#forget how comfy i am here n how nice it is to be surrounded by a diverse group of people also just. goin abt their lives y'know

[sapsolais]

💫

[solastia]

The Dragon’s Lair - 7

- SEOKJIN’S POV -

Pairing: Kim Namjoon x F!Reader (although she’s kinda OC now huh?)

A/N: Kinda on the short side, I apologize. But I wanted us to get a quick peek into Jin’s side of things and where his mind is. Any guesses on who his mate might be? ;) 

*****

He wasn’t sure what had woken him up. The house was silent beyond Namjoon’s snores that he could hear coming through the old walls. He waited a few seconds to see if he could hear anything else or catch a scent, but it was all clear. There was just something pricking at his mind - something making his instincts go wild. He’d blame the fact that he was in a new house but this wasn’t a new feeling. 

It had begun when his ride here had traveled past the sea. He’d gotten a whiff of fresh ocean air and his fur had instantly bristled up. His claws had lengthened involuntarily and he’d had to exercise every scrap of self-control he possessed so he wouldn’t leap out of the moving vehicle and run full-shift towards whatever that scent had been. 

Seokjin groans and cracks open his eyes, still heavy with sleep. He might as well take a trip to the bathroom while he was already awake. He yawns and forces himself out of the comfy bed, scratching his belly sleepily. Even now, the scent was clear to him. There had been the smell of the ocean, yes, but...something else. Something other like him. 

The realistic part of Seokjin’s brain said maybe his exotic side had simply found a scent it liked and that’s that. But when he allowed himself to be more fanciful, like now when it was three am and he was still half asleep, he listened to the Sphinx screaming, “mate, mate, MATE!,” and he didn’t hate the idea. 

He’d been alone for so very long that it sounded like a dream. A fairytale ending for his Cinderella story. 

Not that Namjoon was any sort of evil stepsister, nor his mate that exuded naivety and goodness from every pore. If anything, he knew that he was particularly blessed to have Heechul hyung looking out for him and talking this human into taking him in. He would have dealt with having to be in the shelter again, but quite honestly he was too old to do well there. He was a grown Sphinx used to independence and being at the top of his hierarchy. 

He finishes in the bathroom and sighs heartily, deciding sleep was going to be impossible now. Might as well help himself to the kitchen. He shuffled quietly there and peeked inside the fridge, horrified once again by the contents. How have these two been keeping alive? The fridge only contained very basic ingredients like eggs and milk, a bottle of soy sauce, and not a single vegetable in sight. 

He settles for making a couple of fried eggs, using them to top off the bowl of instant rice he pilfered from the cupboards. He gives it all a splash of soy sauce so it’s not completely flavorless and sits at the kitchen table, eating his little meal slowly. 

It always seemed like nights were harder for some reason. Like the dark vastness of the sky reminded him of how empty his life had become - of how much he missed his parents. 

He’d seriously lucked out when the two had walked into the shelter all those years ago. He’d been a bit older than the usual desired age for hybrid adoptions so he hadn’t expected much when Heechul had escorted the couple towards the exotic section. He’d stayed in his corner of the room playing his video game, but he’d kept an eye on them as they smiled and shook hands with all the desperate little ones crowding them. They seemed genuinely nice, with smiles that lit up their eyes and the man always making his wife laugh. 

When they finally got close enough, Seokjin greedily scented the air, thinking if he ever had someone pick him he hoped they smelled as good as these two. The man - though obviously old for a human - smelled strong and healthy. Faint hints of cigar smoke and old books clung to him almost as much as his mate’s scent did. And his mate - the wife - smelled exactly how Seokjin had always thought a mother would. A light hint of expensive perfume couldn’t cloud the endorphins that were coming off of her in waves from being surrounded by the little ones. She was older too - perhaps younger than her husband by no more than a handful of years - but she too seemed to be in good health. She smelled so comforting to Seokjin that he stopped paying attention to his game and let his little avatar get killed three times in a row as he glued his eyes on the woman. 

Heechul actually herded the pair towards him and he set down his controller and bowed formally, wanting to make a good impression despite the fact that he knew they would never pick him. He’d thought they’d merely shake his hand and move on, but the man had kept asking him questions about his hobbies and what he wanted to do when he grew up. The woman kept staring at him with her hand held to her chest like she’d been shocked by something. 

It wasn’t until a half-hour later when Heechul had called him into his office with the pair that he realized she’d decided she wanted him. A mere few minutes and she’d decided she was his mother and no one else’s. “You’re so handsome I fell in love at first sight, my Jinnie,” she’d always say. 

He’d had nineteen wonderful years with them before pneumonia took them both within days of each other. Nineteen years filled with happiness and laughter with two of the most loving people he’d ever met. He missed his routines with them - the fishing every weekend with his dad, cooking with his mom, the Sundays all three of them would sit around with face masks and watch movies. 

When they’d passed away, his heart had broken. He’d known it was inevitable - they were both getting old and frail - but he’d thought he’d have just a little more time with them. After the funeral, he waited with bated breath for someone to storm in and drag him off to be put down somewhere. When nothing had happened, he’d grown steadily more careless, often forgetting he wasn’t supposed to be on his own with the big house and vast wealth. He’d carried on with his life like he knew his parents would have wanted him to. He kept going to med school since his dad had pulled so many strings to let him attend, he tried going on dates that never went anywhere, he hung out with his friends whenever he had the time. Life went on. 

Trying to stop the robber had been stupid of him - he knew that now. He should have just let the man get away and then never reported him so he’d be left alone...but once he spied his mother’s favorite pearls in the man’s hand he’d lost his shit. He’d fully shifted, letting his wings out and knocking over a couple of vases with their width, and his nails expanded until finally he’d roared and the robber had screamed and thrown the nearest item at his head in his rush to escape. Unfortunately, that item had been his mother’s bird statue that was made entirely of gold, so he’d been knocked out cold. His friend had found him after he hadn’t shown up to their gaming session and called the police and an ambulance, where they took his blood and found out that he was a hybrid with deceased owners and proceeded to shove him in the nearest pound while they contacted his mother’s very distant cousin. 

He’d never even gotten to meet this so-called cousin before the fat lawyer that smelled like fried chicken rushed him out of his own home, making him leave behind even the belongings that were his. He had no idea what use the cousin had for his manga or video game collection. Let alone the used sports jerseys or his hamper full of dirty clothes. 

Thankfully Heechul existed and he’d been able to contact his old caregiver before he was sent to the state center. He knew that place was a death sentence. And now here he was, in a strange home with barely anything besides his small suitcase. He missed his dad. He missed his mom. He missed feeling loved and hopeful for the future. He missed the way his dad always knew what to do. He missed the way his mom would brush his mane and groom his feathers while she sang. 

Seokjin cleared his throat and swiped at his suddenly wet cheek. He hadn’t even realized he’d been crying. He shook his head and went to the sink to wash his dishes, heading back to his room when he finished for another sleepless night. 

****

Life in the ‘Dragon’s Lair’ (as he’d taken to calling it, despite said dragon’s constant eye-rolling) began to take on a new normal the longer he was there. Days began to blend into each other as he struggled to adjust himself to his new reality, but Namjoon and his mate were a great help. 

Luckily, his tuition had been prepaid by his father and the cousin had no way of taking his education away from him, so he still took his classes - albeit mostly online because he wanted to stay in his room most of the time. 

Money was thankfully of no immediate issue. There was more money in the book than he’d felt comfortable sharing with anyone, enough that he could still go years without a job if he needed to. He also knew that if he needed it, he could always ask Heechul for help, although the other would make him work in the cafe for it. He might do it anyway just for something to do. 

Namjoon and his mate were simply wonderful. His old friend had grown up into a great person who was sweet and intelligent, good to the people he cared about, and strong in ways that he probably wasn’t even aware of. His mate Star was just as good. She was funny and kind, with just enough sass to be interesting. And they were both sickeningly in love with each other to the point that Seokjin had to leave the house quite often to get some peace. Not that it upset him - he was incredibly happy for Namjoon. It just sometimes emphasizes how alone he was. 

But yes, Star was great. There was just...something about her. Something that drew him to her. Not in a sexual or attraction kind of way...more like - primal. Like the animal side of him saw her as a protector. Which, he supposed she kinda was since she was housing exotic hybrids, but still. He couldn’t figure it out. He was certain she was completely human, but sometimes underneath the frankly nauseating amount of reptile musk that she was constantly covered with, he could catch hints of the forest in her natural scent. Sure, there was a forest nearby, but why would the scent cling to her like that? There was something there and luckily for him, there was nothing he enjoyed more than a good riddle. 

Beyond that, there was still one other pressing issue. His mate. 

He knew they were out there. He knew he’d caught their scent. When he’d passed the sea he’d been certain they were there. He just needed to find them. He didn’t want them to be alone too. 

“Jin, we’re about to head to the mall. Do you want to come shopping with us? The weather’s clearing up and I promised Namjoon we’d go to the ocean,” Star asked with a bright smile as he exited his room. 

“The ocean?” he responded, his brain halting for a second. Fate was working her magic, was she? 

“Yeah, he’s been wanting to go for a while but it’s been too cold. I thought we’d rent a small beach house and spend the weekend. So you’ll need swim trunks and towels, stuff like that. If you’d rather stay here, that’s fine too. It’s up to you.” 

“No,” he rushed, feeling his ears go red with embarrassment as he let his eagerness show. “It’s fine. I’d love to go.” 

“Great!” Star grinned, threading an arm with his as she leads him out to the yard. “We’ll have so much fun!” 

He nods silently, his nose trying in vain to catch that salty scent on the air again. 

I’m coming. Just wait for me. 

[elleclairez]

Cassian x reader - Cas is your mate, but he doesn’t know it yet

I finally wrote it! I am so sorry for the wait and thank you so much for your patience. The last month and a half were a bit crazy and I didn’t have much inspiration. I hope you like it! 

Request: Can I request for cassian where the reader knows he’s her mate but cass doesn’t and he goes around flirting with nesta, hurting his mate without knowing and azriel notices that she’s hurting and comforts her, until cassian realizes and makes it up? 💙

The night was quiet. Not a dead quiet but a peaceful one. Which clearly was a nice change after all the horrors that we've been through. The war is over and yet you couldn't feel happy. At least not completely. Yes, you were happy that your friends, no, family, was safe. Happy that the bloodshed and the pain are over. But no matter how much you tried to fight it, the sadness in your heart wouldn't leave.  

You couldn't bear it. Couldn't bear to see your mate flirting and following Nesta like a lost puppy.  Especially tonight.

The Inner Court decided to throw a party to celebrate the end of the war. Everyone wanted to at least for a night forget about the nightmares of the past. You, yourself, wanted to have fun, get drunk with your cousins Mor and Rhys, maybe even annoy Amren to tease her. But all of those plans went down hills the moment you saw Cassian practically beg Nesta to dance with him.

You couldn't bear it, not tonight.

Which is why you found yourself on the huge balcony of the Wind House, staring at the beautiful city of Velaris that you've called home for more than a few centuries now. No matter how sad you were, you couldn't deny the beauty of the city you grew up in.

You considered yourself lucky, you, unlike your friends, grew up in a loving family. Your father, brother of the late High Lord, was very much unlike his family, he was like his sister-in-law (Rhys's mother), a dreamer. Which led him to fall a similar soul, a woman from the Autumn Court. They both fell in love, found out that they were mates, flew to Velaris and had you. They knew the price for their happiness, not everyone understood their way of thinking, and unfortunately, your father paid the price, he gave his life protecting yours and your mother's. You loved her dearly, but since his death, your relationship wasn't what it used to be but you were always by each other's side. And while you chose to live a life full of adventures with the Inner Circle, she chose to live a peaceful life in the Summer Court, something that you respected and even agreed to. She went through way too much and deserved some peace. But no matter how much time has passed you always remembered how in love your parents were and you always dreamed to have that one day. But unfortunately, fate had other plans and while the love of your life, your mate, was clearly having fun with the woman that he adored, you, on the other hand, were silently trying to stop yourself from crying.

The Mother did have a strange sense of humour, you thought. You were in love with a man who was in love with a woman who was in love with... Books maybe?

Your sad thoughts were interrupted by the presence of a not so sneaky shadowsinger. No matter how hard the Illyrian male tried to sneak up on you, he never could.

"I thought sulking in the shadows was my job." Started Azriel. You and Az were always the closest, actually, you already called each other "Platonic soulmates" (even though you were very drunk when it happened). Some people even thought that you were mates, but those rumors were shut down immediately. As was also the only one who knew about your mate's identity, and even though he told thousands of times to admit to Cas everything he still respected your decision and stayed by your side every time you weren't feeling good.

"Sorry, but tonight I'm stealing it." AZ chuckled at your response, but quickly stopped when he saw your longing stare. A stare that was clearly looking at Cassian and Nesta bickering and everyone was laughing at them... Actually, two persons weren't...

"Rhys and Feyre know." Az said as if reading your mind. "Rhys already had doubts, but they were confirmed when the Suriel decided to show up during one of their getaways and tell them everything." Explained Az while trying to decipher your face.

"What a gossiper. Remind me to beat his ass if I see him one day." You weren't sure if shock was good enough to describe how you felt right now. If Rhys suspected then it could mean that anyone else could and you certainly weren't ready for Cas to know about all of this.

"Very well." A comforting silence fell and you stayed like that for a few minutes until Az decided to break it. "I am the last person that you should listen when it comes to love, but I think you should tell him. But then again, it is up to you, I'll be there for you no matter what." He said with a smile and surprisingly hugged you, something quite unusual for Az.

"Thank you Az. I'll think about it." You answered truthfully while hugging back your best friend.

Little did you know that back inside the house, a not so drunk Cas watched you two angrily, Nesta long forgotten. For a few minutes Cassian couldn't quite understand where that anger came from until suddenly, it clicked, you were his mate. And at that moment the Illyrian male couldn't be happier, secretly he always hoped that you two could be mates, but centuries passed and nothing, so he decided to try to move on and keep you out of his mind by distracting himself with other women.

But with happiness came anger. Seeing you in the arms of another man, even his brother (best friend technically, but more like a brother),  made him furious. He knew he had no right to be jealous, especially since he himself was running after Nesta like a puppy, but he couldn't help himself.

A few hours late, you found yourself back in your flat, makeup off, comfy clothes on, a nice book in your hands. Everything felt peaceful and then someone knocked at your door.

You swear if it's a drunk Mor, you will murder her.

Much to your surprise when you opened the door you didn't see a wasted Mor but a very sober Cassian. You couldn't understand what was he doing here and you didn't even try to hide your shock.

Seeing your expression Cas quickly started talking before he could start getting scared of you rejecting him and him being left broken-hearted.

"You are my mate."

You were too shocked to even comprehend what he was saying. You couldn't form words, your brain was literally exploding. Taking all your willpower in your hands in put on a serious face and said.

"I see that Nesta rejected you again. Didn't know that you would get that drunk because of it that you'd start imagining things." You didn't want him to know. Yes, you wanted to be with him, more than anything in the world, but not if another woman was in his heart at the same time.

"What?! No! I am not drunk and no she didn't reject me! I mean, yes she did but it doesn't matter because we're mates!" And before you could object Cassian put his hands on your cheeks so that you would at each other right in the eyes, he was so close that you feel his breathing on your face. It was silent for a few seconds and then Cas took a deep breath and whispered. "Y/N I have loved since the moment I met you. The moment I saw you, walking side by side with Rhys I knew that one day you would mine and I would be yours. Never could I ever imagine that you would love me, let alone be my mate, so I decided to move on, keep you out of my head but it never worked.  No matter who I spent time with, deep i my heart, I would always think of you and tonight seeing you in Az's arms, when the bond clicked I told myself that I will stop being an idiot and that I will finally win you over. And that one day I could call you mine, my mate and you could do just the same. Y/N I am yours like it or not and I hope that one day you will let me call you mine." By the end of his speech both of you had tears running down your cheeks and the only thing that you could think about was how much you loved the man.

A few minutes has passed with him still holding your face and you his arms. Complete silence surrounded you with only your heart beats as sounds.

Then at one moment a wide smile grew on your face and you uttered.

"You are so lucky that I am the only good cook in the Inner Circle. I was thinking of cooking something right now, what do you think?"

At your words Cassian smiled like he never did before and took you in his arms causing him to lit you in the air and the finally kissing you.

The two of you couldn't happier. You have finally found each other. You were finally together and no one to get in between the two of you.

The next morning the whole Velaris could hear Mor's angry shouts at how was she not aware that her friend and cousin were actually mates. Those shouts were then soon followed by Rhys's laugh who quickly became silent when his cousin sent a shoe at his face for keeping that information to himself and his mate. It's a good thing that she doesn't know that Az was the first who knew.

[wonderland-in-bloom]

the battle for a princess pt.1

[dorm leaders x reader]

@selfinsertheaven asked: Yaaaaaaay I've been waiting for this!!!! If it's not too much to ask, could I get a oneshot of the House Leaders falling for female reader who's basically a Disney princess (kind, gentle, can sing really nice, the works) and them trying to make her fall for them/compete for her heart. Thank you so much I absolutely adore your writing!!

wooop i’m always up for a challenge [^v^] and also thank you!

♡

HEADMASTER crowley was baffled to feel the tension building up in the air. all seven dorm leaders were gathered in the mirror chamber for a usual dorm leader meeting, but something was just off about today. no one started talking, not even azul. crowley noticed that every either avoided eye contact with each other, or they would glare daggers at each other. “OKAY EVERYONE, WHAT’S GOING ON?!” all the seven dorm leaders flinched, but no one answered. 

“nothing. now then let’s get this meeting started.” azul just snapped. the meeting was awkward and unlike usual when they would get off topic and actually talk to each other, no one branched off. not so much as talk. crowley sighed and just facepalmed. teenagers. “that’s all.” azul mentioned. “WHAT?! IT’S ONLY BEEN FIVE MINUTES!” crowley almost fell back in his chair. “there’s nothing else to discuss. now may i please be excused from this room filled with...these people.” crowley sighed but nodded. all the dorm leaders left. that was awkward. he wondered what that was all about. all the dorm leaders branched off to go in different directions but they had one place to go to. and that was to you. yes. all seven of the dorm leaders were head over heels for you. is that a good thing? is that a bad thing? no one knows. the boys found you in the courtyard, sitting in a bench alone. a ray of sunshine shone perfectly on your face and illuminated all of your perfectly sculpted features. 

alright, this is the perfect chance for me to go her they all thought, but before even making a step forward out of their hiding places, a small petite figure stepped out. someone all too familiar for vil. “(y/n)-chan.” you turned your head around to see a smiling epel walking towards you, books in hand. “yes epel, what do you need help with?” you tucked a strand of hair behind your ears and all the seven dorm leaders died. how perfect were you? you were like a literal princess. epel took a seat next to you and you two started working. this fact didn’t sit well with vil. he was jealous of epel. how could he, a mere first year, spend time with you, and he, the dorm leader, didn’t? just like a telepathic signal, rook came out of nowhere and vil tugged on his collar. “rook, please be a dear and make sure epel comes back to the dorm. under. all. circumstances.” a bead of sweat trickled down rook’s forehead. “o-oui! you’re the boss! boss!” vil practically pushed rook out there to the ‘battle zone’ and he started walking towards you and epel. “bonjour mon amie! epel!” sparkles managed to surround rook as he said this. “urgh, what are you doing here?” epel shot at him. rook clutched his heart dramatically. “why it’s simple! i’m here because-”

“oooh (y/n) i love that nail polish shade on you. where did you get it?” and thus rook was distracted from his main task. vil groaned and decided to go over there himself and stop the both of them. “you two!” he shouted. rook and epel jumped to meet the horrifying figure of their dorm leader. rook’s sweat was now flowing like a waterfall. after all, he did forget to do the task given by his boss. “ehehe...” he chuckled. vil just stomped and flipped his silky blonde hair. “aren’t you two supposed to be in the pomefiore dorms right now?” epel raised an eyebrow. “eh but theres-” vil shushed him. “no excuses. pomefiore dorm. now.” epel rolled his eyes and quietly muttered a yes mom and rook just did as he was told. “vil, maybe you should be a bit nicer to those two you know.” you spoke in a gentle tone. “i’m sorry love.” he took this opportunity to sit down in the now empty spot of the bench beside you. “you look stunning today, as always.” he bent down and kissed you hand. the other six dorm leaders were noticing this and began to either clench their fists or started prepping their magic pens. “would you care to join me tonight in the pomefiore dorms? i would love you to try out a new shade of lip tint i formulated.” you chuckled. “really? i don’t think i’m that type of girl...besides i don’t look pretty enough for the part.” vil took both your hands in his. “what nonsense! you are one of the most beautiful people i’ve ever set my eyes on.” 

kalim didn’t like to hear this the most. he wanted to bring you on a magic carpet ride later tonight and show you some of his most favorite sights! his eyes sparkled when he saw jamil walking towards you and vil. obviously ruining your moment. “sorry for the intrusion, (y/n), prefect schoenheit. but have you seen kalim anywhere? he has an ‘important’ delivery for him.” kalim came out from behind a bush and started walking to the three of them. “ahaha! jamil perfect timing!” vil furrowed his eyebrows. ah, so this was kalim’s plan. “i must go take care of other matters. (y/n), do you accept my invitation?” you nodded. “of course vil! anything for you.” you smiled making his heart melt and it honestly brightened up his whole day. he cleared his throat and excused himself, but secretly cussed at kalim while walking away. “so listen (y/n), i ordered some brand new magic carpets and they just arrived! they’re all exclusive and limited edition!” jamil sighed and wanted to fall to the floor. that’s his delivery?! he already had more than 100 magic carpets. “so i was thinking...want to try them out with me tomorrow night?!” he cheered, anticipating for your answer. “it sounds fun! sure!” you giggled. “i’ll make sure you won’t fall.” he joked. jamil just sighed at his pathetic excuse of being a flirt. he dragged kalim by the collar and started dragging him away. “SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT (Y/N)!” kalim waved to you as he was practically being choked by his own collar while being dragged away by jamil. 

leona saw this as a perfect opportunity to capture his prey. he backed away from the wall and headed towards you. you were immersed in a book while sitting down on the bench and leona just slumped next to you. he slung his arm around you and rested his head on your shoulder. “hah~sleepy again hm?” you smiled at his figure and brushed your hand against his cheek. you were too kind for your own good. am i in heaven? leona thought to himself. you rested your head against his own against your shoulder as you continued reading. it was comfy indeed. “LEEEEEEOOOONAAAA-SAN!” leona woke up from his short slumber. no. NO. NO. ruggie used his unique magic on leona and made him stand up. “there you are!” he scolded. “senpai, there’s the annual savanaclaw training today.” jack added. “tsk. piss off you two.” he tried to turn away but forgot he was under control ruggie’s unique magic. “there’ll be none of that. come on already!” ruggie started walking away and leona followed. damn that sneaky bastard’s magic. leona groaned to himself. well a moment with you was better than nothing. you were baffled by the three dorm leaders coming to you in such a short time. you shrugged it off and continued reading before being interrupted by screams. “OH NO! THIS IS BAD THIS IS BAD!” 

ace and deuce came running to you. “(y/n)-chan! one of the hedgehogs are sick! they need tending to!” with your love for animals and knowledge on how to take care of them properly, you stood up hurriedly and your motherly instincts kicked it. “take me to them!” riddle chuckled to himself as this was the perfect opportunity for him to get closer to you in the heartslabyul dorm. he used his magic to transport himself to the heartslabyul gardens to where the hedgehogs are. riddle held the sick hedgehogs in his hands and waited for you to arrive. “riddle-kun!” you exclaimed and rushed by his side. “shh, shhh. it’s okay little one.” he cooed. “want to help me take care of him, (y/n)?” 

what you and riddle both failed to realize, was that the three remaining dorm leaders had a plan up their sleeves. 

♡

yeets part one done! okay so this fic basically just involves everyone lolol. 

love, a♕

[broadwayandnetflix]

Pick Me Up - Bill Hader x Reader

Theme: Fluff, with some Angst

Warnings: Language, Use of Alcohol

Summary: Bill wakes up in the early hours of the morning with a request to pick up a rather drunken you.

Word Count: 2.4k

A/N: I started this ages ago, I still really dig some of my word usage in this fic. Once again, Maggie Carey and Bill will not be married in this fic. Thanks for dealing with my sporadic fic posting.

It was just supposed to be one drink. Even if you could remember that rule, you were pissed off and needed to forget everything for a while. Just enough for the alcohol to slip into your system and make you feel somewhat fixed for the night.

Except one drink became two, and three, and soon five. I think it’s important to note that you were an incredible lightweight when handling alcohol.

Usually, you’d have a friend by your side, but this bar wasn’t that far of a walk from your apartment. It would almost be quite the resource, but you rarely tended to turn to drink.

Except that is, until you found out that your boyfriend of five years cheated on you. You were crushed, obviously, but you had almost seen this coming. Or maybe you didn’t; it just didn’t seem impossible for him to pull this act on you.

After booking a job as a cast member on the thirty-eighth season of Saturday Night Live, you often found yourself becoming busier than you had ever been. You would frequently come home late and not have enough time for your partner as you had imagined.

Except, Justin had been so understanding. Why wouldn’t he? He was a surgeon at Lenox Hill and would always take night shifts to keep things afloat.

He was charming, kind, and always knew how to surprise you. You could still picture your future wedding and marriage so vividly; he was the man of your dreams, but was he really?

He probably wasn’t when you had found him fucking a random girl senseless in your shared bedroom. That’s beside the point, everything felt floaty and fuzzy, and the bartender looked concerned.

“Want me to call someone for you?” she suggested as she leaned against the counter. One hand flipping a pen, the other sneaking up to the phone beside her on the wall.

Justi-no, just no, you stopped yourself quickly.

You swallowed carefully, looking at her with an emotion swirling within you that you couldn’t quite place. She cocked an eyebrow, just waiting for your answer to flop into her fingertips.

“His name is, um, he’s a friend. Just a friend, yeah, sure. Okay, hmph. His number is-,”

—

He had just gotten to bed finally, or so he had thought, almost perfecting not focusing on the way his breathing was lulling him to sleep. It was way too late for this anyway; he would definitely make a pick me up at the local joe’s the next morning.

That was until he heard a faint buzzing come from his bedside table; he rubbed his eyes with annoyance. At this hour, who the hell was disrupting him was his first thought, that was until he saw an odd number.

Seth had always told him not to accept calls like these, but something didn’t sit right. Hopefully, he was wrong; it could very well be someone ‘butt-dialing’ him.

“Hello?” damn, he sounded gruff, was this new?

“Hi, I’m here with Y/N; she’s currently here with me at April’s Brewery on 16 W 51st street. It’s getting rather late, and we are closing up soon. She said I should call you, Bill, right?” she confirmed, the information twisting around in his drowsy mind.

“Oh, um, yeah, I am. Is Y/N, okay? I mean, yeah, I’m coming as soon as possible.” he stammered, hanging up before she could even speak, rushing out the door, and calling forth a taxicab.

Why did Y/N pick him of all people? He was him, and you were well you! He didn’t even think you were even that close, well, maybe you were. Things between you and him were pretty nice; you could make him laugh like no other. You made his days better, even if it was with something small and not that big in retrospect.

Except then again, wasn’t this Jus-whoever’s job? Your boyfriend’s job to pick you up? Why were you even drinking in the first place? He had many questions.

The cab pulled to a halt, and he paid the necessary change. Giving the driver a tight-lipped smile, he hopped out and made his way into the destination he was given.

The bar looked reasonably deserted at this point. Still, there you sat looking absolutely crushed, or what appeared that way, nursing what seemed to be a glass of something that didn’t quite look like water. Lost in some conversation with the women who he assumed had called him, her eyes catching him in what looked to be a sense of relief.

She had whispered something to you, but instantly you poked your head up. Immediately locking eyes with him, you pulled yourself up, an excited grin dashing upon your lips.

“You came, oh Billy!” you squealed, rushing over to him before slipping, his arms rushing over to hold you up.

Billy? he thought with much amusement and, of course, concern.

“Woah Y/N, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this...” he drew on his words, your head tilting in confusion. 

“I’ve never seen you this drunk,” he admitted finally only to have you burst into a fit of giggles.

“Oh, Billy, you are so fucking funny. Do you know that? You make me laugh so much, like a crazy amount. God, you are so cute!” His eyes widened. Were you cheating? No, no, he couldn’t do this.

“Y/N, sweetie.” he began while sliding the bartender a couple twenties, leading you out the door. Steering the two of you to a nearby pocket of space between the bar and a convenience store.

“You have a boyfriend, I sincerely hope you didn’t forget,” he stated only to see you deflate at the thought.

“No, not anymore, or at least I don’t think so.” you cried the tears coming down faster than he could’ve imagined.

Wait, really? He sure as hell didn’t see this coming; you two had been together for what had appeared to be a long time. Judging by your conversations at work, things seemed to be fine between you two, rusty, but okay.

You shifted your feet, looking anywhere but him, he gulped, taking hold of your quivering hands that tugged at each finger anxiously. Eyes widening, you looked up at him, something settling in your eyes that he couldn’t quite process.

He smiled softly, lifting up his thumb to wipe away your tear stained cheeks. That’s what friends did, right? You sniffed, pulling back a little farther.

“I don’t think I can go back home tonight; Justin cheated on me with someone from his work.” you huffed, feeling everything come back at full swing.

“Oh Y/N/N, come here,” he whispered, beckoning you into his arms. It absolutely crushed him to see you so....broken.

Slowly but surely, you fell into his arms and sobbed quietly. His hands rubbing soothing circles onto your back, whispering sweet nothings to you. Anything to help, god, he hoped he was helping.

“God, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” you choked out after a while, clearing your throat and pulling away from him.

His eyes darting between yours and the way your hands twitched anxiously. The sky now a deep violet speckled in navy clouds, stars peeking out from the city fog to illuminate your surroundings. The neon lights of the convenience store sitting behind you showing just how late it was. The way it hit you all at once, lighting up the way your cheeks were stained from your tears.

He had never really had a chance to tell you how beautiful you were. It wasn’t even like he was trying to start trouble; you just were.

Whether it was in weekly meetings, bright and early, the buzz of the day settling into the cast. He’d notice it, the way your lips curved into that gorgeous grin you always seemed to carry on you. The way you did your hair, how it complimented your features so effortlessly. How your eyes would filter in appreciation of everyone in the room, how you’d stop shortly at his. The crinkle in your eyes, a smile beaming at him, offering a little wink.

Mornings with you were never dull, or at least that’s what he thought. He always knew you were out of his reach, so his heart stayed far from him, like a buoy sinking up and back down into the waves of his consciousness, always there but never willing to commit.

Even now, in your current state, he was in awe of your beauty. Yet, it wasn’t polite to stare, and he had to make sure that you’d get some sleep and a cup of water and painkillers by your side the next morning.

“I have a spare bedroom. Honestly, it’s way too late, and I don’t mind it.” Bill gestured, trying to focus on any signs of protest that could erupt from you.

“O-okay,” you whispered in agreement, rubbing your eyes as fatigue started to settle in. A motion that Bill definitely didn’t miss while he looked you up and down.

He gave a toothy grin before motioning you to follow him, standing before the bustling streets of Manhattan. Even at night, cars buzzed and honked past at moderate speeds. His hand outstretched to catch the attention of taxis, one hand reaching out to take ahold of yours.

It felt nice when he touched your little hands slip into his somewhat larger grasp; it felt normal almost. God, he was such a freak, you just got cheated on. You were just friends, nothing else. Get it together, Hader.

A car pulled close to the curb, and within seconds the two of you settled in. He gave the address and buckled in. You looked rather comfy with your face smudged against the cab window.

He smiled softly, as slowly but surely, you fell asleep. The city blurring around the two of you, bright lights and street signs becoming one. He always admired New York City at night, the way it never really stopped moving. Despite the early hours of the morning, people still bustled amongst the streets.

It was still fairly early into his departure of Saturday Night Live; his face was familiar, but not quite famous like his other costars. He could walk the streets with ease and get stopped only a few times. He didn’t know how long it’d last, but he enjoyed the sense of invisibility he carried.

You, however, were admired by many. Bill could remember your first few days on set, those who were not married or dating setting bets on you. Hader often scoffed at the idea of winning your heart amongst his coworkers, you were a constellation, and he was light-years away. That is until you mentioned that you were dating some doctor, and the competition died down.

Yet every now and then, his stomach would grow a flutter, and his cheeks would blush when you’d lay your head on his shoulder, a familiar friendly feat you’d perform after long hours in 30 Rock. He hated that he crushed someone who was taken; he never once stopped hating himself for that.

The car halted to a stop, Hader’s apartment complex sitting right outside. He eyed the cash monitor for the second time that night. In an instant, he paid the acceptable amount, tipping the driver for good measure. Almost standing up before remembering how you had fallen asleep against the window.

He huffed anxiously, wondering how on earth he would do this. The driver was obviously tired and not pleased with the hold-up between his departure towards his own comfy mattress. Grabbing his stuff, he slipped out of his side before going around to opening your door.

Your figure slumping towards the pavement before he scooped you up in his arms. Internally cursing himself if you were to wake up, and want him to rid you of himself at once. Instead, you peeked one eye open, his body heaving anxiously. Y/E/C peeking up at him in dazed confusion, before murmuring something and nuzzling deeper into his hold.

It was a skill that he hadn’t perfected, getting someone into his house, without making much noise. Not to mention the fact that you were asleep in his arms, chest rising in perfect rhythm. He nudged the cab door closed and made his way up to his apartment door. Victoriously managing to slide his hand out from underneath you and into opening his front door.

Slipping into the building, he quietly kicked the door closed behind him. You only stirred, which promptly stopped him dead in his tracks, before continuing on towards the spare bedroom he owned.

Gently he laid you down onto the bed, your body curling up at the contact of the comfortable mattress. He smiled before digging around to place a blanket over you, fitting it, so you were well adjusted to sleeping.

His heart heavy and mind slowly beginning to beg for sleep, his feet padding towards the door of the guest bedroom. That is until he heard a rustle and a soft murmur escape your lips.

“What was that, Y/N? Did you say something?” he wondered aloud, his eyes trying to adjust towards the room now blanketed in darkness.

“It’s-just, I’m not used to sleeping alone anymore, you know? I’m so tired, though, could you stay until I fall asleep?” you admitted softly, playing with the sheet covers on top of you.

Bill’s eyes widened into the size of saucers; he didn’t see this coming. He shook his head before quickly nodding in your direction; you yawned without much thought and laid back, dozing off.

He stood there absolutely puzzled on what to do, except stare, which was definitely not inappropriate whatsoever. His eyes darting anywhere in the room, but you, he focused on an old rocking chair that his mother gave him when he first moved in.

It looked comfy enough. It would do, if that’s what you wanted, that’s what a friend would do. God, he hoped that’s what a friend would do in this case scenario.

The chair creaked noisily, and he cringed every single time until you stirred once again, thrusting your hand upward into the air. He sat puzzledly until your finger flicked up and down to signal him to join you.

He gulped, “please, Bill, just for tonight?” you said with a slight whimper.

Timidly he shoved the covers outward to create space, sliding into the bed, stiff as aboard. You couldn’t help but murmur something sleepily before rolling over beside him.

He froze, but he couldn’t stay awake forever. Your head now resting upon his chest, curling into his side, you smelled nice. He let you stay put before trying to get situated himself, sleep soon beginning to overtake him.

Friends totally did this, yep, of course, they did, Bill.

[franklyshipping]

Cyber-Flustering ~ A Markiplier and Jacksepticeye Ego Fanfic

HERE WE HAVE ANOTHER WONDERFUL AND JAZZY ANONYMOUS PROMPT WITH OUR FAVOURITE GLITCHY BOY HECKIN GETTING IT! LET’S DO THIS!

TAGGING: @anti-switch-glitch and @googlee-oliver

This was it for Anti. He had five minutes. Five minutes left to figure out who was doing this to him. Three weeks ago, someone had set up an Instagram account. Anti knew it had to be an ego, because only someone he lived with could have gotten the videos and pictures that ended up being posted. Pictures of him smiling or mid-sneeze or interacting with Gab’s cat, and videos of him snort-laughing or giggling or crafting with Robbie or napping with three blankets wrapped around him. And everything was captioned with something calling out how cute he was being…..and in the bio of the account, was a message directly to him. Anti blushed as he looked at his phone, re-reading the bio for the millionth time.

“Hey Anti! I’m sure this account documenting all your cutest moments is flustering enough for you….but let’s take it up a level, shall we? If in three weeks to the day you still haven’t figured out who I am….then I’m going to find you, and tickle you on a lovely livestream for aaall the followers of this account to see! That’ll round off the content nicely, don’t you think? Can’t wait to see if you find me out or not, good luck!”

Anti tossed his phone on his bed and buried his face in his hands, whining as a flustered smile spread across his face. In the first week of the account being up he’d been like Sherlock Holmes, trying to analyse every single ego out of embarrassment at the world seeing all this content. However, he soon came to realise that the account was only letting fellow egos follow it and see the content, which made Anti feel far better about it. Also, as the days continued to go by…..though it was all still flustering, Anti at the same time felt more loved than he’d ever felt before. Not just from the complimentary captions, but the comments from the other egos were so….kind and sweet. He didn’t feel belittled or mocked, he just felt surrounded by love.

So, in the third week especially….Anti had kinda stopped trying to figure out who the person was. Frankly, the thought of being tickled with the egos as an audience made him kinda excited, especially with how he knew they all cared about him and still respected him and his strength whilst he still liked things like tickling. So Anti was now just waiting….and soon enough, the time flicked to 8pm…...and he got a message on Instagram….from the account itself. He nibbled his lip as he opened it and read it.

“Uh oh, looks like your time is up! If I’m honest, I’m glad that this is the outcome…..now, come to the main living room, it’s time for our little livestream!”

Anti gulped, but took a breath and hurriedly replied.

“I’m on my way.”

Thus, he got up, and headed to the living room….and as soon as he crossed the threshold, he got chills down his spine. The lights were dimmed, the main couch was very obviously set up with a pillow, and there was a phone set up on a tripod….already streaming. Anti tentatively walked in front of the camera, glancing at the screen, before looking around and calling out.

‘Alright….I-I’m here, you win….who are ya?’

Anti gulped when he suddenly heard a little giggle from the darkness….but NOTHING could have prepared him for who actually stepped out of the shadows. Anti gawked, gobsmacked as he looked the person up and down, before whispering in disbelief.

‘…..O-Oliver?’

The kind-hearted, sweet android with golden eyes giggled and grinned, his tongue poking out through his teeth as he sauntered to Anti, cooing to him.

‘Hey there GlitchyKitchy.’

Anti blushed….the damned name of the account was flustering enough by itself. Anti was astonished. Out of everyone that it could have been, Oliver was the literally the LAST person he would ever have suspected doing anything like this! It was so mischievous and sneaky, and now all Anti wanted to know was why the heck Oliver decided to take it upon himself to start this teasy vendetta against him.

‘I-I….I-….I-I don’t understand….why?’

Oliver grinned fondly at Anti. It was true, mischief and secrecy weren’t things that came naturally to Oliver, and he had to muster up some courage and determination to actually do all this….but he had a very compelling reason driving him. A reason which he now revealed to Anti with a sweet, affectionate smile.

‘Well…..almost everyday people tell me I’m sweet, or cute, or adorable. And every time I hear something like that it always just….lifts me up. It gives me butterflies, no matter how hard a day I’m having, hearing stuff like that from people makes me so happy. I wanted you to feel that too, because I think you deserve it.’

Anti blinked. He was just….lost for words. Oliver did this, made a secret account and spent all that time and effort collating flustering pictures and videos of him….just to try and make him happy? The usually wild man was struck silent with bashfulness, because this was literally the kindest, sweetest thing that anybody had ever done for him…..ever. Oliver’s internal processors whirred and warmed affectionately at seeing Anti be so struck and bashful and happy, and Oliver was so happy that he’d done this for the guy, because Oliver knew that behind the knife-play and wildness….Anti was a good person who deserved sweet attention like everyone else. Oliver went up to him, and Anti shivered at the android’s gentle smirk.

‘Now then, why don’t you have a little lie down?’

Anti nibbled his lip as he glanced to the couch, before clearing his throat and replying challengingly.

‘And if I don’t?’

Oliver giggled. It was a sweet sound, but it gave Anti chills, especially with what Oliver said next.

‘Oh Anti, don’t forget that I’m an android. I am just as strong as my brothers, and I could make you lie down with only one hand if I really wanted to. I want to be nice to you Anti….do you want me to be nice to you?’

Anti got more chills. He never thought he’d see the day where Oliver, the sweetest of them all, made him feel flustered and intimidated. Anti nibbled his lip lightly, before averting his gaze with a nervous smile.

‘Y-Yeah….I guess….’

‘Good, now get yourself comfy!’

Anti bashfully lay down on the couch on his back, squirming as he get comfortable, trying to school himself and at least make it look like he had at least SOME resolve to be working with. Alas, this was foiled when Oliver sat on the edge of the couch and gasped brightly as he gestured to the livestream.

‘Oh look, there’s so many people watching already! Everyone must reeeally wanna see you get tickled Anti.’

Anti ended up smiling a shaky smile and letting out a quiet whine as he look anywhere he could except for the livestream. It was a noise which the ordinary person probably wouldn’t hear, but with Oliver being a Google, he heard it alright. The first cute noise of many. Oliver giggled, wasting no more time as he straddled Anti’s legs and kept Anti’s arms pinned beneath his knees, and Anti let him, because he knew that Oliver was the one with the power here. The squirming man let out another quiet whine as Oliver lightly cracked his knuckles, before waggling his eyebrows and wiggling his fingers in the air playfully.

‘Oh where oh where to tickle first! You’ve got so many sweet spots to choose from!’

Anti pursed his lips as he retorted embarrassedly.

‘I-I do not!’

Oliver raised an eyebrow as he giggled affectionately.

‘Oh yeah? You sure about that? Because I’ve already spied two cute lil tickle spots riiight….here!’

Anti gasped and yelped as Oliver reached and started gently scratching behind his (small, elf-like and adorable) ears, and the poor guy just burst into jittery giggles. Oliver felt like he was going to melt, because Anti’s natural non-maniacal giggles were the sweetest things ever.

‘AGH! N-Nahahat gehehet ahahaway!’

Oliver grinned at his cute protests, and kept softly scratching as he cooed.

‘Awww but your little ears are so cuuute, I can’t not tickle them! Plus, these are your consequences for not figuring out who I was.’

Anti kept giggling as he tossed his head about, but nothing could dislodge the gentle tickling. So, through pinker cheeks and splutters, Anti tried a threat out for size.

‘I-Ihihihi’ll b-bihihite yohohou!’

Oliver giggled at the threat, because when it came from someone consumed by bouncy giggles it didn’t exactly fill Oliver with fear. On the contrary, it gave him some inspiration. Allow me to present to you, the biggest backfire in tickling history.

‘Not if I bite you first!’

Oliver purred, before eagerly diving down and nibbling the shell of one of Anti’s ears, making him squeal in ticklish shock and kick his feet at the new, evil sensation. His giggles reached a much higher pitch too, and he realised that he’d literally just brought that on himself.

‘Nahahaha ohohoho my gahahahad!!’

‘Mmmmm nummyyy!’

Oliver hummed, making Anti squeak more and blush harder as the goofy android made the silliest nomming noises that he possibly could as he nibbled all over Anti’s ear. The fact that Oliver was being so silly rather than sinister with his tickling affected Anti more, it made him giddier. Usually if someone tried to intimidate im amidst tickling, it hardened his resolve because he could bite back, but with silliness it just turned him into happy mush.

‘S-Stahahahap wihihith the nohohohisehes yohou gohohoof!!’

‘But I can’t help it! It’s in my programing to make noises when I eat!’

Oliver retorted to Anti’s exclamation, making Anti snort and shake his head at this absolute gooby goofer of an android.

‘Thahahat ihihihis suhuhuch buhuhullshit!’

Oliver gasped. Oh he was NOT having that kind of language!

‘Hey! Don’t be so rude!’

Oliver nipped right behind Anti’s ear, making Anti yelp and jerk his head to the side adorably as he exclaimed VERY quickly.

‘Ohohohokahay okAHAY! Ihihi’m sohohorry!’

Oliver giggled, and leant up because he was always nice at heart, and he ruffled Anti’s already messy hair gently as he replied.

‘Apology accepted! Now then, where to tickle next?’

Oliver started tapping his chin in thought as his eyes flicked down over Anti’s body, which made the man squirm in adorable anticipation. You know when a tickler is looking all over your body, trying to decide where to go, and it feels like you’re being scanned? Well, this time it was literal, which made it all the more flustering for Anti because he knew Oliver could see ever little nerve in his body. Oliver giggled amusedly at Anti’s restlessness.

‘Yohou’re such a cute lil wriggler!’

Anti pursed his lips, and ended up letting out a half-growl half-whine sort of noise as he replied.

‘O-Only cuz you’re t-teasin’!’

Oliver giggled again, before beaming brightly as he replied.

‘Ahaawww I’m sorry, would you rather I just got on with it? Okey dokey! Let’s try these ribs shall we?’

Anti spluttered at the sudden shift, which meant he couldn’t prepare any defence as Oliver’s fingers darted to his ribcage, scratching light and fast in the most diabolical way. Anti was a mess of cackles in seconds, arching his back as he babbled.

‘NAHAHA NAHA W-WAHAHAIT OHOHLIII!’

Oliver put on a mock innocent expression, cocking his head down at Anti like butter wouldn’t freakin’ melt.

‘But you wanted me to just get on with it didn’t you?’

Anti whined through his cackles, and as he tried to retort, Oliver picked that moment to spontaneously pinch his uppermost ribs. Let’s just say that as a result, Anti didn’t get across everything that he wanted to say.

‘IHIHI NEHEHEVER SAHAHAID-EEEK!’

‘Never said what? Sorry bud, I don’t think even my sensors could catch that!’

Oliver replied with a teasy giggle, and decided to keep pinching the new sweet spots which had Anti thrashing and yipping amidst his open mouthed cackling fit. He was so flustered and giddy and loving how playful the tickling was, he’d never admit it obviously, but he was loving it none the less, despite his faux protests.

‘NAHAHAT THEHEHERE NAHAT THEHEHEEEERE!’

Oliver grinned fondly, and lean down nice and close to him so he could croon as he kept tickling him.

‘Awww this is another sweet spot isn’t it? Riiight at the top of the ribbies!’

‘OHOHOHOLIHI C’MOHOHOON!’

Anti wailed at the teasing, which made Oliver hum down at him with playful nonchalance.

‘Well, where is it you’d rather I tickle?’

Anti’s blush was creeping down his neck now, and he threw his head back with all his mind-swirling flusteredness as he exclaimed cutely.

‘IHIHIHI DUHUHUNNOHOOO!’

Oliver couldn’t keep the grin off his face now, Anti was just too endearing and perfect not to constantly smile at. Oliver kept up the tickling as he subtly glanced over Anti’s body again….before spying that Anti’s t-shirt had had ridden up, thus exposing a rather precious little button. Oliver chuckled, before cocking his head at Anti.

‘Are you sure you want me to stop tickling your ribs?’

Amidst his mirth, Anti hadn’t noticed Oliver’s little ploy, and he didn’t think….he just nodded.

‘YESYESYESYESYEHEHEHES!’

‘Okey dokey!’

Oliver let up with a bright smile, and let Anti gasp and pant for a few moments, since he was a sweet tickler like that. Anti was relieved for the time Oli gave him to get his breath back, and he slowly refocused on the android….but then his eyes widened as he watched where Oliver was headed. The android had shifted a little further down, and now had his lips hovering over Anti’s bellybutton. The poor glitch was speechless, which allowed Oliver to grin, wink, and then blow a rippling raspberry right onto his navel. Anti just absolutely screamed with laughter.

‘AAAAAHHHHHHH!!! OHOHOHOLIHIHIHAHAHAHA!!!’

Oliver gasped in amazement at Anti’s strong reaction, and eagerly blew another raspberry to make Anti shriek before he teased.

‘How’s this Anti? Do you like this better? I think I do!’

Anti was shrieking with wild laughter, kicking his legs and arching his back sharply at each raspberry, and the poor man as just becoming more and more incoherent by the second.

‘OLIHIHIHIIIII IHIHIHIT TIHIHIHICKAHAHAHA!!!’

‘Wohoah, it must really tickle if you can’t finish your words! I’m so glad I did this, you look like you’re having lots of fun!’

Of course, despite how mad and intense it was, this was the truth. Anti was loving the hell out of every tickly and torturous second, and in all honesty this was probably going to end up being the highlight of Anti’s whole freakin’ month.

‘SHUHUHUHUT UHUHUHUHAHAHA!!!’

Oliver giggled, and nuzzled his nose into Anti’s navel as he cooed.

‘Oops, did I fluster you a lil bit there?’

Anti had tears in his eyes as he writhed about…..before his laughter went silent. Oliver smiled fondly and leant up, having mercy properly now because he could see that Anti had taken as much as he could take. The android carefully released Anti’s arms as the man panted and caught his breath, but then Oliver’s felt his heart-core swell when Anti grinned up at him and spoke amidst giggles.

‘Yohou….ahare the mohost mischiehevous cute person….Ihi’ve ever mehet….oho jeez….’

Anti hugged his middle, rubbing it as Oliver beamed bashfully, before replying brightly.

‘Well I could say the same about you!’

Anti giggled, and smiled when Oliver helped him sit up, as well as promptly giving him a loving cuddle. Then though, Anti’s blush bloomed once more when Oliver turned to the still-going livestream, and he hid his face in his hands when he suddenly remembered that every ego had been watching all of that. He whined as Oliver grinned and addressed it.

‘Well, I think we can all agree that this was pretty freakin’ cute! Now, if any of you guys wanna give our trooper here a cuddle then you’d better get down here quick before I take over!’

Anti snorted and giggled embarrassedly at first…but then, he nearly got new tears in his eyes when he suddenly heard sounds of stampeding, hurrying footsteps throughout the whole of the manor. Anti smiled, and Oliver grinned, satisfied that he’d completed his mission…..because Anti definitely felt happy, and oh so loved.

WOOOO HOPE YOU ALL LIKED THIS FIC LEMME KNOW IF YA DID WOOOO LUV YOUS XX

[sunnydaisy1]

Flights Delayed

SAM WILSON X READER

A/N: why is this not my life??? I love Sam and this beautiful human being who sent in this request. I loved it and couldn’t wait to post this piece. Hope you like it :)

REQUEST: I saw your call for Sam Wilson requests on your arts and crafts fic, which was excellent by the way, and I thought I might send one in! How about reader as an avenger who either can’t make it home for Christmas, or doesn’t have a home to go to. And Sam stays with them at the compound and they stay up watching Christmas movies, until reader falls asleep on his shoulder. I’m a sucker for some Christmas fluff! ❣️🎄🎁 - Anon

You thanked Happy as you climbed out the car, pulling out your suitcase and shutting the door. You giddely walked towards the airport entrance, finding the right area for Terminal 2. This Christmas you were staying with your family for the first time in 2 years. You couldn't wait to arrive home and feel the familiar comfort of your childhood home and forget about the stress and panic of the world for a few days. Soon, you found the waiting area for flight 227 and sat down amongst many awaiting adults, eager to go home to see their families. You checked the flight board, smiling at the green notices saying all flights were on time and that yours left in 35 minutes. Pulling out your phone from your puffer jacket, you noticed that you had a notification from the groupchat you shared with Nat, Sam, Steve and Bucky called SPYKIDS. Sam: hope your flight is good y/n, have a nice christmas x Steve: gonna miss you at the compound :) Nat: enjoy the break lovely xx Bucky: Sam is waiting for you to reply Y/N i can see him checking his phone every 30 seconds. Sam: am not Steve: liar Sam: shut up Bucky: dont be rude sammy Sam: I hate it when you call me that and you know it 😑 Nat: not when y/n says it you don't Steve: ....exposed ☕ Sam: wish id never said anything now 🤦‍ Nat: hehe You chuckled and sent back a text Y/N: thanks guys haha, have a lovely christmas sammy x You clicked on spotify and opened some music up, putting in your headphones to pass the time. Around 10 minutes later you noticed a lot of people were starting to talk louder and there was a bit of commotion. You turned round to see where everyone was looking and your heart dropped. Snow. It was fricking snowing outside. Normally you would have been ecstatic at the sight of snow at Christmas, but right now it only meant one thing. Delayed flights. You glanced up at the flight board and saw only one flight had been delayed. Crossing your fingers and praying to any power there may be, you sat down in your chair and searched the weather on your phone. Just 10 minutes later, the airport was chaos central. Almost all flights had been delayed and the frustration of tired people was rising. You had been flicking between the glass windows which looked out over the runways and showed you the increasing precipitation to the flight board. Your flight hadn't been classified as delayed yet and you could sense everyone around you was waiting with baited breath at whether it would change to delayed. You shifted in your seat and watched with utter sadness and irritation as the letters next to your flight number switched to state DELAYED. You groaned alongside the other awaiting passengers, just hoping for a miracle so the snow would clear up soon. This frustration unfortunately didn't fade away and as the minutes passed by, you felt a christmas surrounded by family slowly drifiting away. The snow was falling heavier now and you dreaded looking at the flight board, knowing the glaring orange letters would not ease the tension in the atmosphere. You glanced down at your phone, seeing it had been over an hour since your flight was meant to have left. A sudden speaker crackled and everyone looked up in hope, "We thank everyone for waiting patiently for information on their flights. Unfortunately, the snow has not cleared and the runways are becoming increasingly dangerous. It is expected that their condition will not improve so we must regrettably inform you that all flights scheduled for today have been cancelled. Our staff will be happy to help you find temporary accommodation and we will continue to update you on flight statuses. Thankyou." At once, the airport exploded into an uproar and angry passengers stormed towards the information desks. Your heart sunk as the flight board wiped out to display all cancellations. How were you meant to arrive home in time for Christmas now? You didn't want to spend christmas eve at an airport. Tears threatened to fall from your blurry eyes as your perfect christmas slipped away. You sniffled a little and unlocked your phone, deciding that texting your mum was best. You explained the situation and you got an instant reply, stating she was incredibly sorry and that they would all miss you tomorrow. You arranged with her to fly home on the 27th so you could still spend some of the holiday with your family. Sitting back in your seat, you looked around at the mania of tired passengers and wondered what you were going to do now. You had no clue if anyone was even staying at the compound over Christmas. Racking your brain for someone to call, you decided Tony would be the best as he would know everyone's wearabouts. He picked up after the second ring: 'Hey kid, everything okay?' he asked, concern in his voice. 'Urh no not really, all flights today have been cancelled and I don't know where to go.' You replied, trying not to burst into tears. 'Oh Y/N im so sorry. I can get someone to pick you up and drive you to ours if you want, I'm sure Morgan and Pepper would love to spend Christmas with you.' You sighed at Tony's kindness but the least you wanted to do was intrude on their private time and plus, the drive would take at least 8 hours in this weather now. 'That's really sweet but the roads are jammed Tony. Is anyone staying at the compound?' 'Yeah, Sam is currently there now and Steve and Bucky are going over tomorrow.' Tony replied and you sighed in relief. 'Okay thanks, I think I'll stay there with them.' 'Okay kiddo, call me if there's anything you need.' 'Will do, merry christmas Tony." "Merry Christmas y/n." You hung up on Tony and searched for Sam's contact, clicking on it and hearing it ring a few times before his gravelly voice came through. "Y/N i thought your flight had left?" He asked and you rubbed your forehead, a headache weeding itself into your brain, "Uh no, all flights have been cancelled because of the snow." At once, you heard Sam get up and his voice fill with concern, "Love I'm so sorry, I'm coming to pick you up now." You nod and sniffle, "Okay, thanks Sammy." "No worries, I'll be there as soon as I can."He replied. You picked your stuff up, heading for the terminal exit to wait in the pick up area. You sunk down into one of the padded seats, closing your eyes and leaning back against the wall. God you hoped Sam would arrive soon. Sam walked into the pick up waiting room, scanning the huge crowd for your familiar body. He weaved in and out of people until he spotted your defeated frame, slumped in a chair. His heart sunk at your sniffling and tear-stained cheeks. "Oh love I'm here." He said as he squatted down in front of you. You opened your eyes to see his face, brows furrowed. "Sorry for being a pain." Your hoarse voice croaked out. "Nonsense. Let's get you home." Sam replied, wrapping an arm around you and carrying your bag and suitcase despite your attempts to stop him. You shivered as you exited the building into the nipping air and Sam pulled you closer, heart breaking at your shivering form. He took you over to the car and opened the passenger side, letting you slide in before shutting it and placing your luggage in the back. He climbed into the drivers side and turned the engine on, wanting nothing more than to pull you into his lap and hug you whilst you cried. But, that would cross over the boundary that clearly defined your relationship as 'Just Friends' so he had to make do with holding your hand across the console. After a while, you stopped crying and your body had relaxed into the warmth of the car, easing your throbbing head. You softly spoke to Sam, "Thankyou for coming to get me, I know this isn't how you wanted to spend your Christmas Eve." Sam chuckled and rubbed his thumb over your hand, "Its alright love, driving home a snotty girl definitely wins over watching another of Steve's movies." You laughed slightly, greatful for Sam's attempts to cheer you up. Sam beamed as he glanced at you, "how does me and you and some Christmas movies with a shit ton of food sound to cheer you up?" You smiled and looked at Sam, "that sounds lovely." When you had arrived back at the compound, Sam had told you to go and get showered and change into comfy pyjamas whilst he got some food ready and you couldn't muster the strength to disagree when that sounded perfect. You walked into your room, freshly clad in a pair of warm joggers and an oversized tshirt, feeling a lot more relaxed about the situation, knowing a Christmas spent with 3 of your favourite people would be amazing and that you would see your family very soon. Sam knocked on your door when you were finding a pair of fluffy socks, one of his hoodies in hand. "Thought you might want one of these, I know you steal my hoodies when you think I'm not looking." You felt heat rise to your face, embarassed but taking the hoodie none the less, knowing the cozy fabric and relaxing smell would calm you. "Thanks." You replied, making Sam grin. "Foods ready, where did you want to have it?" He asked, watching you tug the hoodie on. "Oh uh if you don't mind my bed is looking really inviting right now." You replied, tugging on the ends of the hoodie's arms. "Sure thing." Sam winked at you before walking in the direction of the kitchen. Your heart fluttered at the gesture and you shook the thoughts out of your head as you scooted under your bed covers and sat up against one side of the headboard. Not 5 minutes later, Sam returned, quesadillas and popcorn in hand, grinning at your swamped form in the bed. "Oh you're a godsend." You said as he handed you a plate of your favourite food. Sam chuckled and placed the popcorn on the bedside table. "Do you still want me to join you or do you want to be left alone?" He asked considerately and your stomach jumped at how sweet he could be. "No there's room for you, scoot over here Sammy." He grinned and clambered in bed next to you, his own plate of quesadillas resting on the duvet covering his lap. "So what will it be Elf or the Holiday?" You asked Sam, mouth already full of cheesy goodness. "I don't mind." He said, watching you with so much adoration on his face that if Bucky or Nat had seen him they would have shipped him off to a deserted island so they didn't throw up at the sickening love radiating off him. "the Holiday it will be then. I'm in the mood for some Jude Law." You giggled, taking another bite of quesadilla and grinning at Sam. You continued to watch the movie together, finishing your food and somehow migrating towards each other while sharing popcorn, both of you excusing it as needing to be closer to share the bowl. You were gradually growing more tired, struggling to keep your eyes open as the rollercoaster of emotions you had experienced today had wiped the energy out of you. Sam tensed when he felt your head rest on his shoulder but relaxed when he saw your dozey gaze watching the TV. His body filled with warmth at this moment you were sharing and he dared to put an arm around you, pulling you closer to him so your head was now resting on his chest. He feared he had overstepped the boundary but you made no complaint and placed your hand beside your head on his chest. A small smile flickered across your face as you snuggled into Sam, his warmth washing over you and making you even more tired. Sam watched the credits for the movie roll out and was about to speak to you when he noticed your eyes were closed and your breathing had regulated out. His heart flipped at your sleeping form and he brushed the hair out of your face, turning the TV off and moving to get up. Your hand tightened on his sweatshirt though and a soft grumble came from you, "Dont leave." You mumbled, holding onto Sam. He nodded and scooched down in the bed so you were both comfortably laying down, "Night love." He said, stroking your back soothingly, "Night Sammy." You whispered, falling back asleep. You woke up, surprisingly warm and went to stretch when you felt a hard object in your bed. Your eyelids flickered open to reveal a softly sleeping Sam sprawled out onto your bed, your legs entangled. He looked so peaceful asleep, the creases that often littered his face due to worry smoothed out and leaving him looking even more heavenly. You smiled and went to get up, suddenly feeling an arm tighten around your waist and pull you towards Sam. "Where do you think you're going love?" He murmered, voice deep and laced with sleep. Your heart pounded and you looked at Sam who still hadn't bothered to open his eyes. "It's Christmas morning Sammy." You said, laying with his arm draped over your stomach. "Exactly- Buck and Steve won't arrive for another 3 hours yet so we can cuddle for longer." Sam replied, eyes opening to look at you, a smile cheekily spreading onto his face. "What-no-" You started, not understanding Sam's reasoning at all. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on you, moving so he was closer to you as he was lying on his front. "Just shut up and cuddle me." He said, smirking as he already nuzzled into your side more. You gave up, knowing you really didn't want to pass up the free offer to cuddle your favourite avenger for a bit longer. Maybe Christmas without your family wouldn't be so bad after all.

[calm-and-wine]

Down the Line

Sooo..... I wrote a thing for @1dffchallenges but since the challenge is not happening anymore, I’ve decided to share it here. It is the first piece of writing I’m sharing with anyone, so please, if you have any feedback, I’d love to hear it!

It’s a Niall one-shot, quite sweet and fluffy, so if you’re in a mood for something cute, it might be the perfect read! And let’s be honest, we all need a bit of sunshine in our lives these days.

The biggest thank you to @verorax​ for being a wonderful beta and not only giving me feedback, but helping me correct any mistakes and overall making sure it sounds alright, thanks for your time, you’re the best, Rory!

Without further ado… here it is, hope you enjoy! ~~~

“Oh. That wasn’t supposed to happen,” was what Lucy thought right after waking up and feeling nothing but cold air on the other side of the bed. It was supposed to be filled with her snoring boyfriend. Niall practically never wakes up before her, unless he absolutely has to. But today he doesn’t, she’s sure about that. It's Wednesday, the only day when her training didn't start at unholy hours; at least that’s what Niall considers any time before noon. So it’s the day they’ve been spending their mornings together for the past month, since he’s been working on his new album and she was preparing for a new season. They usually spend those Wednesday mornings either staying in bed for as long as they could, or having breakfast, just the two of them and enjoying those little moments together. That’s how their relationship works after all, taking advantage of every minute they can spend in each other’s company.

She finally opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was a rose on the other pillow. There wasn’t a sign of Niall, but there was a flower and a little note in his place. She reached for the piece of paper with one hand while knuckling at her eyes to wake herself up.

Early meeting, forgot to tell you yesterday. Have a good day. N x

To be completely honest, she was really surprised he managed not to wake her up when he was leaving. Niall in the morning was usually the most clumsy person on earth, tripping over his own feet and letting out a curse every other word. She put down the note and got her phone from the nightstand sending a quick text to Niall.

it’s no fun waking up without you :(

She scrolled through her social media for a bit, waiting for his reply, but when it didn’t come in the next five minutes she put her phone down, stretched her limbs a bit and got up. Because she had quite a bit of time before she had to actually get ready and leave the house, she grabbed Niall’s sweater that was lying folded on the chair and went downstairs. It was scary sometimes how homely she felt in Niall’s house. They weren’t living together, she had a flat in the other part of London that she shared with her cousin, Mia, but the truth was she spent most of her time in London right here. Niall asked her to move in with him once, however that was over a year ago and she wasn’t ready back then. She loved him, she’s been crazy about this boy from the very beginning, but living with someone was a big deal for her, and yes, even back then she kept some stuff at his place and perhaps spent more nights in his bed than she should. But moving in was a different level of relationships and even though she was absolutely committed to Niall, she was not ready for that step. Not back then at least. Her phone buzzed in her hand when she was halfway down the stairs.

it’s no fun waking up early ;(  have a great day, love!

Niall had this easiness of making her smile with the tiniest things he did or said. It was a true gift and one of the million things she loved about him. She continued walking without responding to message in order to avoid disturbing him during the meeting. However, she stopped in the kitchen doorway, as her eyes landed on a bouquet of the most colorful flowers she has ever seen right at the centre of the kitchen island. And placed alongside it was a paper bag from her favourite bakery. When she stepped closer to smell the flowers, she saw a little envelope propped by the vase.

Wanted to get you coffee as well, but it would have been cold already. Sorry for missing our morning, will make it up to you later. Love you, see you at home. N xx

She was pretty sure her cheeks started burning. It was quite normal for Niall to drop a little note for her or bring her coffee or her favourite tea, but this was more than normal. And just the fact that he’s done all that bright and early in the morning was a bit out of character. She opened the bag and grabbed a croissant, biting into the delicious pastry and typing on her phone.

What’s with all the nice things? are you preparing me for some bad news?

Hahahaha no! just being nice and trying to make up for leaving you alone. sorry for being the best boyfriend in the world ;p

He really was, she couldn’t even imagine a better guy to share a life with. Of course, he wasn’t perfect, but somehow his imperfections might just be the things she adored the most. Like how he stole her tennis socks all the time, especially for his own workouts, because they were “softer and just way more comfy”, even though they are just normal sporty socks. But it’s okay, because sometimes she steals his cute colorful ones as well. She didn’t want perfect, she wanted real. And that’s what Niall was to his core, real and honest. He was an open book and that’s what he wanted from her as well. That was actually the cause of their first ever fight, back in the day. Because she wasn’t used to sharing her feelings and talking like that. It’s not that she had a huge problem with it, she just got used to keeping things for herself and bottling up most of her feelings. She led quite a lonely life; since she was a kid her life was spent on court and on the road - she went to school, but didn’t really have time to hang out with other kids. Of course there were other people around her age on tour, but tennis is a bit of a lonely sport and she was mostly surrounded by adults, people who worked with her and she never wanted to bother them. She was rather doubtful they would be interested in her teenage girl problems. And that’s just how it stayed. She had friends, but they weren’t that type of close friends that you feel comfortable sharing personal things with. Niall never pushed her to share something she wasn’t comfortable with, he simply showed her that it’s easier to work through things together and not carry a burden on your own shoulders. That’s just what he did, he taught her stuff, he changed the way she looked at a lot of things. Her life was not the same since Niall Horan came into it. But she was not going to boost his ego and tell him all that, so she just wrote back a quick “love you” and made herself some coffee.

~~~

Lucy hated pre-season with passion. It was the worst time of the year. And the fact that it started a few weeks before Christmas was just as cruel. Pre-season was the time where she had to work the hardest, it felt like training after training followed by even more training. And then when Christmas came around she felt guilty for eating even one thing that she shouldn’t. Wednesdays were a bit easier than the rest of the week, because she started later and had a shorter training routine. She had just finished her gym circuit, meaning it was time for lunch. She would then discuss the strategy on court, plan out her schedule for the upcoming season and work out ways she can improve her game. Following that she would go on court and have a proper practise, which is definitely her favourite part, and then another gym session, a quick one this time until she would finally be free.

She was on her way to the locker room, when Gabby, the receptionist at the sport centre that she trained at, called her out.

“There was a delivery for you literally two minutes ago.” She said giving her a take-out box with the logo of the restaurant where she usually had her lunch.

“Ummm thanks? But they don’t do delivery?” She knew that because she was always complaining about having to put her coat on and walk there all sweaty, which often caused her to catch a bit of a cold.

“I don’t know, love. This girl came in, said it’s for you, it was all paid for, so I just took it.” Gabby shrugged her shoulders.

“Ok, thank you.” Lucy smiled at the girl. Gabby was around her age, she’s been working at the centre for almost two years now and she was a pleasure to be around, always asking how the training was going on and even talking about some of the matches she played.

She had a feeling she knew exactly who got her lunch. She didn’t know who he asked to deliver this, but Niall was most often on the receiving end of her complains and apparently he actually listened to her whine. She was not even surprised by the nice things at this point, because she also found another bouquet of flowers in her locker when she arrived here. However, she had no idea why he was doing all of this today out of all the days. Sure, he never really needed an excuse to do nice things for her, but it was usually just one surprise, not one after the other like today. It wasn’t her birthday, it was not their anniversary… There were no more notes coming with the gifts, so she decided to text him.

Do you feel that bad for leaving me this morning? One bouquet of flowers would be enough, baby. Or am I forgetting of some special occasion?

Nope, just want to treat you well today. Enjoy your lunch and the rest of training! ;)

Yup, he was definitely up to something. He was not, however, going to tell her anything about it.

~~~

Coming home, Lucy was simply excited to see Niall. It maybe was a bit weird that ‘coming home’ meant Niall’s place. She didn’t live there, yet there wasn’t even a question of going to her own flat, it was just obvious between the two of them that that’s where they’ll see each other and spend their evening together. The last time she was at her flat was actually four days ago and she didn’t even spend the night there.

The light was on downstairs and there was no doubt her boyfriend was home. She barely made it inside and put her training bag down when he appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen. Lucy stopped dead in her tracks, one shoe still on her foot, looking at the guy before her with wide eyes.

Niall was wearing suit pants and a white shirt. It was not an outfit she saw him in very often. He wore nice pants and shirts quite a lot lately, especially to promo or concerts, but not like that. This was extra classy. Everything about it felt weird, he had a habit of changing into sweatpants right after going through the threshold.

“Hey” he gave her his signature wide smile that she loved so much and it all just left her a bit breathless.

“Hi” she said still eyeing him up and down. “Honestly, did I forget about some special occasion?”

He just looked at her and laughed. Then he shook his head slightly.

“I’ll tell you everything later. Right now you should go get ready for dinner. You’ve got” he looked at his watch “twenty minutes.”

Niall finally walked up to her to give her a welcoming kiss and a small hug. She wanted to grill him more, but she knew he wasn’t going to give her any answers. His eyes sparkled and the smile never left his lips. He nudged his head towards the stairs and with a sigh, she took her off shoes, put her jacket on the coat rack and headed upstairs.

She was even more surprised and just simply confused, when she found a dress carefully laid down on the bed. And it wasn’t just any dress. It was a lovely silver, sparkly, dress that she was eyeing up on the internet like two weeks ago. The only reason she didn’t buy it was because she didn’t really have anywhere to wear it to and she already had too many dresses, probably. 

She was ready to shout at Niall to come up and explain all those surprises and his weird behaviour, but decided against it. She was gonna humour him and just follow along.

She took a shower post her training, but put her hair in a bun right after, so it was a mess she needed to tend to if she wanted to look presentable. Twenty minutes wasn’t really a lot of time, so she slightly curled some of hair, closest to the face, put on makeup, got dressed and was almost ready.

“Lulu?” came a voice from downstairs, indicating her time was up.

“Baby, we’re gonna have to stop by my place cause I don’t have any heels here.” She said trudging down through the staircase.

Niall was waiting for her, standing at the foot of the stairs, already looking at her with shiny eyes. In his eyes, she could almost always see the adoration he had for her whenever he looked at her. And it never failed to warm her heart. She was pretty sure she looked at him with gooey eyes as well.

“You look… Wow. You’re so beautiful, love.”

Lucy felt her cheeks reddening at his words. “Thank you for the dress. I love it.”

“And I love you” he replied with a shit-eating grin, at which she just chuckled. There were some noises coming from the kitchen, but the door was shut close and when she looked at her boyfriend, he just shrugged. “Also, you don’t need heels, we’re not actually going anywhere, just staying here.” She was a bit confused at his words, but now that he mentioned her not needing shoes, she noticed he wasn’t wearing any either, just his usual colorful socks.

“Okay, you have to tell me what’s going on” she said, but it only earned her a laugh.

“I will, in a minute.” Niall grabbed her hand and lead her to the dining room. It was a simple room, most of the space was taken by a big table. It was a room that was very rarely used. Niall used it whenever his family was in town and sometimes when he had friends over and wanted to make it a bit more classy than just snacks and beer. They usually ate either in the kitchen or in the living room, where the tables were as well, just smaller ones. There were a few candles scattered all around the room, the lights were on, but they were dimmed, and there was another huge bouquet of flowers on the table. “I was gonna hand them to you, but had to put them in water earlier and just didn’t want to take them out all dripping. But they are for you, obviously.”

“They’re so beautiful, but that’s a third one today! That’s way too much, baby.” She even left one with Gabby at the sports centre to put it at the front desk.

Niall just shrugged with a bit of a bashful smile and pulled out a chair for her to sit in, then sat across from her. He then opened a bottle of wine that stood prepared on the table and pour them both a glass.

Lucy was a bit shocked, when a young man came into the room holding two plates with appetizers. He was put the plates before them without the word, being as quiet as possible. She looked uneasy at Niall, but he didn’t say anything until they were alone again.

“So… I guess I should explain” he chuckled. “I got a chef from one of your favourite restaurant to come and cook for us. I wanted to celebrate today, because it’s our anniversary.”

Lucy looked at him even more confused. “No, it’s not. Baby, our anniversary is in two months.”

Niall just shook his head with a smile. “Our relationship anniversary, yes. But this day, exactly three years ago, was the day we met.” He looked incredibly proud of himself, smug that he completely surprised her.

She remembers the day they met, of course she does. It was a sports’ gala, she was invited as a top 10 tennis player, and he was there because of his golf management. They met quite casually, at the bar, when he congratulated her on a successful season and she told him that she loved his music. After that they somehow spent half the night together, just talking and then dancing at the afterparty. Back then she thought she might have a new acquaintance, someone to invite to her games from time to time and maybe to receive an invitation to his show. However, she did not think that she just met someone she will want to spend forever with, someone who will become the most important person in her life. Someone who will truly show her love. She also didn’t know he would message her on instagram the next day and that they will keep talking and hanging out right away and fall in love so easily.

“I don’t remember the exact day, but it was in December, so you must be right. Why celebrate now, though? We never had before.”

“Well.. There’s no good explanation, really.” He took the first bite of the cuisine in front of them, gesturing for her to do the same. “Just thought it would be nice, it’s the end of the year as well, a tough year at that, wanted to make something nice for you.”

It was a tough year, the hardest one in her life. She hit the lowest low, she thought she lost something she worked her entire life for, her dreams. It was only Niall who got her up, he was the only one who could get through to her, and he did. He tried and tried, even when she pushed him away, or tried to at least, he never gave up on her. Last year, well a bit less, in January, she messed up her knee, really badly. Her entire career became a huge question mark. And she wanted to give up. She almost did. But Niall wouldn’t let her. Even if it meant saying things she didn’t want to to hear, which lead to her not speaking to him for a day or two and a lot of tears, from both of them. But she thinks she’ll never be able to truly explain to him how much it all meant, that without him, she would not come back. Not only to tennis, but maybe even to being fully herself.

“Thank you” she said for a thousandth time. “You’re too good for me.”

Niall laughed and shook his head. He wasn’t. She was his angel and anchor, just like he was hers. That’s why they worked so well.

They kept eating and talking, moving to more casual topics, with Niall asking how her day went and her asking about his meetings and who he got to deliver her lunch (it was an intern at the management). Lucy heard people leaving while they were in the middle of the main course, which Niall explained was the cooks and everyone else leaving, like he discussed with them previously.

When it was just the two of them again, Niall took their empty plates to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of champagne. They were only about halfway through the wine, but he still opened it and poured them both a glass. Instead of returning to his seat, he pulled out a chair at the head of the table and turned it a bit to face Lucy.

“Cheers to us, another year together. Three years and much more to come. I love you, Lulu.” His voice was wavering a bit, but he hoped she wouldn’t notice.

“I love you, baby” they clinked their glasses, shared a small kiss and they took a sip of champagne.

“Ok, so I had this whole speech prepared..” he started nervously, slowly getting up from his chair. “But I’m too nervous now, so I’m gonna make it quick” he got down on one knee and Lucy felt like her heart stopped for a minute just to start beating hundred times faster. She pressed her fingers to her lips to keep herself from completely losing it and letting out a strangled cry. “There’s absolutely no one else I would rather spend my life with, no one makes me feel like you, I thought I’ve been in love before, but honestly it’s nothing compared to the love I have for you. Lucy Emilia Barker, my Lulu, will you do me the absolute honour of sharing your life with me and become my wife?” he opened a navy blue velvet box, but she only saw his shaking fingers before her eyes filled with tears.

“Yes” she choked with a smile that couldn’t possibly be big enough for the happiness she truly felt.

“Yeah?” he asked as if there was a possibility he heard her wrong, but the smile was finally making its way onto his face and his nerves were disappearing.

“Yeah” she laughed and grabbed his face with her own shaking hands. “Now get up before you mess up your knee.” He laughed at her, or with her, or just from the pure bliss in his heart and started kissing her before he even got completely up.

After a few sweet, and equally passionate kisses, sometimes clicking teeth, because they couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces, they finally separated so Niall could put the actual ring on her finger. It was absolutely beautiful. It wasn’t a typical big diamond engagement ring and she was actually thankful for it, because that wasn’t exactly her style. The ring that was now comfortably resting on her finger was gold, with round cut emerald in the centre surrounded by 7 round cut diamonds, looking a bit like a flower. It was perfect. She hugged Niall, still crying, she must have looked like a racoon with smudged mascara from all this crying. But she was getting married, for fucks sake! She had a right to ball her eyes out.

“Do you like it? Maybe I should’ve gotten a classic diamond one…” Niall said reaching his hand to touch his neck, which was a nervous habit of his.

“Baby” Lucy said touching his shoulder to get him to really listen, “it’s perfect. I love it.”

They both couldn’t stop smiling, stealing little kisses from each other.

“I couldn’t wait to see it on your finger” he admitted, pulling her hand close to his face to get a better look.

“How long have you had it?” she asked a bit surprised and he looked at her a bit bashfully.

“Around two months.. I was thinking of proposing in Vietnam, but then Greg made me think about someone stealing the ring or me losing it, so I got too stressed about it and it just didn’t seem right.”

She thought back to Vietnam, when they went for vacation after the last tournament she played this year, it was a beautiful place and she loved it there, but he was quite right, it didn’t seem better than this. This was simple, but somehow perfect. Because it was them, just staying in the house, enjoying each other’s company. She knew in Vietnam would have been amazing as well, hell, he could propose in the middle of nowhere and she would still be head over heels for him, but she was incredibly happy with the way it happened.

“How many people know you were gonna ask me to marry you?” she asked another question with a little laugh. They were still standing, just holding each other and enjoying the moment.

“Um… A few. Greg, cause I needed his advice, Mia and Laura, I showed them the ring and also asked about this dress, cause I know you liked it but wasn’t sure about the size and stuff… And then also my parents.” His cheeks were a bit rosy, and she knew it was because he was still a little nervous, but also just from emotions. It was hard to believe Mia didn’t spill anything, because she was the absolute worst with secrets. Laura however, was the person who always helped plan the surprises, whether it was for Lucy or Niall or any other friend. She quite fast became Lucy’s best friend, maybe besides Mia, which surprised her a bit, because she was never really good at making friends, but she was just so welcoming and always made sure Lucy felt ok in their group, they just kind of clicked and she couldn’t have been happier to call her a true friend, cause she was probably the coolest person ever.

“Do my parents know?”

“No” he said and then his eyes widened, “should I have asked your dad? I mean, I thought about it, but it always seemed kinda silly to me, I mean, it’s between us two, it’s our decision and you’re your own woman, so I don’t think we need anyone’s permission, but.. Would you have liked me to ask him?” He looked so stressed and scared now that she couldn’t stop a little laugh bubbling out of her. He was so cute.

Lucy shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I think it’s stupid as well.”

Niall let out a breath of relieve. “Good” he kissed her sweetly, right on the lips. “I think it’s time for some dessert now. Sit and I’ll go get it from the kitchen.”

Before he could make a step, she grabbed his wrist and shook her hand. “I’m going with you.”

It was silly, incredibly so, but she didn’t want to spend a second without him, not tonight. He just looked at her with one of the fondest expressions and led them to the kitchen, their fingers intertwined. He got out a cake from the fridge and cut it, while she just looked at him. Her fiance. She was still shocked and in awe of the man, who wanted to spend his life with her. Niall grabbed two plates in one hand, the other grabbing hers and coming back to the dining room. Instead of seating back in their chairs, he sat on one and pulled her to his lap, giving her a plate, stretching a hand with his plate around her, then placing a small kiss on her temple before digging into the cake.

“Did you suspect anything? Cause you looked quite surprised, but I worried I might have pushed it a bit too far with all the gifts and stuff…”

“I suspected something, but not this. Honestly. And every gift kinda surprised me. I had no idea what you were planning, but proposing didn’t even cross my mind” she admitted. It wasn’t that they’ve never talked about it, the future, their future. They did, there were things they planned, they intertwined their lives, were building one together. And it’s not that she wasn’t ready for that commitment, she was ready to be his fiance, and then wife. It just wasn’t something she expected, somehow. “But now it makes perfect sense. And I’m the happiest ever. I love you, baby”

He grinned at her even more. “Me too, Lulu. I’m the luckiest man in the universe.”

She couldn’t help herself and kissed him. It was sweet and tasted of frosting. And she hoped to always remember this exact moment.

~~~

“Can I hear the speech?” she asked him later that night, when they were lying in bed. They spend the whole evening wrapped in their bubble, always touching each other and stealing kisses. “The one you said you had prepared?”

“Umm… Yeah.” Niall seemed a little nervous. He was open and romantic, it usually came quite easily to him, but sometimes he grew a bit anxious of being too soppy. He propped himself a bit and looked at her to gain some confidence from her shiny eyes that he could see even in the almost dark bedroom. He took a deep breath and started. “Lulu, putting feelings into words is kinda my job, but it’s near impossible to explain how you make me feel. I’ve been trying for three years now and still struggle. Because you make me feel like no one and nothing before. You are my sunshine, my anchor, my biggest supporter. You are my everything. I know this year was incredibly hard, for both of us, but obviously for you more than I, but in a way I’m seeing the light in the situation and am grateful that it happened. Because it let us both prove to ourselves how much we mean to each other. It showed that we can go through anything that life will throw at us. That we stand by the other no matter what, always. What we have is special. And I promise to always cherish this, us, but mostly you. The wonderful, incredibly strong and persistent woman that you are. I keep thinking that it’s impossible to love you more than I already do, but then another day comes and you just prove me wrong. Please, let me love you more and more every day for the rest of our lives. Please, spend your forever with me. Marry me, Lulu.”

By the time he finished they both had eyes cloudy from the tears. Lucy couldn’t even get any words out, so she just pressed her lips to Niall’s and hoped he’ll understand. Hoped he’ll know how much this all means to her, how much she loves him. And deep down she knows he will, he can see right through her.

“I love you. So much” she whispered after a while, when her breathing was coming back to normal and the tears stopped rolling down her cheeks and into her hair. “There’s something I want to say to you too, baby. Something I wanted to say for a long time.” She caressed his cheek and then the space between his brows, when he pulled them together in slight confusion. “I want to thank you for a moment, a long time ago, when you said you loved me, for the very first time. And I didn’t say it back. I need to thank you for how wonderful you acted then, I wanted to for a long time, but the moment was never right.”

Niall shook his head slightly and grabbed his hand that was still on his cheek. “You don’t have to thank me for that” he said, like the whole thing was absolutely no big deal to him. And in a way, she knew it wasn’t. She thought back to that day, when he said those three magical words and all she did was kiss him for a while. And then she said that she wasn’t there yet. She could have maybe said it back, but it wouldn’t have been true (it would, cause in her heart she did already love him, but in her brain she wasn’t sure). She was falling for him, she felt stronger about him and them every day, but telling someone you love them is a big thing. You can’t rush this, and she wanted to be completely certain. She wanted to feel like she had to get it out, had to let him now, how much he consumed her heart. She was honest with him back then, incredibly so, and that was probably one of the reasons why he reacted so well. Because she didn’t sweep the whole situation under the carpet. She let him know how important he is, how he makes her feel and that her feeling for him are growing rapidly, but have not reach that point yet. And he was perfectly fine with that. Because falling in love is an individual thing. He falls in love easily, fast and hard. But everyone has a right to go at their own pace. All he wanted from her was honesty. And she gave him exactly that. He also said he’d rather wait and have her say it back when she’s ready, when it’s honest and she’s sure that’s how she feels, than have her say it now just for the sake of saying it back. “You know it was alright, I would never push you to do anything. And hey, you said eventually. Besides. I knew you loved me.”

“Wait, what? You knew I loved you? How if I didn’t say it?” she looked at her fiance bewildered.

“Yeah” Niall confirmed with a proud smile. “I could kinda see it in your eyes. And, I don’t know, you just made me feel your love, I guess.”

“You’re something else, Niall Horan” she admitted burying herself into his body, at what he just laughed, but also wrapped his arms closer around her.

“Hey” he said after a while, when he noticed her breathing was evening out a bit, meaning she was slowly falling asleep. “I kinda have another question for you.” Lucy raised her head to look at his still smiling face, and then raised her eyebrows to prompt him to say more. “Will you move in with me? I guess now that we’re engaged it’s maybe not too soon, eh?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. That was the question that crossed her mind when she got all those gifts today.

“Of course. I would love to.”

Niall’s smile grew bigger, if it was even possible. “Yeah? I figured we can live here, or we can get another place if you’d like, that would be totally ours. Or maybe we can live here for a while and then get another one for after the wedding or something…” he was babbling a bit, so she put a hand to his shoulder to get his attention.

“I like this place. It already feels like home. Maybe we could get a new one later on, we’ll see. Ok?”

Niall nodded his head and kissed her behind her ear, which made her giggle.

“Ok, one more thing” he said after a minute, which made her laugh again, because he just kept surprising her. “Not a question this time, though. But I’ve made arrangements to come to Australia with you. If you’ll have me.”

She was leaving right after New Year’s to play two smaller tournaments there and then the Australian Open. She was excited, cause she always loved the atmosphere there, but was also dreading it a bit, because that’s where she fucked up her knee last year. She played since then, came back in September, but was still a bit nervous.

“I’d love for you to come. But don’t you have an album to finish?” He was working on his new music for longer than usual. He came back from LA to be with her, when she had to undergo her knee surgery and then she had a rehabilitation in London, so he was with her here, during everything. Which she was unbelievably thankful for, because she wouldn’t be able to do it without him, but it meant he put his music on a bit of a backburner. For her. He made quite a lot of sacrifices for her, she was aware of every single one. Truth was, his schedule was way more flexible than hers, she could choose which tournaments she played, but there wasn’t a lot of room to change things. So he was the one who planned his tours and press junkets around her. Coming to America when she was playing there for a month. Or planning a European leg of the tour for the time when she had tournaments there. Just so they could be closer, fly only a few hours to see each other. Someone might say it wasn’t fair, that both parties should sacrifice themselves in a relationship. But that’s the only way they could work right now. She knew Niall didn’t really mind, and she also knew that it would change in a few years. She didn’t plan on playing longer than 3, maybe 4, maximum 5 years. She would still be around 30 years old, could play longer, but she didn’t want to. Her knee problem was a horrible thing, but it also put a lot of things into perspective for her. At that time she felt like it was the end of the world. Tennis was her life. But when emotions died down a bit and after some hard conversations with Niall, she realized there were a lot of other opportunities. Now, she had a bit of a plan. She wanted to open a training centre. And she also wanted to start a tennis management company, especially to help young girls trying to make it. Niall knew it all, he was the one who told her it’s absolutely possible and offered his help. He also made a little joke of how they’re both gonna be sports managers, him with golf and her with tennis. It made her excited about the future outside the court. And she never was before. And it wouldn’t happen without him. Because she was also excited about her future with him, when she would stop playing and travelling constantly. It made her excited about flying to Los Angeles and New York with him, visiting him in the studio and sitting in the audience of the talk shows he would be doing there, and following him on tour. Her time to make sacrifices and adapt her life to his will come. And when it will, she’ll be more than happy to.

“Yeah, but it can wait a bit longer. Don’t worry about it too much, I’m thinking about bringing Julian with me, doing it old school, recording in hotel rooms” he smiled reminiscing about the old days with the band. “Besides, it’s our actual anniversary exactly a day after the Australian Open, I can’t let us spend it apart on the other sides of the world.”

“I love you” she said for probably the thousandth time today. And yet, she could have said it a thousand more.

~~~

The last month, month and a half, was the absolute best of Lucy’s life. The guy of her dreams asked her to marry him, she spent wonderful Christmas surrounded by both hers and Niall’s family, had a great small engagement party for their friends (another surprise from Niall) and then had a great three weeks in Australia, not only playing some of her best tennis, but also having the love of her life by her side. Her parents and Mia also flew to Melbourne, to watch her play the semi-final and then the final of the Australian Open. It was still surreal to her. She was in two Grand Slam finals before her injury, in Wimbledon and US Open. She never won though. And now, it was her biggest match since coming back. She had an amazing support system and she was really happy with her play. So whatever happens, happens, that’s what she thought to herself stepping on court for that final time in this city this year. She was actually proud of herself she got this far anyway, and of the level she was able to play at. She got out and just did her best, left everything she had on that hard court. And apparently, it was enough.

The whole stadium erupted when she hit the final winner. Winning the game, set, match, and the whole tournament. She was a Grand Slam champion. One year ago, when she was laying on a hospital bed, unable to move her leg, she did not think this would happen, ever. But it did. She fell on the court, her mind still not registering what just happened. After a second, she got up and went to the net to congratulate her opponent. She knew her, they’ve played a number of times before, she was the one who beat Lucy at Wimbledon final, actually. She also knew her just from tour, they’ve spoken a couple of times, she was a nice woman, just two years older than Lucy. She then turned to the crowd and her eyes filled with tears. She could hear the loud claps and roars, could see almost entire stadium standing up, for her. She risked looking at her box, seeing her dad with his arms around her mum, who cried her eyes out, almost like her daughter was about to, saw Mia clapping and sending her kisses when she noticed Lucy looking their way. But most importantly, she saw Niall, standing in the first line, just next to her coach, clapping relentlessly with the biggest smile and the most proud look on his face she’s ever seen. He wasn’t even that proud when the entire arenas where singing his songs back to him. That’s how much each other’s success meant to them.

She couldn’t help herself and run towards them, barely able to reach for any of them, cause the box was quite high, but her dad held her hand, while Niall bent down and kissed the crown of her head, even though it was sweaty.

“You’re a champion, Lulu” he said softly, but surely, like he always knew this day would come. And she actually thought that maybe, somehow he did. Cause he always had faith in her, even when she lost hers. And that made her want to cry even more.

She exchanged small shakes of the hand and half-hugs from the rest of her family and team, cause that’s all she could reach and then returned to her seat to compose herself even a little bit.

The ceremony was a bit of a blur, main sponsor talking, she remembers some nice words of her opponent and then, it was time for her to speak.

“I’m still incredibly shocked, so please excuse me, if I’m not gonna be very coherent” she started, which earned her a small laugh from the audience. “I want to thank everyone who contributed to this tournament, all the judges, ballkids, everyone working backstage, and most importantly, all the fans. You always give me so much support and energy, I really love coming here and playing for you, so thank you. I really want to congratulate Simona, it’s always a true challenge playing against you, you’re a great player and thank you for making it a good show, at least I hope it was.” Another audience laugh and a smile and nod from her opponent. Now it was time to really speak from her heart. “This might be a bit long, so sorry, but I have a few things to say. It means so much to me, because as you probably know, I wasn’t able to play here last year, I’ve messed up my knee just few days before the start of this tournament, so just being back here now, let alone standing here as a winner, means the absolute world to me. Special thank you to my incredible team and my family, cause the past year was not easy, I know I wasn’t easy to deal with, so thank you for not losing your faith in me and standing by my side through it all. And thank you for your hard work and endless support all these years, I hope they paid off. But the biggest thank you to my fiance, Niall,” it was the first time she called him that publicly, until now their engagement was between them, their friends and family; she automatically reached her hand to touch the ring that was hanging around her neck, hidden underneath her shirt, she couldn’t wait to put it back on her finger, “he’s too modest to accept it, but I would not be standing here if it wasn’t for him. Thank you for picking me up, when I couldn’t get up myself. For always having faith in me and not letting me give up,” she saw his cheeks were red, but he was smiling. “If it weren’t for him, I would have quit playing a year ago, so thank you for being my rock and absolutely biggest supporter. And thank you for being here with me today. I love you.” Lucy wasn’t a fan of public display of feelings and affection, but she couldn’t help herself in that moment. What he did and what he meant to her was too much to just keep those feelings inside. And she knew Niall didn’t really mind, cause he blew her a kiss. “This means the world to me, thank you, and I’ll hopefully see you next year” she ended her speech, feeling the tears springing to her eyes once again.

It all was so surreal. She truly was living her best life. And it was only the beginning.

~~~

On the day of their anniversary, two days since Lucy’s big win, they’ve decided to officially go public with their engagement. Sure, there was a bit of a buzz regarding their relationship after she called him her fiance in her winning speech, but they didn’t comment on anything yet, but now they finally wanted to acknowledge the new chapter in their lives. And what better way to do that than on instagram. So in the evening, after they spent the day walking around Melbourne, enjoying the city, they’ve sat down to post. They both chose a similar picture, taken on the day of her win, in the locker room. They were stood next to each other, Lucy half a step before Niall and were both holding her trophy, her with her left hand, so the ring was visible. On the picture she was gonna post they were both smiling, while on the one Niall chose, he was kissing her cheek and her eyes where, what he called “a shining delight”.

“Are you ready?” she asked him. She was lying on their hotel bed, while he was sitting on the sofa. They’ve decided not to show each other the caption before posting, but wanted to put it up for the world to see at the same time.

“Yeah” he said looking up to her with a huge smile. She always loved that about him, his smile, it was so contagious, and she was just happy it was present on his face so often. “You?”

“Yup. On three?”

“One…”

“Two....”

“Three” they said in unison and hit post.

@niallhoran: This amazing woman won the biggest trophy. Many more to come. The most hard working, persistent, strong, brave and loving human I’ve ever met. Can’t wait to call you my wife, but fiance will do for now. Happy three years Lulu.

@lucebarker: The best person to share successes with. And everything else too. Just the best person, period. Thank you for lighting up my life for three years and all those to come. Can’t wait to share a last name with you, Mr. Horan.

[starrybethany]

William Nylander: Part 4

Word count: 2006

Should I be doing this? I really shouldn’t be doing this. If Mills knew I was doing this, he would kill me. Like literally kill me.

And shouldn’t I have told William I was coming before just randomly showing up at his apartment? Will he think it’s creepy? He probably will, especially since I haven’t talked to him in a week and I didn’t show up at his party like I said I was going to. Plus, it’s eleven o’clock on a Tuesday night. Why would anyone visit that late on a workday?

I sigh, forcing myself to reach forward and knock on the door before I turn and run away.

I bite my lip, hard, as I wait for the Swedish man to come to the door. Shit, I didn’t even think about what I would do if he didn’t come to the door. What if it was some girl that he met and started dating after the party and then he has to explain to her, hey, this is a girl I started to spend time with before you, and I break them up?

Or worse, what if Kappy answers the door?

I don’t have to worry too long because the door swings open and an exhausted Willy stands on the other side. I start to feel bad just by looking at his baggy eyes and pouty lips.

“Hey,” I say awkwardly.

Really, that’s it? I wake the man up when he has a game tomorrow and all I have to say is ‘hey?’

“Hey,” he replies, leaning against the doorframe. “What’s up?”

Okay, cool, it’s casual.

“Not much,” I twist my fingers uncomfortably, “You?”

“Not much,” he repeats with a shrug.

His tired eyes meet mine and we stare at each other in silence, him examining me curiously, probably wondering why I woke him up just to say hi but not wanting to be rude by asking.

“Um, I just wanted to apologize for telling you that I’d come to your party and then never showing up,” I state. “That was a bitch move.”

He lets out a loud laugh. “It wasn’t a bitch move, I just assumed you had something come up and we don’t have each other’s phone numbers so you couldn’t text me that you weren’t able to make it. Speaking of…”

He turns around, walking into his dimly lit apartment. “Oh, you can come in, by the way!”

I head into the apartment unsurely, closing the door behind me and looking around the spacious apartment. I’m surprised at how modest it is with how much money he’s making. It’s definitely an updated apartment but it’s smaller than I imagined, plus it’s probably just a two bedroom.

Will appears back in front of me, holding out his phone with the new contact page pulled up. “Enter your number so we can actually make plans instead of accidentally running into each other.”

“Sure, accidentally,” I wink, taking the phone and entering my number.

He laughs as I pass him back his phone and give him my phone so he can enter his number.

“Nice place you got here,” I compliment, stepping around him to look further into the living room.

“Don’t you have the exact same apartment?” He questions.

“What?”

“All of the layouts in this building are identical.”

“Oh, yeah,” I curse myself in my head for momentarily forgetting my lie, “I meant like your decorations and shit.”

“Oh, thanks, my mom and sisters actually helped pick them out,” he confesses sheepishly.

I giggle before looking into the kitchen, peering at his fridge curiously. I bet he has a shitload of food in there, he is a millionaire after all.

“You don’t want to look inside my fridge, it’s practically empty. I don’t keep a lot of food here since I’m gone a lot for hockey or I’m visiting my family.”

Or not.

“I could order a pizza, though, if you’re hungry,” he offers. “That means you would have to stay a while, though.”

“Is that an invitation to stay a while?” I ask, raising my eyebrows at him suggestively.

He smirks at me, dialing a number into his phone. “What’s your favorite pizza place?”

~

“This is really good pizza,” I compliment, taking a bite of the slice in my hand.

“See what happens when you don’t limit yourself to places that close at nine?” He teases.

I roll my eyes, throwing my feet onto the ottoman in front of the couch.

“Getting comfy, are we?”

“Is there a problem with that, Nylander?”

“There’s no problem at all,” he dismisses, grabbing his remote and flicking on the TV. “What do you want to watch?”

“Pocahontas,” I respond instantly. He begins to laugh at that. “What? Is there something wrong with Pocahontas?”

“We’re Canadian,” he manages to get out.

“So, it’s a good, important story!” I defend. “It may be all about the Americans but there’s a talking racoon and a bombass song.”

“Fine, I will turn on Pocahontas,” Willy snickers, entering the title into the search bar.

“Have you ever seen it before?”

“No.”

“How can you laugh at me when you’ve never even seen it?” I whine.

“You’re right, I’m being prematurely judgemental,” he agrees. “I’ll give it a chance.”

“You better,” I turn to give him a teasing glare just to find he’s already looking at me.

The joking atmosphere diminishes as we hold eye contact. Pocahontas plays in the background but it fades away by the throbbing silence between us. His blue eyes twinkle and my eyes flicker between them and his thin lips surrounded by scruff.

I don’t mind the scruff. In fact, I like it. It suits him, the facial hair with the long hair is a good look that makes him look really attractive. Well, he would be attractive without it but with it he looks even better.

I see him inch closer to me slowly, testing the waters to see what my reaction will be.

I let him.

I actually want him to kiss me, I’m excited for it.

But I can’t let him kiss me.

When he’s two inches away from my face I turn my head, showing him my cheek.

I close my eyes, cursing myself out in my head. All I want to do is kiss him but I know if Mills were to ever find out he would literally kill William and I’m not selfish enough to risk it.

Willy sighs, resting his face in the crook of my neck and letting out a loud groan.

“I’m sorry.” I’m not even sure my words reach his ears.

We stay in this position for a little while longer before he pulls back, slouching down, wrapping an arm around my waist, and leaning his head against my hip. I settle for running a hand through his hair as we watch Pocahontas in full silence.

The movie ends and the credits begin to play.

“You know what you should do tomorrow night?” He asks quietly, threading his fingers through mine and playing with my fingers.

“What?”

“Come to my game.”

I don’t respond.

“It’s Leafs versus Rangers.”

“So I’d really get to see Henrik Lundqvist in person?” I tease.

He gives me a look and I laugh.

“I’m never taking you to Sweden with me,” he mumbles, making me laugh harder.

“Of course I’ll go to your game, Willy.”

~

I nervously walk down the hallway, fiddling with the pass in my hand. Willy gave it to me after I agreed to go to his game and told me that I need it to go to the WAGs box to be with all of the other partners.

Then I asked him if he considered me his partner and he didn’t respond.

That’s an argument for another day.

I show the security guard my pass and he opens the door for me, letting me step unsurely into the room. A bunch of other women are already in the room and they all look at me as I enter, mixed expressions of judgement on their faces.

“Are you Y/N?” A pretty blonde asks.

I nod, not trusting my voice to answer for me.

“William left you something,” she smiles politely, pointing at a box on a nearby table.

I open it curiously, aware of all of the eyes watching me. I can’t help but laugh when the top of the box is removed and a blue, 88, Nylander, jersey is revealed. He told me he was going to get me a jersey after I told him I don’t own any Maple Leafs merchandise, so I told him to get me a Kapanen one. He got annoyed at that.

I tug the jersey over my torso and the girls go back to their conversations that they were having before I arrived.

“I’m Alannah,” the blonde introduces herself.

“Y/N,” I smile, shaking her hand.

I definitely feel out of place in this room. Everyone is stunning, like they’re runway models or something. And then here I am, in the jeans I bought from Goodwill and a T-shirt I stole from one of my old friends.

Alannah introduces me to a couple of the other girls and ushers me into the seat beside hers when warmups start. “Will’s going to look for you, I just know it.”

I give her a doubtful look but soon find number eighty eight on the ice, watching him as he skates around for a little bit before pausing, looking up at the WAGs box.

“Wave,” Alannah urges.

I give her a look, unsure that he can even see me from how high up we are. Despite this, I lean forward, waving at the Swedish man.

I can barely see the grin that spreads across his face but he waves back up at the box.

“Hi Zachy, have a great game,” Alannah shouts from next to me to her husband. It’s cute that she says that even though she knows he has no chance of hearing her.

I ignore the buzzing in my pocket throughout the game, too focused on the puck and the players and their movements. I know who it is, and I know I should answer it and what’ll happen if I don’t but I’m having too much fun to worry about that right now.

It’s a dumb excuse, I know, but it’s true.

“What takes so long?” I ask curiously after waiting in the hallway for a half an hour.

“They have to shower and get dressed. And sometimes they have media,” the tall blonde informs me, smiling widely when her husband leaves the locker room. “Great game, baby!”

She pulls him into a hug and he laughs. It seems like he recognizes me as soon as he lays eyes on me.

“This is Y/N,” Alannah introduces me anyways and I make small chat with Zach as I wait for William.

Soon, the blonde exits the locker room with a wide smile and I can’t help but reciprocate that action.

“Great job, Will,” I murmur, pulling him into a hug in the heat of the moment.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get a goal for you,” he mumbles into my hair, rubbing my back caringly.

“You got an assist, though. That’s something, right?”

“That is something,” he laughs at my lack of hockey knowledge, moving me to the side to hold me by the waist.

I meet a couple more of the guys and see the guys that I met the other day at breakfast. They all raise their eyes at the hand on my waist, but I don’t care to move it.

“Do you want a ride home?” William asks me.

“No, I drove here,” I lie easily.

“Oh, okay.”

For a split second I want him to drive me home, just because of the hurt in his voice, then I remember the lie I’m upholding and realize that I can’t have him seeing my apartment.

“I’ll see you soon, William.”

“See you soon, Y/N.”

[i-write-sometimes-blog]

Animals - Negan Werewolf AU

Note: This is a little thing I wrote for the  “ Negan’s Fall Writing Challenge” created by the lovely @thewalkingdead-imagines​ ! This is my second time joining a Negan’s challenge, and I gotta say I really enjoy every word, also was my first time writing an AU, oh boy it gave me so much ideas but had to do this short, college was kind of a bitch, but anyways, here it is! Let me know what you think.

So basically it’s kind of the same space and time from the show but instead of walkers humans started to become werewolf, so I guess it’s not big difference.

The leaves cracked under your feet as you ran through the dark forest, your heart pumping real fast, heavily breathing you kept running as fast as your tired legs allow you, a dense fog covering the woods made the night even darker, you could hardly see, but clearly heard them. Wolves, at least three of them, big, strong, furious and hungry, ready to attack.

They were dangerous close, getting closer and closer to you somewhere in the fog, waiting for the right moment. You focused on the road, trying not to fall down but still careful and ready to shoot. Soon enough you heard fast and heavy footsteps not far for you, watching for the corner of your eyes you caught a grey wolf running close so you raised your gun and quickly fired at them, they cried out as the bullet hit their side and fell to the ground.

You kept running through the dark woods leaving the wolf behind. There were still two of them left. You still hoped for a place to hide, you knew you wouldn't make it back to Alexandria, it was way far and with the wolves hunting it’d be almost impossible for you to even find the way home. So your only chance was to hide and wait for the day to come.

Suddenly a figure appeared in front of you growling, a big brown beast with a killing face looking at you, showing their big pointy teeth. Slowly they came closer never stopped looking at you they started tracing a circle around you, as another one joined. Breathing uneasy you looked at them, your finger stuck to the trigger and your heart racing as your mind was trying to find a way out.

One of the wolves moved a little closer licking their lips, you were ready to kill them and so they were when suddenly they stopped and raised their ears, they started to sniff something in the air you couldn’t, and then a clear whistle rumble through the woods, after a small silence it sound again. The wolves got scared, lowered their ears and hid their tail between their legs when a male throaty laugh spread for the forest. 

“Well, damn” the deep voice said sending a cold shiver down your spine. “Looks like some doggies are hunting in my territory” he said. The wolves nervously cried, you could see them clearly shaking out of fear, it gave you chills and slowly you felt a lump forming in your throat.

“And I do not allow it” he raised his voice again firm and clear,  but no signal of him to see, just that powerful voice. He laught one more time and then you saw him. His tall figure standing in the middle of the road, wearing some grey pants, a leather jacket and a blood red scarf that made his handsome features stand out: his gray beard adorned with a pair of dimples, his fine yet rough nose, his black hair smoothed back and those hazel eyes. 

You stood there unknown of what to do, afraid to move or even blink, your whole body beginning to fill with adrenaline. 

“Now” he stepped forward. “Run” 

And that's exactly what you did. Your body moved without a second thought trying to put as much distance as possible between  you and that man. The wolves stayed, behind you the sound of growls made stronger but you didn’t dare to know what was going on. Then a wolf cried, the sound turned into a scream, a human scream full of pain. You felt goosebumps and an urge to run away. 

With your heart racing you continued running, looking back from time to time hoping nothing was following you but the moonless night wouldn’t let you. After a while you stopped to catch your breath, your legs way too tired out to keep running but you knew if you stop whoever was that man could find you. You wondered what happened after you ran, on wolf was dead no question, but did that man kill them? if so how? and why they feared so much?, somehow your head was unable to forget him.

The wolves often showed no emotions but hunger and fury, it was quite weird to see them as scared as that, and that meant danger not only for you but for your entire community, Alexandria. You have joined with your group a time ago. It was a nice place, with people living almost as the world had not went to shit but most important it had walls. Your group had already faced many threats and bad people and of course, the wolves, and the most recent enemies a group called The Saviors, but this guy was a real danger you could tell.

Finally after walking much you found an old cabin, finally a place you could hide and rest until the morning, now the daylight didn't guarantee your security but it meant at least you could find the right way home. 

The fatigue on your body made you fell asleep before you noticed, but almost immediately a knock in the door woke you up and made you flinch. You stepped close to the door quietly gun in hand. A knock again, before you heard him.

“Hey, open the door, babe” your stomach turned as you hear the voice of that man wearing a leather jacket you met in the woods. You stayed quiet, while you hear his playful laugh. “C’mon darling, I know you’re in there… can smell you” with that your whole body filled with tension.

“I won't hurt you” He said not receiving an answer. You doubted but decided to open without lowering the gun. And there he was, his tall body leaning against the doorframe, blood splashed over his features. “Easy, baby” he calmly said looking from you to the gun. “I’m Negan” 

You kept silence watching him, fearing him. His name was repeating in the back of your head, you were sure you have heard it before but couldn't remember where. The only thing you knew for sure was that you shouldn't make him mad, just in case.

“I’m, (y/n)” you said. He smirked.

“Well, (y/n) it seems to me, you are very far from home, aren’t you?” he raised his hand and slowly made you lower your gun “You won’t need this, I won’t hurt you, I told you before” he took the gun away from you hands. 

“What do you want?” You told him, looking at his eyes with fury. He hold your gaze and smiled softly and then raised his voice again “Take a sit in that comfy ass couch behind you, I need to talk to you for a bit” He ordered. Afraid, you did as he said, keeping you hand close to the knife on your belt.

He kept silence for a second and then he spoke.

“Listen, I know you’re from Alexandria, your friend Ricky has already killed a bunch of my men and I do not like that” You flinch as you heard he knew about your community. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” you told him.

“Of course you know, sweetheart. I saw them and I saw you killing my men, and I am saying men ‘cuz they were still in their human form but even when they take their wolf shit form you still managed to kill them” he said death serious looking you deep in the eyes. Then he grined and let his back fell against the couch. “Now, I want to make a deal with your friends”

“What kind of deal? we barely have enough food for us and also we don’t want anything  from you” you were angry, your voice let that clear and your clenched fists too. Negan sigh.

“Protection. You work for me, you do what I say and I can protect you from other packs.” So he was one of them, he was a wolf. The man approached to you, his finger traveled to your chin and he forced you to look at him, centimeters distant to him you feel his warm breath “I just gave you a sample, sweetheart. Those wolves would have eat you if I wasn’t there, so maybe a thank you would be better than you complaining at me”

You look at him with hate on your eyes, moving your head to get out of his grab. Yes, he was indeed a real trouble for your safety, so you decided to play easy.

“Thanks” 

“Good girl” he smirked at you. He stood up before grabbing you by the arm and made his way to the door. “Now, to show you what a gentleman I am, I'm going to take you home.” as you stepped out of the old cabin he let go of your arm, then he transformed. He raised his head jaw clenched, his gaze darken while hair covered his body and all his human parts begun to change, the legs and arms got to the floor becoming like claws. All his handsome face features became larger, his teeth grew bigger and sharp. They he stood, a massive black wolf with hazel eyes, Negan.

He made his way to you, delicate movements he traced in his wolf form, until he was right in front of you, his face almost reached your chin, he was a really big wolf. His warm breath hitting in your face, you had never seen a wolf this close, it was both beautiful and scary at the same time.

Negan gave you a look and you knew he wanted you to crawl over his body, carefully you did, placing your arms around his neck. Once he felt you over him, he started running through the woods at high speed, the cold air hitting you face made you hold tight, feeling his soft hair and his warm body pressed against yours. And just for a moment you felt like you were safe, but the feeling didn’t last, quickly you were at Alexandria’s gates, standing beside the big bad wolf who howled and pretty soon you were surrounded by a whole pack of growling wolves. Up in the watchtowers you saw your friends having no idea of what was about to come. You turned your head to the side only finding out Negan was back in his human form, he winked at you before starting walking near the gates, whistling as he did in the woods but this time, his pack, now fully human whistled with him. 

“Hello” Negan called out, you saw Rick opening the gate’s curtain.

“Who are you?” your friend said cold, making the taller man laugh.

“Well, I see where this baby girl learned his manners” he joked looking at you, “I’m Negan, and those dirty men overthere are my Saviors.” he said moving almost theatrical, dangerous, “Here’s the thing, Rick, isn’t it? You and your gang killed a damn bunch of my goddamn Saviors” Negan bust off lowering the tone of his voice, making you flinch. You hopped your group were prepared, hoped for them to just start shooting and end with this already, but at the same time you knew it could only make it worse, those were werewolves, bigger, faster and more powerful than regular humans like you, there were people inside the gates who never had even seen one like this, so if Rick wanted Alexandria to survive he must think wisely.

“But you know what, Rick?” the sound of his voice got you out of your thoughts. “I am not mad at you. I’m happy that we could finally meet. Also brought you a little but damn hot gift to prove you I’m a real man” you felt his gaze lying on you while he spoke. “Come here, babe”. furios you stepped next to him.

“(y/n) are you alright?” You saw Carl behind his father looking at you with worried eyes, this kid was strong but also had a big heart and you knew it.

“I’m fine, nothing to worry about kid”  you started to say.

“Hell yeah, she’s totally right kiddo” Negan interrupted you. “Her sweet ass is safe and alive thanks to me, young man” he said slinging an arm over your shoulders. Oh this man was enjoying himself, being in charge, he liked it.

“Get your finger outta her!” you heard Daryl growling angry, he was a close friend and after all you’ve been through he and the rest of the group became your family.

“Everybody shut the shit down!” the leader of the Savior screamed. “I was in a good mood but now I’m starting to think which one of you I should take for dinner. Let's make this quick” he spoke walking along the gates, “There’s one and only one option out of this, you work for me you provide for me, you do shit I say, you’ll be alright. I will give you my service and we are all nice. As I said, It is your only option, so whatcha say?” 

“What’s your price?” Shaking his head Rick spoke. “We don’t have much”

“And we don’t need you” you raised your voice. You couldn't have this deal, it gave u goosebumps. Negan turned in his heels, and walked directly to you.

“I like her” he said a few inches from you. “She got spirit, maybe I’ll keep her” he smirked at you. “Now, Rick. I want half of your food, and anything I like.”

“No” you answered. “We are starving here, if you take that away many people will die, we can’t…”

“(y/n)” you heard Rick trying to calm you but Negan raised his hand in signal for him to stop. 

“I really like you, sweetheart. But maybe you should learn that sometimes you gotta shut that pretty mouth of yours”

“We’re not doing it.” You told him serious. “I already thank you for saving me, but we are not going to give you our food, there children in there, families, you can’t ask us for that kind of things, give us time, we’ll find something else but not food” you stared at him with cold eyes, you were trying to protect your family.

“Well I can, and I am asking you to. Sorry to disappoint you baby but I take what I want when I want it” he hissed. “So, I want half of your shit! Now this land belongs to me, everything Rick, you work for me now so I want my shit ready when I come back” he yelled out pissed. “And you, (y/n)” he held your chin up, his eyes darkened, his fangs growing as he spoke. “You belong to me” 

For the corner of your eyes you saw his men turning into wolves again, suddenly you weren’t looking at a man anymore but a black beast with sharp teeth that somehow managed to get you once more on his back, dragging you quickly away from your family, from your home. He was a monster and now he was taking you to his place.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Witness : 3

Reminders

moodboard created by @chuuulip

Character(s): dark!Bucky, later dark!Steve, too

Warnings: this is a dark!fic, it contains non/dubious-consent elements. Some violence as well at the beginning. It goes without (and with) that this is 18+.

Summary: The reader builds a false sense of comfort. What will happen when it all comes crashing down?

Notes: I am reposting this fic here. It was originally on ao3 but now it’s on tumblr too! If you read, I love feedback and would love any comments you have. And if you can, please share! Anyhow, enjoy :)

It was easy enough to fall into the pattern of working in Stark Tower. It was probably the best job you had taken throughout your temp work. Free parking, free lunches, and a rather cushy chair. It was Wednesday and you were already mourning the end of this position. It had been much simpler than expected to forget about your paranoia and as you hadn’t even seen Tony Stark himself, you were content that you would not meet anyone of consequence by week’s end.

You had started your day like the two previous. Wake up, eat, drive to work, grab a coffee at the kiosk just outside, scan your clearance, settle in, and wait. The occasional visitor came to ask for directions or a question, but you found most patrons of Stark Tower knew where they were going and what they were doing. In fact, you were almost done the daily crossword.

You took a sip of your coffee, well on its way to disgustingly lukewarm, and leaned back in your chair. You nearly sputtered as you spotted a familiar head of dirty blond hair. Steve Rogers, no longer the clean-shaven First Avenger, was walking through the foyer. Since he had grown out his hair and added a thick beard, he looked much more sinister than his previous golden boy image. You guessed one’s outside matched their inside.

You quickly swivelled away from him, though he wasn’t even remotely close to your desk. In your distraction, you had drawn a line through the crossword in thick black pen. Goddamnit. You’d have to work around it. Your hand was shaking and you let go of the pen, letting it fall with a plastic bounce. It was nothing. You were fine. You looked at your watch and hissed. Still too early for a lunch.  Maybe this was a sign that you should look like you’re doing actual work. You turned to your computer and clicked through your emails. Next week’s assignment would be in a call center. Luckily, you wouldn’t be a caller, you’d simply be the receptionist. Well, you may as well enjoy the luxury office chair while you can.

You sensed a shadow over you, not hearing the visitor as they had walked up on you. You looked up with smile which quickly froze halfway. It was the other man you had dreaded seeing. Thankfully he wasn’t looking at you. Instead, his metal hand was rested on your desk, fingers tapping upon its surface as he looked around the busy foyer. You stared at his artificial digits; how easy it would be for him reach over and crush your skull.  You swivelled around and grabbed your coffee, drowning your nerves with caffeine, though you knew in the end that would only make it worse.

“Shit,” You heard Bucky rasp and you nearly choked. You wiped your lip with your sleeve, trying to act distracted by the papers in front of you. “Excuse me.” You could feel him leaning over the desk, “Sorry, I don’t mean to bother.”

“N-no, that’s what I’m here for,” You tried to put on your best customer service voice. “What can I h-help you with?” You cringed as your words were strangled by your rising fear.

“Have you seen a man around here? Dark blond hair, beard,” His real hand motioned to his own thick facial hair, “You might know him as Steve Rogers.”

“No,” You answered abruptly, “I haven’t seen him. Sorry.”

You turned back to your screen and re-read your next assignment. He hadn’t been rude in any way but he wasn’t supposed to be nice. He was a murderer. You felt him staring at you, just for a moment, before he turned away and sighed. “Well, I guess I’ll go find him.” He left you, his steps deafening even through the crowd of dozens of others. You glanced over to where his hand had been; it was as if you could still hear his finger tapping, crawling forward to choke the life from you. Fuck, you needed more coffee, you swore to yourself as you reached for you cold cup. You needed sleep.

You didn’t see them again. The last two days you spent with your head down, yawning into your collar as your nights were spent restless. Something about them being so close had rattled you. Yet, Bucky hadn’t seemed to recognize you. He had been completely careless outside of looking for his accomplice. Surely, it was all in your head, but you just couldn’t believe that.

You bid farewell to the comfy Stark office chair and handed in your credentials. You left the parking garage with a sense of freedom and longed for home. Perhaps tonight you would sleep. Knowing that you wouldn’t have to return and risk another close encounter with murderers. Another week down. Time made it a little more distant, a little easier to bear.

Yet sleep was not to come. That night or the next. Tossing and turning, little spurts of slumber, but nothing lasted more than an hour. You awoke endlessly in a start, cold sweat all over you, heart racing. The dark closed in until you were forced to switch on the lamp and try to doze in its glow. That didn’t work either.

Monday arrived and you ate your breakfast without tasting it. It would be nice to work in the call center, detached from the nucleus of the city; far from Stark Tower. You paranoia receded and you focused on the task ahead. You rinsed your dishes and dressed quickly. You locked your door and raced down the stairs, hopping in your car as your anxiety got the best of you. You were always nervous the first day of a placement. Traffic was frustrating and by the time you reached the call center, you were overtired and overwrought.

You were greeted by a manager as you emerged on the tenth floor and she showed you to your desk. It was placed in a small box with an open window through which you were to speak to potential employees arriving for their interviews and other visitors. As usual, your instructions awaited and a computer sat to your left. This one was much slower than that in Stark Tower, taking a whole twenty minutes to boot. It was all good and well as you flipped through the tabloid you found nestled in the drawer of the desk.

This job was less lively but you were afforded a Keurig drink whenever you wished and you were hidden enough to finish endless sudoku’s from the little book you stowed away in your work bag. Time passed like sand in a glass and when the end of the day came, you felt as if you had been there a week. The next day similarly bent the rules of time and by Wednesday, you were ready to be done with this placement.  There was not enough to keep you busy. At times, you caught yourself staring through the window of your little booth, thinking about the puddle of blood, the body laying in it, the two figures with guns cocked and ready. This time, you caught the tear as it rolled down your nose. You hadn’t even known you had been crying.

You rushed to the washroom and locked yourself in, rinsing your face over the sink. Cold water would keep your eyes from getting puffy. You gripped the side of the sink and looked into the mirror. One moment, you would forget and be fine and then the next, it was as if it just happened. You wish you could talk to someone; anyone, but that would only ensure your own death. You couldn’t even tell Allie; you couldn’t put her in danger and you knew she wouldn’t believe you. She was your closest friend but she wasn’t the type to understand.

You glanced at your watch. Fifteen minutes left. Fifteen long minutes. You returned to your desk and focused on your breathing. Counted the minutes. When at last you were free, you packed up your bag and left without another look back. You needed something to help you sleep.

You pulled in at a liquor store a block before your apartment. Whiskey always made you sleepy. You would call the temp service tonight and tell them to find someone else for Thursday. You were going to drink until your eyes shut. You slipped the bottle wrapped in a paper bag inside your bigger leather one and started your car back up. It hesitated but it eventually kicked into gear.

As you climbed your apartment stairs, you clung to the railing. Your body was exhausted, but your mind refused to let it rest. You unlocked your door, kicking off your shoes in the dark as you passed into the main room; an open concept room which adjoined living room, dining room, and kitchen. An island separated the last from the other and you set down your bag on the counter. You flicked on the switch and turned to the fridge, searching for something to water down the alcohol.

“Trying to drink away the memory?” You stood upright as the voice stabbed into you. That you recognized it was even more frightening than the fact that there was someone else in your apartment. Your lip began to tremble but you quickly stopped it, letting the fridge door close as you turned back to peer into the living room where the lone figure sat. How long had he been waiting for you?

You couldn’t find your voice for all the questions racing through your mind and the fear which had formed a lump at the back of your throat. You merely stared in fright as Bucky Barnes sat in your armchair, legs spread confidently, a gun leaned upon the arm and aimed it at you. Your eyes focused on the barrel, waiting for it to spark.

“Go on. Pour one for both of us.” He instructed, the gun twitched as he gestured to the bottle neck sticking out of your bag.

You inhaled deeply, slowly reaching for the bottle. You took it out and removed the paper bag, setting it down with a clank on the countertop. Silence surrounded you, thick and dangerous. You turned and opened the cupboard, pulling forth two small glasses. At this point, it was better to drink it straight.   You turned back and placed the glasses beside the bottle, shakily uncorking it and pouring a portion of whiskey in each. You cursed yourself for your transparent nerves. You replaced the lid and set the bottle back, daring to look up at Bucky.

“Well,” He nodded towards the glass.  You lifted both of them and carefully rounded the counter, nearing him as you held one out. He took it with his free hand and sniffed at it. “Strong,” He commented, “Come on, sit.”

He stared at you as you hesitated. You pulled out a stool from the island and sat across from him. He raised his glass as if to toast you and he drank, letting out a hiss as he retired his glass on the table beside him. Your hand was shaking as you raised your own glass, draining it slowly as you let it burn your throat, tears rising to your eyes.

He leaned on the arm which held the gun and reached into his pocket, pulling forth a cell phone and fiddled with the screen. He offered it to you, waiting for you to set aside your glass and step down off the stool to take it. You climbed back up on the stool and hit the triangle which initiated the clip. “Let’s not start by pretending we don’t know why I’m here,” He said as you watched the black and white footage.

The camera angle clearly showed the scene you had witnessed between him, Steve, and the dealer they had murdered. After the gunshot went off, the camera switched and showed you, only minutes later, fleeing from behind the pillar. You cringed and dropped the phone.

“If I were not so diligent in reviewing the footage, I would never have known. Of course, no one else has seen this; its mysteriously been corrupted and all that,” He smirked, “Please, try to keep breathing. I’m not finished with you yet.”  You let out the breath you had been subconsciously holding. Your face must have been changing colour. “Your license plate was easy enough to track but I never expected you to stumble right into Stark Tower. That was a pleasant surprise. Admittedly, I should have killed you then. Right after work on the way to your car. Almost a poetic end. Ironic, if anything.”

“So, you are going to kill me?” You forced out, “Because I’d rather you just got it over with. I’ve suffered long enough.” He smiled as you spoke, as if amused that you had a voice.

“I weighed the option. Admittedly, it was my first thought, but if I’d settled on that, you’d not have made it past your kitchen.” You stared at him; somehow even more frightened as he confessed that he did not intend to kill you. Yet. “Come here,” He gestured the gun before him, “Just here. In front of me.”  You slowly slipped from the stool, nearing him, ready for him to shoot you at any moment. You couldn’t be sure he wasn’t playing for you. “Right there.” He stopped you from coming closer, “Turn around. Let me have a look.”

You felt flames licking at you flesh, your eyes nearly popping out as you stared back at him. You willed yourself to obey, the movement jagged and difficult. “Mmm.” The sound was that of appraisal. As you came back to face him, he smirked again. “I live a life of practicality. Utilitarian, if you would. Everything, and everyone, has their use. If they do not, then why keep them around?” You stepped back, unsettled by the spark in his eye. “You see, I realized over these last weeks, that you may just be useful. That being the reason you're still alive.”

You were in disbelief. You understood his meaning, but you didn’t. Surely, he couldn’t be serious. He was a murderer, sure, but something about his inference was so outlandish. It was disgusting; vile; a fate almost as bad as death. Almost. Because deep down you knew you were so afraid of him firing that gun that you would accept it. Whatever it was he was saying. Whatever it was you were trying to deny.

“Do you understand me, Y/N?” He asked. Your name on his lips terrified you.

“I--I think,” You rasped. You were out of breath as if he had struck you in the chest.

“And you don’t want to die, right? So I would guess that you won’t resist me? Or try anything?” You were certain you were going to faint. You stumbled back and braced the stool for support. You nodded, unable to make your tongue work.

“Alright,” He rose and holstered his gun. He neared and bent to retrieve the phone you had dropped on the floor. He inspected it and slipped it into his pocket. “Unfortunately, I do have other plans tonight, but I expect that you will be ready for my next visit. You will have come to accept this arrangement.” He reached inside his jacket and took out an envelope, “You will keep your mouth shut and do as I say.” He held out the envelope but you only stared. He reached down and took your hand, pressing the thick packet into it. “You will not try anything stupid, because I will know and you may not be so useful to me anymore.”  He released your hand and grinned, reaching out to brush a stray lock from your face. “I’ll be seeing you soon.” He promised before backing away. You watched him as he disappeared down the hallway and the door open and closed in his stead.

You looked to the envelope in your hand and turned back to the counter. You opened the flap cautiously and took out the stack of photos within. You spread out each along the counter; each one was a frame of you; going to work, grocery shopping, getting coffee...a rare moment of sleep in your bed. The last made your heart seize.  You stepped away, gripping your head as you walked in circles. You were shaking and you wanted to scream. You neared the counter and swept the photos onto the floor with a yell. You took the whiskey and poured another glass for yourself. You lifted the glass to the light, examining the brown liquid as it refracted within. You inhaled and braced yourself for the fiery alcohol; the third and fourth glasses following much easier.

[glamrockmonarch]

Told Me To Come But I Was Already There. Rufus Taylor (Fluff/Smut)

Request: How about a request for rufus traylor where he teaches u to play the drums!! Fluffy smutty?? Mostly fluff if that's more comfy!! Its cliche but it's cute uwu - Anon

A/N: I am not feeling the smut lately, idk it’s shark week any second now so that might be why I’m so annoyed lately...anyway enjoy this gif that makes me go “bang me like your drums” - which I did not make and I take no credit for. 

ENJOY (because I did work on this for a while)!

What was better than a day at the races? An afternoon in the studio with your best friend. It was long overdue, you promised during your last visit to the land of the Queen herself that you would stop by at the studio whenever he was actually doing something, of course, the Darkness was not working on an album at the time and it had been months since this agreement was made.

Now you stood with Dan watching as the band gathered their things and prepared to leave.

On the floor, a variety of carpets adorned the space a combination of red, brown and yellow. Panels surrounded Rufus and his impressive drum kit. Dan’s guitars in the back lay on a special rack against the wall. Justin played mindlessly on the large black piano opposite from the door.

“Are you ready, Dan? I'm bored and Lord knows we are done now that Y/N is here to distract our drummer boy.”

You chuckled and rolled your eyes at Justin’s comment. It is not like he is wrong. You and Rufus were as close as friends could be, in part you know this is why Rufus had had such a hard time finding a girlfriend who wouldn’t leave. What can you say? Yo had known each other practically since childhood!

While Rufus decided to drop out of high school when he was only sixteen, you remained in school. Meeting the Taylor kids you were still only in elementary school was a big deal for you; your parents were normal non-famous people, becoming friends with Lily unknowing of her parents status meant that you did not care for their money or their fame, it meant that when you became friends with Rufus too it was for the laughter and the amazing time you had whenever you would all do something together.

Your father being an accountant and your mother a psychologist turned housewife, you had little aspirations for anything other than a university degree at age twelve. When Rufus showed you he could go chase after his wildest dreams, your young mind decided you would follow suit! Rufus, being four years older than you, was surprised - as everyone who’d heard you say you wanted to become a doctor was when you had your mother take you to acting and singing classes. By the time you were sixteen you had already played some minor roles in big productions, you had your own tutor and a real sense of what you wanted to do next with your life and career. You attended Brit School and enjoyed your time there while you continued working and moving towards television and film, until graduating and deciding on skipping uni altogether as you were already working and getting recognition from the media and audiences.

“Is that right?” Frankie made you look at him as he spoke, looking over his shoulder as Rufus laughed in silence, a deep red shade painting his usually pale ears.

“Shut it!” You complain, with a smile too wide to seem annoyed.

It was well known by Rufus’ bandmates that you had a thing for each other, although neither one of you had acted on it.

“Alright, kids, keep it classy,” Justin says as he stood from the piano bench and left, Dan followed and then Frankie, nodding towards you and then winking at Rufus.

You went to the drum set and put your hands on your waist, looking around at the different drums and cymbals.

“See anything you like?” Rufus cocked a brow.

You shrugged.

“Looks shiny.”

This makes Rufus laugh from the little seat behind the drums. He smiled at you and twisted his drumsticks between his fingers as he offered them to you.

“Wanna give it a go?” He asked.

You took the drumsticks from his hands and watched as he stood for you to take a seat behind the large drum kit. Apparently, you had to put one foot on the bass drum pedal and hit it without stopping, which proved rather difficult as Rufus kept laughing at you.

He told you how to hit it and what to do with the drumsticks, showing you some easy moves, although soon enough you complained that you were losing the beat.

“It’s...I’m losing it, I’m losing it!” You called out with your eyes focused on the snare and tom-toms.

“Yeah,” he paused, “you lost it.”

With a couple more attempts at playing for longer than five seconds without skipping a beat or forgetting to kick the bass drum altogether, Rufus huffed loudly, a smile still present on his face as he rolled his eyes and dropped his jacket on the couch on the opposite side of the large room.

“I am so done with you,” he made a gesture with his hands and pulled you up by the hands. “Come on, you have to at least be able to play something!”

Rufus took a seat on the stool as you stepped back. You waited with patience, he thought about it for a moment, turning the drumsticks in his hands while the wheels turned in his head. At last, he got it. The perfect song to teach you, something typically rock and roll and easy. Something classy and cool - for his classy and cool girl friend.

“Okay, okay… pay attention, come over back here and watch the bass drum, the rest is super easy.”

You let out a single laugh and wiped your palms on the sides of your midi dress. The fact was that while you stood behind him and watched how he played you felt the all-too-familiar teenage butterflies flapping their wings around in your belly, worst of all? The funny feelings did not stop there, as his hair started falling from his improvised bun and fell onto the sides of his face you were oddly aroused. A feeling of warmth invading your midsection, your thighs squeezing together as your friend nodded his head to the beat of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”.

After not too long it was your turn to sit down on the black stool and try your best at playing this song, although you were aware that your best abilities would be put to use on a piano - and still leave a lot to be desired…

“For the record, I would have chosen “Girl’s Got Rhythm”, but you’re the teacher so…” Rufus paid no mind, thinking you were half-joking although he’d seen you and Lola party hard to some old school rock.

At the moment you focused on doing what he showed you before and thankfully Rufus corrections were minimal, he laughed when you hit the cymbal out of time and helped you pick up the right rhythm with the bass when it proved a bit difficult for you.

“I don’t think you’ve got the rhythm, Y/N,” the blonde drummer mocked.

You rolled your eyes and felt your hair fall on your eyes as it was free from any hair tie today.

“Give me a day, I swear I’ll get this down.” You blew on your h/c hair to get it off your face and smiled up at him, still hitting the drums, “easy!”

Rufus laughed at you and retired back to the couch, listening as you tried your best at keeping that bass drum going. He sat back on the sofa facing you and struggled with his breath as he stared at your focused expression. You were damn pretty, he knew that. It was clear that you were cute when you were a child, but during your teenage years cute dialed up and turned into pretty and now entering your twenties it was more than just that. Rufus thought you actually had it after you managed to play the transition from the chorus to the verse, hitting the right drums and reaching to the right and back to your simple snare, snare, cymbal, like it was nothing.

You smiled at yourself and kept on playing, getting a little excited you stopped and started over, this time Rufus leaned forward on his seat at the sound of your voice.

“She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean, she was the best damn woman I had ever seen…” you sang over the sound of the drums.

“Are we moving on to singing too?” Rufus cocked a brow.

You laughed out loud and lost the beat, effectively too overcome with joy to produce anything worthwhile on Rufus’ drums.

“Fuck yeah!” You stuck your tongue out at Rufus and hit random drums in a careless manner, catching the blonde’s attention.

You let your hair fall around your shoulders and over your face as you mimicked a move you often saw drummers do, hitting every single drum in sight in an increasingly louder way, ending it by throwing your hands up in the air with the drumsticks pointing at the ceiling.

Rufus clapped, amused at your childlike joy and admiring how damn hot you looked while doing the goofiest of things - not even sounding good but owning it, which was what counted really.

“I have to admit, this should be a fun thing to do on the regular.” You sat the drumsticks back on top of the tom-toms and stood up to go up to your friend on the couch. “It feels liberating.”

With a shrug, you stared at his bright blue eyes. Rufus held your stare and you finally pushed your hair behind your ears, why would you two keep wondering about it when you both wanted the other so badly? The studio was empty and you had it all to yourselves, yet here you were playing stupid.

Hesitating with your hands still behind your ears, you decided to give it a shot, in any case, you thought you had such a strong friendship rejection of any romantic advances would not be such a big deal, after all, you had dated other people in the past and talked quite freely about it too. You slid your hands down your strands of hair that were left hanging on your shoulders and found your hands wandering down your skirt, followed attentively by Rufus’ eyes.

Confident now you saw as he laid back on the couch, starting up a conversation that for sure would lead nowhere in an attempt at distracting himself from how nice your freshly waxed legs looked from what he could see.

“And how exactly do you plan on becoming a better drummer by not playing?” He wondered.

A giggle left your lips and you stepped closer to him around the small coffee table, standing right in front of your friend.

“I guess I’ll have to sleep with someone, see if that gets me a spot on the band.” You joked.

Rufus raised his brows, his head thrown back to be able to look up at your face, amusement and something else mixed in your eyes, pulling at the corners of your mouth as well.

“I don’t think you have many members to choose from...basically everyone is taken.” He lamented with his eyes falling on your cleavage for a second.

You nodded and narrowed your eyes, pointing your index finger at his face.

“Ah,” you opened your eyes wide and raised your brows, “but the one that matters is single!”

With that you pulled on your skirt and raised the fabric of your dress up as you sat on Rufus’ lap, straddling him, now your faces were close and your chests were almost pressed against each other’s. Wrapping your arms around his neck you felt his arms snake behind you and hold you too, pulling you closer on his lap.

“What have you got in mind?” He wondered, his blue eyes giving him away when his gaze fell from your e/c eyes to your lips.

Taking the opportunity you reached to cup his cheek and grazed the golden hairs of his growing beard as you leaned forward to touch his lips with yours in a kiss so soft it felt like it almost did not happen. Until it did. Encouraged by your sweet little move, Rufus brought his hand to your cheek too and pulled you in harder into him, his lips pressing on yours with a force less sweet than before.

Although it did not take you by surprise, you were eager and enthusiastic about his positive response. Your lips moved along with his and you let your hands drag down his neck and to his chest, pushing him away briefly when his tongue had just ventured into your mouth. You did not know if this would be a great idea but for sure it would be worthwhile, so you spoke softly to him about the one thing bothering you.

“I really really really want you to put your hair down,” you gave Rufus a side smile and watched as his hands left your body to reach behind his head and with fanatic disposition take the elastic out of his long golden hair. “There he is!”

Rufus snorted and rolled his eyes at you, but put his hands on your hips and tilted his head to put his lips against yours again. This time you crashed your lips onto his and kissed him with a new need, a want that grew in your belly as you tangled your fingers in his hair when you messed with it and Rufus let out little pleased sounds.

He did not mean to get busy with you, in fact, you were supposed to meet Lily, Lola and Rory for dinner though right now, Rufus’ thoughts were somewhere else… in fact he could not think straight with your lips on him and your tongue against his. He just pictured how pretty you would look if he got his way with you, and he would be responsible for it - this only increased the tightness on his jeans that got a little more unbearable as you left wet open-mouthed kisses on his neck, nibbling on his adam’s apple, your breath fanning over his skin.

And it did not help that you seemed to know exactly his thoughts as you started grinding your hips on his. Poor boy, wanted you so bad he almost felt embarrassed.

You were confident with what you were doing and once you felt his erection beneath you, you did not pull away from his neck until Rufus pulled your face close to his and landed short desperate kisses on your previously pink-coloured lips. His hands left your sides and you could feel that both of you were trying to get some friction from one another, Rufus touched your cheeks for a brief moment before sliding down your chin and falling on the pretty black buttons of your dress, he started undoing them with his lips still on yours. Soon your light gray bra was on full display and Rufus’ lips were making their way down your jaw to your neck and collarbone, his beard tickling your skin and his mouth surely leaving marks behind. You did not care, you reached down between your bodies and pulled the zipper of his jeans down, making him moan against the tender flesh of your breast, he bit onto you when you touched him through the fabric of his navy blue boxers.

“Shit, Y/N…” his  voice sounded like a shaky breath, and you smiled down at him when you heard him.

You watched him bury his face on the valley of your breasts as you worked his cock with your hand, pumping it with the help of his own pre-cum as you too felt arousal gather between your legs.

Rufus felt himself getting closer and closer and his hands soon found a grip on your ass, pulling you farther up on his lap, venturing to kiss your lips he snuck a hand up your thigh and between your legs, pushing past your underwear to feel your cunt already wet and slippery, ready for his swollen cock.

Without hesitation, his finger swiveled over your clit and your mouth let out a loud surprised moan against his cheek. Rufus gasped for air and after just a few seconds so were you, with one hand on his shoulder for support as your hips moved desperately chasing that sweet friction his fingers were giving you while you jerked him off.

“I would love to be inside you,” Rufus admitted, his voice raspy on your ear before he nibbled on the soft flesh of your earlobe.

There was no time to waste, you pulled away from him, your hands swiftly slipping under your dress as you pushed your panties down and kicked them to the side to come back to sit on Rufus’ lap.

He kissed you and grabbed his own cock as you straddled him, excitement bubbling in your stomach as you sank down onto his hard length, feeling every inch and every vein as you were pulled down by his hands on your waist now. You rocked your hips against his and held on to the back of the sofá as you started riding him, your body adjusting just fine to his length and girth. Your hands slid under Rufus’ shirt and you touched his stomach and chest before he dared let go of your hips and take it off, throwing it away somewhere before thrusting his hips up and meeting yours, a little spasm shaking your thigh as a wave of pleasure ran up your spine.

You called out his name and pressed your chest to his as you kept on bouncing up and down his cock, rufus could feel your walls clench around him ever so often and it drove him mad, he just wanted to watch you cum around him, so he pulled your hair away from your shoulders and kissed your cheek, then your neck when you threw your head back grasping onto his shoulders for leverage. He fund your clit once again with his thumb and drew circles over it while you rode him, bringing you closer to the edge, Rufus squeezed your butt and nibbled on your sweet spot under your ear, only now learning of its existence as it was the last straw and your orgasm hit you with full force, delicious waves of pleasure expanding through your body that laid against Rufus; who marveled in the sight and sounds he was getting out of you. His cock twitched inside you and you did your best through your high to not stop riding it, although it was a matter of moments after he came, his cock spilling inside your throbbing cunt.

“Ah,” you sighed against your pale friend’s face, his cheek was bright pink from the sexual activities. “For the record, I don’t mind public places...but next time let’s get a room?”

Rufus exhaled a laugh and nodded his head, kissing your cheek he combed your hair back and tucked a strand behind your ear.

“So there will be a next time, huh?” Rufus’ eyes seemed to gleam with excitement. “After a date, I hope…” he tilted his chin down to get a glimpse of your expression as you looked down at him from his lap.

“If your sisters don’t kill us first for being late!” You giggle, leaning down you rub your nose against his. “We should get going.”

Before you stand, Rufus whines and pulls you against his chest, holding you he leant back on the sofá and had you put your head on his shoulder, nuzzling happily onto his neck. He ran his hand up and down your exposed arm while you drew shapes on his bare skin.

“By the way, you are an awful drummer. At most, you can stand backstage. Take it or leave it.”  

[starry-eyed-skz]

Felix Lee x Reader ~ My Ghost Best Friend

Here's my new one shot I've been working on hehe I hope you all enjoy!

Summary- You've always been fairly connected to the spirit realm. But one starry night changes not only your life, but the afterlife of a certain ghost as well. Was it for the better.. or for the worst..?

Word count- 3k

Italics = thoughts

masterlist

♥♦♥

~~~Reader's POV~~~

I hum quietly as I walk down the empty streets at night, my shoulder throbbing from how heavy my backpack is. "Stupid college assessment.." I mumble under my breath, gripping the strap to my backpack. "Seriously, who stays out this late?" The sudden voice startles me and I whip around in the direction of it, seeing a tall figure with blonde hair and dark brown eyes. "Like you have room to talk, bud." I snicker quietly and he visibly seems to freeze in his spot, his eyes going wide. "Y-you can see me..?" His voice is just above a whisper and I tilt my head to the side in utter confusion, not understanding what he's getting at.

"Yes..? You're tall, fluffy blonde hair, dark chocolate brown eyes, pale skin.. why?" He seems to be shaken up and I slightly back away from him. "You're not gonna believe me if I tell you.." He runs his hand through his hair, slightly disheveling the golden locks. "Color me interested, tell me." I put my free hand in my pocket, shifting my weight to my left foot. He reaches out for my hand still on my backpack strap and as soon as his hand makes contact with mine I scream. "Dude, why are your hands so cold?!" I shove my other hand into the pocket of my hoodie.

He takes a deep breath and his eyes meet mine again. "I'm not.. necessarily alive…" I can't help but laugh at his words, making him more confused. "What are you a ghost or something?" My laughing slightly dies down as I notice a somewhat serious expression on his face. "You can't be serious.." He smiles shyly at me as a light glow starts surrounding him, my eyes widening. My backpack falls off my shoulder as a light breeze kicks in out of nowhere, but I don't hear it hit the ground. Instead, the bag is left slightly floating above the ground. I look back up to meet his eyes and he only continues to smile as the glow dies down, the breeze stopping and my bag falling to the ground.

"You aren't kidding.." My tone is only just above a whisper, my mind starting to sway back to all the old memories with the other world. "Nope, I'm not kidding." He cups his hands behind his back as a light blush takes over his face. "I'm Felix by the way." He bows his head slightly, his smile not faltering. "Y/n.." His eyes seem to twinkle in the glow of the moon as if reflecting the stars in his irises. "Well Felix it was nice to meet you and all, but I have to go now.." I silently trail off and pick up my backpack from the sidewalk. His face visibly falls and sadness overtakes his eyes.

"Please don't leave.. I've been so lonely the past few years. You're my only hope left.." His voice slightly cracks as tears start brimming his eyes. "I mean.. I guess you could come with me..?" My words come out as more of a question than a statement which makes me cringe internally. Wow, nice going Y/n. Felix's chuckle makes me tilt my head before realization hits me. "You can read my thoughts, can't you?" He just giggles and nods, making my cheeks dust with red. "Only if I wish to. If I focus enough energy, I can read the thoughts of mortals around me." My eyes widen and then I know why he was so quiet for a little bit. God damnit. "Don't worry though, I won't always look into that pretty little head of yours." He winks at me and I hit him, making us both shocked before I shake it off. "Keep it up and I'll take back my offer."

"No please don't, I'm sorry." He's quick to be at my side and clinging to my arm, his cold touch making me shiver even with a hoodie not allowing full contact of our skin. "Seriously, why are spirit's hands always so cold?" I ask out or nowhere as we walk to my apartment building, the silence starting to consume me. "I honestly don't have a clue, it might be because we don't have the need for heat anymore? That's the only reason I could think of." I just nod my head as we continue walking down the sidewalk, the moon giving off a beautiful glow to the ground below mine and Felix's feet.

~~At Y/n's Apartment; Y/n's POV~~

A small yawn leaves my mouth as I turn the key in the keyhole, retracting it when I hear the click that indicates the door is unlocked. I push the door open and set my backpack on the floor. I would've flung it, but my laptop is in there and I'd prefer not to buy a new one. "Well, make yourself at home I guess." I run a hand through my hair as I lock the door again, placing my keys on the hook. "Why were you out so late anyway?" Felix takes the liberty of flopping down on my couch, smiling at the comfiness. "I had to finish all my research for my assignment." I sigh and pick up my backpack again, ready to head to my room. "I'm gonna go to bed, it's really late." I yawn again, feeling more sluggish by the second. Felix nods his head and swings his feet back and forth.

"Don't phase through the walls and watch me sleep." The teasing tone in my voice brings a blush to his face and I can't help but giggle. "I'm joking, weirdo." My giggle fit dies down as I walk down the hall towards my room, closing the door behind me. I place my bag down on my desk and grab my pajamas to put on.

I pull my pajama shirt over my head and flop onto my bed, ready to cuddle underneath the warm covers. I turn off my lamp on my bedside table and plug my phone in. The only thoughts crossing my mind are those of the ghost sitting in my living room. I've always been very connected with the spirit world since I was young. Children are always so in tune with it because their minds are so pure and non corrupted by the words of the adults around us. But instead of listening to all those things people said and not believing, I continued to believe. It's just been a few years since I last encountered anything paranormal so I can't help but be shaken up though.

I sigh and push all my thoughts aside, turning on my side. The softness of my pillows slowly starts coaxing me into slumber as I nuzzle my face closer to them. I pull my blankets up to my chin and smile slightly at how good it feels to be back in my bed. My mind is slowly put at ease as I'm pulled into sleep.

~~A Few Months Later; Y/n's POV~~

I'm peacefully amongst the dream land until I feel a pillow make contact with my face. "Y/n! Get up!" The oh too familiar voice tries ripping me from my realm of peace but I just pull the blankets over my head, not wanting to leave my bed. "Y/n you have a lecture to go to! Get the hell up!!" The blankets are ripped off me without Felix even being near my bed. "God damnit Felix, stop using your ghost abilities to ruin my life!" I can only whine at my idiot of a best friend and shove my face into my pillows. His laugh bounces off the walls as he smiles at me.

"Okay but seriously, get your lazy ass up before you're late to your lecture." I turn my head to look at him and next thing I know, a pillow makes contact with my face. "Felix!" He just laughs again and quickly darts up from my chair at my desk, running out of my room. No, not using the door. Through the wall. God I hate him but love him at the same time. "Love you too, Y/n~!" His annoying sing-song voice makes me roll my eyes with a light smile on my face.

I roll out of my bed and stop when I see an outfit laid out on my desk for me already, shaking my head at how well Felix knows me. "You're welcome by the way!" Hi remark makes me laugh as I grab the clothes from my desk and head to the bathroom to change. The past few months have been really eventful with Felix in my life, to say the least. I mean hey, I haven't been late to a single morning lecture since I met him so there's a plus. I flatten my shirt against my torso to get rid of any annoying wrinkles. "20 more minutes girl, come on!" I huff in fake annoyance and run my brush through my hair, quickly getting rid of the knots.

"Calm your tits Feix, there's enough time!" The fake dramatic gasp I receive in return makes me giggle for a little bit. "I'm offended!" The mock hurt in his voice only makes me laugh harder as I walk out of the bathroom to see a pouty Felix sitting on the couch. "Okay my pouty prince I gotta go to my lecture." I quickly walk over to him and ruffle his hair before retreating to the door to put on my shoes. I grab my bag off the floor and quickly open the door, wave, and leave to my class. I have a feeling I was forgetting something, but I just brush it off and continue out of the apartment complex near campus.

~~At the Campus; Jisung's POV~~

I laugh with my best friends as we stand around our college campus, not wanting to go to class yet. Out of the corner of my eye I see a familiar head of h/c hair casually walking in my direction. I smile and turn in that direction and am met with a pair of e/c eyes. "Y/n, hey!" I wave her over to my little group of friends and am nudged in the shoulder by my friends suggestively, chuckling at them. She makes her way towards me quickly and a small "Hi" leaves her mouth. "You've been somewhat distant lately, what's up?" Seungmin is quick to ask her the question our group has been wondering for over a month. "Oh.. it's nothing, really." She laughs awkwardly at her own statement and rubs the nape of her neck.

I can tell she's uncomfortable from the body language she's giving off so I just casually change the subject to Hyunjin's dog. She gives me a thankful look before looking at her phone for the time. "Oh shit, my lecture is starting soon! Bye guys, talk to you later!" Y/n is very quick to rush off in the direction of her class. I hear random footsteps around us even though we're the only people in this area of the campus. What the? I look around for a person that the footsteps could've came from, not seeing a single possible source in sight.

I brush it off and check my phone for the time, noticing that I only had 3 minutes to make it to my astrology lecture. I wave bye to my friends and hurry off to the building, feeling a pair of eyes burning into my soul. I shiver in fear at the thought of being stalked and hurry up on my way.

~~After Classes & At the Apartment; Y/n's POV~~

I sigh at the discomfort and throbbing feeling in my feet from having to walk around so much just to get home. I reach into my pocket for my key, my heart dropping when I realise that's what I forgot this morning. I try to turn the doorknob but of course, Felix locked it after I left. Couldn't even bring me my keys.. I knock on the door, hoping that he's still here. If he went on one of his walks. The door opens and I'm met with the lazy smile of none other than the ghost himself. I hit him in the arm and close the door behind me. "Couldn't even bother to bring me my house key, I see." I say sassily but still in a joking manner, not wanting him to think I'm upset with him.

"Heh sorry, I didn't really notice until your classes were almost done." He ruffles my hair and a familiar glow surrounds him, my bag leaving my shoulder and being carried to my room for me. "You're so extra with your powers at this point." I can't help but giggle at how much of a dork he is, him reciprocating my smile as the glow fades. "Oh, how did the presentation go?" The question makes me groan at him for bringing back up college when I just got home. "It was fine, nothing special." I lean my head on his shoulder, thankful that he's fully materialized. His hands runs up and down my arms, the cool feeling of his palms calming me down.

I feel him smile into my hair before the only thing logical to say at 11pm. "You should probably go to bed, I can tell just by your posture that you need it." He moved away from me and shoves me in the direction of my room, the sudden movement making me almost fall. I mumble a small "good night" to him as I sluggishly make my way to my room to drown in the warmth of my bed.

~~~Felix's POV~~~

I smile sadly as Y/n disappears into her bedroom, sitting myself down on the couch. I look around the living room and frown at the messy look it now had since I got here. When Y/n first let me into her apartment, it was very clean and well kept. But after a while she just stopped caring about cleaning up all the time. I sigh and close my eyes, focusing my energy on my telekinesis to clean the mess. My eyes open and I watch as the plates are moved to the sink to be cleaned later and all the paper that makes itself into a pile on the table.

Once the room looks decently better I put a halt to my powers, looking at the progress I made. I lay down on the couch and a sigh passes through my lips, closing my eyes to attempt at sleep once again.

~~The Next Morning; Y/n's POV~~

I wake up on my own accord this morning, wondering why Felix wasn't bugging me even though I had no classes today. I get out of my bed, my bare feet making contact with the cold floor. I shuffle my way out of my room and see the before mentioned ghost sitting on my couch, head in his hands. "Felix?" I call out to him as I move to stand in front of him, the lack of his cold surrounding area making me confused. He looks up at me with a blank look on his face, fueling my confusion but also striking fear in my heart. "What's wrong?"

I reach out to put my hand on his shoulder but instead of making contact with it, my hand phases right through. What the.. "Felix..?" My voice wavers as my fear starts growing larger. "I'm sorry Y/n.." His voice is just above a whisper but sounds distant despite the lack of "personal bubble" space between us. "For what? What's going on?" My voice cracks slightly when I see the sad look in his eyes. "I'm.. going to leave you alone." As soon as the words hit my ears I swear I feel my world come crashing down. "W-what? Why? Felix please explain why.." I fall to my knees in front of him, the carpet leaving a sting on the surface of my skin.

"You seem like you're closing yourself off from the outside world you live in. I never wanted this to happen if I finally found someone I could interact with." He starts shaking at his own words, tears brimming his dark eyes. "For that, I'm going to set you free. Move on from this friendship and get your life back.." Tears start streaming down my face as he continues, my own body starting to shake. "Felix please.." I sound so pathetic at this point but I don't care. My own thoughts sound selfish to me but I don't care. I want my best friend to stay. I want my best friend to be there for me when I need him.

Hell,

I want him here because I love him.

Felix seems to physically freeze when he processes the rapid thoughts going through my head. "This is why I have to leave. You deserve someone who can really be there for you." He stands up from the couch and moves to the middle of the room, seeming as if he's going to fall on his knees. "But you are and can be! You have been!" I don't even try to hide my tears at this moment in time, my voice cracking again. "Y/n.. we're of two different worlds. Two completely different planes not meant to interact.." Felix starts to sound more and more distant and my eyes look up instinctively, my heart shattering more.

He's disappearing..

"Felix, please! Stay here!" The words are barely able to get out through choked out sobs as he starts disappearing from my sight. "Goodbye Y/n, I love you.." Those are the last words that I hear from him before he's gone. My sobs become louder and harder, my heart starting to hurt. It feels as if my world was torn apart right in front of my eyes, my heart throbbing in hurt. I grip my hair in my hands and curl into a ball on the floor refusing to move from where I am.

I love you Felix Lee, and I always will..

♥♦♥

Wow that got depressing that the end- uhm well then O.O

I'm not too proud of this but it isn't my worst work either. I hope you all enjoyed either way 😅💓

[mendesho]

Only Fools Pt 2: Please Don’t Bite

A/N: So here’s Part 2 to Only Fools. It’s more of a prequel of how Aria and Shawn met so you don’t have to read the first part to understand it. 

Warnings: Smut.

(Header by the Amazing @stockholmshawn)

Word Count: 7.4 K

Summary: Aria is still getting over her last relationship when her friends drag her out. She meets a boy who makes her feel something she thought wasn’t possible. (I’m bad at summaries loool)

The music thudded loudly from the speakers, filling the dimly lit club with electric beat and pounding rhythms. The air was musky with the sweat of warm bodies grinding and writhing against each other on the small dance floor. The club smelled of smoke from lit cigarettes and free flowing alcohol being poured without a care. People of all ages danced carelessly, hands roaming the body of the nearest stranger and hips grinding against each other. Aria was new to this, the whole club scene. She wasn’t sure how she found herself here. One minute she was sat in her dorm, eating ice cream and crying over the silly rom com that played in the background as her mind wandered to her ex, and the next, her friends were pounding on the door, dragging her up and out of her comfy PJ’s into the tight black jeans and fitted crop top that she now adorned. “It’s been 2 months Ariel” Claire had said, fixing Aria’s hair, pushing the messy bangs out of her eyes. “Mark is a prick. It's time to move on and get yourself a man” Aria sighed, her eyes falling to the floor. She loved her friends for trying to help her, but she wished they would understand. Mark was her first real relationship, and it hurt like hell to be told it meant nothing. “I’m not ready” “Like hell you’re not!” Josie shouted from the bedroom, having made herself at home on Aria's bed. She stood up quickly, trudging to the bathroom and looking at Aria. “You’re more than ready. He never deserved you anyway, the twat” Aria appreciated that. She knew she deserved better, but having shared so many firsts with one person, it was hard to just move on and forget. Aria sighed again, not making eye contact with either of them. She just wanted to lie back in her bed and forget the world for a little while longer. “Aria” Claire had started, her hand resting firmly on Aria’s shoulder, forcing him to look up “You’re my best friend, and I say this with love, but stop being a soppy twat and let’s go get hammered!”

And so here Aria sat, nursing a gin and tonic that was more than halfway full at the small bar at the local club, Enigma, which Claire insisted they go to. It was Aria’s first time at a bar or club of any sort. She usually opted to stay inside and play video games and, on the rare occasion that she did go out, usually went to the frat houses on campus which was host to many drunken frat boys and jocks. Aria felt out of place. Her anxiety was skyrocketing as each guy walked to the bar offered her a hungry glance, looking as though they could devour her in one gulp. It was intimidating to say the least. Aria knew she was attractive, at least a little bit, but with the way these men ogled her, it made her nerves burn under her skin and her stomach bubble nervously. She felt like a piece of meat in the lion’s den just waiting to be pounced on. The metaphorical lamb to the slaughter. She felt kind of silly, being 19 years old and never having been to a club. It almost seemed like she’d missed out on a teenage rite of passage in a way. It's not like Aria had refused to ever she just never seemed to be offered. This whole thing, from the thumping music to the practical orgy happening on the dance floor, it all felt so foreign to her. “Hey there beautiful, what’s a pretty thing like you doing here all alone?” A deep, husky voice said to the right of her, tearing her from her thoughts. Aria winced slightly, hoping to remain unnoticed long enough for her friends to get tired and finally let her continue to sulk in her bed. Unfortunately, the lord wasn’t on her side that night. Aria shifted in her seat, eyeing the man. He was attractive, with a strong jaw that had little brown specks of stubble and sandy brown hair in a messy faux hawk. His eyes were a shiny green, the kind you’d find on the expensive emeralds that sat in the jewelry shop windows that sparkled brightly when the light hit them just right. He looked about 30, Aria thought. “I’m not alone... My friends are here” Aria said loud enough for the man to hear her over the pulsing tones surrounding them. “somewhere...” “Shame they left you all alone. Let me buy you a drink” The man said, a smirk playing on his lips. Aria felt uneasy in this man's presence, the man giving her wolf in sheep’s clothing sorts of vibes. Something didn’t sit right, whether it be the way the man eyed Aria hungrily, or the way his hand brushed ever so slightly against Aria’s hip, it made Aria uncomfortable. Aria tried to scoot away, praying the man would disappear if she acted uninterested. “No thanks, still working on this one” Aria said, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. He wanted the man to go away so she could resume her previous position of being alone and miserable. “Oh come on, just one drink.” The guy persisted, his hand now resting firmly on Aria's lower back. Aria shifted, scooting away from the guy’s hand. “I’m fine, really. Thanks” Aria turned away from the guy, sending a silent prayer that he would go away with Aria’s rejection. For the second time that night, the lord wasn’t on his side. Instead, the guy gripped Aria’s shoulder firmly, spinning her around on the bar stool, a cold fierceness in his eyes. Aria's heart jumped in her throat, her eyes wide with fear. This was it, Aria thought. Her first time at a club and she was about to either get punched or murdered. “I think the girl said leave her alone” A voice spoke in a harsh tone, startling both Aria and the older man who's grip was still firm on Aria's shoulder. It was beginning to hurt, and Aria prayed it wouldn’t bruise. “And who are you” The man spat viciously. The owner of the voice came into view and Aria almost gasped. He was beautiful, like something out of an anime (maybe Aria had spent too much time inside). The man wore a white button up shirt that fit him nicely, the pale skin of his collarbone peeking from beneath the collar. His jeans were black and form fitting, accentuating his long, slender legs. His hair was dark brown, and his eyes were pools of honey brown that Aria could drown in without a care. “Just leave the girl alone” The man said, his voice stern and his eyes flashing menacingly. The creep glanced at the man once more before releasing Aria's shoulder, a sly smirk on his face “See you soon, hot stuff” After, the creep walked away. Aria breathed a sigh of relief as she felt her heart thud in his ears. She felt like he was going to explode, as he tried to steady his breathing. Her eyes looked up at the stranger, her knight in shining armor. The man was looking at her curiously and Aria could kiss him if she didn’t feel like his legs would collapse if she tried to stand. “You alright, love? Sorry about that guy, he’s a bit of a cretin” The man laughed “I noticed” Aria mumbled. Her heart rate had slowed significantly and she wasn’t trembling as much. The guy gave off such a calm aura about him. Like he could make everything better just with a simple smile. “I’m Shawn, by the way. Shawn Mendes” The man, Shawn, said as he stuck out his hand. Aria eyed it curiously before placing his own on Shawn’s, giving a firm shake. Ariel Jones. But my friends call me Aria” “Well Ariel Jones, who's friends call you Aria, how are you enjoying your first experience at the club” Shawn chuckled, taking a seat next to Aria Aria's eyes widened it panic “Am I that obvious” Shawn chuckled again, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth. “A little bit. No worries though, I was the same way my first time. I remember not leaving the bar the whole night and drinking loads of cranberry breezes” Aria smiled slightly at Shawn's recount. It made her feel less awkward, knowing she wasn’t completely alone. “And how did that end up for you?” “My head in the bushes and a pounding headache in my English lecture the next morning” Shawn said, a bubble of laughter escaping his lips. His laughter was infectious, causing Aria to laugh right along with him. Aria could get used to hearing his laugh. The way it was a little high pitched in contrast to the soft velvet of his voice. The way his head was thrown back and how his whole face would light up, making him more beautiful than he was.  Aria was convinced that his laugh could cure any disease in the world. “So Aria, what are you doing when you aren’t nervously sitting in a club nursing a drink and getting hit on by creepy guys?” Shawn asked, a humorous expression on his face and a flash of mischief in his eyes. Aria smiled brightly “Well clearly this is my normal routine. But actually I’m studying law at Toronto, first year” “Oh a lawyer” Shawn said, his tone playful but a curious expression on his face “That means you’re going to be rich and have fancy cars and I might just have to make you my sugar mama.” Aria nearly choked on the sip of her drink she had taken, a bubble of laughter falling from her lips. “I have to actually pass my Intro to Law class before I can think about having fancy cars and the likelihood of that happening is nil” Shawn laughed exuberantly, his hand moving to fix the side of his already messy curls that had fallen into his eyes. Aria stared at him, maybe a little too long, taking in every part of his face. He was attractive, that was for sure. More attractive than Mark could ever dream to be. Aria smiled to herself when she realized that this was the longest time she had gone in a while without thinking about Mark. All because of this wonderful stranger who had saved her from being assaulted by a creep. She made a mental note to thank Claire for this later. “So Shawn” Aria started, taking a sip of her drink. The ice had mostly melted and the alcohol was severely diluted now, but Aria had paid 10 bucks for it so she certainly wasn’t going to let it go to waste. “What do you do when you’re not saving inexperienced club goers from creepy men looking to get their rocks off”

 “I'm a musician. I’m heading out on tour tomorrow and wanted to relax a bit before all the craziness started” Shawn said, a small smile curved on his lips. Aria stared, fascinated by this man. He was a musician, traveling the world when Aria was sat complaining about basic intro classes and writing papers. She felt like a proper loser compared to this man. Aria was convinced this man was perfect, the epitome of perfection and there was no way he could be real, let alone interested enough to talk Aria for more than 10 minutes. “Hey, do you want to get out of here? Maybe go for a walk?” Shawn said, a hopeful expression on his face. Normally, Aria would say no. Especially after the whole Mark thing, she wasn’t exactly inclined to subject herself to heart break again. But there was something about Shawn. About the way he looked at Aria, the way he spoke. The way his eyes shined brightly even in dark room of the club and how his laugh filled Aria’s body with warmth that made Aria inclined to say yes. So she did, opting to text her friends later and thank them for dragging her out of her shitty dorm.

~~~ Aria clutched the warm cup of coffee in her hands, thankful for the comfort it provided as she and Shawn walked down the cold streets of Toronto. The breeze blew through the air, ruffling the trees and bringing a cold chill over Aria. Shawn smiled at her, taking a step closer as he sipped his own coffee. Aria had learned that Shawn was 20 years old, his birthday the beginning of August. He was born in Pickering but was planning to move to Toronto once he finalized the purchase of his condo.  He was allergic to dogs, even though he loved them. He loves Harry Potter, music (obviously) and was very close to his family. It was almost like he was Aria’s other half, which made Aria excited. Aria felt her heart quickly sink at the thought that Shawn would be gone after tomorrow. She probably wouldn’t see him again and Shawn would forget all about Aria and move on to some new girl who would get lost in his eyes. “You think too loud” Shawn said, eyeing her curiously. “What's on your mind?” Aria blushed as she was pulled from her thoughts, glancing over at Shawn “Sorry, I’m a very thoughtful person I guess. I’m not really thinking of much.. Just kind of lost in thought” Shawn smiled at him again, nudging his shoulder gently. “Well enough of that! Come on, let’s get on the Ferris Wheel” Aria glanced over where the giant wheel sat illuminated in the square, the line already about 3 feet long. She wouldn’t admit to Shawn she had a slight fear of heights, hoping that she could push the anxiety aside just for this one night. She wasn’t willing to ruin his time with this man for anything. They stood in line, having drained their coffee cups and tossing them in the bin near the small line, which despite its size was moving rather quickly. Shawn nudged into Aria, a smile on his face as he looked in the girl's eyes. Aria really wanted to kiss him. Not too long after, they were taking their seats in the cart of the wheel. The wind whistled softly around them, bringing a slight chill in the air. Aria shivered slightly, scooting closer to Shawn instinctively, seeking his warmth. Shawn wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side. Aria smiled shyly, the feeling comforting and oddly intimate. Aria felt a bit silly, with the way her heart sped up in her chest and her cheeks created a dusting of pink on her skin. She had only known this man for 2 hours and already she felt like a high school kid developing a crush. She couldn’t deny the warmth she felt surrounding her, not just from Shawn's body heat, but Shawn in general. He had a warm personality that could kill the cold and bring light to wherever he was. The wheel began to move, ascending them high over the city. The lights shone brightly in the sky, lighting up the dark night time. Aria was in awe, never having seen Toronto from this angle. It was breathtaking. The lights sparkled on the buildings, like stars in the distance, and the sky was clear, the black reflecting the light beautifully. “It's so gorgeous up here” Aria gasped, her eyes glued to the view around them. “It really is. Thank you for coming up here with me.” Shawn spoke, his voice soft and gentle like velvet. Aria tore her eyes away from the view and looked at Shawn. The lights of the city danced across his face, his eyes even more beautiful than they naturally were with the way the light was hitting them. Aria saw glimpses of yellow in his eyes, as a soft smile was etched on his face. Aria really wanted to kiss him. Almost as if Shawn could read her thoughts, he leaned forward just a bit, his eyes darting down to glance at Aria's lips. His tongue slid across his own lips and his eyes went back to meet hers, biting his lip nervously. “Can I um… Would it be okay if-” Shawn started, tripping over his words. Aria found it adorable and cut him off. “Yes please” She said, her voice shaky and barely above a whisper. Shawn let out a breath, his hand traveling to Aria's cheek and his thumb ghosting over the bone gently, carefully. He looked into Aria’s eyes deeply, like searching for one final form of consent and leaned in. His breath ghosted over Aria's lips and her eyes fluttered shut, her stomach flipping relentlessly and her brain screaming with white noise. When their lips finally touched, Aria felt her whole body ignite. It wasn't fireworks or rainbows, but an intense warmth that rushed over her. It was like she was trapped in a burning building that she didn’t want to escape. She wanted to be engulfed by the flames and never let this feeling end. She felt alive. Shawn’s lips were soft, an excellent contrast to Aria's own overly chapped ones. They were smooth and plump and he tasted like coffee and chocolate with bits of vodka mixed in. The kiss was slow, careful, almost cautious of frightening Aria away. Aria's hands went to Shawn's hip, clinging to the fabric of his jacket that hung on his waist. Her hands were shaking from her nerves and the feeling of the older boys lips being on her, though she would say it was from the cold if ever asked. Soon, far too soon in Aria's opinion, Shawn pulled away. His eyes met Aria's again and a shy smile graced his lips. Aria could get lost in his eyes, the way he stared at Aria made her fill with warmth and a desire to always be by his side. She never wanted this night to end. “That was.. Yeah” Shawn said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Aria felt on cloud 9. She felt like she was swimming. Her whole body felt like it was sparking and waiting to explode and she wanted more. She wanted to feel this every day for rest of her life. She never believed in love at first sight, always thinking it was a myth people made up to explain adolescent feelings, but she got it now. She understood the hype. Aria's not sure what led her to her next move, whether the electricity from the kiss that still hung in the air, or the adrenaline that was coursing through her body, but before she knew it she was pulling Shawn in by his collar. Their lips clashed sloppily, not as gentle and easy as the first. This was heavy, full of passion and desire. Aria was feeling brave, her hands running through Shawn's hair, tangling her fingers in the brown curls. Shawn's hands were on Aria's hips in a flash, his fingertips digging into her exposed skin. He darted his tongue over her bottom lip, not having to wait long before Aria parted her lips and let Shawn explore her mouth. It was messy and rushed, but Aria craved it. She wanted more. She needed more.

~~~ The cab ride back to Shawn's hotel was tense. Aria was fidgety and anxious and struggled to keep her hands to herself. She never did this, never picked up random guys for a quick fuck. She wasn’t the type and now that she was doing it, her nerves were on high, causing her hands to tremble and a lump to form in her throat. There was something about Shawn that made her brave. Making her do things she never thought she would. He brought her out of her comfort  zone. It was exhilarating. Shawn sat next to her, hand resting on Aria's thigh and stroking slowly, his eyes watching Aria carefully. They weren’t the honey brown they normally were, instead dark, almost black with lust. Aria shivered at Shawn’s touch, the hand sliding up slowly and ghosting over Aria's center.  She held back a moan, biting her lip and digging her nails into the leather of the arm rest. Thankfully, the cab ride was over soon enough and they both exited the cab. They rushed inside quickly once they handed the driver the cash and rushed to the elevator. The wait for the elevator may have been worse than the cab ride, as Aria was growing more and more desperate the longer she had to wait. She wanted to touch Shawn. She wanted to taste the boy properly and run her fingers over the soft, tan skin.

 She shuddered at the dirty thoughts her mind was creating. All the thing she wanted Shawn to do to her.  What she wanted to do to him. She bit her lip, trying to focus her mind. The ding of the elevator startled Aria, ripping her away from her less than PG thoughts. Both of them stepped inside once the doors opened. Shawn pressed the door close button, stepping back so they metal doors could shut. In less than a second after they had, Aria felt herself being pushed against the wooden wall of the lift, warm lips against her own. She moaned into the kiss, hands going to Shawn’s hair. Shawn took Aria's hands from his hair, pinning them above her head, and began attacking her neck, soft nips and kitten licks stroking over her skin. Aria felt her knees wobble, her neck being her most sensitive spot.

She let out a loud, almost pornographic moan, rolling her hips forward to meet Shawn’s. She heard Shawn suck in a breath, rolling his hips back. They were both unbelievably aroused, desperate for the other. Shawn's teeth grazed over her skin, sucking a mark into her neck. Aria didn’t even mind, wanting to show the whole world that this beautiful man wanted her. The lift doors dinged, opening slowly. The two jumped away from each other, Shawn going back to the other side of the lift. Aria was panting, her cheeks flushed, hair a bit of a mess and the beginnings of an angry, purple bruise forming on her neck. An older woman, who couldn’t be any younger than 70, stepped inside and pressed the button for her floor followed by the close button. She glanced at the both of them, giving a raised eyebrow at their current state. Aria blushed furiously, avoiding the woman’s knowing gaze. She tried to slow her breathing, willing her heart to stop thudding so loudly. Shawn let out a chuckle, keeping his eyes glued to the metal doors. The lift dinged once more, this time for Shawn's floor. They both stepped out quickly, not looking back at the older woman. Aria followed Shawn down the corridor to his room, anxiously waiting for Shawn to open the door. Finally, the door was open and Aria's back was yet again pressed to the wall.

 Teeth clashing and roaming hands and heavy, breathy moans. Aria felt weak in the knees again, her hands clinging to Shawn's shirt in order to keep herself upright. Shawn's hand slid under Aria's shirt, fingertips ghosting over Aria skin and leaving a trail of goosebumps behind. Aria shivered under Shawn’s touch, her breath hitching in her throat and her hips pushing forward instinctively.

“You’re so beautiful” Shawn whispered against Aria's lips, his hand trailing up Aria’s torso, finding themselves underwear bra.. Aria blushed deeply. She’d never been called that before by anyone other than her friends and her mother and it sounded genuine. It sounded intimate. His thumb brushed over her nipple, a small moan escaping Aria's lip.  Aria didn’t know what to do with herself. She felt like she was on fire, her whole body blazing under Shawn's hands. She felt overly sensitive and wanted Shawn to touch her. She wanted him in any way she could get him. Shawn tugged her shirt over her head, discarding it to the side of the room. Aria's hands went instinctively to her chest, her self-consciousness kicking in. She hated being shirtless. She hated being naked in general, hating the way her stomach wasn’t  flat and the many freckles and birthmarks that littered her torso. Shawn looked into her eyes, his lips slightly parted. “Stop it. You’re gorgeous, let me see you” He said softly, gently pulling Aria’s arms back to her sides. Aria blushed again, looking away from Shawn. She wasn’t used to this, being called beautiful and gorgeous. When her and Mark would have sex, her body was mostly ignored, cast aside in favor of Mark's pleasure. This was new, having someone focus on her. It was terrifying. Shawn's eyes gazed over her hungrily, his tongue darting across his lips. “So fucking beautiful.”

 Shawn sank to his knees, his hands working to undo the buttons on Aria's jeans.  Aria laid her head back against the wall, the feeling of his calloused fingers ghosting over her skin, so close to her core was driving her mad. She hasn’t gotten off in ages and she was receptive to even the lightest touch from Shawn. Shawn looked in her eyes,  asking silent permission to continue removing her pants. Aria nodded slightly, watching Shawn closely Shawn smiled, pulling Aria's jeans down to her ankles. His fingers traced over the silky underwear she was wearing, tracing patterns and stroking her folds through the thin fabric. Aria shivered and pushed her hips forward, desperate for more friction. She could feel herself practically dripping.

 “Hm, so wet for me already” Shawn stated, his voice thick with his own lust. Shawn tugged the underwear down Aria's legs, pulling them off and tossing them in the distance. He began kissing up her thigh, hiking it over his shoulder. Aria's gripped his shoulder, steadying herself against the cool wall on her warm back.

 Shawn's tongue ghosted over her thigh, his eyes watching her the whole time. She felt her chest heaving as she watch him, wanting desperately to pull him to her center, where she really needed him.

 Being the mind reader he was, he moved quickly to her core, tongue gliding up and down her folds before sucking her clit into his mouth.

 “Oh, fuck” Aria moaned, her legs shaking at the feeling.

 She felt his finger ghost over her opening, circling the outer rim before dipping in slowly, pumping in and out. She let out another loud moan, her head falling back against the door and her eyes shutting tight.

 She felt the pleasure wash over her, not remembering the last time she felt this good. Her body moved in sync with Shawn's fingers, pushing her closer to her release.

 She wanted to stay like this. Stay in his arms, feel his hands and lips on her. Feel his heartbeat against her skin. Her breathing became staggered and her vision became dark as he continued his motion, speeding up his fingers and sucking her clit, his tongue darting out to add extra sensation. He added second finger to her, stretching her further and causing an even more pornographic moan to fall from her lips. She really hoped the walks weren't thin.

 She felt light, like she could float a million miles away. The girl began to tremble, her body tensing as she felt her release approaching quicker than she wanted. She wanted this to last forever, if it could. She was very content with the idea of never having to be away from Shawn’s lips. Just before she could come, Shawn pulled away from her, kissing back up her chest. Aria let out a frustrated whine. “Patience baby” Shawn said, pecking Aria’s lips. “On the bed” Aria scrambled, nearly tripping over her own feet and rushed over to the bed. She obliged, crawling on the bed, flopping down on her back and propping up to look at Shawn. She felt exposed, never having gotten this close with anyone but Mark, but she wasn’t scared. Somehow she trusted Shawn, knowing he would hurt her. Shawn stripped quickly, tossing his pants, shirt, and boxers in a pile with Aria's. He came over to the bed, licking his lips again. “You’re so perfect, has anyone told you that” Aria shook his head, avoiding Shawn's eyes. She felt like a child, with her constant blushing at the simplest compliments. Shawn smiled at her, crawling on the bed and reattaching their lips. Aria's hands found Shawn’s hair again, running her fingers along the man's scalp. She moaned into the kiss, lifting his hips to get some friction. Shawn’s mouth trailed from Aria's lips to her jaw, nipping and biting at the flesh. Soon they were on her neck, adding new marks to the one from the lift. Aria moaned louder, her hips jerking upward at the feeling of teeth on her neck. Shawn pulled away from Aria's neck, ghosting kisses along her collar bone, his tongue darting out and tracing over the dips. He continued the action across Aria’s chest, stopping briefly to tease her nipples. Aria’s old therapist had told her she had an addictive personality, boarding on obsessive. She thought she was full of shit, until this moment. She could get addicted to the feeling of Shawn’s lips on her skin. The way his hands felt on her hips. The way his teeth grazed delicately and carefully but enough so Aria could feel it. She could get very addicted to this.

Shawn glanced up into Aria's eyes, placing a few kisses near the dip of his hip bone. He smirked a little, running his fingers teasingly over Aria's thigh. “You have such a perfect body baby. Turn over for me” Aria obliged, flipping over once Shawn got out of the way. She got on her knees, resting on her elbows. He looked back at Shawn curiously, biting her lip. Shawn smiled at her, his hand running along Aria's spine. He placed soft kisses on each bump and birth mark he saw, soon his hands reaching Aria's bum. He caressed it gently, kneading it between his hands. “Such a perfect ass too.” He whispered, his voice low and gravely. He bend down, kissing over the cheeks and biting softly Aria swore she could come just from the way Shawn sounded. Aria moaned, pushing her hips back into Shawn's touch. She felt warm and sensitive and she needed something. Anything Shawn would give her “S-Shawn please” She moaned, her voice sounding broken. Shawn chuckled, hand running up Aria’s thigh. Before Aria could even comprehend what was happening, she felt a warm, wet sensation over her center again. She jerked forward, a loud moan ripped from her throat. This. This was new.

 She'd only ever done missionary and she certainly has never been eaten out from behind. She wasn't sure why she trusted Shawn with all of these new sensations, but shed be damned if she protested. Shawn’s hands gripped Aria's hip, holding her in place as his tongue lapped across her core again. He pushed his tongue inside her, trying to create as much sensation as he could. Aria's arms were trembling, her body began to quake again and her mind went fuzzy. This sensation was entirely new and she could cry. “F-Fuck, Shawn. Oh god” She moaned out, pushing her hips back. Shawn slowly pushed a finger in Aria’s entrance, his tongue still lapping over the sensitive skin. He pushed his finger in and out of Aria, mewling at the sounds she was making and how responsive she was. He soon pushed another digit in, curling them up. Aria almost screamed, feeling the fingers brush her g-spot. Her legs were trembling, on the verge of collapsing and she could feel the knot in her stomach tightening. She was so close, the urge to come heavy on her stomach. She moaned loudly, pushing her hips back more to meet Shawn’s hands. “You going to come like this baby? Just from my mouth and fingers” Shawn purred out, pulling away briefly. Aria moaned loudly, nodding quickly as she felt her stomach tense, her orgasm looming. Just a little more and she would be gone. Suddenly, Shawn pulled away completely. Aria whined loudly. She could cry, her frustration building. She wanted to scream at Shawn to just fucking get on with it, but she loved the idea of having Shawn touch her. She wanted Shawn to touch her forever. “S-Shawn. Please. Please I need” Aria stuttered, her voice unsteady and her hips moving involuntarily. Shawn nodded, kissing back up Aria's spine. “Don’t worry love, I’ll take care of you” Shawn reached in the black bag that sat next to the bed on the floor, pulling out a condom. He ripped the condom open with his teeth, rolling it over his length and stroking himself, soft moans falling from his lips. Aria moaned quietly, looking back at Shawn pleasuring himself. The sounds he made were delicious, soft and deep. Aria almost came just listening to him. His presence alone was orgasmic to be honest. He bit his lip, looking down at Aria. “On your back love” He said softly. Aria turned over, looking at Shawn curiously. With Mark, he was never gentle. He never complimented her. He just used her body and left, a quick love you before departing. She never paid it any attention until now. This was much better than anything she'd ever experienced. Aria looked Shawn over. His body was beautiful, like a work of art created by Leonardo Di Vinci himself. His chest was speckled with a few chest hairs and he had what most would describe as a 6-pack, but Aria could swear she counted at least 8.  He had a little scar, just above his hip. Aria assumed it was from having his appendix removed, as she had one in a similar spot. Aria had to hold in a moan when she saw how big Shawn was. She saw Shawn smirk and he bit his lip, looking away from the boy and blushing for the millionth time that night. Shawn positioned himself near Aria's entrance, teasing the hole slightly with the tip. “Look at me” He said, his voice thick and low. Aria turned her head, staring into the man's eyes. She moaned loudly as she felt Shawn push into her, a slight burn of pain shooting through her as he stretched her. She struggled to keep her eyes open, not wanting to miss any of this. Her nails dug into Shawn's forearm, trying to will the burn to go away. “Tell me if it's too much. I’ll stop, okay” Shawn said softly, placing light kisses over Aria's face. Aria nodded, taking deep breaths. She felt Shawn bottom out and the pain was searing, but she wanted to push through. She had to push through. Shawn stilled his hips, groaning loudly at the tightness of Aria around him. Aria bit her lip, focusing on the pleasure that was slowly starting to replace the pain. “How you doing, honey ” Shawn asked, kissing along Aria's cheek. “I-I'm okay. Just. Just give me a second” Aria said, her voice shaking. Shawn nodded, placing light kisses on Aria's neck. Aria breathed slowly, relaxing her muscles. She felt herself calm down a bit, the feeling of Shawn inside her turning from pain to insurmountable pleasure. She let out a soft moan, rolling her hips up to signal that he was okay to keep going. Shawn smiled, placing one final kiss on Aria's lips and rocking his hips slowly. He began with a slow thrust to build his rhythm, gripping Aria's hands and pinning them on either side of her head. Aria moaned loudly, feeling every drag of Shawn's cock in and out of her. It felt euphoric, the pleasure incomparable to anything else she had ever felt in her life. Aria wrapped her legs around Shawn's waist, rocking her hips in rhythm with his own motions. Shawn began to pick up speed, his eyes falling shut at the feeling of her around him.  Aria whined loudly, high pitched and needy. She wanted to touch Shawn but her hands were pinned above her head. “Fuck, Aria. You sound so good, baby” Shawn moaned out, thrusting his hips harder. Aria screamed, feeling Shawn slam into his g-spot again. She felt her release build inside her again, the heat pooling in her lower abdomen and the warmth spreading over her body. She whimpered loudly as Shawn slammed into her repeatedly, his own moans mixing with Aria's. Shawn leaned down, placing his lips on Aria's neck again, biting and sucking even more marks into her soft skin. Aria whined loudly, arching her back up more. PS-Shawn, Fuck I-I’m” Aria stuttered out, her words jumbling in her brain as she tried to form a sentence. Shawn released his hands, fingers moving to circle Aria's clit quickly in time with his thrusts. Aria arched her back, her fingers digging into Shawn's skin. She closed her eyes, biting down hard on her lip and whining, hips bucking wildly against Shawn. Her legs shook with the force of Shawn’s thrusts and the impending orgasm that continued to build rapidly in her body. Her lip started to hurt from how hard she was biting down on it, but she was too gone to care. “Look at me baby, I want to see you when you come for me” Shawn growled Aria's hips sputtered, the words pushing her over the edge. Her eyes flew open to stare at Shawn, trying to keep his eyes on him while she rode out her orgasm. She felt herself clench and her body spasm involuntarily,  as waves of pleasure crashed over her. Her vision went white and his body shook, riding out his high. Shawn groaned loudly, feeling Aria clench around him as his own orgasm overtook him. He kept his thrusts up, stilling as his own orgasm hit, causing him to spill into the condom. Shawn collapsed on top of Aria, a hand reaching up to play with her hair. Aria hummed contently, a wave of euphoria and exhaustion washing over her. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to stay in his arms forever, the feeling of safety and warmth making her feel almost like she was home. She never felt like this with Mark, often left cold and alone after Mark was done. She would usually get up and leave once all was said and done. “That was amazing” Shawn said, his breathing heavy. He felt like dead weight on Aria, but she didn’t mind at all, too caught up in her after orgasm haze. Her brain was fuzzy, slowly trying to clear up and form legible words. “You’re amazing” Aria said, cringing immediately at how tacky and cliché it was. Shawn smiled brightly and kissed her once more before rolling off of her, a small whimper from his lips as he pulled out, and pulling the condom off to throw it in the trash. Soon enough, he was back in the bed, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. Aria nuzzled closer to Shawn, burying her face in his neck. This felt very domestic, the way Shawn's fingers traced patterns across the skin of Aria's shoulder and arm. Aria breathed in deeply, capturing the boy’s scent. He smelled like cinnamon, coffee, and sex and it was the most intoxicating thing Aria had ever smelled. She would bottle this scent and smell it every single day if she could. The realization hit like a ton of bricks. Shawn was leaving tomorrow, headed back to on tour around the world. Off to bigger things and new people.  This was very possibly the last time they’d see each other. Aria's euphoric state was quickly replaced by a feeling of dread and sadness. It hit her like a train and she wished she wouldn’t have remembered. Her brain was cruel sometimes. “You’re thinking too loud again” Shawn said, his voice sounding tired. He sat up, looking at Aria, eyes searching her face with concern. “I just… It's just… Never mind, it’s stupid” Aria said, avoiding Shawn's gaze again. She had only just met Shawn. This was just a one night stand. She couldn’t tell this beautiful man that she had developed feelings for him after knowing him less than 6 hours without sounding like a total stalker weirdo. She worried that Shawn would think he was insane and kick her out straight away. Then she definitely wouldn’t see the beautiful boy with the honey brown eyes and sweetest smile ever again. Shawn placed a finger under Aria's chin, forcing her to look up “Aria, talk to me” Aria sighed, willing her eyes not to water. She hated the fact she got attached to people so quickly. They always ended up leaving her in the long run. She tried to think about what to say, how to work the jumbled mess her brain was producing.

 She cleared his throat, trying to find the proper way to say this without coming off as insane. “It's just. This was.. Such a good night. And I realized this is probably the last time I’ll ever see you again because you go back on tour tomorrow and I’m being stupid because I like you a lot. Like really a lot and it’s stupid because we've only just met and I’m being a friggin weirdo right now and you probably think I’m so strange and I’m rambling now and I just-“ Aria rambled, but was cut off by Shawn's lips. Aria melted into the kiss, her hands going to Shawn’s hair instinctively. The feeling of warmth spread over her again. She never wanted to stop kissing Shawn, his lips almost as intoxicating as his smell. Shawn pulled away, his thumb brushing over Aria's cheek. His voice dropped to barely above a whisper, but spoke loud enough so Aria could hear him. “I promise you Ariel Jones, this is definitely not the last time we will see each other” Shawn said, his eyes boring into Aria's. The intensity was high, every time Shawn stared at her. She wasn’t sure why, but she believed Shawn. She knew she would see him again, somehow. Aria nodded, eyes still staring at Shawn. This beautiful man who had walked into her life and made her feel things that she could never understand in such a short time. This beautiful man who kissed her like she was the most important person in the world. He touched her like she was the most beautiful person in the world. He was gentle and kind and honestly Aria felt her heart swell. They kissed once more, the intensity still present, before Shawn pulled away. Aria went to sit up, preparing to grab her stuff and go. Just as she was about to, Shawn pulled her back, his eyes looking like a lost puppy. It was amazing how he could go from intense and incredibly sexy to adorable in a matter of seconds. “You’re not leaving are you? Please stay” He said, his voice almost shy. Aria nodded slowly, hand brushing the Shawn’s hair out of his face. “Okay” Aria laid back down, scooting her body close to Shawn. She felt warm and safe next to Shawn, like nothing in the world could touch her as long as they were together. It felt like home, something she hasn’t felt in a very long time. She loved this feeling, never wanting to let it go. This was all so new and it was unnerving. Aria was terrified. She wanted to give this man everything she had, even though she only knew him a short time. She wanted to spend as much time with this man as she could, get to know everything about him. She wanted to build a future with him, a life. That scared Aria to no end, thinking about it. But she was willing to risk it. She would risk it all for a chance with this beautiful person, just praying that this beautiful boy wouldn't break her. Aria glanced over at Shawn, who by now was fast asleep with his hair falling in his face and soft snores falling from his lips. Aria leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on his lips, brushing the stray hair away from his face. "Please don't bite" Aria whispered, staring down at Shawn, taking him in once more. “Don't be like the rest” With a sigh, Aria settled in, snuggling closer to Shawn and falling into a deep sleep, content filling her body.

[njadaddy]

Redeem Me - Chapter 2

Erik "Killmonger" Stevens

"What the?" I slowly opened my eyes to the shining light unfolding in front of me. Am I still in Wakanda? The Ancestral Plane? My body felt weightless and aching pains occurred all over me. Sh-t, I guess this means only one thing...

I have to be dead.

Well, this is it. If I didn't accomplish my lifelong mission of avenging my father, the only other choice for me was death. All of my training and preparation have all been in vain, but I can't say I feel bad for myself, or anyone else for that matter.

"You're awake,"

I jumped at the familiar, accented voice. Opening my eyes even more, it was finally revealed to be him - the King of Wakanda himself.

D-mnit, I'm still alive.

"What are you doing here? Where am I?"

"You're in Los Angeles, California. I brought you here,"

"Why?" my eyes still blinking rapidly at my new surroundings. "I told you to throw me in the ocean. To let me die."

"N'Jadaka, you can-"

"Erik,"

"Erik," he rolled his eyes. "You can still create a better life for yourself. You're a smart, strong man with the ability to change the world, in a positive way."

"You're really trying to preach to me right now?"

"I'm being serious,"

"Me too," I sat up, to find myself in the King-sized bed of a hotel suite. "I don't need the son of a murderer telling me what to do. You get to go back home to your family, all comfy and sh-t. I have no one. What do you know about the whole world turning it's back on you? Your own family looking down at you with disgust and not even calling you their own?"

"I have no idea how any of that feels Erik,"

"So why don't you just get back to your country? Be safe and protected and forget that you ever met me?"

"Because you're my family," he kept his cool, even after my little soap opera just now. "No matter how you or our family slices it, you're an Udaku. I cannot speak for my father, Uncle N'Jobu, or Zuri's mistakes. What I can speak for is that I want to make things right. I want to help you, and give you a second chance at living life."

"I didn't ask you to do that," I spat. "If you really care about me, you'll carry out my request and let me die."

"No N'Jadaka," he stood out of his chair.

"That's not my name,"

"Yes it is. You're the grandson of Azzuri, and son of N'Jobu. You will forever be apart of the royal family, no matter what anyone else says,"

"You just won't let things be, will you?"

"Not when things can turn out better than they are," he walked over to the nearby table. "I know things can turn out better for you."

I rolled my eyes at this n-gga's persistence. "Why can't you just be like the rest of YOUR family and leave me the h-ll alone? Has your role of being a King got you thinking you can just do whatever you feel like? With no regard of how other people may feel about it?"

"You sure are the one to talk," he chuckled, as I rolled eyes.

Ignoring his smug glare, I looked around my surroundings. This place looks like it needs high maintenance to function everyday. "Why am I here? What hotel is this?"

"The Four Seasons,"

"The what?"

"I think you heard me,"

"This is one of the most expensive hotels in the country, if not the whole world. How'd you get a room in here?"

He chuckled. "I do have money, you know,"

"How much though? This place costs like hundreds, h-ll probably thousands of dollars just stay here,"

"If you don't know it by now, just be aware that I have more than enough money to pay for our stay," he walked back over to my bedside, with some items in his hands. "This is your kimoyo bead. I personalized it myself so no one else back home knows about your rehabilitation."

"Why? Are you ashamed of anyone knowing that you're around me?"

"Let's just say our family-"

"YOUR family,"

He rolled his eyes, as I let out a low chuckle. I won't just let this guy do what he wants without making it a little bit frustrating for him.

"My mother and the royal council would not take it so kindly if they had knowledge of me not only helping you, but that you're still alive as well,"

"Wow, some amazing people they are,"

"You almost killed me!"

"In ritual combat!"

"Back to what I was saying," he continued. "Let's just keep this between us if you want to live Erik."

"But that's the thing, I don't want to! That's what I've been trying to tell your spoiled a-s for the past five minutes! Don't you get it? If I can't avenge my father's death, then what's the point of even carrying on with life? I've trained and prepared for that moment, just to have it taken away from me!"

"You don't have to let the mistakes of our fathers dictate your future Erik," he lowered his voice. "That's not how life should be. Do you really want that type of constraint wrapped around you? You're so young and have so much potential to do something positive. Take advantage of it!"

"Like how?"

"Well for starters, you have a MBA and a Ph.D in Engineering from one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and you earned those accolades all by yourself,"

I huffed, as I looked away from him. D-mnit, why did he have to make a point?

"Not to mention," he chuckled, looking down. "No one has ever defeated me in bare hand to hand combat before until I met you. I've fought brainwashed assassins and super-serum soldiers, but none of them had the ability to defeat me like you did."

The fact that he's even admitting to being defeated by me makes me roll my eyes even more. I swear to God himself this guy is full of it. "So what are you saying?"

"Let me help you become something more than just a h-llbent maniac seeking vengeance," he looked back at me. "Please Erik."

"You can quit your begging already," I laughed. "Sh-t, for one of the most powerful people on Earth, you sure are soft."

"You're my family. I care about you,"

"Even after I almost killed you?"

He nodded. "You're broken. The last thing you need is more punishment."

I looked down at the kimoyo bracelet, as I hesitantly took it from his grip. Instead of a gray color, it was golden with a slither of blue running through it.

"I'm assuming this is Vibranium?"

"You know our technology so well," he smiled, as he laid a stack of papers on my lap. "This is the file of papers I need you to sign."

"For what?"

"For the psychiatrist you'll be seeing Monday,"

"Who said I wanted to see one?"

"Please Erik, you NEED to see a psychiatrist. That can help you get started on your new path,"

"And where exactly will I be staying at while I'm on this "new path" you're talking about?"

"I already have a residency set up for you just 10 minutes from here. I dropped you off here so you could get adjusted from the events that happened earlier this week,"

I flipped through the stack of papers. Heath's Mental Health Facility? I haven't heard of that place in awhile.

"What time?"

"10:15 a.m. You know how to work the kimoyo right?"

Hesitantly, I replied. I really can't believe I'm doing this. "Yep,"

"Well then you're all set," he stood up and walked into the bathroom. "I just need you to take a shower and we'll head over to your new home."

"I mean, I would but, uummm,"

"Uuuummm, what?" he walked back into the room, as he started laughing. "Oh, whoops. Forgot to take the chains off you."

*Later on that evening*

"Well, here we are. Home sweet home,"

"For now," I got out the car, and shut the door behind me - with my duffel bag in hand. Looking up at the one story house, I had to admit that it was well put together. "Looks cool."

"I know," T'Challa walked around to the front door. "Everything from the real estate to the insurance is taken care of. All you need is your keys."

"Where are they?" I asked, before he handed them to me.

"There's a spare in your bedroom," we both walked inside the house, which was spacious to say the least. Besides the fact that we're in a middle class neighborhood in Baldwin, California (which has me nervous if anyone will call the cops on us), I can't help but to feel that I'll be comfortable staying here. 

"This it?" I called out to him, peeking inside the grand master bedroom.

"Yes," he followed me inside. "Do you like it Erik?"

"It's aight," I laid on the master bed as I let out a deep huff. "I forgot how it feels to be in a nice bed."

"I'm sure you have. You said you're from Oakland, correct?"

"Yeah. What's it to ya?"

"Nothing," he chuckled, as I gave him the side eye. What's this n-gga so happy about?  "Have you contacted any of your friends from here?"

"I don't got any friends,"

"Everyone has friends Erik,"

"Well I don't," Great. I feel even more annoyed than I was before talking to this clown. It's one thing that he wants to "help" me so badly after I threw him off a cliff and almost killed him. Now he wants to learn about my personal life?

"Well, I hope you get comfortable in your new home," a screen uploaded from his kimoyo bead. "I need to get back to mine."

"For what?"

"What's the saying over here in America? Oh yes, it's none of your business,"

I rolled my eyes. "Are you done being an a-shole?"

"I'm being an a-shole?!"

"Did I stutter?"

He took a deep breath, before giving his attention back to his screen. "I will check in on you everyday until you get better,"

"You ain’t my mom or my dad,"

"I want to make sure everything is going okay with you. This is going to be quite an eventful chapter in your life, and mine as well,"

"Are you done yet?"

"N'Jadaka,"

"That's not my name either!"

"Are you finished being so difficult?"

"Nope," I laughed, as I noticed a small smile form across the corners of his mouth.

"Alright then, we'll I'll check in on you in the morning. Just to make sure you're stable,"

"No one asked you to-"

"I don't care,"

"I don't care," I mocked his accent.

"Bye Erik," he walked out of the room, as I followed him. "Oh, I almost forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

He slapped something small and rectangular on the kitchen counter. "For emergencies and necessities only,"

"Man, I got money. I don't need you to-"

"Bye N'Jadaka!"

"That's not my name!" I shouted, before hearing the front door close.

-

Just an fyi, Baldwin is gonna be a made up place in California, where some of the story will be set in. Leave me some feedback please! 

@chefjessypooh @blacklotus-of-the-black-kingdom @killmongerdispussy @bartierbakarimobisson @autumn242 @uhlxis @omg-blackqueen @njadakasrage2 @njadakasrage2 @njadaka-apologist @killmongurl @itsmarshalltime98 @lilmonger @heyauntieeee 

If anyone else wants to be tagged, lemme know! Thanks!

[thiswreckageivebecome]

The Winter Soldier is Still Here (Part 21 - “White Knight”) (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier x reader)

Description: You’re working at the local farmers market when you meet Bucky and catch his eye, not only because you’re the only one who sells plums, but because you treat him like a normal person. As a friendship begins to bloom, it quickly grows into a relationship and you learn that life with Bucky isn’t as easy it originally seemed. I SUCK AT DESCRIPTIONS!

Word Count: 2901

Warning: Not much.

Author’s Note: IT’S FINALLY HERE!!! I’m sorry it’s taken almost three months. I hope it was worth it. Let me know what you think, please.

READER POV ————————-

The food hit the spot and it wasn't long before Jake's Jeep crossed the Lynchburg city limits sign. I had him take me to the Muse because I didn't want him to know where I lived quite yet. Gayle and her husband, Mark, were waiting for us at the coffee shop when we arrived. I saw their Civic sitting out front. I text her to let her know we had arrived as Jake parked and crossed to help me out of the vehicle and down onto the sidewalk. They met us at the door, Mark holding it open to let the two of us in. As I entered, I asked to sit on the comfy couch right beside the door. When I looked up as I sat, I for the first time saw Mags with a horror-stricken look she couldn't hide fast enough. I looked at her strangely and saw her eyes flit to the side of the shop. My eyes followed hers.

I saw nothing to cause that look so I spoke directly to her, worry apparent in my voice. "Mags, you okay? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," she stuttered out. "I ahm."

"Are you feeling okay? Do you need to sit down?" I was afraid something was medically wrong with her.

"No," she brought a scarce smile to her face in attempts to reassure me. "I'm fine, I promise. You don't look so great, though. What happened?" I explained everything that had happened. "Well, Jake, I must say, you sound like a true hero and we're all so very grateful you were there."

"Well, thank you, ma'am. I'm not sure I'd take it that far, but I'm glad I was there as well." He looked over at me slowly as he finished his audible thought, giving me a soft smile. I blushed due to intimacy I could feel radiating off of his face. Why and how was this happening? I looked away and over to Gayle in order to hide the flushing of my cheeks.

"I figured Mark and I could go get your vehicle if you'd like to just hang out here at the coffee shop. I figured you'd be comfortable here if you're okay with that," she offered.

"Ahm, yeah, that'd be great."

"We'll be abundantly careful with Kasper. I know you don't like other people driving it," she reassured me. I had to laugh softly.

"I know you will. It's the least of my worries right now. Thank you so much, you and Mark both, for helping out."

"Of course, friend," she replied, hugging me close and then getting up to follow Mark to the car and headed for the parkway. Mags had to go back to work as a rush came in. Jake made no move to leave so we both sat there in silence. I noticed it seemed as if he had a content smirk on his face. After some time passed, I couldn't stop myself from asking, "so, thanks again for everything." He laughed an airy laugh.

"Okay, I get it. I'm working the night shift tonight anyway so I should probably go home to catch a nap. It was good meeting you, (y/n). If you need anything, you know where I work." He took my hand and pulled it to his lips after he stood up. That was new, but my scarlet cheeks were not. With that, he walked out of the door and only after I knew the Jeep had pulled away did I turn to look after him.

"So he seems nice," Mags said sitting down beside me. I hadn't even seen her walking over. Man, my observing my surroundings skills had really gone downhill.

"Yeah, I suppose so," I trailed off.

"What's wrong with him?" Her question caused me to laugh and look at her.

"I didn't say anything was wrong with him."

"Those may not have been your words but it was your tone," she replied gently.

"I don't know, Mags. Yes, he's nice. He saved my life. I should probably fall head over heels for him because of it but...I can't...I just...don't feel that way." She remained thoughtfully quiet for a few moments then decided to pose her question.

"Is it because of Bucky?" She could see my body tense and practically flinch at his name, despite how much I tried to keep everything normal. "I'm sorry to ask, or rather, I'm sorry that it still causes you pain. You've...you've got to move on, though. You've got to let him go." Tears began to well in my eyes and I tried to will them back but it was no use. She leaned back and pulled me into her side.

"Mags. I've tried," I sniffled. "I am trying. Every single day, I'm trying to move on, to forget him, to let him go...but it doesn't work," a sob threatened it's way up my throat but I was able to stop it before it escaped.

"I know," she practically whispered into my hair, rubbing my arm comfortingly. "I know." We sat there that way for a few moments, Mags had really become my second mom ever since I had come back from New York. The relationship changes between the two of us, boss, friend, and now mother figure, had shifted continuously since I had moved here and to be honest, it felt like it had all been a progression to this. I finally sat up, wiping the tears from my cheeks and apologized for drenching the shoulder area of her shirt.

"Anytime, honey, anytime."

"Well, I'm going to let you get back to work. Besides, my ankle is beginning to throb again so I should probably take another pain pill."

"Here, I'll run and get you a water out of the back." She dashed off and when she returned I actually had a chance to thank her.

"Thank you, Mags...for everything." She understood that I wasn't just thanking her for the water, or the shoulder to cry on, but also the times she always checked on me, the flexibility she always had but had had especially over the past month when there were days I couldn't get myself out of bed but had been scheduled to work. I was thanking her for the food and meals she had brought me over the past month without me asking, for calling or texting me every single day at least twice a day to check on me. She had taken me in and under her wing, given me a chance when I moved here, and for all of that and every small thing in between, I would never be able to sufficiently show my gratitude, but I would try. She took my hand and squeezed it.

"No reason to thank me, but you're welcome." She gave my hand another quick squeeze before heading back behind the counter and beginning to work again.

BUCKY POV ———————-

Maggie and I were in the middle of a conversation when out of my peripheral vision, I saw (y/n) outside the door on the sidewalk. I had to dash up the tiny stairs to avoid being seen. I didn't even have time to reach the side door to get out of there. When Maggie realizes what was happening, she was unable to conceal her shock and concern that (y/n) may see me before I could get out of view. Of course, (y/n) would be more concerned for others than for herself and the pain she was in. I could see immediately she was fearful that something was wrong with Maggie. Maggie composed herself quickly, despite knowing that all (y/n) had to do was step three feet from where she sat and turn slightly and I'd be seen. Luckily, it didn't look like she would be moving from where she was. She had sprained her ankle, I heard her tell Maggie. In fact, I heard the whole story of her almost dying yet this white knight...Jake...saved her life. I hadn't even really noticed him until the story. I assumed he was a friend of Gayle and Mark, whom I had never met either, only heard of childhood stories from (y/n). Yet, this Jake...he was more than just a white knight. He was, as Maggie put it, a "true hero," ...something I had never been. I had only brought her pain, both physical and emotional. I was the furthest thing from a hero...I was a monster. I had never saved her life, I had only ever brought her closer to death. Why had I come here?

READER POV ————————-

I sat there for another hour or so before Gayle returned with Kasper. When she came in she ordered two lattes for us and helped me to the vehicle before going back in and grabbing the drinks. "Mark headed to the house ahead of us. We discussed it and really think you should come to stay with us until your heal up. I know how the elevator only works part of the time and you can't walk up all those stairs every day. Please tell me you're not going to argue this," she said as she got into the vehicle. I had to think about it for a moment, but I understood where she was coming from.

"I don't want to be a burden on you guys, but I get where you're coming from and I do agree. Thank you. Do you mind if we stop by my place to get some things first?"

"Of course not, that's what I had planned on. Hopefully, the elevator will be working, but just in case be thinking of everything you want and I'll grab it for you."

"Thank you, Gayle." She nodded, cranking the vehicle. I turned away to look out of the window and at the storefronts, we would soon pass. As we pulled off, my eyes fooled me into seeing a familiar build in the alley outside of the coffee shop.

The night passed quickly and sleep found me soon once I laid down. In the morning Gayle checked to see if I needed anything before she left for work. I told her no. She had brought me some crutches they had to help me get around the house as I needed.

"Call me if you need anything. I already spoke to my boss about the situation and if I need to leave, she understands and said it will be okay."

"I should be good, but thank you."

"No problem." With that, she left and I got up to go watch television for a while. Around lunch, I made a sandwich then decided to work on an essay that had been assigned to the class that morning. Thankfully, all of my professors understood and had agreed to post online or email everything to me that I'd miss. I sat at the kitchen table and began working. I had become so engrossed in the paper that I didn't even notice it was almost nightfall when the door opened, startling me.

"Hey, (y/n), sorry to scare you," Mark addressed me. I tried to laugh it off.

"That's okay, I had buried myself in a paper I have for class."

"No problem, I remember those days when Gayle was in grad school. I'm going to go take a shower. Gayle should be home soon. I think she's picking up dinner so I imagine she'll be calling you soon if she hasn't already."

"Thanks for the heads up." He nodded and headed to their room and soon I was alone again. I decided to stop there for the day considering I had written all but the conclusion. I closed out the word document in time for my phone to begin buzzing. It was Gayle, just as Mark had said, asking what I'd like for dinner. We made a quick decision, both becoming more decisive with age. After dinner, we all watched tv for a while before I turned in early, mentally exhausted after writing the paper most of the day. Just as I was about to fall asleep my phone buzzed. It was my email. I had just received another email from Steve. I took a deep breath, swiped away the notification, and put my phone under my pillow. I tossed and turned for two hours before I finally fell asleep when I gave in to what always helped me go to sleep, pretending that Bucky was cuddled up next to me.

I had work the next day. Gayle and I had to go early so she would get to work on time, but for her, it was a great excuse to stop in for a "Death by Chocolate" morning beverage. I would have to wait a little while before my shift started, but that was okay. It gave me time to finish my paper and proofread it before submitting it early. I had another one from my afternoon class assigned yesterday to start on. I finished the paper about the time Maggie arrived. She saw me sitting at a corner table working and came over to me.

"(Y/n), what are you doing here? You should be resting."

"Maggie, I'm not going to skip out on work."

"You're not skipping out, you're on temporary medical leave."

"Maggie, I'm not. It's just a sprained ankle."

"Yes, and sprained ankles are supposed to rest." I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I wasn't giving up that easy.

"Mags, I need to work. Please just let me work." She eyed me for a moment, debating, then turned on her heel and headed for the back. I shut my computer, noticing it was almost 9 and stuffed it into my bag. When Maggie walked back up front she was carrying a stool. She came back and grabbed my bag, and took it to the back. By the time I had come around to the counter to clock in, she ordered me to sit on the stool and work the register, "nothing else," she finished sternly.

"Fine, fine," I replied, giving up on arguing with her. The shift was passing pretty quickly due to a constant stream of customers it finally slowed about halfway through the lunch hour. I pulled out my phone when no one was around as my mind could only think of one thing the entire shift....the email. Correction, two emails from Steve. I opened my email and took a deep breath. I found the original email from Steve and closed my eyes after I had opened it for a moment to try and gather myself. I opened my eyes and began to read.

(Y/n),

I know you probably don't necessarily want to hear from me...but I'm writing you anyway. I figured you may want an update on Bucky. If you don't, I understand, but I can't honestly say I'd believe that.

I hope you're well. I hope that you're happy. Before I can continue, I want to apologize to you. I'm so sorry that you trusted me and that I broke that trust. I should never have gone about things the way that I did and looking back on it, I see now that it was a horrendous way to handle the situation. I could never express the regret I feel. If you allow, I'd like to ask your forgiveness in person. I'll travel down at any time you'll have me.

Okay, so I also wanted to update you on Bucky. He's been...busy. He has been working hard with Tony to get his mind straight, to lose what HYDRA put in him. Things have gone well. It's a long and tiring process, but things are going well. He...has closed himself off more since you left. He keeps to himself and he barely speaks with us. He pretty much trains and goes to treatments. The rest of the time he spends running, staying in Brooklyn working on his memory, or in his room at the tower. I don't say that to make you feel any sort of way. He told me what he said to you. After being told it so many times, I can't blame you for listening.

Well, I just wanted you to know how he was. I know he misses you. I know he'd still be there anytime you needed him. Same goes for me in a different way, but I'm here for you if you ever need me. I hope you know that.

Your friend, Steve

I seemed to exhale all of the tension I had been holding in my body since I had seen he had emailed me. I knew he wasn't trying to make me feel bad about leaving. He truly was trying to let me know because he knows how much I care about Bucky. He knows I'd want him to be well. I wish he could move on. I wish we both could move on really. I was about to close out the app and then I remembered I had received a second email from him. Considering that one hadn't have been as difficult to read as I would have thought, I went to click on the email, but before I could, the bell above the door rang. I quickly locked my phone and slid it into my apron pocket. I looked up.

"Welcome to the M-." This was the last person I had expected to see walk through the door.

________________________________________________________________

@damnjackyyy @flibertigibbet23 @smilexcaptainx @jade-cheshire@wolfgamzee@ff-exotic12 @i-had-a-life-once@bunchofandoms@nutmeg2080@sebsugartits@angela-fangirl101@awinterloveuniverse@inkeddreamers@puezzy@haso0osah101 @mrshopkirk @heir-of-light-33@wickeddreamer21@xuaniexuan@myearthguardian@jpthrough@yurikochan@heyreadthis@gabby913@peterjackson143 @fuckoffbroseph@giggles2107 @islandpeeps@klf1999@midnightsinger @dracodormiensnunquamtitillandush@crystalrose1218@civilwarkilledme@the-renaissance @mitra-k-w@justaroundthecorn-er @omgpokelove@welcometothecity@nopevilleluas@ironicallyinspired@riskymorris@taliacorona @mmxiibalpreet @sophiewyszkowski@idiosyncratic-mortals@titaniumurie @isle-of-flightless-birdz@im-screaming-because-of-fanfics@cami25393 @sebbystanlover-vk@queenofthe-bitches@wowthatstasty@kezznog  @hp-hogwartsexpress@genlovesdcb

Part One           Part Two            Part Three           Part Four

Part Five              Part Six           Part Seven          Part Eight

Part Nine           Part Ten            Part Eleven          Part Twelve

Part Thirteen     Part Fourteen Part Fifteen          Part Sixteen

Part Seventeen         Part Eighteen      Part Nineteen         Part Twenty