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dragonrider9905 · 9 months ago

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Racing Heart

(Part 1) (Part 2)

Summery: You are an Imperial officer, formerly an intelligence officer of the Republic. You were friends with the Batch before they defected. You miss them, especially Tech. All hope seemed lost of finding them until a lead came up…from Safa Toma. Warnings: Angst to comfort; feelings of conflict; feelings of betrayal

You sat down in the mess hall to eat your evening meal. It's been months since you’ve interacted with the Batch seeing as how they defected from the Empire…and you didn’t. Well, most of them anyway. You still saw Crosshair here and there when he wasn’t off on some mission. You spent time with him and ate with him when he was on base but otherwise, you ate your meals alone. It didn’t start out that way. You ate with your friends, like in the days of the Republic. You enjoyed each other’s company and found a reason to laugh and smile even if there was a war on. But the longer you worked with the Empire, the fewer your friends got. They either moved away, were killed…or went AWOL. The new people who came in…you didn’t share quite the same ideologies. They never served in the Clone War so they didn’t share your appreciation of the clones…also, your passionate service of helping people wasn’t shared. Most of these new officers were more about making their lives powerful than helping people, like you were.

At first, you didn’t understand why the Batch ran away. You always wished you could have asked them their reasons. Why couldn’t they just fight for the Empire? It was making the galaxy better. The Republic just evolved. That’s all. Same job, different uniform.

That’s what you thought at first.

The longer you stayed, the more you realized just how wrong you were.

The Empire was hurting people. Not helping. You sighed and picked at your food.

If only you could have asked them. Asked him. Maybe you wouldn’t still be there, fighting for a cause you didn’t believe in or sign up for. Maybe you could be with them. With him .

The resident genius must have seen coming what you didn’t. You always did like listening to Tech talk. You saw now they were smart to get out while they still could. You wished you would have gone with them or met up with them or something. You were sure if Tech would have explained it to you, you would have understood and even agreed all that time ago. Tech always had evidence for what he thought. Never whims with him. His decisions were always well thought out and backed up. You trusted him completely.

Oh why couldn’t you have trusted him that one last time without evidence?

You sighed again and grumbled at the same time. The picking at your food got a little more aggressive the more you thought. You felt yourself grow warm with agitation toward yourself but you couldn’t help the spiral of thoughts. They just kept coming.

You worked with the Bad Batch on many missions and became really good friends with all of them. What you shared with Tech, well, that was a little more complicated. Being an intelligence officer, you spoke more to him. First for work…then because you enjoyed it. You really wanted to believe he did too, seeing as he sought you out for your opinion on things, even if they were trivial, but you didn’t know for sure so you just took the friendship for what it was, not wanting to touch or ruin it. The longer you knew him, the more you denied how you increasingly began to feel, convinced he didn’t feel the same; but when news of the Batch’s death on Kamino reached you…You finally came clean with yourself and admitted what you wouldn’t before. You loved him.

Realizing you loved him, and that he was now gone with his wonderful brothers, your friends…was crippling. You cried yourself to sleep for a long time wishing that you had told him how you felt, that maybe the information was wrong, that maybe they could somehow be alive still. You saw the video of the destruction though. No one could have survived that. He died, never knowing your secret and now you were burdened with regret and the might have beens.

When Crosshair was saved, you visited him in the hospital every day, just grateful to have one of them back. One particularly tough day where everything went wrong, you couldn’t help but to miss Tech even more. He always knew what to do when you were in a jam or how to make you feel better—not because he was great with emotions but because he knew the real you. Your emotions bubbled to the surface. Not being able to share your grief with anyone for so long made your chest feel like lead.

“So what’s wrong?” Crosshair had asked. You had been sitting there with a grumpy look on your face and not saying hardly anything. You usually did most of the talking when visiting him. Being mostly silent, Crosshair knew something was up (as if the sour look on your face wasn’t an indication already.)

You looked around cautiously, not wanting anyone to hear you say you wished you were with a group of men once wanted by the Empire. It was treasonous to be sure.

You were sad, angry, depressed and annoyed. At yourself, the galaxy, the Batch, the Empire…You wanted to tell everything to Crosshair but you didn’t know how much you could trust him. Thinking you couldn’t just spill everything like the old days hurt you, but every day in the Empire taught you to be more and more cautious. How much did Crosshair believe in the Empire, you wondered? Cross was still Cross but he was … different. Sadder? Angrier? You couldn’t put your finger on it exactly. If you got more time with him, you were sure you could figure it out. But you didn’t, so trust was fragile, and oh how you hated that. Maybe he was more along your line of thinking than you thought…but you couldn’t know for sure unless you had more data. After all, he could have escaped the Empire and left with his brothers if he had wanted. But he had chosen the Empire after all…

You hesitated. Instead, you turned pink and only told Crosshair about your feelings for Tech (and nothing else) he merely rolled his eyes.

“‘Bout time one of you finally admitted it to yourselves. It was so obvious.”

You chuckled sadly. “Doesn’t matter much now, does it.” You look away all pink faced and blue mood. “They’re all dead.”

Crosshair’s playfulness disappeared and was replaced with a deep soberness. It was Crosshair’s turn to look both ways, and consider something before sharing it with you.

“He’s not dead.”

That one sentence changed everything.

“W-what do you mean…he’s not dead?!?”

Crosshair couldn’t quite look at you, and you didn’t know why. Perhaps he felt guilty for not realizing how the news of their deaths was affecting you and that they were related to the dark circles under your eyes. But you suspected there was more to it as well. You didn’t press him.

“It means he’s not dead. They made it off Kamino alive.”

Your mind reeled. Were you given a second chance?

“Just thought you should know.”

After you learned the true events of Kamino from Crosshair, you spent every spare moment looking for them. You used your advanced and massive skills to try to track them down. You had more knowledge about them than anyone else next to Crosshair and Cody. You tried to use that to your advantage.

At first you were full of energy and enthusiasm with your new found chance but now, sitting in the cafeteria surrounded in a sea of faceless, personalityless gray, you felt your energy waning. That day in the infirmary with Crosshair felt like ages ago and you were starting to give up. You didn’t want to give up, but right now, your heart couldn’t handle any more disappointment. Day after day of no results…who could blame you. You had to give them that though, at least they were well hidden and hopefully safe.

You stopped meddling with your unappetizing food and looked down at the gray uniform you wore on a daily basis. It was neat, tidy, impeccable, just how you liked things. In fact, some say it could have defined you. Back in the day, everyone always joked that you were so much like Crosshair because next to him, you would have been the neatest one in the squad (if you belonged with them). But it was so devoid of life. Somehow when the Batch wore gray, it was exciting. When you wore it, it felt meaningless. Your heart thudded a little harder, causing your chest to ache. If Wrecker was here, surely he’d slap you on the back like he always did. He’d cause you to throw your soup off balance and spill it on the spotless clothes. You’d scrunch up your face in false anger, complaining how long it’d take you to get the stain out and he’d laugh…

You got tired of your thinking and picked up your datapad, flipping through the channels for a distraction. You found yourself going through some unusual channels, ones the Empire didn’t approve of (you bypassed those codes so you could access any information you could—just one of many things Tech taught you) and ones you never really cared about. You also widened the range so you could gather information and watch things from all the Rims. You just hoped to come across something distracting enough to get your mind off this for a bit. Then you could start your search again with a fresh mind. You turned down the volume so you wouldn’t be detected or bothersome to the quickly filling cafeteria. No one came to your table in the corner yet. That suited you fine. You didn’t feel like being bothered.

One channel offered cooking. Not interesting enough for right now. Ring fights. You quickly turned that off. Riot racing…you almost switched the channel but your hand hovered for a minute, reluctantly curious. Might be interesting. When you served some time with General Skywalker, he mentioned pod-racing a few times and how fun it was. Maybe this was like that.

You set the datapad down, leaning it against your water capsule and propping it up with the tray and soon you were sucked into the world of racing. It was enthralling. Spellbound, you were glued to your screen and your chair, losing all interest in the happenings around you. The track was dangerous and unpredictable. The contestants even more so as it seemed anything could go in this game. You knew Safa Toma was sketchy. A lot of the Outer-Rim planets were dangerous this way. Not to mention all the behind the scenes gambling to add to the pressure. Your mind started turning wheels, thinking about the contestants and why they were racing.

You had to admit, you understood the attraction. You were having fun yourself watching the races, trying to predict the unpredictable, and rooting for a racer. Your eyes went wide and a smile started to form at the corners of your lips. This was just what you needed. You missed the first race but the recaps served you well. You were able to catch up in no time. TAY-O was a new racer but very keen. He won the first, but you watched him crash in the second. That was too bad. You sort of felt sorry for him even though he was a droid. Being double teamed was such a rude move! You decided you wanted to root for him in the next race.

There was a brief intermission, so you started to search details about the place and the racers and their sponsors for fun. Seeing as how this was live, it was pretty exciting. You shifted in your seat and put your legs up on the chair in front of you to get more comfortable. Then you relaxed against the wall. There were a few races left and your shift ended for the day. You could sit here all evening if you wanted to…

The announcements started for the new race which called your attention back to the games. You switched the screen back to the track. Your stomach rumbled and you realized you hadn’t touched your food in the first race. Somehow, it looked so much more appealing now than before. You eagerly rearranged your tray so it was closer. A stupid grin started to form on your face. This race was going to be good, you could just feel it!

“All right! Place your bets! Our racers are ready. Safa Toma’s Riot Champion, Jet Venim! Bosco, “the Mad Bomber” Brix….” The announcer’s voice boomed into the microphone, excitedly listing off the names.

Spooning your soup, you let your mind wander, having already read about all them during the break. You wondered if TAY-O would win again. His strategy seemed…flawed, you couldn’t help but notice. After all, he was nearly destroyed in the last race. No doubt this Cid person had him put back together. The animosity between TAY-O and Venim would be big this game. Something had to be between the gamblers themselves for those two racers. They singled out each other too much.

You reached for your cup of juice and brought it to your lips. You wanted to be fully attentive when the racing started. Then the announcer hit you with:

“And finally, Teeeeeeeeech!”

You nearly jumped out of your seat, spitting out your juice, dangerously close to tipping your soup and coughing as bad as General Grievous. Tears sprung to your eyes and adrenaline started to course through your veins.

Excuse me? What? It couldn’t be?! You wanted to squeal.

You grabbed your datapad and brought it close to your face so you wouldn’t miss a thing.

The crowd went silent, you noticed, and so did your heart. It seemed to have stopped.

“Tech? Anything else on this guy?” the announcer continued, “No? Guess he’s a late arrival. Is that his name? Tech? Just Tech?”

“Oh leave him alone!” You said out loud. Too loud. A few people looked over to you and you rolled your eyes, gluing them back to the screen. You didn’t even know if it was your Tech but the idea of anyone making fun of that name just bothered you. Tech is a brilliant name, you ignoramus. You growled and liked the announcer a little less. It had to be a coincidence. Tech could be short for a lot of things. Technically, technology, Techno… It couldn’t be…..

Then the screen panned to a man preparing his racer, looking up a little annoyed at the camera. There you saw the familiar goggled eyes, the helmet, and the unmistakable expression you knew so well…

There he was. The man you’d been searching for…

Tech.

Tech in a racer.

Tech in a racer on Safa Toma.

But why was he racing? Where were the others? What was going on? Why was he there, in a gambling pit and not even using an alias!?! Sure it was a backwater planet…could hide there…maybe he felt safe using his real name for that reason. You’d have to sort that out later.

“Okay, and here we go!”

You nearly stood from your seat as the racers went off but you forced yourself to stay down and you held your breath.

“Go get ‘em, Tech, you can do this.” you whispered to yourself.

It wasn’t lost on you that TAY-O was no longer racing, and Tech was in the same racer. Your heart started to beat faster the more the gravity started to pull on you. Tech was racing for a racer who was out. Was TAY-O beyond repair? Surely the team had time to fix him before the race. You noticed there was animosity between that Venim person and TAY-O…were you right about the people they were racing for… were they enemies? What had Tech gotten himself into…

“And they’re off!”

It was barely seconds into the race when one of the racers started firing on the others. Everyone was fighting for the lead…except Tech, who stayed in the back.

You’re last?!?! You’re losing! You can’t lose, Tech! You were afraid of the consequences if he didn’t win…yet, he did seem safer back there for now, letting the other racers fight it out and thin themselves a little. You knew Tech knew what he was doing so you decided to trust him. You had to. You always did before. And you had to admit, that was actually pretty strategic for a game like this.

Sure enough, the other racers were destroying each other—and you saw it all. Whenever you’d see Tech’s racer on the screen you’d get excited and nervous. You couldn’t tell if it was better to see him or not seeing him. Not seeing him, you knew he was safe, but seeing him…well, you got to see him and his genius flying but you couldn’t help but wonder if something bad was going to happen since they seemed to show every accident victim on the screen.

You started groaning when he was getting shot at.

His shields are overheating. If you’re not going to use your weapons, divert the power!

The next moment, he dropped all his weapons at the pit.

Your jaw dropped as well. Not what I meant, Tech. You need those!!!!

The camera stayed on the shocked faces of the race crew. You smiled when you recognized Wrecker, a small worrying feeling shot threw you not seeing the others …but there could be a million reasons why they weren’t there; they weren’t necessarily gone…like that. Maybe they went to get food? Hunter would probably die if he saw Tech doing this , you thought. You saw Wrecker shyly wave at the camera. Something warm bloomed in your chest and your throat started to tighten. You couldn’t help but to wave back, even though you knew he couldn’t see you. You smiled looking at him all flustered. Trust me, Wreck, I know the feeling. You chuckled.

Wrecker went from shy to concerned, plastered all over his face. A small, blond girl stood next to him, the same concern reflected on hers. It was interesting to see how deep her connection to Tech seemed to be. Her time on the screen was brief, but you couldn’t mistake the look on her face because you knew the feeling well.

You wondered who the kid was and how long she’d known them. Maybe she could help you find them. She might be easier to locate than them if she was involved in the races there. You took a quick screen image to study later.

“Looks like Tech has got a vaporization wish! And has removed all his weapons!”

“Oh shut up.” You mumbled.

You bit your lip, that bubble of anxiety starting to nest in your stomach again, but you immediately recognized why Tech did what he did.

His speed. He’s a lot faster now.

You watched as he zipped along the track. You could almost see the focus in his eyes. You knew it was there of course, from experience. You could picture what his face under his helmet was.

Lips drawn in determination and clamped shut, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Your heart was thumping as fast as his speeder. He was catching up…

Then the two that wrecked TAY-O last race started to box Tech in.

Oh no. You knew what was coming…it was as if you were given a snippet of the future through the eyes of someone else. A sense of deja vu. You bit your lip harder. You vaguely tasted blood in your mouth and your lip swell. But it was all numb. Tears sprung up again and your breath hitched. An image of the accident flashing across your memory.

Please don’t get caught! Please don’t get caught!

You watched the two racers fire on Tech, closing in. They were lining up…he was losing his shields!

You wanted to scream but you had no air in your lungs.

You saw the razer leave the ship in front and your eyes went wide.

Tech! Your heart made one last agonizing plea as the next seconds went way too fast and way too slow.

You watched the ship behind Tech prepare the clamper. You wanted to look away but you couldn’t. If something happened to Tech, you had to know. Then, just as the ship reached out for Tech, Tech made his move. He swiftly turned out of the way and dropped back, letting the two plotters destroy themselves. At the last moment, he sped ahead and crossed the finish line.

“Aaaand the winner iiiiissssss! Teeeeeech!”

You watched as the crowd rallied and cheered Tech on, chanting his name over and over again. Tears filled your eyes again but they were good tears. Relief flooded your body and you didn’t realize how tight you were holding your datapad. Your fingers hurt from clutching it so hard, not to mention your jaw that had been clenched tight the whole race. You rubbed your cheeks to try to loosen the muscles stiff and sore.

Pride took root next. The smile from your mouth spread to your eyes. You were glad he was getting the attention he deserved. His skills deserved to be recognized.

He did the lazy salute you were always so fond of and the crowd went wild.

You crazy idiot. You chuckled to yourself and fell back against the wall, winded and exhausted as if you were racing yourself.

You sat there dazed. What had you just seen? Was this real? You had to get more information on the racers…who they were racing for…their backgrounds. That would lead you to him. You’d find him. You were so close now, you could taste it! You’d have to get a replay of the race, just in case there were clues you missed. You were sure you could find it. You were still salty he used his own name and was on the holoshow, ruining his cover but as long as this didn’t exist in Empire data, he’d be safe. You’d make sure of that. Maybe you could…

Your train of thought was interrupted by a TK-trooper, who seated himself at your table.

“What’s got you all smiling pretty, hey there gorgeous?”

You smiled the brightest smile you could. “My man was just making me proud.” You waved your datapad, careful not to show the screen.

He got the idea and got up. “Uh, I think I forgot something.”

There ya go. Then a thought hit you. What if he liked someone else? You could easily see someone with more confidence than yourself flirting with him. He was an amazing guy…and now that he was a racing hero as well…you sighed. One thing at a time.

But now you had hope, hope you could see him again and finally tell him how you felt, how you didn’t want to leave him again, how you would help him survive against the Empire and fight against it if it came to that. Being by his side again in the field would be enough for you even if your other hopes weren’t realized.

You couldn’t stop smiling. You couldn’t believe it. You’d found him.

The world around you kept moving. Trays clanked against tables, people’s talk kept getting louder, troopers were moving too and fro, coming in after their shifts to finish the day with a tasteless meal and the nightshifters rushing in to get their fill before reporting to their posts.

All of them living unaware of the adventure you just had in the same cafeteria. A few minutes which could change the course of your life. That made the last few months worthwhile. So you continued sitting there, unmoving in the churning rainbow of white, gray and black.

But now what? So much information was still missing…you could deal with that. After all, hope had been restored. Anything was possible now. Your head buzzed. You now had a lead and you wanted to follow it…

“Food’s going to get cold if you keep staring.” a familiar, snakelike voice said, not unfriendly. You’d know the jest in that voice anywhere.

“Hey Crosshair!”

“What’s got you smiling all pretty and in a daydream?”

You opened your mouth to say more but stopped.

You wanted to tell him. You wanted to tell him so bad. You wanted to see him proud of his brother. After all, he did have a right to know he was safe, right? But was it a good idea? Perhaps…Tech would be safer if you didn’t. If you kept this to yourself. If you just snuck away and found him…You didn’t know what to do. Crosshair did stay loyal to the Empire. He returned instead of leaving with his brothers. Yet he lied for their safety.

You heard a slight cough and looked up. Crosshair had one eyebrow raised curiously, almost teasingly.

“So?”

You realized you hadn’t answered. He was still waiting for a response.

So you had to give him one.

Trust or not to trust. That was the question.

(Part 2)

Dividers by @djarrex and @ve-ti-ver

#the bad batch #tbb hunter #star wars #tbb wrecker #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #tbb echo #tbb omega #star wars the bad batch #tech x reader #tech #tech x you #tech and reader #tech x female reader #tbb tech x reader

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quietlyimplode · 2 months ago

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ignite your bones

After the fall of General Dreykov, and the remnants of the Red Room still at large, Natasha first year at SHIELD is anything but healing. Labeled a traitor and a turncoat, Natasha tries to find her footing in a strange new world.

Whumptober 2024: Day 14 - Left for dead

Warnings: attack, blood, violence, being jumped/being beaten

Word Count: 1.2k (gif not mine)

Summary: Maria and Clint sort out the mess that is Shield and Clint goes to make amends for not visiting Natasha.

Masterlist.

Whumptober Masterlist.

<3 thank you for the comments - I hope you know who you are. You all get a very big hug and/or a crisp high five. <3

Clint knocks twice.

Maria opens the door, rolling her eyes when she sees his offering.

“Really? Kung pow chicken?”

Clint waves it in front of her face.

“Fine, you can come in,” she concedes.

“How’d you go?”

Maria shrugs, closing the door behind them.

“I’ve been working with Fury, more so than before, and I like the way he operates. He’s methodical. We think we’re getting closer to a full list. He’s been working with the WSC, but I fear Thompson knows something is up.”

Clint nods.

“Coulson said the same thing, there’s been less debriefs and we haven’t been sent on any more missions. He said it’s because of Natasha’s intel, but I don’t think so.”

Maria opens the box and the smell infuses the room.

“God I’m hungry,” she sighs, “have you seen Natasha yet?”

Clint shakes his head, guiltily.

“I don’t have an answer. I don’t know what I want from her. I know what I want for her, but I don’t know what I want for me. How I fit.”

Quieter, he whispers, “I don’t know if I’m up to helping her.”

Maria throws a pen at him.

“You’re an idiot.”

Clint rubs the spot where the pen hit.

“Ow.”

“You’re an idiot,” she repeats.

“Of course you’re not up to helping her.”

The bluntness makes him stare at her.

“What I mean to say is, that no one is up to that task. Why do you think in AA it’s one day at a time? None of the problems that lead to the addiction can be solved overnight, none of the problems that have come from her trauma can be solved in a day, a week or a year. It’s never ending. So if you help? Even a little? It all adds up. Just be consistent. This will be long, but it's not forever.”

Clint eats thoughtfully.

Her words reverberate in his head, and hold a truth he hadn’t considered.

“Yeah.”

Standing Maria offers him a drink.

He accepts and sips it, looking at the paperwork she’s compiled.

“Shrike’s dirty?” he asks, surprised.

Maria nods.

“Yeah, that one surprised me too. I liked him.”

“How do you know?”

“Money,” she sighs.

“I hate this,” Clint replies, flipping through the pages.

“Better to have them out, rather than relying on them and getting us killed.”

“I know.”

There’s a mutual silence that envelops the room as both finish eating and start sorting evidence.

Fury furrows his brow.

The hologram on his left flickers, then his right, and finally the one in front of him.

“This is highly unorthodox,” the one in front of him frowns.

There’s a sense of unease, and Fury hopes that none of the people in front of him are in cahoots with the Russians.

It was unlikely, but not impossible.

He presents his evidence.

The pictures of Dreykov standing and shaking hands with Thompson, and the one where they’re sitting at a table seemingly in a meeting, feel particularly damning.

Maria had done a good job making the information simple and concise, explaining the impact on the Council and all it stood for.

They’d need their resources if they were to have any chance at deposing Thompson.

Fury finishes on the plan for quiet infiltration. That each member would just… disappear and be replaced, to serve as a warning; he hoped.

The woman seated for the Oceania region nods along. She also fills in some gaps.

“We’ve long since suspected there was a mole in SHIELD,” she announces. “I am willing to back your cause.”

“Seconded,” comes another voice.

“Your motion is passed. We will provide the munitions and men you have asked for. The Raft will be set up for interrogation and imprisonment.”

Fury nods, pleased.

This was a good play, and he would tell Maria as such.

“Be careful,” the faceless woman tells him.

“We will be in touch.”

Clint walks the familiar route to see Natasha. The bag of donuts in his hand is a peace offering for not seeing her the past week.

Guilt presses down on him for it, but the reprieve and recalibration of himself was needed.

Now set up with a therapist, again, he knows that he can do better because he can show up for her.

It’s not an excuse. It's a fact.

Sharon isn’t on watch and a man he doesn’t know waves him through.

Clint doesn’t like it, but he hasn’t been here enough lately to know all the guards on rotation.

He continues on, wondering how she’s going.

A week had probably felt like a lifetime.

Maria had checked in, so had Coulson, even Fury; their report visits were minimalistic because of the circumstances.

Maria had said she was quiet.

He hopes it’s been okay.

He rounds the last corner and finds her sitting on the floor staring straight ahead.

He would say that she’s meditating.

She doesn’t move as he comes into view, she doesn’t even acknowledge him.

He waves to open the door, but nothing happens.

He looks up to the camera and waves again, not wanting to go back to see what’s happened.

Natasha is watching now.

Sharp eyes look on as he holds up donuts and smiles.

Clint hears footsteps down the hall. Automatically, he turns and sees it is the guard from down the hall, another man with him.

“Hey,” Clint greets.

They don’t return it.

The first lengthens his baton, the second shoots a taser, hitting Clint in the chest.

Pain and electricity alights his body as he tips forward.

He watches as it happens with a detachment, unable to react except to drop the donuts.

Natasha moves to the glass.

They close on him quickly.

The baton hits him, first in the body, then in the legs.

The second man just using fists.

They hit hard. They hit fast.

The beating is rough. Clint feels his breath taken away between blows and he curls himself up into a ball.

If he can wait...

If he can get control of one of them...

A blow to the head distorts time, and pain, never ending pain, radiates out. White, hot, searing pain.

He can’t hear their yelling.

His nose is bleeding, blood in his throat.

Natasha, he thinks idly, they’re going after her.

He hazards a glance up and sees her pounding on the glass. Her lips are moving, knuckles split and bleeding as she tries to break it.

It’s no use, he wants to tell her, it’s too thick.

But still she tries.

There’s a break as one of the men pauses. Clint has enough wherewithal to grabthe baton and pull it towards him.

He knows his ribs are broken.

Probably his face too.

His arm maybe from protecting his body.

Still he tries.

But the next blow feels like a car hits him.

He yells out.

As he fades into darkness, all he sees is Natasha yelling and punching the glass, blood on the wall, blood on the floor.

#whumptober2024 #day 14 #left for dead #violence #Clint Barton fic #natasha romanoff #Clint Barton #clintasha #natasha romanoff fic #black widow #my fic #Clintasha fanfic #hawkeye #clintasha fanfiction #clint Barton x Natasha Romanoff #Maria hill #Maria hill fic #marvel fic #avengers fic

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gothgril69 · 1 year ago

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Levi Ackerman/Fem!Reader Royalty!AU

Summary: You dream of another life, a simpler one under the rays of the warm sun, where you find love and your brothers live happily.

But you're destined to serve, to be the black sheep of the family and married off to whoever your father pleases because your parents can't seem to harbor any love for you. Your brothers will serve in the war, side by side with their Chevaliers, and you'll be left to pick up the pieces or die trying.

And the one you thought always hated you, will be right by your side to catch you when you fall.

Overall Warnings: themes of sexism, minor character death, angst, depression, minor character death, smut (please check ao3 for all tags)

Chapter warnings: smut MDNI

Chapter Length: 7.7k

ao3 link

Historia and Ymir stop dead in their tracks, turning to you with wide eyes. Historia looks concerned, while Ymir stares at you as if she’s already been betrayed – you understand what it looks like.

“We are not allies,” you blurt, facing them to explain yourself. “I can assure you they are our enemies, the same as you.”

“You better explain yourself,” Ymir sneers at you, stomping forward through the open doors of their castle. You watch her short dark hair, tied loosely at the nape of her neck, sway slightly along with her hips accentuated by the trousers she wears.

“You must understand our hesitancy,” Historia tells you softly when Ymir disappears around a corner. “Things are changing.”

Her blonde hair is braided, two sides pulled to the back, to allow you to see her features clearly. She’s beautiful, truly, and you can see how Ymir could fall for someone like her – they balance each other well. Although, you know Historia would not hesitate to do what’s best for her own country.

“I want to work together,” you tell her honestly. “If you’re willing, but I understand if you’re not and we’ll simply move on.”

“Let’s get you inside,” she tells you with a gentle hand placed on your arm.

She leads you inside the modest castle, Levi taking place behind you along with Erwin, Hange, and Miche. Navarre does not flaunt their wealth like Mirlenas does; dark stone brick walls lining even the interior of the castle, simple torch sconces lighting the way with minimal windows providing extra light. The floors are stone as well, but it still feels clean and wide open.

Historia leads you down a hallway. “We can discuss things in our meeting hall,” she gestures to an open doorway, a guard standing by with a blank face and cropped blonde hair. “Thank you, Nanaba.” The guard nods.

The meeting hall has wood floors, but they’re nothing like the patterned parquet flooring at home. A grand, round table is centered in the room, twelve chairs surrounding the mahogany surface, and you take a seat facing the doorway, but not quite directly across. Levi takes a seat next to you and you’re grateful, followed by Erwin and Hange sitting next to him. Miche stands guard by the door as Historia addresses you.

“Give me a moment with Ymir.” She gives you a sad smile. “She’ll come around.” You nod, and she takes her leave with Nanaba closing the door behind her.

You know very little of Navarre’s customs, your father only ever talking down about them and their “debauched” ways of living. They were more progressive than Mirlenas by far, sexuality and gender being something that was looked at far more loosely than Mirlenas. You admire them for living so freely, apart from the standards your society typically upholds. You wonder if Auguste would have felt more at home here, if Erwin feels as though he could have lived a life with him. You frown.

“If she even thinks about laying a hand on you,” Levi grumbles angrily next to you, a scowl evident on his face.

You sigh softly, appreciating his protection, but also anticipating a conversation later. You place a hand on his that rests on his thigh, rubbing your thumb back and forth across his fingers, and the tension in his shoulders seems to dissipate slightly. You understand, he’s worried about everything – so are you.

The doors open shortly after, a seemingly less irate Ymir striding through the doorway with Historia by her side – although her features are still in their natural state of annoyance. She takes a seat directly across from you while Historia takes hers across from Levi. “From the beginning,” she snaps, gesturing with her hand loosely before crossing her arms over her chest.

You tell her everything; how Zeke ambushed your brothers – you don’t miss the tension returning to Levi – the letter he sent you, every detail about the journey intended for Zaramund to negotiate until a storm caused your ship to crash on their shores. Historia lets out small gasps through the whole thing, and you notice how her eyes tear up when you mention your brothers’ deaths. Ymir’s eyebrows are slightly less furrowed by the time you finish explaining your side of things, her anger turning into reluctant understanding.

“I am so sorry about your brothers,” Historia mutters, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes. “I am glad you landed on our shores before you arrived at Zaramund.”

“Thank you. I am as well,” you tell her gratefully.

Ymir speaks before you can continue. “You must know the state of Kaslogon before you start your journey again.” She sighs, and for the first time she looks tired, a hand placed on her forehead as she supports herself on the table. “You’re going to hate this.”

“We have a plan,” Erwin speaks up.

“Yeah?” Ymir lifts her head. “You can probably forego following that.” She hesitates, looking over at Historia for approval – Historia nods. “Grisha and Carla Jaeger are dead.”

Your lips part in shock, the hand resting gently on Levi’s now squeezing tightly as you try not to panic.

You’re too late. Zeke has enacted his plan and already killed his parents.

“What about Eren Jaeger?” Hange asks, their face curious as you process.

“Survived, but his location is unknown,” Historia says softly. “Apparently it was an assassination– killed by poison.”

“It was Zeke,” you tell them. You emphasize his point in his letter that made it known he would do anything to have you and stolen land.

“I’m going to kill that man,” Levi says on your right, still holding your hand but using the other one to press a fist into the table.

“Well,” Ymir hums. “Seems we actually have something in common. He’s a tyrant, and once he’s secured you he’s going to come for Navarre with full force.”

“He won’t be securing anything,” Levi growls. Erwin raises a hand to him, gesturing for him to relax. You can tell it makes him more angry, but he obeys regardless and sits with his lips pressed into a thin line, jaw clenched.

“Our plan involved your help once we found ourselves in your territory,” Erwin starts. “I believe it’s in both of our best interests to work together in this war to stop Zeke.”

Historia looks over at Ymir, sighing softly before she looks back at Erwin. “We agree,” she says. “I wish no harm against Mirlenas despite our differences, and I do not wish for Aeron to suffer such a fate from the hands of Zeke Jaeger.”

“We’re willing to provide you supplies,” Ymir continues on for Historia. “Whatever you need to end this war before it goes further into our territory. I hope whatever you have planned will end with peaceful negotiations, but Zeke is a mad man.”

You look over at Erwin – he’s smiling. “Zeke himself can be handled, but I fear it will end with bloodshed.”

—

Your guest bedroom is smaller than the ones you have in Mirlenas, with just enough room for a full size bed and a vanity. Levi stands guard outside your door, and you didn’t miss the look of longing he gave you when the door was closed and Miche gestured to show him his own room. You’ve been spoiled recently, able to share a bed with him throughout your travels and to constantly be with him.

You’re pacing the room, fidgeting with the plain cotton skirts Mrs. MacLerie had given you. Should you bother him in the hallway, request that he stay the night with you? You fear being too attached, too reliant on him, when you should be able to handle sleeping alone for one night before your journey resumes. Your sleep is just so uninterrupted with him, nightmare-less – dreamless. His arms wrapped around you is what makes you feel safe alongside his promises of always protecting you. You’re his now, and he yours.

You sigh, and swing open the door with a roll of your eyes at your behavior. Levi immediately straightens up off the wall, looking at you with furrowed eyebrows and concern. You don’t have to say a word for him to understand, and you can see in his eyes that he’s grateful you want him inside. He steps through the doorway as you step aside, and your nerves are back again when he doesn’t say anything.

“We should talk,” you say, your voice sounding small. You cringe at your words, knowing if they were said to you that you would immediately panic. “Everything’s fine,” you blurt out when you see his mouth open – it snaps shut.

He ponders for a moment. “Okay.”

You frown, and begin pacing the room again. He sits down on the edge of your bed, waiting patiently for you to begin.

“We are equals,” you state. You cast a side glance over at him, seeing him staring at you with a blank face – you look down again. “If we’re going to do this… If we’re going to negotiate with Zeke, I’m going to need you by my side regardless of the decision I make. I’m an inexperienced Queen, I know, but you’ll make me look like a fool if you question my authority.”

You keep pacing, nerves getting the best of you as you continue to fidget with the fabric of your skirts. You desperately want to break the habit, and you force your hands by your sides as they end up in fists instead.

Levi stares at you as you pace back and forth, fists now clenched by your sides instead of incessantly pulling at the threads in your skirts. He hates hearing that man’s name, the same man that killed your brothers and Furlan, the same man that killed his own parents. Levi feels this urge to protect you fiercely as soon as the name is mentioned – he’d do anything for you.

But he heard what you said, and he fears that he’s overstepped your boundaries when he didn’t mean to. He doesn’t know how to balance it, the unquenchable desire to be your protector, to love you, and the side of him that is still your loyal Chevalier. You’re right, and he knows that.

You’re startled by Levi grasping your hands, unfurling your fingers so you’re no longer pressing your nails into your palms, your head jerking up to meet his eyes. “You’re right,” he says softly. You stare into his eyes, those beautiful pools of grey that look at you so softly now. “You are my lover, but you are also my Queen. I trust you, and I will push down my instincts to protect you when you are fully capable.” His hand comes up to hold the side of your face, his thumb brushing the soft skin under your eye. “I fear there is going to be a moment where I can’t be there for you when you need me.” He lets go of your face, taking a step back as he frowns at the ground.

You stare at him for a moment, the overwhelming pressure in your heart making you speechless. You can see the frustration and sadness in his features as he stares down at the ground, jaw clenched. Memories of Auguste, Theo, and Furlan’s deaths no doubt passing behind his eyes, the hopeless feeling of despair overwhelming him.

You step forward and reach out, a gentle finger under Levi’s chin tilting his head back up. “I am here now,” you tell him softly. “We are here now, and until we join the stars as well then we will both do what we can.” You press your lips against his in a soft kiss, gentle enough to feel the way he exhales in relief. “I cannot live without enjoying your presence fully now, Levi. We have bickered for far too long, and as long as we live I will take your protection as long as you will allow me to protect you,” you whisper against his lips.

His eyes are closed as you look at him with half-lidded eyes, his lips slightly parted as he awaits more of your lips against his. His hands find your waist, and he gently tugs the laces of your corset free. “I’ll do anything you tell me to,” he whispers, eyes still closed as he removes your garment. They open just slightly. “I’m yours.”

You kiss him, firmly molding your lips against his as they move languidly together. Your hands find the cravat tied around his neck, fingers nimbly untying the fabric to cast it aside as Levi’s hands bunch up the fabric of your skirts to lift over your head. You only part for a moment to help him rid the fabric from your body, his fingers untying the flimsy skirt support around your waist as your own begin unbuttoning his blouse. Your lips come in contact again. He shivers under your touch, casting aside the skirt support and assisting you by lifting his blouse over his head by the collar once you’ve unbuttoned it enough.

You don’t immediately connect again, taking your time to relish in the view of Levi in just a pair of trousers before you. You’ve never seen him shirtless before, only a peek at his abdomen when he would wipe his brow free of sweat during a rigorous training session, but you had never paid much attention to the man. Now you openly ogle at him, staring shamelessly at the curves of his muscles, the way they flex slightly under your watchful eye, the way coarse dark hair trails down from his naval and disappears under his trousers. His hair is slightly tousled from his shirt being swept over his head, dark bangs barely hiding the lustful gaze he looks at you with. He’s always been remarkably handsome, piercing grey eyes, sharp, but soft, features, and you’re so grateful you’re the one that gets to see him so closely.

Levi does the same to you, openly staring at the way your nipples pebble under the thin cotton chemise provided to you. He’s never seen you like this before, not even when his hands grazed your sides in the countryside of Navarre, your back being turned to him and body being hidden under the sheets. Your hair is still down, it’s natural texture brushing over your collarbones and the nape of your neck – it’s grown longer since the start of your journey. Your curves are slightly silhouetted by your chemise, the short sleeves cupping your arms so your shoulders are free. The way your décolletage is revealed to him makes his heart palpitate, your skin sloping down to your breasts that are only hidden by thin, white cotton. You are such a beautiful woman – Levi curses himself for waiting so long to admit it.

You bravely step forward again, fingers beginning to undo the buttons of Levi’s trousers. He brushes your hair behind your ear. “What are you doing?” he mumbles, grabbing your hands to stop your process.

“I owe you,” you smile at him and lean in to kiss him again, freeing your hands from his to continue.

“You owe me nothing,” he whispers against your lips, his hands coming up to cup both sides of your face.

“Please– let me please you,” you breathe, begging for just a small taste of him, anything. You walk him back to the bed when he doesn’t openly oppose, guiding him to take a seat when the back of his knees press against the edge of the mattress. Your fingers finally finish unbuttoning his trousers as you kneel on the ground, gently pulling them, along with his undergarments, down as he lifts his hips to assist you and kicks them off to the side with his shoes.

You openly gape when his cock springs free, already hard and inflamed at the tip as it leaks a small amount of clear fluid. You look up at him, eyes doe eyed and innocent, and Levi bites back a groan at the sight. “You don’t have to,” he tells you honestly, because he can tell you might be overwhelmed by the pressure of performing well for your first time.

“I want to,” you insist.

Your lips are barely parted as Levi brushes his thumb against your bottom lip, pushing past and watching as you immediately close your lips around it to suck on it. You pull your mouth off with a pop, your cheeks flushing at the sound as you keep looking up at him. He looks patient, blank features staring down at you with only the kind look in his eyes telling you that it’s okay if you back out now, that he’ll still hold you tonight while you sleep.

You keep your eyes locked on his as you take him in your mouth, lips wrapped around the head of his cock with hollowed cheeks. The gasp Levi let’s out is unexpected, and you savor the sound of his unabashed moan that escapes him when you take him further. His skin is slightly salty as you wrap your tongue around him, coaxing another soft moan from him as he gathers your hair to hold it back for you in one hand, establishing a grip against your scalp. You’ve never done this before, but you try your best based on instinct.

“Fuck,” Levi moans, his chest heaving up and down as you bob your head. “How–” Levi let’s out a small whine when you push down further, determined to take him fully as you close your eyes and feel the dark hairs on his skin brush against your nose. “Christ, Aeron– shit– you’re gonna make me cum.” You gag slightly and pull back, swirling your tongue around the head of his cock as you use your hand to slide up and down the rest you can’t quite fit.

You open your eyes to look up at him, tears forming on your waterline and drool spilling from the corners of your mouth. God, you’re a sight to behold, and Levi pulls back on your hair to lift you off of him when he feels his climax approaching fast, your hand still pumping him to completion. He can’t remember the last time he finished this quickly even by his own hand.

His cum spurts in white hot ropes against his abdomen, coating his skin as you watch his eyebrows furrow with pleasure, eyes closed and mouth agape in silent ecstasy. His breathing is labored when he comes down from his high, cheeks flushed as he opens his eyes to look down at you staring up at him in awe. He’s beautiful, strikingly so, and being the source of his pleasure has your own stomach twisting in knots as your clit throbs.

“Come ‘ere,” he says, assisting you as you stand up, wobbly from being on your knees on the hard wooden flooring. You sit down next to him, grabbing at the skirts on the ground to wipe him clean. “I guess Mrs. MacLerie doesn’t need those back,” he mumbles, taking the fabric from your hands to wipe his abdomen.

You laugh lightly, feeling as though you’re walking in the clouds now. “No, I don’t think so,” you mutter, leaning into his side to kiss him softly. It’s slow, gentle, as he relaxes under your touch and you move to straddle him, hands cupping his face as you swing your leg over his. You can’t get enough of him, desperate to feel all of him against you, desperate to feel his cock throb inside you and coat your walls instead of his abdomen.

“Aeron,” he breathes against your lips, hands grabbing your hips as your chemise rides up and exposes your ass and cunt. You lower yourself down, gasping at the feeling of your wet pussy coming into contact with Levi’s soft cock. “What are you doing?” he gasps as you start rocking your hips back and forth, feeling his cock rub through your folds and into your clit, hardening as you continue.

“Feeling you,” you moan. “Oh.”

“I can’t claim you here,” he groans, but his hands do nothing but move to your ass as you continue to grind yourself against him.

“Stop being such a gentleman,” you mutter, tilting your head back and closing your eyes, wishing he would just fuck you right here and now as your arms drape over his shoulders.

“I am to a fault,” he mumbles, leaning forward to press kisses onto your neck. “I want to savor you, take my time with you.”

“Please, Levi,” you whimper. Every time you feel the tip of his cock rub your clit you feel breathless, stimulated, but not quite enough to make you feel euphoric.

His hand makes it’s way to your throat, establishing a gentle grip on the sides to just barely cut off the blood flow to your head and making you feel all the more inebriated off of him. “Then you can do it, my sweet girl,” he hums against your collarbones, lips trailing down to your chest above your breasts. “Make yourself cum all over my cock.” His voice is barely a whisper, and the lewd sound of your wet folds gliding over him make you blush.

Your head is tilted back, relishing in the feeling of your bodies pressed so closely together as you let out a gasp. “Help me,” you whimper, needing just a little more stimulation than grinding against him provides. He doesn’t hesitate, the hand guiding you forward and back by your ass instantly coming in between your bodies to apply circles to your clit.

“That’s it,” he mumbles, pulling you back to him by your throat and kissing you as you whine against his lips. You pant through your open mouth kisses, eyes scrunched shut in concentration as he gets you off. You’re so close, desperation lacing it’s way into the sound of your breaths and moans as you reach the cusp of your climax. “Cum for me, amour– Fuck you’re drenching me filthy girl,” Levi groans, your breath mingling together as you both get lost in the feeling of each other. Nothing matters but him.

You cum hard all over him, eyes rolling back as he lets go of your throat to help you through it by grabbing your hip, his thumb still making circles over your clit. You practically black out, vision blanking as you feel nothing but bliss pulse through you. Levi guides you through it until you’re panting, head falling forward into the crook of his neck while his arms wrap around you to support you. His hands glide under your chemise, rubbing soothing circles into your lower back as it rides up your waist.

God, he can feel you clenching, drooling all over his cock that’s hardened again and he resists the urge to fuck you into the mattress. He can feel the mess of your cream dribbling onto his thighs, creating a sticky concoction of sweat and your cum to clean up in a moment, but he bares it for you despite his urge to immediately get clean. You’re ruining him, absolutely taking all of his willpower away when it comes to serving you – the woman he never thought he’d bend over backwards for, but he can’t imagine it any other way now.

You feel drained, and you’re not sure how long it’s been when Levi finally pushes your shoulders gently and a hand comes up to hold the side of your face. “You alright?” he asks softly. You nod, only a mumble coming out in response. A deep rumble of a laugh comes from him, a satisfied smirk on his lips. “So pretty when you’re fucked out like this,” he hums, his thumb gently swiping against your bottom lip. You give him a delirious smile in response.

“You stay?” you ask him softly, voice sweetened in hopes of him holding you as you fall asleep.

“Of course,” he murmurs, swiping leftover tears from your cheeks.

“You don’t care what the others might think?” you ask, head tilted as you lean into his touch.

“As if they don’t already know,” he mumbles. “Come ‘ere.”

He easily lifts you with him as he stands up, your legs instinctively wrapping around him as he supports you with his hands on your ass. He carries you to the side of the bed, using one hand to pull back the covers as he supports you effortlessly, and lays you down under the sheets. “Stay here,” he whispers to you, and bends down to kiss your forehead.

Levi picks up his clothes that are scattered on the ground, buttoning up his trousers and throwing on his blouse – he doesn’t bother tucking it in or fixing his hair. He looks over at you and can’t help but smile softly at the way you’ve seemed to instantly fall asleep, the travels of the day finally catching up with you. He makes his way to the door, putting on his boots and shutting it as softly as he can behind him as he exits your temporary bedroom in search of warm water and cloth to clean you, and himself, up before he joins you in bed.

He wanders the halls, the dark stone contrasting the white painted wood he’s accustomed to in Mirlenas. He makes it down one hall on his way to the kitchen Miche had shown him earlier when he runs into Ymir herself, stopping as soon as he rounds the corner and she comes into view.

“Ah, guard dog,” she hums, smirking – the nickname makes the hair on his neck rise. “I see you had some fun tonight. Bedding an unmarried woman– a Queen at that? That’s quite brave for a Mirlenas knight.”

Levi isn’t sure if he’s gotten more bold because of where he stands with you now, but he has to bite back his curses at the woman before him. “It’s Levi.”

She laughs. “Alright fine, Levi,” she scoffs. “How’d you end up lucky enough to bed a woman like Aeron?”

He doesn’t bother correcting her, telling her that he hasn’t technically bedded you. “I was her brother’s Chevalier,” he tells her honestly, crossing his arms as he looks at her. “Hers in the last three years of his life.”

“Ah,” she says, gesturing for him to follow her – he hesitantly moves. “And you were there for their deaths? Witnessed them?”

Levi stills, footsteps pausing on the cold stone floor. She turns around to face him, a split second of shock displaying on her features before she controls them again. He can feel the amount of fury showing on his face as he spits out through clenched teeth, “Do not–”

“Right,” she says and turns back around. “Sensitive subject.” Her footsteps continue forward and Levi reluctantly follows. She leads him through the corridors, long hallways that don’t turn too much to the point where he’ll get lost, and soon she’s opening a door and holding it behind her for him. The small room has linens on the shelves, and Ymir takes a few cloths down and throws them at him – he catches them easily with a scowl on his face. “You know, Aeron seems like a special woman, much better than her father,” Ymir continues while she walks out, clearly expecting him to follow. “She’s fiesty, and Miche tells me you got upset with her for revealing who she was at the gates.”

“I wasn’t–”

“She has courage,” Ymir interrupts, looking back at him over her shoulder. “And honestly, she’s the only one capable of taking down Zeke in the end whether she makes it or not.”

Levi scoffs. “As if she wouldn’t make it.”

She whirls on him. “Well then you better be there. Every step of the goddamn way,” she sneers. “Historia might have faith in Mirlenas, but the only person that’s shown me they can handle it is Aeron. Even Commander Smith himself seems like he’s acting on a hunch and me and Historia can’t afford a fucking gut feeling. If Zeke makes it here we’re done for.”

Levi’s fists clench around the white cotton cloths Ymir had given him and steps forward to meet her challenge. “You act like you know everything, but you have no idea what I’d do for her.”

“Would you die for her?” Ymir questions viciously.

“I would do anything for her. I would die the worst death if it meant she would be freed from whatever threatens her,” he vehemently tells her. “You know nothing. You know absolutely nothing about us, or the bond we share–”

“You’re mated?” Ymir takes a step back, bewildered.

“No–”

“How can you be bonded if you’re not mated?”

“We will–”

“Pray it’s not too late when you decide to,” she huffs and spins around, pushing a swinging door open to the kitchen as Levi follows her.

“She’s mine, and I hers,” Levi says, quieter this time. “Zeke won’t lay a hand on her even if it means my own death to protect her, and Kaslogon will have no rein over any more land. We’re fighting him ourselves and you should be grateful for the protection your country is being provided.”

Ymir grips the counter, her back facing Levi as he stands by the entryway. “We are,” Ymir mutters. “You’ve been gone too long.” She grabs a kettle of water and pours it into a small craft, shoving the already warm water into Levi’s grip. “Go.”

Levi wordlessly takes it from her and steps out, leaving Ymir to sit quietly in the kitchen.

She’s scared, Levi thinks as he makes his way back to you, and he can’t blame her. The only thing he fears is losing you, and he can sense that Ymir is only scared of losing Historia to a war they can’t win. He’s already tired and selfishly wants to live in the moments where it’s just you and him, when he’s holding you so close your heartbeats practically melt into one.

He exhales softly, looking down at the ground before he slowly enters the room to take care of you.

—

“Are you prepared for this?” Erwin’s voice cuts into your thoughts.

You’ve gotten yourself together, disregarding Historia’s attempts at sending in a handmaiden and opting to get yourself ready. You’ve braided your hair and styled it in an updo, something that will last the journey to Zaramund. Ymir had delivered fresh clothing for you and you’ve changed into the woolen skirts and cotton blouse, a thin chemise that was made out of quality cotton underneath, and a woolen cloak for your shoulders. You didn’t miss the look her and Levi shared as she stepped into your room and spotted him – you didn’t ask about it, only glad they’ve come to some understanding it seems.

Your temporary horse whinnies under you, a dark mare that made you miss Saxson deeply, made you wonder if he was happily grazing next to Arwen on the coast of Mirlenas. Historia and Ymir provided supplies for you in a small wagon led by two smaller horses, and the rest of your soldiers were provided their own. You expressed your gratitude to both Historia and Ymir, earning a kind smile accompanied by a hug from Historia and a reluctant nod from the latter telling you to “not mess this one up.”

You’re almost positive you caught the upturn of her lip when you smiled back at her.

Erwin sat proudly on his own stallion by your side, regarding you with such care he rivaled Levi now in the way he wordlessly vowed to protect you. “Yes,” you simply answer him. There’s no need to elaborate on how your stomach twists into knots whenever you think about stepping foot inside the castle home to the Jaeger family. How could you ever be truly ready?

The easiest way to reach Zaramund would be to cross the bay between Navarre and Kaslogon territory, but it would leave you vulnerable to Zeke’s soldiers on the coastline – you’re not quite fond of water yet anyway. Instead you would be crossing through the valley of the mountain range that separated the two countries, a small path between towering mountains that would be covered in snow this time of year. From there it would be an easy trek into the capital city, but your nerves still threatened to overcome you.

And it started off simple enough, with two days passing by easily as you trekked across Navarre’s hillsides, rolling green making it easy to navigate and allowing horses to graze. Plenty of streams intertwined throughout the land, providing drinking water for your traveling squad. It was peaceful, nice even, while you appreciated the landscapes around you as your horses made their way through, or while you knelt down next to streams to fill the leather canteen provided to you.

It wasn’t until you reached the start of the valley that your group came to a full stop. The map given to Erwin was clearly deceiving, showing more rolling green hills in between tall mountains, streams flowing down from the mountainside. Granted, it was winter, but the sight before you was not at all how you imagined or were told about.

The earth was brown, no longer covered in grass and resembling a desert instead with visible drought lines along the side of the mountains and clear signs of dried up streams. You couldn’t blame the Queens, they warned you they haven’t had anyone travel these areas since the war began, and with a harsh winter already making it’s presence known far worse in Navarre than Southern Mirlenas, a drought before the snow melted was inevitable.

The air was dry and chilled you to the bone as it swept in between the mountains, blowing the stray hairs that have managed to escape your tied up hair back. One hundred kilometers of this would have to be crossed to reach the other side where you had no idea about the terrain of Kaslogon. You’ve heard your father talk about how sparse it normally is, and you can only hope that in a twist of luck that the land spares you from it’s usual standing.

“We’ll stock up on water half a kilometer back and then make our way through,” Erwin announces to your soldiers. You give him a nod, tugging on the reins of your horse to turn her around and earning a disgruntled huff in return.

—

Any gods that may exist have never been on your side.

The sight was startlingly contrasted; white peaked mountains sloping down to dusty cliff sides. You were surrounded by snow you couldn’t reach, and dirt that had no life to it. You’re almost there – roughly seventy five kilometers have been trekked, and you’re just starting to grow weary as the sun sets. Shadows grow longer, the sky darkening and revealing the stars above your heads with some getting shadowed by the mountain tops.

“We should rest,” Levi speaks up, addressing Erwin. You’ve slumped down a bit on top of your horse, posture weak and limbs growing tired of riding all day. You’ll be on the outskirts of Zaramund tomorrow evening, but Erwin wants to camp just out of reach of the capital city so you can all gather the needed strength.

I fear it will end with bloodshed.

You hope that’s not the case.

All of the horses come to a stop, with Petra and Eld directing the horses towing the wagon to stop and allow access to supplies. You weren’t as prepared as you were in Mirlenas, settling for rucksacks instead of tents and hoping it wouldn’t rain on you despite the needed water. You hopped off your horse, beating Levi’s attempted assistance, and began helping set up camp. You didn’t know much, but you could at least help Petra gather supplies for cooking tonight's meal over the fire being prepared.

“We can take care of things,” Levi tells you, reaching into the back of the wagon for a crate – Petra glances over at you with slightly raised brows, taking that as her signal to leave your side to give you privacy.

“What kind of leader would I be if I let everyone do this for me?” you ask him, turning your body to face him with a hand on your hip.

He looks at you for a moment and then glances around to see everyone else busy with a task as the two of you are partially hidden behind the wagon. “Right,” he mutters and kisses your forehead. “I’m only letting you know that you can take a break if you need it.”

He walks away with a crate in his hands, a knowing look on his face. You frown in his direction before gathering more supplies for Petra.

“Thank you, Aeron,” Petra smiles at you when you hand her a pot and cooking utensils. It’s just the two of you as you both kneel down by the fire, settling in to hang the pot and get dinner situated for the rest of the group. You look up and spot Levi, discussing with Erwin and Hange, although you’re not sure what and can’t tell by the animated look on Hange’s face and the bored expression on Levi’s – Erwin is simply listening.

You hear it before you see it.

A gunshot rings out, the sound of a rifle piercing through the laughter and calm sounds of your soldiers setting up camp. Petra tackles you to the ground hastily, using her body to shield yours as she urges you to crawl with her under the wagon of supplies to take cover. Your eyes are wide, heart rate soaring with the adrenaline pumping through your veins as you hold onto her and she does the same to you.

Then you see it – them. Eld and Gunther are lying down in the dirt, blood pooling around their bodies as everyone frantically takes cover and grabs their weapons. You gag, choking back your tears and the fear that’s consuming you as you look onto the chaos unfolding. You miss the eye contact Petra makes with Levi before she’s pulling you out from under the wagon despite your protests, kicking up dirt as both of you scuffle towards him.

“Go!” Petra pushes you towards him, causing you to stumble forward and barely catch yourself before Levi is pulling you up with one strong arm. Your legs straddle the front of the saddle, your back pressed so tightly to his chest you can feel his frantic heartbeat.

He positions you in front of him on his stallion, using both hands on the reins with arms that cage you in as you frantically look around and the horse sprints forward. Mikasa is hidden behind part of the wagon, using it as cover as she aims a rifle up into the mountains, a determined look set on her features. Armin is next to her, crouched down and holding a musket as he watches her back.

Your eyes find Oluo next, lying on the ground with Petra leaning over him as she frantically shakes him. You gasp, and turn your head down when you see his knee cap blown out and blood leaking from his thigh like a geyser.

“Eyes forward Aeron,” Levi’s deep, comforting voice intercepts your dark thoughts. “I’ve got you.”

You feel obligated to listen to the smooth intonation of his voice, his words trying to pull you back from spiraling as your mind wanders to thoughts of your brothers and the way they probably suffered in death. You keep your eyes focused on the horn of the saddle, your hands holding it so tight your knuckles become lighter in colour. You have to trust Levi to get you two out of this, trust that Erwin, Hange, and your soldiers will make it out alive – you know you’re their priority and you hate it.

—

Levi rides throughout the night, your body nestled against his chest and in between his arms as his borrowed stallion carries him forward. You’re sleeping now after hours of traveling and worn off adrenaline. Your body is turned just enough for you to rest your head on his shoulder while one arm holds your waist tightly to make sure you’re okay, his arm remaining flexed to keep you secure.

He’s angry, scared, and desperate to feel safe again. He caught glimpses of the Kaslogon emblems on the men that attacked them, and he wonders why the hell you’re even going to negotiate instead of declaring an all out war with them. But he knows how you are, how desperate for peace you are without bloodshed.

He holds you tighter. You’re okay. You’re alive.

He didn’t check to see if anyone was okay, didn’t bother stopping the sprint of his horse just to see if any of his comrades were following him out of the mess. The decided campsite for the next evening is his destination, a marked spot on the map that’s in Erwin’s possession and Levi can only hope he makes it to the right spot.

He rides for a few more hours until he sees the lake that looks to be the same size as the one on the map, the sun making it’s way over the horizon and casting a soft glow onto your cheeks. He’s glad you got some sleep, and he’s glad you’ll have a whole day and night to rest and get your bearings before Erwin inevitably forces you to move into the capital city of Zaramund.

Levi pulls on the reins with one hand to have the horse gently come to a stop, a small huff coming from the animal that deserves to rest as long as it can before he drags it into hell again. You stir, a small mumble that Levi manages to smile at as he looks down at your pretty face resting against him. He lifts his hand from the reins, using a thumb to caress your cheek and wake you up further from your sleep.

“We’re here, mon cœur,” Levi mutters to you. You open your eyes and stare up at him, the swirling of your irises that are warmed by the sun taking his breath away. “You’re okay,” he whispers, to reassure you that he’s got you, that he’s taken care of you and protected you from harm, in your sleepy state.

You remain quiet and tilt your head up, the soft press of your lips making him melt into you as your lips move gently against his own. He sighs when you break apart, soft breaths mingling with his as he leans his forehead against yours.

You’re okay. You’re alive.

—

It’s well into the next evening by the time you hear the distinct sound of hooves running against the soft grassy earth around the lake. Levi keeps you and the horse hidden well, letting you rest after he’s woken up from a nap and feeding you with a rabbit he managed to catch with a simple trap. Your eyes are frantic as he pulls you against a tree with him, holding you close as he peers around the bark and out into the open plains of rolling hills.

You can feel the tension leaving his body as he let’s out a sigh of relief, his hold loosening on you ever so slightly and signaling to you that it’s not the enemy. You allow him to help you up, his hand firmly grasping yours to guide you out from cover.

Your eyes tear up immediately when you see Erwin riding strong on top of his white stallion, Hange next to him on their own horse. You feel the tears fall when you see their head wrapped in bandages, one eye covered with a small blotch of blood soaked into the fabric.

The rest of your soldiers follow suit, and your heart feels like it’s in your throat when Petra rides at the back of the group on top of your dark mare, her face covered in grief. You let Levi’s hand go and run to meet your soldiers, your friends. Erwin is the first to get off his horse, practically leaping off and handing the reins over to Armin next to him, and then he’s waiting for you with open arms as you hurl yourself into him.

He crouches down to hug you, large arms wrapping around your frame and engulfing you tightly as you cry into his dirtied no-longer-white blouse. He let’s go of you to check if you’re hurt, calloused hands swiping your hair off your face and holding your cheeks to get a good look at you. His touch reminds you of Auguste, and your hands come up to hold the back of his as you give him a small, sad smile.

Hange walks up next to you, and you don’t miss the look of shock when you abandon Erwin’s touch to give them a hug. “I’m okay,” they mutter softly, and you make a mental note to ask them about their eye later.

The rest of your soldiers say their hellos, sorrow permeating the air with so much thickness you could choke on it as the tears never leave your eyes. They find their spots on the grass, sitting down with exhaustion leaking out of their bones after tying their horses up to rest and graze on the long grass.

Your eyes find Petra again once Erwin and Hange leave your side to talk to Levi, and your already broken heart aches when you see her sitting atop your mare, her dejected spirit idle. You wipe the tears from your cheeks and walk up to her quietly, carefully, as if she was a hunted wounded animal seconds away from startling.

“Petra, mon amour,” you mutter. She startles, big golden brown eyes looking down at you from her spot on top of your horse. Her hands are covered in blood, the front of her uniform stained red from holding her loved ones close as they die. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

You hold her in your arms as she breaks.

#levi ackerman #levi x reader #aot fanfiction #levi ackerman x reader #aot levi #levi attack on titan #fanfic #levi smut #levi ackerman x female reader #fic update #levi x you #levi ackerman x reader smut #royalty au #historical au #finally updated #reccommend reading on ao3 thank you <3

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itmeansiris · 2 months ago

Text

The Solar System Legacy Challenge: Coming Clean Gen 1 pt.68

Kason eventually heads back inside but stops in the living room when he’s met with Rufus and Kiersten concerned faces waiting for him in the kitchen.

Kason: I'm sorry to have ruined your night.

Kiersten: Kason, tell me you didn't sleep with that girl from the pictures.

Rufus: Kiersten.

Kason visibly deflated, as if the question had been a needle to the last fragile bubble of strength he had desperately tried to cling to.

Kason: It's okay Rufus. No Kiersten I didn't sleep with her. I'm not cheating on my wife.

Kason: Madison is a girl I met at the Brindleton Pawspital. She's a huge fan of M and part of some huge fan-based book club. She asked if M was doing a Meet and Greet for the release of "Court of the Slumbering Fae". At the time I wasn't sure so we exchanged emails and I promised to let her club know when I had more information.

Rufus: That explains the photo of you in the clinic, but the other one?

Kason sighed, his expression flooded with guilt.

Kason: That one's a little more complicated

Kiersten: Complicated how?

Kiersten challenged him

Kason: I..I should get to M.

Kiersten: You live 2 houses down. We watched her leave.

He checks his watch, fidgeting uncomfortable for such a confident man.

Rufus: Quit stallin'. What happened?

Finally he relents. Telling them everything.

Kason: I did have a meeting, but it wasn't for work it was with Madison-

Kieristen cuts him off before he can finish

Kiersten: KASON!

Rufus: Let him finish love.

He gently soothes his fiery wife. Kason takes that as his queue to continue.

Kason: I met with Madison, her club, and M's agent Takara.

The atmosphere in the room shifted from tense to total confusion. Kason sighed and heads to the dining room table. Rufus follows and takes the seat closest as Kiersten started a fresh pot of coffee, figuring this could take a while.

Kason: The book club that Madison is in came up with the idea to throw a "Fans award" ceremony for M. They even had an award made.

Rufus: Fans award ceremony?

Kason: These people are crazy about M. They designed and created a custom award for Mercury and wanted to plan a ceremony to present it to her. They obviously had no real way to pull it off without the proper contacts.

Rufus nods as it started to come together.

Rusuf: You became the contact. You got the agent and the club together so they could work together.

Kason: When they presented the idea I jumped on board immediately. It seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Kiersten: For what?

She questioned as she served cups of coffee for everyone.

Kason: When I first met M, she was thriving. She was surrounded by her supportive family, loving friends, and her adoring fans. She grew tremendously as a writer like she had a natural talent for capturing or creating her own idea of life on paper. As her career grew so did her confidence, charisma, and her fame. Everyone loved her. She was bold, but kind. Self-assured in who she was and what she wanted no matter how big she got. She never allowed herself to forget the fans. She accepted every interaction, fan mail never went unopened and she’s even dealt with a Stan or two. It never stopped her from donating or volunteering her time to bake sales and beach clean ups. She was what every celebrity should aspire to be.

He paused for a moment attempting to tame his emotions. He failed and dropped his head into his hands. He continued, the unwavering admiration and love evident in his every word.

Kason: After we got married and she got pregnant, her celebrity life slowed down. She continued to publish books but her life became about being a mother and a wife and she's damn good a both. The kids and I couldn't ask for better. I just wanted to give her one night all about her. Where she could shed her mom title and even the name Gratz and just be Mercury Medley beloved and adored author. A night where people appreciate her for her talents and not because she makes the funniest elephant sounds or because she cooks the best Grilled Cheese. I know she loves our family and would likely say she doesn't miss being directly in the spot light and if it meant giving up time with the family it wasn’t worth doing.

He takes a shaky breath. His voice is unsteady when he speaks again.

Kason: But... I wanted to give her one night... if I could...

Rufus: You need to go.

Kason: What?

Rufus: You need to tell Mercury what you just told us.

Kiersten: Wait.

Kiersten slides into the chair across from Kason. Her expression was stern.

Kiersten: Did you know she was friends with Paris?

Kason: No, I had no clue.

This time there was no uncertainty in his voice. There was a dangerous edge to his tone. He quickly tucks his anger back into its box saving it for when he confronted Madison or Paris. Both, if they had been in on this scheme together.

Rufus: And she never told you?

Kiersten: Do you think Madison knows?

Their questions started to overlap as they grew more anxious to get to the truth. It was the question Kason had dreaded being asked all evening, but he swore he'd have answers by tomorrow. He was owed that much.

Kason: I don't know, but I'm going to find out.

Rufus nodded, rising from his seat signaling the end of the conversation.

Rufus: First you're going home to talk to your wife.

Kason jogs the short distance home. He enters quietly avoiding waking up Spirit and all the kids. When he gets upstairs he finds M in their bedroom asleep curled up on her side. He walks over to the bed and sits, settling his weight slowly, careful not to jostle the bed and wake her. He watches the slight rise and fall of her chest. Her wavy black hair framed her honey-brown face. He admired her soft pink lips wishing he could kiss her but his eyes lingered longest on her long dark lashes. He silently prayed she would wake up just so he could feel the familiar alluring tug on his heart he felt whenever he glimpsed her stunning pine-green eyes.

Not having the heart to actually wake her, he settles for resting his hand gently on her arm. The minimal contact brings him a small bit of comfort.

Kason: You are the center of my solar system and I will always be in your orbit.

He gets up as carefully as he'd sat down, glancing at her sleeping form one more time before heading to the downstairs office where he uncomfortably drifts in and out of sleep.

Previous Next

Beginning

Pose

@katverse Bedtime blues

@elen-shine lets talk (bed conversation) & emotions poses

@rebouks lazy bones & Table talks (anger and sad)

#sims 4 #sims 4 gameplay #sims 4 story #sims 4 screenshots #sims 4 legacy #solar system legacy challenge #gen 1 #itmeansiris #sims 4 romance #sims 4 lovestruck

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0nlythrowharrybeaux · 11 months ago

Text

Wonderful World - Part 21**

Thanks for your patience with this one! Finally got around to finishing it! Series Masterlist

Warnings: Mentions of grief, different topics relating to pregnancy, disowning, unprotected sex, oral (fem receiving), fingering, cum play

WC: 10.1k

The Christmas holiday had been wonderful with Harry’s parents, Paul and Catherine. They were both so kind and warm towards her, Celeste, and Damian. Harry’s mom, Catherine, absolutely loved Disneyland, she even left with a pair of ears on her head that matched with Diana and Celeste’s. She had also taken a lot of care in getting to know Diana better, she would talk to her more than Harry at times. But Diana understood that she just wanted to get a feel for her and what her intentions were with her son. She did mentioned to Diana how much she loved to see Harry with Celeste; she brought a side out of him that she loved to see from her son. It brought a closeness between Catherine and Diana and even Damian, who had served as the sole paternal figure of sorts for Celeste until Harry came along into their lives.

Harry’s instinct about Celeste and his dad getting on well was correct. He, Celeste, and Paul did have a jam session or two during their visit. Paul was so smart and gentle, like Harry. It was evident to her that he really wanted to nourish his relationship with Harry and they spent a lot of time together when they didn’t have plans with Diana and her family.

Harry shared with her that he had of course explained to them how they were proceeding with sharing their relationship with Celeste soon. They had decided to do so after the New Year, they’d have breakfast and talk about it with her. And he told Diana that his parents were very insightful and offered him some advice about how to proceed in this relationship, which Harry took to heart because he truly wanted the relationship to succeed with Diana.

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

Damian had started to join Harry for his workout sessions while he was in town and it gave them a chance to get to know each other better as well. Harry had learned a lot about Damian and Diana’s family, their dynamic, and of course with her permission, Damian shared a lot of the things that were a bit harder for her to share with others about her family life growing up. Damian of course, wanted to ensure that he wasn’t giving Harry the lowdown on his sister for nothing at all, so as they had some coffee after their workout he decided to bring this up.

“Hey, so obviously I think you’re a great guy and you’ve really come through for Di and Celeste.”

“Yeah, it’s been wonderful to do so.” Harry assured.

“Yeah? Not too crazy?” Damian asked with a smile.

“I mean, a little crazy at times…” he confessed, “But not in a bad way at all.” He smiled.

“Well thank you for sticking around.”

“I said I’d do my best to.” He reminded and Damian smiled.

“So this whole thing with Di? I mean you think it’s the real deal?” He asked and Harry nodded.

“Oh definitely.” He smiled, “I’ve never felt more complete or happy with the way things are going with her. And now that Celeste is more or less wanting this to happen between us, it seems like the perfect time to give it a real shot. We’ve talked about it, what we want, and we’re on the same page.”

“And what is that?”

“We want to have a life together eventually. We want our relationship to progress as normally as possible, no rushing into anything just because the feelings are there, you know?”Damian nodded, “Obviously, her life is already established with Celeste and we also don’t want to make abrupt changes. Like we’re still gonna have our own places, keep our relationship as private as possible so that we can work on things together without any pressure from Celeste-”

“Good call. She is eager for you two to get together.” He chuckled and Harry did as well.

“I know…we’re going to tell her after New Year’s. Just going to have a proper chat with her about it and share what we want. What boundaries we’re going to have, that sort of thing.”

“Good. She can be real meddlesome…” Damian chuckled, “Especially if she’s invested.”

“Oh, I am aware…” Harry smiled. “But yeah, this is not just a placeholder for me. This is what I want. I mean, I didn’t know it until it was happening that I was…missing something, you know?”

“I ummm…I don’t actually. Not yet, at least.” Damian admitted with a bit of embarrassment.

“That’s alright. I mean, is it something you want?” He asked and Damian smiled.

“Not yet…or like, I haven’t felt that yet. Ever.”

“You’ve never had your heart broken?” Harry asked and Damian shook his head.

“Nope, never…”

“Really?” He asked in a bit of disbelief.

“Yeah…” Damian chuckled, “I have had a lot of relationships and it’s not like I never cared about those people but I just don’t…want everything else. And of course, the women I’m with think they’ll change my mind if they take good care of me and all…and when it comes up and I tell them that nothing has changed for me, they get hurt and so I…feel like an ass.”

“Some people are just meant to be alone, you know?”

“Well, I’m the heir to my parents’ empire, they expect me to have an heir of my own so…that’s where it gets a bit weird.” He chuckled and Harry nodded in understanding.

“And Di is just, completely out of the picture?” He asked.

“Oh yeah…I mean, after what happened at your practice my mom said herself that she would always hold that against her. She’s never broken a promise to me in my entire life so…”

“Fuck…I’m so sorry.”

“No, don’t be. You were right in what you did. No one as ever stood up to her or ever called her out for any of it except Diana. My dad isn’t like that but he…he’d rather not go up against her. She’s the boss.” He chuckled.

“Women are always the boss.” Harry smiled.

“They are smarter…” Damian confessed, “There’s this woman from our branch in Spain? Lola.” He smiled and Harry nodded, “She’s just an assistant but man is she fucking brilliant.” He smiled, “Her boss, our chief marketing strategist for that branch, runs all his ideas by her. I overheard it once before a big board meeting. She was explaining to him what it was he needed to say. After the meeting, which he totally rocked, I approached her about it, she played dumb…I told her I saw and overheard it as they were prepping and I offered a new job and a raise and she turned it down. Said she was happy doing what she was doing. Says it every time I bring it up to her.”

“Do you like her?” Harry asked.

“She’s fascinating but no. Kind of reminds me of Di, so I look out for her a lot.” He explained, “She’s fucking brilliant, you know? Diana got into Columbia all on her own.”

“Yeah, she told me about that.” Harry smiled.

“I know she’s been through a lot of shit but sometimes I wonder what her life would be like if none of it would have happened, you know? Where would she be? Where would I be?”

“Where do you think she’d be?”

“In Mexico City, buried beneath a mountain of HR paperwork at our corporation’s HQ.” He said and Harry couldn’t envision that. “She got accepted into the Business Management concentration at Columbia, very competitive as an undergrad. She minored in psychology, wanted to do things along the social psychology area though and then do graduate work in HR Management. She didn’t want to be in the business. But there was a whole fucking plan, obviously, it wasn’t really her plan…” Damian explained, “It’s what she was expected to do. So she had to spin it in a way in which she could still do something she cared about so that she could…survive. I mean, she’s always loved and cared for people, so I think she would’ve been alright going down that route for a bit. But I think she would’ve been put in challenging situations that made her choose things that in her eyes weren’t right. And I don’t know if I’m awful for saying this, but as much pain as she’s experienced, maybe it was for the best? Because she would be so miserable. Absolutely hate her life if it were anything other than this…” Damian said, “She’s happy now, doing something she loves.”

“How’d she get into the whole Spanish thing?”

“Well in terms of our culture, she’s always loved it, since we were kids. She was taking a class at Columbia about Latin American culture as an elective and well, when she transferred to another school she just stuck with that because she really liked it. I supposed it was also a comfort thing for her. There was so much pain and uncertainty in her life at that time that it was easier to stick to something she knew well and was familiar with, you know?”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Harry hummed, “But I think you’re right, she’s much happier doing what she loves, free to choose for herself than to be stuck doing something she hates. And well, we would’t have Celeste…” Harry said.

“Exactly. I think everything happens for a reason. And well, my sister’s life had gone according to my parents’ plan until she refused to terminate her pregnancy. She lost a lot, but she gained her freedom and found herself and I think that’s the most important thing to her anyway. And well, ultimately all of those things led you two together, which also has been great for her and Celeste. So I have to believe it all happened how it was supposed to.”

“Who knows, but I assure you that as long as she wants me in her life, I will be here and I will take care of her and Celeste.”

“I know you will. I trust you with them, that’s big for me.” Damian shared.

“Well thank you for trusting me.”

“You’ve earned it.” Damian assured. “If I knew that my family could be…different, I think I would be more open to marriage and kids…but my parents are just great at…sucking the life out of everything. I don’t want to bring anyone into that. Seems very irresponsible to me.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Harry nodded, “It’s why I never wanted kids of my own.”

“Your sweet old parents traumatized you?!” Damian asked in surprise and Harry chuckled.

“I think all of our parents traumatize us in a way. They’re wonderful people, don’t get me wrong, but when you’re a child you just want them around. And I grew up feeling like they loved their work more than me. And being the child of two renowned psychiatrists brings a crippling self awareness at a very young age.” He chuckled, “I viewed my parents exactly as they are from a very young age. Just regular, flawed people who made good and bad choices, like everyone else…” he sighed, “And I was resentful for a long time. The idea of coming to America, not wanting to have kids, that was initially born out of spite for them. Like Diana, I wanted my freedom. But as I got older and I fell in love with the field for myself I realized that my plan to leave and not reproduce was still what I wanted, just my intentions were wrong before. I didn’t and still don’t want to take on the legacy of what they’ve built across Europe. I think it’s great, but they hardly get to practice, which is where my heart lies. I’ve poured myself into my work and that wouldn’t be fair to my partner or my child, you know?”

“Exactly!” Damian agreed with enthusiasm, “I felt like my work with the family was an obligation before but when I delved in I fell in love with it. And I’m good at it, better than my father is. I want to make it better and that requires a lot of my time and dedication.” He said, “So, did your mind change about what you wanted? Like do you want to have kids now? With my sister?”

“Oh no, I also just don’t like babies.” Harry confessed and Damian chuckled but nodded. “Diana and I are on the same page with that. We’ve checked in again about it because well, we’re not getting any younger.” Harry shrugged, “But ummm, yeah she doesn’t want that and I don’t either. Celeste is enough for the both of us.”

“I think Di might also be a bit…traumatized about pregnancy and babies and that kind of thing. I mean, she did it all on her own, I was there when I could be, which she overestimates. I should’ve just moved back here t-to help her out more…I’ll always regret that.” He said and Harry frowned but nodded, “She just had such a hard time that I think if she did it again, even with a partner it would just fuck her up for a bit.”

“Yeah, understandably so.” Harry agreed, “I mean, at the end of the day I think we just want to make each other happy and we both agree that we don’t need that to be happy. We’ve not chosen ourselves for a long time, so this is for us. Just for us.” Harry smiled.

“Good. That’s good…” Damian smiled.

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

The New Year came and went and Diana got a bit too nervous about telling Celeste about her and Harry. So she spoke to him and they postponed it and gave themselves one more week, and boy was that week becoming very challenging for Diana…

Specially after spending the holidays with Harry’s family, Celeste was more pushy than ever. Diana’s anxiety was getting even more out of hand. She had never known Celeste to be this defiant with her over something, but she was constantly having to ask her to please stop meddling in what she wanted for her future. But it seemed that Celeste wasn’t understanding the havoc it was wreaking on Diana’s emotions. To Celeste it seemed like playful teasing or something, but to Diana it felt suffocating.

Diana was aware that she had major abandonment issues, not just because of Wesley’s passing, but from the way her parents distanced themselves from her so suddenly, and then from Wesley’s parents as well; the people who had loved her so much and treated her like their own with such warmth and kindness. She hoped to find comfort with them, to be able to grieve with them and to count on them for support with Celeste. After all, she was their grand daughter, but his parents never really recovered from the loss and also cut off all contact. All of Celeste’s persistence was making her feel trapped and afraid of what she wanted with Harry. What if something happened to him too? That was the fear that prevented her from letting people in for all these years and it had been growing steadily and had just reached it’s boiling point.

“Baby, what’s the matter?” Harry asked Diana as he pulled her into his arms as she sobbed hard. He walked them back inside her house where it was warm. It was nearly 2am and freezing cold outside and he didn’t want her getting sick right before school started. But she just cried and cried for several minutes in his arms. Celeste was gone at a sleepover at Geri’s, so thankfully, no one was home but them two and she could say everything she wanted to say, so she did.

She told him how Celeste kept pushing her and it was making her nervous about her not respecting the boundaries they wanted to set. She told him about how she considered backing out and staying alone instead of being with him how she wanted to because it would just be easier. She told him how she feared for her heart, how she feared another loss, how she feared letting their lives entangle even deeper. She shared the internal war she was at with her head and her heart. She shared her anxieties, her hopes, and her desires. She had poured her heart out to him in a way she never had before. It was chaotic and painful, but it was also extremely vulnerable and motivated by her need for love. Not just any love, his love. She needed to know that he could still love her through all of this and most importantly, be patient with her.

It was essentially a verbal brain dump, he couldn’t take any of her feelings too personally. All of her fears were valid and he couldn’t even guarantee to her that he wouldn’t abandon her in the way she feared, that was completely out of his control. Of course, voluntarily, he would be there for as long as he could be, but sometimes shit happens and accidents happen and there’s no way to prevent that, as she had experienced already. But Harry could see that she didn’t want to give up, she was just feeling so pressured and overwhelmed. Obviously, Harry knew that Celeste didn’t intend to be badgering her mom, she just wanted to know, to be let in, probably even to gush over her love life with her the way Diana had done with her over Ben. Diana also expressed that she just couldn’t blow up on Celeste over this, she wasn’t being rude or anything, but even as Diana kindly tried to emphasize that she just needed privacy to deal with this for a bit, Celeste was stubborn.

“-it’ just feels like a lot emotionally, you know?” She sighed before inhaling shakily and he squeezed her had, his thumb running over her knuckles soothingly.

“Yeah, it is, love.”

“I just don’t know if it’s fair to you that I’m so…flighty.” She frowned and he smiled.

“Love, the last thing you are is flighty.” He assured, “You are so consistent and responsible, and on top of your things. And this is an area of your life which you haven’t really explored or prioritized in a while, you know? So it’s going to take some getting used to, yeah?”

“Yeah.” She mumbled, “You make me so happy. But I’m still terrified of just getting it out there.” She explained.

“I’m scared too.” He confessed, “But I trust you with my heart. I don’t know what life will throw at us at any point, but I do believe that you will always have my best interest at heart. And I promise I too have your best interest at heart.”

“I do and I know you do too.” she confirmed, “I feel the same about you. I’m just afraid to really let myself feel happy about this because I…I just don’t want our time t-to be cut short.”

“Oh my love, c’mere.” He hummed and she nestled herself into his arms. Her back rested against his chest as he kissed the side of her head. “You can’t think like that all the time.” He advised, “Think of all the time we’ll have instead versus the time we won’t have. Better to enjoy everything now, day by day, yeah? Focus on the memories we get to make and how our relationship will grow and keep getting better?”

“You’re right.” She responded. The feeling of his chest rising and falling with his breaths made Diana feel more present. “Thank you for coming over and listening to all this. It can’t be easy to hear it.”

“I’ll always listen to how you feel, Di. Love you.”

“I love you too.” She responded and he kissed her head again. They just sat like that together in the silence for a little bit, “Wanna stay with me?” She asked quietly, she was a bit shy to ask but she didn’t want him to go now that he was here.

“Yeah, baby. I’ll stay with you.” He smiled through his confirmation.

Soon enough they were heading up the stairs and into her bedroom. It was a bit colder in her room with the big glass doors not providing too much insulation, but that was alright with him, if they got cold they could just cuddle up closer. He climbed into the side of the bed opposite she slept on and soon they were facing each other, her face was buried in his neck. Her soft breaths were tickling his skin as he smoothed his hand up and down the curve of her hip. Then Harry felt her lips pucker up right at the base of his jaw and he smiled. She then did it again before sucking gently.

“Is this alright?” She mumbled into his heated skin and he swallowed.

“Yeah, baby.” He barely got out before her soft sucks against the sensitive skin of his neck started to make all of the excitement swirl up in his tummy. His fingers were now holding tight to her as her sucks intensified. She was leaving a mark and that made him run absolutely wild. After a few more seconds she pulled off and kissed up his jaw, pecking right at the corner of his lip.

“Cheeky girl.” He hummed and she smiled.

“I’ve missed you.” She whispered. Diana was still a bit timid to fully initiate sex with him, she was working up to it, hoping he’d ask first.

“Really? It’s only been a few days…” he teased and she grinned.

“I can’t help it.” She shrugged and he chuckled, “You didn’t miss me?” She asked and he hummed playfully, “Be nice to me…” she mumbled which made Harry kiss her forehead.

“Course I did, baby. You’re constantly on my mind if you’re not close by.” He confirmed softly and she nuzzled closer to him, “Mmmm baby, how do I say ‘kiss me’ in Spanish?” He hummed inquisitively and she grinned as she reared back a bit to try and get some sort of a glimpse of him despite the darkness.

“Se dice, ‘bésame’.” She said quietly, her lips nearly skimming his own. Harry grinned and in a quick and smooth movement he had her under him. One of his big, warm hands was holding her face as he dipped down. His lips tickling and skimming against her own from how close they were.

“Bésame.” He whispered. She could practically taste him saying the words and forming them with his lips.

Diana let out a breathy exhale as she arched up while tugging him down to allow their eager mouths to meet. From the get-go the kiss was intense. His hips were pressing against hers, she could feel him steadily growing in his pants as they continued smearing their lips together with the same urgency of two teenagers who could get caught at any second. Her hands were roaming the expanse of his back, feeling up his muscular physique to her heart’s content.

“Get this off.” she muttered as she tugged at his shirt and Harry knelt up and stripped it off his body swiftly. She raised her arms up and he pulled her top off as well. He dipped down and pecked her quickly before sinking lower and sucking one of her nipples between his lips as his hand came up and grabbed her other breast. He kneaded her soft skin in his hands before sucking over that nipple as well. He loved to hear her whimpering beneath him, humping up against his muscular thigh in desperate need of some friction.

“Want me to inside you?” He asked gruffly.

“Yes, baby. Please…” she moaned and he kissed her deeply and rolled off of her to get undressed the rest of the way. He then helped her out and right before he could get his mouth on her she was pulling him up by the hair. “Do that later.” She panted and he grinned before kissing her as she reached down to find his erection and line it up with her entrance.

“Damn baby, so fucking wet f’me.” He panted and he felt his cock basking in the slick warmth between her legs. “Shit…Can I put it in, love?”

“Yeah baby, put it in.” She sighed with urgency.

With her confirmation, Harry snapped his hips up and his thick head pushed into her entrance and she inhaled sharply as her fingernails dug into his bare back. Harry groaned in response and breathed in her shaky exhales as he rolled his hips down against hers. His cock was sliding through her tight walls at the perfect pace. In and out. In and out. Delving in deep and reaching spots that were making her tingle and then moan his name. He gradually started going a bit harder and deeper with each thrust; he loved the sound of their bodies meeting, soft wet sounds that he wanted engraved into his memory forever and ever.

“Shit, you feel so good around my big cock…” he grunted and Diana whimpered and clamped her walls down around him, “You want more, don’t you?” He grinned and she nodded and he took that as his cue to fuck into her harder than before. He was pounding her so deep that her bed frame was creaking beneath them. And soon a rhythmic thumping against the wall in perfect time with his deep grunts joined in the symphony of their gentle and desperate sin. His moans and soft sounds of satisfaction were making Diana’s brain melt to mush. She gasped and her back started arched up when Harry rubbed into her clit, it was all swollen and slippery with a blend of their arousal. He was enjoying watching her eyes roll back and then squeeze shut; he loved watching her lose herself in him. “Fuck baby, you’re right there, aren’t you? Gonna come on my cock?”

“Yeah, Harry…fuck ju-just a little bit faster!” She mewled her request and he picked up the pace and in moments he felt her walls suffocating his cock, creating the most wonderful feeling around him. It felt as though he was being pulled deeper into her and he moaned and even went a little lightheaded as he allowed his hips to move however he needed to get him off. Harry’s desperation for his own orgasm was pushing her over that coveted precipice. And finally, she tipped over the edge. Her entire body was vibrating with ecstasy as the rush of pleasure crashed over her and rolled her in its currents. Her skin was covered in goosebumps, her inhales were shallow, and her moans melodious as the feelings pumped through her veins. She felt her ears ringing as the pleasure reached the top of her head, her body was completely tense as she hung on to the feeling for as long as she could.

“Oh fuck, baby…shit, I’m gonna come!” He groaned. He pounded away into her a couple more times, feeling her writhing beneath his body as his pulsing balls drew up tight, getting ready to unload his hot cum deep inside of her, “Fuck baby, there it is…Fuuuck yes.” He moaned as he pressed deep inside of her as he filled her up with gush after gush of his sperm. She grabbed his face and kissed him deeply as he fell over her. They kissed until they started getting all hot and bothered again.

Their make out session was heated and needy. He didn’t dare pull out of her yet, he wasn’t even going completely soft, so he was tucked into her, keeping them connected until he mumbled that he wanted to go down on her. He kissed all the way down to her swollen and glistening folds and licked at her clit and made her come a couple times with his fingers nestled against her g-spot. He was fucking his load of sperm back into her pussy with them until she was trembling and nearly incoherent, begging him to stop. He kissed back up her body and locked lips with hers, letting her taste the lovely mess they’d made together. They were both sweaty heaps catching their breaths on Diana’s bed. Her fingers were raking through his sweaty, brown curls while he kissed up and down the inside of her fore arm.

“You’re so hot.” She whispered with a grin and his lips twitched up in a smirk.

“Thank you. So are you, baby.” He hummed back.

“You’re too good at what you do, Harry…why are you so good at sex?” She asked and he chuckled.

“I’m only interested in being good at everything I do, not just sex.” He said smugly and she smiled. “But I’m glad you think I’m good at it. Want to be good for you.” He hummed and she smiled as she kissed his damp curls.

“Should we have a shower?”

“Yeah, baby.” He hummed and he told her to go ahead while he stripped the bed and put everything in the washer before he joined her. That had at least given her time to wash her hair. She was able to finish up before him and get some new sheets out. He soon joined her and helped her set up the bed again before they got dressed and cuddled against each other, both of them shivering as they adjusted to the temperature.

“I think we should talk to Celeste tomorrow. You can pick her up from Geri’s and I can make us some early dinner. Or vice versa.” She said and he nodded.

“Yeah, we can do that. Can I bring Misty tomorrow? Don’t want to leave her alone all day.”

“Yeah, fine…as long as she doesn’t come in here, cat hair’s the worst.” She said and he hummed.

“Well you’re in luck, she’s hypoallergenic!”

“They still shed…”

“Minimally, love.” He said and she sighed, “You still scared of her?”

“I always will be.” She admitted and she chuckled and kissed her shoulder. “She can be around though, Celeste loves her.”

“OK, love.”

“So how are we gonna do this, logistically speaking? Maybe Celeste must have plans at least once a month so we can have a couple days during the escape room weekends.”

“Oh, that’s brilliant…” he mused.

“I know, huh? I’ve had lots of time to think about it.” She smiled.

“My parents really loved you and Celeste, you know?”

“Yeah?”

“Mhmmm, but now my mom’s even more bummed about the no babies thing.” He said and she giggled, “Said they’d look like little angels…I think she’s right, they’d be real cute.” He hummed and she smiled.

“Yeah, I think so too…” she hummed.

“Do you think you’d ever change your mind?” He asked and she hummed.

“Maybe…but just pregnancy is not something I want to do again. I think it was just such a dark time in my life that like…I feel like it would emotionally make me or break me.” She explained. “I know before I mentioned just not wanting to have a baby again…but it’s more complicated than that. I think…I mean, I have thought about it, if we had kids. I think we’re both mature enough and of sound mind…” she explained and he smiled, “And I know it would be very different this time around in terms of the level of support I’d have. But physically I think I would have a hard time with it, just because of before. I think my body would react badly to a pregnancy, like I just feel it in my gut.” She explained, “And I mean, I feel like I have everything I want and need, so I would hate to put myself and risk and not be there for Celeste. You know?”

“Yeah, of course. And I mean, pregnancy was very emotionally traumatic for you. I get that, love.”

“D-do you see yourself changing your mind about this?” She asked him nervously.

“I could, but only if you really wanted it. I don’t think we would be missing out at all if we don’t have a baby. Besides, if Grace gets pregnant then we’ll have a baby around for quite a while…we could share with them, they’re such going-out types, I’m sure we’d be the default babysitters. And I’m certain a few hours with the baby would be more than enough to keep us set in our decision to not have our own baby.” He shared and she laughed a bit.

“Yeah, that’s true…I just don’t want to make you not have something because of my bad experience, you know?”

“Well thank you for thinking of me, but I assure you, we both make that decision here, but you hold the most weight to it. Honestly, I have what I need with you and Celeste, I don’t need anything else.” He assured her.

“What if we get a dog? A small one though? They can play with Misty.”

“Yeah, I like dogs.” He smiled.

“More than cats?” She asked and he chuckled.

“Admittedly, yes. Cats can be very temperamental, but I got so lucky with Misty, she’s such an easy one.”

“She really is…she’s quite similar to you actually, even tempered, easygoing, energetic, a little clingy…”

“Am I?” He smiled and she giggled and nodded.

“Yeah, but I like it.” She assured him, “It’s nice to have someone around who wants to be around, you know?”

“Yeah, definitely.” He smiled.

“Can I ask you something? We don’t have to talk about if you don’t want, but ummm, what about Rebecca? Like is that something that still bothers you? Or is it fine now?”

“Like the cheating or the baby?” He asked.

“Both, I guess…”

“Well, the cheating I got over. I think if I had been a lot more in love with her it would have been a lot harder to deal with. But like, we were trying really hard to make it work and to be happy, almost forcing it to work, you know? By then I had already…started to be interested in you, I mean, well you know that.” He smiled bashfully and she hummed. “So yeah, I was just more upset that she was feeling the strain and never said anything to me and let it get to that point. I mean, I was trying to make it work, but maybe I should’ve said something first?” He explained and she nodded. “And with the baby…I mean, I’m happy for her. It seems that Eddie brought out a more relaxed side of her, which is good.” Harry said. “It did kind of send me into an existential spiral at first…made me wonder if maybe I just wasn’t good enough for her. Like I personally don’t prefer to have kids, but I thought I was gonna marry her so I was like “sure, if you really want ‘em with me”. But ummm, I just felt a bit inadequate for a minute there.”

“Have you talked since?” Diana asked him.

“Yeah, a couple of times. Mostly to refer some of her clients for evaluations or services, or to be an expert witness…have that coming up soon.”

“Ooh, have to go to court?”

“Yep.” He chuckled. “But yeah, we talk from time to time. We’re on good terms.”

“That’s really good to know. My mom always said that only bad partners are on bad terms with their exes.”

“Oh…I quite like that…” Harry hummed and she smiled into the silence.

“Yeah…do you have any questions for me?” She asked and he sighed.

“Yeah, tons…when I was talking to your brother he said that like, even though all of this was really painful for you to attain, that this was your best outcome. And I guess I’m wondering if you…agree with that?”

“Yeah, I do.” She answered quickly without any hesitation. “I don’t regret anything about my life now, I mean…I do wish my relationship was better with my whole family. But say I listened to my mom and terminated my pregnancy, the judgement would still be there from everyone. Probably even worse as my extended family is still really influenced by Catholicism and they’re very intolerant of abortion or divorce for really any reason. So even if I assumed the position my family wanted me in, I would still be an outsider. But ultimately, I think I am where I need to be. I love the life I have with Celeste. I love teaching, so much. I love getting to make my own choices. I love not having to be around all that pressure; I would surely break.” She chuckled dryly.

“Oh I don’t think you would break, baby. You’re one of the strongest persons I’ve ever met.” He said with certainty, “But I think that eventually you would have to get out. Not because you aren’t strong enough to deal with. Quite the opposite actually. You’d have the strength and courage that it takes to walk away from all of it. I don’t think that life was meant for you, you know?”

“Yeah, definitely not. I am very happy with what I have going on now.” She confirmed and he smiled. “I’m happy with you.”

“Good. I’m happy with you too.” He whispered.

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

The following morning Diana was a little more on edge. She had woken up before Harry and had a body shower. She had her coffee and then made breakfast, which woke Harry up. He was quick to wash up as well and join her. There was some music playing softly from her phone that had her slightly swaying her hips as she did something over the sink. Harry walked up quietly before hugging around her hips. She froze in surprise before melting into his touch.

“G’morning.” She greeted sweetly as he smushed a big kiss to her temple.

“Morning, baby.” He mumbled. “What can I do to help?” He asked lowly, his voice still raspy from its lack of use over the night.

“Can you dice those peppers up for me?” She said shooting a glance to the cutting board with a red and green pepper already laid out.

“Sure.” He smiled and headed over. She glanced over a few times but stopped when she saw him properly dice the first little bit. “Am I doing something wrong?” He asked her when he caught her final glance.

“Nope. You’ve got it.” She smiled and he chuckled.

“S’this a good size?” He asked and she glanced back over with a grin.

“Yes, chef.” She winked and he chuckled and proceeded with his task. “Do you like the potato skin or nah?” She asked.

“I do.” He responded.

“Perfect!” She exclaimed, “Saves me the trouble of peeling…” she mumbled quietly to herself and he smiled, “Mmmm nope…c'mere.” She mumbled and Harry glanced over and giggled.

“Who? Me?” He asked glancing back in confusion.

“No, sorry.” She giggled, “A potato was rolling away.” She explained and soon came up beside him and set up to chop the potatoes. In moments she was flawlessly dicing up a potato. Harry stopped his own task just to watch how gracefully she worked, swiftly and silently. When she realized he was just staring she cracked a smile and then stopped to glanced up at him. “What?”

“Nothing, keep working.” He hummed.

“Okay…?” She said and he cocked his head to the side.

“M’no, you’re supposed to say “yes, chef” when I tell you to do something.”

“Oh, OK. Ask again.” She played along.

“Keep working, Di.”

“Yes, chef.” She said with a pleasant smile and he chuckled.

“You’re cute.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and he chuckled and then continued his own chopping.

It made them both so happy that this is what every day could look like in the future. This was lovely and peaceful and comforting. It was worth working towards and with this in mind Diana decided to stop being afraid of Celeste. She knew that she was supportive of her and Harry dating now so that made her feel easier about the conversation. After breakfast Harry went home to feed Misty and then get showered and changed. Diana did a similar thing, she tidied around the house before getting some lasagna going because Harry had really liked it last time and Celeste also really loved it. She was just about preheat the oven when Celeste’s call came in and she wiped her hands on her apron before picking up.

“Hi, mamita!” Diana greeted cheerfully.

“Hey, just wondering what time you were planning on coming to get me?” She asked.

“Actually Harry’s gonna go pick you up. He was planning on being there around 3 and he’s gonna come over for dinner, is that good?”

“Oh yeah, perfect! We wanted to go to this new boba place real quick!”

“Yeah, you guys have time. Just get a small size though, I made lasagna for dinner.”

“Yes!” She cheered lowly and Diana chuckled a bit.

“Alright. Be safe. I’ll tell Harry to text you when he’s heading out.”

“Okay thanks, mom. See you later!”

“See ya, love you.”

“Loveyoubye.” She said quickly before hanging up.

Diana finished layering the lasagna just in time for the oven to reach the designated temperature and she got it inside and set the timer on her phone before hurrying up to have a shower and get changed. She was mentally rehearsing how she wanted to share this with Celeste and when. Should they eat and then talk, or talk first and then eat? Or talk while they ate? Diana was getting on some light makeup on her as she considered these things. Time seemed to fly by because the unmistakable whir of their property gate opening pulled her from her thoughts. She quickly finished applying her mascara before hurrying to her closet and picking out what she wanted to wear. After settling on some jeans, a white t-shirt and an oversized baby blue cardigan, she got into her slippers just as the front door was opening.

“Mom, we’re home!” Celeste called loudly and Diana exhaled before heading downstairs. She could hear them sayin how it smelled delicious and how they needed to find a good place to put Misty’s food and water bowl. She was about to reach the last few steps when Misty stopped at the staircase and then peered up at her expectantly.

“Oh please, don’t.” Diana mumbled to herself lowly as Misty put a paw on the bottom step and sniffled at it. She made a move to head down but with a heavier step to try and startle her away. The cat recoiled a bit and then glanced up at her with curios eyes. She was about to ask one of them to come get her when Harry came around from the kitchen and she sighed in relief. “Thank god.” She sighed and he laughed.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Just a few moments.” She said and he hummed. “Can you tell her to move or just grab her.”

“Di, I think you ought to face your fear. Just step down and she’ll get out of the way.”

“You don’t think I tried that already?”

“Come on, love. She’s real sweet.” He assured and she glanced down at the cat now rubbing up against Harry’s legs. Suddenly Celeste walked over and her eyes lit up at the scene before her and then started to laugh.

“Wait, how long have you been there?” She questioned.

“Not long.” Diana sighed at yet another question about her being stuck on the staircase.

“You guys match!” Celeste observed with a smile and then you glanced over at Harry and he chuckled.

“Great minds, kid.” He said to Celeste and she chuckled and nodded in agreement. “So are we having dinner on the staircase or are you gonna come down?” He asked and Celeste smirked at her, awaiting her response to Harry’s question.

“Tell you what, I need to go to the bathroom. When I’m out, you need to be down here by whatever means possible.” Celeste said and Diana rolled her eyes.

“OK, you go do that. Please, take your time.” She insisted and Celeste smirked as she kept on walking to the bathroom and disappearing from their line of sight.

“C’mon love, she’s not going to hurt you. I promise.” Harry appealed to Diana once more.

“I just don’t want her anywhere near my ankles. Just pick her up please. I will even put her head! I just need her away from my ankles.”

“OK, deal.” He said crouching down and easily picking Misty up in one hand by her tummy and then settling her against his side and Diana descended the rest of the steps.

“Do we tell her before or after we eat?” Diana asked as she reached out slowly. She flinched a bit when Misty’s cool, damp nose nudged at her fingertips, sniffing her out a bit.

“I think so because she told me she had the medium sized bubble tea.” Harry chuckled and Diana sighed and then reached up and touched the soft fur in between Misty’s ears and then scratched a bit which made Misty relax into Harry’s hold and she closed her eyes. “She’s purring. She likes it.” He told her and Diana smiled a bit as she started to hear the very soft and low hums herself. “Are you nervous?”

“Of course.” She said quietly as her eyes met Harry’s, he looked calm, the kind of calm she wanted to be right about now, “What the fuuu-?!” She gasped and pulled away startling Misty. She shook her hand and Harry laughed.

“What?”

“She licked me! I was not mentally prepared to feel that texture on my hand.” She said through her laugh and he joined her as well.

“Why are you nervous?” He asked her and she bit her lip.

“I don’t know…”

“You do.” He insists.

“What if…things just…”

“Don’t work out?” He asked and she nodded.

“I don’t want to…open this up and give her hope that we can be a family one day and then something goes wrong and she loses you.”

“Love, I mean this with so much care and love, but this isn’t about Celeste. Pain and disappointment are a sad reality of life, you know that.” He said and she sighed, “But the wonderful thing about life is also that when you have people to share those hard times with, it makes them more tolerable. I can’t promise that I’ll be perfect or that I won’t hurt and disappoint you every now and again, I’m only human.” He chuckled, “But I can promise to do everything I can to ensure that we have open and honest communication and that we set realistic expectations of what we can do to make each other feel happy and safe with the time we have together.” He said and she nodded, she was petting at Misty’s head again, her eyes focused on her sweet little face as she took in Harry’s words, “Di, look at me.” He insisted and she glanced up at him, “I love you. And I love Celeste. So we’re all gonna be okay.” He said with a soft and sincere smile.

“I love you too.” She whispered with a smile. “Thank you for being so patient with me.”

“Of course, always.” He responded and then they headed off to the kitchen. Misty was now exploring about and Harry was opening a bottle of wine when Celeste walked back in.

“Did she touch the cat?” Celeste asked Harry and Diana whipped around quickly.

“I did.” Diana confirmed with a small smile.

“Dang it…” she mumbled as she hopped up onto one of the stools under the kitchen island and Harry chuckled.

“Di, do you want a glass?”

“Please.” She responded.

“Mamita, do you want anything before we eat?”

“No, I’ll wait. I didn’t get the small boba.” She confessed.

“So I heard.” She smiled at her briefly and Celeste glanced to Harry.

“Traitor.” She said with a small smile.

“She’s not mad is she?” Harry asked as he poured Diana her glass of wine.

“Fair.” She mumbled as she watched Diana just looking at Harry, waiting for him to finish up. Once he handed over her glass Diana grabbed it and brought it to her lips before starting to drink it down. Harry was serving himself so he didn’t see, but this was surprising to Celeste and her eyes widened as she finished the glass and then set it down. “Ummm, mom are you alright?” She asked her and Diana glanced up at her looking slightly embarrassed at being caught by her young daughter as she guzzled down some alcohol. At this Harry glanced over to her too and she started to feel nervous again.

“I am, but ummm, I do need to talk to you about something.” She said and Celeste nodded, “It’s a more or less a serious conversation which I am feeling a little nervous about,” she admitted, “so ummm, that’s why I did that. Sorry, if that worried you.”

“Well, seems like I should be worried.” Celeste said, her demeanor visibly more tense as the uncertainty of the topic at hand settled in.

“It’s not a bad thing.” Diana said and then glanced to Harry for some help and he was currently having some of his wine as well. His own nerves getting the best of him. Celeste looked between the two of them waiting for more information.

“Ummm…okay…” she said as she looked between them some more.

“Do you want more wine?” He asked her.

“Please.” Diana hummed and Harry came over to the island and grabbed her glass and served her some more and she glanced down at it and exhaled shakily, she was struggling to breathe in again until she felt Harry’s warmth closer than before and she glanced to her side to see him giving her a small reassuring smile as he nodded. She then inhaled and turned back to Celeste.

“You’re freaking me out.” Celeste said with concern and Diana groaned softly.

“I’m sorry, I’m just bad at this and I’m a bit nervous.” She confessed, “But ummm, I know that you’ve been ummm… interested a little more in my love life as of late.” Diana started, “And ummm, I just wanted to tell you that…well ummm….” She said as she glanced up at Harry who just nodded, “We’re ummm…Harry and I-” as soon as she heard this her mouth widened in a surprised smile and her eyes widened.

“You’re gonna date? You two?” She interrupted and Diana glanced back at Harry who was smiling at her already before looking back to Celeste and they nodded.

“I-is that alright?” Harry asked and she grinned. And grabbed her phone and started typing something in quickly and moment’s later Handel’s Hallelujah chorus came through the speakers on her phone as she sang along goofily, “Fi-na-llyyyyy!” She groaned dramatically after a few seconds and Diana and Harry laughed at her theatrics.

“Alright, alright the serious part of the conversation still needs to happen.” Harry said and she paused the song and nodded, but she was beaming, anxiously waiting for the next part. “So ummm, as you know, this is something new for your mum, and well you too.” Harry started, “And I know it can be…exciting,” he said and she nodded, “but ummm, for y-your mum it’s also quite nerve racking. So we’ve decided on having a few boundaries about what we want to share w-with you for the time being.” He said and she looked to Diana for more explanation on this.

“Mamita, I just need you t-to be a little patient with me now.” Diana said, “Like, over the last few weeks we’ve been trying t-to build up to telling you, but you were a little too…pushy with the topic and it kept making mer nervous and postpone the conversation with you and I guess we just need privacy to settle into this before we are more comfortable being together openly w-with you.”

“So I’m too…nosy?” She asked and Diana frowned, “And if I stop you guys will keep dating?” She added, her lips curled up a bit and Diana sighed.

“Y-yes.” She admitted with a tinge of hesitation and Celeste let out a laugh.

“Okay! I can mind my business!” She said and Diana and Harry chuckled, “As a matter of fact,” she said as she hopped off the stool, “I don’t even care. I don’t at all. I’m just a selfish teenager who worries about her friends and stupid problems.” She said as she backed away from the kitchen. And they laughed and called her back so that they could actually finish up and she leaned on the counter now wearing the biggest smile, “OK, go on.” She insisted.

“Well, I know you don’t care or whatever,” she started with a small smirk and Celeste giggled, “but I just want you t-to be comfortable. I mean, neither of us is super big on PDA, but I mean, we might hold hands sometimes or even kiss quickly or something like that,” Diana blushed, “and like, while you might be happy about this, it can also be a little weird. So if you ever do, just let me know.” She said and Celeste nodded.

“Okay. Thanks.” She said. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Ummm, let’s hear it.” Diana decided.

“When did this start?!” She asked.

“Like when did we start to like each other or when did we first go on a date?” Harry asked.

“Both? I-if that’s allowed.” She added.

“Well, I started liking your mum since you two first came t-to the practice.” He admitted and Celeste’s jaw dropped in shock at this. “Yeah, I know…” Harry chuckled. “I don’t know, I just thought she was so beautiful and sweet and she was just stuck in my head.” He said and then she glanced to Diana awaiting her response.

“Oh, me.” Diana chuckled a bit nervously, “Ummm…w-we ran into each other one night after our classes and that girl from your class was following you?” She said to Harry and he nodded.

“You had a stalker?” Celeste asked and Harry chuckled and turned to her quickly.

“No. She just had a crush on me at the start of the semester and was trying really hard to have more time with me.” He explained. “Either way, you noticed I was looking rather uncomfortable so you approached us-”

“Yeah, I pretended to be his girlfriend that was running late.” Diana said, “And that was the girl that approached us at Cafe Flores, remember?” She asked Celeste and she nodded.

“Oh…”

“Yeah, so that’s when I realized I liked him.” Diana said and Harry’s brows furrowed suddenly.

“That conversation didn’t end well if I recall correctly.” He said with a frown.

“Yeah, it did not.” Diana chuckled, “But I felt so crumby after you said that we should just keep it as professional as possible that it hit me then that I…had a crush on you.” She confessed.

“It can’t be anything else? A better moment where I wasn’t a prick to you?”

“I can’t choose when my feelings happened! That’s when I confirmed that I liked you.” She giggled and he hummed.

“Fine.” He hummed and she smiled and then turned to Celeste.

“And I asked Harry out on a date during the summer but ummm, things were going well with you in therapy and you were saying that you wanted to keep him around as your therapist for as long as possible and well, we can’t do that while he was working with you so we decided not to continue with that -er us then. But that was technically the first date…”

“You were not going to be together because of me?” She asked with a small frown.

“Yeah, but just because ethically it’s frowned upon t-to have what is called a dual relationship with a client and their family or friends. So if someone else in my field were to find out that I was dating a client’s parent I could get my licenses revoked and it would be quite bad for all of us. And well, also you had expressed some hesitation with your mum dating before to me in session, and well, you didn’t react well when you thought we were dating that one time, so I think we both just felt that…not being together was the best thing to do for all of us.” He explained.

“Oh…now I feel bad.” She pouted a bit.

“No mamita, don’t feel bad. It really was our bad. I mean, those kinds of rules are there for a reason. And I think that you’ve even experienced some of that with Harry in terms of wanting him around for more things in your life. Its quite a fine line to walk but everything is working out now and ummm, w-we want to give it a real shot now that we can without risking his entire career.” She said and Celeste smiled a bit.

“Okay, well I am fully on board with this.” She said and Diana chuckled.

“Don’t we know…” she mumbled and Celeste grinned.

“Well, at the end of the day I just want you to be happy too.” Celeste said to Diana, “And well, I trust Harry and I know he’ll take good care of you and be nice and supportive and all the stuff you’ve told me you wanted if you ever dated anyone so…yeah.” She smiled and Diana smiled and then glanced up to Harry who just pulled her into his side and she relaxed in his hold and hugged him back as he planted a quick kiss on the top of her head.

“So cute.” Celeste hummed and Diana laughed as she felt her face warming as she blushed.

Their dinner went well, Celeste monopolized the conversation and only talked about what she had going on and then what she did with Geri at their sleep over. It was nice though, to be able to look over at him and catch him staring without worrying about Celeste catching them. If she wanted to, she could actually reach for his hand and hold it if she wanted to. She was tempted to, but she didn’t want Celeste to make a huge fuss about it. But then she also wanted to show Celeste that she could be warm and affectionate in a way she had not seen before. And well, she also wanted to show Harry that she was putting in some effort to get over her fears of letting her walls down.

Well, she had basically let every wall down but there was just a little bit of resistance in her still. That fear that she couldn’t shake completely was constantly swimming around in her head. And then he smiled wide and said something to Celeste, something she didn’t even hear quite honestly, and that annoying little remainder of fear just melted away. And there was no hesitation as she slid her hand across the table and grazed his pinky and he just glanced over and smiled for a second before turning his hand over as he continued chatting with Celeste. Diana felt so relieved when his fingers clasped over hers and then she turned her attention back to the conversation. She could see Celeste smiling wide but she made no commentary and just kept telling her story. After dessert they played a quick round of UNO, which Diana won both rounds much to Celeste and Harry’s annoyance. But soon Celeste was heading up to have a shower and get her things ready for school the next morning. Harry had just gotten Misty into her little travel kennel when Diana came down the stairs with a little pot of concealer for him.

“Here you go. That should fix that.” She said eyeballing the far too orange canceler splotch covering a love bite on his neck.

“Thanks.” He chuckled. “You feeling good?”

“Yeah. So happy.”

“Me too.” He smiled and grabbed her face in his hands and she tiptoed to let their lips meet in a soft kiss. They smiled against each other lips and pecked once more.

“I love you so much, Harry.” She whispered between them and he kissed her again quickly.

“I love you too.” He smiled, “It’s gonna be so good.”

“I know.” She smiled.

---TAG LIST---

@sunshinemoonsposts@anotherdudetteinthisworld @matildasatellitee @sad-avocado @sunflovverharry @cherrysulewski @daphnesutton @gurugirl @reveriehs @ottawaoutlander @jessitpwk @permanentllyharry @here4thefanfics @slutfortigertattoo @angelbabyyy99 @freedomfireflies @behindmygreyeyes @justlemmeadoreyou

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gaysindistress · 2 years ago

Text

Sad girl - seven

summary: James has an interesting new business proposal and one hell of a condition to deal with.

pairing: Mob!Bucky Barnes x Reader

warnings: cursing, guns, violence (it is a mob au after all), Bucky’s smartass, John Walker being a dick, arguing, sexual tension, being held at gunpoint

word count: 3.2k

part 6 | series masterlist

taglist: @missvelvetsstuff @angelsincident @spencerreidisagorgman @ goldensunflowe-r @i-have-no-life-charlie @esposadomd @reader-without-a-story @unaxv @iateall-yourcookies littlelizardlizzie @alana4610 0 @kandis-mom

disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image/gif. found on google/Pinterest

She shouldn’t have trusted Steve to not say anything to James. He’s his right-hand man, from what she can tell, so, of course, he’s going to rat her out. His frustration is evident in the way he keeps flexing his hand, curling it into a fist and relaxing it. They’ve been sitting in his office for about 10 minutes now and neither of them has spoken, waiting for the other to speak up. She's assuming that Steve had texted him when they were driving back to James’ house. She should’ve just thrown her phone out of the window to avoid all of this.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why would I need to? He’s relatively harmless.”

“No one we know is harmless, Doll. You should know that and especially considering how he’s involved with your family.”

She stands up from the couch and places both hands on his desk, leaning over to try and intimidate him.

“Pepper so kindly told me what happened. Not that I care but why didn’t you tell me?”

His eyes briefly flicker to the “B” necklace that’s hidden under her blouse collar before meeting her stare.

“I assumed you either already knew or didn’t want to know. I’m sorry for not talking to you about it earlier.”

“Oh wow, the big bad James Barnes is apologizing to me. Let me get my phone so I can video this and get proof that you’re not always right.”

James grins at her remark, standing and leaning forward as well, “I never claimed to always be right but you’re right I am apologizing. Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

She tries her hardest to not shrink under his blue eyes but the intensity forces her to break away and retake her place in the chair behind her.

“Yeah, everything.”

His eyes glint satisfaction as she backs down to him so easily.

“Your father was getting his vibranium from the Wakandans but Namor came to him, offering to cut the costs in exchange for protection as they expand into New York,” he starts to explain, sitting back into his own chair, “Walker has been trying to insert himself as a middle man for a while with your father, hence why he tried to start a relationship with you. He thought if he could get in good with daddy’s little girl, Stark would start using him but he didn’t expect you to be so you. His plan failed with you but Pepper convinced Anthony to use him anyways and that’s how he started communications between Namor and Stark Industries. The only problem is that going to the competition was going to piss off the Wakandans and they weren’t supposed to find out until after it was all done. Someone leaked the switch to them and Stark came running to Steve and me. In exchange for Steve’s men, Stark added him to the Talokan deal so Steve could have things made for his men. We were in negotiations about what else he was going to give me but Pepper suggested that a permanent alliance would serve us both better. I wasn’t expecting her to arrange a marriage but there wasn’t enough time to try and figure something else out so I agreed. I figured that I would be able to find something else and that’s what the meeting you interrupted was about. Anthony wouldn’t budge so here we are.”

“Wow so you got fucked over and I got used,” it’s her turn to laugh.

“I wasn’t fucked over but you definitely were used by that dick head. I would say I came out on top with my end of the deal. I’ve heard stories about you and seen glimpses of that famous Stark attitude so I was ready for the challenge.”

“Ouch. Girls typically don’t like being called challenges,” she feigns hurt, placing a hand over her heart.

“Would you rather I call you an inconvenience?”

“Jesus no. You really know how to make a girl feel special,” crossing her left leg over her right, she shifts in her seat.

“I aim for completely fucked out but I’ll take special,” he casually adds, eyes raking over her legs as he pulls out his phone. By now any annoyance had left his body and he tells himself that’s not all because she is close by. Admitting that she is the reason for calming down means one thing and she’s made it very clear that she does not want that.

“I have to go to Washington D.C on business later this week. It should only take a few days so I should be back by Saturday. The wedding planner Nat found wants to meet Monday at 12 to go over the basics.”

She can’t stop shifting in her seat, thighs rubbing together every time she moves to find a semi-comfortable spot. At this point, she’s barely listening to what he has to say since he so causally mentioned a girl being fucked out is his primary goal in life. Internally her brain is telling her to sit still and get out as fast as she can but other thoughts are flooding her mind from between her legs.

“Are you alright?” pretend concern laces his voice at her fidgety state.

“What? Oh yeah I’m fine,” she fails to lie and it’s clear he knows she’s lying by the way his lips turn up in that stupid smirk.

“You sure? Something seems like it’s bothering you,” he pushes, hoping she’ll crack a little more.

“It’s nothing,” she snaps, “why are you going to Washington?” “So full of ‘why’s today. Might have to teach you how to sit and listen without any questions.”

“I wouldn’t be such a challenge then, would I? You’d lose interest if I didn’t push your buttons.”

The smirk breaks out in full force, “Maybe I want a good little housewife who obeys and doesn’t question me. I could get used to seeing you, so stubborn and spiteful, kneeling before me with wide eyes.”

His brave words spur something inside of her. If he wants to mess with her, two can play this game and right now she feels like inflicting a bit of her own torture on him.

“We both know you don’t want that. If you did, we wouldn’t be here and you’d be off fucking some socialite girl who spends all of daddy’s money. You like the challenge. You want someone to put you in your place,” the sight of him licking his lips only pushes her to keep going on.

“You’re a powerful man, you’re more than capable of getting what you want so there’s no way you just let this all happen. You want me and it’s getting to you that I won’t let you have me. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to always get your way and now you’re being denied.”

The tension has shifted in the air and if anyone were to step foot into the room, they’d be wise to immediately exit. Both of them are trying to gain dominance and prove that they make the other break. James has reclined back into his chair, legs spread because what else says “I am the boss here” than manspreading? Doll has kept her legs crossed and her hands on her knee to show she isn’t bothered by any of this but really it’s because there’s a deep ache that is starting to crack her façade.

“Has it occurred to you that I’m letting you act this way? You said it yourself, I get what I want. If I wanted, I would’ve had you that first night.”

“Radial idea: you’re not in control here. I am. I set the pace. I make the rules. I decide what happens. If I want you to beg for me, I’ll have you on your knees with tears in your eyes, begging for me to finally do something. If anything is going to happen, it’ll be on my terms, Bucky. You might be the man and the big boss that everyone fears but I’m the one who calls the shots,” her voice barely wavers no matter how fast her heart is beating against her chest. She’s thanking the gods that she’s not standing because she would’ve fallen right into his lap.

“Prove it,” the challenge causes another wave of downright filthy thoughts to flood her brain and flush her body.

“Answer my question first; why are you going to Washington?” “Do you know what I do for work?” his hand comes up to rub his jaw, fingers scraping over the stubble that has grown over the last few weeks.

He doesn’t wait for her answer, “When people can’t get their hands dirty, they call Steve. Sometimes it’s extracting information or an asset, other times it’s not as nice and that’s where I come in. Since I handle the more sensitive side of things, it attracts some high-profile clients and that often means a business trip to Washington D.C.”

“So you’re a mercenary.”

“Freelance contractor is my official job title.”

“Good to know you’re in bed with the government. At least let me know when you decide to fuck a senator so I can sleep somewhere else.”

His eyebrows raise in surprise but quickly fade back into his smirk, “Already thinking about us sharing a bed?”

“No, I figured you slept in a coffin at night because you’re a soul-sucking vampire who’s only after money.”

His deep laughter fills the room and warms her cheeks among other body parts, “I’d bring in a bed to properly fuck you.”

“Look at who’s already thinking about us sleeping together and bold of you to assume you’d be doing the fucking,” rivaling his crass words is the only option at this point to maintain her dominance.

“Oh please tell me how you plan on doing that.”

“You’ll have to wait for that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have paperwork to file since you so rudely demanded I meet you in your office when I first got here,” uncrossing her legs and standing up, she’s praying to god her legs will keep her upright and that the horny bastard between her legs will chill out.

“Can’t wait, Doll.”

_______________________________________________

“Motherfucker,” whispering to herself as her body refuses to relax after her meeting with James. Two hours later and she’s still staring at the same patient intake form. At this point, she won’t be able to get any work done and her mind can only come up with one way to release that thought.

“No, no, no, no, nope. Not gonna happen,” she mutters before slamming her computer short and sitting back against her desk chair.

She looks around the room for a second idea and her eyes land on the book she hasn’t touched since she moved in. Chloe Gong’s ‘These Violent Delights’, a book she had been excited to read, seems a little too on the nose with her current situation. Anthony always teased her about her book choices, claiming that she read too many ‘kid’ stories when she should be reading the classics and educational books. Her mom, on the other hand, had encouraged her to keep reading whatever she wanted and would happily buy whatever she wanted. That was the one thing she missed the most about her mom; the unconditional love and support. Her childhood hadn’t been the easiest, her mom repeatedly getting sober and then relapsing. She couldn’t blame the woman though considering the man Anthony was even if he wasn’t there for the first couple of years.

Her mom rarely talked about what happened between her and Anthony but it was implied that she got knocked after a one-night stand, tried to run, bad people found her, and her dad didn’t exactly spring into action to help aside from suggesting a terrible name. Her mom had done what she could to make sure Doll was not involved in Anthony’s world at all. She didn’t even know that her dad was Anthony Stark until she was 10 and her mom dragged her to his Manhattan Apartment, begging him to take her. Pepper was the one to answer the door and agree, forming the initial impression that she was going to be an ally to Doll. She had been until she turned 15 and Anthony started paying more attention to her because of her excellent grades.

“The prodigal daughter has returned,” is what he had told her after vowing to always protect her. Laughable now considering how he gave her up so easily and didn’t bother to return her texts in a timely fashion.

Speaking of the devil, her phone alerts her to a new text that reads,

“Walker claims he hasn’t talked to you since the fundraiser. Must be someone else. Have James look into it.”

Completely destroying her phone is starting to seem like a good idea. Alas, she cannot because she’d have to set up a new phone and the whole process is just not one that she wants to deal with. Her mind is still preoccupied with the life or death decision of to booty call James and suffer his endless teasing or take one cold ass shower and hoping the cold restarts her system.

The sound of men talking and the car door closing decides for her; cold shower it is.

_______________________________________________

James had left about two days ago with a wink and an overdramatic ‘Goodbye Doll. Behave’ while Natasha rolled her eyes as they drove away. In their absence, Steve became her surrogate fiancé, either following her or sending other men out with her. On the days when Steve didn’t tail her like a stalker, she felt relief not suffocated but also upset from not having a certain soul-sucking vampire close by even through his friend.

Today a large blonde with long hair and his lanky black-haired counterpart, Thor and Loki if she remembered correctly, was assigned to her. Neither man has said anything to her or even looked at her so it was more like two shadows hiding in the lobby of her office. They had tried to do a security sweep but she stopped them to remind them that it was the Stark Tower after all and there were men stationed everywhere.

Leaving the two, she gets her keys out to open her office and instantly feels another presence in the room with her. A part of her is saying to scream out for Thor and Loki but the other part knows who has broken in. As she closes the door, her suspicions are confirmed when she spots John Walker sitting on her therapy couch, lounging like he owns the place.

“What do you want?” she hisses.

“For you to answer my messages.”

“Get out,” her fingers itch to grab the gun she normally keeps tucked close to her ribs but she solemnly remembers she decided against it this morning.

“After you explain something to me,” metal flashes and he’s whipped out his own gun.

“Sit”, he orders, pointing with the gun to the chair she usually sits at during appointments.

“Don’t even think about grabbing yours, sweetheart. I’m much faster than you. Now explain to me why you haven’t been answering your phone.”

Silence will only get her so far in this situation but she decides to try her luck anyway.

“Silent treatment, how mature?” his patience is starting to grow thin.

“I don’t think it was very nice of you to block me either. I had to get a new number and that was really inconvenient for me.”

She only nods her head, mouth in a straight line and jaw clenched.

“And you know how I don’t like to be inconvenienced.”

Again she nods.

“Did your little boyfriend have anything to do with it?” No response.

Suddenly he is up and over the top of her, forcing her back in the chair, “I was surprised when I heard you were engaged to him. He’s got quite a few years on you, not sure if he can keep up you. Or do you fake it and pretend to enjoy so you don’t hurt his feelings? I’m sure he would love to hear how much of a dirty slut you really are.”

“Oh please. You should be more concerned about the fact I faked it with you to get the fuck out. Your precious little ego can’t handle rejection and now you’re doing everything you can to fix it,” she can’t help but laugh at his failed attempt to scare her.

“Would you like to try that again?” she can feel the cold metal against her neck.

“Do you want me to spell it out for you? You’re terrible in bed so, I faked my orgasms so you’d get off and I could leave to find someone who would actually do the job. You are the epitome of toxic masculinity. Drop it and leave me alone. This is the last time I’m going to tell you.”

“Or what?” he shoves the gun into her neck harder, finger tensing on the trigger. She can barely see the revolver cylinder and nearly laughs at the game he wants to play.

“I haven’t decided yet but I’m sure my fiancé would have some ideas once he sees the barrel marks on my neck,” he pulls the trigger and her eyes squeeze at the sound of it clicking to the next chamber.

“Say stupid shit again and I can’t promise that the next chamber will be empty.”

Never one to follow instructions, she spits in his face. He flinches, dragging a hand over his face with a menacing look in his eye. He squeezes the trigger again and it clicks again.

“You’ve only have 4 more tries, think about your next move carefully.”

“Your dick is small.”

“3 more. Do you really want to keep going?”

Shrugging her shoulders the best she can, “I don’t think you have it in you to shoot me.”

This time he pulls the trigger twice, both times clicking to show that her sixth chance will have been her final one.

“Start answering my messages and I won’t have to come and visit you at work, sweetheart,” he stands and leaves the office without another word. The alarmed voices of the men outside invade her office and in seconds Thor and Loki come barging in. Thor is the one to check her over for any injuries while Loki speaks in a hushed voice on the phone, more than likely calling Steve.

Loki motions to Thor to join him on the other side of the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts and an aching neck. The shock starts to sit in and her body betrays her, going cold and trembling. She can’t hear whatever the men are saying but she can only assume that Steve will be there in moments and will no doubt be furious.

What feels like seconds later, Steve is storming through the door, barking orders, and crouching down to her eye level.

“Hey, we’ve got to get you out of here and somewhere safe. Let’s go,” he grabs her hand, pulling her out of the chair to usher her out of the office. She allows him to tuck her into his side, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders as he leads her through the building. The entirety of Stark Tower has gone into full alert mode, all personnel are on the hunt for John. They pass by everyone without a word and exit the building of chaos behind them. In the haze of shock, she barely registers that Steve has gotten her inside the SUV or that he’s been on the phone, trying to calm down whoever is on the other line.

The last thing she remembers is the surprised look on Steve’s face as she slumps forward and faints.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #mob au #mob!bucky #mob!bucky barnes and reader #mob!bucky barnes imagine #mob!bucky barnes x reader #sad girl - bucky barnes

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aipilosse · 11 months ago

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What are your thoughts about why and how Sauron followed and continued to serve Melkor/Morgoth? I get that Tolkien said that he admired how Melkor was uber powerful and could effect his designs quickly and easily (initially). But Sauron is also described as being a logical control freak who hates wasteful friction but loves organization and logistics? Whereas Morgoth especially seemed like, well, the king and ultimate arbiter of “wasteful friction”. He destroyed stuff just for the sake of destroying stuff. He poured his own power into the world to make it decay and eventually destroy itself. So he sorta wasted himself and the world together? I don’t know if I’m explaining this well or not but I wonder what Sauron thought of his master when he was no longer so powerful (we know he at least didn’t betray him and continued to be loyal.) At the least, he must have been hella frustrated with him at times.

I think it all began to break down after Morgoth's duel with Fingolfin.

That was the last time in those wars that he passed the doors of his stronghold, and it is said that he took not the challenge willingly; for though his might was greatest of all things in this world, alone of the Valar he knew fear. But he could not now deny the challenge before the face of his captains; for the rocks rang with the shrill music of Fingolfin’s horn, and his voice came keen and clear down into the depths of Angband; and Fingolfin named Morgoth craven, and lord of slaves.

The Dagor Bragollach had just happened, breaking the siege, destroying the realms of the Noldor. It was the result of careful planning, creating awesome monsters, and using environmental destruction to incredible effect. And then Morgoth can barely squish one noisy little Elf-Lord!

I think up to that point Sauron thought that Morgoth's strategy of imbuing Arda with his power was smart, impressive even. Maybe it was not yet evident how that weakened his own being and resulted in processes Morgoth could no longer control.

Also, yes Sauron doesn't betray Morgoth, but after the Bragollach he held Tol Sirion turning it into Tol-in-Gaurhoth. You have to wonder if one or both of them thought it would be better if there was a little separation between them. And Sauron is certainly loyal to Morgoth in the Leithian, but then he suffers a defeat that is much more humiliating that getting poked in the foot by a small yet angry elf.

I personally am now on board with the theory that after his defeat at the hands of Lúthien and Huan, Sauron never returns to Morgoth. I think he stayed in Taur-nu-Fuin, licking his wounds, haunting up the place, maybe meeting Shelob's mom and trying out some spider pets, but I don't think he went back to Angband nor coordinated with Morgoth after that.

The next time we see him, he's asking Eonwe for forgiveness, groveling, and at that point abjuring his deeds under Morgoth. Which I don't think Morgoth would say was especially loyal! I think from that point onward, Sauron is definitely in it for himself, using past connections with Morgoth for his own gain, but not holding any particular loyalty to him.

Thanks for the question!!

#Sauron #Morgoth #asks #I used to like imagining sauron helping plan the fall of gondolin #but now I'm much more into him pouting on the sidelines

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ilikekidsshows · 5 months ago

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Man, I can't believe they killed off three of the four Turtles.

As was brought up during the liveblog, Karai’s vengeance towards the Turtles is not for the sake of her father’s “honor”, it’s for her personal satisfaction, which explains the additional destruction she wastes bullets and missiles on instead of merely killing her enemies. For all that the operation is well-planned, with the Turtles’ escape routes accounted for, during the actual attack itself she’s sloppy and driven by her emotions. She constantly pauses to monologue, flies into rages and accepts victory with too much ease.

Karai’s insistence that her father’s honor was simply misrepresented by the heroes and the Utroms is the result of being setup in the trial episode. When she was being given evidence of the horrors her father had inflicted on people on a planetary scale, she looked away. She refused to see it. She also doesn’t accept that the Turtles did little more than simply contact the Utroms, insisting what happened to her father was because Leonardo “refused to listen to reason” when the Turtles were all too beaten down to do anything even if they had wanted to argue in favor of the Shredder’s nonexistent better nature.

It’s similar to how Leo’s memories of the events on the ship had been altered by how he felt about them afterwards. He felt more responsible than he was, so his memories had everyone asking him for a solution. For Karai, she would rather remember Oroku Saki as a faultless philantropist, so everyone else must actually be secretly vile and evil and they lie whenever they speak of the wrongs the Shredder committed, and she has never been conflicted about serving him. With her father gone, she'd rather have the comforting lie of him being a good man than accept that he was judged for the crimes he'd committed long before even meeting her, and that he wanted to keep committing.

#tmnt 2003 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #liveblog mutant ninja turtles #episode wrapup #tmnt meta

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moonlightseve · 5 months ago

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hi hi I enjoy your analysis posts so much!! do you have any thoughts on the undercurrent of performance that runs throughout yuri on ice - re Victor ' 'performance' nikiforov (contrasted with yuuri's (and yurio, eventually) absence of a persona while skating) and the whole episode 3 premise of the trio trying to perform an emotion until it clicks (highlighting yuuri's eros monologue arc specifically) while the program itself is constructed by someone who at that point doesn't fully comprehend the extent of the emotion he puts into the sp. not to forget the performance inherent to sport in and of itself! sorry if this doesn't make any sense I hope you're having a good day tysm for reading!!

Hello, I hope your day is going well too! It was wonderful to wake up and see your ask in my inbox xxx

Oh boy, of course I have thoughts. I spent a little while trying to figure out how to condense all of them, but no matter what I do it seems like this post is going to be pretty long.

As you said, Viktor can certainly be very performative, which we see throughout the show as he reminisces about his career and tries to discover what role Yuuri expects him to play. He doesn’t show emotion unless he has to and he’s very concerned with his image – always going out of his way to interact with fans (and scolding Yuuri when he doesn’t do the same). He has a persona of sorts, putting on the air of Viktor Nikiforov: Living Legend, 5-time GPF Champion, 5-time Worlds Champion, Olympian, etc etc. There is little room in his life for him to simply be himself, instead shelving his own wants and desires to embrace the idea of who he thinks he’s supposed to be.

On the ice, however, is a completely different story. This is where I veer off partially into headcanon because we unfortunately don’t know much about Viktor’s backstory (curse you Mappa!!!), so I need to speculate a bit. I have always viewed Viktor as someone who feels things quite deeply. He’s very passionate and emotional, but has incredible self-control and keeps himself reigned in. The ice is where he lets that go a bit, allowing himself to feel what he feels and express it through his skating.

Evidence for this is present in how he choreographs and selects the music for his routines, giving him full creative control and the chance to embrace whatever he feels he will do best with. Stammi Vicino is heartbreaking, and lonely, and desperate – all things I would likely associate with Viktor at the beginning of the series.

It’s present in how he coaches, always falling back on his own experiences as a skater to guide Yuuri and Yurio. When he begins to give advice, he tends to reflect on how Yakov coached him rather than coming up with something entirely new that better serves the different personalities of the Yuris. This implies to the audience that all of his attempts to get Yuri-squared to connect with the emotion at the heart of their short programs is how he himself worked on his programs.

It’s present in one of my favorite Viktor quotes from the entire show, a little moment in episode 2 or 3 where Yurio is frustrated with Agape and trying to get Viktor to tell him what’s wrong, and Viktor says something along the lines of “It’s an emotion, why would I bother trying to explain it in words?” The feelings he presents on the ice are just that: feelings. They are important to him and sometimes indescribable, a little window into the truth of who he is that he keeps closely guarded at all other times.

Viktor off the ice knows when to smile for the cameras and flash a wink to the crowd, keeping his image perfectly tailored to the one he wants to present. Viktor on the ice is able to let the artifice fade away and become, for just a moment, wholly himself. He would never tell anyone that he is lonely, but he skates Stammi Vicino as if it’s an extension of himself.

The point you brought up regarding the fact that Viktor choreographed routines for emotions he may not understand is SO interesting to me because I have never even considered it! I think about Viktor a lot, and switch between two opposing ideas of him depending on how I’m feeling that day:

Viktor has known unconditional love, whether through his parents (I pretty firmly believe his family was not active in his life) or through Yakov (one of my favorite headcanons) or through Makkachin, even. Makkachin may not be quite the same thing, but he may not know any better and is therefore using that as his inspiration. Or, maybe he feels unconditional love for something/someone else.

Viktor does not know unconditional love. He has never had anyone who could give him that, which is why Yuuri is very important and such a big deal and he needed to get on a plane to Japan IMMEDIATELY!!!

Depending on which of these you subscribe to (or a secret third option, perhaps) then Viktor’s ability to choreograph Yuri and Yuuri’s short programs is very interesting. He truly seems to have a grasp on Eros and Agape in a way that Yuri-squared struggles with. Since he encourages them to feel those emotions deeply in order to skate them correctly and those routines were originally for him, it means he must feel them deeply enough to think them worthy of creating and presenting to the world.

So that’s how I view Viktor. When he is skating, he is not a performer, but a performance – the entertainment he produces is not the end goal, it merely comes from watching him be himself. And that authenticity is what makes him such a wonderful skater.

Yuuri’s battle starts with him NEEDING to perform something (the tale of the katsudon fatale, how could we ever forget) and ends with him finally being able to draw upon himself for his skate. Creating some sort of narrative and slipping into a persona helps get him off the ground, but it’s really like a set of training wheels Viktor tries to get him to shed as their story progresses. It’s why his Yuri on Ice free skate is so important to his journey as a skater – there’s nothing for him to perform, just him being himself. To properly execute the program, he must be Yuuri, aware of the journey he has taken and each iteration he has been, mastering all of it to embrace who he is now. It must be less of a performance and more of a confession to those watching.

Yurio’s Agape is so powerful for the same reasons! It’s because it comes from his own personal experiences with his grandpa, who he loves dearly. He needs to embrace that softer side of himself that he hides behind the prickly angsty exterior to truly do his program justice.

“We call everything on the ice love” is very important because on the ice is when a skater’s truths must emerge. This is when they are most authentically themself, and when love therefore shines the brightest.

I hope I answered your questions, and I’m sorry if I got a bit rambly there at any point! This was a very fun topic to discuss and if anyone has any thoughts I’d love to hear them. I have this account because I have things that I love that I want to share with other people and to hear about the things they love in turn, so it genuinely makes my day when I get to do that.

Thank you for the ask!

#yuri on ice #victor nikiforov #viktor nikiforov #yuri katsuki #yuuri katsuki #yuri plisetsky #yoi meta

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prettytoxicrevolver · 1 year ago

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Protector | Matt Martin

Four times Matt has taken care of you and the one time you repay him for it wc: 3.4k (strap in friends) this fic is dedicated to all my fellow Matt Martin lovers. the king of dilf nation deserves only the best

One

Being friends with an entire national hockey league team definitely had it’s perks. Most of the boys on the New York Islanders team saw you as a best friend or a little sister. You tagged along to all the games, kept them entertained when they went out, was there whenever they needed you, etc.

Matt Martin had always been a bit different to you. He was always protecting you, hanging out with you more than the others, and making your stomach twist more than any other crush you’ve had. He truly had such a hold on you that you were sometimes concerned with how much you liked him.

“Have you heard from (y/n) recently?” Matt looks up to Noah’s imploring eyes and he tilts his head.

It comes over him that he hadn’t heard from his best friend in a few days. At the thought he reaches for his phone, dialing your number and listening to the ring with a nervous feeling.

“Hello?”

“(y/n)?”

“Hi,” you croak out, your voice scratchy from the cold that was taking over your body.

“You sound horrible.”

“Oh thank you that’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” you respond sarcastically.

“I’ll be there in 10.”

Before you can even get a sound out, the line clicks off and you’re sat waiting for Matty to show up. As promised, there’s a knock on your apartment door not longer after the phone call. You wrap your blanket around your shoulders and drag yourself towards the front door.

Just as you’re about to open it, Matt swings open the door with his spare key in hand. You frown at the older man, his signature worry crease crinkling on his forehead at the sight of you.

“Bed. Now,” he orders and you turn right back around, a weird twist clutching your heart.

You climb back into bed, pulling the covers over you and letting the warmth encapsulate your body. You listen as Matty marches around your apartment doing god knows what until there’s a quiet knock on the door.

You sit up to see him with one of your serving trays, piled on top is a mug, cough drops, medicine, soup (where did he get soup?) and a glass of water. He sets it down on your night stand, moving to sit in front of you and grabbing the mug.

“Tea, for your throat,” he explains, carefully handing you the porcelain cup.

You take a sip from it, humming when the contents soothe your throat. Your eyes glance over the rim of the cup to glance at Matty.

“Since when do you know how to make tea?” you ask, setting the cup down next to you.

“Since you always need tea whenever you’re sick,” he responds not looking at you but instead focusing on pouring out some of the cough medicine.

You stare at him for another minute, your heart doing tricky flips and scary extra beats at the sight of the older islander.

Matty stays with you through the night. You wake up feeling a thousand times better than the day before and you can only thank Matt for coming to your rescue.

Two

You crash into your high top table, falling onto the seat with your best friend giggling in front of you. Your phone buzzes incessantly on the table and before you can reach to see who it is, your friend is picking it up and answering.

“Hello?” Anna greets you with a wide grin and your mouth drops open, your slow drunken movements proving no match against her determination.

“Uh Anna? Where is (y/n)?”

You recognize Matt’s voice and start to make grabby hands at the phone. Your friend hands it over and you smile wide when the phone is finally pressed to your ear.

“Matty!”

“Hi sweetheart.”

“Where are you? I miss you, come hang out! I haven’t seen you all day.”

Your pout is evident even through the phone and miles apart. Matt can’t help the flip of his heart, reaching out towards you as if he could reach you over the phone. As you babble on, he flips over to find my iphone, and sees your at the bar the boys frequented after wins.

He’s standing and grabbing his keys without a second thought. Halfway out of a apartment he realizes you’re still on the phone with him and he’s registering what you’re saying.

“And I’m just grateful for you Matty ya know? Like I don’t know what i’d do without you.”

“Same here honey. Can you stay there for a bit darling? I’m headed over.”

“Marty you’re coming?! I’ll get you a drink,” you sing out and Matt smiles.

A short car ride later, Matt is stepping inside the bar, searching for your figure. He hears you first, your adorable giggle floating over the rest of the bar goers. When he sees you, he makes a beeline straight for you, meandering up towards the high top table.

“Hi Anna,” he greets and the more sober of the two of you turns and smiles at him.

“(y/n)?” he asks, turning towards you.

“Matt!!” you yell, throwing your arms around the older boys shoulders. He carefully reaches around your waist, pulling you into him and you let out a drunken laugh.

“Anna! Matty is here,” you reach up, pinching at his cheeks and Matt swipes your hands away from his face.

“You’re okay to take her home?” Anna asks, completely ignoring your state.

“All good. You need help getting home?”

“All set. Thanks Matt.”

With that, Anna is gone and Matt’s attention is back solely on you. He tightens his hold on you, grabbing your purse and slinging it over his shoulder before gently leading you towards the front door of the bar.

You babble the entire way to the car and on the way to Matt’s apartment and while you were a complete mess, he couldn’t stop smiling. Drunk out of your mind and the one thing you wanted was him. It did funny things to his heart.

He practically carries you into his apartment, dropping your stuff at the front door before leading you towards his spare bedroom. He breaks from you for a moment, running off to grab some water, aspirin, gatorade, and a snack for when you undoubtedly woke up in the morning.

“No,” you whine when Matt makes a move to leave you again.

You’re wrapped up in the giant comforter, hands grabbing at any part of Matt you could reach. He settles down in front of you, pushing your hair back and running his fingers through the strands in a comforting motion.

“You’re so nice Matty,” you mumble out. “You’re like a prince, no! You’re my knight in shining armor. I wish you were mine.”

With your final proclamation, you fall asleep, shoving your face into the pillows and letting out a quiet sigh. Matt frowns down at your state, happy to have you here and safe in his presence. But, those words would mean the world to him if only you were sober.

Three

“Where’s (y/n)?” Matt looks up at the sound of your name, Oliver is the one to question the older hockey player.

“She told me she was coming,” he says, his hand already drifting to his phone.

He picks it up to see no new notifications and a nervous feeling overtakes him. He’s about to respond to wally when coach walks in and his words are swallowed. He tries to push away the nerves as he focuses on what Lane is saying and the beginning of the game.

Matty spends the better half of the game looking around the stadium for your figure usually decked out in isles clothes. He doesn’t spot you once and his nerves continue to grow until the game is over. He ignores the questions about post game interviews and showers, changes, and packs up faster than ever before.

When he gets to your apartment door he pauses, listening to hear silence coming from the usually noisy household. He slips his spare key into the lock and steps inside, music flowing over him as he does so. He heads straight for your room, the music getting louder which he recognizes as a Taylor Swift song you had played for him before.

Without a second thought, Matt enters your room, only for his heart to fall to the ground and shatter upon impact. Your form is collapsed on the bed, curled in on yourself and Matt hears quiet sobs emitting from you.

He rushes over, sitting on the bed and reaching out for you. You jump at the sudden contact of someone next to you, but when you lift your tear filled eyes and see Matt you want to cry all over again.

“Baby,” he whispers, pulling you into his arms. Your legs splayed over his, your head landing on his chest and his grip tightens on you.

“What happened sweetheart?”

“Sidney,” you whisper and Matt can’t help but drop his forehead to the top of your head, sighing quietly.

“He cheated on me Matty,” you say, lifting your head up to look at him. “He cheated and he said I’m not capable of being in a relationship with him and was so fucking mean.”

You burst into tears all over again and Matt lifts a hand to try and wipe away your tears. A feeling of rage overcomes him, he considers driving to pittsburgh right now and kicking the crap out of the glorious Sidney Crosby.

But then you sniffle once more, and Matt knows you need him more than anything right now.

Four

“Come on please?” Barzy offers big brown eyes and pouty lips in your direction and you melt like everyone else does at his look.

“Fine,” you agree and he excitedly picks you up, spinning you around before placing a kiss on your cheek.

“Thank you thank you!” he yells when he sets you down.

Barzy had been trying to convince you for days that you should go out to the bar with him for a couple of drinks and the potential for a new fling or boyfriend. After your last trip to the bar and secret feelings for his teammate linger, you were unsure whether or not you wanted to tag along.

But, you loved Barzy and wanted to spend time with him. You knew you’d be fine at the bar with Mat and he reminded you that if you just say the word he would high tail the two of you out of there and back to your apartment in a heartbeat.

You decide on your signature little black dress for all nights out like this, strappy black heels and a clutch to round it all out. Your makeup is nothing if not smoky and inviting in all the right ways and you find yourself getting excited as you wait for Mat to come pick you up.

Even though your crush on Matt Martin was palpable and probably not going away anytime soon, you figured a night out with a potential new guy couldn’t hurt. Worst comes to worst you and Barzy leave the bar early. Best case? A new distraction for a few hours.

“Holy shit,” Barzy greets when you meet him by the front of your apartment building.

He takes your hand and you do a dramatic little twirl that has him looking you up and down in appreciation.

“You look hot as fuck.”

“Thanks I know,” you respond cheekily, earning a playful shove from the isles forward.

“Come on, I wanna get there before it’s too crowded.”

You’re not sure what Barzy’s definition of crowded is anymore by the time you’ve walked into the bar. It’s packed from wall to wall and there’s practically two lines of people wrapped around the bar all trying to order drinks at the same time.

Barzy drags you to the back where a booth is filled to the brim with people. It takes you a second to recognize who everyone is but you’re quick to match names to faces and find a few isles players and their girlfriends or wives there.

“(y/n)?”

You whip around to find Marty standing behind you, two drinks in hand and looking more handsome than ever. He’s wearing a black tee, a black jean jacket, and loose fitting jeans to match.

“Hey! I didn’t know you’d be here,” you lean up and press a kiss to his cheek as part of your greeting and for a second you think his cheeks flush at the gesture but the red hue is gone before you know it.

“Enough small talk,” Barzy interrupts, taking your hand and pulling you away from Marty.

Marty watches with jealous eyes as you and Barzy head to the dance floor, the younger isles player spinning you around before pulling you close and dancing far too intimately for Marty’s heart to handle.

You’re grateful for Mat’s quick intervention between you and Marty because without it, you probably would have stayed glued to his side all night long and not even had the chance to explore your options.

“Tell me something,” Barzy calls when he pulls you in close again. “How long have you had a crush on Matty?”

You choke on your spit at his blunt question and he laughs obnoxiously in your ear before planting a shit eating grin on his face.

“I fucking called it!” he roars out happily and you roll your eyes.

“Is that why you invited me out?”

“I figured you needed a distraction from the fact that you’re probably never going to make a move,” Mat taunts and you shove him away from you playfully but the action has you bumping right into a stranger.

“Shit! I’m so sorry,” you yell out to the man.

When you look up you’re greeted by emerald green eyes and a playful smile. Blonde hair is shaved close on the sides but flops over his eyes and he peeks through the strands to offer you an appreciative once over.

“Not a problem darling,” he draws in a slight southern accent that makes you want to hear more.

“Mind if I steal your girl?” the stranger points the question towards Mat and he responds by holding his hands up in the air.

“She’s not mine so have at it,” he tells him and the stranger grins wider at his response.

“I’m Brad,” the stranger finally introduces himself as he circles an arm around your waist and pulls you close against him.

“(y/n),” you respond.

“Well pretty girl, may I have this dance?”

You nod and let Brad pull you in and move you around the dance floor. He’s beyond attractive, model status at the very least but something in your heart is telling you to get away from him after one dance. You weren’t sure what it was, but something wasn’t right.

Marty didn’t think his anger level could go higher than when some prick on the ice said some stupid chirp that dug a little too deep. He’s wrong of course, considering he’s seeing red watching you dance with a random stranger.

That red? It burns brighter when he realizes the guy is making you uncomfortable.

After the first dance you try to make an excuse to Brad, telling him you had to find your friends, that you had to go to the bathroom and would be back, or you wanted another drink but nothing deterred him from staying glued to your side.

His dancing had quickly turned to grinding, running his disgusting hands all over your body and groaning in your ear when he clutched your hip in a vice grip that made your stomach turn so violently you think you might throw up. Your eyes flash wildly around the bar, praying to make contact with someone who might be able to save you from this creep but you seem to have run out of luck for the night.

When Marty catches your terrified glance flitting around the room it takes all of his willpower not to run over and beat the man senseless. Instead, he strides towards you confidently, pulling you out of the strangers grasp and behind him.

You’re flooded with relief and safety when Marty’s arm wraps around you and securely holds you in place behind him, his towering figure only looking more menacing as he stares down Brad.

“What the fuck man?” Brad chews out and you watch as Marty’s jaw ticks in anger.

“I think it’s time for you to go,” Marty snaps back and Brad takes a step closer.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Her boyfriend. So I suggest that if you want to keep all your teeth I would fuck off,” Marty growls out.

Brad decides Marty probably means every word and throws you one more pissed off glance before stalking away. When Brad has successfully disappeared from view, Matt turns towards you and looks you over before pulling you close.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” you choke out, heart beating harder for a different reason now. “Thank you.”

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

And One

You sit patiently at the end of the tunnel, waiting for Marty to come out and escort the two of you back to his place for the night. The game didn’t go the way any isles player or fan wanted and you imagine the locker room is in rough shape as you wait.

After twenty or so more minutes, Marty stalks out, game day suit back on and scowl placed on his face. You don’t say anything to each other, Matt taking your hand and hauling you behind him as he makes his way out of the arena. You understood his bad mood and didn’t want to push him to talk until he was fully ready and willing to.

“Martin!” you hear someone call out from behind you and the two of you look to see a hoard of reporters and fans making their way towards the two of you.

“Fuck,” Marty hisses out.

You’re about to ask him something but the crowd descends on you faster than you can imagine and you’re swallowed up in it. You feel reporters shoving you forcefully back into the group and you gasp as a girl elbows your side before another pushes past you again and deeper into the crowd.

You’re starting to panic, the unfamiliar faces boring down on you, the pushing and shoving, the pain of jabbing elbows and sharp glares causing your heart to race nervously.

“Matt?” you call out, hoping the older isles player can hear your call over everyone.

“Get the fuck out of my way,” you hear Marty boom over the crowd and more jostling ensues as people move in on him.

The minute the crowd tore you away from Matt he jumped into panic mode. He knew your hatred of crowds and the fact that these people so callously ripped you away from his side was eating him up. God forbid you got hurt, he would never forgive himself for putting you in that situation.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms are circling you and tugging your head into their chest. You feel Marty lift you up and you koala bear your body around him. He carries you through the crowd and doesn't let go until he gets you placed in the passenger seat of his car.

You’re not sure when your tears had started to flow or even when they stopped until Marty reaches across the car and wipes a few left over from your cheeks. He doesn’t say anything, silent the whole ride to his apartment but when you finally reach his home he breaks.

“I’m so fucking sorry princess,” Marty chokes out and you frown at his emotion.

“It’s all my fault I should have left earlier or kept moving when the crowds came I should have gotten to you quicker I would never let anything happen to you I just…”

Marty rambles on about how he hated what happened today and even through your protests he continues. Your eyes fall over his pain stricken features and you don’t realize what you’re doing until your lips carefully ghost over his.

“I’m okay. As long as I have you, I’m okay,” you whisper.

Marty closes the gap between you two, pulling you in and placing you on his lap, wrapped up in his love just where you belong.

#matt martin x y/n #matt martin x reader #matt martin imagine #new york islanders x y/n #new york islanders fic #new york islanders x reader #new york islanders fanfic #new york islanders imagine #hockey imagine #hockey rpf #prettytoxicrevolver

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