornlist listed names of businessman and politicians. Many of these names you already knew, once your group that investigated and made the report, others were a surprise to you. In that moment you were so interested in the news that you sat on the end of the chouch supporting your elbows on your knees,  watching the TV without blinking. Jungkook recognized the images from the shelter last night, but he didn't find it so interesting, because seeing the explosion live was much nicer, and none of the information said anything to him. But seeing you so serious was interesting, he took the bowl of cereal and sat at your feet, looking more at you and your reactions than at the TV itself. "Senator Y/L/N spoke earlier in a news conference.." The image of the journalist was replaced by one of a man in a suit speaking in front of several different microphones. "Violent acts can't and won't be encouraged, but we need to pay attention to where it comes from. The social injustice and slavery of hybrids needs to be tackled in some way, and since the government is slow to guarantee the rights they deserve as similar to humans, manifestations of marginalized groups are to be expected. It is not giving them what they want, as the conservators say, it is guaranteeing them what should already be theirs by right. Situations like last night are nothing more than a symptom of the disease that we think we are entitled to own a hybrid." Jungkook thought it was cute the way you were biting the inside of your cheek or how it looked like you were narrowing your eyes with each word said. "Ya... Dad is so different when speeching..." Yeri mumbled.  It took Jungkook's attention away from you. "Dad?" He asked with his mouth full of cereal, looking from Yeri to you and to the man in the TV. "Yes." You awnsered, lying in the couch. "This is my uncle... He is cool isn't he?" Jungkook frowned, not thinking the guy is so cool... but since you say so... "Does he protect hybrids like you do?" You smiled to him, slightly petting his head. "On his way." At the same time that the news changed to weather forecast, your phone started to beep with messages. You praticaly jumped from the couch to your feet. "I need to go." You said. From the floor, Jungkook looked at you with doe eyes and a pout. "You are leaving again?" "I have something to do... But you can come with me. If you want." "I do." Jungkook jumped on his spot, finishing his cereal as fast as he could. "Then go put on that hoodie I gave you. Is kind of cold out side." You didn't need to say twice. Jungkook ran to his room to obligue, he came back finishing putting on his sweatshirt and putting on his shoes midair. He was so excited, and the look on your face when he took your hand was so affectionate towards him, just like the good dreams sometimes he have. He was intending on livig his best life with you while it lasted, as long as you wanted him, after so many bad, terrible things that he was forced to go through during his short life, Jungkook got used to not waiting for things to really improve, but he also learned to enjoy each of the good moments, whether they were truth or just dreams. Maybe he will wake up at some point and realize that he is still in the shelter ... or in the cold room, using a muzzle ... Until then he will not stop receiving all the affection that you are willing to give. Among the good things he was not expecting to happen, going out for a walk is one of Jungkook's favorite. "I'm ready." He told you with a cheekie smile, even if you could clearly see it for yourself. You just smiled back containing the urge to grab him by the cheeks. So cute. "Do you want a ride home,Yeri?" You picked the keys. "No thanks. Irene will pick me up in half of an hour." She didn't even looked at you to awnser, to busy scrowling throgh her phone. "Ok. Don't forget to lock the door when you leave," Said that you two left the apartment, and Jungkook got your attention all for himself again. ________________________________________________________________________________ It wasn't your plan to spoil Jungkook so much. Of course, you already intended to go shopping with him, and maybe, who knows, give the world to him if he wanted to, but the idea was that things would happen more slowly.  Instead, early in the morning on your way to work, you saw a beautiful jacket in a shop window and thought it would look beautiful on him, without hesitation you went into the store and bought it, and as a bonus some other pieces of clothing for essential use. Now you were supposed to go to the grocerie store, get an order of yours, and that's it. Kess than one hour and you both would be back home. Now its been almost two hours and your SUV is stuffed with shopping bags of clothes and other random things that made Jungkook's eyes sparkles as you strolled in front of shop windows - you let him buy a skate and an air freshener, for exemple. The tour was a big new world for him, clearly he was having fun just running around the store shelves and you had to pull him back into focus more than once. Like when he decided to try on all the hats in a store, first one hat at a time then all at the same time, it was cute, and you took the ones he seemed to like the most and added to his shopping pile without him paying attention. "Jungkook, do you want to choose some underwear? I have no idea what you like or what size you wear..." He was no where to be seen but you knew he was listening to you, especially after a few seconds, when the sound of the new boots you bought him two stores earlier approached fast, and then the hybrid's happy face appeared among the jeans racks beside you. "Oh, this is important, the only underwear I have is drying on my bedroom window." He said starting to look through the pile of new underwear, ignoring all the colored ones, and separating only the black and white ones. "Wait, what?" You blinked at him. "I washed in the shower and didn't know where to leave it, so I hung it in the window." He simply said. You were kind of shocked. "Jungkook... Aren't you wearing underwear? Like right now...?" He just made no with his head, too entertained in choosing several identical boxer briefs.. You looked around to see if anyone around heard it, taken with modesty but finding the situation a little funny. "Did you have more at the shelter? Why didn't you bring it when I said to get your things?" "I had it, but I didn't think about it at the time." You just laughed at him and hurried him so you would soon pay for everything and move on, with the promise of returning to buy more things later. You still needed to go to the grocerie store... Where together you filled a shopping cart with your list - last night he said he wanted to have a barbecue, so you were going to prepare one for him, lots of meat, charcoal and side dishes - and things that Jungkook thought might taste good by the look of it. "Jungkook, you will find some hygiene products for hybrid in this corridor. Take a look and choose, I'll be right back ... ". "Wait." He looked arond. The grocerie store was way bigger than the clothes shops you went before, with a lot more people, he was not comfortable being alone here. How would he know where to find you if you go too far? You read that in his expression and give his hand a squeeze. "I'll just pick a package. Three corridors from here to the right." You poited. "But don't worry I'll be right back. Can you look the cart for me?" "Of couse I can." He said, more confident now. "Thankyou, sugar." You gave him another of those smiles and then left him alone to choose deodorants and soaps for hybrids. But you didn't lie, as fast as you're gone you're back, now with a wrapped paper package in your hands. Out of curiosity Jungkook sniffed the package over your shoulder while you put it in the cart, but for some reason he was unable to identify what could be inside. "Please don't put anything on top of that, it's fragile." You said. "Ready to go?" "Yeah." Jungkook droped one of one soap bar into the cart, not seeing which of the two fragrances he had been choosing before. "What is it?" You gave him a mischievous smile, hooking an arm around his and then guiding him through the corridors to the cashiers. You knew he would be curious, and you specifically asked them to wrap the package in a special paper that will outwit his dog nose. "Its a surprise." Jungkook was convinced. He never had good experiences with the idea of 'surprise', but coming from you he did not imagine anything bad. If you were saying that he was supposed to wait to find out what was in the package, then he was just going to wait. ____________________________________________________________________ When you got home, you parked once again at the back of the building, the light from the florist indicating that although it was time to close, the employees still haven't left. The same thing in the office on the second floor. You thought it would take a lot of coming and going to take all the bags up to the apartment, but while you picked up some and thought it was too much for you, Jungkook picked up almost all the others, hanging them in his arms, and when he left the first batch on living room ran to get the rest alone. It had been a while since he had space to run a litlle, without even being able to remember the last time. He only slowed down when he heard voices on the second floor, adjusted the bags in his hands and tried to go unnoticed. "I want to finish this before call it a day." A soft voice spoke. "But I want to go home. I'm hungry..." Another male voice answered. "More fifteen minutes, Tae." The office door opened just when Jungkook was passing, and he felt like he was caught doing something he shouldn't have, even if he wasn't, two guys looking right at him. The one at the table in front of a computer and stacks of paper smiled and waved at him. The other, holding the door handle, didn't even blink at him, looking serious. Jungkook just bowed his head and continued on his way, stopping only after reaching you in the kitchen. You felt his arms embracing you from behind and his forehead on you sholder. The guy at the table was a hybrid, he couldn't tell what kind, but the smell was like a cat, and probably, since as far as he knows they both work for you, the two shouldn't be bad. Still, Jungkook couldn't make his heart slow down. Men scare him. You turned to look at him. He didn't let you go tho. "What's up?" You asked noticing his distress. Jungkook bited down his bottom lip. "Got tired." You smiled and pet his head for the second time today making him sigh and close his eyes. Without knowing it you made him calm down. "Go put your things on your room, the new clothes in the closet... When you're done, go up to the terrace." "And then we will eat a lot of meat?" "Yep" _______________________________________________ You were just finishing making the vegetable skewers, and putting the meat on the grill when Jungkook went up the stairs to the floor where his room is and the terrace, where he hadn't gone yet. Like the bathroom, the terrace were filled with plants, but here the vases and plants are much bigger. The starry sky was beautiful, and the movement of cars and people on the street is comforting and full of possibilities. Jungkook stopped by the glass door and just looked at you, who didn't noticed him yet. You were now in comfortable clothes and messy hair, drumming his fingers on the table to the beat of a song that was playing only in his head. Once again the thought that you seem inoffensive crossed Jungkook's mind. But that's a lie. You are powerfull in a way he isn't. During the tour of the city he saw your surname in names of shops and street signs more than once, your uncle is an important guy who appears on TV, and your friends do illegal things using guns and bombs... And you are human - and that's enough for you to be scary for any hybrid. You are not harmless, and one thing that would certainly hurt Jungkook hard would be if after today, when he felt at home after years of not knowing what that feeling is like, you decide that you don't want him anymore. That would be worse than every time he thought he was going to die in a fight. Rejection. Like in the shelter, Jungkook was trying to figure it out a way to be loved. To be so loved that someone would want to live with him forever and never leave him. But he doesn't know how to do it. "Do you want some help?" He approached you. "No. Now just don't let the meat burn." You proudly put your hands on your hips. "But I wantou to sit here... and close your eyes." You made him sit by the wooden picnic table and ran inside. He closed his eyes as you said so. You came back with calmer steps and put something in front of him, an instant after the smell of phosphor and sugar entered Jungkook's nose and you said... "You can open it now." In front of Jungkook was a cake with the words "Welcome home JK" written on it and some candles on top. His eyes got wet instantly. "This is an welcome party." You said softly, holding his hand. "And every party need a cake. Surprise, Jungkook." Jungkook wiped away the tears that began to flow with the sleeve of the hoodie - the hoodie that was yours and still smells like you. Seeing that he was crying, you tentatively rubbed a hand on his back and waited for the sobs to pass before you spoke. "Jungkook, we need to have this conversation sooner or later... But I don't want to be your owner." You said and he got freeze. He looked in shock to you and more tears ran down his face. He was so confused. The cake made him so happy and then you said exactly what he was afraid of hearing. A knowing look reached your eyes and you wiped the boy's face yourself. "Don't cry. Let me explain, ok?" He nodded, without realizing that he was holding your hand with all his strength. You couldn't care less. "I never intended on adopting or buying a hybrid. You are the only exception." You smiled sweetly. "When you said you wanted to come with me I couldn't say no. You were so sweet, trusting on me... You are very special to me, even if we've only known each other since yesterday." You took his face in your free hand. "But I'm unable to own a person. It may be strange for you to understand what I am saying now, but my intention in having you with me is for you to be free. If you want to live with me forever, in the simplest way in the world, I will take care of you. If you want to live your life in any other way, even if it is somewhere else, I will also take care of you, and support you. Because the choice is yours. Of course, you don't have to choose anything now. Today or years from now ... It will remain your choice." Jungkook relaxed but remained confused, not knowing how to respond. "What do you want?" He finally said. Your eyes saddened, the thought that your wanting to be more important to him than his own bothering you. "I want to be your friend." His answer seemed to be what Jungkook wanted to hear, because he opened a huge and beautiful smile. "That's enough for me. Can I eat the cake?" "Of couse!" You served him a piece and one for you, chattering like you never cared much for dessert after a meal, and that if he wanted to eat the meat and the cake together you wouldn't judge. His daydreams are cute, he concluded, determined to love you so that you love him. "Y/N... There are a lot of things about me that I don't like, and I know you won't like it either... And I don't like to talk about it, or to think about it at all... But since we are friends I feel like I should... " "That you should tell me?" He nodded. "You dont need to. Jungkook, I already know a lot of bad things about you." You made him freeze again. "Nothing personal, but enough that if it bothered me or changed the way I see you, I wouldn't even have brought you home. But I don't care, and if you don’t feel like sharing it with me now, or ever, okay, you don’t owe it to me just because we’re friends." He smiled to his cake. "Seriously, I have a lot of secrets my friends don't know. You can have yours too." "Thankyou, Y/N. I like you a lot, and I think I want to be with you forever." That was your time to smile to your cake. "So you are stuck with me forever then." Having a friend has always been more important to Jungkook than having a good owner. But for him the only friend he had stayed in the past, he was already sure that it would never happen again and that he was alone for the rest of his life. But now he had you, and that is enough. Regardless of the situation, friends are forever. If you are friends, he doesn't have to be afraid of you kicking him out, even with all the bad things he has done or all the fears he has.

And that good feeling tastes like cake. _____________________________________________________________

Tag list: @stayunderthelights  @deolly  @panconte @serendipityoreuphoria @madygswich

_______________________________________________________

If you want me to tag you, pls tell me.

AND PLEASE GIVE LOVE TO THIS WORK OF MINE: Clumsy

[quillandink333]

Scarlet Carnations ~ Part II

BotW Link X Zelda ~ Detective AU

Rating: T

Word Count: 2.7k

WARNINGS: death, murder, loss, trauma, blood and gore, terrorism, organized crime, self-harm

Summary: Inspector Zelda Hyrule, assisted by the faithful Constable Link Fyori, is infamous for cracking the most confounding of cases in a town dominated by crime. Her latest assignment is to solve the murder of her own godmother, Impa Sheikah, the late CEO of Sheikah Tech. Incorporated, while staying under the radar of the dreaded Yiga organization.

Part I • Part II • Part III • Part IV • Part V • Part VI • Part VII • Epilogue • Masterlist

By day two of our investigation, there wasn’t much left to look into other than the gardens. We’d already searched the rest of the house and found nothing of note. On that groggy morning, however, as soon as I stepped out into the gardens, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye that struck me as abnormal.

“Link, come here.” My comrade stood to attention and came to stand beside me, on the footpath lining the sides of the zen garden. “See that?”

He followed my finger to what had caught my eye: the big footprint right in the middle of the pattern etched in the sand. His eyes widened.

A grin spread its way across my face. “What say we try getting a closer look?”

This, unfortunately, was easier said than done. Leaving our own prints behind would be tantamount to the destruction of evidence. So in order to reach the spot where the footprint was located, we would have to hop across the stones scattered throughout the zen garden. And to say that the sandals one was given when visiting the Sheikah estate and was expected to wear at all times were unsuited for this endeavour would be a gross understatement.

“Honestly...” I huffed, searching in vain for the next best place to put my toe. “There’s a footpath for a reason.” This earned a chuckle from Link, who was still two or three rocks behind me, but seemed to be struggling to only a fraction of the extent that I was.

With my attention elsewhere, I made the mistake of stepping on a stone that was barely even the size of my heel. Inevitably, my foot started to slip, and I began teetering back and forth like a broken pendulum.

“Eep!”

Just when I shut my eyes in preparation to fall, I was caught and held steady at the waist by my assistant.

My breath caught in my throat. He was leaning over me, his front curved flush against the arch of my back and his gloved hands pressed flat into my abdomen, and here I was, graceful as a swan, arms sticking out at odd angles and legs spread three feet apart.

“Are you alright?”

His smooth, demure voice in my ear startled me out of my sudden paralysis. “Yes!” I squeaked, then cleared my throat and brought my outstretched foot back in. “Yes, quite. Thank you.”

His arms left my waist, and he straightened up, putting as much distance between himself and me as there was left on the perch we shared.

“I suppose this is close enough.” I smoothed out my capelet coat before crouching down toward the sand-covered ground, careful not to let anything trail in it. Before proceeding, I breathed a deep, mind-clearing sigh. “Let’s see what we have here.”

If this had been wet sand, I would’ve had a much easier time identifying the sole responsible for this vandalism. But unfortunately, this sand was dry, so all there was to go off of was the size of the prints.

“My guess is, some oaf thought it would be quicker to cut across the zen garden via these stones like we’ve been doing, but ended up with his or her foot in the sand at some point or another.”

“So...do you think this could be a clue?” he inquired with sweet naïvety.

“Well...” I crossed my arms over my chest. “If this is in fact our culprit’s doing, then that would point to this crime being a spur of the moment, which would blatantly contradict all the things we’ve seen so far, or haven’t seen, rather.”

“You mean the security footage?”

I muttered my bitter answer through gritted teeth. “That’s one example.”

The rest of the gardens offered even fewer leads. There were no unusual disturbances in the flora, and nothing was found lying at the bottom of the koi pond. The walls surrounding the place were no higher than the walls of the main building, but they were still too high and too flat for the average person to climb over. Either way, we found no signs of such activity. We’d quite literally left no stone unturned, but to no avail.

I let out what must have been at least my twentieth sigh since our arrival. “Alright then. I suppose it’s time we start questioning some witnesses.”

“Zelda, listen to me.”

I was in the living room in the midst of an interview with Paya. Link was standing on the opposite end of the room, going over his notes. I’d asked him as politely as I could to refrain from listening in on our conversation as she’d started bringing up some sensitive topics of which it was best for him to stay out.

“You can’t let your own personal feelings interfere with your judgement,” she whispered. “You’re a detective, aren’t you? You should know this.”

“It’s been seven years,” I hissed back, “and he spent five of them in an asylum because he was an amnesiac and he hadn’t any idea who he was. He himself, Paya, let alone me.” I took a moment to try and collect myself before continuing. “I’ve told you this before. And yet you somehow suspect that I still feel the same way about him as I did when we were teenagers?”

She shook her head at me in a patronizing manner like the goody two-shoes she always had been. “You may be able to hide it from him, but not from me. I know because...well, I feel the same.” The nerve of this girl was unbelievable. Had she no shame at all? “In any case, you can’t ignore the evidence, no matter what you or I feel toward him.”

She’d finally pushed me to my limit. This was the person who’d been stalking Link from afar since the start of this entire case. I could no longer sit here and tolerate her utterly guiltless accusation of him despite her creepy obsession.

“Just who do you think you are?!” I snapped, standing up and lifting her out of her chair by the collar. “I’ll have you know I’m the one running this investigation, thank you very much.”

“But Zelda, I—”

“Enough!” She shrank back. “You’ve no right making me out like an amateur!”

I could’ve sworn I saw Link jump out of the corner of my eye just then. But when I turned around, he still had his nose buried in his notebook.

Either way, the raging fire within me had died; I released my grip on my “sister,” who crumpled into her chair like a withering lily petal. Slumping back into my own seat, I let out a weary sigh. “So you’re sure Auntie Impa was asleep in her bedroom when you turned in for the night. Correct?”

She nodded curtly. “Yes.”

“And your basis for this was...what, again?”

She sat up straight with her perfect posture. “Well, she always goes to sleep at nine o’clock, and I hadn’t seen her since supper.”

“Right...” I massaged the bridge of my nose with my first and second fingers. “So you didn’t actually see her sleeping. She could have been awake in her room for all you knew.”

“I suppose so...”

“Splendid. And you can’t think of any household members, or anyone at all, who might’ve had a reason to kill her?” Like the Yiga, for example? I added silently.

“No.”

I shut my notebook, slipping my pen into my pocket. “Thank you for your time.”

At this point, I was starting to lose hope. There was only one other matter that it had even occurred to me to look into, and even then, I wasn’t sure if it would be possible to do so. So one could imagine my pleasant surprise when my object of interest was found unharmed in Auntie Impa’s study.

“So this was her own personal Sheikah Slate...” I marvelled, peering into the miniature safe in her desk at the item in question.

“That it was,” replied Auntie Purah. “She supposedly had it made for work purposes. You know, keeping track of finances and marketing and all those hum-drum tasks she was in charge of.” She rolled her eyes. “But I’m quite sure she used it for other, undisclosed means as well.”

“That’s what I’m hoping...” I confessed. “You said earlier—and I ask this with all due respect, of course—but you said you didn’t know of any dark secrets she was keeping? Any skeletons in the closet that might’ve provided a motive for this murder?”

She shook her head in dismay. “No, I’m afraid not. She was always terribly secretive, even with me.”

“Ah... That’s alright, Auntie,” I sympathized.

“But when your mother was still around—oh my goodness! Constantly, those two would whisper in each other’s ears about who-knows-what, ever since they were old enough to speak, I tell you.”

“Is that so?” I humoured her as she spiralled into a speech about the days of her youth. Since the Slate had been kept in her study in a one-of-a-kind safe made specially for this house, it was reasonable to assume there would be no strange fingerprints on it. Nevertheless, I dusted for them anyway, and sure enough, the only ones on it belonged to its late owner. “So, what’s the trick to gaining access to it?” I too owned a device similar to this one, courtesy of my connections with the company as an adopted part of the family that ran it, but because they were still so rare and invaluable, I typically left it at home and didn’t often have the chance to make use of it. As such, I wasn’t nearly as familiar with its mechanics as I ought to have been.

“Well, one of the Slate’s features, which happens to be one of my favourites, actually,” she boasted, “is that it lets the user create a lock that’s entirely unique from one on any other Slate. There is practically no limit to the number of ways one can keep their information protected.” I listened with immense interest, knowing the technology she spoke of was entirely out of my intellectual grasp, but being fascinated all the same. “It seems my sister simply opted for a riddle, though,” she lamented as she activated the device. “Pity. I was looking forward to showing you what the system is capable of.”

“You can still show me!” I fervently insisted. “I’d love to see how it works. Do you have your Slate with you?”

“Oh, yes, I do!” she chirped, reaching into her dress pocket. “This is going to knock your socks off, young lady.”

But before I could lean in for a better view, a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I turned my head and met eyes with Link, who glanced insinuatingly at the thing we’d come here to investigate.

“Oh.” I stifled a chuckle. “Right. Let’s see this riddle, then.”

“Ah, yes,” she laughed along with me. “My apologies, Zeldie. I do so get carried away at times.”

“Believe me, Auntie, you’re no worse than I am,” I contested, picking up the Slate sitting on the desk.

The screen displayed an empty text box with a typewriting keyboard below it and a question above it that read the following: “I observe the world as I hide in a cage. In my youth, I am weak, but I gain strength with age. I both give life and take it away. When one tries to pluck me, I make them my prey. What am I?”

Until now, I’d thought myself to be quite skilled at solving riddles. I’d even used to make them up in my school days for sport. But as I reread the words written on the Slate over and over again, I couldn’t think of a single answer that made the least bit of sense. “When one tries to pluck me...” and, “...as I hide in a cage,” were what kept throwing me off. It seemed no two statements could have been more unrelated. Even the few things I came up with that I deemed worth a try were denied. Even when Link and Auntie Purah tried, nothing worked.

Soon enough, I was taken completely off-guard when the question vanished, and in its place appeared the words, “This Sheikah Slate has been disabled. Try again in 1 hour.”

I slammed the damned thing down and threw my hands in the air. “Are you bloody joking?!” I stood hunched over the desk, shaking with frustration. “Five guesses? That’s all we get, really?”

“Maybe it’s something no one but her could ever know,” Auntie Purah pondered. “I could picture her pulling something like that.”

In that moment, it felt as though my heart were too tired to go on beating. “If that’s the case, then...” I held my head in my palms, nails scraping into my scalp. “Then we have no hope of ever figuring it out. Do we?” The longer I stared at the words on the screen, the deeper I fell into their endless, dark abyss. This had been my last hope of finding any sort of lead on this case. If this riddle truly was impossible, I was doomed.

“Now, now. No need to fret, dear.” I raised my head, realizing I’d begun to hyperventilate. “I’ll take it with me on my next trip to the lab. I’m sure Robbie and I will be able to crack into it once we put our heads together.”

“Okay...” I counted to ten in my head while Link stroked my shoulder in quiet consolation. I gave him an appreciative glance, then turned my attention back to my auntie. “Shall I trust you not to let anyone get their hands on it until then?”

“You can count on me, Zeldie,” she winked. I could only hope she would take my request seriously.

It was well into the small hours of the night now, after I’d returned home, and I was still awake as could be, staring endlessly at my bedroom ceiling with wide eyes. There were so many things weighing on my mind all at once, it was difficult to differentiate between them.

At the centre of it all, though, was the memory of something that had occurred earlier that afternoon, when my partner and I had been reviewing the results of the investigation in my office. The things he’d said to me then wouldn’t stop replaying themselves again and again in the theatre of my mind.

“Umm... Zelda?”

I’d looked up at him from across our shared desk, more than a little surprised to hear him call me by my first name. “Yes?”

“I just—” The unsure look in his eyes had created an air of tension thicker than a miasma. He’d begun glancing around the room, gnawing at his lip. “I-I just...”

“Is something the matter?” I’d prompted.

He’d shaken his head then, shifting in his seat. “No, no. I just...wanted to thank you.”

I’d raised my eyebrows at him. “Whatever for?”

His gaze had fallen to his hands resting on the desk. “For getting me out of...that place you found me in.”

My chest had tightened at those words. He’d never uttered anything so personal and so heartfelt to me during all the months that had passed. After all this time, what could possibly have urged him to say this now?

“You did that, even though I didn’t have the slightest notion of who you were,” he’d continued, making my heart twist and writhe within the confines of my ribcage. Then, steeling himself and meeting my eyes with his, “I just wanted you to know that, even with my affliction, I’ll never forget that day.”

Those words still rang in my ears even now, after the several hours that had gone by. They tormented me. I was the only one who had a shred of faith in him—in his innocence. And yet, if I couldn’t figure out a way to prove that someone else had used the police-issued revolver bearing Link’s ID code to commit the murder, then all my efforts to free him would go down the drain, and he’d be locked away for good, if not unthinkably worse.

[thefloorisbalaclava]

Ok I would be the happiest if you could do 59. “You own my heart.” & 80. “Lets run away together” with Javi - maybe something soft but angsty? Whatever you think works! I love your writing 💕

A/N: Once I saw these two prompts the ideas for the story I wanted to write for them started flowing and this has honestly been one of my favorite things to write. This fic also comes with some beautiful art drawn by my amazingly talented friend @minilev. She offered to draw something for me and I have never been more honored! Thanks again Anna! And thank you Jessica for such great and inspirational prompts. I hope you enjoy! :)

Javier stood by the window as he reached into his pocket and took out the little box that he had been carrying around with him for the past few days. This little box held a lot of weight. It might have been heavier than anything he's ever carried besides the weight of his sins...and that's what worried him the most. You could say no. You could laugh in his face and tell him that he didn't deserve you--and the truth was: he didn't. He didn't feel worthy of your love. He didn't even deserve the way you smiled at him or laughed at his jokes. 

But you loved him--that much he knew. He didn't quite understand why or how someone as good, as sweet, as you could possibly feel anything for him, but you did and that had been enough.

He was going to ask you tomorrow. He was tired of putting it off. You would either accept or reject him and it was time to find out.

It didn't happen. No. Something stopped him once again and now he sat at your bedside, staring at your sleeping form. He watched your stomach closely to make sure you were still breathing, still holding on. For him. He asked, no, begged you to hold on for him. He didn't deserve that either, but he needed some hope. Any kind of hope that kept him sane. Steve told him to go home and get some rest, but he refused. What if you woke up and he wasn't there?

The doctors told him that you were lucky to be alive and he was tired of hearing that. They told him that the bullet had just missed a major artery. If he could've taken that bullet for you, he would have. A hundred times over. The beeping. He wished it would stop. He wished you would move. He wished he would have asked you sooner.

---

You woke up in a strange place. This wasn't your bedroom...and there was beeping and tubes and…

Javier.

He had been standing at the window looking sadder than you had ever seen him. His eyes were puffy and while one hand rested against the window the other was on his hip. Typical. You smiled or at least you thought you had. Then you tried to call his name, but you had no voice. It came out as a whimper but he must have heard you because he stood up straighter and turned to you slowly.

"Ja...vi…"

He looked as though he would burst into tears at any moment just hearing you say his name again. He ran to your side and sat down on the bed carefully.

"Shhh...don't try to talk. Just keep your eyes open for me, hm? Keep looking at me." He needed that. Oh, how he missed the way you looked at him. 

The doctors and nurses came in soon after and they had to pull him away from you. He hated how they poked and prodded at you and voiced his complaints.

"Do you really have to do all that to her? She just woke up." It took three nurses and security to keep him where he was.

"Javier?" you called out for him.

"She...she needs me." He pushed past everyone to get to you. He held your hand tightly and kissed it. "I'm here, mi amor. I'm here."

It felt like forever before they all left you alone again. You were relieved to have most of those tubes and machines off you. The only thing bothering you now was the pain, but the nurse made sure she gave you something to keep you comfortable.

"When's the last time you slept, Javi?" you asked, your voice still rough from not being used.

"I don't know. It doesn't matter. I didn't wanna miss this."

"Well, you know I'm gonna be okay now. You should go home and rest." You squeezed his hand and smiled at him. He stayed quiet for a while, content with just watching you and knowing that you were still here. The words that came out next were so unlike him that he even shocked himself.

"Let's run away together."

You looked at him and giggled. "Now, I know you need to sleep…"

"No. I'm serious. I want to get you the hell out of here, out of Colombia."

When you realized he was serious, you sat yourself up against the pillows better. "Where would we even go?"

"You could come back to Texas with me. Yeah. And-and we could start that farm that you always wanted. Remember telling me about that? We could have horses, cows, chickens...whatever." The smile on his face had to be the loveliest thing you had seen since you woke up.

"You remembered that?" Your voice cracked and he looked down at you.

"I remember everything you say to me." He cleared his throat and looked away as he sniffled. "I thought I lost you and I...I can't, you understand? I wouldn't know what to do…"

"Shhh...come here." You held your arms out and he laid his head on your chest, closing his eyes to the sound of your heart beating.

"I don't know how to be without you anymore. Who else is gonna tell me to get some sleep?" He chuckled then nuzzled you.

"I love you, Javier Peña." It felt good to say those words again. You weren't sure how long it had been since you last spoke them, but saying it again felt wonderful.

"I love you more." That weight still hung heavy in his pocket. Now wasn't the time. He was content with you just holding him.

---

You had been home for a few weeks now. Javier watched you closely and made sure you didn't do anything that would cause overexertion. If he could, he probably would have carried you everywhere. 

The little apartment was full of balloons and flowers and baskets of things that you probably won't ever eat, but you appreciated every single thing. People out there really cared about you. But no one more than Javier. He just wanted to hold you and kiss you and make love to you every chance he got. Some days you just stayed in bed with him all day. He had been lucky enough to get some time off to take care of you.

"I can stay like this forever," you told him as he laid with you in bed after a bath.

"Do you mean stay naked in bed with me or just...with me?" he asked.

"Hmm...both." You both chuckled then you looked at him. "Honestly, I just love being with you. You've been amazing through all of this and I love you so much."

"I love you, too." He kissed you and one thing led to another. He was careful and gentle.

When you eventually got out of bed and put clothes on, Javier seemed to be lost in his thoughts. He sat on the end of the bed looking off at nothing as he buttoned his shirt.

"You okay?" you asked and walked over to sit in his lap. He laid his head on your chest and sighed.

"I don't know…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong I just...can't believe how in love I am. You own my heart."

"And you own mine, Javi. Always." You kissed his forehead then stood up but before you could walk away he took hold of your hand.

"Wait." He stood and made his way over to where his jacket was hanging. Reaching into the pocket, he looked back at you nervously. Once he turned around and your eyes moved back and forth between looking at his face and looking at the little box in his hand.

"Javier...wh-what is that?" You pointed awkwardly. You knew exactly what it was.

"It's been awhile since the last time I did this and that didn't end well at all…" You made a face and he quickly corrected himself. "But with you I know I'll be better. Everything will be better...especially me. You've already made me a better man but if you say yes then I know I can become the best man I can be for you and...myself." He fiddled with the little box. "I've had this for months, you know?"

"Really?" you cried.

"Yeah and I was gonna ask you the day that...that…" He couldn't even say it.

"That I got shot," you finished for him and he nodded.

"And I'm sorry that this isn't romantic and we're not on some fancy date but...we have here and now. So...what do you think? Trust me, I know I don't deserve you but I want to spend the rest of my life making myself worthy of your love."

"This isn't right," you said and his shoulders sagged. "First of all, you didn't technically ask. Secondly, you do deserve me, Javier...more than anyone ever has."

He sighed in relief and moved closer to you before getting down on one knee and opening the box in his hand. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard as he looked up into your eyes. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes, I will. I will marry you, Javier Peña."

"Really? Are you sure?" The nearly slipped out of his hand.

"Yes! Now put that ring on my finger!"

"Oh...yeah...that's right, the ring." His hands trembled as he removed it from its place in the box. He finally did it and you actually said yes. The ring was finally where it belonged. He stood and wrapped his arms around you tightly. "You...you said yes."

"I said yes." You looked at the ring and laughed as he picked you up and spun with you.

"Mrs. Peña has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" he asked and you pouted as he put you back on your feet.

"Maybe I want to keep my last name and just hyphenate it...or maybe I was planning on having you take my last name." You walked out of the room and he followed closely, grabbing you from behind and kissing your cheek as you yelped.

"You can call yourself whatever you like as long you're waking up next to me every morning."

You turned and gave a quick yet passionate kiss. "I think Mrs. Peña works just fine."

[hex6rcist]

The original ask for this was accidentally deleted so here it is in a post. The ask was along the lines of: Jin meeting reader when they start a conversation with him out of the blue. They go from friend, to FWB, to a relationship. Can be NSFW. I believe the asker was @slobbynblobby​ 

This ended up way longer than I had thought because I went with a weird format that isn’t really a fic but also isn’t really headcanons? So I hope that’s cool. Hope you enjoy. <3 

TW: Alcohol, nsfw, drunk sex 

WC: 4,200+

Jin x [F!] Reader Developing Relationship

First Meeting

Jin isn’t one to strike up a conversation with strangers in public. If he could help it he would actually avoid speaking in public at all. His tic makes it particularly difficult for him to communicate with anyone who doesn’t know him well enough and can often times embarrass him in public, so he’d rather just keep his mouth shut. 

However he won’t be outright cold to anyone out and about who tries to talk to him. He’ll do his best to give lost strangers directions, he’ll excuse himself if he bumps someone, he’ll thank the person at the checkout counter. He’s not a dick. If anything he can just come off as curt as he tries to keep his ticing to an unoffensive minimum. 

When you sit next to him on the late night train he gives a polite bob of his head but that’s about it. It was never a problem for him if he was brusque in a public setting because no one expected much more. But you sat for a while, fiddling with the end of your shirt and letting your eyes wander around the train. Being late it wasn’t as packed as usual but everyone was still seated close together. Idly you two bump knees. 

Jin draws his knees in closer, eyes shifting over to see if he’d bothered you. He was surprised when you were looking right back at him. Your nose twitched in a way that Jin thought was cute but could have possibly been an indication of disgust. His eyes quickly shifted away and he mumbled a short, “Sorry.” 

You give a small smirk. “Never apologize mister, it’s a sign of weakness.” He’s a little taken aback by the response, unsure of what to say to that. “I take it you’ve never heard of John Wayne huh?” He simply shook his head no and your nose gave another one of those cute twitches. “He’s an American actor form the 1940s. He was in a bunch of these cool western films, ya know the ones about cowboys? And he always plays these tough guys who say cool shit like, ‘Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.’” You’d struck your best tough guy face and put on a drawl, making Jin chuckle lightly. A little smile plays on your face too. You like his laugh and wanna hear more.    

You chat for so long Jin is actually surprised when the train comes to a halt and you start to grab your things. “Sorry, my stop. It was nice talking to you. Maybe I’ll see you again.” All he can get out is a pretty lame, “Oh, bye.” before you’re gone. In the silence you left him in he’s not sure how to feel. One part of him is glad that he’d gotten through a pretty normal conversation with a perfect stranger on the train. He felt normal which was refreshing. But another part of him wanted to kick himself for not getting your number or at least your name. 

Second Meeting

Jin wouldn’t want to outright admit that he was looking for you but he would say he ended up on that particular train more often than he would have before. The week passes by without a sighting and he comes close to giving up, he’s really starting to feel a little creepy. But that Friday night just before the train was about to depart you slide through the doors before they could close with a relieved sigh. Jin could feel his heart in his throat. Would you even remember him let alone sit by him again? Maybe you were just being polite that night. 

Sure enough when you recognize the cute blonde guy you’d chatted up just last week sitting in the same spot he’d been in before you don’t hesitate to flop down in the space next to him. “Hey there, good to see you again. I realized I didn’t introduce myself before I got off last time and felt so rude. Especially after you let me talk your ear off. I’m y/n!” Jin really couldn’t believe his luck. “I’m Jin.” “No I’m not!”  He flinched slightly at his outburst. Last time he saw you he had been doing well for a while but things tended to change fast with him. Once again Jin noticed your nose crinkle a bit but you ignored his outburst. “Jin, I like that name. It suits you.” 

Just like last time you spend the whole ride chatting. Jin doesn’t let on that he’d come to take this train every night since you met just to see you but you reveal to him that you work the late shift at a bar in Kamino Ward So you always take this train back home on the weekends. He decides that makes sense for you, the kinda girl who starts a conversation with a stranger on the train, to work at a bar. “Why do you take this train?” Obviously he doesn’t want to tell you what his business in that part of the city is so he settles on saying he also works in the area but takes the late train home because he likes to hang out at the bar after work. 

This time when you get up to leave he’s a little more ready, It’s the same stop you got off at last time. “It was nice talking again Jin! You should come by my bar some time. I’ll buy you a drink. I work tomorrow night if you’re interested.” With a little wave he watches you hop off the train. He can’t help but smile the whole way back to his shitty motel. Sure he hadn’t manned up enough to ask for your number yet, but at least now he didn’t have to feel like a stalker. 

Becoming Friends

The night after your second meeting Jin had decided to come and meet you at the bar. He was glad when he realized it was more of a small dive and not one of the clubs with a thrumming bass. This definitely suited him better. Though it was still a Saturday night and the place was kind of packed he was able to find a seat at the end of the bar. When you noticed him you couldn’t help but be excited. “You came!” You made your way to him, cutting your conversation short with another man. You being so excited to see him and the dirty look the guy shot him went to Jin’s head juuuuust a little bit if he was being honest. 

“Okay, okay let me think. I’m so good at guessing what people like to drink so don’t tell me okay!” He gives a short nod, “Alright impress me.” You stand back and act like you’re framing him up in a camera shot while he makes goofy poses. “Mhm, yeah, that’s good, yup. Okay! I got it!” You throw open one of the coolers and pull out the cheapest beer you got before cracking it open and placing it in front of him. “Oh, you are good.” “Whaddaya think I’m cheap?” You giggle and shrug, “Not cheap, just not one for frills, beer is beer.” This time when your nose wrinkles he realized it for what it was, a little tic of your own.

Jin ends up at the bar with you every weekend and every time he comes you’re just as excited as the first. What had started off as a chance meeting on the train turned into a friendship. He loved to watch you work, effortlessly juggling social situations in a way he couldn’t imagine doing. You really were a people person and he just really liked that about you. 

Though his favorite part of the weekend really had to be when the two of you walked to the train together. It was strangely intimate to share such a casual routine with you. And he was glad he could. He really didn’t like the thought of you making the walk to the train on your own that late at night in that part of the city. He knew you could take care of yourself, he’d seen you break up plenty of bar altercations, but he also knew what kind of threats stalked these streets and with your friendly nature he worries someone might lure you in. 

The biggest thing Jin noticed once he spent more time with you is just how damn friendly you could be. You were downright kind in a way he didn’t often see. You were the kind of girl who’d give a bum your last dollar, your last cigarette, and ask about their day. It always took him aback that in a world like this someone as sweet as you could exist. 

FWB

Jin knew he was attracted to you. He knew as soon as he met you. Though if he was being more honest he’d say it wasn’t as much an attraction as it was a crush. You were funny, smart, beautiful, sweet, the whole package really. and he knows he’s not the only one interested. Plenty of other men at the bar vied for your attention, leaving large tips and their phone numbers or leaning over the bar just to get closer to you. It made him glad you never really drank at work. He didn’t want anyone to try and take advantage. 

That’s why he was shocked to see you downing shots with one of your other regulars when he entered the bar one Sunday night. You frantically gesture for him to come join you and the small group of regulars at that end of the bar, opposite where he’d normally sit. He approached shyly. He knew some faces and some names but never chose to interact much with other customers, much preferring your company. But you happily introduced him to the group before revealing it was one of the patron’s birthdays. Later you two would remember this as the night that Jin met party y/n.

Needless to say you all got pretty trashed, buying the birthday boy, Jin, and yourself shots. By the end of the night you had a hard enough time closing up the bar on your own Jin jumped in to help put up chairs and mop while you focused heavily on counting the till and pulling the money you spent past your comp tab out of your tips. 

It really wasn’t until you two had gotten on the train that you both realized how drunk you were. You head lolled onto his shoulder as you two tried to quell fits of giggles, much to the annoyance of the other passengers. When your stop rolled around you both agreed it’d be safest if Jin walked you home. 

At first it didn’t really hit you but the closer you got to home the more you started to think. Should you invite him in? You looked at Jin from the corner of you eye. He wasn’t the only one with a crush. You knew you wanted to invite him in and you were just drunk enough to take the leap. But then how clean was your apartment right now? Did you leave you underwear from this morning on the floor? Is your makeup all over the bathroom counter? All these thoughts abandoned ship however when you reached your door. Jin shifted from foot to foot awkwardly while you fumbled with your keys. Finally you got them in the lock and opened the door. Moment of truth. “You wanna come in?” 

You two were barely through the door when your lips found his. Neither of you was sure who’d leaned in first and neither of you cared. In an instant your hands were all over each other. Groping, caressing, feeling it seemed neither of you could get enough. Your nails raked through his hair and his strong hands had found their way under the hem of your shirt to grab your waist. The feeling of his hands on your bare skin is all it took to finally get the two of you out of the entryway and stumbling towards your room. 

You both laughed lightly as you guided him by the hand through your dark apartment, tripping over nothing and bumping into walls and each other. When you two finally reach your room he’s pleasantly surprised by the way you push him down onto the bed and climb on top of him. He’s almost thankful for his inebriated state and the confidence it gave him. While your lips pressed to his neck, kissing and nipping, his hands found their way to your ass, giving a firm squeeze. 

Both you and Jin eagerly shucked off each other’s clothing. Once you were naked and laying below Jin you couldn’t help but feel just a little shy, cheeks tinting pink. He let his hands glide along the length of your body before they found your hips and squeezed. “You’re so beautiful.” “I’m gonna fuck you so good.” Your lower lip caught between your teeth as Jin lowered his head to start kissing down your stomach, the tickle of his scruff making you giggle. 

Jin settled himself between your legs, his broad shoulders keeping them spread for him. Just before his lips found the spot where you wanted them most he took a detour to nip playfully at your inner thigh. You gave a little yelp your toes curling as you giggled again. “Jin! Don’t tease me.” Not wanting to leave a pretty girl waiting he finally let his tongue lave up the length of your wet cunt, just to get a taste of you. His tongue found it’s way to your clit, circling around the sensitive bud in a way that made you moan. Your head fell back onto your pillow as your thighs squeezed to trap Jin’s head. Not that he minded. His large calloused fingers probed shyly at your entrance, feeling how wet you are from his treatment. He pulled back just long enough to press his fingers to your mouth. You part plush lips to take his fingers in and suck on them. He moaned, the feeling sending a shock though his system. He loved how you looked right then, eyes glazed with lust and his fingers in your mouth. He slowly thrust them in and out, letting you get them nice and prepped before he couldn’t wait any more. “Good girl.” “You’re such a slut.” Eagerly Jin returned to his spot between your thighs. He gave himself the privilege of watching one of his fingers enter your tight pussy. Even though it was only his fingers he couldn’t stop the satisfied sigh that fell form his lips before he went back to your clit. 

Jin made sure you were well and satisfied before finally standing and pulling you to the edge of the bed. He gave his achingly hard dick a few stroked before slowly pushing it inside you. “Oh fuck!” The way your thighs quivered and your voice hitched was enough to drive him crazy. He wanted nothing more than to pound into you but he held it together. He wanted you to enjoy it as much as him. He locked eyes with you and let his hands cup your face. He thrust slow and hard, groaning softly. “You feel so fucking good, y/n.” “I wanna make you scream for me.” Jin’s cock stretched you so good you could only reply in small whimpers and moans. Your hand found the back of Jin’s head pulling him so close your foreheads touch before you lock lips in a heated kiss. 

When you finally adjust your legs wrap tightly around his hips and you press yourself farther into him. Jin gladly takes the cue and his hips begin to move at a brutal pace. The first hard thrust arches your back and rips a loud moan from you. He sits up, one hand pinning your hips to the bed and the other rubbing unrelenting circles on your clit. You’ve only just started and you can already feel an intense orgasm rippling through your body, making your legs tremble. The feeling of your pussy clenching around him only spurred Jin on further. 

The next morning Jin’s head was pounding. He squinted against the harsh light of the sun and buried his face into your chest. ‘... Wait...’ He shot up with a small gasp before looking around the room. It took him a moment to remember exactly what happened last night but the pieces slowly clicked together. He looked down at your still naked form, snoring softly next to him. He slowly lowered himself back down, laying on his side. He brushed your hair out of your face and took in your sleeping face. 

After that night you two had an admittedly awkward morning. You made coffee and some greasy breakfast food to quell your monster hangovers but you couldn’t ignore what had happened the night before. You also couldn’t ignore the lingering touches and eye contact between you two. Finally after eating and getting a few cups of coffee down Jin trapped you between his body and the kitchen counter. His fingers raked through your hair before cupping your cheek. Any resolve you had to not do this again was quickly replaced by need as you pull Jin in for a deep kiss. 

It would go on like this for the next 3 months. Stumbling back to your apartment on drunken nights, stealing kisses in alleyways, playful pinches and squeezes. You two had both tried to stop what was happening but you just couldn’t keep your hands off of each other after that first night. You’d both agreed to enjoy whatever this casual sexual relationship was for now. You were having fun and there was no reason to read too much into it. 

Relationship

“Hey Jin you going to see your girlfriend? When do we get to meet her?” Toga’s questions threw him through a loop. ‘Girlfriend.’ The word made him nervous but excited. And well at this point he really wouldn’t say that you weren’t his girlfriend. Neither of you was really sure when it happened, but it just dawned on you both one day that things had just gotten more serious. Nights of stumbling back to your apartment to hook up turned slowly into walking home hand in hand to watch a movie on the couch. You now cooked more meals together instead of just breakfast. Hot, passionate kisses turned to slow, sweet smooches. In the end though neither of you minded all that much. It was nice. Comfortable. “Yeah I am.” “You’ll never meet her!” 

That night when Jin met you at the bar he found it hard to keep his heartbeat steady. That word just wouldn’t leave his mind, ‘girlfriend.’ You crack open a beer and place it in front of him before leaning over the bar to press a chaste kiss to his lips. It had become more common for you to greet him with little kisses and sweet hugs. That had to mean you felt the same right? You were both on the same page? 

At the end of the night it took all of Jin’s courage. But once the bar was closed down and you two was sharing one last beer in the dim light he decided now was the best time. “Y/n, you know how I feel about you right?” Your nose crinkled in the way he loved and your cheeks flushed. “I think I have a pretty good idea...” Jin nodded, “Good because I want us to be on the same page. I want you to be my girlfriend.” God that word made your heart flutter. You wrap your arms around his neck and lean in for a sweet kiss. “Mmh, I like the sound of that.” 

Dating Jin most days was like a dream. He was handsome, funny, and loving. He wanted nothing more than to make you happy and you wanted to do the same for him. In a lot of ways he surprised you. A healthy and loving relationship wasn’t an easy find these days. That being said you knew Jin had his problems, you did too. No one was perfect. You two had a long discussion about what exactly to do when Jin had one of his episodes and that’s when he showed you his mask. If he was going to be with you he wanted to be honest. Finding out about the League was a hard pill to swallow but one you were willing to take. You had your own issues with the way this superhuman society was canted and you could understand why Jin did what he did. But it made you worry for him, not just for his physical safety but his emotional wellbeing too.

Jin had decided that the best way to make you feel better about the situation would be to introduce you to the league. They had really become his family and so had you. He figured if you could see firsthand what kind of support he had it’d put you at ease. So that’s how you ended up hanging out in an abandoned bar with some of Japan’s most wanted criminals. It was a little uncomfortable at first but the setting was familiar to you. Your attitude quickly put everyone at ease, and seeing Jin so happy definitely helped. 

Toga was probably the quickest to take to you. She was a romantic after all and she really felt that you and Jin were a perfect match. And you were so cute too! A little fact that didn’t escape Dabi’s attention. He made sure to give Jin a good clap on the back for that though he otherwise seemed uninterested in you. The others regarded you politely but with apprehension. Jin could be a little too trusting for a villain sometimes. Though no one would deny that you were a very cute couple, other than a disgruntled Shigaraki who’d only really agreed to this so Toga would stop asking. 

 After the first meeting Jin’s life fell into a kind of weird harmony. He moved out of his shitty motel and into your small apartment. He liked not hiding anything from you and feeling completely accepted for who he was. He knew his life would never be normal or peaceful but this was fulfilling, and that’s all a guy like him could ever ask for.  

[lettingmydreamsspeak]

The Heart Knows Best : Part VI

Summary: There is nothing like sitting across the table from the one you are interested in, but when you are slated to work with them, how are you going to keep focus?

Pairing: Chris Evans x Female Reader

Warnings: None

Word count: approx. 3300

Author’s Note: This one has been a few months in the making. Life definitely got in the way, in ways I didn’t imagine it would. It feels good to be back though. Catch up with Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V here before checking out Part VI! 

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You felt time freeze in that moment. Who was going to ruin all of this and wake you up from this dream? Chris stood there just smiling at you.

“Yes, the very Y/n from the book that you read on the video! We had some discussions, and felt that she was the best fit for this project. Scott did remind us that you did specifically love the drawings from that book.”

Still staring into your eyes and holding your hand, Chris responded to Evelyn.

“Yes, this is true. By the way…it is so nice to meet you Y/n!” He had the biggest grin on his face, looking as if he wanted to laugh at the fact that you were standing in front of him. He was in shock, just as much as you were. As for Scott, well he is feeling pretty proud of himself. He wasn’t going to let this little secret out anytime soon.

“It is very nice to meet you as well Chris. Thank you for selecting our publishing firm to help bring your book to life.”

“Well, it’s not just my book. My brother Scott is a part of the writing adventure too.” Chris directed your attention over to the other side of the table.

“How rude of me not to introduce myself. Thank you Chris for the introduction.” Scott stood up from the table and eagerly walked over to greet you not just with a handshake, but with a quick hug.

“It’s very nice to meet you as well Scott!”

You were taken aback. Usually hugs weren’t a traditional way of greeting clients, but his friendly demeanor was welcome. If his hugs were a slight indication of what one from Chris would be like, you looked forward to experiencing it. Chris followed behind Scott, as he returned to the other side of the table, taking a seat across from you. You couldn’t bring yourself to look over at Chris, knowing that you would be distracted. You knew that his eyes would stop the world around you, let alone cause you to fumble over your words. Thankfully Evelyn was taking the lead on this meeting. You were there just to hear the ideas, figure out a timeline to complete this project, and see what Evelyn has in store for you.

“First off, thank you Scott for reaching out to us with the idea of writing this children’s book. When we saw your video explode on social media, I don’t think we ever imagined that this project would happen. I was excited to get your call.”

“Well we need to thank you in return Evelyn, and your team, for being willing to meet with us so quickly to get the ball rolling. The timing couldn’t be more perfect for us to work on this book and I know that we have lots of ideas to comb through. Hopefully we won’t be too much of a pain!”

Everyone around the table had a good laugh at Scott’s comment. You couldn’t help but look up at Chris at that moment as you heard his laugh. A smile grew on his face as your eyes met.

“I don’t want to speak for Chris, but I know this was something that I have always wanted to do. This is a memory that we can make together as brothers.”

“I have to agree with Scott. There is a lot of work ahead of us and I know the both of us are keen on getting this done. I just have one question.”

“I will try my best to answer.” Of course Evelyn would have an answer for Chris. She was the ultimate decision maker who wanted to please her clients. This was not that time to disappoint anyone.

“Is it possible to incorporate a charity component to the sales of this book?”

Of course he asked such a question. It melted your heart. You heard that he was a kind heart guy, and now you believe it from the one simple request he made.

“We sure can. You just let us know who you would like the proceeds to go to, and we will do the rest for you!”

“Thank you Evelyn. That was the most important part to me, to really seal the deal. Scott and I will have some discussion about who we would like to work with. I have a few ideas already, but I want the both of us to be on the same page.”

“I agree with Chris. So how do we move forward, Evelyn?”

“Ultimately, we will work with your schedule.”

“Alright! I know that we probably have to work out some kind of timeline for this to be completed. I have already checked with my agent and my schedule is clear for at least the next three to four weeks. Obviously we have never done this before. Does that seem like a reasonable amount of time?”

“We will work with your schedule. Knowing that you are free for the next few weeks Chris, we will start the project right away. Luckily, we have planned for Y/N to be in town for the duration of the project, so she will be available throughout the process.”

“Oh, you don’t live in Manhattan Y/N?” Even though Scott knew exactly where you live, he wanted to sound a little clueless and curious.

“As much as Manhattan feels like home to me now, Vancouver is my hometown. The team has welcomed me with open arms and Evelyn has been kind enough to set up an office for me here for the duration of my stay.”

“That’s great. Who knows, maybe this city will become your home one day. I hope it’s not all work and no play for you the duration of this trip though. By the way, we are excited that you agreed to come on board with this project, right Chris?” Scott nudged Chris out of a daze that you clearly could see and sense from across the table. 

“Oh…yes! I…I mean we are excited to be working with you. Hopefully Scott doesn’t drive you crazy.”

“Hey!!!” Scott punched Chris is the arm.

The grin on your face grew as you watched these brothers being typical brothers. You could see their bond was strong. It reminded you of your relationship with your brother. Gone are the days when you would beat up on each other. You couldn’t help but think of what your brother’s reaction would be if he found out what was happening right now.

“So how about we kick things off tomorrow? Y/N you can meet with Scott and Chris for your initial creative session. I have booked out this conference room for the remainder of the week, so the three of you can start brainstorming. And I will have the contract to you two later today” Your head was spinning as Evelyn proposed the start of the project. You were not prepared to spend every moment with Chris so sudden. Really this was the ideal situation. How was this even possible?

“This sounds great! We will be here at 9am. We will bring the breakfast.” Scott was enthusiastic about the start of this project, but he looked forward to the moment they left the building as he knew his brother was about to burst at the seams. “We thank you again Evelyn. And Y/N, we will see you tomorrow morning. I warn you now; I don’t know how much a morning person my brother is.”

“I will make sure there is lots of coffee to fuel us, most specifically Chris.” 

You found it hard to believe that Chris wasn’t a morning person, considering the early hour that you met him in the park. Who were you to argue with Scott though, as you didn’t want Evelyn to find out about the chance encounter that Chris and you had just a week prior. Everyone stood up and made their way from the table towards the door. Secretly you didn’t want him to leave. You tried to think of something that would stop him and encourage him to stay just a little longer.

“Wait! I should give you both my business card. If you happen to be running late, just let me know!” You handed a card to both Scott and Chris. In your mind, you hoped that Chris would use this as a way to reach out to you, not just for business reasons.

“Good thinking. Thank you Y/N. We will see you tomorrow morning.” Chris’ hand touched yours again as you handed the card over to him, causing the sparks to fly. You brought yourself to look him in the eyes, even though you were intimidated by the smile he still had. He made you smile.

You watched them walk away as the chatter from behind you grew. Just as you turned to return to your spot in the conference room, you see Chris as the end of the hallway turn to see if you were still there. You smiled and lazily waved bye to him. You instantly felt stupid for waving as you wondered how stupid you looked doing it.

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The day flew by and exhaustion set in as you arrived back at your hotel room. After being in meetings with Evelyn all day, you couldn’t wait to tell Haley about what happened. It was the perfect evening to grab take out from the deli around the corner from the hotel, for dinner in bed. You crawled into bed, with the buffet laid out in front of you as you quickly dialed Haley, hoping that she would answer. You needed to process the day, as it still seemed like a dream.

“Why aren’t you out on the town right now?”

“I am not in any state to be out and about tonight?”

“Rough day?” Haley knew exactly what happened today, thanks to the play by play from Scott. She was hoping that you would have told her you were getting ready for some fancy date with Chris, but played dumb by asking if you about your day.

“No? I don’t think I can classify it as that. You are never going to believe what I am about to tell you.”

“Oh?”

“Chris. He is my new client.”

“As in THE Chris?” Good thing Haley could cover up the sarcastic tone in her voice with enthusiasm and shock. She was a really good actress.

“Yes that Chris. Hales, it was so hard to sit across the table from him. I am slated to work with him for the next three to four weeks.”

“This is a dream come true, isn’t it?”

“Yes and no. I don’t know how to deal with this Hales. He is within reach and I am acting like a stupid teenager.”

“Just be yourself Y/N. He is probably in just as much shock as you. I can only imagine that he is sitting in his home or hotel room trying to process everything with his brother.”

“You are right. Wait…..how do you know that his brother is with him?”

Haley needed to cover up the knowledge she had, as Scott has just texted her prior to you calling.

“I follow Scott on Instagram. He posted about being in the city, so I made the assumption that they are hanging out together.”

“Yah, they are both my client. Chris is writing the children’s book with Scott.”

“That will be so much fun! Maybe Scott will make it easier to hang out around Chris. He can lessen the tension between you and Chris.” As Haley continued talking to you, she texted Scott asking him to help you out tomorrow, because she knew you were going to be a nervous wreck.

So, Y/N is going to be a nervous wreck tomorrow. Can you work your magic and ease things a little?

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Chris paced back and forth in the hotel room, scratching at his facial hair. He did this when he was nervous or unsure of things he could not control. His afternoon was occupied with production meetings, which kept his mind from constantly thinking about you. Yet there he was, thinking about you. Scott had just returned from getting take out for the both of them.

“Have you worn out the carpet yet?”

Chris stopped to actually look down to the carpet, wondering if he actually did wear things down.

“Nope, not yet! You realize I am not going to sleep tonight. She has been on my mind all week, and now she is within reach and I don’t know what to do. I feel like a stupid middle school boy that doesn’t know how to talk to his crush!”

“When was the last time you felt like this?”

“Honestly, I don’t think I have ever felt like this.”

“Just be yourself then.”

“But what if she doesn’t reciprocate the feelings that I am having?”

“Just take a chance. I have a good feeling about this.” Just then Scott received a text. Looking at his phone, it was Haley. The two of them hadn’t stopped conversing since the meeting this morning. To distract Chris from the texting, Scott quickly unpacked all the food from the paper bags. “Here, let’s get some food into you.” As he motioned Chris to come get food, he pulled out his phone to read the message from Haley.

So, Y/N is going to be a nervous wreck tomorrow. Can you work your magic and ease things a little?

Scott responded quickly.

I will try my best. Chris is a wreck already. He is worried that Y/N won’t have the same feelings for him. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. It could be an interesting day. Ps. How the heck are we going to keep this secret up?

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You laid in the massive king size bed, staring at the ceiling. It was shortly after 1:00am and you had given up on the idea that you would get any sleep. You learned to sleep with your phone on the other side of the room, so you couldn’t press snooze on the alarm. As you struggled to sleep, you needed something mindless to help pass the time, and hopefully help you fall into a deep slumber. You crawled out of bed to grab your phone from the desk. You had a couple of notifications for work emails and social media updates from your friends. There was also a text from a number that didn’t look familiar. Unsure of who this text was from, you click to open and read it.

I saw the weather for tomorrow. You might need an umbrella :)

Your heart skipped a beat. The time stamp indicated that he had texted 20 minutes earlier. Clearly Chris was having troubles sleeping as well. You wanted so badly to text him back, but knew that you should keep things professional. You read the text over and over again, like it was the first time you were reading it. You loved that he referenced the first time he met you. You also loved that he was looking out for you.

You typed out a few words in response, but deleted them as quickly as they filled the screen.

It must have been his words that calmed your nerves, as your eyes got heavy reading his message a hundred times over. You eye lids became heavy and the phone fell from your hand onto the pillow beside you.

************************************************************************

Though the hours of sleep were short, you felt energized for the day. You took extra time prepping as you woke before your alarm went off. You were making sure that you were feeling confident and cute. With Chris’ recommendation running through your mind all morning, you looked out the window and saw that rain started to fall. You brought the umbrella that he had given you, on the rare chance that you would run into him and give it back. You didn’t want to give it back though. You saw this as a memento from the day you met him. You checked the time on your phone to make sure that you were still on time. His text from the night before almost haunted you. Now was maybe the time to text him back.

Thanks for the heads up. Does this mean I need to return it to you? See you soon! Ps. How much coffee will you require this morning? ;)

With that response, it was probably about that time that you should head out to make that coffee that you promised. As you ran out the door with the umbrella in hand, you gave yourself one last once over in the mirror to make sure that you were looking as good as you were feeling.

“Guess what Y/n, this is no longer a dream. You got this.”

************************************************************************

Chris admittedly was not typically a morning person. Today was a different day. He was up before his alarm went off. He had finished up all his emails before Scott even woke up. His thoughts of Y/N did this to him. He was anticipating the moment he would get to see her again. He also had to make a conscience effort not to check his phone every two minutes to see if she has responded to his message from the night before. For a moment he had second guessed himself and even sending a message at all, especially that late at night. 

Noticing that his brother was still sound asleep, he grabbed a pillow from his bed and flung it at his head, in hopes that it would startle him awake.

“Get up! We are going to be late!” Chris lied in that moment just to see what Scott’s reaction would be.

“Lies. My alarm hasn’t gone off yet. Now f*** off.”

“Good morning to you too. To let enjoy your beauty sleep, I will go and pick up the breakfast we promised to take to the office.”

“Okamph donmmph forgmph frugmph.” Scott’s response was muffled by the pillows that he covered his head with, in anger that his brother thought it was a good idea to wake him up.

“Ahhh, yes. I completely understood that. See you at the office.”

Chris had some eagerness in his step, as he grabbed his messenger bag and ran out the door to catch the elevator. He anticipated seeing Y/N, so much so that there seemed to be a permanent smile on his face. As the door slide open on the elevator to welcome him on, a young family with two small boys stared at him as their jaws dropped open.

“Good morning crew!” As he entered the elevator he approached the young boys and gave them both a high five. He was even beginning to question his own enthusiasm first thing in the morning. As they arrived to the lobby, the younger of the two boys used great confidence to ask Chris for a photo. This kid pulled at his heart strings that he couldn’t resist being able to fulfill such a request. Just as the three of them got into place to take the photo, Chris looked up to see a woman walking through the lobby, clearly on a mission to get somewhere. His heart stopped for a moment and he tried to remain focused on taking this photo. He was pretty sure that it was Y/N heading out the revolving door. He wanted to chase after her, but did want to break the hearts of the boys. As they finished up the photo and went on their way, Chris was quick to run out the lobby to see if he could see Y/N. She was nowhere to be seen, especially in the sea of umbrellas covering the people rushing off to work.

“Why did I have to have a black umbrella?” He stood there staring down the sea of black umbrellas, with a bit of disappointment. As everyone rushed by him on the sidewalk, Chris grabbed his phone to see that he missed a text from her.

Thanks for the heads up. Does this mean I need to return it to you? See you soon! Ps. How much coffee will you require this morning? ;)

Of course his smile grew when he read her response. 

Keep it! It’s my gift to you. Too bad I didn’t buy a replacement though...I might need a towel along with a very large cup of coffee when I get to the office. See you soon!

As he pressed send on his response, the rain suddenly started to come down a little heavier. In that moment though, he didn’t mind one bit. A little bit of rain wasn’t going to ruin his day.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

#10: Mistake

(read it on Ao3 here!)

Things were still tense between Lewis and Arthur. Vivi could tell.

Of course they were. After Arthur thought he was missing and searched for him for years, while Lewis went on a misguided revenge quest against him, only for his identity to be revealed at the worst possible time in the worst possible way – they had every right to feel conflicted about each other. While Lewis unlearned the belief that Arthur killed him, and Arthur adjusted to the giant murder specter no longer being out for his blood, of course they were a little… awkward.

But this was getting ridiculous. It had been over a month, and the two of them still barely so much as looked at each other, keeping their eyes carefully steered away when they were forced into the same room. Had they even talked about anything yet? Or were they just pretending the other didn’t exist?

She didn’t want to push them if they really weren’t ready. Not least because it could end bad, if Lewis went into another rage or Arthur was harboring more resentment than she thought. But she didn’t see the harm in giving them little nudges. Encouraging them to spend time together, hoping to remind them of why they’d loved each other, back when Lewis was alive and nobody was afraid of murder coming out of nowhere.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be working.

Maybe they needed time alone, without her there. She could admit she’d been a little… hovery. She was just – she was worried, she still hadn’t gotten the new memories a hundred percent situated in her head and when she looked at Lewis her first thought was still shit, it’s the wraith, run. But… he’d been anything but the wraith, now that his own memories were complete. He’d been almost the opposite, meek and uncertain at the best of times. Maybe her presence was discouraging him from actually talking to Arthur, worried that she’d see it as a threat and snap at him. Which. Yes, she’d done that a couple times, in the first week or so, but she wasn’t doing it now. She’d been very careful (after Arthur gave her a warning about it) not to be rude to him! But… maybe it was worth a shot to orchestrate some alone time, anyway.

Well, “orchestrate some alone time” sounded more fancy than it was. She was going to swap shifts with Chloe.

It didn’t help.

She found several different excuses to go out, all with very well-defined time limits – work, running to the next town over for research material, stopping at home to help with chores. But if anything, the situation seemed to be getting worse. She came home every time to a clean but quiet house and two quieter friends, in separate rooms, giving her one-word answers when she tried to talk to them.

She really didn’t want to put them on the spot about this – was it even her place? – but unless she wanted to keep dealing with this, it seemed like she didn’t have a choice.

“Do you think Vivi knows?”

“Hmm?”

Arthur and Lewis were sitting together on the couch, legs tangled together. Lewis was reading, and Arthur was scrolling on his phone, though he’d set it down to look back at Lewis.

“About… y’know.” He waved at the room. “This.”

“Wh- oh. I mean, I don’t… see why… she would? It’s not like we’ve done anything, or said– I mean, I know I haven’t.”

“Yeah- yeah, I know, but it… it s-s-seems like she’s been orchestrating a lot- a lot of… time for us alone? I mean- this doesn’t feel like- like just, coincidence, yeah?”

Lewis sets the book down, staring at the ceiling. “…Maybe. Maybe she… overheard something, or just figured it out on her own, and… wanted to give us our space?”

“Feels too- too nice for Vi, but yeah, maybe.”

There was silence for a moment.

“We could just… y’know. Tell everyone.”

“I- I mean, it’s your call.”

“It’s yours too!” Lewis looked back down at him. “This affects you too.”

“Yeah, but it- it’s mostly you.” He tapped him on the chest with the back of his hand. “I’m good with wha- whatever you wanna do, yeah?”

He closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. “I just… I want a little more time.” Time for everyone to get used to me, is the unfinished second half of the sentence.

“Then time you’ll have!”

“It’s just, I know- you probably don’t like keeping it a secret.”

“You don’t like keeping s-se- secrets. I do this for fun.” Arthur’s hand trailed down to his wrist and squeezed it. “It’s al-“

He was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening, and Vivi’s voice shouting “Hey, I’m back, I just forgot something!”

Immediately the two of them scrambled to untangle themselves from the very conspicuous limb pile they were wrapped up in. There was a moment of confusion about which way was best for each of them to move, and then Arthur ended up pulling himself across Lewis’s lap and hopping the armrest while he got up.

They mistimed spectacularly, and Arthur tipped over before he had his feet on the floor, smacking his head directly into the end table with a definitive bang and an “Ow! Fuck!”

Lewis floated over the back of the couch, intending to help him– but then he heard Vivi’s footsteps coming down the hall and was frozen in indecision for a moment. Was helping him up too familiar? Should he sit back down? Should–

Vivi was there before he could make a decision. She glanced between the two of them, frowning, and then focused on Arthur, saying, “you okay?”

“You surprised me,” he whined, the very picture of innocent, boring clumsiness. Lewis almost had to admire it.

Her eyes flicked to Lewis for a second, and then she was moving to help him up, even though he was mostly standing up already.

Okay, this time wasn’t part of some grand scheme. Vivi legitimately had to run out. Or, not had to, but they were in dire need of snacks and the store was closing soon. She didn’t get very far before realizing she left her wallet at home.

Only a moment after she opened the door, there was a loud bang from down the hall, accompanied by Arthur swearing a lot. She frowned and stuck her head in the door, still in her shoes.

Arthur was there, kneeling on the floor, apparently having just smacked his head on the table. Lewis was hovering just behind him, staring at her and looking a little paralyzed.

A shock ran through her, turning her blood cold. He– he wouldn’t have. Right?

Not a good time to ask. She looked back over to Arthur. “You okay?”

“You surprised me,” he huffed, reaching up to put one hand on the table and pull himself up. He sounded honest, but she was having trouble imagining how her opening the door translated to him tripping over into a table. Although Arthur was impressively clumsy and easy to startle sometimes.

She glanced over to Lewis, but his expression didn’t hint at anything. With a laughed “hey, sorry!” she went over to check on Arthur and help him up.

Enough was enough. She was all for letting them talk things over on their own – they were adults, after all, they should have been capable of that – but that required them to actually talk. Or at least admit they weren’t comfortable sharing a living space for now, if that was too hard.

So over dinner one day, as everyone was more or less finishing up, she set her utensils down on the table with an, “okay, look. We need to talk.”

Weirdly enough, it was Lewis who went more tense at that. Had he always been that edgy?– She couldn’t remember, but she didn’t think so. He fiddled with his sleeve-cuff, regarding her with upturned brows, his shoulders high and tight.

Arthur looked nervous, for his own part, but not quite as much as Lewis did. His eyes flicked to Lewis for a moment, and then he slowly lowered his fork with a wide-eyed stare. “About… what?”

“About you two!” She spread her hands out to emphasize. “I mean, I get it, okay? But you either need to talk or step away. Not– the weird- uncomfortable ignoring thing you’re doing now.”

Some of the tension actually went out of Lewis at that. Like he was expecting her to say something even worse. Arthur tilted his head a little, frowning. “Uh, what?”

“Come on, you two can barely even look at each other! I’ve been trying to get you to work it out, but apparently you aren’t getting the message! So. Talk.”

The two of them stared at each other for a while, expressions unreadable.

“I, um, I think the game is up,” Lewis said hesitantly, and then Arthur burst out laughing.

“Uh, what?” she said, lowering her hands. He just slumped back into his chair, continuing into an almost silent snort-giggle. It was… nice to see him laugh so genuinely, but she still wasn’t entirely sure why.

“I- uh, shit.” He lowered the hand he had pressed to his face to look at Lewis. “Are y- are you s-sure?”

Lewis sighed, but the crinkle around his eyes indicated he was smiling. “Yes. Sure. Go ahead.”

“Okay. W-we-“ He took a deep breath and sat up straighter, reining in his laughter. “We’re not av- a-avoiding each other ‘cause we’re- we haven’t t-talked. We, we’re actually, uh.” He glances again at Lewis, who nods. “We’re dating.”

“Wait, what?”

He giggles again at her reaction. Lewis is still quietly looking at his hands, but for once, Arthur seems content to do most of the talking. “We, uh, we talked everything out right af- after th- a-after the… whole thing at th-the shop. Th-that night, actually. You were asleep. Kind of… cleared the air, yeah? Once we figured out the… th-th whole thing with my arm,” he swallows, shivering at the memory, “it was… a lot… better?”

“Obviously we didn’t start- then,” Lewis picks up, “but… it was only a few days after. After a few more conversations and… there was kind of this feeling of- at least for me- not knowing if we’d… have another chance to say it? So…”

“I- I mean, and that was- w-was part of the reason why we… didn’t tell anyone? We weren’t sure if i- if it’d work, there might’ve been… too much stuff, or we just weren’t… in- i-in the right space, but… it… s-s-seems to be working okay?”

Lewis nods. “And, I know you… a lot of people still don’t… trust me. Entirely. I didn’t want anyone to think…” he trails off, letting Vivi fill in the sentence on her own.

“Oh. Okay. But, um, then, what’s with all the… glaring in Arthur’s direction…?”

Arthur snorts again, and Lewis buries his head in his hands. “My face just does this,” he groans. “I think it’s my default with the skull.”

She bites back a giggle at that. “Sh- okay, then, uh. I’m… I’m really happy for you guys…?”

“Thanks,” they both mutter at the same time.

[eirenical]

1 and 2 for the writing meta prompt please!

Thank you, @flamingwell

[If anyone else would like to send questions, here is the list. ^_^]

1. Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

Oooooooh boy. Well, I have quite a few. XD So, how about we just go through the ones I have actively open in Word right now?

Legacies Found: The Untamed, sequel to Legacies Lost. This is a giant canon divergent AU that I've been working on for well over a year at this point. There is one key thing that I changed (and in the interest of spoilers, I'm not going to say what, but if you're curious and don't mind spoilers then, by all means, come ask and I'll tell you all about it. ;D) and it affected everything in-universe, some for the better, some for the worse. Here's the AO3 summary:

Sixteen years ago, the Yiling Patriarch died, a victim to his own hubris and the Yin Tiger Seal. Hundreds of cultivators from many different sects died with him that day, their souls forever doomed to find no rest, even in death. On this, the 16th anniversary of the battle of Qiongqi Pass, Jin Ling is determined to make pilgrimage, to try to put the spirit of his long-lost father to rest. He finds much more than he bargained for, and what he finds… will change everything.

And in the sequel, things have progressed significantly from this point, but the people involved are still broken in various ways, not quite at the point of healing yet, but getting there. The plot is opening up to the wider world and new characters are going to be introduced, and I'm having a lot of fun writing it, but it is SO MUCH SLOWER GOING. OTZ

Mirror, Mirror: I talked about this one extensively in this post, and it hasn't really progressed any further from there. XD This is a Guardian AU based on a short film that Zhu Yilong did with Li Bingbing called "Into the Mirror" (there's a link in the other post).

Reclamation: *eg* For anyone who's been following my Whumptober series (yes, I know we're WELL past October OTZ) of fics that I've been writing for Granting You a Dreamlike Life, this is the latest in the series. This monster is already almost 18K words and it's... it's a LOT. The story is a canon-divergent AU that starts out mostly overlapping canon during episode 35 and begins to diverge somewhere between there and episode 36. I leaned REALLY hard into the whump on this one, went really self-indulgent and wrote the fic that I would most want to read for this fandom, because I was pretty damned sure that no one else would write it or would take it as far and as dark as I wanted it to go if they did. And this particular story is the darkest of the bunch so far. ^_~ I'm not going to link directly to this one, because this is definitely a HEED THE TAGS situation, but if anyone's interested in some really, REALLY dark GYADL fic... hit me up and I'll be happy to tell you more. ^_^ (And for those who just want to look for themselves, you can find it under #eirenical does whumptober or on my AO3 where the series name is "Indefinitely." ^_^)

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

I think I've talked enough about my current projects, so how about some future projects for this one? ^_^

(...and how about under a cut because this is getting kind of long...)

The Lost Tomb Reboot

I have... several fic at the plotty stage for TLTR, and I just added a new one to the list this morning. XD

Ershu fic: So, for anyone who's been following my TLTR journey, you know I'm obsessed with Ershu. I LOVE HIM. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. And you know what happens when I love a character, right? Right? I WANT TO BREAK THEM. *coughs* Anyway, something happens to Ershu in S2 of TLTR that I won't go into detail about because spoilers, but essentially, he's betrayed and ends up in the hands of the person who betrayed him with no one else being the wiser and with him helpless and unable to tell anyone. And there are just... all KINDS of dark, fucked up possibilities there, and just like the Whumptober series, I AM going to write that fic, even if no one but me ends up reading it. ;D

Probably post-canon domestic bliss fic: For those of you who enjoy WHIPLASH ;D, I just honestly want ALL THE SOFT DOMESTIC IRON TRIANGLE. ALL OF IT. And I want Wu Xie and Ershu to have an opportunity to sit down and actually TALK about things (e.g., their need for a family heir), instead of trying to one-up each other. Special appearances by all the ducklings, Xiao Bai's girlfriend, and Lia Jiale and Jia Kezi (...my fic, my rules, we ignore canon when we want to ^_^) having an ...oh moment, and sweet, soft cuddles for Liu Sang and Kan Jian because they're adorable and I love them, too. (I have no idea if this is all going in one fic or if it will be a series of slice of life things, but I just want everyone to get their happily ever after IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK???)

Post-canon Huo Daofu and Xiao Ge... time-sharing Wu Xie?: IDEK what to call what's going on here, but... yeah. XD (See, @elenothar, I haven't forgotten! ;D) To crib from another post... I really do think that Xiao ge loves Wu Xie and loves being with him and all that that entails, but that he gets… restless.  A little feral cat, if you will.  And he just needs to wander off and be on his own for a while sometimes.  And I would love to see a permutation where it’s just kind of understood that he and Huo Daofu just kind of… share Wu Xie.  ^_^  Not in a threesome way, but in a way that they both understand each other’s claim on Wu Xie and neither of them wants him to be alone, so they just kind of… work that out between them.  Like he's a time share. (OMG, I have to be careful of how often I use that phrase for this fic or I'm going to end up calling it that as a title. XD)

DMBJ x Highlander xover that I just came up with literally this morning: No, seriously, this LITERALLY just popped into my head as I was waking up this morning. It was a wild fucking ride, too. O_o;;; ANYWAY, I'm probably going to make a separate headcanon/plotty post for this one, but basically I just randomly woke up thinking... Duncan was an antique dealer in the late 80s/early 90s in the US. Wu Xie is an antique dealer in China, now, and his family has been involved in the antique trade for a... VERY long time. Maybe Duncan did some business with the Wu family. Maybe he met Wu Xie as a kid. Maybe he knew Xiao ge even EARLIER than that (like 100 years earlier). Maybe post-canon Highlander, Duncan starts getting back into the antique trade by helping to quietly repatriate artifacts and comes to China to deal with the Wu family to do that, and meets Wu Xie again... and Xiao ge. And has a WTF moment because Xiao ge ISN'T an Immortal like he is, but he doesn't look a day older than when they met 100 years ago and just... WTF?? And Wu Xie is looking at Duncan and looking at Xiao ge and having a WTF moment of his own because is EVERYONE immortal except him and Pangzi?? And... I just think that would be a lot of fun to play with. ;D

Guardian:

The Care and Training of a Former Megalomaniac V and VI, maybe?: OK, so this idea isn't really concrete, but I still want to play with it. I want to do something to tackle Ye Zun's past with the Rebel Leader and the trauma that that left behind, and I'm thinking he'll end up having a good (...drunk) talk with Da Qing about it.

Another idea I had (MUCH more concrete) was based off my own poor lazy bb. He LOVES to catch bugs. LOVES IT. He gets SO EXCITED and SO into it... but sometimes the bugs fly up to the ceiling. And Gabriel is comfy in my lap and doesn't want to move. So he will swat at the bug... halfheartedly. And then he will turn around and complain to me when it won't come down to be swatted at again. Like I can somehow make it come down so he can play with it? IDEK. XD ANYWAY. I had a vivid mental image of Da Qing doing this to Ye Zun and somehow convincing him to actually... bring the bug down. Using his powers. And someone at the SID detects Ye Zun using his powers so ZYL and SW race home... to find Ye Zun... using his powers... to tether bugs for Da Qing to play with. And I just think that would be hilarious. XD

...I think that's everything in the mental kiddy right now? XD

[holylulusworld]

The third man - Part 3 – Such a tease

Summary: You and Bucky rule the underworld of whole of New York, always grasping for more. When your eyes land on a brand-new toy, you can’t resist. Will the golden boy, New York’s highly decorated Detective fall for you and the games you play?

Pairing: Mobster!Bucky x Mobster!Reader, Cop!Steve x Mobster!Reader, possible Mobster!Bucky x Mobster!Reader x Cop!Steve

Characters: Tony Stark, Clint Barton, T’Challa, Thanos (mentioned), Pietro Maximoff (mentioned)

Warnings: angst, language, tension, making out, groping, a hint of fingering, violence, mentions of roofies, mentions of sexual intercourse/affairs/anal sex (m/m)

A/N: Please be aware this series has nothing to do with the movie “the third man”. The title will make sense in later chapters.

A/N2: Divider by @firefly-graphics

The third man Masterlist

Another busy night at the club makes you itchy. Bucky is out of town for a deal with Thor, your best friends are away doing god knows what and you are alone and bored, forced to watch the club.

“Such a sight,” Tony purrs, sliding his fingers over the counter. “Where is your devoted husband?” you dip your head, faking a smile as Tony orders a drink.

“On the house, Captain,” you wave at the bartender, nodding as he asks if the drinks are still free for Tony. “What brings you here, into our shady establishment, Ton’s? Shouldn’t you be home with your fiancé.”

“I wanted to ask you about Rogers. It’s been two months since you asked me to help you get him into your clutches, but nothing happened,” you smile sweetly, hiding you know Tony is far from being on your side.

“I changed my mind, Tony,” sighing deeply you nip at your drink. “I think, Bucky and I are the best constellation. No more toys, boys, or girls distracting us from our marriage.”

“OH-you are serious,” brows furrowed Tony watches your face, but you play your role well when you silently nod.

“You see, Rogers is a handsome guy, and I bet he’s a beast in the bedroom, but he just doesn’t get me going, Ton’s. You were always such a good boy, Tony bear,” you move your hand over Tony’s chest, smirking as he starts to pant heavily. “We trusted you, you trusted us, everyone got a slice of heaven.”

“Heaven, yeah,” Tony licks his lips, remembering the nights he spent in your clutches, and Buckys. “We were good together.”

“We were, Ton’s, but I want you to have a good life with Pepper, baby. She is a great catch, smart and beautiful. I’ll not ruin your luck for a quick fuck in the restrooms,” Tony nods, still his cock strains painfully against his slacks.

“You’re right, Y/N,” he finally chokes out, watching you order another drink. “Playtime is nice but at the end of the day, your heart and body belong to Bucky, no one else.” You dip your head, smirking at Tony.

“I would have given Stevie a chance, but he was impolite, hurt my feelings by accusing us of killing poor soul for looking at me. If we would do so,” you grin wickedly, jerking your head toward a table with college boys, “those idiots would be dead by now.”

“Shall I talk to them, kick them out?” Tony watches the boys watching you, not liking the way one of them licks his lips. “I can arrest them.”

“Tony bear, we are on James Buchanan Barnes territory, sweetie. If anyone would dare only to have a bad idea, he will regret it,” pointing toward T’Challa you laugh at Tony’s worried look. “He’s my shadow, for the time Bucky is away, Tony. Clint is somewhere around too, just like Pietro and Vis. I am crazy, but not stupid.”

“Bucky is always prepared, I see,” while you turn your attention toward the bartender to order another drink, Steve hides in the shadows, watching you and Tony. “Will you excuse me, darling? I think Pepper waited long enough.”

“Greet the pretty baby mama, and buy her that goddamn house she wants, Stark,” winking at Tony you snicker as he rolls his eyes, excusing himself in a hurry. ‘Sorry, Ton’s but you are out of the inner circle.’

“Another one?” College boy asks, stepping closer and you look at T’Challa, silently telling him to not intervene. “What does the pretty lady want?”

“See the ring at my finger, it belongs to the owner of this club,” you raise your hand, showing the boy your diamond ring and the golden wedding band. ”Do yourself a favor and leave me alone, buy your buddies a beer or two, enjoy the atmosphere, music, and drinks.”

“Lady, you are extraordinary, and I don’t want to miss to buy you a drink, no strings attached,” you dip your head, glancing at his friends. “Promised. Scouts honor.”

“You mean you want to buy me a drink and distract me to slip something inside,” the boy turns pale and you snicker, now looking at T’Challa, nodding to signal he shall keep an eye on your new friend. “Be honest, why did you come over here? Did you believe a grown woman like me would jump into your car and have a ride on your pitiful dick? Pathetic, my little friend.”

“No need to be a bitch about it,” the boy sneers, getting up from the barstool he occupied. “From the distance, you looked hotter and younger, bitch,” the last word barely left the boy's lips before his face hits the counter.

“Little boys shouldn’t play with grown women nor should they use that word to address them,” Steve scolds, pressing the boy's face into the counter.

Clint waits for your instructions, ready to jump in but you shake your head, letting Steve play your hero.

“Detective Rogers, again you saved my honor,” you smirk, enjoying the way Steve’s muscles flex holding the boy down. “I think that you earned the drink I promised to you.”

“I’ll arrest that guy and you can order a drink for me, doll,” again you look at T’Challa who walks toward Steve, offering to take care of the boy.

“Show him the way out, his friends too. Check if he has any roofies or crap, call the cops. I think they tried to drug girls and take advantage of them,” Clint already takes care of the college boys, ‘showing’ them the way out. “They are not wanted at our club, tell Thanos so.”

“I am on it, Y/N,” T’Challa nods, giving Steve a warning look. “Tell me if you need me again.”

While you turn your attention back toward the bartender, Steve sits next to you.

“You have to excuse T’, he’s always worried about me. He’s not my bodyguard, you know, he’s like a big brother to me.”

“Nice big brother,” Steve grits out, hearing the boys scream when T’Challa, Clint, and Pietro drag them out of the club. “He looked like he wants to rip me apart.”

“He might do so, if you are not nice, Stevie,” you batt your eyelashes, licking your lips lazily. “I was just kidding, Detective. T‘ is a good guy, would never hurt anyone on purpose.”

“I will have to rely on your word on that, doll. I mean, he doesn’t have a file, but this means nothing in your kind of business,” Steve smirks, taking the drink you offer to him.

“Shirley Temple for you, without any alcohol as you are here to observe me and the club. You can have a look around, investigate as much as you want to,” you lean closer, sliding your finger over the arm he rests on the counter, “but you won’t find anything, Stevie. No drugs allowed. The girls are all at legal age and get paid well. The alcohol ain’t adulterated either.”

“What about your men? What did happen to the boys after they got kicked out?” You nod at Clint who walks toward Steve, handing him a card.

“Detective Miller will answer your questions with pleasure. He found coke, roofies, speed, and other shit in their pockets. We didn’t hurt a hair on the boys head, that’s a matter of fact,” Clint smirk, placing the visiting card onto the counter. “I’ll be around if you need me, Y/N.”

“Thank you, Clint. Tell T’ he shall go home to his wife and stop hovering over me like a mother hen. That man has a family,” you roll your eyes when your friend shakes his head at your words.

“You like them,” Steve watches you blow a kiss at Pietro, smirking as his cheeks are shades of pink. “Family or just friends?”

“Is there a difference? We stick together in good and bad times,” you sip at your drink, turning on your barstool to look around the club. “When Loki came to town, he tried to take over Bucky’s territory. We were close to losing it all, no money, power, or strength left.”

“I did you a favor by taking him down, huh?” You snicker, patting Steve’s thigh. “You owe me one if I did, doll.”

“No, Romeo,” teasingly squeezing his thigh you face the tall cop who tries to bring you down. “Loki, he learned the hard way that, even though, we had no money left, our men stood by our side. We are family, not friends or people paying them.”

“Family, nice thought, Y/N,” he hums, watching Pietro flirt with one of the waitresses. “Pietro, he’s one of your former lovers’ brother – right?”

“Well done, Mr. Rogers. You found all the people I had dirty and kinky sex with, Detective.” Your hand creeps higher, fingertips resting close to his swelling dick. “Do you know I fucked her wife too?” Color creeps into Steve’s cheeks, letting your smirk grow.

“Don’t be all coy now, Detective,” you lean closer again, a dark look on your face. “We both know you talked to Tony bear. Hmm, Tony was such a good boy for me and Buck. Did you know he likes a good prostate massage, Detective? It made me cum so hard when Bucky was balls deep inside my Tony bears little ass.”

“What the...,” Steve chokes on his drink, making you giggle at his flushed face. “I didn’t need to know anything about my superior’s sex life.”

“Why? You asked him questions about me, Bucky, and my life. You did not stop your investigations until you knew about my dirty affairs,” you pat his cock, licking your lip as you can feel his size.

“You’re a fucking tease, darling,” Steve slips off the barstool to cage you against the counter. “Do you know what I like to do with girls teasing me?” he breathes into your face and you, well you grip his dick tightly, squeezing him roughly.

“Oh-Detective, I can’t wait for you to tell me about it. Come on, Stevie, say it,” you snicker, running your hand up and down his dick. “I bet when my Bucky is back you want him to tell you how to please me, big boy.”

Steve squares his jaw, gritting his teeth hard to let the vein at his neck become visible. “If not for the people here, I’d like to bend you over the counter and punish you for your behavior.”

“I am flattered, Detective,” looking up at Steve with big eyes you give him your best pout, “sadly you talked with Tony bear and ruined my feelings for you. Such a shame.”

You slip off your chair, ducking under his arm to walk toward the restrooms. Steve follows you, not caring T’Challa and Clint jerk their heads toward the cop behind your back.

“Fucking tease,” he’s pressing you against the wall, close to losing control. His lips inches from yours, one hand between your legs Steve pants heavily. “I will tame you, doll.”

“Better men tried to do so, Steven Grant Rogers. You are not the first one who tries to tame me, sweetheart,” you grind against his fingers, looking up at Steve as you grip his hand to guide his fingers up and down your sex. “Sadly, I am not allowed to play with you without my husband around.”

“Pity,” Steve presses his free hand against the wall, watching your grind against his digits. “Let’s review when your husband is back, or maybe when you can sneak out to let me show you how good I can tame you.”

“No one tames me, Detective Rogers. Not my husband. Not Tony bear, not anyone,” you purr, rocking your hips slowly.

Lips brushing yours Steve retreats his fingers, a shit-eating grin on his lips. “See you, doll…” and then he is gone, leaving you one the edge of an orgasm, panting heavily.

“You son of a bitch, Rogers…”

“Calm down, my friend,” Steve smirks, leaning in the door frame. “She’s ready to comply,” he smirks now, offering his friend a beer.

“Do not underestimate that little succubus, Steve. She can trick you with one snap of her fingers or hips, whatever you prefer,” Steve’s friend smirks, giving his conspirator a wink. “This time we will have to teach her some manners.”

“Damn, in the restrooms I barely could hold back. I need to feel her wrapped around me,” his friend nods, giving Steve a knowing look.

“Soon, Stevie she’ll be a good kitten for us…”

“How was your trip? Did Thor agree to the terms?” you snuggle into your husband’s chest, sliding your finger over his metal arm. “Rogers was at the club. I think he wants to play, Buck.”

“Do you want to play,” Bucky smirks when you look up at him, nodding eagerly. “Does my little kitten want to show the golden boy her claws?”

“I want to play, baby,” you whine, rubbing your hand over Bucky’s erection. “Can we play, Bucky? Please, darling.”

“Yes, of course, doll,” Bucky smirks, watching you straddle his lap, rubbing your pussy over his length. “We are going to play…”

[fragmentedink-archived]

Hell to Pay: Chapter Fifty-One

I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, IX, IX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XVIIII, XXX, XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVII, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XL, XLI, XLII, XLIII, XLIV, XLV, XLVI, XLVII, XLVIII, XLIX, XLX

cowritten by @lux-scriptum

A/N: Happy Holidays fuckers

A/N: also trigger warning for Nik's pos dad, and,,,,, nah i think that's it. Enjoy <3

Not a day after Lev was officially banished, Biela showed up. She was brisk, not even giving Lev the chance to acknowledge the two people she’d brought along. He was to be on house arrest, enforced by a spell that the witch she’d brought along would place on him. The fact that he was allowed up to fifty feet away from the house caught him by surprise; he’d fully expected to be confined to the inside. At least this way he could follow the kids in the pool or out into the yard, though Biela had made it clear he wasn’t to be outside alone.

She’d concluded this meeting by warning Lev that the house arrest would last until he proved he wasn’t a security risk. That meant Lev needed to learn how to defend himself, to Biela’s standards.

Lev understood. There was no third chance. If Lev got killed by a demon, it’d be detrimental to Cameron’s functioning. Not to mention Lev wasn’t sure how he’d handle being kidnapped by one. All of that aside he did want to know how to protect his children.

Biela had left with the witch when it was all done. The man she’d brought, who Lev learned was her brother Caius, stuck around long enough to exchange a few words with them, though Lev got the feeling it was more to get a good feel for who Lev was as a person than anything else.

Once all that was done and over with, Lev realized he still had a full day. Cameron had Eden, and Lev didn’t have the energy to fight him while Cameron reestablished his schedule. Instead, Lev ventured downstairs, something else on his mind.

He found Sazra in her room, like he’d expected. He knocked on the doorway when she didn’t look up right away, but having her silver eyes pinning him in place didn’t exactly put him at ease.

“Hi,” he said lamely, unsure of where to start.

“Can I help you?” she clipped out.

“I hope so,” Lev said, trying not to fidget. “I wanted to ask you about suppressants. I don’t know if demon suppressants will work for me, or if I need to get angelic suppressants, but-”

“And you’re asking me why?”

Lev blinked. “Because you’re a healer?” He said hesitantly. “I figured you out of everyone in the house would know about the way I’d react to demonic suppressants.”

Sazra lifted a brow. “Why would you think that when you think your healing is superior to mine?”

Oh. Lev fidgeted for a moment, before, “I’m not versed in medicine,” he started, and then hesitated. “If I’ve offended you...” He trailed off, looking for the right words. “It’s what I was taught,” he finally said, honestly. “And I never stopped to check my bias. I just parroted what I've been told for my entire life. I didn’t think about it at all.”

“I can see that. It’s rather arrogant of you.”

Lev didn’t think he’d ever been called arrogant before in his life. She wasn’t wrong though. “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “It was.”

“Hm.” She thrummed her long nails against the wooden table, but didn’t offer any more words other than that.

Lev stared at her for a long time, unsure of what to say. In the end, he said simply, “Can I try to make amends? I was out of line.”

Her nails clicked on the table. “I’ll help you. Not because you apologized, but because Cameron is my boss and I owe him my life. Anything else?”

“No,” Lev said. “Thank you.” He paused halfway out the door, and turned back. “I haven’t had a heat in about a month and a half. If that helps anything?”

“I am aware. You can go now.”

Lev took that dismissal and slipped back upstairs.

---

After some searching, Lev found Nik in the back with Eden. He had her in the pool, in a cute black swimsuit with pink polka dots and ruffles. Eden was screaming happily as she splashed Nik. Lev padded to the edge of the pool, sitting down and dropping his feet in the water.

“Hi,” Lev said, smiling slightly.

Nik paddled over, dragging a giggling Eden with him. “I had to put sunscreen on her,” Nik said solemnly. “She probably burns faster than Cameron does.”

“Probably,” Lev agreed. He reached out, patting Nik’s hair. “Nik... do you want to talk about it? Any of it?”

“What part of dragging a screaming infant out to the pool suggests I want to talk about anything?”

Lev shrugged. “I thought I’d offer. We probably should eventually.”

Nik dunked under, though he kept Eden above the water. “Sure.”

“Are you okay?” Lev asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I have you, I have Eden, I have Cameron. Everything is going back to normal.”

“You’re pregnant, I’m exiled, and I told you I lost my pregnancy in the worst way possible.” Lev hesitated. “A lot has happened. And... it’s easier to worry about you than it is to deal with everything right now.”

“Well as you can see, I am the picture of health.”

“Physically, sure,” Lev agreed. “I don’t think anyone in this house is mentally healthy.”

“Hm. Well.” Nik moved Eden to his hip, not even blinking when she smacked his face. “Is that your professional opinion, Doctor Lev? I had not realized you had gotten a psychology degree in Ghost Land.”

“Nik, please,” Lev said softly, but he really didn’t have it in him to fight. In the end, he just gave a small sigh. “Fine. We can talk about it later.”

Nik went back to playing with Eden, so Lev splashed a foot lightly and watched Eden grabbing at the water. Lev would have been content to watch, but Nik grabbed his ankle. “Nik, don-”

Nik yanked Lev in the pool, clothes and all. After sputtering at Nik while Eden shrieked, first in surprise and then in delight, Lev glared at Nik. “I’m dressed.”

“Oh?” Nik said innocently.

Lev swatted his shoulder gently. “You could have let me go find a swimsuit. Now I’m soaked.”

Nik simply hummed. “Yeah... Oh well. Better luck next time.”

Lev huffed, and reached for Eden. “Give her over. I want a turn.”

“Mm. My baby,” Nik said, kissing Eden’s cheek. “Isn’t that right, baby?” Eden shrieked, grabbing at Nik’s hair. “See? All the ladies want me.”

Lev huffed, wading closer. He grabbed Nik’s sleeve when Nik tried to pull back, but was distracted by Cameron appearing.

“Phone,” Cameron said, looking annoyed.

Lev patted his pocket, and then held up the waterlogged device. “Nik pulled me in,” he offered apologetically. He set it down on the side of the pool. “I forgot I had it in my pocket.”

“I’ll get you a new one,” was all Cameron said. “Don’t do that again.”

“Tell Nik to not to pull me in,” Lev mumbled, before looking up at Cameron.

“I’m not his mother. You do it,” was all Cameron had to say before left.

“Yeah,” Nik parroted. “He’s not my mother.”

Lev splashed him and Eden both. Eden screeched, slapping the water herself. A laugh bubbled up, real and genuine. Lev turned away long enough to take off his sopping sweater and drop it beside the ruined phone.

This was worth it, he decided, dropping a kiss on Eden’s cheek. It was worth all of it.

---

Nik spent the next few hours getting a restless Eden under control and unconscious while also wandering around the house. Cameron seemed to be off in his study, doing Cameron Things and Lev was doing Lev Things. He was about to go see if he could bully Cameron into making stuffed peppers, when there was a knock at the doors. He was this close to ignoring it, and letting one of Cameron’s lackeys get it themselves, but he was closest to the door.

When he pulled the doors open, he felt his stomach drop. He had no idea why his father of all people decided to stand right in front of him, with that irritatingly neutral look on his face, especially in Demonic Territory. But he was. “Papi.”

Az’ril looked Nik up and down slowly enough Nik folded his arms over his chest, trying to hide his stomach out of sheer self-consciousness. Though it was completely useless and they both knew it. “You are pregnant.”

Nik felt heat rise in his face. “It’s Cameron’s,” he said, instantly.

“Hm.” He looked past Nik for only a second before saying, “Are you going to let me in?”

Nik took a wordless step back and to the side. There was no point in arguing, not when he was pregnant and he wasn’t going to risk the safety of either himself or his baby just when he decided he was going to keep the little leech who decided to continuously steal his food.

His father wasn’t even two steps in the house before both Cameron and Lev decided to come into the hallway from two separate directions.

Well that was just fantastic.

“Az’ril,” Cameron said, mildly. “To what do I owe this unannounced visit?”

Az’ril’s golden brown eyes flicked Cameron’s way. “I was not aware that I needed an invitation or to announce myself to visit my youngest.”

Cameron lifted a brow and stopped right behind Nik, close enough Nik could almost feel Cameron’s body heat. “How would you be aware when you do not ask? Or visit in the last year or so, but I digress.”

Lev stopped next to Nik and tried to take his hand. Nik only shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets and said nothing. Az’ril’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but completely dismissed Cameron and turned his full attention back to Nik. “Let’s speak. Alone.”

“Nik,” Lev said, quietly.

He could feel Cameron’s gaze on him, letting him take the lead on however Nik wanted to move forward. Nik only lifted a shoulder. “Yeah, sure. I think we can find a room.”

He shouldered past Lev, without so much as a glance, aware his father was right on his heel without needing to be told to follow. He found the nearest office space and went in, immediately going to open the windows when he heard the door click behind him.

“So,” Nik said, leaning against the wall, with his arms folded over himself once more. “You wanted to talk…?”

Az’ril made himself at home by sitting in the desk chair. He glanced around the orderly office, taking note of the very sharp, immaculate furniture. “He seems to have inherited a great deal from his former station,” Az’ril noted.

“Yeah,” Nik said. “I imagine being raped every day for five hundred years, a fancy house was the least they could give him. But what do I know.”

The vaguest look of distaste crossed his father’s features. “Your crassness is bound to lose its charm,” he said, leaning back. “Especially now that you are pregnant. Even if it is with a demon’s spawn, and an illegitimate one at that. That cute attitude isn’t going to get you far much more.”

“I’m sure my cute looks will make up for it,” Nik said.

“We’ll see.”

The tightness in his chest didn’t let up a single bit, if anything it just reached further into his throat, making it that much harder to keep an unruffled appearance. The razor sharp look in his father’s eyes suggested Az’ril was more than aware. And he was unimpressed.

“How does the demon feel about your pregnancy,” Az’ril said. “Doesn’t quite seem the paternal type. As far as I’m aware, demons tend to eat their young.”

Nik chewed on his lip piercing. “He’s fine with it.”

“Is he?”

“That’s what I said,” Nik said, not able to keep the irritability out of his voice. “If you’re wanting a birth announcement, I’ll be sure to ship you one in the post. Is there anything else you wanted?”

“Actually there is,” Az’ril said.

Nik waited expectantly, trying to not squirm under that golden look.

“I do not think your demon is equipt to adequately care for a pregnant angel,” he said. “And I do not wish for a disgraced outcast to be caring for my child.”

Nik blinked. “I- what? Then where, exactly, do you expect me to go?”

“Your rooms are being set up as we speak,” his father replied. “A nursery as well, as you’re obviously keeping the child. Even if it’s part demon, your status is of mine, and I will not be having it or you here any longer. It’s about time you stopped playing house and returned to where you belong.”

“...I belong with Cameron and Lev,” Nik said.

Az’ril stood fast enough that Nik’s spine straightened on sheer instinct. “You need to stop with these convoluted fantasies of yours,” His father said, sharply. “You will come home, even if I have to drag you by your ear to do so. It’s for your own good, Nikolas.”

“But- what about them?”

“They are not my concern.” He crossed the desk. “This is my own fault,” he said. “I gave you too much freedom and left you unchecked and now your inability to take responsibility for any of your actions has led you unmarried, unmated and pregnant. So now, you will be coming home, and you will be letting me take care of you. End of discussion. Are we clear.”

Nik’s eyes trained to the ground. “Yes sir.”

“Better. Now go get your things, because we need to be leaving.”

Nik pushed off the wall and left the office as fast as he could go without sprinting out of the room. He shoved open the bedroom doors and went for the closet. He stopped dead in his tracks outside of it, anxiety clawing at his throat, but he forced himself forward to get his shit so he could get out of here.

“What’s going on?” Nik heard Lev ask from the doorway.

Nik stopped dead in his tracks before resuming once again. “Going home,” was all Nik said, going to toss a few of his jackets onto Cameron’s bed.

“This is home.”

Nik chewed on his bracelet and went back into the closest for more clothes. “Yeah, and so is Tullum. Papi is insistent on me coming home so he can take care of me while I’m pregnant.” He tried to keep the irritability out of his voice. It wasn’t Lev’s fault that Nik’s omega decided to kick into self preservation mode now.

Horrible timing, really.

“He won’t take no for an answer,” Nik said, dropping the rest of his clothes on the bed. “So I’m going home.” He fixed a smile in place. “That’s what’s best for the baby, am I right? Got to get the special angel healers and- and it’s a family thing. I’m sure you wouldn’t get it.”

Lev stared at him for a moment. “You can’t go with him. It’s not what’s best for the baby and it’s not what’s best for you.”

“And you devised that in what, the five minutes of interaction with him?” Nik asked, sharply. “Family clearly does not mean the same thing to you as it does to me and mine. There are traditions and- and I just.” Nik exhaled sharply through his nose and muttered under his breath in spanish and went back to packing. There was no point. “I don’t have a choice and it’s not like you can stop him.”

“Nik,” Lev said softly. “I know people scare me all the time, but... not like him. Not like that.” He crossed the room, trying to take Nik’s hand as he said, “I won’t let him take you.”

Nik shoved his hands in his pockets. “Do you want to die again?” Nik demanded, voice cracking. “You seem to forget that I am the only one in my family without magic. My family deals and trades in death and he has the power to absolutely obliterate anyone. Especially someone with no ties or protections offered by angels anymore. You literally just defied the laws of nature. Don’t get between us and ruin it for nothing.”

Lev’s face was the fiercest he’s ever seen from him. “You’re mine, and I’m not going to let him take you from us.”

Nik bit into his lip so hard he could taste the honey sweetness of his blood. He didn’t have an argument for that, especially when Lev’s head was annoyingly big when he was being annoyingly protective. It clearly meant he couldn’t listen to reason or fact. His father was just… he was death.

He put his head on Lev’s shoulder, not saying another word.

Nik was snapped out of his trance the moment he heard the sharp order in spanish to hurry up. His head lifted and sure enough his father was standing in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest. “We need to get going.”

Lev looked at Az’ril. “He’s not going with you.”

Cameron appeared like a wraith in the doorway behind his father, eerily silent and perfectly unruffled as he sidestepped Az’ril as if he were little more than a stool in his way. “Nikolas can take his time,” he said, coolly. “As much of it as he wants.” His pale eyes slid towards Nik, looking for his stance.

Cameron was going to follow Nik’s play, no matter what he wanted for himself. He’d let them all make their decisions and damn themselves, but it would always be their decision. He’d have no part in shaping it.

When Nik looked down at the ground, Cameron then said, “Of course, if I wanted, I could keep him here. He’s pregnant with my child and as it would be my property, so is Nik.” The sheer, so very faint distaste in those words in Cameron’s tone didn’t go unnoticed by Nik. “I’m sure you, someone of such high political standing, would understand that.”

Nik didn’t dare say a fucking word, even as Lev positioned himself between Nik and Az’ril.

His father locked eyes with Cameron. Cameron was several centuries younger than his father, even if Cameron felt eons older in the icy, composed stance he was taking. “My son is not your property,” Az’ril bit out.

“By demonic law,” Cameron said, mildly, “he is. The moment you decided to send your son into spy on me and mine forfeited your right to Nik, and made him mine.” Cameron looked over at Nik and Lev, gaging the both of them with calculated stillness. “Come here.”

Nik was frozen in place for a split second before Lev gently took his arm and nudged him over to Cameron’s side. If Lev hadn’t made him move, Nik would have been torn between standing still and being at Cameron’s side in a split second with the sheer Alpha in his tone.

Cameron fixed his eyes on Nik, and then Nik’s throat. “Of course,” he said. “I am speaking in demonic terms, and not angelic terms. So let me be very clear about this.” A chill rippled down Nik’s spine when Cameron's very sharp teeth sunk into Nik’s throat.

Lev ushered out of Cameron’s way, but Nik could sense his eyes were still trained on Az’ril as Nik instantly went limp at the claiming bite being branded into his flesh. Cameron caught him easily before he collapsed onto the ground from the amount of hormones being flooded into his body.

Nik whimpered when Cameron’s teeth came out of his skin. He caught the golden sheen of blood still on Cameron’s pale lips before pushing his face into Cameron’s chest. Cameron’s arm held him firmly in place as Nik reached for Lev’s hand.

Lev took it but didn’t take his eyes off Az’ril.

Cameron didn’t blink at the way Az’ril’s eyes narrowed. Angels held mating bonds to one of the highest standards in their lands and Cameron knew it. “You know where the door is, yes? If not I’m sure someone can show you out.”

Nik didn’t dare look up from Cameron’s chest, but he heard his father retreat from the room, and hopefully the house. “I’m sorry,” Nik mumbled against Cameron’s chest.

Cameron tugged on his hair. “Quiet,” he said, not harshly. The order did mellow the anxiety curling in his chest.

Lev lightly bit Nik’s shoulder. “You’re staying with us,” Lev mumbled against his skin. “You belong with us.”

---

Breakfast the next morning was quiet. Though, admittedly, most of their breakfast lately were quiet. Nik couldn’t drink coffee and so it took even longer for him to wake up. Cameron rarely had much to say in the morning, and Lev was always tired nowadays so quiet it was.

However, this morning, Lev had something on his mind. “Cameron?” he asked. “I had a question.”

“Hm?”

“Can we start working on a nursery? I imagine it’ll take some work, and...” He shrugged.

Before Cameron responded, he walked out of the kitchen. Lev stared after him, and looked to Nik. Nik was still staring at his decaf coffee, face blank and definitely not awake. Cameron reappeared, book in hand. Lev lifted the cover as Cameron went back to fixing breakfast.

Inside the book was... plans. Color swatches and crib options and even a sketched layout or two. Lev traced a picture of a crib made of dark brown wood and with little sea stars carved into the headboard. “You already started planning without me?” he asked, trying to not sound petulant.

Cameron flicked a look in his direction. “You were sleeping.”

A low blow, but a fair one. Sleeping had been preferable to being awake. “Point,” Lev finally muttered. “Well can I help with the rest?”

“If you want.”

“I do,” Lev said, flipping back through the book carefully. He would have called it a scrapbook if it hadn’t been so brutally efficient. Besides. If he had, Lev had the feeling Cameron would have been offended. “I’m guessing an ocean theme?” he said, peering at the options Cameron had deemed acceptable for baby mobiles.

Cameron placed a plate of bacon down in front of him. “It seemed to fit Nik’s tastes.”

“This isn’t my coffee,” Nik suddenly complained, rubbing his face.

Lev looked over. “Looks like coffee to me?” He wrinkled his nose. “Gross.”

Nik frowned. “This isn’t. My coffee.” This time he sounded more irritable.

“You’re not supposed to have caffeine, if that’s the problem,” Lev said, taking a bite of bacon.

“Says who?”

Lev offered him a piece of bacon. “Ash, probably. But also every pregnancy health book I’ve ever read. And I’ve read a lot.”

Nik slammed his mug down. “Well Ash isn’t here, and you’re not my boss.” He pulled out his phone, muttering in Spanish. Lev only got another piece of bacon before Nik startled him by shoving the phone in his face. “See? I can.” He was practically yelling, mostly from excitement from what Lev could tell.

Indeed, Ash had typed out a terse, “1.” Period included.

“Somehow that feels coerced,” Lev mumbled, before pointing out, “You have to convince Cameron too.”

Cameron sipped his tea calmly. “No,” he said. “Sit down.”

Nik plopped down, defeated. He stared at the counter sadly. “You’re all monsters.”

“Well, four more months and you can have caffeine again,” Lev encouraged.

“This leech is taking everything from me,” Nik mumbled.

Lev reached over, brushing his hair from his face. “Soon,” he promised, kissing Nik’s cheek.

Nik wrinkled his nose. “So what were you talking about before you decided to ruin my life?”

Lev closed the book carefully. “Nursery plans. Which- Cameron, do you think Nate would come paint the walls for us? I bet he’d do something pretty.”

Cameron put a plate of eggs and fruit down in front of Nik. “I already called him. He’ll be here tomorrow to start working on it.”

Lev huffed. “You’ve already thought of everything, haven’t you?”

“It’s easy. You’re both predictable.”

“What the fuck is this?” Nik demanded. “You give Lev bacon, and I get rabbit food? I’m a growing boy. I deserve bacon.”

Lev decided not to comment on the fact that he’d offered Nik a piece and Nik had decided to bemoan his coffee instead. “Eggs aren’t rabbit food,” he pointed out instead.

Nik took Lev’s plate. “Well fine then, you eat it. I’m eating your bacon.”

“Hey!” Lev reached for his plate. “Nik! Give it back.”

Nik just put his hand in Lev’s face, but Cameron switched the plates anyway. Nik whined, and all he got in response was a baring of Cameron’s teeth. Despite that Lev put a single piece of bacon on Nik’s plate.

Before any more bickering could start, a knock sounded. Lev peered over his shoulder in time to see a sentry leading a short woman into the room. She was hauling bags with her, though she set them down when she set eyes on Nik.

Nik had been in the middle of grumbling as he picked at his food, but when he saw her, he dropped his fork. “Mami?”

Lev watched them, mystified. He’d never met Nik’s mother, but when he looked to Cameron, Cameron just shook his head subtly like he knew what Lev was thinking. That left Lev even more confused, but he just looked back to see her cupping Nik’s face and fussing at him in rapid Spanish. In Nik’s defense, he looked pleased.

“Hello,” Lev offered when she seemed done. “I’m Lev?”

“I’m Mami Coco.” She looked to Cameron. “You can call me Socorro. I’ll be sleeping in a room next to Nikolas.”

Lev could see the annoyance flickering in Cameron’s face, but Nik looked happy, dark brown eyes shining as he got a hug from Mami Coco. Somehow Lev doubted Cameron would be irritated enough at the disruption in his plans and schedule enough to upset Nik over this. Instead, Cameron filled a plate for her too, and said, “Sit.”

There was a certain look to her that promised much headbutting in the future, but she sat beside Nik with a simple, “Okay.”

Tagging:  @incandescent-creativity @solangelo3088 @lil-miss-red @halstudies @littleyellowdinosaur @caelisis @idreamonpaper

[ladyteacups]

Experienced Part 2

GIF NOT MINE

Summary: It’s been two months since that night and Y/N decides to spite Bucky she’s gonna make him jealous.

Warnings: smut, jealousy, crude words, breeding kink

A/N: As commanded. It’s a bit rushed. I didn’t have much time but ya know what, that’s fine. Be kind, I’m fragile.

Fuck you Bucky Barnes.

It had been two months since their little rendezvous, and Y/N hadn’t heard anything from him. It was radio silence on her end. She left his room that morning with hope. He was gentlemanly enough. Walked her to the door and kissed her goodbye. So what the hell.

She tried to understand. He was older. She estimated he had 10+ years on her. But it didn’t make her feel better.

She gave up waiting for him after two weeks. If he hadn’t called yet, then he wasn’t going to. She’d seen “He’s just not that into you” plenty enough to know that much.

Her run ins with him at the tower were practically nothing. He wouldn’t even acknowledge her. That stung. Knowing how forgettable she was. It was a major blow to her confidence.

Nat tried to convince her otherwise but it was awkward talking with her about it. Y/N knew there was some kind of history there, even if she didn’t know exactly what.

“He’s just confused. Give him time.”

“For a month Nat? That’s not confusion, that’s a clear message.”

Facing Peter had been worse. Danny had been right. She should not have accepted that date. Y/N hated the look on his when she had to tell him she wasn’t interested. She wished she was. Y/N wished she liked Peter as more than a friend, he just wasn’t her type.

After that first month she had promised herself she would forget Bucky Barnes. And at the time she really meant that. Honest.

Now, she was cursing his name as she watched him chat up some women on the other side of the room.

Fuck, she hated these parties. That wasn’t true, but she’d make an exception for this one.

Damn he looked good. His hair was freshly cut. He now sported a short cut with a full beard. He looked so yummy she nearly started crying again at his rejection.

Peter slid onto the bar stool next to her and followed her gaze. Y/N wished on nothing that she could disappear right now. Please, just let the floor swallow her up.

“Why don’t you make him jealous.”

It wasn’t a question, and it had her looking at him with wide eyes.

“What?”

“Make him jealous.” He sipped his jack and coke like he didn’t just say that.

“He wouldn’t be jealous Peter, but thanks for the advice.”

“He keeps looking at you, and you look like a damn bombshell.” He stated it like fact and shrugged. “He’ll me jealous. Especially if you pick the right man.”

“Who would that be? You?” She crossed her arms.

He laughed, “no way, I have a girlfriend.”

Now that caught her off guard. When did Peter get a girlfriend?

“Someone he finds a challenge. Can’t be Steve, they’re best friends. Cap would never touch his girl.”

Y/N blinked at this. His girl?

“Tony and Clint are both married. Sam is a bit too much of a flirt. You wanna make him jealous not a murderer.”

She laughed, and Pete smiled at her.

“Natasha’s a friend of yours, he’d see right through that. Vis and Wanda are off limits.”

She gave him a wicked smile. She knew exactly where he was going with this, and she loved it.

“But Thor’s in town.”

He was right. Thor would be perfect. Tall and masculine. A god. He’d set any man alight with jealousy without needing to flirt with their girlfriends. If anyone could make Bucky jealous, it would be Thor. And that’s how she ended up sitting in Thor’s lap while he rubbed her knee.

“Is he looking?” she whispered in his ear and he chuckled. It was the tenth time she asked.

“It really is a team effort to get you two together.”

Y/N gave him a look and saw him glance up momentarily.

“Yes.”

“Good,” she answered, and ran her hand up his arm, feeling the tight muscle underneath his skin.

“Does he look mad?”

“Why don’t you just talk to him?”

“He avoids me.” She huffed.

Thor nodded. “If you break his legs he can’t leave.”

Y/N threw her head back and laughed. “That’s fucked up Thor.”

She felt the chuckle rumble through his chest.

She couldn’t help looking in Bucky’s direction. He wasn’t there. A quick search around found him slipping out the door and he was gone. Well that ended that.

Y/N sighed. She had spent most of the night with Thor. Dancing and giving him fake and real giggles. Touching his arm, whispering in his ear. All for nothing. Bucky didn’t care. She stood and bid everyone goodnight. She kissed Thor’s cheek in a thank you. Told Peter and Ned bye, and went to her own room. The sliver of hope she had that Bucky would change his mind flew out the window and she flipped it off as it went.

Fuck you Bucky Barnes.

 “Did you have fun with Thor last night? Hope he didn’t mind how much I stretched you out.” Bucky drank his coffee behind her and she lowered her brows in anger.

What did he just say? Oh no, she would show him.

Y/N turned. “Don’t worry about that, he got good use outta my mouth. I even begged him to use my ass too. Just can’t get enough of that man.”

Bucky looked mad. Whew did he look mad! Y/N hid her slight grin as she turned to finish her own cup.

He was behind her in no time, gripping her hair, his lips at her ear.

“Did he fuck your tits too Y/N? Did you let him taste you? Did he take you into the shower when he finished just to do it all again?”

She moved to shove him away but he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. He leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheek, then her ear. “Do you remember that night Y/N? When I had you begging beneath me, and filled you to the brim with my cock?”

She tried desperately to suppress the groan. Because of course she remembered. It played over in her mind on a loop. The way his hips bruised hers. His tongue dancing across her clit… How could she not remember?

“I know you do sweetheart. Look,” he took her chin in his hand and looked in her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t call or,” he paused. “I’m sorry I was such a dick to you after okay? It’s different with you. It’s so easy to let you in. To spill my secrets, and I don’t want you to see the things I’ve hidden. I’m not a good guy honey. I’ve done terrible things and you’re far too sweet for me. The thought of corrupting you makes me harder than you’d believe. That alone should scare you away.”

Y/N’s breathing was heavy. He’s such an idiot.

“It’s damn near impossible to resist you.” He inhaled deeply. “Especially when you wear that damn perfume that makes me crazy.” His nose traced her jaw, down her neck. “I can’t stay away, unless you tell me to. I won’t do it anymore” He gripped her arm.

She felt a light kiss against her neck. The same neck he held with his strong hand just two months ago.

“I still jerk off to the picture of us. To the memory of how you look when you cum.”

Bucky pulled her hips closer so they rested against his erection. She gasped.

“Tell me to go, or let me fuck him outta your head.”

She didn’t say anything. Didn’t tell him yes, no, or the truth about Thor. She just kissed him. He returned the kiss with a hunger she had never experienced before. He was craving her and she could feel it in more than one way.

She rutted against his erection and heard him growl.

“Not here Bucky.” She gasped out between kisses. “Take me to bed.”

He did so happily. Letting her wrap her legs around his waist.

“I’m sorry.” He said again as he dropped her on his bed. “You deserve better than me baby.”

“Then be better, and call me in the morning.”

He nodded sadly. She could see the regret in his eyes. Leaning up she grabbed his hand and pulled him over her.

He kissed her deeply and she felt everything that he wanted to say.

Bucky pulled her shirt over her head and stared down at her as he took in her bare chest.

“Still so damn beautiful.”

His eyes took in her belly and he growled.

“Did he cum in you, huh? Did you let him fill your womb?”

She didn’t answer and he narrowed his eyes. He yanked her sleep shorts down her legs and tore her panties from her body.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m gonna have you so thoroughly bred, there will be no question about who’s kid it is.”

He flipped her over so her ass was in the air and she squealed when he bit her ass right over her birthmark.

She lifted herself on her hands and looked at him over her shoulder. Her look of surprise made him crack up in laughter.

“Don’t give me that look sugar, you can’t tempt me with your sexy ass and expect me to do nothing.”

“You’re the one who tossed me around to look at it!” He only laughed again. She wanted to smack him but then he stared taking his shirt off.

Fuck. He’s so hot.

“Lay down.”

She did as he commanded and watched as he jerked his heavy cock in his hand.

“Did you rub your pretty pussy to the thought of me?”

He looked up at the ceiling above his bed, where the picture from the carnival hung and smiled at her.

“Every time I see it I think of how you tasted.” He quickened the pace of his hand, his breathing getting quicker.

“Tell me. Did you touch yourself and moan my name as you came?”

“Yes,” Y/N gasped at the sight of his length, fully hard and ready for her lips.

“Show me.”

Her heart was beating so hard and fast she wondered momentarily if this was a heart attack. Her hand moved slowly down her stomach to her heat. Two fingers coated themselves in her wetness and rubbed against her slit. She looked from his cock to his face, to see he was watching her hand just as she was watching his.

“Bucky,” she whispered as she lightly touched her clit. She wet the rest of her two fingers and inserted them into her opening. Her other hand touched and squeezed her breasts. Bucky’s groan spurred her on. She bit her lip, cursing as she thrust her fingers inside herself and watched him jerk is cock.

He let her fuck herself for a moment longer. Just a moment. Then he grabbed her hand and popped her fingers into his mouth.

“Just like I remember,” he said quietly.

He hadn’t even dropped her hand before she wrapped her lips around his length.

“Fuck baby.”

Y/N bobbed her head and swirled her tongue on his cock. She took more and more, gagging and choking on him, but the sounds he made were heaven and she couldn’t stop. She wanted to find every spot that would make him moan and learn how to flick her tongue to make him curse.

He was close, she could tell, with the way he pleaded and pulled her hair.

Y/N lifted her mouth off of him and opened her mouth as she jerked his cock, ready to swallow his load.

He pulled away, refusing to let himself cum just yet. He took a minute to walk it off before he came back to her.

“Spread your fucking legs for me doll face. I’m getting inside there right fucking now.” It was almost a growl and sent a fresh wave of arousal to her center.

She did as she was told and spread herself for him. He positioned himself between her thighs and lined up at her entrance.

“I didn’t sleep with Thor.”

He paused.

“I wanted to make you jealous. I didn’t sleep with him.”

Bucky nodded and pushed into her down to the hilt.

“Fuck!” she held onto his shoulder.

“Still tight as a fucking virgin.”

All she could say was his name as he started thrusting into her. She gripped the sheets, her chest heaving and her body shaking under him.

“I want you pregnant before you leave my bed. You hear me? You gonna give me a baby Y/N?”

“Yes! As many as you want Bucky.”

“That’s what I like to hear angel. Fuck! This cunt was made for my cock. Made to take my fucking cum.”

He was insatiable. His thrusts were fast and hard, making her squeal in delight beneath him. He flipped them over and she didn’t miss a beat. She rode him like she was born to do it. She was determined to force the orgasm out of him. Determined to take his cum just like he promised.

“God Bucky it feels so good.”

“I know baby. Gonna make me cum just watching your tits bounce.”

He leaned up taking a nipple in his mouth and she moaned.

When he fell back again she grabbed his hand and held it to her throat. He gripped it, giving her what she wants. He loved seeing her take what she wanted. The way she grinded against him was so sexy he tried to commit it to memory.

“Bucky I’m gonna cum.”

He flipped them again and threw her legs over his shoulder as he pounded into her.

“Cum baby, all over my cock.”

She came with a shout of his name but he didn’t slow his pace, chasing his own orgasm and letting it rock through his body as he painted her womb.

“Atta girl,” he praised as they both came down from their shared high.

He didn’t pull out of her, only rolled so she was laying on his chest. He relaxed against the pillow.

When their breathing returned to normal, she rolled off of him and lay next to him, letting him rub her belly.

“I can’t wait to see you grow with my baby in there.”

“Are you still gonna think I’m sexy when I’m the size of a whale.”

He laughed. “Gets me hard just thinking about it.”

Sure enough she felt his cock twitch next to her leg and she smiled.

“Bucky?”

“Yeah doll?” His eyes were closed. He looked so serene. She almost felt bad interrupting with her question.

“What’s the tattoo for?”

He looked down at the bird on his arm, and tugged her closer. “It’s for my sister.”

She smiled and kissed his pec. “That’s sweet.”

He opened one eye and looked at her. “Come on sugar. Let’s do that again.”

He rolled onto her again and she squealed with laughter.

“Now, didn’t you say something about using your ass?”

“Fuck you Bucky Barnes.”