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enwoso · 8 hours ago

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A MERRY JOY — alessia russo x australian!reader

twelve days of christmas | day 11

based on this request

"i wish you were going to be here for christmas" alessia pouted with a sad look on her face as you hummed mirroring her pout over facetime.

"me too baby, but i'll be back just after new years" you promised as alessia nodded, she understood that you wanted to spent christmas with your family in your home country of australia but that still didn't make her wish any less that you could be by her side for the magical day.

"i know, i just miss you" alessia sighed as you had to hide the grin from appearing on your face. "and i miss you so dearly too"

"love, i’m gonna have to go. mum's wanting some help, i'll call you when i'm going to sleep — have a good day" you quickly rambled out as she nodded, "i love you" sending you a kiss through the phone as you caught it holding it close to you, sending her one in return.

"i love you too lessi"

pressing the red button after sending each other a few more kisses through the phone, you glanced around the airport as what alessia didn't know is that her christmas wish would actually come true and you would in fact be with her for christmas.

pulling a few strings and with the help of your girlfriend's older brothers you had managed to get yourself on a flight that would get you to your girlfriends childhood home for christmas morning.

so as you spoke to your girlfriend you weren't at home and your mum definitely wasn't wanting any help as she was in actual australia while you were sat in a lounge in dubai.

but luckily you had managed to find excuses and tried your best to call alessia when you had time but also when it wasn't a suspicious time in australia so alessia as far as you knew didn't suspect a thing.

boarding your last flight which would be sending you straight to london, you sent a quick message to luca, alessia's brother, to let him know you were boarding.

him quickly replying saying he would see you on the other side but also telling you were your lift would be waiting for you once you were through.

after a gruelling six hour flight you had finally landed in london and it was taking everything in you not to message or call alessia and tell her you were here but you were so close to pulling off your surprise you couldn't ruin it now.

especially not after a full day of travelling from one end of the world to the other which you were definitely starting to feel the effects of as you waiting in the line for your passport to be stamped.

your eyes feeling heavy as the man behind a screen checked your passport, "have a lovely day ma'am and merry christmas" the man spoke with such joy even with such an intimidating look as you smiled wishing him the same.

you waited for your luggage as you caught luca up and told him you should be arriving in the next hour or two depending on traffic — him just telling you about your blonde girlfriend who wasn't even awake and to be honest you don't blame her.

you wouldn't want to be awake at half seven on christmas day either.

watching out the window of the cold air that hit london as you got into the car where a driver had been waiting to take you to your girlfriend like the ending of a fairytale.

the roads winding and before you know it your on the last little stretch which takes you to her childhood home, remembering the roads from the very first time she took you home to meet her parents.

sending a quick message to luca telling him you were only a few minutes, you started to get a weird feeling in your tummy. your head wondering how she would react and how much you could wait to be back with her.

it may only have been a few weeks but those weeks had felt like years especially when your used to living together and seeing and being with each other 24/7.

getting out the cab, thanking the driver and now it was time for you plan.

place your luggage at the side of her childhood home where it couldn’t be seen from the front door.

then place the flowers which had photos of the two of you that you’d printed and placed in the bunch while in the cab. putting a card addressed to her next to it on the door mat.

hide around the side of the house, which was close enough from the front door you’d still be able to hear everything said.

ring the door bell, wait for the code word from luca. ‘maybe’

"less it's for you!" luca called back as you gave him a small thumbs up, placing the flowers you had bought from the only shop you could find open on christmas day on the doorstep.

hearing the complaints from your girlfriend as she walked to the door, luca disappearing but not too far as you had asked him to video it.

"luca there's nothing there?" alessia complained as she looked around clearly not looking down at the floor where the flowers were, "oh...awh"

"who they off?" luca asked as if it wasn't obvious with the big red roses that were in them.

"who do you think?" alessia deadpanned, holding up the note which was attached to them. "how on earth has she managed to get someone to deliver them on christmas day?" alessia asked more thinking out loud as her brother just shrugged knowing exactly how you had got them there.

"maybe you should ask her" luca shrugged his head pointing to the door where you were now stood as alessia had her back to the outside as she stood in the doorway of her front door.

"well she'll be-" alessia trailed off as she caught a glimpse of movement as she was about to move and shut the front door but instead a gasp came from her.

"oh my god-" alessia screamed seeing you as she dropped the flowers, as you stood with your arms open waiting for her to jump into them and that she basically did.

"hi lessi baby" you mumbled in her ear as she gripped you tight, you doing the same back having missed her dearly even if you had been away for only two weeks — in your two books that was a long time.

"i- how?" alessia as much as she didn't want to incase you disappeared pulled away from the hug, her hands still resting on your hips as you kept a smug smile on your face.

"well i must admit i had some help-" you paused as alessia's brow deepened before she clicked who you were looking at, "you knew!"

"well duh who do you think managed to get her here?"

alessia was still in shock as she looked at you, yous told with the biggest smile on your face which was no leaving any time soon.

“should we go inside?” you asked as you tucked a strange of her hair behind her ear noticing the goosebumps which were appearing on her arms from the cold air.

alessia nodding as she let one of her hands fall from your waist as you moved towards getting your suitcase which you’d hidden round the side where you were waiting, “i’ll get it!” alessia called out as she quickly walked in front of you to get it pushing it into her childhood home.

“luca? who was at the door?” you heard carol, alessia’s mum, call out from the kitchen as it could be heard that the front door was finally shut.

“just y/n” luca called back so casually as he made his way into the living room, leaving you and alessia to have some time for it to actually settle in that you were here.

“what- she’s in- oh y/n!” carol smiled as you walked over hugging her mum as her dad also joined in to see what the whole noise was about. you also getting a welcome hug from her dad.

“thank goodness your here, alessia’s never stopped moping about” her mum whispered in your ear as you hugged her, a small chuckle coming from you as you hummed. “so i’ve heard”

“mum, dad i love you both but can i have my girlfriend back.” alessia asked with a sweet smile as you shook your head at her clinginess. her mum and dad letting out a laugh as they passed you back assuring that you would catch them up on all things australia and what their other son, giorgio was up to while he was in your home town in australia.

“you don’t want any-“ you began to offer as alessia was beginning to drag you up the stairs, you forcing your heels in but it not exactly working from the sheer strength your girlfriend had compared to you.

“oh don’t be silly y/n, you go and spend some time with moody pants” carol chuckled as she waved off your offer before spinning on her heels to go back to help her husband prepare the christmas dinner.

“oi i heard that!” alessia pouted as you were now half way up the stairs, you reassuring the blonde with a sweet kiss as alessia kicked her door open with her foot.

your lips still on hers, a feeling you had been imaging on the plane after not seeing her for a few weeks. alessia strategically moving you around her room as the kiss grew more deeper and sloppier.

“i’ve missed you so much, my love” alessia breathed out before planting her lips back into yours, this time slipping her tongue in as your hands reached to find the back of her head drawing her in even closer — if that was even humanly possible.

the rest of the day was spent with alessia by your side, sharing kisses which you’d been longing for while you were back home. but most importantly you were just happy being in her warmth and surrounded by her family — it made christmas away from home that little bit more merry and joyful.

even if you were snuggled up fast asleep against alessia in the living room after your christmas dinner by 3pm because of jet lag, alessia fingers drawing shapes on your arms as you slept.

#alessia russo x y/n #alessia russo x reader #alessia russo #woso community #woso x reader #woso #woso imagine #woso blurbs #awfc #arsenal wfc #arsenal women #enwoso #twelve days of lana

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novvabee · 2 days ago

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And They Were Roommates 10.2

the long awaited friendsgiving part 2! a month late but ya know... also the title is getting kind of hilarious

summary: friendsgiving pt.2

cw: uh... none that I can really think of? maybe a bit of flirting? if there is anything please do let me know!

word count: 2.1k

Friendsgiving was a hit. It was so incredibly fun getting to know everyone, eating delicious food (you were definitely going to ask Pandora for her pumpkin pasty recipe), and playing so many games. You played a couple rounds of spoons which ended in James and Marlene wrestling for the last spoon and, surprisingly, Marlene won. James claimed she was cheating saying “I had four sevens!” making everyone laugh.

“Gotta be quicker, Potter, I thought you were the ‘best chaser in a generation’” She mocked. You didn’t quite understand, but laughed along with the group, mostly at James’s pout.

As the night went on, you found yourself opening up to the others, becoming fast friends with both Pandora and Dorcas. At one point in the night, Sirius complained that they were stealing you from them. Dorcas just pulled you closer by your shoulders and stuck her tongue out at him. You laughed and let yourself be pulled into Pandora and Dorcas’s embrace. Sirius huffed and walked away.

“So, Y/N” Pandora continued your conversation, “Are you seeing anyone?”

Your eyes widened, surprised by her forwardness. “Oh uh… not exactly.” you chuckled. You looked down at your lap, trying to avoid the awkward feeling that was creeping up.

“Really?,” she asked “But, with looks like yours, I would have thought that you had the boys lining up around the block.” she said, cozying up to you in an attempt to get more out of you. You just shook your head, lowering your gaze and trying to fight back the reddening of your cheeks.

“Well do you at least have your eye on someone?” Pandora asked in her soft airy voice. She had a genuine look of interest in her eyes that combated the look of mischief in Dorcas’s.

You again shook your head, not sure how to answer her, or better, how to not answer her. You were definitely not about to let your heavily guarded crush, or maybe crushes, slip out. Who knows who could hear this conversation. You definitely saw these girls as your friends now, but there is no one close enough to you that you would openly tell who you were secretly crushing on.

Besides, if your little crush got out it could mean ruining your friendships and possibly your entire living situation. Yes, you had a crush on your roommates. Each of your roommates had different reasons that attracted you but, you couldn’t help the warm little feelings you would get when you were around them. You tried your hardest for a long time to ignore that nagging little feeling, to let it go and pretend it meant nothing, but you found yourself feeling like a schoolgirl around them. You had become very close to them very quickly, and somewhere along the way, you realized how genuinely great they were to you, how they treated you.

You were perfectly content to leave it at just that, just roommates who cared a lot about each other, but you found yourself longing for more. Especially when you found them snuggling under a blanket on the couch while you all watched a movie together or when you came home to find them napping all together. At first you were jealous in these moments, wanting it to be you instead, but then that feeling grew into longing, realizing that you wanted to be right in the middle of it all with them.

You liked all three of the boys equally, which confused you even more. You couldn’t choose one over the other two and possibly throw off the whole dynamic in the house. And then there was the thought of if it didn’t work out, what then.

So you just decided to hold this secret in, try to let it pass.

“Uh… not really.” You lied, shaking your head. Both Pandora and Dorcas looked at you like they didn’t believe you, but didn’t push any further.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw two figures enter you and the other girl's space. It was the blonde boy- Pandora’s twin Evan, and the boy with black hair with green streaks who you had to remember was named Barty. Evan stayed standing while Barty slinked to a cushion on the floor in front of you three girls.

“What are you three talking about?” Barty asked, smiling broadly. He had a nice smile, laced with boyish mischief and charm. It made him look less intimidating for sure.

“Boys,” Pandora said in a sing-song tone.

“Oooh,” Barty said at the same time that Evan let out a slight “Gross” and walked away to where Lily and Regulus were talking at the table.

Pandora giggled at her twin’s reaction. “We weren’t talking about my love life.” She explained, still a soft chuckle on her words.

“Then who’s?” Barty asked, looking straight at you.

“No one’s,” you said quickly, “there is no love life.” you thought that the topic was dropped but apparently not.

Both Pandora and Dorcas laughed at your quick outburst. You laughed along with them, it was a bit quick, probably sounded so girlish.

Barty let out a soft chuckle of his own. “No love life, huh?” he smiled at you again. His smile was actually… very nice. He was more handsome the more you looked at him. But he was eyeing you like he was trying to figure something out, figure you out.

“Leaver here be, Bartemius.” Dorcas said from beside you, using what you assumed was his real name.

He just threw his hands up in defense and said “I’m not doing anything.”

She squinted her brown eyes at him, letting out a suspicious “Mmmhm…”

He rolled his eyes in response.

The four of you then broke into conversation about other topics, and you were grateful to leave the topic of love lives behind. You all talked about your music tastes which, to your surprise, all three of them shared with you. You talked about your favorite artists, songs, and what upcoming concerts you were excited for or bummed that you had to miss out on.

This led to Pandora starting a story about a concert she had gone to but then about halfway through remembered something she needed to tell James, so she cut her story short by skipping off into the kitchen to find him. You three laughed at her short attention span, but continued on.

The three of you continued talking about some movies then, until Dorcas claimed that she needed a refill of her drink and made her way to the kitchen as well, leaving just you and Barty.

Barty took Pandora’s place on the couch as you two continued talking. Barty was actually a very nice person. You were a little skeptical because of his more… alternative look, but you found that he was really great to talk to, hardly any lulls in the conversation, he knew exactly what questions to ask or what to say to keep the conversation alive and well.

You two got onto the topic of growing up, he asked where you lived and what kind of school you went to. He listened intently and showed interest in what you had to say.

“What about you? Where did you grow up?” you turned his own question on him.

“London,” He replied, “But my father had a house in France as well, so I would try to spend as much time there as possible.”

“France?” you asked, shocked. You could only dream of having a second home, let alone a second home somewhere in France.

He smirked. “Yeah that’s kind of where me, the Blacks, and the Rosiers grew up.” He said.

“Wait, Sirius grew up in France too?” you asked, again shocked and interested in this new revelation. He replied with a nod. “Well, can you all still speak French?”

“Oui,” he replied. You giggled and continued talking to him about traveling and what it was like to grow up in a different country.

“Well where would you want to live?” He asked.

You smiled, feeling that warm feeling in the pit of your stomach again. “Well, I’m pretty content here.” you explained, eyes focusing on your fingers playing with your new ring that Dorcas gave you.

“Here?” He asked, sounding baffled. “As in here in this house… with those three?” he nodded to the kitchen where you followed the movement to see Remus, Sirius, and James Standing in the doorway, eyes all on you and Barty. They didn’t look too pleased, but didn’t know the cause.

You turned back to your conversation, smiled and nodded. “I like living here… with them.” you said.

Barty looked at you with what seemed to be realization washing over his face. He looked you over, then looked back to the boys over your shoulder, and back to you. You could tell that he caught on to your meaning. He had figured you out. He smirked and nodded, confirming that he did in fact catch on.

“Please don’t say anything.” you said, ready to plead with him. You shouldn’t have said anything in the first place, you weren’t going to tell Dorcas and Pandora, but here you were spilling your secret to a boy who had buttered you up with stimulating conversation for half an hour.

He made a motion of zipping his lips. You sighed in relief.

“You’re a lucky girl you know.” was all he said.

You furrowed your brows in confusion. “What do you mean?” you asked.

“You’re a very pretty girl. I’m sure they would have you happily.” he replied. You couldn’t stop the blush that creeped up your neck and now blotched your face.

“I-I don’t, uh.. I don’t know what you mean.” you stuttered out, shaking your head and trying to get him to drop it. Again, you had no idea who could hear your conversation.

“I just mean, I don’t exactly think that they would have been so quick to let you live here, rent free might I add, if they were not into you, beauty.” He said, giving you a pet name.

“T-they were just doing a good thing, helping me out” you said, unable to gain your composure between the conversation topic and the subtle flirtation that Barty was conveying with that little nickname.

He looked at you with raised brows. “And being pretty sure helps,” he finished with a wink.

“Helps with what,” you heard Sirius’s voice from your right side.

Startled, you quickly turned to him. “Oh- Uh, nothing!” you said a beat too fast. Sirius just stared at Barty, suspicion radiating off of him. This felt like a start to a nightmare. One you may or may not have experienced where your secret was revealed and everything went terribly wrong.

“I was just telling her about a date I had last week,” Barty said, holding Sirius’s eye contact with a smirk plastered on his face. “Isn’t that right Y/N, dear?”

“Oh, yeah!” you said, glad to have a good explanation that wouldn’t raise any alarms with Sirius.

“Anyways, I was just going to grab a drink,” Barty announced, giving you a knowing look. “Would you like anything?” he asked you. You shook your head. “Alright then,” He said, standing and clapping Sirius on the shoulder as he passed him.

Sirius took the opportunity to slide into the spot that Barty was previously occupying. “You alright?” he asked.

“Yeah, why?” you answered.

“You just seem a little jumpy, that’s all.” Sirius said softly, a trace of worry between his brows.

You took a deep breath and smiled. “Yeah I’m fine just, been talking a lot.” you laughed off the nerves, relaxing into the familiar and easy conversation with Sirius. That warm feeling creeping back in, and you allowed it.

“I know,” He said. “ I noticed you mingling quite a bit tonight, I’m proud. I know meeting all these new people at once could have been daunting, but you’ve done great all night.”

You smiled back at him, then rested your head on his shoulder, a normal act that you had done many times by now, but this time it felt so different. Warm and fuzzy, and all your senses wrapped in something distinctly Sirius.

You yawned and allowed yourself to shut your eyes for a moment. You were getting tired, all the socializing as well as cooking and decorating beforehand had taken its toll.

“You tired?” Sirius asked. You nodded, head still on his shoulder. “Good now I have an excuse to kick everyone out.”

You snapped your eyes open, Sirius making to stand up. You giggled and pulled on his arm, pulling him back down onto the couch. “No Siri! You can’t blame it on me!” you laughed.

so... slight marauders jealousy but reader admitted feelings!! as always let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist ❤️

taglist 💌: @too-efn-old-to-be-here @cometsghost @eeviee4 @giuli-in-earth @spicybearnaise @the-lavender-girl @adharalikethestar @champomiel @itsleroyposts @enamoredwithbella @babymash @ilovejamespottersomuch @liszblog @sammyreid @kiaslily @idkman5335 @willowlovestheweasleys @lady-balem @nislame @latenightreadingpdf @v-loves-frogs @meggishhhh @mooonyxoxo @sodavrr @notmonstersapocalipse @plk-18 @prettylittlewrites @darkloverfox @navs-bhat @lexi2005

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miwiheroes · 1 day ago

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Mike Wheeler and his Promise

"It means something that you can't break. Ever."

A huge part of Mike Wheeler's hidden character arc is set up in season 1, episode 2 with this scene right here. It's pretty much the motivation behind many of his actions towards El and Will, can be a partial explanation for his internalised homophobia and explains why he seems like to have a saviour complex.

Narratively, promises are made to be broken. When writers decide to make a promise 'important' and emphasise that this promise cannot be broken, ever, it will always come back to bite that character in the ass. Promises are either made to be broken in stories like these, or they are made to make a character feel trapped. Promises are rarely ever used in a romantic fashion unless the character cannot keep their promise or they feel like they are forced to.

What makes it really seem like Mike and El are a doomed couple to me is that the writers chose Mike to say: Ever.

No word is misplaced in writing a script. There is no such thing as an unintentional line in Stranger Things tbh, and this word in particular means two things:

Mike will always keep his promises throughout time.

Mike will keep his promises no matter if circumstances change, no matter if his feelings change.

There is no reason for this line to be in there other than to foreshadow the fact that Mike will eventually have to eat the words from his naive 12-year-old self. He will eventually regret promising something, but he'll feel like he can't go back. Ever.

The domino effect Promise begins:

*Smiling* "And we can go to the Snow Ball."

*Smiling* "Promise?"

*No longer smiling* "Promise."

This promise was made in order to foreshadow that it doesn't come true right? Because that is often what happens to promises narratively, and of course, it can't come to be because they get separated and Mike thinks she's died.

But.... the promise does come true.

So instead, this promise was made, narratively, to trap Mike. While this seems harsh of course, this young Mike has no idea that what he has just promised to himself is not only to go to the Snow Ball with El (which was a promise made to comfort her here, to make her feel like she will survive). He doesn't necessarily seem happy about making this promise. He seems more... indifferent. Knowing that this is something he just has to do.

Yeah, because this is definitely the actors' expressions and lighting and scenery you want for a first kiss, right?

So not only has Mike promised to go to the Snow Ball with her, he has also promised to save her, he has promised to be with her. And he can't break this promise, ever.

Even when his feelings change:

The writers separated Mike and El and put Mike with Will in season 2 for a reason. They used it to build up a good development of Mike and Will's dynamic of course, but it was also to change Mike's feelings.

It eventually becomes apparent to the viewer that Mike has resigned himself to not finding El. In season 2 episode 2, the last time we see Mike on the walkie, he walks away. Music swells and El looks onwards. Instead of looking happy, she seems disappointed that her bond with Mike is not as strong as she thought.

Mike, after his talk with Will in the same room, has begun to give up.

And over time, he figures out that maybe... maybe finding and choosing to Will's friend is the best thing he's ever done instead. Once he figures this out, he cries, he's not loud, he's not angry. But it's at least the thing to bring Will's message forward.

Then El comes back, and Mike feels like a liar.

I've never really figured out why Mike shouts 'LIAR!' many times towards Hopper when he's clearly projecting as he starts to cry. Until now. It's the guilt that he didn't keep his promise. The promise he had made back when El had almost died, back when El had clearly thought promises could never be broken. EVER. Even when feelings change.

Of course he'd felt pissed at Hopper. Hopper was the one to keep El safe, not Mike, which is not the thing he had promised.

When El returns, Mike says:

"I never stopped looking for you."

Woops, Michael, that's a bald-faced lie, and you know it. But he also knows what a promise is, something that can't ever be broken.

Mike is now committed into this relationship. He's ready to keep El as his girlfriend for many reasons, but the next commitments he makes (i.e. saying 'I love you') are not intentional.

In season 3:

Saying 'I love her' happens on accident, she's never meant to hear. The next time he's asked about it, he fumbles and wants to deny ever saying it. But when El says it back, he realises... oh shit. I really am in this now. I can't escape, even though I know my feelings are different.

In the famous words of Hopper. "I don't want things to change." "[I want] to go back to how [we] were."

Throughout summer, before the Mindflayer, his relationship with El was easy, it was fine. He could deal with this because he can still go to movie theatres with Will and his friends and El can't go out in public. His relationship isn't real, and the fights they have are just 'silly, stupid fights'.

But then she says she loves him too and now what? He realises this is real, he can't go back on what he's said again. Because no matter what, a promise can't be broken.

Now:

He has to reject childish things and pretend to be 'normal' (but only around El).

He has to keep away from Will, who has the potential to break his promise to El forever.

He still can't say 'I love you' because of this great big commitment, this potential for change, and El clocks him, despite his best efforts to keep up the same relationship he was trying to have in season 3.

When he no longer has the threat of this great big PROMISE looming over him, when he feels that El has no broken up with him through that note signed 'From, El', he now suddenly has the ability to act close to Will. When he's confident that El's safe and that they just need to get back to Hawkins, he's able to express how he really feels.

He can finally, finally work with Will without feeling guilty.

That is, until El's in danger again. Until Argyle reminds him of the ramifications of his girlfriend being missing, reminding him of the promise that he's always made.

That's when this intimacy with Will suddenly feels taboo again:

The next time he needs to make a commitment towards her, it's through pressure. The bottom line is, Mike likes being a hero, he wants to be a saviour, but he was never ready for it to feel like this.

When Will reminds him that he's the heart of the Party in Surfer Boy Pizza, he believes that it could never be Will that needs him, but that Will's telling him that it really is El that still needs him. And that she always will.

So he holds her hand, exactly like he did back in season one, and makes his Promise again, this time, knowing that he's trapping himself.

Now, instead of a naive kid, he's a teenager, he's changed, despite not wanting to. He's resigning himself to a life without truly being able to express his feelings. He's not just some kid going to the Snow Ball with a girl that he cares about, he's promising to love her, knowing he's trapped himself in this promise again.

After all, he's already promised to save her, and if he thinks saying 'I love you' will save her, he's gotta do it no matter his true feelings right?

In season 5, someone, someone needs to tell this poor boy that he does not need to keep his promise. El needs to tell him about her growth, what she has learned from her time at the lab---that is, that she does not need Mike to love her, which she seems to have understood. She has already accepted that her lover won't arrive at the train station.

And Mike should realise that saying 'I love you' did not in fact save El. It was the reminder to fight, that Max is in trouble, that there are more important things, bigger than their relationship, that allowed her to escape the vines.

So when Mike hears that he no needs to keep up this promise, that he no longer has to hate himself for being a 'liar' to someone he cares so much about, that he can open himself up to happiness and understanding again, he'll probably feel pretty complete.

What do you think?

#byler #byler endgame #byler nation #mike wheeler #will byers #stranger things #stranger things 5 #byler evidence #byler proof #byler analysis #mileven is bones #anti mileven

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rustedhearts · 2 days ago

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sleigh ride (90s!rafe cameron x fem!reader)

⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。

summary: rafe is too busy making phone calls and closing deals to pay attention to you on your christmas cabin getaway. you resort to tried-and-true methods of distraction to gain his attention back.

uses she/her pronouns and female anatomy.

⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。

❆ the library ❆ the most wonderful time of the year

tags: early 90s businessman!rafe cameron, husband!rafe cameron, sleigh ride *wink, wink*, smuttish

⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。⋆⁺₊❅。

"our cheeks are nice and rosy, and comfy, cozy are we. we're snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be"

— sleigh ride, ella fitzgerald

⋆⁺₊❅。aspen, colorado. december 1993. ⋆⁺₊❅。

“No…no, we’re not lowballing because this geezer didn’t know what he was getting into. We already went down half a mil for him, that’s plenty. 3.5, end of story.”

A long sigh expels from your mouth toward the logs above your head. Rafe purchased the Aspen cabin last summer, and it wasn’t until yesterday that you were finally able to make good use of it. Bags packed, plane boarded, you were pleasantly surprised that the pair of you even managed to make it here.

It’s a beautiful log cabin, built using the blueprint the eldest Cameron drew up himself. He spent months barking orders over the phone to get it done in time for last Christmas, yet here you were, a year later, lying in the Ralph Lauren-quilted King for the first time.

And Rafe is too busy barking orders into another phone to see it.

“No, no, just…get it done,” he snaps, and the plastic of the phone slamming into the receiver follows moments later.

His footsteps thump the hall. The bedroom doors swings open and Rafe sighs as he saunters in.

“Sorry, baby, it’s just…this fuckin’ deal, it’s ridiculous. I didn’t think I’d be this busy.”

You roll onto your knees, perching yourself in the center of the bed. “Are you too busy?”

Rafe whirls around from where he was slipping his wedding ring into a dish on the dresser. You squirm a little, a nearly Pavlovian reaction to the sight of him shedding jewelry. He never liked to dirty it. He never wanted anything preventing him from getting messy.

“What? No, baby, of course not,” he coos, taking one large step toward your figure on the bed.

His hands cup your face, thumbs pressing under your jaw. The pout on your face is slow to smooth and it makes him tut his tongue and shake his head at you.

“Come on, angel, ‘m sorry. ‘m not too busy for you.”

His kisses are soft and warm and soothe the sting for just a moment. Pattered over your mouth and scattered over your jaw, creeping slowly lower down your neck and toward the collar of your sweater.

"G-good, because...—because I have a surprise for you," you whisper, head tipping toward his affections.

Rafe scrapes his teeth over your collarbone, evoking a shiver that makes him chuckle. He pulls back enough to run the pad of two fingers over the aggravated flesh while he knocks your head aside with his own and fits it in the other side of your neck. His mouth there is all-consuming, enveloping a patch of flesh with hot breath and hard teeth.

"Oh yeah?" he mumbles against your skin, tongue lolling between his lips to roll over the indentations he left behind.

"Y-yeah," you squeak, fingers reaching for the nape of his neck and pressing tight.

When he stands to his full height again, Rafe's lips are swollen pink and coiled upward. "Well, show me."

You gently drop his hands from your waist, slipping your own under the hem of your sweater to lift it over your head. When freed from its fabric, you sit only in a delicate lace bra, comprised of Rafe’s favorite color on you: lilac. It was purchased unbeknownst to him a few weeks ago when the vacation was definite, knowing you wanted to do nothing but enjoy the quiet and remote solitude with Rafe in bed.

“Jesus,” he breathes, watching your breasts squeeze together as you unbutton your jeans and push them down. A matching set of panties awaits.

When your clothes are gone and only the lingerie remains, Rafe steps back to truly appreciate the sight. You kneel in the center of the bed again with warm cheeks, giggling when your husband ruffles the back of his hair. On the soft flesh of your chest, the intricate golden ‘R’ gleams in the soft cabin light.

Rafe can't help but reach out and feel it between his fingers. "Did all this for me, sweetheart?"

You nod, lip between your teeth and hands reaching for his shoulders. You smooth over the broadness of them, down his biceps, slipping to his chest as his knees bump the mattress with proximity. His breath tickles your nose, mint-scented from the tiny Altoids he pops between stressful phone calls and during every car ride.

Rafe hums, and it’s as he’s leaning in to meet your mouth with a sideways grin that his mobile phone begins to trill on the table in the hall. His smile slips instantly, a groan leaving his throat.

“No,” you pout, hands grasping at the nape of his neck again. “Don’t answer it.”

He winces, hands gently prying your own away by the wrists. “I’m sorry, baby, I gotta. ‘s probably about the deal.”

You fall back on your heels with his absence, scantily clad and suddenly cold. You glance through the brightness of the window, where the afternoon sun blares over the snow and creates a glare nearly blinding. When the wind picks up, it blows swirls of flurries across the fluffy ground and through the pines.

You know the other couples and families in the surrounding cabins are all likely whooshing down the slopes or snuggled in their warm, wooden confines. When Rafe proposed this vacation, he promised hot chocolates and fur blankets and diamond tennis bracelets.

And though the bracelet sits around your wrist, given yesterday morning on the car ride from the airport, the other things have been absent. Especially the naked bodies wrapped within those fur blankets.

“Jesus Christ, why is everyone so fucking incompetent?” Rafe snaps into the phone. “I was clear on 3.5. The next person to call and suggest anything other than that is getting fired.”

A breath puffs through your cheeks, lips pouted almost childishly. You sit back and kick your legs out, dangling them over the edge of the bed. You swing your feet over the Aztec patterns of the rug, toes painted Rafe’s favorite shade of pink.

“Todd, I’m not having this conversation again.”

Groaning, you slap your hands against the comforter and push to your feet. You find Rafe pacing the hallway, big white plastic clutched in a tight fist, free hand balled up in another. It unclenches when he reaches up to swipe his palm over the top of his hair. He turns on his heel to switch his direction, gaze grazing you.

You tip your head and huff, making your pout evident. Rafe turns again, holding a finger up to you. And if you weren’t annoyed before, you were certainly annoyed now.

“No—Todd, get your shit together.”

When the first finger pointing at the air makes its appearance, along with the narrowed eyes and furrowed brows, you know the stern business side of Rafe has taken over. And when that emotionless, ruthless side of Rafe appears, it’s hard to get the usual side of him back. It usually takes a few hours of decompression and a stiff drink to bring him back down.

But right now, you want him to pay attention to you. You don’t want to wait another minute, let alone a few hours.

While his back is to you, you reach behind you and unhook the lilac lace bra. It drops to the floor with a muffled thud, but it still takes Rafe another turn to notice the change. He steps to turn again, however quickly does a double take. His eyes find your bare chest and pebbled nipples, brows still furrowed but lips parted.

You place your hand on your hips and tip your head again, waiting. Paying attention now? twinkles through your gaze, and Rafe doesn’t appreciate the attitude. He makes this known through a shake of his head. Knock it off is the message coded through his gaze.

Yet it only flames your fire, and you’re reaching for the elastic band of your panties before you can stop yourself. Rafe tips his head back to the ceiling and pinches his eyes shut.

“Yeah, Todd, ‘m fuckin’ here. But my answer’s not gonna change.”

You fling the panties toward your husband, giggling when his eyes fly open. He instinctually catches the delicate fabric, balled up in his fist. It makes his jaw clench and he doesn’t even need to turn to know what awaits him. In his periphery, he can see every color of your flesh bared to him.

“Todd,” he says to the ceiling, tongue swiping of his lip. “‘m gonna have to call you back.”

He slams on the end button, but the giggle in your throat hitches when he finally looks at you.

“You’ve got five seconds to get your ass in that bedroom.”

His warning sparks through you like a hot surge, yet you’re slow to compute. His bright-eyed gaze burns through you intensely and pointedly, the ball of muscle in his jaw bulging with tightness.

You’re about to protest and justify your silly antics when he takes a step closer, tone low and gravely.

“1…”

You perk up, fingers looped behind your back. Another step closer.

“2…”

Your knees bounce over the bed, rumpling the fur throw draped over the edge. Rafe’s strides are practically leaps as he enters the room, tossing his phone and your panties toward the floor before knocking you on your back with a heavy hand to your chest.

“Fuckin’ brat,” he hisses. “No goddamn patience. Should teach you some manners, princess.”

You’re nearly giddy as his belt clinks open, zipper snicking after. You watch him shed his clothes with writhing anticipation, hands balling the blanket beneath you.

“But, it’s Christmas, yeah? And I’m feelin’ a little nice.”

He’s basically rambling to himself, but you’re not one to argue when you’re given a gift. He throws your thighs open, big palms cupping the width of them behind your knees. He uses his grip to tug you flush against him, eyes set firmly on where your bodies are prepared to meet.

“You, however,” Rafe continues, just barely breaching your entrance.

“Are nothin’ but naughty.”

#rolly!#rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x female reader #rafe cameron x fem!reader #rafe cameron fluff #rafe cameron blurb #rafe cameron fic #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron fanfic #rafe cameron smut

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hannamoon143 · 2 days ago

Text

Die with a Smile

Nobody‘s promised tomorrow

So imma love you every night like it‘s the last night

Cause i wanna hold you just for a while, and die with a smile

༘⋆ ❅ ･:*:｡ ❆

Words: 5,2k

Genre: angst, fluff, comfort(…?), christmas

Hyunjin x fem. Reader

Warnings: Cancer!!!! So sickness, food, crying, sickingly sweet fluff, fears, , all i want for christmas by mariah carey (yes that needs a warning),death,non-sexual nudity (they r just bathing), cinnamon (sorry but- warning needed),

A/n: hi! I had so much fun writing this, and it‘s also for the StayblrHolidayEvent . I hope yall enjoy this also since it‘s my first christmas fic. Also as u can see it’s a bit inspired from die with a smile (bruno mars & lady gaga). Basically It’s just those lines i wrote over there kinda inspired me how to write the emotions and thoughts and stuff. So now, take ur hot chocolate, a fuzzy blanket and read! Merry christmas and happy holidays to yall🎄💕✨

You were laying down next to hyunjin, watching the other guys in front of you, while he was sketching most probably them or the decorated livingroom, or just the whole scene in front of him. Felix, Chan and Minho had come over, and now they were laughing as they decorated your tree, the rest of the livingroom, and singing christmas songs. The christmas joy had definitely taken over them, also if you couldn‘t really feel anything of it.„Don‘t you wanna get up and help them?“ Hyunjin mumbled quietly to you, not looking up from his sketch. He did that so often lately. He sketched simple scenes or things he saw, shutting almost everything else out. As if he wanted to remember everything to the smallest detail. „No, i‘m good here with you.“ You responded, laying your head on his shoulder. He sighed quietly, and kept drawing in silence for a while, the only noise was the guys bantering and christmas songs playing in the background. Then he spoke up again, quietly. „Y/nnie, you don‘t have to always sit around me and baby me alright? Don‘t think i don‘t know why you are doing this, and don‘t think i didn‘t hear you crying in the bathroom. I‘m well aware of the situation, but why can‘t we just make the best out of it? I feel like all this is getting to you more than to me, when it‘s literally me who is going to die.“ You froze at his words.

Last christmas, hyunjin had been diagnosed with cancer, and the worst was it was a type that could never be healed. They had told you that he had about one more year to live. That time you broke down entirely, and already there it was you who seemed to be more affected than him. But over a bit time you started acting normal again, not constantly being around him and doing everything for him. But now the year was coming to an end, and christmas was standing on the frontdoor. With that everything came back. You suddenly were all over him, not once leaving his side, and everytime he wanted to get up or something you pressed him down and did whatever he wanted to do for him.

The worst was you could feel it. Somewhere inside you had always hoped that the doctors were just wrong and hyunjin wouldn’t die in the next sixty years. But you saw that they were right. The way he slowly began to always eat a bit less than before, the way the circles under his eyes got darker, and his cheekbones more visible. You hated it. You didn’t hate him of course, you could never, but you hated this stupid cancer and what it was doing to your hyunjin. It was taking him painfully slow out of this world. With him getting worse you were too. You wanted to be strong for him, and for him to have the happiest last christmas ever but you couldn’t help it, the weight of the fact that soon he wouldn’t be there anymore was dragging you down too much, when you knew that it only hurt him more to see you like this, altough you always tried to hide it.

So there you were now. You stiffened and took your head off his shoulder, to look him in the eye. „Don‘t say it like that hyun-“

„No, i will in fact say it like that, cause i‘m not gonna lie to any of us for longer.I know that i‘m going to die, and you know it too okay? So why can‘t we enjoy the time left, and just do everything like we used to, instead of you constantly acting like i‘m some kind of fragile doll that could break at any moment? You acting like a overprotective mom isn‘t gonna change a single thing, as much as it hurts to hear that. Think about it y/n. Because i don‘t want to sit on this couch or in my bed the rest of my life. I‘m not doing this y/n.“ His voice was thick with emotion, and he had kicked his sketchbook away. He stood up, in fact needing a bit time to get up, and to lean onto the wall, but he went into your room, shutting the door. You stared at the closed door, with an empty hollow gaze. The other guys now excused themself and left. But before he left, chan said to you with a guilty smile: „Not everything he said is true, but you should think about some parts. Bye y/nnie.“

Now you were left alone in the silence. Hyunjin’s sketchbook was laying open on the floor, and the pages were a bit scaped now. He was going to be mad at himself for that later. You picked it up, wanting to close it, but then you saw his sketch from today. It wasn’t the scene in front of him, it was you, looking a bit sad. Under the drawing he wrote

My sad girl, 2024

When is she gonna be my happy girl again?

A tear ran down your cheek. He was always very empathetic and he hated when you felt down. Why hadn‘t you thought of the fact that you being like this only weighed him more down?

You cuddled up under the blanket that was still warm from hyunjin, tears slowly falling down. You knew he was right. Of course he wanted to enjoy his life, as long as he was still able to. Because no matter what you were going to do, it wasn‘t gonna change anything anyways, so why not enjoy instead of being sad and regretful when he was still with you, still breathing, still being able to smile at you?

After a while you could finally get yourself to go to him again. You braced yourself and got up, knocking on the door of your shared room. He just faintly sniffled. You opened the door slowly, seeing him huddled up under a blanket. He was crying, and it broke your heart. Hyunjin was a sensitive guy, and he hated arguing with loved ones more than anything, so you should have known that this would get to him, also if he was acting careless and tough. You kept being quiet, just sitting down on your side of the bed. You started stroking his hair, at wich he only started crying more. After a while of being like this in silence, the only sounds his quiet crying and the air cnditioner in the background, he lowered the blanket and looked at you with red eyes. „I don‘t want to die either y/n. I just… i‘m trying to be strong cause you are hurting so much,and i‘m so sorry for leaving you alone my love-“ His voice broke, and more tears spilled over onto his red cheeks. You opened your arms for him, and he didn‘t hesitate. He immediately moved a bit so his head was laying on your chest now. Quickly you wrapped your arms around him, kissing his head, while a few tears trailed down your cheeks too. Of course you knew. „I know, i know hyunnie. But you don‘t need to be strong all the time. I can‘t cure the cancer, but we are in this together. You can tell me how you feel, and i will give you space when you need it, but be by your side whenever you want it too. And i also promise to not act like a overprotective mom anymore.“ He chuckled a bit through his tears at that, wich made you do so too. „See, everything‘s okay. You are not alone, and as long as we can spend time together, i’ll be with you, trying to make your time left the best you ever had. How about tomorrow we make a christmas day? Like we go to the christmas market, bake gingerbread in the afternoon and sing christmas songs, all while we have ugly christmas sweaters on?“ you both started laughing, the tears finally stopping. He nodded,his face squished against your hoodie now, and his breathing was evening out. Maybe you really shouldn‘t take everything that serious. Because now it wasn‘t that point where you would have to say goodbye. You had no idea how much, but you had some time left to spend together, and you would try to make the best out of it. You would love him till the very end, and even after that, you‘d still do so. And as long as he was next to you would also tell him that, and make sure that when he had to go, he would do so in peace. So you closed your eyes, and in this little moment, everything that mattered was hyunjin, entirely squished against you, and you, holding him, as long as you could. The stars could have looked down at you two that night, and altough hyunjin was sick, and paths of the tears that you both cried earlier still lingered on your cheeks, they would have seen you two shine brighter than ever, the light not leaving, as long as you were together.

Prove reading done* until there ^

The next morning you woke up, a white comforter draped over you, and you almost had a heart attack when hyunjin was nowhere near. But then you saw him, walking in with a big grin, and one of the matching ugly christmas sweaters you had bought together sometime on.You started laughing, still half asleep and in a groggy voice. „You look…. Interesting.“ hyunjin laughed and threw something at you. It was your christmas sweater. You sighed, and you did your best to put a serious face on. His smile dropped. „Oh no- no- don‘t say you changed your mind.“ You broke out in a laugh and jumped up, putting the sweater over your pajama shirt. „God you are going to make me die even sooner with the heart attacks you give me.“ Hyunjin dramatically exhaled, gripping his chest. You just rolled your eyes at that. You were glad he was his usual dramatic self, the weight in the room that you both somehow created the past weeks, seemingly gone, replaced by a lighthearted joyful mood.

So you dressed the rest of yourself, grabbed your things and left the apartment with hyunjin. He had insisted to eat waffles at his favorite coz cafe around the corner, and not have one of your healthy breakfasts at home. You had given in, so now you were walking there, both wrapped up in coats, and fuzzy scarfs. It was cold outside, and the wind blew. There were faint smells of gingerbread and cinnamon in the air, telling you it was really getting christmas now. Well christmas was already tomorrow so how could it be different? You went into the cafe and hyunjin picked a spot at the window. On the pastell green walls there were everywhere pretty pictures, and the chairs were all different, each one looking vintage and really comfy. You ordered two waffles and two hot chocolates. As you sat there in the cozy fluffy chair, you looked at him. He looked the same as yesterday, and the days before but something was different. It wasn‘t the pink shade on his nose from the cold, or neither the Christmas sweater. No, it was that his eyes sparkled. They sparkled like they didn‘t in a long time. Maybe he was right? Maybe this was what he needed, not your experimental healthy food (that didn’t even taste good, eugh) and constant sitting around at home. Hyunjin shook you out of your thoughts. „Why are you staring?“

You shook your head with a little smile. „You‘re pretty today.“

He just laughed, assuming you were joking because of the sweater.

Your waffles and hot chocolate were served and hyunjin got excited like a kid, and immediately started munching them. You giggled, and secretly took a picture with your phone. Then you started eating too. The waffles tasted like christmas and happiness. You had never eaten such good waffles before. Maybe it was also just the feeling to sit here and eat them with hyunjin, entirely lighthearted and happy for the first time in weeks. As you were highly concentrated on your food, hyunjin suddenly spoke up. „I love you, you know that? And i always will, even when you can‘t see me anymore. But don‘t worry, i‘ll look at you getting older, achieving your dreams, and doing everything you want to, because i know you’ll do so well, even without me. And i‘ll protect you, from wherever i will be going. You‘ll always be my muse y/n.“ He sounded sincere, not sarcastic like when he was being dramatic, though he kept on eating his waffles, like he didn‘t just say something that almost made you cry and want to hold him for the rest of your life. You looked at him, tears building up a bit behind your eyes. „Hyunnie… I love you too, and always will. I don‘t know if i ever can fully move on though,… because i will always think of you when i look at the moon shining bright on the dark night sky, or when i look at the town around christmastime, everything tinted in a soft glow and everything smelling like gingerbread.“ You said, but you weren‘t as desperate and almost seeming like you would break down at any moment, like it was just a few days ago when he started talking about his death. No, you were calm, and a little, sad smile played on your lips. He was done with his waffles now, and leaned over the table to cup your cheek in his warm hand. „It‘s okay y/nnie. Grieving i a natural and healthy part of when someone you love is dying. And it‘s okay to cry, scream or vent to someone. But please don‘t do all that alone hm? I talked to the boys a few days ago, and they have all grown so close to you too over the years, they will support you, and you can grieve together. Know that you are not alone y/n, never. And i‘ll always be somewhere in there.“ He pointed at where your heart was. „And you are the strongest, bravest woman i know, so i know that you will be able to somewhat move on someday. Oh but i have one little request. Please never forget me, no matter what you choose to do in the future. I like the idea of you being reminded of me when looking at the moon or while the christmas season. I hope you are being reminded of me in a good way though, and not like a haunting nightmare way.“ He chuckled at the last part a bit. And you smiled too.

„I would never forget you love, and don’t worry about it, you‘ll always be my dream, never my nightmare.“

„Oh but one more thing. Don’t be afraid of me dying, while i’m still here. Everything is gonna be okay.“ He smiled. You both looked into each other‘s eyes for a moment there, and it felt like nothing else was existing right now. No other people, no sadness, and no cancer. Just hyunjin‘s mesmerizing dark eyes looking into yours.

You two were walking out the cafe, hand in hand, now going to the little christmas market hyunjin adored since you took him there for the first time. Since then he didn‘t spend a singly christmas season without going there.

Your breaths were coming out in little white clouds, and you put your head on hyunjin‘s shoulder. He took his hand out of yours,and instead lovingly wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you close, and pressing a kiss to your head. You loved when he did that. If only you could stop time now, and walk in the joyful town forever with your boyfriend.

But soon you heard happy children‘s laughter, and smelled cinammon. No doubt that there was the christmas market. Hyunjin started smiling like crazy. He loved the fact that he got to see this for the last time with you. No, he wouldn’t be sad that it was the last time today, and regret things. No, he would just be so, so glad to spend this day here, forgetting the cancer that usually weighed him down, for a while. It seemed like a gift that he got this day, being with his favorite person in probably his favorite place.

Soon enough he saw a stand, with cute handmade christmas decorations. He immediately went over there, and made a adorable noise.

„Looooook y/n, it‘s a ferret with a scarf, and it looks like my scarf! We need to adopt him and hang him on our tree. I feel our bond, so no arguing on this one.“ He said dead serious. You laughed, looking at the ferret. You almost forgot how excited hyunjin always got at the christmas market, and how you had to convince him to not buy literally everything he saw. But you nodded on this one, the little deco really looking a bit like hyunjin right now, with his cute red nose and the adorable smile on his face. He went to the man who was selling it, and even gave him more money than the ferret costed. The guy happily wished him merry christmas and waved. Hyunjin just loved to make people happy, and why not do that especially now? He took your hand in his again, walking by the other stands, the shimmer of the fairylights hanging on all the stands mirroring the one in his eyes. As you were slowly walking, you, literally trying to convince hyunjin to not buy a gigantic wolf statue from the eighteenth century for chan(He was so silly, he had to gift everyone the most random things for christmas with the simple explanation: I saw that and thought of you), you suddenly felt something cold on your face. Hyunjin seemed to feel it too, because he looked up and immediately his whole face lit up even more if that was possible. „Omg Y/n it‘s snowing! This is just a perfect day, even the weather with it‘s beautiful snow is on our side.“ He talked, not really paying attention to what he was saying, just mesmerized by the white crystals.

Sometimes you took a bit time, just to admire the way he got excited over little things, in a way you would usually see it only with kids. Those moments, when joy was literally radiating from him you felt so much love and admiration for him that you could combust. You just wanted to snap a hundred pictures with that adorable smile and the shine in his eyes, and keep them forever in your heart. You brushed his hair out of his face, and your hand lingered on his cheek for a bit longer. „You‘re right hyun, this is the perfect day.“ You whispered. He just continued smiling, then lowered down to kiss you. You didn‘t feel the cold snow on your skin anymore, only your boyfriends soft lips, that tasted like cinammon and warmness, pressed to yours. As you pulled away, your foreheads were resting against each other, and you felt his warm breath on your face. „Let‘s go home now, then we can bake gingerbread and show mini Jinnie his new home.“ you giggled at his words, and nodded, your eyes not leaving his.

You walked through your apartment door, both of you giggling like lovesick fools. You took your shoes and coat off, but suddenly your feet got sweeped off the floor, and you were being carried by hyunjin. „Yah, stop it!! The doctor said no heavy lifting!“ You slapped his arm in an attempt to make him let you down but you couldn‘t even hold in your own laugh. He shook his head and dramatically said: „If not now, then when should i carry you bridal style, my lady?“ You playfully slapped his arm again and threw your head back in laughter. He just fondly smiled, lowering his head down to kiss you on the cheek, and then he carried you into the kitchen. The other guys seemed to also have decorated the kitchen because beautiful fairy lights were hung over the stoves, and some more decoration, including a mistletoe, was placed perfect. When hyunjin stopped under the mistletoe you started shaking your head. „No jinnie don‘t. Please, that‘s so cheesy,don‘t do it.“ You whined, knowing exactly he would in fact do it.He grinned and asked „May i?“ He didn‘t wait for an answer, he just softly laid his lips on yours, the kiss so tender like always. Both of you closed your eyes, and you wrapped your arms around his neck. After a while you slowly pulled away, and he murmured a soft „love you my muse“. You hid your face in the crook of his neck, smiling. „Love you too hyunnie“ your words were muffled against his sweater, but he didn‘t mind. He wouldn‘t want to be anywhere else in the world right now.

You went into the kitchen, and hyunjin let you down. You started preparing everything for gingerbread, and soon christmas songs were filling the air. With the fairy lights on, everything was tinted in a soft, cozy glow.

As you were just done with the dough and had placed it to rest somewhere ‘all i want for christmas‘ started playing. „Oh my favorite christmas song.“ He chimed, preparing a spoon as a microphone. You looked at him in shock. „Sorry what?? Don‘t tell me we are together for literally six years, and i had no idea that your favorite christmas song is all i want for christmas. How can you have these muscles, and act all flirty but suddenly be like a lovesick teeny girl?“

A endearing pout played on his lips. „It‘s a classical, don‘t judge me!“ You sighed but started giggling. As the refrain of the song came, hyunjin threw his hair back (Nuh uh seriously, who was this diva?) and he began to loudly sing into the spoon. You laughed, but couldn‘t resist him. You grabbed a spoon toom, and put it up to your mouth, singing along with him. He then wrapped his one arm around your waist, and with the other one he held his ‘microphone‘ , singing „All i want for christmasss is youuuuu“ And then pointing at you. You started dancing around together too. In a little clumsy pirouette move, where you would never think this man was a professional dancer, Hyunjin accidentally threw a bag of flour off the stove. In only a few seconds you both and the whole floor were coated in a thick layer of flour. For a moment you were both flabbergasted, but soon you bursted out laughing, and hyunjin just kept singing like it was nothing. This whole moment felt so heartwarming and silly, you just knew this was one of those moments you would still think of in twenty years. Hyunjin ended his little concert with one more time singing the refrain line and then he picked you up and swirled you around, the flour flying around in the air. You squealed, not expecting it, wich only made him chuckle. As he let you down again, he pulled you close again, pressing a kiss to your forehead, not caring that now flour was on his lips.„I love you so much.“

You giggled, wrapping your arms around him, so now you were both wrapped up tightly in each others embrace, not caring about the fact that you were just distributing the flour even more.

„You said that so often today.“

„Yes because i never ever want you to forget it, alright love?“ he held you jut a bit tighter, and you felt his nose nuzzling against your neck.

„alright.“

„Good. Let‘s just stay like this for a little while longer? You look cute in flour.“

„As long as you want to.“ you smiled softly and laid your head against his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

After a while the flour got a bit itchy though, you both had to admit. So you went into your room, getting some clothes for you and hyunjin, while he went into the bathroom to run a bath. You took your matching christmas pajamas, the fluffy one with gingerbread men on it. As you came into the bathroom, hyunjin was turning on the water, putting some of your favorite cinammon-bath salt in it. He had also lit some candles, and turned off the big light, so the whole bathroom was tinted in golden light. You both undressed, and you stepped into the tub first, sitting down at the end of it. Hyunjin waited and raised a brow. „Don‘t you want me to sit behind you like usual? You always like when i massage your scalp, or your tense shoulders“ You gently smiled up to him. „Today i‘m gonna do all that for you. It was so wonderful to just forget everything today, and with the christmas market and the snow, everything was just perfect. But you‘re still my sick baby. So sit down, today it‘s me who is gonna massage your scalp.“ Hyunjin‘s eyes filled with tears, and a fond smile crept up to his lips. He got into the bathtub too, sitting down between your legs, like you usually did with him. You soon gently started to run your fingers through his hair, and he closed his eyes, cherishing the feeling. After a while you felt his muscles completely relax, and his breathing get slow and steady, almost like his body was melting into yours. You held him tight, one hand still in his hair, and from time to time you kissed his shoulder, like he always did to you.

After a while when you almost thought he had fallen asleep he murmured: „The water‘s getting cold.“

You hummed. „Let‘s get out, and get you to sleep jinnie.“

„But the gingerbread.“ He mumbled, but his eyes were already closed. You smiled and he whined as you got up and out of the tub. „We can still make the little gingerbread men, and ferrets and whatever you want, tomorrow.“ You took a fluffy towel, and wrapped it around yourself. Then you got another one, and tried dragging hyunjin out of the water.

„But then it‘s already christmas day. That‘s against the rules my lady.“ You chuckled at his sleepy confused mumbling. „We are making our own rules.“ You took the towel and slowy dried him off. Then you softly pushed him down to sit on the bathtub edge and put him on his pajamas. „You are taking care of me so well love… Never gonna stop loving you, i‘ll protect my muse at all costs, even when i‘m not physically with you anymore.“ He mumbled, so incoherent and sleep drunken you almost didn‘t understand it. „I know jinnie, i know. Now let‘s get you to bed, hm?“ He whined, and after you quickly put on your own pajamas too, you helped him get up and you both went to bed. As he laid down, you pulled the comforter up to his chin, lovingly stroking his hair. Then you got into bed too, closing your eyes. When you were already at the edge of sleep you suddenly heard hyunjin speak up again. „Y/n?“

„Hmm?“ „Please say it back“

„What are you talking bout.“

„That you love me. I‘m so tired already, but somehow i feel like i won‘t fall asleep if you don‘t say it.“

If you would have thought about that, maybe you could have somewhere already thought that it was coming. Hyunjin‘s pure soul was bracing itself for something, as if he knew.

„I love you. Forever and ever.“

And then you both drifted off.

When you woke up, you didn‘t immediately open your eyes. But you knew. You felt it. You could never describe this feeling, or how you would know, but you had no doubt your hyunjin was somewhere else now. Somewhere far away. And when you finally did open your eyes you took a second to breathe in. You slowly sat up and braced yourself. Then you looked to your side. There he was, looking like he was sleeping peacefully. You didn‘t know if you were imagining that or if it was real but it seemed like even a small smile was laying on his lips. You were oddly calm, as you stood up, and walked around to hyunjin‘s side.

You crouched down next to the bed, and with a slight tremble you took his hand in yours. It was still a bit warm. You pressed a kiss to it, as a silent tear rolled down your cheek. „Hey hyunnie. I don‘t know if you can hear me, but i just want to tell you that i love you okay? Don‘t forget that. And i hope you weren‘t in pain when it happened. Just know that you can peacefully go wherever you are supposed to go now. It‘s okay for me. I will continue living, also if the pain of your absence will daily remind me of the fact that you aren‘t with me anymore. But that‘s okay. I thought that this pain is the worst, but it makes me remember you, and that‘s what i want to do for the rest of my life, so actually i will be okay with it. That day yesterday was really a perfect day, as you said. I guess somehow our souls knew that soon they would have to say goodbye to each other. It helped me realize that when you die i won‘t have to act all strong, and feel like suffocating when i‘m alone. Oh by the way, i‘ll call the guys soon, and tell them. Then i‘ll bake our gingerbreadmen okay? And i‘ll be taking good care of mini jinnie, so you don‘t have to worry about him and his little scarf.“ You smiled through the tears running down your cheeks, that were silently landing on the bed next to hyunjin.

„So hyunnie, i bet you are wating for me to finish my dramatic boring speech so you can finally go in peace, hm? I wish you merry christmas my one and only love.“ You kissed his hand tenderly for the last time, a single little tear dripping down onto it.

Taglist: @0omillo0 @lina-linny @darqlys

@onementally-unstabel-kid @idek6758 @sadie-tucker @kozumesphone

@urlocalmultigroupfan @thoughtfularbiternightmare @lezleeferguson-120

@stayblrofficial hello this is my submission for the stayblrholiday event! For some reason I can’t send y’all the link but yeah I hope tagging is okay too!<3

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choccy-milky · 3 days ago

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Okay so I read your entire fic in three days and I LOVE IT!? ITS SO GOOD!?! I am supposed to be studying for finals and instead have spent 72 hours definitely not doing that. I originally got into your fic because I saw your drawings from different scenes and OH MY GOD THEYRE AMAZING. The way you draw Seb makes me want to bang my head on the table (in the best way ever)…that boy does things to me. The whole thing is just uGHHH chefs kiss amazing work love it love you amazing

AWW TYY IM GLAD YOU LIKED IT SM (ENOUGH TO BINGE IT AND IGNORE SCHOOL) AND THAT YOU LIKE HOW I DRAW SEB TOO💖💖😍😍😍

LMAOO but fr as a procrastinator and horrible student myself, im pleased with this theme of interfering with ppls schoolwork/thesis/whatever else to read my fic...im dragging yall down with me...just stop using your brain and enjoy sexy seb aha😜 (ILY TOO GOOD LUCK ON UR FINALS)

@jstfndmthngs omg thank you for such a long and in depth ask i hope u dont mind i just screenshotted it and cut it into 2 BAHAHA but THANK YOUU im glad youre enjoying it so far!! 🥹💖AND YESSS BAHAHA IVE ALSO BRAINWASHED YOU TO SEE SEB AND CLORA WHEN YOU SEE A BLONDE + BROWN HAIR COUPLE mission accomplished😈😈 and I LOVE THAT YOU DAYDREAM ABOUT SEB AND CLORA TOO!!! people thinking about your fic/art when theyre not actively reading it is the highest honour fr...😭🙏 AND BAHAHA I REMEMBER THAT COMMENT THREAD ABOUT LEANDER AND HIS LITTLE GARDEN PATCH LMAO and him and seb competing as neighbors/dads over who has the better yard...LMAO im putting in my oneshot that leander lives close by, i might try and find a way to allude to that if i can LMAOO speaking of IM GLAD YOURE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ONESHOT 💖💖 ive been working on the outline every day the past few days and its 24k words AND THATS JUST THE OUTLINE😭😭LIKE DAWG i was planning on this oneshot to just be short and sweet BAHAHA but i forgot im fluent in yappanese...then i just kept thinking of cute pregnancy moments i wanted to add so it spiralled....BUT ANYWAY I HOPE I CAN FINISH IT SOON!!🙏 also im so impressed you only read 1 chap of my fic a day BAHAHA i admire the self restraint bc i could never...but i feel you with wanting to make things last. LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU CATCH UP!!🥳AND TY AGAIN!!💖💖

omg anon this is diabolical...at first i was imagining it as seb being the one caught in the time loop and going crazy, but i actually think its better if its clora... because the idea of seb watching her slowly spiral into semi-insanity while knowing its bc of some weird time shenanigans and he doesnt know how to help would also make SEB go crazy BAHAHAH. i dont think ill ever write this but i just wanted to tell u i love this idea LOL

aw TYYYYY!!! i’m honoured u think so omg😭🥹💖 you sent this a while ago (before all of the recent family posting ive been doing) BAHAHA so i hope youre enjoying the kid content bc u manifested it girl🥰 and trust me i aint doing work for the fandom, the fandom is doing work for ME!!! by continuing to humour my brainrotted ass😔🙏

"they're my legal parents now" followed by "so anyway can you draw them going down on each other" LMFAOOOOO💀💀💀thank you i love you anon. and i HAVE been wanting to draw this for a while so YES!! i just cant guarantee when...but the day SHALL come rest assured🫡😇

#ask #goddammit as i was answering this ask i just remembered a scene i wanted to add to my oneshot that i forgot to include in the outline #GOD!! THAT MEANTS ITS GONNA BE EVEN LONGER THAN 24K WORDS!!! HELP!!! NO MORE!!! NO GOD PELASE NO #i rly should have expected that a oneshot all about seb being excited to get clora pregnant and then being overprotective would ramble on #ive been googling so much stuff about pregnancy and side effects and what happens during which trimesters #i really dont want my search history to think im pregnant LMFAO

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madssturniolo · 1 day ago

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NSFW ALPHABET M.S

(Inspired by @letstrip13)

A - AFTERCARE (what are they like after sex?)

He cleans you up and takes a shower with you, washing your hair and lathering soap over you as you lean back onto him. After that, he puts you in one of his shirts and boxers. He doesn’t let you leave his arms after that.

B - BODY PART (their favourite body part of theirs and their partner’s?)

His favorite body part of himself is his hands because he always catches you staring at them. His favorite body part on you is your eyes because of how expressive they are.

C - CUM (anything to do with cum.)

He likes to cum inside of you most. He loves to fill you up and feel your pussy milk his cock dry.

D - DIRTY SECRET (what is a dirty secret of theirs?)

He really likes to role play and wants to do it more. One time, you and him did a little teacher student role play and he thinks about it every time he jerks off.

E - EXPERIENCE (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He already knows quite a bit when he first met you, but he discovers all of his kinks with you by experimenting.

F - FAVOURITE POSITION (self explanatory.)

His personal favorite is you on top of him, riding him. He loves the view it gives him. But he also likes missionary because he likes to look you in the eyes as you crumble under him.

G - GOOFY (are they serious or goofy in the moment?)

He starts off goofy to get you comfortable and then turns serious once you guys get going.

H - HAIR (how well trimmed are they? does the carpet match the drapes?)

He’s well kept but not bald.

I - INTIMACY (how intimate are they in the moment?)

He’s so intimate with you. He’s all about eye contact and hand holding and feeling so deep inside you, you don’t know where you stop and where he begins.

J - JERKING OFF (masturbation.)

He only jerks off when he’s desperate and knows he wont be able to see you for a while. He usually texts you to have phone sex.

K - KINKS (what kinks do they have?)

He is still exploring his kinks with you. But so far from the things you’ve tried, he likes choking (and to be choked), edging (and to be edged), overstimulation, praise, and role play.

L - LOCATION (favourite place(s) to do it?)

His room because he knows its where you both feel most comfortable. But he also likes the shower because you look so pretty.

M - MOTIVATION (what gets them going?)

You in general (he’s always ready for you), but more specifically, biting his lip and pull his hair.

N - NO (things they are not open to in bed.)

Being too rough with you (and the gross stuff ((piss & feet.))

O - ORAL (are they good at it? do they like giving or receiving more?)

Matt is fantastic at oral and its one of his favorite things to do. He can cum without any touch from you and just your pussy in his mouth. He also love receiving from you because it feels so good to be in you warm, wet mouth. He likes giving more.

P - PACE (fast and rough? or slow and sensual?)

He definitely takes his time with you. But when you’re both about to finish together, his thrusts get rougher and deeper and faster.

Q - QUICKIE (their opinion on quickies and how often you have them.)

He doesn’t prefer quickies but desperate times call for desperate measures.

R - RISK (are they willing to take risks?)

He notoriously says “I’d try anything once” to you. Especially in a sexual sense.

S - STAMINA (how many rounds can they go? how long do they last?)

He usually can last pretty long just so he can stretch out your pleasure. However, a single look from you can send him over the edge. He usually has to bite the back of his finger and look away from you when trying to hold out for you.

T - TOYS (do they own toys? if so, which ones?)

He almost always uses a vibrator along with his dick to get you off many times. He also has fucked you with a dildo a few times.

U - UNFAIR (do they like to tease?)

He loves to tease and edge you for a while. When you’re out and about together, he makes comments to you, getting you wound up for later.

V - VOLUME (how loud are they? do they grunt, moan, whimper, etc?)

Matt loves dirty talk. He’s constantly groaning and moaning in your ear as well. When you edge him, he whines when he starts getting restless.

W - WILD CARD (a random headcannon.)

He loooves the little drunk smile you do after he’s done fucking you senseless. He cant help but kiss you as he feel overwhelmed with adoration.

X - X-RAY (what's going on under their clothes?)

He’s long.

Y - YEARNING (how high is their sex drive?)

He wants you every second of every day. Every time he looks at you.

Z - ZZZ (how fast do they fall asleep after?)

He tries to wait for you, but almost always falls asleep first after feeling so relaxed after his release.

~ Mads (MadsSturniolo)

#sturniolo triplets #sturniolo #matt sturniolo #matthew bernard sturniolo #matthew sturniolo x reader #matthew sturniolo #matt sturniolo x you #mattsturniolo #matt sturniolo fluff #matt sturniolo imagine #matt sturniolo smut #matt sturniolo x reader #matt x reader #matt sturniolo fanfic #matt sturniolo fanfiction

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projectjasper · 2 days ago

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ARCHER'S (UNHINGED) STARLYMPICS 2024 HIGHLIGHTS

for those curious enough to read but not curious enough to watch

general sweet moments between so many different people who we don't often see together that will be lost to time soon, so i suggest you seek them out if you wish to 'awwww' a little

both teams - 'lightning cheetah' and 'shadow eagle' - having a pair to represent their team, except lightning cheetah's was pond & phuwin and shadow eagle's was nanon & tu, which i (as a lightning cheetah fan) can only interpret as shadow eagle being homophobic /j

skynani being on different teams (likely because they were composed before gmmtv realised how popular they would be) and the whole operation trying to constantly find a way to place them into the same context despite it

some participants straight up wearing jeans, indicating that they do not at all give a shit about the sports aspect

the members of the two teams always supporting each other despite the competitive nature of it all

most people being really bad at basketball (with the exception of joss, gawin, and tee) and football (with the exception of fourth)

pond (lightning cheetah) willingly carrying members of shadow eagle on his back and helping everyone stand up before returning to the game (gods bless him, he was not meant for competitive sport)

a mini-game (that did not affect the results, to be fair) which entirely depended on whether the person covering a basket was tall enough to dodge the ball aiming directly at it

marc (lightning cheetah) celebrating aou (shadow eagle) scoring, because 'we are means love' ykwim

phuwin missing his shot but pond (never having scored before) catching the ball and nonchalantly throwing it directly into the basket in a move that can only be described as impressive in the literal last minute of the basketball game (their team still lost, but hey, it was cool as hell anyway)

book only coming out to "play" for one minute, not doing anything, and ending up with a gold metal and an award, because his team still won - as it should be, btw, he is people's princess

namtan coming to the event in bright lime green kicks (and NOT coming to play, in the metaphorical sense), winning women's racing and thus guaranteeing the only award her team (lightning cheetah) would get in the entire starlympics

ciize (lightning cheetah) wearing a cheetah print headband and skirt with boots, which is definitely not athletic wear, but looked really fucking iconic, so who cares

chen doing actually quite well as a goalie and making me cheer for my chosen team's competitor until nanon suddenly decided to take his place, promptly missing two goals

fourth carrying the entire football game on his back, scoring all three goals for his team, and literally physically not being allowed back on the field in the first half of the second part of the game

win metawin scoring a goal in ridiculous expensive shoes that have little bags on them

nanon, despite being a goalie, showing off on the field multiple times, with no detriment to the game, as everyone was so bad at football that they couldn't even score a goal while the goalie was literally not at his gate

lightning cheetah's goalie paul seeming really good and almost (indirectly) convincing me to name my firstborn after him, only to miss every single penalty kick in a move that could only be described as him suddenly deliberately switching teams

a series of penalty kicks, most of which were disappointing to both teams, excluding the ones, where ohm (footballer) went up against nanon (goalie) and did not manage to score, followed immediately by leng kicking nanon in the balls with a football during his penalty kick, which was - and i'm sorry to say this - hilarious for all the reasons that you're thinking of

credit where credit is due, fourth and gemini's penalty kicks were also great, and they were the only lightning cheetah footballers to actually score for their team (gemini did that while wearing converse too, which is insane)

lightning cheetah easily winning the mini-game of tug of war, with great sapol looking so nonchalant and relaxed (read: extremely hot) while playing it that i am sure he gave at least a couple people a heart attack

despite there being only two teams, the team of losers was consistently awarded with "silver medals" for their... loss / winning of second place (out of two)?

in general, there were four awards: for basketball, football, men's racing, and women's racing - shadow eagle won all but one (women's racing)

the concert after the games was generally very wonderful, with everyone you can think of (and even some people you can't think of) having their own performances

whoever decided on the lineup definitely cooked because we got 'sadistic' by project jasp•er as the opening number and such amazing back-to-back performances as markpoon & aouboom and winnysatang & forcebook

prim & tu starting to perform 'tilt' (23.5 ost) together, seeming iconic at first, until nanon joined them out of nowhere, which probably constitutes that performance as some kind of a homophobic hate crime

phuwin, rushing out of the green room to watch project jasp•er do their first ever live performance, and pond later rushing out of the green room to watch phuwin perform 'to you'

pond wearing new light brown contacts, which i will forgive, as they are a step in the right direction (no contacts)

force wearing a show-stopping tits-out outfit during his and book's performance (seriously, look it up)

first & khaotung singing 'destroy love' together and it sounding so incredible that i will now forever miss first's voice in that song when listening to the regular version

gemini & fourth deciding to sing gemini's song (someone like me) together for some reason, with gem completely forgetting that it was now a duet and stealing fourth's part jjgkfdjglfjdgk

'charm' by lykn, joong & pond being so iconic that it was first performed in full during the concert and then once again as the closing performance

me having so much unbridled fun despite the whole thing lasting around eight hours <3

#starlympics 2024 #archer speaks #long post

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bonebabbles · 22 hours ago

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Star Thoughts

I'm going to gather up all of my thoughts on the Arc as a whole in another post, but for now, I'll just drabble about my thoughts on the ending

I did not like it

I saw a lot of potential in this arc, and I was really optimistic to begin with. ASC actually got me back into WC after a long time away from it, and it was the impetus for me to really jump into the fandom.

But the ending really bites. It was going off the rails for a while, but Star in particular gave me a terribly empty feeling.

It wasn't entirely bad. There was some good in it. But not enough.

First of all, Berryheart.

I hate where they went with her. Sincerely, what the fuck.

We closed off the last book with Sunbeam feeling dread at seeing her xenophobic, radicalized mother taking deputyship in another Clan, thinking about how she will be absolutely ruthless towards foreign people she sees only as pawns

...and then that just gets dropped.

Berryheart reveals to ShadowClan cats that she's actually just teaming up with Splashstar to get rid of Tigerheartstar, but she talks too loud and her stupid ass plan gets reveled

And Splashstar is like "oooo i never trusted you anyway!"

Which gets Owlnose angry at her because "Harelight died because of you" BUT. WHY??

WHY DID THAT EVEN "NEED" TO HAPPEN. SPLASHSTAR JUST DID THAT

Why even take Berryheart in as a deputy?? Why was any of this necessary? How did any of this happen and what did Splashstar gain???

This whole thing feels like an idiot plot. Or, worse, a plot the writer doesn't have to justify because "Splashstar Craaaazy"

But anyway, a fight happens because Splashstar tells her to kill her sister Yarrowleaf and Berryheart says no

Sunbeam comes to help, Berryheart pushes her out of the way, gets a dumbass redemption death saving her daughter.

We already HAD one of these, it was Curlfeather at the beginning of the whole arc. I massively resent that Berryheart did a Dollar Store Curlfeather-- it cheapens what Curl did.

Even the way that Spireclaw rolls up to tell Sunbeam "yeah she was mean but she died saving u" just. Ooooooughhh.

SHE TRIED. TO KILL. YOUR WIFE.

BERRYHEART TRIED TO KILL YOUR WIFE WITH AN ADDER, BRO.

We SAW IT. On the SCREEN. She (Berryheart) (your mom) sent YOUR WIFE (Fringewhisker) (wife) through a PART OF THE GORGE (log bridge) (snake inside) (deadly) YOU KNEW WAS UNSAFE

The way the narrative is desperate to be sympathetic towards violent xenophobes through this whole book absolutely infuriates me, but Berryheart in particular is insufferable

We didn't need "mom heroically dies to save daughter" twice, and we definitely did not need Berryheart to be the one between the two characters to get showered in emotional flashbacks.

Frostpaw had 6 entire books to explore the complicated feelings she has for her mother, and slowly come to unpack them in a nuanced and satisfactory way

So Berryheart's felt tawdry and tacked on, to me.

And poor Fringewhisker, a victim of bigoted harassment for several books, barely gets any say about this. Her tormenter is gone, her mate is eager to forget the bullying, and Star doesn't give a hoot about how she feels on that.

That said...

It's not the idea of Sunbeam having complicated feelings about her mother's death that bother me. Most of those scenes are enjoyable.

I even like the way that Sparrowtail tells Tigerheartstar that Berryheart was the only cat he would ever betray ShadowClan for, and now that she is dead, it is the only thing he's loyal to.

It's that Berryheart had to die by saving her daughter, this "entitles" her to a protracted mourning session with her sacrifice at the forefront, while the narrative's sympathy for Curlfeather runs totally dry.

Just totally jacked Curlfeather's thing; that her ambition ends where her family begins. Man.

And Owlnose. Guy who killed her.

Owlnose what did they DO to you

I stopped liking him the minute he said that RiverClan was just following Splashstar's orders.

And the way he started lamenting how he wished he'd taken responsibility and become RiverClan's leader-- that was the moment i gave up on him.

This is not my beautiful wife.

It would have been one thing if he was constantly framed as pathetic and weak-willed, someone who stays away from power because he hates being stressed out and knows it...

But he becomes deputy at the end of the book, so, no. Everything he did was intended to be legitimately insightful.

I dislike him now.

Then again, I dislike most of RiverClan now.

Star's ultimate statement about the fact the whole Clan fell in line behind Splashstar is that "They Were Just Following Orders."

For those unaware, this is an infamously bad argument called The Nuremberg Defense. It is called that because it was very popular during the trials of Nazi officials who had taken part in the Holocaust.

The Nuremberg Defense, at best, can reduce the severity of your punishment. Pleading this still results in you being held accountable for your crimes.

Unfortunately this is not even the first time WC has posited the Nuremberg Defense unironically... but honestly it shouldn't have even happened once if they're going to botch it this badly!!

Throughout this book and the previous one, RiverClan was growing increasingly xenophobic. They beat the shit out of Wasp, steal kittens to hold as hostages from SkyClan and ShadowClan, try to drown Whorlpelt, and eventually attempt to publicly execute Nightheart.

This is all completely and utterly handwaved away with the death of Splashstar.

Xenophobia and radicalization are not properly addressed at all by Star. In fact, it misses the point so entirely that I have to believe it's on purpose.

He Made Them Bad :(

They all say sorry to the cats they did hate crimes to and it's ok :)

They were just following orders because Splashstar was threatening to kill babies. They Had No Choice.

I swear to god I really try not to throw around the term "idiot plot" lightly, but ALL of ASC from like Book 4 onwards has been Idiot Plot after Idiot Plot. I don't have any other words to describe this!! These characters don't THINK. Most of them seem to only have beliefs at all when the plot needs them to.

And like, circling back around to Splashstar, I honestly think calling all of this an idiot plot is being charitable, because the alternative is that the writing team is being horrifically ableist instead

They turn Splashstar into the stereotype of a "blood-crazed lunatic" in the blink of an eye.

He's yelling at a hallucination of Curlfeather's ghost, experiencing delusions about his righteousness, suddenly snapping and turning violent towards people, acting completely irrationally so he can do whatever the plot demands.

All the while, other cats are noting how he's "crazy" and has "gone mad"

It's REALLY bad.

It almost makes me miss the Evil Chick Tract Atheist of Book 5. At least when I'm getting shit on I know how to make it funny

His death is whatever.

There was a really ridiculous line about how the Clans are going to send an Eviction Notice Patrol to him to "inform him that he is no longer welcome at the lake, not kill him, because we must be better than him 😇💕" but at this point im used to Warrior Cats being Neoliberal Cats. Meowliberal.

And then they kill him lmaoo

Me when i send a Friendly Reminder Squad into Osama Bin Laden's house to let him know he is no longer allowed at McDonald's

I don't have strong feelings on Frostpaw being the one to kill him. I kinda wish it was someone else, but there's also no other worthy or fitting cats in RiverClan.

Just feels odd to me that Harelight died in 1 hit while Frostpaw, who has only really trained to fight for a short time, manages to end him. But whatever.

If I've been talking a lot about Frostpaw it's because she's the most interesting. Sunbeam and Nightheart have never felt more obviously out of place.

The book comes up with SO many excuses to separate Night and Sun that you could probably make a drinking game out of it.

This book needed more time on the editing floor. Errors aside (numerous errors), some chapters feel padded out by Sunbeam and Nightheart telling each other to leave

I feel like you could fill an entire chapter with the scenes of them saying the other should go. Like a Scooby Doo "LET'S SPLIT UP GANG" compilation.

enough has been said about Frostpaw's coma. Tree sucks, I hate how he barges into her dream to yell at her about how she needs to fix RiverClan.

I resent that no one hit the RiverClan cats who started whining about how Frostpaw needs to come back and fix their mess with a baseball bat.

I wish Frostpaw could fire a laser at them from heaven or something

Don't like the way that the narrative sets up Tree demanding she come back like a good thing, and Jayclaw telling her she's allowed to rest and make her own choices like a bad thing.

For the love of god let her have a crumb of autonomy

This book makes me wish I was a paper wasp so I could chew it up into paste and make a sculpture of the RiverClan symbol and then light it on fire, but it's not the worst WC book I've ever read. 4/10

#Bones reads asc

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cautotelic · 14 hours ago

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Chapter 2: Friend or Foe?

Ambessa Medarda x Reader

Synopsis: When you get taken away from your home land and thrown into the palace of the infamous warlord, will things be as bad as they first seemed?

TWs: past abuse, blood, violence

A/N: this is definitely longer then the last chapter but I love my war crimes committing, questionably older wife:))

“Again,” I instruct the warriors. They go to the drill again, doing one on one with the techniques that I taught them. I walk amongst the pairs on the training mats, stopping to critique when needed before moving on to the next. After a few minutes of letting them spar I bring them to a stop.

“Okay, you’ve proven to be able to handle yourself in combat with each other. Now lets see how you manage against a legionnaire,” I announce with a quirked up eyebrow.

I look over to the guard overseeing my training hours. With a look of urgency he takes off running down the corridor. I click the timer on my watch. “New guy, huh?” I say motioning towards where he just took off running. “Well I don’t have all day people, who wants to go?”

“I will,” a voice says from behind me. I turn around and see it’s one of the female warriors. Nodding her way in acknowledgment, she tips her head to me.

Before I know it she’s surging forward quickly, but I’m quicker. I easily turn out of her path and she goes stumbling on the mat where my body once was. I bring my staff to the floor and lean on it slightly. “Is that all you’ve got? I expected more from someone under the Generals command,” I mock yawn.

That riles her up and she’s back on her feet. Again she comes at me head on but this time drawing her twin battle blades. With the possibility of injury on the line, I focus more on the fight. I deflect her attacks using my staff being both agile and quick. I go to block one of her overhead attacks and fail to notice her other arm coming down to take a low blow. A stinging sensation blooms just under my rib cage and I hiss. Looking down at my watch. 2:45, 2:46, 2:47. I only have a little while longer.

I grab the arm that sliced me and I tug her close before twisting our bodies so that we fall. Her back hits the mat and I’m on her. Using my staff I press it down onto her throat. I feel cool steel against my neck and freeze. I look the girl in the eyes and know that neither of us will be conceding anytime soon.

“Exactly what is going on here?” A familiar voice booms. The warriors part way for Ambessa to walk through, Rictus not too far behind. I get off of my sparring partner and help her to her feet.

“General,” the woman lowers her head in respect. “I can explain this I-“

“I thought I made myself very clear when saying no one is to lay hands on her,” she interrupts as she begins to stalk over to the warrior.

I get in between the two and shove Ambessa in the shoulder with my staff. “Hey, if you want to punish someone, punish me. I’m the one who told them to fight with me.”

I watch Ambessa roll her shoulders back and press her tongue on the inside of her cheek before looking down at me. “This doesn’t concern you, get out of my way,” she orders as she tries to push past me, but I hold my ground. She looks down at me clearly irritated.

“Well I guess you're just going to have to make me because I’m not letting her get punished,” I say as I point to the warrior. “For something I did.” I take a second to look around and see that all of her warriors have backed up and are now watching this whole interaction.

Ambessa looks behind me at the female warrior with a glare. “Everyone, out,” she orders and the sound of shuffling footsteps fills the room. Once everyone is cleared out she stalks up to me. “‘Make you��, huh?” She says in a condescending tone.

I crane my neck slightly to look up at her. “Yes, ‘make me’ because god knows how many times I’ve been punished because of someone elses faults,” I state as I jab my finger into her chest. “So… if you want to punish someone, punish me. Right here, right now.” I say as I take a few steps away from her, holding my staff at the ready.

Ambessa looks at me and I can’t tell if she wants to kill me or…. well kill me. She looks me up and down. “Your bleeding,” she points out as she motions to my stomach.

“Scared of blood, General?” I ask.

She huffs as she goes to grab her weapon of choice from the weapons rack. Twin daggers, great. “Hardly. Although you might be considering you don’t even have a real weapon,” she insults.

“I refuse to draw blood in a sparring match but,” circling me she goes out of my frame of view. “I see that isn’t the case here.”

I sink down to the floor as I watch her arm swing where my head was a second ago. I extend my leg out and swing it behind me, hoping to knock her off her feet. I hear a solid thud behind me and I’m immediately on her. Climbing on top of her I straddle her waist as I pick up her daggers and throw them across the room. While I was too busy focusing on the dagger, Ambessa took the opportunity to wrap her hands around both of my arms. I struggle in her hold as she pulls me down to look at her.

“You will not win this fight- stop fucking moving,” she demands coldly as she glares up at me. “For over a month you have been a thorn in my side and I expect nothing but obedience from you of all people.”

“Sorry to disappoint, General. But I’m not gonna be one of your obedient bitches you keep on a tight rein.”

That pisses her OFF.

She pulls me down to her chest and twists me around so that my back is to her front. Her arm comes around and wraps around my neck and she starts squeezing. I claw at her arm as I gasp for air to no avail.

“Let this be a lesson. Don’t let it happen again,” she murmurs in my ear before releasing me. My hand goes to my neck as I cough, inhaling deep breaths. I watch as Ambessa walks out of the training arena, disappearing into the hallway.

•••

The sun has just set on the horizon. I watch as the guards make their rounds outside as I sit perched in the window seat. Deciding I’m hungry, I pad over to the door of the room, opening it slowly. The hallway outside is eerily quiet. With a furrow in my brows I summon a newt and release it to let it creep down the hall silently. A few minutes go by in silence before it returns to me, scurrying down the hall. It climbs its way up my body until it reaches my shoulder where it perches itself.

“Well? What is it?” I ask calmly. The newt makes a quiet chirp sound before biting down on my hair and tugging. “Okay, okay I’ll go check it out…. Sheesh.”

I walk down the hallway and round the corner. All the lanterns in the hallway are out which is unusual because they are always on. Being cautious I continue down the hallway when all of a sudden I’m grabbed by someone. I go to let out a scream but a thick hand comes to cover my mouth. I struggle in my captor's arms but they are too strong.

Out of nowhere another person, wearing a mask that covers the lower part of their face, comes and binds my hands together. With my mouth covered by tape, the two intruders hog carry me through the halls and out of the palace into the gardens. I rub my mouth against my arm and am able to remove the tape from my mouth.

“Help!” I yell as loud as I can. The people quickly drop me and climb on top of me trying to put the piece of tape back.

“Shut her up,” the bigger one hissed as he looked around anxiously.

“Get off of me,” I say as I try to kick my feet out from under the smaller guy who’s on top of me.

The dudes attempt to put the tape back are halted. When he goes still I look up at him quizzical before he slumps on top of me, dead with an arrow sticking out of his back. I look in the direction of where it came from and almost sigh in relief. Ambessa.

She has a cross bow and steps out into the snow, it crunching beneath her feet. “Why didn’t you stay put, child?” She asks, running a hand down her face. The other intruder I watch from the corner of my eyes starts to slowly back away from us. Ambessa without looking raises her crossbow and shoots him, her eyes never straying from mine.

I shrug. “Free will.” She helps me stand up and takes out a knife to cut through the ropes on my hands. As she does I look out towards the edge of the palace property where the clean cut land turns to overgrowing forests. I turn my attention back to Ambessa but I can’t stop glancing back at it with a bad feeling in my stomach.

“Someone’s out there,” I say quietly just loud enough for her to hear me.

“Hm? What are you talking about?”

“There's someone, a lot of someone’s, past the tree line,” I repeat. When I say that it’s like a stampede as 15 or 20 people come running out of the trees armed at the ready. Out of nowhere, some of Ambessa’s soldiers come charging towards them. The two groups clash and fighting ensues.

The intruders start dropping like flies but the warriors are severely outnumbered. Ambessa joins in the fighting and I’m left to watch. I watch as more and more of the warriors start to fall and realize why. The opponent is using sorcery. I take off running towards the fight and quickly turn into a shadow myself. I move swiftly and silently through the masses of people, returning back to my physical form to kill the intruders before shadowing and moving on to the next.

In less than 2 minutes I’ve decimated all of them. I return back to my physical form, covered from head to toe in blood. I look down at my watch and stop the timer with a shaky hand.

I went over my time limit, completely exerting myself.

I watch as the Noxian soldiers dust themselves off and as Ambessa finishes off her last intruder. She looks over at me with both shock and intrigue. What she doesn’t notice is the lone straggler aiming a spear at her back. Using all that’s left of my energy, I throw my arm up and erect a wall behind her.

The spear deflects off of it, clattering to the ground. I sway on my feet and feel myself falling, my body going limp. My breathing is shallow. I watch as Ambessa breaks someone’s neck. I blink and she’s kneeling beside me. I blink and suddenly I’m being carried inside. When I close my eyes I don’t open them again.

••• The smell of eucalyptus and a rubbing sensation of my arm brings me to. Slowly opening my eyes the first thing I notice is that I’m in a bathtub. Second, I’m not alone. I go to sit up.

“Don’t even think about it, you’ve done enough today,” I hear Ambessa say from behind me.

Looking down I see that my bindings and my underwear are still on. I also note the murkiness of the water. Despite how much I want to get away from her, I can’t bring myself to get up because of how much my body aches.

I go to move and groan. Ambessa sighs and gently readjusts me into a more comfortable position. “Oh how stubborn you are,” she mutters as she runs the washcloth over the back of my neck.

I don’t say anything and neither does she. We sit in silence. As she cleans me her touch is tender but firm. For the first time in years, I’m being taken care of instead of being left to lick my own wounds. Why? What does she want from me? Everyone always has ulterior motives for stuff like this, right?

“Your tense,” she notes as her hands run over my shoulders.

“Why are you doing this, Ambessa?” I question, my voice coming out raspy.

I can tell this takes her aback as her movements on my body halt. “What do you mean, child?”

I huff. “I mean,” I say as I once again try to sit up from laying back on her and I hiss. “Why are you sitting in dirty bath water cleaning blood off me?”

Ambessa’s brows furrowed together and her eyes softened at my pain. “Is it so hard to believe I care for you to some degree?” She states calmly.

I chuckle. “Kind of. I mean I guess not, I’m surprised you haven’t killed me yet with how much I’ve been a pain.”

Her laugh reverberates in her chest and my body feels warm. “Trust me, I think about doing it more than you’d think.” I know she’s talking about killing me but the way she said it, makes my mind go back to our encounter in the kitchen. “Do you do that often?”

“Do what?”

“The turning into a shadow thing,”

“Growing up I never really had a choice,” I admit as I try to relax in Ambessa’s hold. “I didn’t like doing it though. I end up like this and…never exactly had anyone to do this for me. So thank you.”

“Anytime.” We both stay silent as she finishes cleaning me up. When she’s finished she gets herself out of the tub and I sneak glances as she wraps herself in a towel. I can’t tell if I’m sad or relieved that she was also wearing some kind of covering.

She comes over to me, moves my arm to wrap around her neck, and lifts me out of the tub. The movement causes me to whimper. “Forgive me, little one. I have to put you down to dry you off, can you stand?”

I nod. She places me down on my feet and I wobble slightly, her arm is there to steady me. Holding eye contact with me, she lowers herself down to my level, places my hands on her shoulders and starts drying me off. “I can dry myself off. You don’t need to-“

“No you can’t and you're right, I don’t need to do this, but I want to. So stand still.”

For once I listen to her.

She dries me off making sure every inch of my body is dry. Leaving me to lean against the bathroom counter for a moment she goes and gets me some clothes, before leaving me to get dressed. I change my underwear and take off my bindings before dressing in the clothes she brought me: a loose fitted top and lounge pants.

Once I’m dressed I use the wall to keep myself up as I make my way to the door. When I open it I’m startled at Ambessa standing right there. “I see the clothes fit.”

I hum in acknowledgment. “Can you take me to my room now?” I ask anxiously, not trusting myself in such close proximity to her.

She appears to be mulling it over for a second. “No.”

“Why?”

“Seeing as you can’t even walk without being supported, you're staying in here.” She says with finality in her voice.

I look at her dumbfounded. “I don’t want to stay here.”

She leans in close to my face. “Frankly, I don’t care what you want,” she admits as she scoops me into her arms.

“Ambessa, put me down,” I protested.

“Stop squirming, you’re going to hurt yourself more,” she states as she places me down on what I assume is her bed.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t even sleep so being in here is pointless.”

Ambessa ignores me as she goes to sit at her desk in the corner of the room and begin writing on some papers. Now that I’m sitting on it, this bed is very comfortable. The pillows and blankets make it seem even more inviting. After the events of today, I am exhausted so I lay down covering myself with the comforter.

•••

Unbeknownst to you, Ambessa quietly watches you drift off to sleep. She would never admit to it, but having you against her chest in the bathroom had her heart pounding. Ever since you’d arrived she couldn’t keep you out of her mind. Suddenly filled with the urge to take care of and provide for you. Every time she was reminded of you father and what you’d been through, she was filled with rage that made her want to break their agreement and go to war. Never would she think of putting her own children through harm so… why would he?

She’s brought out of her thoughts when she hears you groan. At first she thinks it’s your body aches and that you're probably just moving in your sleep. But when she looks at you, you're not moving. In fact you haven't moved from that position in the hour that you’ve been asleep.

Standing up from her desk she makes her way over to you, concern written on her face. She takes a knee beside the bed taking note of your labored breathing despite being asleep and the furrow in your brows. Her hand comes up and gently caresses your cheek, her other hand rubs at the tension between your brows. Slowly your face relaxes and your breathing evens out.

Even though you're fine now Ambessa sits and stares at you for a moment before getting up and going to the other side of the bed, laying on top of the covers.

#ambessa medarda x reader #ambessa medarda #league of legends #arcane #slow burn #angst #im too gay for this

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varpusvaras · 2 days ago

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Fox woke up with a dull headache and laying on the best mattress in the entire Galaxy.

He sighed. It had been a rough week. Someone could say that all of his weeks were rough, but Fox had very different parameters on what counted as rough anymore than most people. In that light, the past week had definitely been rough. It was a pleasant surprise to wake up with only a headache, and a manageable one at that, and not having to peel himself off of damp ground first thing after waking up.

Fox turned his head a bit more into the pillow. It had been a while since he had had the time to go meet Bail in the House. He had never slept the night there, but he had been into Bail's personal quarters a few times. It had always been like getting a little glimpse of what having a home with them would be like, and the times Fox had laid there on the bed, closing his eyes just for a moment, he had allowed himself to just dream of it and ignore everything that happened outside the walls of the room.

The linens smelled faintly of Bail's cologne mixed with the soft washing agent he preferred to use. It was Breha's favorite, and reminded him of home, he had told Fox, and Fox had used that knowledge to imagine how it would be to wake up next to her, in a time where he would have nothing to worry about anymore.

Fox breathed in the scent, and remembered that he was supposed to be dead.

Fox snapped properly awake instantly, every bit of his training kicking in all at once, and he jumped to sit up on the bed. That turned out to be a bad idea, since his back gave him a very intense warning not to move too fast in the form of searing pain coursing up his spine. It left him breathing rapidly for a moment, before whatever painkillers that were used to dull the pain this far started to soothe it over again.

Fox took another deep breath once he could, and with it came the rest of it. The fight, the explosion, hitting ground, and then- nothing. Nothing else between the last impact of hard ground beneath him and waking up in the Cantham House in Bail's bed.

This didn't make any sense. Or maybe it did, but not to Fox just yet. He needed to...he needed to find Bail.

Fox got all the way to pushing the blankets off of him when the door opened, and Bail stepped in.

There was a singular second, during which Bail stared at him, opened his mouth and immediately closed it again, and then he was hurrying up to the bed, crossing the entire room with only a few long strides, and then he was already wrapping his arms tightly around Fox.

Fox breathed in. It was a little shaky. Was he shaking? Bail was, just a little, Fox could feel it from how close to himself Bail was holding him. He pulled his head back in order to look him in the face. He couldn't see much, only the way how tightly set Bail's jaw was and how the corners of his mouth were turned down.

"Bail", Fox called softly. He didn't dare to speak any louder. It felt inapproriate, especially considering what he had done, how much it had probably hurt Bail and Breha and everyone else. This was too much, already, still having Bail hold him like this, and Fox didn't want to push beyond what he was given.

He both felt and heard Bail draw in a deeper breath as well, before he loosened his hold a little.

"Fox." Bail moved back, but only a couple of inches, still not letting go off Fox either. He pressed a soft kiss onto Fox's temple, and Fox had to fight his heart in order for it not to slam right into his throat. "How are you feeling, my love?"

My love. My love, my love, my love. The relief and the guilt that followed immediately after were so strong that Fox had to now fight the tears that were threatening to gather into his burning eyes. Bail was too good, way too good. Everything that Fox had done, and still he called him that.

"I'm..." His throat was dry, most likely not just from having emotions, and Fox had to swallow a couple of times before he got his voice to work. "Good. All things considered."

The explosion he remembered before everything stopped had not been just a little bang, and Fox was honestly surprised that he still had all of his limbs and his face intact. At least the armor had proven to be worth everything he had put into it.

"Good", Bail said. He finally leaned back enough that Fox could see him properly again. There was still some tightness left in his expression, but there was unmistakeably relief written all over him as well. "You gave me quite the scare there, you know?"

There was no accusation in his voice, but that didn't matter, because Fox was feeling guilty enough already all on his own.

"I'm sorry", he blurted. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

To make you think I'm dead. To hurt you. To make you grieve someone like me when there is so much already for you to worry about constantly.

"Fox." Bail's hand came to craddle his face. "I understand. You don't have to apologise to me."

"Yes I do." Bail was too good, way too good for someone like Fox. "I didn't want to make you think I was gone when I really wasn't. I just...I just didn't know how to tell you without anyone finding out."

He had wanted to tell him and Breha immediately. Making them believe he was dead had been outright nauseating, but with how close the Senate was to Bail all the time, and with how many players there whose alliances Fox still couldn't name for sure, it had seemed impossible at the time, and with so many other pressing things coming at him constantly, he had not had the time to even begin to plan how to contact either of them safely, and had resigned himself to the fact that it was better this way, anyway. If he got killed on his way down to the core of the War, they wouldn't have to grieve him twice.

"I know", Bail said. "I'm serious. I know you. I know that you wouldn't have done it if you didn't think it was necessary or if you couldn't find a way. We've all made sacrifices during this war. This was not the first, and it will not be the last."

He ran his thumb gently across Fox's cheek, and Fox finally gave himself permission to lean into the touch. He had missed this. He had missed Bail and Breha so, so badly.

"Thank you", he said.

The corners of Bail's mouth finally turned more upwards.

"You don't need to thank me", he said. He quickly glanced down at Fox's body then. "Do you need more medication for the pain? You were pretty roughed up when we found you, I am honestly quite surprised that you are managing this good."

"I'm good." Fox looked down on himself then as well. His arms were pretty much completely covered in dressings that if he concentrated smelled faintly of bacta. The same situation was going on with what surface area Fox could see beneath his shirt, and when he looked towards his legs, he could see that his left shin was encased in a more heavy-duty brace. The medication was really putting in some work, since Fox hadn't noticed any of it until now. "We're made to be much sturdier than we look. Wouldn't be much use in combat otherwise."

Bail shook his head a little, but didn't comment on it otherwise.

"Please do tell me if you do need something", he said instead. "I'm...I was afraid for a moment that I'd lost you again, before we got there."

That reminded Fox again of all the questions he had.

"How did you find me?" He asked. "Or, more importantly, why were you even there?"

Bail perhaps lacked the level of self-preservation that Fox wished he had, but going after someone who had been at the center of major conflicts on the planet for weeks now was a decision Fox didn't understand. They did have the same enemies, of course, but that had been all the connection Bail had had to whatever Fox had been doing. Personally coming after someone like that just didn't make sense.

Bail frowned a bit.

"Padmé and I figured out what you were most likely after", he said. "And I realised that you were walking into what was essentially a trap. I had come get you."

Fox opened his mouth to ask him why when it clicked.

"You knew it was me?" He asked.

"Yes", Bail answered immediately. "I've known since the first broadcast after you leaked the files."

"How?" Fox had put so much effort into making the armor cover all recognizable features of him. He had put so much effort into learning to let go and not fight like a clone. He had put so much effort on making sure that he would succeed in his mission, ready to denounce every part of himself in the process if he had to, to make sure that none of them could be used to track him down.

Bail looked him in the eyes.

"I told you already", he said, easily, unwaveringly. "I know you."

Such a simple answer, but one that made Fox's heart hammer hard inside his chest nevertheless.

"Okay", he said, because what else was he supposed to say to that? "Can I call Breha?"

Bail smiled at him.

"Yes", he said. "She's been waiting for you."

#fox: how did you know it was me?#bail: I've stared at you up close so much that it would be embarrassing for me not to know #I've been reading my own fics lately and wanted to see these three again #so here's more on this au! I have so many au's I swear to god why did I do this to myself #because I have no self-control that's why anyway!#them <3 #sw #tcw #my writing #snippets #Star Writing #Commander Fox #Bail Organa #bail/breha/fox #Coruscant Knight AU

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rainydayathogwarts · 13 hours ago

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The Chosen one - Ron Weasley

summary: harry may be the chosen one, but he wasn't the one you chose. wc: 1.3k

When Ron had first noticed Harry’s lingering gaze following you whenever you appeared he only rolled his yes; you were yet another girl he would have to hear Harry constantly ranting about. He was sick of the boy's tendency to play around with girls' feelings, yet never stop talking about them. The first couple of weeks, neither you or Harry had spoken a word to each other. Harry stared, couldn’t speak to you when you were around, a blush overtaking his features. Ron, leaning his chin on his hand, tried not to make snarky remarks at his friend about his painfully obvious crush on you. You, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know the boy existed. However as time went on, it became glaringly evident that you weren't just another crush because Harry was silent about you and hadn't tried speaking to you as the month went by.

If Harry wanted you, he should’ve just made his move because it seemed that the chosen one got everything he ever wanted. Ron lived in Harry’s shadow, and it was getting harder to be the supportive best friend day by day, his jealousy stirring inside him like a beast ready to be unleashed. So about a month after Harry’s feelings for you began developing, when you approached the pair with your friend, offering to work as a group in Potions class, the last thing Ron expected was for you to turn your attention to him rather than his best friend.

“I think Ron should crush the griffin claws.” you started, eyes glinting with something more than friendly kindness when you turned to face him. “You’ve definitely got the muscles for it.” Ron felt his pale skin heat up with a pink flush, and he ducked his head in embarrassment, feeling Harry’s stare on the side of his neck. Ron took the compliment with a chuckle, exchanging conversation with you throughout the lesson, your friend making comments every now and then while Harry hadn’t uttered a single word, his gaze trained on you laughing with his best friend. The ginger walked out of lesson with a newfound confidence in his stride, chest puffed out with a sense of security, feelings for you immediately blossoming. “She’s absolutely amazing, isn’t she?” He’d told Harry, and only then did he notice his best friend jealously fuming next to him. Harry hummed, clutching his book bag so hard his knuckles turned white.

Ron gulped, a dilemma forming in his mind. It was obvious his best friend had feelings for you, however he had never said a word about you to him, and Ron fully understood where Harry was coming from, a crush of his own moulding. Ron could make his move on you, playing the clueless friend and pretending not to know about his best friend’s painful crush on you. He'd return the flirting, see where things went with you. Maybe it was time for Harry to know what it was like wanting things the person closest to him had.

When you'd finally asked Ron out, a hopeful smile on your face while you looked up at him, Harry had immediately left the common room to go sulk in his dorm, within the comfort of his four poster bed. Successful date after the other, Ron was proudly able to call you his girlfriend, and soon enough, you hit the three month mark. Sat on Ron's lap in the cozy window nook of his dorm, you told him about your day, and the unfortunate detention Snape give you, one hand playing with your boyfriend's fiery hair. Ron hummed along where appropriate, adding comments whenever you paused shortly, hand on your thigh, settled just under your skirt, the other resting on your hip. He listened to every word you said, but more importantly, he focused on Harry's gaze stuck on your figure from where he hid in the confines of his bed, Charms textbook uselessly open on his lap.

Where Ron had a girl, Harry had his textbook. The thought made Ron smile.

Finally finishing your story, you pressed your soft lips against Ron's, feeling his smile through the kiss. "I love you." You whispered, finally pulling away from him. Ron's eyes shot open in shock, a wide grin gracing his features "What was that?" He teased, wanting to hear the words escape your lips once more, lightly tickling your sides. You squealed, jerking away from him only to repeat, much louder this time "I love you, you dork!" Ron laughed in joy, arms wrapping around your waist whilst you threw yours over his shoulder, squeezing him closer to you to peck his lips. You readjusted yourself on his lap to straddle him, tucking your head in the crook of his neck and shutting your eyes in satisfaction when you hear him murmur to you "I love you too."

Harry’s face flushed as blood rushed to his face in a mix of anger and envy. He knew he should have told you how he felt when he realised he liked you. And now, he had to look at you melt your body against his best friend’s, yelling about your love from the roof tops. Harry watched with resentment as Ron’s hands trailed down your body, and how you continued pressing teasing kisses against his lips. He had enough. “Get a room!” He exclaimed, pulling the curtains of his four-poster bed shut.

“Sorry Harry.” He heard you mutter with embarrassment. Your and Ron’s footsteps were loud on the wooden floor as you crossed the bedroom, pulling the door shut behind you as you made your escape. You were probably headed to your dorm. Your dorm, which would probably be empty, and leave you and Ron the freedom to do anything you wanted to. Harry shut his eyes tightly. He hadn’t meant to shoo you both out of the room, especially not you. He just didn’t want to see you and Ron together.

Harry shut his charms textbook, tossing it to the side and getting out of bed. He glanced around the room, gaze finally landing on Ron’s bed. Shit. He approached his best friend’s bed, falling to his knees once he was in front of his side table. He pulled the top drawer open, attention immediately caught by the polaroid at the top of the drawer. It seemed like a trap. Like if Harry took held the photo, the door would swing open and Ron would walk in, an accusing finger pointed at Harry whilst he yelled that he knew that Harry had a crush on you. Harry pushed the polaroid of you and Ron aside. You looked too happy together at the latest party Gryffindor Tower hosted, smiling widely as Ron pressed a kiss to your cheek. No, Harry wasn’t interested in that. What he was interested in was the fourth photo he came across.

The photo was rather… suggestive, if Harry could phrase it that way. The photo cut off just above your shoulders, focused towards your chest, barely covered in a tank top. You were clearly taking the image, because Ron’s hands were too occupied acting as a bra for you, squeezing your tits just enough to push them up slightly. Harry pocketed the image, instantly rushing to the bathroom before pulling his trousers down. He felt bad, but not guilty enough to stop himself from jerking off to the image of his best friend’s girlfriend, and especially not while you were both fucking in your dorm, barely a hundred meters away.

Hours later, when Ron and Harry returned to their dorm after dinner, Ron’s attention was immediately caught by his open drawer. The drawer that he certainly hadn’t opened today. He turned to take a glance at Harry, watching as his best friend crawled into bed without another look back. It didn’t take Ron looking through his drawer to know what had gone missing from it, nor who had taken it.

#rainydayathogwarts #harry potter #hogwarts #gryffindor #ron weasley fanfiction #ron weasley fanart #ron wealsey #ronald weasley #ron weasley smut #ron weasley #ron weasley x reader #ron weasley imagine #ron weasley x you #harry potter angst #harry potter x reader #creep!harry #golden trio era

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avastrasposts · 22 hours ago

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The Pilot and his Girl - a Christmas chapter

I've been planning on getting back to these two for a while, and then I had a brain spark and poured out 10k words in two days... The story starts up a few years after the end of The Pilot and his Girl and the story will make more sense if you've read that. I hope you enjoy revisiting these two as much as I did!

Frankie Morales x F!Reader in The Last of Us Warnings: Listen, it's TLoU, expect canon levels of violence and gory details as always. Word count: 8.5k

His low, soft, whisper slips into your dream as his warm hand gently strokes your back, “Time to wake up, cariño.”

When you don’t stir, the warmth of the bed, and his solid chest against your back, too comfortable to give up, he presses a kiss to your shoulder, moving his lips to your neck, along your jaw until he can reach your mouth and breathe softly against it.

“C’mon, hermosa, wake up, I need to get going,” he whispers again, and you can feel the soft scratch of his mustache against your lips.

“No…” you mumble, “it’s too early, Frankie.”

“I know, but I have the early patrol shift and you told me to wake you up before I left.”

He’s wrapped his arm around your waist and is pulling you against his chest, almost enveloping you under him. As he continues to press wet kisses to your cheeks, your nose, your mouth, you slowly wake up, squinting up at him as he smiles.

“Morning, mi amor.”

“Morning, fish sticks.”

He chuckles at that, his grin making the corners of eyes crinkle, deeper now than when you first met him, over twenty years ago, both his patchy beard and chocolate brown hair shot through with more silver every year. But he’s still the most handsome man you’ve ever seen, your Frankie.

“I’ve got to go, I’m meeting Gunnar down by the stables in ten, we’ll be back in two days. We’re going to the mountain resort up by Jackson Hole, make sure it’s still in one piece after that storm.”

“Ok,” you mumble, “stay safe, come back to me.”

“Siempre, cariño, te amo.”

He presses another kiss to your lips as you pull your arms from under the covers and wrap them around his neck, pulling him closer.

“Love you too, Frankie.”

Your hand shakes as you raise it to knock on Joel’s door, trembling as you step back and wait for him to open. His heavy boots thump across the floor behind the door and you see his shadow in the window pane before he opens.

“They're not back yet, Joel,” you say before he has time to greet you, “It’s been five days and they’re not back yet.”

“The storm delayed them, they’re probably on their way back already,” he says as he lets you through the door. Ellie is lounging on the couch in the living room, book in hand, but now she looks up at you.

“They should’ve been back by now, even if they had to walk the horses,” you object, “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this and Will and Benny are out on patrol too and I can’t wait until they’re back.”

“You want to go out to the resort and find him,” Joel says, leaning against the side of the couch and crossing his arms as you pace in front of the fireplace spreading warmth through the room.

“You’re the only one I trust to do this with, Joel,” you reply, “I’m asking you to come, but I’ll go on my own if I have to.”

“If you do that, Frankie’s gonna kill me when he gets back,” Joel says, and you know he’s only half kidding. Frankie would never let you leave Jackson alone, he’s never even been completely comfortable with you leaving on patrols without him. Years of training has made you almost as capable as the ex-Delta Force men, and you’re definitely one of the best snipers in Jackson. But despite that, Frankie never likes it when you leave Jackson, especially without him.

“I don’t want to go alone, but I can’t just hang around here and wait for them to maybe come back, I’m leaving in an hour,” you cross your arms, mimicking Joel’s stance as you stop in front of him and give your ultimatum.

“Hang on, when is Will and Benny due back?” He straightens up and drops his hands to his waist, challenging your determination.

“Tomorrow evening. But I’m not waiting until then, because then we can’t go until the morning the day after and then it’s been another two days. I’ve left Jack with Eve and the kids.”

Joel sighs and rubs a large hand over his face, glancing over his shoulder at Ellie who shrugs.

“I’m fine on my own, I’ll eat at Tommy’s. You should go, she sounds serious about going on her own.”

Joel sighs again and shakes his head, “Ok, fine, meet me at the stable in half an hour, I’ll get my pack together.”

The snow is thick on the ground as you leave the Jackson gate behind. Only a few patrols have left Jackson since the storm cleared. Will and Benny set out almost immediately with a large party, heading for a nearby settlement that had requested help just before the storm hit. Another small party had headed out towards the radio tower to clear the path up to it. And now you and Joel trudge through the thick snow, your horses kicking up clouds of white as their breaths steam.

Your nerves are frayed, it feels like they’re on the outside of your skin, chafing with every movement as you look around the snow covered landscape. The snow forces you to go slow, sparing the horses and protecting them from any hidden obstacles, your fingers drum against your thigh as you ride behind Joel. He’s got his heavy backpack on, his usual rifle in front of him and he lets his horse pick a path through the snow at its own pace.

It takes you most of the day to get close enough to actually see the ski resort high up on the mountain side. Joel’s been telling you that you’ll probably run into Frankie and Gunnar as they make their way back. Then he tells you to keep an eye out for horse tracks heading towards Jackson, there’s a chance Frankie and Gunnar will take another route back and you might miss them. But as the miles slip by and the resort comes into view, he doesn’t repeat himself. Instead you see him double check his rifle and scan the surroundings with more vigilance and you know he’s beginning to worry. If Frankie and Gunnar were ok, you would’ve at least seen their tracks by now. You clench your fist inside your glove and bite back on the panic that’s creeping up your throat. You need a cool head now, you and Joel need a plan to approach the resort and tackle anything that you find there.

“Hopefully they’re just snowed in,” Joel says, “it looks like the snow’s thicker up there. Let’s take that trail up,” he motions to the forest and turns his horse. There’s no visible trail between the trees, but you know there’s a narrow one that curves up around the resort and comes down to it from behind, hiding you from anyone inside the resort. You ride in silence, vigilant, as the horses make their way up the increasingly difficult hillside. Finally Joel halts his horse and dismounts.

“Let’s walk from here and lead the horses, we’ll leave them just out of sight, just in case.”

You don’t ask why ‘just in case’, you just nod and hold the reins with one hand, your rifle with the other.

The back of the resort has only a small row of windows and they’ve been boarded up for years. That’s still the case as you and Joel peek out from behind the last of the thick trees. Nothing stirs and you can see no tracks as Joel motions for you to tether your horse to the same tree as his, and then you both make your way towards the back entrance. It’s locked when Joel silently presses down on the handle, and with a few quick hand gestures he leads you around the corner of the building, up on the back end of the large viewing balcony. You’re moving silently, the snow muffling your footsteps, but you’re also leaving tracks behind and while Joel’s got his focus forwards, you constantly check you back, making sure no one approaches you from behind.

The large viewing balcony wraps around almost the whole building and a huge glass sliding door leads into a large lounge and bar area. Out of sight from anyone on the inside, Joel risks a glance over the balcony edge and quickly pulls back his head. He waves you back a few steps and you silently retreat until you’re at the locked back door.

“Two armed guards, seven horses, one of them is Frankie’s. Gunner’s body is by the fence,” he whispers through gritted teeth, “We need to go back to Jackson and get more men.”

“What? No, there’s no time, Joel,” you hiss, “We need to take them out and get to Frankie now.”

“There’s at least six of them, we can’t-” Joel says but you interrupt them.

“We take the two guards out silently, then either go in through the front or we get this door open and take the rest from behind.”

“Listen, I know you’re panicking and want to rescue Frankie now, but we need to be strategic about this, or we’re risking our own lives here,” Joel says but you’re already shaking your head, you can feel the quiet rage that always settles in your bones before a fight, it’s building up inside you. Benny called it your ‘mama bear rage’, it makes you act and move with determination as you do what’s needed and take down any threat. The adrenaline set in afterwards, making your hands tremble, but while you were aiming your rifle at infected or raiders, you never flinched. .

“Cover me or go back to Jackson, your choice, Joel,” you say and pull your pistol, flicking the safety off. Before he can protest, you’re on your feet, quietly making your way down the stairs on the side of the balcony, down to the area in front of the main entrance.

The two guards are facing the perimeter fence, about ten feet apart. As you approach, the snow masking your footsteps, you draw your hunting knife. The man flinches as the cold steel meets his neck but it slices him open in a heartbeat and with a gurgling sound he goes limp. The second man turns at the sound, and you quickly aim and fire. He drops, staining the snow crimson red. The gun shot is loud in the quiet mountain area, echoing for miles, and you quickly take cover to the side of the door. Joel’s caught up with you, and he takes up position on the other side. His face is thunderous as he glances at the two men, you know he’ll give you hell about this later, but you don’t care. All that matters is that you need to find Frankie and make sure he’s safe. And if he’s not…you stop your thoughts there. There’s no room for that.

The door swings open and a man steps out, his rifle raised. Joel grabs it and swings him around, slamming him against the wall, his hunting knife deep in between the man's ribs just over his heart. A shout goes up from inside and a second man storms out, gun raised, but your rifle butt hits his temple and he drops like a rock. You don’t have time to check if he’s still alive, so you put a bullet in his head and turn back to the door. You can hear scrambling noises inside, but it seems no one else is prepared to run outside right now.

“Get the prisoner,” someone hisses, “don’t let them get to him.”

That’s all you need to hear, crouching low you peek around the corner for a second before you whip your head back.

“Cover me,” you mouth at Joel, and you see him open his mouth to object just as you turn the corner, still crouched low. One man is hiding badly behind a lounge chair, and opens fire in panic as you step inside. Your first shot hits him in the chest, the second in the gut. You leave him bleeding out behind you as you crouch behind a couch and cover the way forward as Joel comes inside and advances.

“Should be only one man left, I saw him go down that hallway,” you say in a low voice and Joel nods, taking the lead this time. You know he’s pissed at you, but he won’t let you handle this on your own. He clears every doorway before moving down the hall, and as he sweeps the second to last opening, someone from the inside takes a shot at him, the bullet splintering the wood as it hits the door frame two feet from Joel’s head.

“Put down your gun and kick it over here and you’ll get out of this alive,” Joel calls to the man inside and is rewarded by a second shot. This one hits the opposite wall of the hallway.

“You’re only wasting bullets, you’re outnumbered,” Joel calls again.

“Keep him in there, I’m finding Frankie,” you hiss, crouching low and zipping past the open door. Another shot rings out but it goes wide again as the man fires in panic.

You scan the final room but it’s empty, just a small storage room, but there’s a door at the end of the hallway, a padlock keeping it locked. With the butt of your rifle, you smash the lock with two sharp hits, and wrench the door open. Stairs lead down from the doorway into a dark basement and the light switch on the wall does nothing. With a low curse you pull out your flashlight and attach it to the strap of your backpack.

“Frankie,” you call into the darkness, your flashlight only illuminating the stairs, the rest is still pitch black.

“Careful,” Joel warns from behind you, “no telling what’s down there if that door hasn’t been opened in some time.”

“But where else would he be?” you ask, still shining your light into the basement, “our friend back there was heading in this direction.”

Another shot rings out and Joel curses.

“You ok?” you ask, glancing behind you at Joel, who nods.

“Yeah, he just got a little bit too close for comfort that time.”

“Just deal with him, I’m going down. If there were infected down there, they’d be attacking by now.”

“Fuck, just...wait…” Joel hisses but you start descending, gun raised as you take slow steps down the stairs. From above three quick shots ring out and then you hear Joel quickly come down behind you.

“You and I need to have a serious talk about tactics,” he hisses as he reaches the bottom of the stairs at the same time as you.

“Just watch our backs, Joel,” you hiss back, scanning the empty room with your flashlight.

The basement isn’t very big, and has been clearly used as storage since after the outbreak. Thankfully there’s no sign of cordyceps growths as you spot a door at the back. It’s got a heavy looking cross bar and you quickly step over to it, giving the door a light tap. There’s no response from the inside so you holster your gun and lift up the iron beam. Behind you, you hear Joel take a couple of steps closer and you know he’s got his gun at the ready, covering both the door and the stairs.

The door creaks open and something stirs in the dark room as your flashlight illuminates the space. A mix of fear and relief fills your chest as you recognize the shape of the man slumped by the back wall, his arms suspended above his head, keeping him on his toes as his head hangs heavy between his shoulders.

“Frankie,” you gasp, holstering your gun as you run over to him. Joel moves in from behind and swings his own gun and flashlight over the room. It’s empty apart from a broken chair in a corner.

Frankie groans as you reach him, putting your hands on his chest to hold him up, taking some of the weight off his wrists. Even in the dim light you can see that they’re rubbed raw from the rope that’s twisted around them.

“Joel, cut him loose, I can’t reach,” you call over your shoulder and Joel steps over quickly.

“We’ve got you Frankie, stay with me, baby,” you say, gently cupping his cheek to lift his head, trying to make him look at you. He moans again and opens one eye, the other is plastered shut, swollen and bloody from a cut in his eyebrow.

“Can you tell me where you’re hurt? Can you stand?” you ask as Joel saws through the ropes. They give and Frankie drops, only Joel’s strong arms stop him from crashing to the floor. Carefully you both lower Frankie to lie down.

“Cariño…” he mumbles, trying to reach for you, and you take his hand, gently untying his wrists and discarding the rope.

“I’ll make sure there are no surprises,” Joel says, “Do what you can for him quickly, we need to get out of here now.”

He leaves the room and you hear him go up the stairs again as you shrug your backpack off.

“I’m here, Frankie, I’m here,” you say, “I’ve got you, and we’ll get you out of here. Just tell me where you’re hurt, can you walk?”

“My leg,” he groans, grabbing his thigh, and you notice the sloppy bandage soaked through with blood, that explains Frankie’s pale complexion. “Got shot, they stopped the bleeding but it fucking hurts.”

“I’ll clean it out properly once we’re away from here, but I need you to lean on me and walk out of here, ok?”

He nods, closing his eyes briefly, “I knew you’d come,” he mumbles, “I kept telling you to not come but I knew you wouldn’t listen.”

“Yeah, you know me better than that,” you grimace “but don’t pass out on me now, I need to get you on your feet, ok?”

He nods again and seems to pull on some last vestige of energy, groaning with pain as you help him to his feet. He sways, but you hook your arm around his waist and hold him steady as he leans on you. It’s slow going, but as he limps, you get him to the stairs. Joel is standing at the top, keeping watch. As he hears you coming, he moves forward, and Frankie slowly makes his way up the stairs. The effort saps his strength halfway and he stops.

“Wait, just need a second,” he huffs, breathing heavily as he leans on the wall. You tighten your grip on his waist and give him a small hug that he returns.

“How long?” he asks, “I think I passed out for a while and I lost track of time in the dark.”

“Five days since you left Jackson,” you reply, “Almost six, it took me and Joel a day to get here because of the snow.”

Frankie nods before he takes a deep breath, “Ok, lets get up these fucking stairs.”

It takes a few more long minutes before you’re finally at the top, Frankie grabs the door frame with white knuckles and in the last of the daylight filtering in you can see the sheen of sweat on his face. He’s pale and clammy, the blood loss and pain taking a heavy toll on him. You glance down at his leg and see fresh blood seeping through the dirty bandage.

“Just a little bit further, then we’ll get you on a horse, Frankie,” you say, carefully brushing a strand of hair from a cut on his forehead. You can see that he’s taken a beating, bruises are blooming on his face and his bottom lip has been split, blood dried into his beard, and from the way he’s moving, he’s probably taken several punches to his body too, apart from the gunshot.

“We’ve got a problem,” Joel calls in a low voice, just as you get to the doorway into the lounge area again, “riders returning and they’ve seen the bodies outside.”

From beyond the still open door you can hear several voices calling out and you hurry to help Frankie to the floor behind one of the couches.

“Give me a gun,” he hisses, and you hand him your pistol.

“I’ve only got half a mag for it,” you say, “ and two mags for the rifle.”

“Keep it, you’re the better shot,” he replies. He winces as he crouches and looks over the edge of the sofa. You can see that he’s white knuckling the pistol, trying to keep his hand from shaking. You glance over at Joel who looks worried, Frankie will be all but helpless if you have to put up a fight.

Joel has taken cover behind the sofa on the right, and together the three of you are covering the front door. But there are bound to be other entrances and you’re glancing around the big room, there’s no way to know if you’ll be flanked.

“If anyone comes through the door, you shoot first,” Joel says in a low voice to you, “Let's not waste bullets. I’ll follow up if there’s a second guy.”

You give him a thumbs up and look over at Frankie. He’s leaning against the back of the sofa with his eyes closed, breathing heavily. Outside you can hear the men getting ready to move in, and on impulse you bend down and press your lips to Frankie’s.

“I love you,” you whisper against his mouth as you pull back, “don’t die on me.”

“I love you too,” he mumbles, peeling his eyes open to look at you, “Just kill those fucker for me, cariño.”

Something clatters on the floor in front of the sofa and you hear Joel yell.

“Down! Get down!”

Frankie grabs you, pulling you down with him and a loud explosion reverberates through the room, your chest, your eardrums, making your ears ring as you cough and gasp. Frankies hands are digging into your arms, keeping you pressed to him until you can look down and meet his wide eyes. He’s covered in white dust and so are you, the only color in his face is a fresh trail of blood from his split eyebrow and his brown eyes.

You can’t hear anything, you’re trying to push yourself up but something heavy is keeping you in place and you’re struggling to get it off you. Frankie shifts under you but you’re still pinning him to the floor. Suddenly the pressure is lifted and you draw a deep breath, but the relief is short lived, blinding sharp pain shoots through your head and everything goes black.

Frankie feels hands grabbing him before he sees them, the dust in his eyes making them sting and water. He blinks frantically to clear them, his ears are ringing and he needs more of his senses to work, he needs to get up and get you to safety. Someone grabs him under his arms and forcefully tugs him backwards, into the light and he can see more clearly, he blinks again and tries to get up but rough hands shove him down. He can’t fucking see where you are, he felt you move just after the explosion, but now he can’t see you.

“Stay the fuck down,” a harsh voice snaps through the ringing in his ears, “Grab the other two, get them outside, this place looks like it’s about to collapse.”

Frankie feels himself getting dragged backwards again, out through the door and into the frigid cold air. The person dragging him drops him on the ground and turns him over, forcing his arms behind his back, ignoring the loud groan he lets slip as the movement shoots pain through his injured leg. Zip ties are tightened around his wrists, rubbing against his already raw skin.

“Put him against the fence,” someone orders and again he’s yanked up by his arms and hauled over to the chain link fence surrounding the property. He manages to sit up as he’s dumped on the ground again, his arms at an awkward angle behind his back. His leg is throbbing and he can feel more blood trickling down into the snow, but he’s pushing it to the back of his mind as he sees you getting dragged out from the building, two men struggling to pull Joel out after you. Your body is limp and the man has a strong grip on your upper arm, pulling you carelessly across the snow. Frankie can see blood dripping from a gash on your head and before he knows what he’s doing, he’s trying to stand up, protesting at the way you’re being handled.

“Leave her alone, get the fuck away from her!” he yells, bracing against the fence as he pushes himself to his feet.

“You should know better by now than to talk back,” the man sneers as he drops you to the ground and yanks your arms behind your back, using zip ties to secure them too.

“Don’t fucking touch her,” Frankie spits, and the venom in his voice makes the man flinch as he catches a glimpse of Frankie’s face, eyes black with rage. He finds himself quickly again though and grabs you, shoving you up against the fence a few feet from Frankie, before he steps over to Frankie. He pulls his gun from his waistband and presses the muzzle against Frankie’s temple, forcing him down onto the ground again.

“Who’s she to you then, huh? Girlfriend? Come all the way up here to rescue you?”

Frankie bites back the insults he wants to hurl at the man, it won’t help. Through the pain in his leg, the cut on his head, and the blind panic he’s fighting to control, he tries to regain a cool head, figure out how to get you out of this.

“C’mon, buddy, don’t go all quiet on me now,” the man taunts, “Who is she?” He glances back at you, slumped against the fence, still unconscious, and grins, “Who is she?” he asks again, backing up and now he’s got the barrel of the gun pressed against your temple. “Tell me who she is and I won’t kill her right here on the spot. We don’t need her, keeping three people alive is too much trouble, we only need one of you to talk.”

Frankie can’t think straight, can’t collect his thoughts, all he sees is the cold metal pressed against your head.

“She’s my wife,” he presses out, struggling to get to his feet again, but a man comes up behind him and aims a vicious kick to his knee, and he goes down again.

“Keep her alive, I bet he’ll talk to keep her safe,” the man says, “Kill the other guy.”

The man who’s got the gun holsters it again and looks over at Joel, he’s been ziptied too and shoved up against the fence further down. He’s glaring at the two men aiming their guns at him, “He’s awake, lets see what we can find out from him and then kill him. We’ll stay here tonight and then follow their tracks back to wherever they came from. We’ll keep these two for now.”

As soon as the two men leave, Frankie grits his teeth and forces himself to scoot over to where you're slumped against the fence. If he could only get the zip ties off he’d figure something out, but he needs to wake you up first, make sure you’re ok. He doesn’t like the way you're sagging, it looks like the way you're sitting is stopping you from breathing properly, he nudges you with his uninjured leg, giving you a kick.

“Cariño, wake up,” he whispers, “c’mon, wake up.”

He shoves you with his shoulder, trying to push you upright and he hears you cough, so he shoves you again.

“Wake up,” he hisses sharply, “c’mon, baby, I need you to wake up.”

He hears you groan and finally, he draws a deep breath of relief, you sit up, blinking your eyes as you clear your head. You cough again, spitting blood, there’s a cut on your lip, but it looks shallow, thankfully.

“Frankie…what happened?” you groan, trying to sit up straighter.

“Lean on me, cariño, stay up right,” he shifts so that he can support you as much as possible with his hands tied behind his back, “They had an explosive, dynamite I think, nearly took the fucking roof down.”

“Where’s Joel?” you ask, your head dropping to Frankie’s shoulder as you try to look around.

“Over there, by the fence. Cariño, I need to get out of these zip ties, do you have your knife on you?”

You lift your head, it’s heavy and you’re not sure you can follow what Frankie is saying, as a lump on the side of your head thumps painfully.

“I had my knife…” you mumble and you feel Frankie moving, trying to reach the sheath clipped to your belt.

“It’s still there,” he whispers, “I need you to move so that I can grab it, I’ll cut you free first and then-”

He stops short when a roar goes up from Joel. One of the men is leaning over him and Frankie can’t see what he’s doing, but it’s making Joel howl in pain.

“Just fucking tell us!” the man yells before Joel groans loudly and curses.

“Fuck you!” he snarls, but his voice breaks and Frankie sees him slump forward.

“We need to be fast,” he whispers back to you.

“Frankie, look!” you gasp, and he follows your gaze, the glint of a scope is all he catches before a shot rings out and all hell breaks loose. Two more shots ring out, two men dead in the snow, a third one clutching his shoulder and bolting for cover before another shot takes him out. Suddenly two masked men on horseback come charging in through the open gate, taking the remaining men by surprise. Horses whinny, shots ring out and the guy who dragged you out, runs towards Frankie, but the man on horseback throws himself from the saddle and is on him in a few long strides, tackling him to the ground.

“Fucking get him!” the other man calls from his horse, and Frankie breathes a sigh of relief. The voice is unmistakably Ben Miller’s.

Will only snarls as the man’s neck snaps under his strong hands, slumping into the snow and he doesn’t even give him a second look, just leaves the body on the ground as he rushes over to you and Frankie.

“Fish, hey, you ok?” he asks, instinctively reaching for his first aid kit as he sees Frankie’s leg.

“Get us untied, Will. Thank fucking God you showed up.”

Will quickly cuts the zip ties while Benny clears the rest of the area. From the forest Tommy comes jogging, his sniper rifle slung over his shoulder.

“All clear?”

“Yeah, all clear,” Benny replies as he cuts Joel’s zip ties.

“Thanks, man,” he says, “You guys showed up in the nick of time.”

You’re gingerly touching your head, there’s a big lump there and Frankie takes your chin and carefully tilts your head to get a look at it.

“It’s bleeding, but it’s not deep,” he says. “Will, clean it out and patch her up.”

“I will, man, but right now, your legs takes prio, we need to stop this bleeding.” Will is ripping up the fabric and inspecting the wound.

“As soon as you can, we need to move,” Benny says, coming over and watching Will disinfect and wrap clean gauze around Frankie’s leg, “We’ve got spare horses, we should try to get as many of them as possible back to Jackson.”

“We’re on it, got your backpack too, Frankie” Tommy calls from behind him. Joel’s on his feet, cradling his left arm, but helping his brother tether the horses together.

“What happened to Gunnar?” Will asks Frankie, who shakes his head.

“We got attacked during the storm, Gunnar was standing guard but I think they got the drop on him because of all the snow. I woke up with a gun in my face and Gunnar dead by the door.”

“I’ll get his body,” Tommy said, “We’ll get him back to Jackson.”

It doesn’t take Will long to finish giving Frankie’s leg a temporary fix, then he quickly cleans and closes the gash in your head. Frankie groans as Will helps him into the saddle of one of the new horses, and you stay close to him with your own horse. He’s very pale and you can tell he doesn’t really have much energy left as he sways in the saddle.

“Will, we won’t make it back to Jackson before nightfall, what’s your plan?” you ask, knowing the older Miller brother always has two or three back-up plans.

“The old restaurant down by Blacktails Pond, we stay there overnight.”

“Ok, good, we need somewhere safe to rest for a few hours.”

Will glances over at Frankie, who doesn’t seem to be aware of the conversation. The last of his reserves were used when trying to get out of the zip ties, now, in relative safety, he is slipping back into the stupor you found him in.

Setting a steady pace, you all begin the long trek down the side of the mountain. You stay close to Frankie’s horse, eventually taking hold of its reins as Frankie slumps in the saddle.

“Will, hold up,” you call, halting the group, “Joel, take my horse, I need to ride with Frankie.”

Joel’s been riding just in front of Frankie, now he looks back at the pale looking man who seems barely aware of his horse stopping. He’s struggling to keep his eyes open and there’s a sheen of sweat on his skin that, considering how cold it is, shouldn’t be there.

Will gets off his horse too and gives you a hand up on Frankie’s horse. You settle in behind him, taking the reins from him as you wrap an arm around his waist and make him lean back against you.

“I’ve got you, Frankie,” you tell him in a low voice, and he gives you a barely perceptible nod. Will’s got his hand on Frankie’s uninjured leg, and he’s looking worried.

“Don’t let him fall asleep, keep him awake,” he says, and the concern on his face makes you scared. Will is the one who is the most experienced medic, working with his wife Diana in the Jackson clinic, if he’s worried about the state of Frankie, it’s not a good sign. You don’t say anything but meet his eyes and he knows what you’re silently asking, the fear is clear on your face.

“We need to get to shelter fast,” he says, “Just keep him awake.”

You nod and take a steadier hold of Frankie, finding his hand and wrapping your own around his fingers, squeezing them tight.

“Keep holding my hand, Frankie, don’t let go,” you tell him, tucking your chin into his shoulder as you nudge the horse into a walk.

“Never,” he mumbles, and you feel his hand squeeze yours, it’s light, but it’s something and you cling to that as Will leads the group towards the old restaurant.

Wyoming winters days aren’t long, it’s pitch black and late by the time you get to the restaurant. The temperature has dropped and you can feel Frankie shivering under your arms. You squeeze his hand but he doesn’t respond, and you urge the horse forward. There’s enough of you to risk a fire once you’re inside the restaurant, Frankie needs to get warm, there’s no other way.

While Benny and Will clear the restaurant and make sure it’s safe, Tommy helps Frankie off the horse and takes both Joel and Tommy holding him up to get him inside the old, dilapidated building. You bring in the horses and leave them tethered in the spacious foyer and then hurry after the men.

This is a well used safe house for the Jackson patrols so it’s well stocked for any eventualities and the windows have been blacked out. You’ve spent several nights here, even days, when you’ve been caught by a surprise storm in the treacherous Wyoming seasons.

You quickly begin building a fire in the big fireplace at the back of the front room. There’s always a good stack of firewood next to it but only when there’s enough of you to properly guard the place do you risk lighting it. Now you desperately need it, Frankie needs to get warm, get fluids in him to combat the blood loss, get his leg properly cleaned before it gets infected. You’re hoping it’s only the blood loss making him unresponsive, if he’s got a serious infection, you’ll need to get him back to Jackson and you’re not sure he can handle that.

You glance over at where Joel and Tommy have put him down on a mattress on the floor near the fireplace. Honestly, you’re not sure he’d even survive the rest of the ride back to Jackson like this, but you try to shove the thought to the back of your mind. It doesn’t work though, it still sits there, making your hands shake and your eyes burn. Your vision gets blurry as you hastily light the dry logs, tossing more on as the fire roars to life. Putting up the fire guard, you grab Frankie’s mattress and slide it closer to the warmth.

You kneel next to his head and take hold of his hand, squeezing it tightly, “Stay with me, Frankie, come on, you can’t go to sleep yet,” you urge him as you prop him up against your lap. “Benny, he needs fluids, melt plenty of snow over the fire.”

“Sure, I’m on it,” he replies and jogs after Tommy who’s taken up the first guard shift by the entrance.

Will kneels next to Frankie’s leg and starts unraveling the bandage, “I’ve got alcohol to clean it out but I don’t know if the bullet is still in there. I need to check and it won’t be pleasant for him,” he looks up at Joel who’s come over to the fire, “I need the two of you to keep him as still as possible while I check.”

Joel kneels next to Frankie and takes hold of his leg, keeping him steady while you hold his hand. Frankie’s breathing deeply and you can see him steeling himself, this won’t be the first time he’s had to suffer painful first aid out in the field.

Will holds a pair of forceps in the fire for a few seconds and then douses them in alcohol before leaning down over the gunshot wound in Frankie’s thigh.

“Ok, Fish, you know what I have to do and it’s not gonna be pleasant, just keep still for me, ok?”

“Payback for when I pulled that shrapnel from you back in -05?” Frankie snorts weakly and Will chuckles.

“Something like that. Ok, here goes, I’ll be as quick as possible.”

You’re not squeamish around injuries and blood any more, but you can’t watch as Will begins to search for the bullet inside Frankie’s thigh. Instead you look down at Frankie and concentrate on letting him squeeze your hand tight. He’s grinding his teeth, biting back groans as droplets of sweat begin to form on his forehead.

“Stay with me, Frankie,” you mumble, and he looks up at you, his fingernails digging into your palm. You keep your eyes locked on his as you see Will angle the forceps from the corner of your eye, “Just stay with me, baby,” you whisper, squeezing his hand back and he gives you a small nod, the lines deep between his eyebrows.

“I can feel it, I’ve almost got it, Fish,” Will says, and Frankie moans loudly, just as the bullet slides out of his leg. Fresh blood flows out, but Will drops the forceps and quickly presses down with a compress. Frankie is panting hard, taking deep breaths as he curses in Spanish under his breath.

“That’s the worst part done,” Joel says, picking up the bullet, “and it looks like the bullet is whole, no pieces left behind in you.”

“Not the worst part I’m afraid,” Will grimaces, “I’m sorry, Fish, but I have to clean it out with alcohol. You ready?”

“Just get it over with,” Frankie growls, tightening his grip on your hand as Will pours the liquid over the wound. He can’t stop the yell of pain that rips through him and his body trembles.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he roars, slamming his empty fist down onto the floor. You bend down and stroke his forehead, pushing back the damp curls that are plastered to his skin, squeezing his hand tight. He’s sweating bullets now and whimpering as Will wipes around the wound.

“Almost done, baby,” you whisper into his ear, pressing a kiss to his temple. He inhales deeply through his nose, holding his breath as the alcohol burns.

Will puts down the bottle and inspects the wound, “It looks good, Fish, it doesn’t look infected. You’ve lost a lot of blood but you haven’t passed out and the bleeding has stopped. We need to get plenty of fluid in you, Benny’s melting snow so you need to keep drinking. We’ll get some food in you too and then you should get a good night’s sleep with your girl, and you’ll feel better tomorrow. We’ll see if we can ride back, or if we need to stick it out one more day.”

Frankie nods, relaxing his grip on your hand, and you carefully flex it behind your back. You’re pretty sure he’s bruised it, but you won’t say anything.

“Thanks, Will,” he mutters, leaning back against you, and sighing deeply, “some water would be great, I’m fucking parched.”

“I’ve got ya, Fish,” Benny says and hands him a canteen, “And I’ve got dinner heating up, I’ll bring you a bowl when it’s done.”

Frankie nods as he guzzles the water, gasping as he comes up for air.

Joel gives Frankie a clap on the shoulder and goes to check on Tommy as Will cleans off the forceps and packs it away.

“Let me check your other cuts, give them a clean” he says to Frankie, “ and then I’ll check on you too,” he looks over at you and points to your split lip that’s swollen and bruised.

Frankie only sighs and puts down the canteen, letting Will tilt his head towards the light of the fire.

“So what happened?” he asks as he dabs alcohol on the cut above Frankie’s eyebrow, the one that’s caused his eye to swell shut.

“Everything looked normal when we got to the resort, nothing out of place. The gate was locked as usual,” Frankie says, “Then the storm hit and we got snowed in but we still took turns keeping watch. The plan was to leave on the third day once the storm cleared. The third night, I took the first watch, then Gunnar took over half way through the night. The next thing I know, I woke up with a gun pressed to my head.”

“They killed Gunnar straight away?” Will asks and Frankie nods.

“Yeah, they must’ve caught him unawares, I never heard any gunshots. They dragged me out and showed me his body, told me they’d kill me too if I didn’t tell them where we’d come from. When I didn’t tell them, they beat me up, and then shot my leg.”

You tighten your grip on his hand, and he feels it, giving you a small smile and squeezing your hand back.

“It’s ok, cariño, you got to me in time, I knew you would.”

“I was worried when you didn’t come back after the storm,” you say, “I made Joel come out with me because Will, Benny and Tommy had already left.”

“Yeah, how come you guys showed up?” Frankie asks Will just as Benny drops down beside you with two steaming bowls of what looks like camp stew.

“Drink more water and eat this,” he interrupts, shoving the bowl into Frankie’s hand. He takes it and gives Benny a grateful nod. Will moves over to you, and starts dabbing alcohol on your cuts.

“The settlement we went out to check on, they’d been attacked,” he says, “and we found a couple of survivors who said they were headed to Willard’s Rest, so we left a few guards behind and headed over there. Just as we approached, we saw a group of them ride off towards the resort. Tommy, Benny and I tracked them, the others stayed at Willard’s to take care of the rest of them.”

“Joel and I took down six of them when we got there,” you say, “but as we were getting Frankie out, the rest of them showed up. They threw dynamite into the building and nearly took it down. It was lucky you showed up when you did.”

“We had a bad feeling when we saw where they were heading,” Will replies, “We knew Frankie and Gunnar had gone up there before the storm.”

“So that was the last of them, at the resort?” Frankie asks between mouthfuls of stew.

“Hopefully,” Will says, “We’ll find out more from the rest of the patrol when we get back to Jackson,” he replies, getting to his feet, “Listen, we’ll talk more tomorrow, I need you to eat and then drink the rest of that canteen and then sleep. You’re gonna feel like shit with the blood loss for a while so get as much rest and energy as you can.”

“Alright, Ironhead,” Frankie says, giving Will a sloppy salute that makes the tall blonde smirk and shake his head.

“If he’s cracking jokes, he’s feeling better, take care of him, hermana,” he tells you, “make him sleep.”

Benny follows Will and you set down your empty bowl, handing Frankie the canteen of water. He downs the rest of it and then lies back as you get your sleeping bags, thankful that Tommy thought to grab Frankie’s bag from the resort. Zipping them together you help Frankie wiggle into it as he curses at the pain from his leg.

When he’s comfortable you curl up next to his good side and rest your head on his chest. Underneath your ear you can hear his heartbeat. It’s faster than normal, racing as his body struggles to cope with the blood loss, but at least it’s strong and steady now. Frankie puts his arm around your back and pulls you closer as you rest your hand on his waist.

“You scared me, Frankie,” you mumble, “I almost-”

“Sshh…” Frankie whispers, his hand caressing your back, his large palm warming you, “Don’t think about ‘the almost’, I’m here, you found me and you got me out.”

You nod against his chest, but your mind is still racing.

“I wish…” you begin, but trail off and Frankie moves his head to look down at you.

“What do you wish, cariño?” he asks softly.

You sigh, trying to control the tears that are burning your eyes, but you can’t suppress the small sob that escapes.

Frankie immediately shifts, wincing slightly, and wraps both arms around you, one hand cupping your cheek as his thumb rubs across your skin.

“Talk to me, hermosa,” he whispers, gently kissing at the tears that are slipping down your cheek.

“I…I wish…I wish this whole thing was just a bad dream, that it didn’t happen,” you murmur as Frankie continues to caress your cheek.

“The patrols are always a risk,” he says gently, “But it’s what keeps Jackson safe.”

“I don’t mean just this, I mean all of it, the outbreak, the infection, all of it,” you say, your voice shaky as you lean into his warm hand, “I miss our life before this, it was so short, I wish we could’ve had a normal life together.”

Tears well up faster as your mind gets stuck on the image of the house you’d signed for just before the outbreak, all the plans you had for it, the pool, a hammock, barbecue in the backyard, painting Lucia’s room, Frankie making rough sketches of the bed frame he was going to build.

“Cariño…” Frankie whispers, hugging you closer as he kisses your forehead, “I miss all of that too, I miss Lucia every day, I miss all the memories we never got to make together, with her, and just you and me, I miss it all the time,” he leans back a little so that he can look at you, tear stained and red eyed, “But I’ve told you before, I’ll take any life with you, and if it means I have to live through the apocalypse, so be it. You and Jack are the only ones that matter. ”

“I wish we could’ve had a proper wedding,” you mumble, closing your eyes as Frankie tucks you in closer to him, his hand finding the back of your head and lightly caressing your hair, “In our new house back in Arlington, get Will do make that pork shoulder he did at Denny’s cabin.”

“I know, bebita,” Frankie says in a low voice, “I wish we could’ve had that too.”

You listen to his heartbeat as he continues to stroke your hair. After a few minutes his hand goes still and you hear his breathing even out as he falls asleep. It takes you longer to get your mind to shut down, the image of Frankie strung up in the basement, head hanging heavy between his shoulders, fills your vision when you close your eyes. The fear you felt in that moment, those few seconds when you didn’t know if he was alive or not, it seems to grip your heart even though he’s safe with you now. You hate how tenuous your grip on life is now, and how used to it you’ve become. You both go on patrols regularly, and although you’re still worried when he’s gone, and you know he’s worried about you, over the years the risk of something happening seems to have diminished. Or maybe you’ve been lucky. And then this happens, and suddenly the fragility of your life with Frankie and Jack is thrown into stark relief. You came so very close to losing Frankie this time, and the fear that has simmered down during the safe years in Jackson comes back with full force.

With a sigh you bury your head against his neck, breathing him in, as he mutters something in his sleep and tightens his hold on you. He honestly reeks of sweat and blood, but you don’t care, he’s alive and warm underneath you and that’s all that matters. You try to memorize this feeling, his smell, his heartbeat and arms around you. One day he’ll be gone, or you’ll be gone, and then you want to remember this, being safe in his arms as he sleeps peacefully next to you.

Part 2

#frankie morales #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales fanfiction #the last of us fanfiction #joel miller

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