#gray x karen
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durotoswrites · 9 months ago
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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons Series (Video Games), Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Gray/Karen (Harvest Moon) Characters: Gray (Harvest Moon), Karen (Harvest Moon) Additional Tags: Love at First Sight, Awkward Flirting, Finally writing about one of my dream rarepairs, Rare Pairings, Alcohol Summary:
Gray, brand new to town, sees a woman on the opposite side of the bar that makes him feel sick - in a good way, though. But that only raises the big problem: how to introduce yourself when making small talk makes you also feel sick, but in a bad way. Written for the Love at First Sight prompt by Love-Bokumono-Fics on tumblr.
Still going strong with the monthly prompts by @love-bokumono-fics!  This one was so fun to write!  Excerpt below! 💖
She had a glass of wine in her hand, but she wasn’t drinking it. There was no sort of sign that she was waiting for anyone, and it was hard to tell if she was simply people-watching like I was or if she was deep in thought.
Yeah, she was gorgeous, but it honestly didn’t matter if she wasn’t, because there was something about her that just drew you in. Commanded attention. Maybe it was those sharp eyes or air of confidence she gave off. Hell if I know.
I did know one thing.
I had to know her name.
But asking for someone’s name means you have to talk to them. Introductions and stuff. I hate all that. I don’t think it would be a stretch of the imagination to say that I’m the worst person at small talk you would ever meet.
But for some stupid reason, I wanted to know what she called herself. I wanted to hear her say it with her own lips. I wanted to know if she had that silly twang that everyone in this area seemed to have. I wanted to know if she talked like the people in the city I grew up in.
I wanted to know if she was bored here, too.
Her bright green eyes latched onto mine, and that’s when I felt it.
The awful pang in my stomach and chest.
I wanted to sink into the floor and vanish, but at the same time, the idea that I had her attention gave me that awful jittery, giddy feeling. Butterflies in my stomach? I’m pretty sure that’s what people call it. I think I’m just going to call it what it is – nausea.
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allisluv · 6 months ago
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---- drabble / oneshot wip list
please let me know in the comments or in my inbox which ones you would like me to prioritise <3
masterlist.
guidelines.
requests: open
wip:
the hunger games:
*johanna getting turned on by readers hands
*katniss and reader getting ready in tigris' shop
*sex with katniss in the meadow
finnick comforting reader through a hard time
reader comforting katniss after her breakdown in mjp2
madge and reader getting married
tigris guiding you through a panic attack
*masc johanna post rebellion smut
finnick x reader in an everlark admiring from afar situation
rejecting finnicks proposal
post!hijack peeta x reader based on the alchemy by taylor swift
finnick taking care of you after you get your wisdom teeth taken out
katniss and reader in district thirteen*
johanna being impressed when her partner takes control
finnick helping reader with binge eating
finnick helping reader through a sensory overload
haymitch and effie at readers graduation
finnick on your birthday
*scissoring sub!annie when she’s on her period
*finnick making reader suck on his fingers when she’s being too loud
finnick and reader being parental over their young tributes
annie doing stick and poke on reader
reader doing finnick's makeup
finnick overhearing people making fun of his partners lisp
dating sejanus headcanons
annie and reader being best friends
*post war johanna with a hair pulling kink
katniss explaining her asexuality to peeta
johanna x reader with anorexia
katniss with a cat loving girlfriend
finnick x vegetarian!reader
making out with johanna while your homophobic parents are downstairs
haymitch’s daughter sneaking up on him
finnick x reader who’s ashamed of her scars (TW)
finnick helping reader realise that her past trauma and what happened was not okay (TW)
finnick x reader in the gym
katniss x grieving!reader
finnick x reader who doesn't pay him any attention (and is lowkey oblivious)
finnick finds your childhood teddy while looking for a valentine's day gift
peeta with a partner who’s ashamed of her scars from a previous surgery
finnick and reader making their favourite meal together
parent!odesta when their daughter sees finnick’s propo from district 13
lucy gray and reader being best friends
sweet sex with finnick*
friends to lovers smut with finnick*
platonic johanna and finnick headcanons
finnick x haymitch’s!daughter
fluffy smut with finnick*
comforting finnick when he tells you about his experiences in the capitol
cato x reader headcanons
gloss x reader with period cramps
best friend!peeta confessing his love for you
your children plan a dinner date for you and finnick
reader wanting to take a walk during the middle of the night after an argument with finnick
annie takes her son to the aquarium
johanna x teacher!reader
dom!katniss x sub!reader after the rebellion*
finnick and wife!reader having fun on mothers day*
finnick when you're both reaped for the quarter quell
criminal minds:
derek's long lost daughter showing up at the bullpen
jj finding out her daughter vapes
emily realising she has a crush on reader for the first time
*rough sex and soft aftercare with emily
elle nsfw alphabet
spencer helping hurt!reader
daisy jones and the six:
billy, his wife and their daughter spend father’s day together
daisy x fem!dunne!reader
sneaking off with billy during an awards ceremony
eddie x fem!dunne reader
being in a secret relationship with eddie
karen sfw alphabet
warren x famous!actress!reader
best friends to lovers trope with camila
"what if someone sees?" with daisy
billy and camila smut
graham x reader meeting in a bar
daisy takes her daughter to the circus
the band watching christmas movies
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fandomcrackships · 2 years ago
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Matthew Gray Gubler and Karen Gillan
Requested: Anon
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spookysteddie · 11 months ago
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Always Comin’ Home to You
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Gator Tillman x fem!reader
18+ MINOR DNI
dec: after a fight with his step-mother Gator comes home late, scaring you. His bruises tell you of the day he had and all he wants is to feel you.
cw: Swearing, abandonment, mental / physical abuse (Roy to Gator), domestic abuse (Roy to Karen), bruises, mention of death, implication of anxiety, murder, toxic religion themes, gator calls his step-mom a cunt, crying, fingering, daddy kink, dd/lg themes if you squint, Gator calls himself her God (what's the name for that?), unprotected penetrative sex, cream pie, promises. (let me know if I missed anything)
wc: 3.7k
a/n: I need Gator Tillman like I need to fucking breathe. This man is WOW. I just want to pet him and tell him he is, in fact, a winner and then suck him off. Anyway, I hope y'all like this heheh
...
Gator Tillman didn’t have a lot of good things in his life. 
Between his mother leaving, his father being as asshole and everything in between, Gator was a little fucked up and very morally gray. Doing his daddy's dirty work in the hopes Roy will finally be proud of him. 
Now, there was one good thing (or person) in his life, one human who brought out the best in him. One person who saw him for the person he was deep inside. The one who saw him as a winner. 
You. 
You were everything Gator could ever dream of, his perfect girl. 
“Gator? Baby have you seen my sunglasses?” You pull some clothes out of the hamper, double (triple) checking that they weren’t in there. “Do you have them? Are they in your cruiser?!” 
You hear Gators heavy footsteps before he leans against the doorframe, arms crossed, “have ya checked on top of ya head?” You can hear the smugness in his voice and instantly you want to punch him. 
You were an angel and subsequently the sweetest girl. Shit, you make Gator catch and release the spiders you find in the house because you ‘want someone to grant you the same kindness in life’. Whatever that means. But of course he does it, because the last thing he wants is to make you cry. 
Well, that’s not true. He loves making you cry while your wrapped around his cock, fucking you so deep and hard that you can’t form a complete thought. Only then does he enjoy the tears streaming down your face. 
But at the same time, you had a wicked attitude. One he liked to fuck outta you at every opportunity. And when you look up at him he knows it’s coming. 
“Do they look like they’re on my fuckin’ head, Gator? Jesus Christ.” But he doesn't fail to notice you subtly check in the mirror to make sure they aren’t actually on your head. They aren’t, for the record. 
Gator is not like his daddy. Does he have his fathers attitude? Absolutely. But he has never raised his hand to you outside of the bedroom, much to his fathers dislike. Claiming he’s watched his father beat on his step-mother and even though he hates her – only because she gave birth to his twin sisters, giving his father two more chances to fuck their futures up – he doesn’t think it’s right. 
He balls his fists, nails digging into the center of his hand. He has too much shit to do today and, frankly, doesn’t have time for this shit. “Watch ya mouth bunny. Lucky my dad aint home to hear you take Christs name in vain.” 
Gator is right. His daddy already doesn't like you, doesn’t think you’re Godly enough. He also seems to think you’re an idiot simply because Gator does everything for you, even down to tying your shoes. It’s something Gator likes doing, taking care of you as it helps ease his mind. 
But at the same time Roy wonders how his son could catch and keep a girl like you. It’s emotional whiplash most of the time. Of course, Gator takes the brunt of his daddy's issues when it comes to you, never letting his daddy so much as look wrong in your direction. 
You sigh, running your hands down your pink skirt, “look, can you please help me find them? You know my eyes don’t do well with the sun bouncing off the snow.” 
His eyes soften, loving when you need his help, “I’m willin’ to bet they’re in the cruiser on the floor boards.” 
Your face heats as you remember exactly why they’d be on the floor of the cruiser, your escapades from your little meeting at the police station last night. There was always that preliminary fuck before going back to Roys (cause God forbid Gator ever come stay at your place. His daddy needs him nice and close.) considering you don’t know how to keep your moans quiet. So, he tires you out, not so much that you can’t drive back to his place, but just enough to where you’re silent during round two and three and four. 
The cold nips at your bare legs, winter just as brutal as every other year in this godforsaken state. You swear it never gets easier, winter, and the older you get the more you think about moving south. You think Gator would like the warmer weather, probably find the warmth soothing. 
“Ah ha! Got ‘em!” Gator hands them to you with a huge smile on his face. He looks almost boy-like. It’s rare he has a genuine smile, especially when his daddy is around. 
“Gator,” his step-mothers voice rings out from the porch, making you both jump. He doesn’t turn around, doesn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing his frustration. “Stop yellin’ cause your sisters are sleepin’!” 
“Karen, they’re at the other end of this fuckin house and your scratchy ass voice is louder than me.” 
You can see her huff, “I should call your father!” 
He sighs, turning on his heel, “I don’t think that’ll be a good idea. Dad’s… a little busy today.” Gator knows exactly what his daddy is busy with, not that he’d ever tell you. Terrified that he would somehow put you in danger. 
You know that there was shit his daddy made him do. Things that forced him to come home with black eyes, bloody lips and bruises on his knuckles and body. It hurt your heart every time he came home like that, telling you it was nothing while he winces as he takes off his clothes. 
Karen seethes from the porch and you see her look from Gator to you and back. Gator, who notices everything, sees it and steps in front of you, pushing you behind him. “Don’t look at her like that, Karen.” 
That seems to annoy her more, “she better not be here tonight. You hear me? Don’t need your sisters hearin the stuff you two get up to at night.” 
“Not any worse than dads hands hittin’ your face while they sit at the kitchen table.” You cringe at his statement, seeing Roy hit Karen more times than you can count. “You don’t run this house. Or tell me what to do.” He spits on the ground and turns away, waiting till he hears the door slam to speak. 
“I fuckin hate her. She’s sucha little bitch.” 
You wrap your arms around his middle, breathing him in. “Can stay at mine tonight if you want. Don’t wanna get you in trouble,” you murmur into his shirt. “O-or we can spend a night apart. I know we haven’t done that inna while but just till this blows over an’ we know she didn’t say nothin’ to your father.” 
You know you're rambling, but all you want is to make Gators life comfortable and safe. You know there is a small chance that Karen will call Roy, tell him what happened, maybe even lie (she’s done that before) and say you upset her. If that happens, Gator will get it good, possibly another broken arm or dislocated jaw. That’s the last thing you want. You can feel you chest ache, eyes burning at the idea of Roy hurtin’ him. 
Gator pulls your face back from his chest, making you look up at him, “don’t you be worryin’ bout me now. Roy ain’t gonna do shit and I don’t sleep when you aren’t curled up next to me,” he kisses your forehead. “I’ll put some feelers out to see if that little bitch called him. Gotta meeting at 3 with him.” 
You nod, your hand coming up to fix his jacket. In reality, you just need something to distract from the burning behind your eyes. 
“Hey? I’m serious. I’ll be fine, okay?” He lets you go to reach into his pocket, pulling out some cash and handing it to you, “why don’t you go get your nails done or something, yeah?” 
You know refusing to take the money wont go well, so you take it, putting it in the pocket of your jacket. “Thank you, daddy,” you whisper out, knowing you aren’t really supposed to say that outside of Gators locked bedroom door. 
He lets it slide, the day has been stressful enough for you. “That’s my good bunny. Now, run along and I’ll meet you here at six okay?” 
You tilt your head, “no station tonight?” 
“Nah… Jerry is working and he’s got a starin’ problem when it comes to ya. Don’t feel like scoopin’ eyeballs out. Too messy.” 
You shudder but kiss him goodbye before getting in your car. You have a very bad feeling his 3pm meeting isn’t going to go how he expects. 
… 
You were right. 
You knew you were right the second you pulled up to his house at six on the dot and he wasn’t home. You reach for your phone, looking to see if maybe you’d missed a text, phone call, shit even an email from your boyfriend. 
Nothing. 
Even when you try to call him, you're met with a voicemail. You can feel the bile rise in the back of your throat, fear making your skin itch. Was this it? Was this the time Roy sends him out there to do his dirty work and he doesn’t make it home? 
He could be anywhere right now. Not only that, if he was dead, no one would do shit for him. No funeral, no service, nothing. His dad would go on and wipe his hands clean of his “loser” son, probably more than happy that the ties of his first wife are gone for good. 
Oh God, what if he was dying, the cold freezing the blood onto his skin, frostbite settling in. He could be so scared, praying to the God he doesn’t believe in that you come find him. His clothes are probably wet too, sticking to him thanks to the sn-
A knock on your window makes you jump, a yelp falling from your lips. You look over, seeing the blue of his jacket in your peripheral and the sight makes you gasp. You’re quick to shut off the car, jumping out and getting a closer look at him. 
He looks… awful. His right eye is nearly swollen shut, dry blood sticking to his split brow. There is a bruise on the other side of his face and under his left eyes, clearly he got hit in the nose. 
“Baby…” this time you can't stop the tears from falling. “Baby what happened?” 
He lets out a long, deep sigh, his hands resting on your cheeks. “Fuckin’ cunt called dad. Said I needed a lesson in respect. S’how I got the bruise on my left eye.” He wipes the tear that falls from your eye, his touch soft and kind, “sent me to do some shit across state lines. Guy beat the fuck outta me. He ain’t alive no more though.” 
You sniffle, “is it just your face?” 
He shakes his head but doesn’t say more. He knows you’ll see the rest once he gets you inside. Well … “we-I can’t let you sleep here tonight, Gator.” 
He shakes his head, “it’s fine. Dad said so himself. Come on.” 
And so he drags you inside, Karen looking like the cat that caught the canary as she watches you help Gator walk. You make a mental note to never forget this, never forget how she treats her step-son.
You push open Gators bedroom door, making sure to shut it silently and lock it before settling Gator on the bed. “Let’s get ya into some comfy clothes, yeah?” 
You crouch down in front of him, making quick work of untying his boots. 
“Baby, I can do this. I’m the one who's supposed to help you.” 
That only makes more tears burn your eyes. You hated that he never let anyone help him, hated that he always had to be strong, couldn’t ever cry, nothing. You hated Roy for making him like this and you hated his mother for leaving and not saving her only son from a life of pain. 
“Stop. Just-just let me help you, Gator please.”  You pull at the laces to loosen them and make it easier to slide off his boot, your vision blurry from the tears in your eyes. 
His boot comes off easy and you make sure you keep your hold on it so it doesn’t make any noise on the floor. Same with the second one. 
You stand, unclipping his thigh holster and setting it on the nightstand where he likes it. Incase of emergencies. Next is his belt, coming off with ease. He stops you when you get to his pants, making you look up at him. He hates the silver shining along your waterline. 
“I love you, little bunny.” He says it so quietly that you almost miss it. 
“I love you too.” Your voice cracks as you say. 
You work on his pants, popping open the buttons with ease. Next you pull his shirt out of his pants and pull it over his head. By the time his shirt hits the floor, you’ve gotten a full look at his bare torso. A bruise is forming along his ribs, it’s really red and slightly turning purple. 
“Jeez baby,” your hands gently touch his skin and he hisses a little. “S-sorry.” 
He says nothing as he helps you pull off his pants, leaving him in just his boxers. 
“Stay here,” you tell him as you collect his dirty clothes and go into his attached bathroom. You sigh as you grab a face cloth, turning the water on so it heats up. It, of course, takes forever for the water to warm. Nothing like shit water heating thanks to the frigid winter. But once it does you wet the cloth and grab the first aid kit and go back to him. 
You’ve done this before, cleaned him up, you’ve even stitched him up. You’d like to thank the internet for telling you how to do that and you’ve gotten good over the last two years. 
“S’is gonna hurt. Luckily it looks like you don’t need stitches. Just don’t move while I work okay?” 
He nods, “yes, baby. Ya don’t have to do this. I know you don’t like blood.” This was true, you didn’t like blood at all, barely even being able to handle papercuts. But for some reason, when it comes to him, you can manage to push it aside. Cuts can get infected and when they’re on his face it means it could go to the brain faster. 
You carefully dab the wet rag around his split eyebrow, gently clearing off the blood and making sure that you don’t resplit the cut open. “I think it split from the swellin’ but I don’t think it needs stitches.” 
He nods slightly, “good. I was hoping it’d close on its own.” 
You put some wound cleaner on it before you bandage it. He might have a scar there unless he leaves it alone. But knowing Gator, it’ll open again. You clean up around his face and causing a hiss to leave his lips once you touch his cheek and eye. You apologize, applying some cream that makes bruises heal faster to his face and ribs. 
“That’s everything.” You force a small smile at him, tossing the wet cloth into the hamper and putting the first aid kit away. You get undressed, needing skin to skin contact. Then, you climb into bed, snuggling up to him, resting your head on the safe side of his chest. 
The silence stretches, Gators arm around your shoulders, his thumb moving softly. 
“I thought you were dead in the snow,” the words tumble out of you before you can stop them. 
He thumb stills for a heartbeat before resuming, “but m’not.” 
“I’m sorry this is the life you were forced into. It is not fair.” 
He kisses your head, breathing you in for a moment, “it’s not your fault, bunny. You didn’t do any of this. Shoulda kept my mouth shut when it came to Karen. Just… smile an’ wave.” 
You shake your head, kissing his chest, “not how it’s supposed to be.”
Gator rolls over you, forcing you on your back. He bites back a pained groan. “My sweet bunny, listen to me. I am here. I am safe. S’gonna take a lot more to kill me.” He leans down, capturing your lips in a sweet kiss. 
You let your hands slide into his hair, deepening the kiss. Honestly, you just need to feel him. He knows it and if he’s being honest, he needs to feel you too. He’ll never say it out loud, but as he laid in the snow, doing his best to get the fucker he was sent to kill off of him, he was scared. 
Scared he would die and you’d spend the rest of you life wondering. He knew no one would fill you in and he knew his daddy wouldn’t have a service for him. You’d be alone, wondering what happened to him, praying to the god you don’t believe in that he’d come home again. So, he fought like hell and now, he really needs you. Needs to be inside you. 
You pull back, breaking the kiss, “Gator, we can’t.” 
“We can. Please baby.” Gator doesn’t beg, he didn’t need to when it came to you. Always more than willing to do what he says and give him what he wants. His begging makes you give in. 
His hands push your underwear aside, feeling how ready you already are for him. Always ready, always wanting and only for him. 
You pull him in for a kiss while his fingers find your clit with ease, swallowing your moans. He always knows exactly how you like it, fingers moving in swift circles and just the right amount of pressure. 
“So fucking pretty when you’re at my mercy,” he pushes two fingers inside you, the stretch making your brain go fuzzy. “Looked so fucking pretty in your little skirt and frilly socks. My little angel.” 
The way Gator is cooing at you, his fingers crooked up to touch the one spot that drives you nuts and you can feel yourself slipping into that headspace you both love. You’re trying so hard to be logical, knowing he’s hurt and can hurt himself further. 
“Thank you, daddy. Bought it because I thought you’d like it.” Your voice is getting small, breathy. 
He grins, kissing down your neck, “I love it. Love everything you wear. Look so pretty in your pastels.” His thumb finds your clit, a soft moan falling from your lips. It’s embarrasing how quickly you are to coming around his fingers. 
“P-please. Gator please.” 
He smirks, “use your words, sweet girl. Tell me what you want.” 
You can feel your body heat up from both the coil inside you winding tighter and the embarrassment of having to say what you want. “I-I need to cum. So bad.” 
The second the words are in the air, Gator pulls his hands away, leaving your orgasm to fade away. “NO! No, no, no, no please!” 
He sucks a mark into your neck, his tongue licking over the spot to sooth it.
“Need ya to cum on my cock, baby.” 
Before your brain can catch up, he’s sliding inside you. The stretch is something you haven't gotten used to in the last two years. It feels like he's splitting you in half, his cock filling you completely. 
“OH! Oh my god.” You're already panting, squeezing him so hard he’s fighting to not bust prematurely. 
Gator drops to his forearms and pumps his hips, getting right in your face. He’s so close you can smell the fruity scent from the vape he was no doubt huffing on before coming to see you. 
“S’right baby, I am your God and I love when ya pray to me.” 
You can’t help the way your cunt clenches, a moan falling from your lips that is just slightly too loud for either of your comforts. At the moment, you don’t care. You know Roy already got his fill of kicking Gatos' ass. He’s not going to worry about it tonight. 
“Daddy, please. I’m so close.” 
His hips are snapping hard, cock hitting your cervix with every thrust. He feels like he’s inside your throat and you can’t tell if his grunts are from pain, pleasure, or both. 
“Not yet. Almost there. D-don’t cum yet.” 
Your nails sink into his biceps, hips starting to stutter. 
“Please! Fuck! Oh god…” 
He smirks, eyes meeting yours, “yeah? I know how bad ya need it. How bad ya need me to fill this pretty, little cunt up. Breed an own ya f’ever? Hm?” His eyes are black and he looks absolutely feral. Primal.  
His hand snakes down the front of your body, finding your clit with ease. You gasp, thighs starting to shake. You knew you weren’t going to last but you needed his permission. You craved his praise and being in his good graces. You’d let him do anything to you, that’s how much you trust him. 
“Yes! Yes! Whatever you want. Anything.” You don’t even know what you’re saying at this point, too cock drunk to think of anything besides him and what he’s doing to you. 
He laughs, seeing your eyes glazed over and tears of pleasure lining your eyes, “cum for me bunny. Do it.” 
It’s all you need to fall into bliss. 
His hand covers your mouth knowing how loud you’re about to be. His face drops into your neck as he cums with you, both of your moans muffled by each other's bodies. His cum fills you, leaking out as he brings you both down. 
His hand slowly leaves your mouth, head lifting to look at you. 
“I love you. I fuckin’ love you so fuckin’ much.” He leaves little kisses all over your face, trying to bring you back to him. “You hear me? M’never leavin’ you.” 
You take a shuddering inhale, trying to form a coherent thought, “P-promise?” 
You hold your pinky up to him, hands shaking while adrenalin continues to run through your veins. He giggles, hooking his pinky with yours, “promise. I’ll always come home to you. I will always fall asleep next to you.” 
He looks down, flipping your hand over and checking out your nails, “I can’t wait for these pretty, red claws to be wrapped around my cock.” 
Your chest lightens as you both laugh together.
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farfromstrange · 9 months ago
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Now That We Don't Talk | Frank Castle x F!Reader
BONUS FIC
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See this post for more information on my Valentine's Day Special & Follower Celebration, but these fics can be read separately!
Read Is It Over Now? for better clarity.
Pairing: Frank Castle x F!Reader (past Matt Murdock x F!Reader)
Summary: You go home with the guy from the bar, and he makes you forget about your ex.
Warnings: SMUT (18+ MINORS DNI), oral f!receiving, use of "attagirl", slight Dom!Frank, song references, unprotected p in v, dirty talk
Word Count: 2.9k
A/n: You wanted a part 2, so you're getting a part 2! Anyway, I don't write Frank often, so I hope it isn't too bad. It's also not as spicy as you probably expected, but I wanted this to fit the vibe of the previous fic (link above). You don't need to have read it to understand this, but it is highly recommended because some references might confuse you. Thank you all for taking part in this event!
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You believed that your life had ended when you lost him. He painted your world in the brightest colors, but by breaking your heart, he took them away. All that was left to see was a boring shade of gray in a sea of sadness. 
Matt told you from the start that being with him wouldn’t be easy. You were willing to try. He needed someone, and you wanted to be that someone to him. You accepted him unconditionally. 
In the end, giving everything wasn’t enough. He chose her over you, and the castle you two had built came crashing down on you while he stood idly by. 
You’re not a bitter person, you have never been, but he made you fall for him; he made you believe that there was hope for the future and that you would grow old together. He stole years of your life in which you were trying to save him from himself. In return, he took the best care of you, but that doesn’t matter much now that he has taken your heart and shattered it like a glass of red wine on a white cloth. 
When you left him, you thought the distance would kill you. You truly believed that this was the end of everything, not just your relationship with the man you thought was the one but yourself as well. “This isn’t what it looks like!” he said the day you found out the ugly truth.
“I trusted you,” you remember saying. You couldn’t even cry. The pain burned brighter than the sun, and it dried your eyes before they could even shed a tear.  
He argued with you that, “It was just a kiss,” but you not once believed him. 
“Are you sure about that? ‘Cause if I ask Elektra, I’m sure she will tell me the truth.”
“No.”
It was at that moment you lost all of your trust in him—in what could have been or should have been the two of you, forever—and it was also the moment that Matt realized he had lost you. 
You believed that he took everything you ever were that day because your life revolved around him, and only him. 
You remember him opening his mouth, having the audacity to apologize. “I’m sorry,” he said, begging you not to leave. 
“Fuck you!” you had never sworn at him until that day.
You still remember the way the necklace with his initial felt when you tore it off your neck and tossed it at his feet. He knew you better than anyone, and you felt like you finally belonged somewhere. That necklace was a symbol of your undying love, or so you thought, anyway. Now you know that he may have known you to some extent, but you didn’t matter enough for him not to climb into bed with his ex-girlfriend.
You couldn’t even look at the necklace. He told you, “This is a piece of my heart,” when he gave it to you on a snowy Christmas Day three years ago. You cherished it the same way you cherished his soul. He was broken, but he was your broken man. He was everything to you. 
Matt Murdock was your moon, your son, and your entire universe. It all seemed far away that you could ever feel about anyone this way again. 
You saw a future with him. Married, a house in the suburbs, and working with Foggy and Karen in their new law office after everything they’ve been through. You were a hopeful person back then.
Karen told you that he went to a party a couple of weeks after you separated. He didn’t look like himself. You wonder if he felt anxious, knowing his only source of comfort was no longer there. You wouldn’t know until you asked him, but you refused to answer his calls.
Part of you felt euphoric, knowing that he was broken too, but you also felt angry because he was the reason you found your heart beyond repair as he stepped on it like a burning cigarette, and in your mind, he had no right to feel this way.
You’re a fucking traitor, Matthew Murdock! I wish we’d never met.
“Another one for the lady,” a voice says beside you. 
Your empty glass of tequila disappears and a full one slides in its place. In your drunken haze, you see a head of brown hair, and his smirk makes you wonder if there’s more to him than he lets on. 
“Thank you,” you murmur, tipping your glass to the stranger. 
“Nah, don’t thank me.” He gets up from his seat and sits down on the empty bar stool next to you. “You look miserable,” he says.
“What if I am?”
“I’d tell you I know the feeling.”
You huff but offer the stranger your hand. You introduce yourself. 
He smiles. Your name rolls off his tongue effortlessly. “Frank,” he introduces himself in return. “Castle.”
“Nice to meet you,” you say. 
You thought nothing and no one could pull you out of the dark hole your breakup tossed you into. You believed yourself dead and long beyond the point of redemption. You accepted it. You swallowed in your misery, giving up on finding a new purpose in your life because the one great thing you had was no longer yours. He fell into a grave that he dug for himself, and he dragged your relationship down with him.
Looking into Frank’s eyes now though, you no longer feel like a corpse. And you realize that you are not dead, not at all—you are very much alive. 
The door almost breaks off its hinges when Frank shoves you into his apartment and back against it. The decision to come back to his place was fueled by a lot of alcohol and the way he looked at you. You were desperate to feel something other than the hollow ache that has consumed you every day for months. His eyes told you that he may be able to give you just what you need, no strings attached.
The way he kisses you breathes new life into your mangled soul. He swallows your mouth and your needy moans with his own, and his tongue forces itself down your throat as your teeth clash in a fight for dominance. You’re both tipsy, but he seems to know just what he’s doing.
His calloused fingers burn against your skin. In the back of your mind, Matt is still so present. His hands are the ones you can’t help but compare him to. 
The way he used to kiss you before fucking you into the mattress for hours on end, switching between tasting and fingering you until you were whimpering and begging him for release might have screwed you up forever. He told you one night that he wanted to ruin you for any other man. Back then, you both still believed that you would grow old together.
It is truly ironic how fast things change when you are truly happy and believe that nothing can burst your bubble.
Frank’s large hands brace against the door on either side of your head. His lips disappear from yours. “Who is he?” he asks, his voice rough like gravel.
You meet his eyes, unsure of what to say. Your mind is everywhere but here, and yet it is right with him. Whether it is alcohol or self-loathing, you’re not sure. 
“What?” you whisper.
“You’re trynna forget someone. Who is it?”
He is a lot more perceptive than you thought.
You swallow, blood rushing to your head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t–” you didn’t what? Think? You feel utterly pathetic.
Instead of throwing you out though, like you expected he would, he reaches out to caress your cheek. His eyes soften as they gaze at you. “Whoever he is, he obviously didn’t treat you right,” he says. “If you want to go, I’m not stoppin’ you, but if you wanna forget whoever is fuckin’ with your head, I’ll make damn sure you forget his name by the end of tonight.”
There is something excitingly terrifying about the look in his eyes. A shiver runs down your spine, and your thighs clench at the thought of feeling his hands somewhere other than your face. Somewhere other than your hips and thighs. His kisses knocked the air out of your lungs. You want more, you need more, but you don’t know if you can take it. Not him—even though you’re also not quite sure if you can take him—but also the offer he is presenting to you. As lucrative as it sounds, fuck, you are not over Matt. And you’re not sure if you can ever forget him.
You want to though. You have to. And you want to be thoroughly fucked into the next day and forget the name of the man that makes you so fucking angry.  
“Talk to me,” Frank coaxes your head toward him. “Do you wanna forget the useless bastard that made you feel this way?”
“Yes,” you manage a breathless whisper.
“Did he hurt you? Break your heart?”
You nod.
“You deserve better.” His grip tightens, and his hand slowly slides to your neck. “I’m not, but I’ll fuck you so hard, you’ll forget his name and scream mine loud enough for this fuckin’ city to know who’s making you feel good. ‘s that what you want, hm?”
He’s dangerous, but that has never turned you off, even when it should have.
And when you finally open your mouth and tell him, “Yes, please. Make me forget,” the switch inside of him flicks completely.
He takes his time to worship between your thighs. His tongue buried in your pussy, his lips sucking on your clit without mercy. He eats you out roughly but sensually, keeping you spread wide open for him with both of his hands and a force unmatched—like a five-course meal, and he has all the time in the world for you. 
You’re lost in the throes of pleasure. You want to buck your hips against his mouth because no matter what he does, you’re on fire and you just can’t get enough, but he is so powerful that you can’t fight him. He has you at his mercy, your body in his hands, and all the control in the world over you. 
You pull at his hair, moaning helplessly as he feasts on your pussy. You’re going mad, you’re sure. He’s doing this on purpose, driving you to the edge before stopping the wave. Frank waits until your orgasm is just far enough for you to last a little longer, kissing the inside of your thighs, and then he dives right back into your wet folds. He thrusts his tongue into your hole, licks up to your clit, and then sucks on the swollen bundle until your legs are shaking in his hands. 
“Jesus, Frank!” you moan out. A trail of sweat runs from your temple down to your breasts. 
Your hands search for something to hold onto, tangling in the sheets and the pillow behind your head before pulling at the fabric. You tried pulling at his hair, but he wouldn’t let you. 
“That’s right,” he growls. “Come for me.”
Your back arches off the mattress. His name leaves your lips in a desperate shout as your orgasm crashes into you. 
“Attagirl.”
Your brain is hulled into an endless fog, but Frank doesn’t stop. 
Soon, you’re on your stomach, gripping the headboard as he pounds into you from behind. He is long and thick, and with every thrust, he forces your face deeper into the pillows. Your eyes have rolled back into your head. He hits that spongy spot inside of you whenever he pleases, and the gurgled moans from the pit of your throat spur him on to speed up, change the angle and thrust even deeper. 
He pulls out all the way, thrusting back into you with full force until he is completely sheathed in your pussy. Your heat consumes him, and he sees red. But so do you. He has reduced you to a few incoherent thoughts, babbling his name in the wake of the drool that is dripping from the corner of your mouth. 
And when you come this time, it is pulled back straight against his chest with his fingers rubbing circles over your already abused clit. You come with a scream of his name, and nothing else matters but his cum in your cunt and the unbelievable depth of the feelings he is eliciting within you. 
You drop to the mattress like a wet towel, covered in his and your cum, and your sweat that has mingled with his. His smell lingers in the sheets as you bury your nose in it. He collapses on top of you. The crushing weight of him offers a sense of comfort that almost makes you cry. And he holds you as though you mean more to him than a One-Night stand he picked up to help forget a man who broke her heart. 
“What’d he do?” Frank asks into the silence later that night.
You are lying on his bed, covered by only his thin sheets. He’s sitting on the other side, nursing a glass of Bourbon. He held you, he cleaned you up, and he offered you some clothes, which you denied. He is kinder to you than you thought he would be, and it warms your heart in a way you can only deem utterly dangerous with how vulnerable you are. Broken people make dumb decisions, and you do not ever want to go through the same pain again. 
At least you know that you are still desired. That you’re not dead. Perhaps, there is still hope for a better future. You made Matt Murdock your life for the longest time, and maybe, as you realize now, that was a mistake. There is more to life than him, and you can live without him. That it took fucking a stranger after weeks of being miserable baffles you, but some things are just meant to happen. Maybe it was destiny, after all. 
You look at him when Frank repeats his question. “What’d the bastard do, hm?” he asks.
Where do you even start? 
When you last checked in on him through your mutual friends—you know it wasn’t the best choice, but you couldn’t help it—they told you that grew his beard, and he last had a haircut when you were still together. It suits him, apparently, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look at a picture of him.
Foggy told you that he isn’t taking home girls when they go to a bar, even though he could have all of them. He’s sad. He drowns himself at work and beats his fist bloody every night. The old you would have jumped up to help him. And it is true that you will probably always love him, in a way, but you refuse to crawl back to him.
The more you gave, the more he took, and at the first chance at getting a woman he claimed to no longer love when she came back into your lives, he took her. He couldn’t have wanted you as badly as he claimed if that was enough for him to flush years of loving each other and going through hell together down the drain, knowing it would break your heart into a million pieces. That is probably the worst part about all of it.
You take a deep breath. Frank is still staring at you intently, waiting for an answer. “He fucked his ex,” you finally confess. “Four years of being together and it still wasn’t enough.”
His grip tightens around his glass. “Want me to pay him a visit?”
You chuckle, but you know that he would. “No. But thank you.”
Matt was fading long before you left. Even if you did choose to forgive him, you couldn’t be his friend, so things are better the way they are now. You paid the ultimate price for sacrificing your heart to a man who had too many struggles to deal with himself.
In the silence, you find a little light. “At least I don’t have to pretend to like Jazz anymore,” you say. 
Frank takes another sip, asking, “Jazz?”
“Yeah, Jazz. He loves it. He…He’s special. Well, he was to me, anyway.”
“Special? Fuck, the guy did a number on you, huh?”
You scoff. “You have no idea.”
The only way back to your dignity is to learn how to be without him. You have to turn yourself back into a mystery and learn how to trust someone again before your fragile heart breaks again.
“You still talk?” Frank asks.
You shake your head. “No. It’s over now,” you say. “We don’t talk anymore.”
“Told ya. You deserve better.”
“Nah.” You reach for his glass, taking a sip of the bitter liquor that you used to despise. Looking up at him through hooded eyes, you stretch his leg toward him. 
You need to keep forgetting Matt’s name, no matter what it takes or the reminiscing will surely kill you.
“Right now,” you murmur with an irresistible smirk that makes him leap at you as soon as the words pass your lips, “I just need to forget he ever existed by screaming someone else’s name.” 
Frank captures your lips in a bruising kiss, leaving you speechless and breathless all the same. 
Matt chased you, he caught you, and then he lost you. And now that Frank has you, you never want to look back. 
Now that you don't talk.
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I don't have a tag list for Frank, so I'm just leaving this here.
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k-marzolf · 6 months ago
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I’m gonna live forever;
title inspired by Irene Cara’s song Fame.
cw; hit man!Billy Russo, ADHD coded reader, kissing, a hint at Billy’s darker side, fem!reader.
summary; Billy is your neighbor that you’re enamored with, but what secrets is he hiding?
tagging; @terry2227 @kayhi808 @e-dubbc11 @bookloverfilmoholic @aoi-targaryen @firequeensposts @oops89 @thejanecampaign @littleblackcatinwonderland @zz-kennedy @fictional-hooman @cant-help-simping @tortilla-chips-and-allioli @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @danzer8705 @firexfate @rosaleenablack @idaofinfinity @russosafehaven @vaguekayla
&&&&&&
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You see him with her in the drink aisle; she’s flirting as he grabs your favorite wine, and puts it in the cart. You feel the sting of jealousy; she’s beautiful.
She was like Snow White, or maybe some Twilight vampire, minus the sparkling. A Volturi member, ready to kill you for your blood. Or maybe—a fairy but ones with claws, and fangs. A human—you stop yourself as you go on yet another tangent.
You look down at yourself in your sweatpants and one of his PT shirts you’d swiped. You made a habit of stealing his clothes like a little gnome, they were comfortable. And they smelled like him. You casually make your way over, missing the way his eyes light up when he sees you.
You know your neighbor isn’t yours, but god you want him to be. Karen had seen him twirling you around in the hallway, with a glass of wine in your hands, somehow not spilling.
“I got the better wine.” He had husked in your ear, opening his apartment door.
“Are you sayin’ I have cheap wine, sir?” You had huffed.
He hummed, “‘I’m trying to catch a fairy.” He said, breath tickling your ear.
You had stumbled forward, nearly spilling the wine.
He laughed, “First day on your new legs, Ariel?” He said, helping you into the apartment.
“He’s an asshole, but a beautiful one, isn’t he?”
When you approach, the woman looks at you with disdain. But Billy wraps his arm around you, kissing your mouth, making your cheeks blaze, and eyebrows raise in surprise. “Hey, fairy.” He says, smiling at your wide eyed expression.
The woman curls her lip glaring at you, before she leaves the two of you. Not a vampire, then. He sighs once she’s gone. “What a pain in the ass. They only ever want my beauty. I’m a goddamn prize to them.” He admits in irritation.
“You could walk around with a bag over your head. Like Scarecrow. I’d dress up like Batman, too. You know, so you won’t be alone. Or a pumpkin like the headless horseman. We could put LED lights inside to give it the murder kitten vibe, and I could be Ichabod Crane, or—” You ramble, the train wreck gaining speed.
He cuts you off, kissing you mouth, tasting your iced coffee, and you make a surprised noise in the back of your throat.
He looks at you as he pulls back, and gives you a boyish grin, making butterflies erupt in your belly. “Wanna get some wine and snacks?” He asks you, pointing to the wine in the cart, enjoying your sweet smile.
“We could have a movie night, we could watch the Terminator, or Alien. Bloodthirsty aliens against a woman and her cat, I’m also not opposed to homicidal dinosaurs, or The Mummy, gets the ancient Egypt nerd in me happy—” You ramble.
Billy grins, cheeks dimpling. “Sounds good, fairy.”
You both agree no to rom-coms (you loathe those, something Karen never understood, “Romance and comedy, what could be better?” She asked you one time. “Criminal Minds. Serial killers and Spencer Reid,” you had deadpanned. Karen had blanched), so you and Billy decided to throw some movies in a bowl, and select one.
Forging relationships has always been difficult, due to you being so ditsy and a chatterbox.
Maybe with Billy, it doesn’t have to be.
x
“Young man?” An older lady stops Billy in his tracks as he moves to climb the stairs. Her hair is graying, and pulled up in a tight bun; she has laugh lines, and her eyes are warm.
“Yeah?” Billy asks, one foot on the step in front of him, body turned.
“Thank you for befriending her. I’ve always worried about how isolated she is. But she seems at ease with you. No one should be alone all the time.” She says, and Billy’s heart aches at the image of you alone with no one.
You peek from the top of the stairs, “Bill?” You say impatiently, giving him golden retriever energy.
“Comin’,” he says, turning back to the lady who shoos him up the stairs.
“What’d she want?” You ask, bouncing on the balls of your feet, noticing an outline of a knife in his combat boot.
Billy ruffles your hair distracting you, “Just worried about you.” He hums, kissing your cheek. “How about that movie night?”
You give him a sweet smile, giggling as he raced you down to the end of the hall where your shared apartment was, carrying chips and salsa.
He was going to steal your heart, you were sure of it.
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shiorimakibawrites · 1 year ago
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Tease (Kinktober Day 11)
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Personal Masterlist for Kinktober 2023
FlightlessAngelWing's Prompt List can be found here.
Day 11 - Seduction.
Pairing: Matt Murdock x AFAB! Fem! Reader
Warnings: Seduction, unprotected p in v sex, dirty talk, office sex, clothed sex, boss/employee relationship, spanking, referenced oral sex, referenced masturbation, swearing
Tagging: @flightlessangelwings
Tease
Between being a lawyer and Daredevil, Matt was often busy. But lately he had been especially busy. And it was starting to take its toll. He was visibly stressed and in need of a break. But convincing the man to do that was tricky.
You had already tried asking him to take a day off. Just one day – no lawyering, no Daredeviling. Stay home, sleep in, savor his meals, do something fun that he enjoyed. You expressed your concern for his level of stress and exhaustion. You even had back up in the form of Foggy and Karen who just as concerned as you were. But Matt, being Matt, waved off those concerns. He was fine. He could handle this.
He was not fine. He could not handle this. Not unless he allowed himself to take a break when he needed it.
Since asking him hadn’t worked, other plans had been suggested. Seducing him was Marci’s suggestion. Karen had seconded it. You had considered it and eventually agreed. Having sex wasn’t the day off any of you had been originally aiming for but if it worked . . . he had at least taken a break. And you will have gotten some orgasms. Win-win.
But given how stubborn Matt is, you would need to do something bold if you wanted to seduce him.
You had considered a couple of ideas. One suggestion had been a pheromone perfume but you were a little reluctant to use it. For one, you weren’t sure that messing with his senses like that was a good idea. What if he reacted badly? You had seen how bad his headaches got when something went awry with his senses. You’d hate to be the reason he was curled up in a tight ball, eyes screwed shut, soft pained whimpers escaping from behind clenched teeth. For another, Matt already seemed to find your natural pheromones hard to resist and upping that, especially without asking him first, didn’t feel quite right.
You bought a bottle of it because it was good to have a back up plan. And maybe one day, he’d be interested in experimenting. If not, you could always give to Marci or Karen.
The suggestion you had settled on was more subtle.
You were walking to the office dressed in a cashmere sweater and silk skirt that fell to just above your knees, both favorites of Matt’s that he loved touching. But your secret weapon was that you weren’t wearing any panties under that skirt. Not very professional but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Given that it was early autumn, it was also a little chilly. You hadn’t realized just how much heat those inches of fabric were providing. But you persevered.
Knowing that your plan might end causing unexpected chaos at the combined offices of Nelson & Murdock and Page Investigations, you decided to treat Foggy and Karen to coffee and their favorite bagels on the way. A decision that earned you a ‘My favorite bagels! Best. Employee. Ever.’ from Foggy. Karen’s thank you was less dramatic but equally sincere.
You had also brought enough for yourself and Matt. Where was he? You knew he heard you coming or Foggy’s enthusiastic reaction to getting bagels . . .
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
You looked up to see him emerge from his office. Matt was always unfairly pretty but it seemed especially unfair today. If you had been missing that much sleep and getting into fights every night, you would be mistaken for a zombie. Not Matt. He stood there in his crisp gray suit, a smile on his face, looking as good as ever.
You wanted your body to have more than its usual ‘heeellooo gorgeous’ reaction to seeing him. So instead of doing your usual quick skim, you allowed your eyes to roam and think dirty thoughts about you saw. You looked at his face and remembered gripping his hair tightly in your hands while those pink lips wrapped around your clit and sucked. Traced his broad shoulders tapering down to his trim waist and remembered holding onto those shoulders, your legs wrapped around that waist, while he fucked you. Remembered those hands cupping your breasts and kneading your ass. Those fingers inside you making you moan. Everything short of actually touching yourself to make your cunt good and wet for him.
You watched him notice your reaction, saw those nostrils flare and that pink tongue dart across his lips. His hand on his office door tightened it and his body stiffened. Like it was taking a significant amount of his willpower to stay where he was. You wondered if he could tell that you weren’t wearing any panties. Or if it was just smelling you aroused after two weeks without any sex . . .
“Matt! Your wonderful girlfriend got us bagels! And good coffee!” Foggy said, unwittingly breaking the spell between you.
“Of course, she did,” he said, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you against him for your usual morning hug. “She’s a very sweet girl.”
You felt your face flush. It took everything you had not to press your thighs together. He was using that deep, sultry voice he reserved for dirty talk. That voice did things to you. To the point that you were pretty sure that he could recite entries from the phone book and it would still turn you on. The addition of sweet girl, something he called you when making you a whiny, desperate mess, only added fuel to the fire between your legs.
His arm around your waist tightened and pulled you a little closer. The flush on your face only deepened when you felt the growing erection against your lower abdomen. Foggy seemed oblivious but Karen wasn’t. She took in your flushed face and Matt’s arm around your waist. You saw her realize that you had started Operation Seduce Matthew Michael Murdock and Phase I – Get Him Interested was complete.
She gave you a conspiratorial wink before beginning Phase II – Drive Him Crazy. She cleared her throat and loudly reminded him that his 9 o’clock appointment would be here soon. Better eat his bagel and did he want her to pull the file for him?
You had the feeling that Matt knew exactly what you and Karen were pulling but he went along with it.
The rest of the morning was rife with sexual tension. Neither of you did anything inappropriate in front of the clients. Was touching his arm while you handed him papers necessary? No but you did it anyway. Likewise, he didn’t have pressed against your back until you were both refilling your coffee. The little kitchenette area was narrow but it wasn’t that narrow.
There was no innuendo. Everything you said to each other was perfectly ordinary office conversation. But in that voice . . . at this rate, you were going to unable to hear things like ‘Can you make a copy of this for me?’ without getting turned on.
Foggy might have been too distracted by bagels to notice Phase I but it didn’t take him long to notice Phase II. He gave you both irritated looks but seemed to have accepted the inevitable. If the way he loudly announced that he was taking a long lunch today. Karen was just as subtle when noting her after lunch plans to check on some leads. Away from the office.
The knowledge that they both knew what you were about to be doing had your face hot enough to cook with. But you weren’t so embarrassed that you were willing to forego that upcoming sex. You were careful to lock the outer door after putting out the closed until 1 pm sign. You had the feeling that Matt wouldn’t appreciate any interruptions. Granted, neither would you.
You had been barely turned away from the door before you pushed up against it. A hand gripped your chin and Matt was kissing you. It was a hard, dominating kiss that left you panting when he finally broke it.
“You are a fucking tease,” he growled. He didn’t sound like Matt Murdock at all. He sounded like the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. He looked like it too with that dark, almost feral expression on his face. It might have scared someone else but you only found yourself getting wetter. A deep rumble and then you were hoisted up on his shoulder. He walked further into the office. It was hard to tell from this angle but you thought he was taking you to his office.
It was his office. He deposited you back on your feet in front of his desk, turned you around and pushed your torso down until you were bent over his desk. One hand slide up your back and gripped the back of your neck.
“Naughty girl, coming into our office without any panties,” he rumbled out as he used his other hand to hike up your skirt. You jolted, the moaned when that hand slapped your now completely bare ass.
“Walking around here all day” he continued, slapping your ass again. “Knowing that I can smell how wet you are for me. Knowing that I can taste in the air just how desperate this pussy is for my cock.”
Another blow to your ass, this one harder. “Did you touch yourself in the bathroom?”
You squirmed, your face burning. “N-no.”
“Lie,” he growled, delivering another hard smack to your ass. “Were you hoping that because I was listening to that deposition that I wouldn’t notice you being a naughty girl?”
You knew that he probably notice but he had been busy and you had been so desperate for some relief . . .
“Answer me,” he ordered, using his feet to push your feet and thus your legs further apart.
“Y-yes,” you managed to pant out.
“Well, sweetheart, I noticed,” he said. “How wet your pussy sounded. The moans you swallowed. The faint whine when your fingers weren’t quite enough. The soft whisper of my name when you came all over your fingers. The sweet perfume of your release. I noticed every detail.”
You heard a clink of metal followed by the whisper of fabric behind you. Then you felt the head of his cock against your entrance. You gasped as he slide into you, not stopping until he was fully sheathed inside you. A deep moan rumbling out of his chest.
“Wanted this all morning,” he said. “Couldn’t wait to feel this pretty pussy fluttering and twitching around my cock.”
He began to move and there was nothing gentle about it. He fucked you hard, pumping rapidly in and out of your body. You could do nothing to control the pace, pinned down by the hand gripping the back of your neck, your feet were too far apart . . . All you could do was take it and moan.
“Yes, moan for me,” he grunted. “My naughty girl.”
You let out a loud cry when his hand, the one that had been gripping your waist, slide down an d under to start rubbing your clit. Like his thrusts, the pace of his finger was fast. Almost frantic. White flashes began to dance across your vision.
“Maa-tt . . I – I,” you started only to be cut off by a particularly hard thrust that almost made you scream. “C-close.”
“Want to cum, naughty girl?” he asked.
“Yes,” you said. Then whined as you felt his finger switch from firm circles to teasing, feather-light brushes. You could feel your orgasm beginning to recede.
“Then beg,” he ordered.
You whimpered but that wasn’t enough. He continued with the teasing brushes, just enough to stimulation to keep you near the edge but not enough to tip you over it.
“Please,” you begged. “Please let me cum. Please, please, please . . .”
This time you were cut off by the firm press of that finger against your clit. This time, you let out a choked scream. Close, you were close . . . “Yes, yes, yes . . .”
“Cum on my cock, sweet girl,” he said. “Cum for me.”
And you did, falling over that edge with a stuttering moan. As your cunt squeezed and fluttered around his cock, you felt his pace began to falter. One, two more hard thrusts, a low moan, and then you felt the warmth of his release filling you.
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bellaxgiornata · 1 year ago
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Falling For the Devil [Part eighty-eight: "The Birthday Brunch"]
Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader
Summary: You and Matt meet up with your friends for Marci's birthday brunch.
Or The pair of you end up stumbling on a surprise of your own afterwards.
[Series of one-shots about Reader meeting, falling for, and dating Matt Murdock.]
Warnings: 18+ for this series; contains humor, fluff, romance, angst, smut (like...a lot of it later in the series), language, some violence
Word Count: 2.9k
a/n: This update is light and fluffy with a surprise at the end! Enjoy and feedback is always appreciated!
Tag List: @ninacotte @mattkinsella @stilldreaming666 @murdocksclient @madscamp02 @1988-fiend @linamarr @pinkratts @schneeflocky @acharliecoxedfan @yarrystyleeza @theetherealbloom @danzer8705 @lionalsowrites @harperdoodle @kmc1989
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"So, are you feeling any older today?" Karen asked Marci, setting her mimosa back down.
Across the table from you and Matt, Foggy began to swiftly shake his head beside his wife. His wide eyes were on Karen as he roughly waved a hand in the air, indicating that was not the question to ask her this morning. The movement immediately caught Marci’s attention and she glared at Foggy's not-so-subtle gesture. He abruptly stopped, pretending he had been trying to grab his glass of water the entire time. 
"I found some gray hairs this morning," Marci glowered, her focus returning to Karen as she answered the question. "So yes, I definitely feel older today. And I don't like it."
"I'm sure it was just a really, really blonde hair," you told her.
Marci's dark glare fell on you, the weight of it immediately causing your back to straighten in your chair as you sent her a placating smile in return. Beside you, Matt readjusted his glasses on his nose as he shifted in his seat. A second later you saw his signature charming smile slip onto his lips.
"Personally, I think you look great, Marci," he told her. "You don't look like you've aged a day."
At Matt’s comment, Foggy choked on his sip of water, his eyes somehow managing to widen further in absolute mortification that Matt would make such an ill-timed blind joke. To your left, Karen threw a hand over her mouth as she attempted to stifle a laugh while Marci's piercing gaze slid over to Matt on your right. Matt continued to smile back at her, entirely unphased and completely aware of what a smartass he was being. Though seconds later Marci's eyes softened, a grin tugging up the corner of her lips. You swore Foggy visibly deflated in relief beside her. 
"Funny, Murdock," she countered. "But I don't particularly want to think about my age this morning. Even though I'm happy you all came out for brunch with us." 
"We wouldn't have missed celebrating your birthday," you assured her.
"And Foggy wouldn't have let us," Matt added.
Your head spun towards him, mouth gaping open at his continued teasing. Nudging him with your elbow, Matt chuckled in response. 
"I'm kidding, of course," Matt said, draping an arm around your shoulder. "You know you're like family to us, Marci."
Your teeth bit down on the tip of your tongue at Matt’s words, heat burning at your cheeks. Ever since you'd moved in with Matt a week ago–besides noticing the inability for you both to keep your hands to yourselves which had led to so much sex that your cunt was still aching from overuse as you sat in your chair–you'd noticed Matt had started referring to the pair of you as an 'us' on occasion now. Something he hadn't done before. And judging by the looks on everyone else's faces, they'd caught that, too. Your three friends had also all caught the way you'd nervously dropped your gaze to the table, fidgeting in your seat.
Out of the corner of your eye you saw Marci and Karen exchange a look. You had a feeling they were about to interrogate the pair of you on your first week of living together. Your stomach twisted anxiously just before you felt Matt’s hand gently squeeze your shoulder in reassurance. But when Marci's focus returned to you as she leant forward in her seat, extreme interest written all over her face, your suspicions were quickly confirmed.
"We haven't had a chance to talk since you got settled into Matt's this past week," she began, her tone mischievous. "How's living together been going for you both?"
“Great,” you replied quickly, a nervous smile on your lips.
“Really?” Karen asked, her brows rising curiously onto her forehead. “No mishaps or arguments yet? Especially with the furniture being rearranged?”
You cleared your throat, your hands fidgeting with the silverware on your napkin as you remembered the brief argument yesterday morning before work. It was the first argument you’d had living together and it was about the pair of you having too much sex–who would've thought that would be the argument?
Matt shrugged beside you. “Nah, not really,” he answered, pulling you a bit into his side. “We’ve been having too much fun to really argue.”
Marci almost screamed in delight, her finger flying across the table at the pair of you as Karen let out a pleased squeal. Foggy was quick to duck his head, attempting to hide behind his hands at the table. You personally wanted to do the same with the way a few people at the nearby tables were now staring at you.
“I knew it!” Marci shrieked. “I knew you both would be fucking like rabbits!”
Karen giggled, her eyes on you. “Is that why you were complaining about being sore this week?” she asked. “You and Matt just can’t keep your hands to yourselves?”
You shook your head, not wanting to have this conversation with Matt and Foggy right here. “I really don’t think–”
“It’s certainly been a problem,” Matt cut you off. “But I’m not really complaining. Like I said, we’ve been having fun.”
You saw Marci and Karen exchange a look of pure delight just before your head spun towards Matt, a look of sheer horror on your face. He glanced down towards you, shooting you that charming smile of his.
“Matt!” you whisper-yelled at him. 
“What?” he asked innocently. “I’m sure you’re going to tell them all the details later. And besides, if you’re this riled up–” he leaned in towards your ear, “–you’re probably going to be too irritated with me to want me to rip that dress off of you when we get home and–”
“Matt!” you shrieked again, face heating at his words.
He chuckled, the warmth of it filling your ears and sending a shudder rippling down your spine. His fingertips lightly brushed against the skin of your shoulder, goosebumps rising along your arms despite the embarrassment flooding you.
"I stand corrected," he whispered. 
"What is your secret?" Marci asked curiously, leaning forward on her elbows towards you. 
"Babe, maybe we should talk about something else?" Foggy suggested. "Something that doesn't make everyone in here stare at us?"
"I absolutely agree," you said.
"Fine," Marci said with a sigh, settling back into her seat. 
"Do you remember how embarrassed you used to get around Matt? Always blurting out strange things?" Karen asked you. "And now here you two are practically inseparable."
Matt's hand along your shoulder pulled you further into his side as he leaned down, placing a kiss against the side of your head. Your eyes briefly fluttered closed as Matt's lips lingered, your heart beating unsteadily in your chest at the feel of them. 
"I hear wedding bells," Marci sing-songed across the table.
"Might want to get your ears checked then," Matt teased as he pulled away from you. "Sounds like your age really is catching up to you if you're hearing a ringing in your ears."
Marci's eyebrows shot up onto her forehead as Matt just sat beside you, smiling sweetly back at her. You were trying to bite back a smile of your own as Karen started to crack up to your left, struggling to contain her amusement. Across the table, Foggy sighed and shook his head.
"Buddy, I know you generally have a death wish," he began, "but I never thought you'd be dumb enough to actually provoke my wife to kill you."
"That would make an interesting front page article," you joked. "The big bad Devil of Hell’s Kitchen throttled to death at Wake 'N Bacon because he couldn't stop pointing out that Marci Nelson turned–"
Marci sharply pointed a manicured nail at you, her eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare finish that sentence or you'll both make the front page of The Bulletin," she warned. 
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Both of your arms were wrapped around Matt’s left one as the pair of you made your way back home from the restaurant, Matt's cane tapping along the sidewalk. Marci's birthday brunch had been fun and you'd enjoyed seeing your friends again this weekend. Even though you'd been texting them throughout the week, you hadn't actually seen them since they'd all helped you move into Matt's apartment last weekend and you had inevitably missed them.
The brunch had also been a welcome distraction from Matt and yours' problem of constantly fucking. This weekend the pair of you had agreed to work on self-restraint. It seemed utterly ridiculous that this was an actual "issue" with you both–what couple actually needed to have less sex? But here you were, having to open the bedroom windows while you had been getting ready this morning in hopes to lessen the scent of your pheromones in the bedroom as you changed because Matt had been getting a little too handsy. It at least seemed to help him focus on getting ready himself, which only led to you both joking about just shoving Matt's head out of an open window whenever he made advances on you in the future.
"You finish that article?" Matt asked as the pair of you walked.
"Mhmm," you hummed with a nod. "Finished it while you were out last night."
"Good," Matt replied. "Hopefully you'll feel less stressed and can enjoy this weekend with me then. Last weekend was a little…busy."
"Well I wonder why," you teased, squeezing his arm between yours as he chuckled. "You planning on going out criminal wrestling tonight?"
Matt laughed, the warm sound drawing a smile to your face as you both made your way down the sidewalk. You still loved making him laugh.
"Criminal wrestling now?" he asked. "That's what I do?"
"Well you've never come up with a name for it," you replied with a shrug. "And it sounds better than asking if you’re going out and doing your illegal activities."
"Mmm,” Matt purred back. “ I'd like to do some criminal wrestling with you back home.”
"Matt," you warned. "That's what we're trying to avoid today."
"Do we need to, though?" he countered, glancing down at you. "We had nothing planned for the day besides that brunch so…?"
"I literally can't take anymore, Matt," you whined back. "I won't be walking all weekend if we have sex today. We need to find something wholesome to do instead."
"Wholesome?" Matt teased back with a laugh. "Like what? Go to church?"
You perked up excitedly at his suggestion. "We haven't stopped by to visit Maggie in a couple of weeks," you pointed out. "Maybe we should–"
Matt came to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk, pulling you to one beside him. Your brows furrowed as you watched his head dart to the side. The foot traffic began to spill around the pair of you as Matt continued to stare down the alley on his right. You craned your neck, trying to see whatever it was he was picking up on, but all you spotted was a dumpster and some garbage bags on the ground lying around it.
"What?" you asked him. "Fancy Devil senses catch something?"
“Yeah,” Matt muttered. “I thought I heard…a cat?”
You snorted in response, though Matt was far too distracted to respond to the noise as he usually did. His brows only further drew together beneath his red glasses as he continued to focus on the alley.
“I mean, there’s probably an apartment nearby with a cat,” you told him. “Or many apartments nearby with cats, actually.”
“No…” he replied, voice trailing off as he took a step towards the alley. “It sounded like it was coming from in here.”
Your nose scrunched in response to his words. “In the alley?” you asked him.
Matt nodded, disentangling himself from you as he began to fold up his cane. He took a few steps into the alley, his head still tilted to the side as he listened in on whatever it was he could hear that you certainly couldn’t. After a moment you followed after him, eyes narrowed as you watched him make his way over towards the dumpster.
“I think it’s in here,” Matt said. “Can you hold this for me?”
He held his cane out towards you and you took it from him wordlessly. Matt focused back on the dumpster, placing both of his hands along the ledge of it before effortlessly hoisting himself up and into it. You cringed when you heard the soft thump of him landing in a pile of garbage just before he ducked down out of sight.
For a moment you stood there, twisting his cane between your hands as you waited for him. You were about to call out to him when he appeared again–this time unmistakably holding a cat. The poor thing looked a little thin, its light gray fur looking a bit dingy and dirty as the cat’s nails dug into Matt’s black tee-shirt, the cat clinging desperately to him. Your heart immediately clenched at the sight of the cat as you hurried over to the dumpster, slotting Matt’s cane beneath an arm as you tried to free it from him.
“You poor kitty!” you cooed, cradling the cat against your chest before its nails soon dug into you through your dress instead. “Who would leave you in a dumpster?”
With a grunt, Matt easily climbed back up and out of the dumpster, his own nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell. No doubt he’d need a shower when the pair of you got back home.
“I hate people who do that,” Matt told you, reaching out and taking his cane from you. “I’ve rescued multiple litters of puppies or kittens from dumpsters around the city a few times now. It’s disgusting.”
Your gaze flew up to Matt in surprise. “You have?” you asked him.
“Yeah,” he answered with a nod. “There’s a shelter not too far away that has night staff. They uh, they’ve come to learn that Daredevil likes to bring by strays.”
You openly gaped at his admission as he ran a hand through his hair, attempting to fix it. You’d had no idea he did that when he was out stopping criminals. The knowledge of it only made you love him more.
“We can probably bring this one there,” he said, gesturing a hand at the cat you were holding. “If they’re full, I know they have other shelters or fosters they can get in contact with.”
Your eyes dropped down to the light gray cat that was clinging to you. It’s head rose up, bright green eyes meeting your own. The cat gave a soft mew that had you hesitating, your fingers beginning to scratch behind its ears. 
“What if…we don’t do that?” you asked him slowly.
Matt’s head tilted to the side, his covered gaze fixed on you. “What do you mean?” he asked back. “What else would we do?”
Eyes dropping back down to the cat, you saw it had closed its eyes. If you listened closely, you could hear the cat faintly purring as you continued to scratch behind its ears.
“I mean,” you began carefully, “what if we…kept it?”
“You–you want to keep it?” he asked in shock.
“Well, we should definitely make sure no one’s missing a cat first,” you explained quickly. “You know, see if this guy–or girl–is chipped and call up some places to see if anyone is missing a cat that fits the description. Do all the responsible things first. But…” you trailed off, eyes slowly focusing back on Matt’s face which was still twisted up in a look of surprise. “What if we kept it?” you asked softly.
“A cat?” Matt asked. “You want to have a cat?”
“I want us to have a cat,” you corrected him. “She–or he–could keep me company when you’re out at night. And I don’t really feel right leaving them at a shelter. I mean, you found them after all, Matt–in a dumpster no less. I feel like it's fate.”
You could see the faint twitch of Matt’s lips before a smile slowly drew them upwards at the corners. He took a step forward, one hand reaching out towards your face. His fingers affectionately traced the length of your jaw as he stood there silently for a moment, contemplating what you were asking. It felt like a long while before he finally spoke.
“I think you have a soft spot for loving unwanted strays, sweetheart,” Matt murmured fondly.
You couldn’t fight the grin that spread onto your face at his words. “It only makes me want them even more if they’re found in a dumpster,” you teased back. 
Matt laughed, the corners of his eyes creasing just past his dark glasses. His hand slipped down from your jaw until his fingers lightly brushed over the cat. The cat only relaxed further in your arms as Matt began to gently pet it.
“Alright,” he said after a moment. “If this cat really does need a home and you want it, then…I suppose we’ve just found ourselves a cat.”
You squealed in delight, focusing back down on the animal in your arms. “You hear that?” you asked the cat, its green eyes once again meeting yours. “You’re coming home with us. And I’m going to fatten you up and find you a name.”
“Okay, okay,” Matt said with a laugh, waving a hand. “Let’s hold off on the name until we know they don’t actually belong to anyone first. I don’t need you getting attached and getting upset if we have to give it up.”
Leaning down towards the cat, you whispered into its ear, “Don’t worry, he’ll fall in love with you, too. Just watch.”
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[END NOTES]
They've got a cat!! I know many of you have been wanting this moment to happen and I always had it in my mind that Matt would be the one to find the cat in a dumpster and he wouldn't necessarily want to keep it--but just you wait. Matt and cat are going to be adorable. I have a whole list of ideas of things I want to explore with these two and Matt's senses when it comes to a cat that I've slowly been adding to for a month now. I'm thinking you'll see more of Matt and cat next because I think I'll make the next installment "The Stray" which I know was a suggested title from way back. I'm considering making it a Matt POV where he stays home with the cat while Reader runs out to buy cat supplies and he tries to bond with the cat.
I'll be getting interactive later today asking for cat name suggestions yet again. I'm hoping to find something that Matt and Reader would name the cat--so something related to Daredevil, Matt's father, or FFTD in general. For example, Matt loves trail mix, but that is a terrible name for a cat. So far I know I've been suggested Mittens (for boxing glove mitts) and Scarlet (because of Matt's suit being red) and I love those. I'm thinking I'll probably make a poll if there's enough for me to boil them down to and let y'all vote on it. Y'all know I love getting interactive! But I'll make a post for that later today or tomorrow so I don't ruin the surprise for everyone else.
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roseygurl · 9 months ago
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jobs i think the marauders & friends would have
james potter
- works at a sporting goods store
- he’s very knowledgeable and great at his job
- will definitely persuade you into buying something you don’t want or need
- “sir these nike airs will make you jump so incredibly high”
- always chewing gum and always getting yelled at for it by his boss
- hates working register, you’ll find him in the shoes section reading a magazine
- made the store playlist, he’s always on aux
- all his coworkers are really old but he still manages to get along really well with them
- has definitely grabbed a beer with the 50 year old cashier
sirius black
- movie theatre employee
- he hates his job so much. so much
- but he loves saying he works at a movie theatre because it sounds cool
- applied because he loves films and the smell of theatre popcorn
- works at the concession stand and steals extra large slushees (his go-to flavors are cherry and coke)
- he’s really bad at customer service but he’s naturally charming so it’s okay
- always has one airpod in
- coworkers love him because remus brings him food on his break that he shares with everyone
- never ever wears the hat that comes with his uniform because it’s ugly and makes his hair look bad
- definitely cries in the bathroom
remus lupin
- waiter at a nice restaurant downtown
- he’s actually quite rude but his dry humor and nice cheekbones charm people for some reason
- (gets horrible tips)
- has to wear a fully black outfit with a silly black bow tie, sirius thinks he looks handsome
- really good at bussing tables and rolling silverware
- steals fries from the kitchen
- sometimes they ask him to bartend and he really enjoys that
- the hostess girl adores him (sirius despises her)
- smokes near the dumpster on his break and then sits on the floor in the walk-in for a few minutes
- “can i speak to the manager?!”
- “ma’am i am the manager” (he’s lying)
peter pettigrew
- works at a gas station
- constantly forgets to check for ID
- free cigarettes for his friends
- actually likes stocking shelves because he doesn’t have to talk to anyone
- always scared the store is gonna get robbed at gunpoint
- sees people steal but never says anything about it
- he literally never sees his boss around, where is that man???
- usually closing shift, he hates it
- reads comic books up front all the time, sometimes he’ll have really long conversations with customers about x-men
regulus black
- works drive-thru at a burger joint
- customer service is on point but after 8pm he turns into the biggest bitch on the face of the earth
- he just wants to go home
- sirius and james always drive by to troll him and order shakes
- sirius is really good at doing the karen voice and has actually fooled him almost every single time
- big brother behavior
- his uniform is rancid and smells like burger grease
- always having one sided competitions with other coworkers that nobody is in on except for him
- he loves oreo milkshakes
- ends up having to train the new hires but he’s so terrible at it
- “idk i think this is how you do it but im not sure”
- bad at counting change on the spot, he’ll start tearing up if you give him coins
lily evans
- second-hand bookstore employee
- started out as a volunteer but they actually ended up hiring her
- she doesn’t get enough hours
- works next to a coffee shop so she always grabs a cappuccino for james after her morning shifts
- gets to wear cute outfits but has to wear an ugly gray apron
- decorates it with pins
- remus always comes to visit her and they bitch about rude customers together
- he ends up helping her move heavy boxes
- her boss is this sweet weird hippie woman who somehow knows everyone personally
- the dusty books give her terrible allergies
- that girl is always sneezing and sniffling
- will talk your ear off about jane austen
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courtforshort15 · 2 years ago
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Late Night Confessions
Pairing: Matt Murdock x AFAB Reader (could be read as GN, though the first part of this series mentions the desire to carry Matt's children)
Word Count: 9,000
Summary: You’re not quite sure why Matt has been pulling away from you, but you know that it’s impossible to stay in a relationship when someone is hiding something. You’re devastated that it has come to this, but you figure it’s better to push away than be pushed away.
Warning: Annnnngst, but with a happy ending
This is the third installment of the Coffee Shop Woes Series, though it could probably be read as a standalone.
Part 1: Coffee Shop Woes
Part 2: First Date Jitters
Masterlist
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You didn't really go to the coffee shop on Tuesdays anymore. 
It felt too weird to go when you and Matt were on the outs like this. It felt too much like you were seeking him out, desperate to recreate mornings where you'd openly flirt and hold hands while waiting for your drinks together, Brittany pretending to gag and rolling her eyes in fake annoyance whenever Matt leaned over to brush his lips over your cheek.
It felt too much like searching for something you weren’t sure was meant to last.
And…it wasn't like you were really on the outs with him, when you thought about it. There hadn't been any sort of fight, nothing heavy and angry between the two of you, lapping at your skin while it flared to life and burned you from the inside out. It was just that he had been slowly slipping away; gone were the midday kisses when meeting for lunches, and the nights of him holding you while you slept in his bed. All the words and gestures of care and affection were growing fewer and further between, slowly fading from sight, sliding into a far off distance that even you couldn't see. 
You still talked sometimes; late night phone calls to tell you he was thinking of you, good morning texts and random afternoon office stop-bys to bring you a treat from your favorite bakery. 
But it wasn't enough.
You didn't know where you stood with him anymore. His smile that you loved so much was charming when aimed your way, his eyes crinkling at the corners when you made him laugh. But those had slowly started disappearing too, and all that was left were a few sweet photos on your phone that stung every time you looked at them. 
You changed your home screen back to some generic picture of a flower the fifth time he canceled a date last minute.
A gray, dismal Monday evening found you at his office after asking if you could swing by for a few minutes. He had told you haltingly that he still had a mountain of work to finish, but you insisted, and he reluctantly agreed. The stilted and somewhat awkward conversation was enough to strengthen your resolve, spine straightening, and it forced a sense of coldness into your heart and mind, one that you'd need in order to follow through with a step you really didn't want to take.
The office he shared with Foggy and Karen was dark, which wouldn't have been unsurprising to any other person given that he had no use for the lights. It's just…you had gotten used to the way he made sure to turn them on when he knew you were coming over, excited and breathless at the thought of having you in his space. But this time it was if no thought or consideration for your arrival had passed through his head, and with a quiet sigh, you flicked them on yourself. Matt was at his desk, face tilted down as he ran his fingers over a file, and his head jerked up when the front door shut behind you. 
Maybe he had already forgotten you were coming over, as if you were some vague distraction he would have to face and hopefully get rid of quickly, and the idea was sharp and stabbing, leaving pieces of your skin hanging lifelessly from the wounds.
He stood up as you made your way further into the office, and the smile he sent you was beautiful, as always. But for some reason it held an edge to it, something borderline frustrated, and he wasn't as good at hiding it as he probably thought he was.
Had you not spent the last five months spending every possible moment with him, the smile might have fooled you. But as it were, the smile was almost hurtful to look at, even as you sent one his way in return. You were grateful he couldn't see the way it was extremely strained, dry lips stretching over teeth, cracked more from the bitterness of the situation rather than from the cool weather of fall. 
"Hey, sweetheart," he said as he stepped around his desk, placing the papers he'd had in his hand on another stack of files. He met you at the entrance to his office, pulling you gently in, one hand finding your shoulder, the other your cheek as he leaned in to press a kiss on it. You loved the way his lips felt on your skin, the slight rasp of his stubble brushing against it enticingly. You couldn't help but lean into it, a quiet sigh leaving your mouth.
"Hey, Matt," you greeted him as you pulled away. You took a full step back, bringing yourself just slightly out of his reach, and grimaced at the way his smile dropped ever so slightly. "Busy day?"
He ran his hand through his hair, shrugging. "No more than usual, I guess. Trial starts next week, and I still feel like there's so much to work through."
You made a sound that was sympathetic, all too aware of the case he'd been working on the past few weeks. It was a large case, large enough to make you pause when thinking about his lack of attention lately, but something was still off, and it was a feeling you couldn’t ignore as much as you wanted to. You had been wanting to talk about it with him, but he hadn’t given you a chance, hadn’t spent enough time with you lately for you to even bring it up, and now it just felt like a lost cause. 
"Seems like it's been taking up most of your time, amongst other things."
Matt sighed, and if he picked up on the inflection of the word other, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he rolled his neck lightly before rubbing at his eyes, having obviously removed his glasses at some point in the evening. The sleeves on his shirt were rolled to his elbows, his tie loosened, and while the look had always driven you crazy, it made your throat briefly close up in pain. He looked so stressed, hair messy and eyes tired, but it didn't keep the fact that the distance had slowly been killing you from the inside.
Your heart ached just looking at him, but you knew you needed to push forward. It wasn't just his work schedule that seemed to be creating this chasm between you: he was hiding something, of that you were sure, and you'd been with far too many men who were hiding something to know it was usually best to cut and run before it got worse, before the pain managed to tear you from the inside out. It’s what you did, what you always did; push people away, desperate to keep yourself from the ways they might hurt you when you felt like things were going south, and it was a habit you couldn’t keep from falling into at this moment with him. 
It was a habit that had kept you from many heartaches, though you were positive you weren't going to walk away from this unscathed, regardless.
"Is there a reason why you needed to come by?" He asked, and you couldn't help but narrow your eyes at the the tone that sounded a little too short for your liking. "You sounded like it was pretty urgent."
"Yeah, there's a reason," you said, preparing to rip yourself in two, hands clenching at your side, skin straining and tightening over your knuckles, knuckles that were somewhat bruised from the other night when you’d slammed your fist against your door in frustration when he had canceled dinner again. Matt’s head tilted slightly, as if we could sense the motion, but he didn’t say anything.  "I think we should talk."
Matt's eyebrows rose. "Talk? Right now?"
"Yeah," you shrugged, the movement slow and reluctant, the collar of your jacket lightly brushing against your jaw as your shoulders lifted. "It's not something that can wait, I don't think."
"Sweetheart, I wasn't kidding when I said I have a ton to do for this case," he said with a sigh, placing his hands on his hips. "Can I call you later?"
You shifted on your feet, eyes landing on the random lamp sitting in the corner of his office, reluctant to look at him. It was an old lamp, likely found used on some sort of online posting by Karen, and you were grateful that the swirling design that littered across was enough to draw your attention away for just a brief moment.
"No, it's best we do this now."
"Look, we're having dinner tomorrow night, right? We can go to the restaurant on 51st, we can get that bottle of wine you like, and I promise you'll have my undivided attention," he replied, and the way he was attempting to bargain, attempting to push you off to the side as if he had way more important things to do than talk with you, made you feel weird. Since when did he feel like he needed to bribe you to do what he wanted? "I know it's been a little bit since we've had some time together, but I just really need to finish this portion tonight."
Your laugh almost sounded bitter as it echoed throughout the office. "A little bit? I've barely seen you in three weeks."
He froze before opening his mouth to object, lips quickly tilting into a frown. "That's not true. We went to lunch at that Chinese restaurant down the street the other day."
"Yes, but that was three weeks ago."
He faltered again, jaw dropping slightly. "I–how is that possible?" He asked, sounding vaguely incredulous. "There's no way it's been that long."
"Yeah, well, I guess maybe time flies when you're avoiding me?"
His eyebrows rose again. "Avoiding you? I'm not–"
"That's what it feels like," you told him, trying to keep your voice as blank as possible. You could cry later, there was no need to embarrass yourself with tears. You hadn’t ever cried in front of him, and now was not the time to start, not when you were trying to do what was best for you. "I barely hear from you. You always tell me you're too busy for something these days. I saw you three weeks ago, sure. But in the last month you've canceled on me like five times."
Matt looked surprised, face twisting in something that was beginning to look like guilt. "Sweetheart–"
"And like…I get you're busy, but you can't possibly be that busy 100% of the time. At some point you've got to have some time for me, right?"
"I'm so s–"
"So obviously something is happening outside of work that you won't tell me about."
He took a brusque step forward, hands reaching for you again, but you sidestepped, pulling yourself away from him, unwilling to let him touch you. His face dropped, and you cringed at the look for hurt that was already spreading. 
"Nothing is happening outside of work," he said carefully, each word seeming to be practiced and well-controlled, as if it were a lie that he had told a million times before. Who knows, maybe it was. "I promise. This case…it's draining."
You swallowed dryly, eyes once more flickering to the lamp in the corner, desperate to control yourself enough to push forward. "I don't believe that. I'm sorry."
Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed the way his face paled, and you continued to look away for a moment longer before your eyes landed back on his face. "What are you saying, then? If you don't believe me, then what do you want me to do?"
The breath you took seemed far too shallow, the sound too hoarse, and didn’t actually get you the amount of oxygen you had been needing to help calm you down. He started to take another step towards you, but you shook your head, pushing out a hand to make sure he kept his distance. "I'm saying that this isn't working for me."
Matt's body came to an immediate stop, his mouth dropping in alarm. "What?"
"You heard me," you told him, playing with a thread that had poked loose on the edge of your jacket. "This isn't…working. Not for me, at least."
Matt's mouth opened and shut a few times before he spoke, the words almost too quiet for you to hear. "I don't understand."
You shrugged again, hand finally falling back down to your side. You tried to avoid looking at him, avoid looking at the crestfallen downtown of his mouth and eyes. This beautiful man was wilting before your eyes, and your heart was echoing the movement, sliding downwards and landing on the ground with a quiet thunk that still managed to ring in your ears. 
"I just…I don't really ever see you anymore. We talk sometimes, but not like we used to. I felt like I had to force you to allow me to come over, which is a super shitty feeling to have," you said almost helplessly. The words were starting to catch in your throat. "To be honest, it's started to feel like you want the relationship to end but you're just too nervous to say the words yourself."
His mouth dropped again in surprise. The lighting in the office was bright enough for you to be able to see the way his chest rose and fell rapidly as if he was struggling to catch his breath. "You think I want to end things? Sweetheart–"
His continued use of his word for you, the word that slipped out of his mouth more often than your name, wrapped up in affection and adoration, finally succeeded in causing you to flinch. He’d said it enough times this evening alone, and each time it fell from his lips, your heart squeezed just a little bit harder, but hearing the pleading tone that had slipped into his voice was almost enough to give in to him and throw yourself into his arms. 
You ruthlessly shoved the flickering feeling of wanting him to hold you down to the ground, and opened your mouth to reply. "Something is going on, and I don't know what it is, and even now you're lying to my face saying there isn't."
"What could possibly be going on? What do you think is happening? I still don't understand why you think this."
"I'm not sure," you admitted to him honestly. "I know we're not really official, or whatever that means these days, and I know we’ve kept this casual so far, but I thought maybe we had something. Maybe I was wrong."
He looked like he had been slapped. "What do you mean, not really official? It’s never been anything but serious for me. What else did you think this was?"
You shrugged again, your shoulders rising and falling jerkily. "I'm not really sure, to be honest. We never really said anything about it. So I guess it would make sense if you were keeping your options open, I guess."
"My options op–"
"And like…if that's the case, there's really nothing else to say, right? I haven’t really gotten the feeling from you that you've wanted this to be serious, not with the way you've been dodging my invites for dinner or rushing to end our phone calls. If you're seeing someone else, just let me know."
"I am not seeing anyone else!" He exploded suddenly, picking up his feet from where they had seemed glued to the floor, and started pacing the office, his hurt temporarily taking a back seat and anger replacing it at the wheel. "How could you even say that?"
You lowered your eyes. "I've been down this road too many times before, Matt. I may not know what's going on with you, but I do know what it feels like when I've been given the slip, and that's exactly how I've been feeling the past few weeks."
"I promise I'm not giving you the slip," he said, a hint of desperation making a brief appearance in his voice. "Please believe me."
"Maybe you're not. But it doesn't change the fact that we've been dating for five months and that these past few weeks have made me feel even more lonely than before we met." Your eyes darted back up to look at him, taking in the way his face had lost any remaining color he’d had. "If you can't tell me what's truly been going on, then I don't want to sit around and just hope that one day you'll let me in."
He looked ready to tear his hair out, and you couldn't tell if it was from anger or frustration or sadness. Perhaps it was all three, merging together into something explosive. "Jesus, what do you want from me?"
You jerked back as if you'd been struck, your turn to almost be startled into silence. "I just wanted you to be honest. I just wanted you to tell me the truth, regardless of what it was. But all you've been doing is trying to gaslight me."
“But–”
“I don’t…I can’t do this, Matt. Not with someone who keeps themselves so far away from me,” you mumbled, a stray tear heating your cheek on its way down. You hastily wiped it away. “Whatever it is that you’re hiding, I hope it’s worth it.”
You turned on your foot, making your way to the door, but were stopped by a sudden hand wrapping itself around your wrist.
"I'm so sorry I've made you feel this way," he whispered, though you refused to turn around. "I never meant for that. Please don't go. I'll be better for you, I promise."
You shuddered, closing your eyes briefly, before you shook your hand out of his grasp. "I wish I believed that."
You left his office without another glance back, your mangled heart still bleeding and shattered at his feet.
----------
A few miserable days later found you making your way up to the roof of your building, blanket in one hand, red solo cup in the other, with a large box of cheap wine under your arm. Your standards weren't very high, especially when it came to nursing a broken heart, so the least expensive item at the liquor store would work just fine.
Prying open the roof door, you forced your way out of the building, a wince marring your face when you accidentally stubbed your toe on the brick someone had set aside as a way to hold the door open. Despite the way your toe throbbed, you wedged the brick into place with your foot, unwilling to accidentally get locked outside.
The rooftop was empty of people, which was what you'd expected and hoped for. No one ever came up here, it seemed. It wasn't a great location, nothing to see around you except for other run-down and ugly buildings, old brick surrounding you on all sides. There was an ashtray on a ledge a few feet away, but other than the occasional smoker, the roof rarely saw any action.
On a night like tonight, eyes still stinging and red from a brief session of tears in your shower, the rooftop was perfect.
The ledge you sat on was cold, the brick rough and scratchy, even through your sweatpants. You weren’t surprised at the chill, given the fact it was early October, but you were still mildly uncomfortable when the cold immediately began to seep in. With a brief shiver, you set the box of wine and cup next to you, curling the old blanket around your legs, glad you had worn a hoodie over your t-shirt as the breeze drifted lightly by.
You lifted the cup to your lips, having given yourself a heavy pour of the cheap red wine, and took a large gulp. It didn't taste awful, but it certainly wasn't great, the acid of the liquid seeming to burn you from the inside out as it slid down your throat and settled in your stomach.
Dejected, a sense of hurt settling so deeply inside you that you weren't sure would go away anytime soon, you sat there on the rooftop, wishing you could coldly shove your heartbreak aside as ruthlessly as fall did to summer.
Matt…had been perfect. Everything you were positive you wanted, everything you could see yourself with for the rest of your life. Those first four months had been thrilling and beautiful and heated while somehow still soothing and calming. He took you apart every single night with his words and his cock, then built you back up by holding you in his arms while you slept.
It had been so easy, embarrassingly easy, to fall in love with him.
Such was your lot in life, you supposed. Forever feeling too much for a person who seemed to feel too little.
Maybe he had similar feelings of affection, maybe he had been honest when he said this relationship had never been anything but serious, but you couldn't build something with such a heavy, obvious lie in the middle. You deserved better.
So there you sat…bundled up against the cold weather of fall, plastic cup full of cheap wine that tasted worse and worse by the second, your bruised and battered heart laying at the feet of a man who probably didn't even want it.
It sucked.
You were so involved in your own misery that you didn't notice right away that you were no longer alone on the rooftop until a quiet thump shattered the comparative silence, standing out sharply against the occasional laughter that rang out from the streets below. You whipped your head towards the sound, heart rate increasing exponentially when you noticed a dark figure now standing near the edge. You moved to stand up, weary of the man who had suddenly appeared on the rooftop.
Squinting your eyes, it didn’t take long to figure out who had joined you. You'd seen the sharp silhouette far too many times to count on a TV screen or newspaper article. You weren't a New York native, having only lived in the city for a short amount of time, but there was no mistaking who it was. 
The black form of the devil walked slowly towards you, each step appearing to be calculated down to the exact inch of movement, hands raised slightly in some sort of sign that he meant no harm. Despite the abrupt pounding of your heart, you couldn't find it in you to move away, and neither did you necessarily feel the need to. 
The people of Hell's Kitchen tended to sing his praises. Perhaps not always his methods of intimidation and violence, but they were resolute in the fact that he had saved far more than he had hurt. Many people felt safer knowing he was prowling the neighborhood for those who would do it harm.
You supposed you’d have to trust the people of the neighborhood for now, and so, with a heavy sigh, you sat back down.
"I'm not here to hurt you," the man's voice rang out, and despite the near-whisper, you heard it loud and clear.
Your response was quick and almost disinterested in its tone. "I know."
"You do?" The voice almost sounded confused, as if he hadn't expected the response. The alcohol buzzing through your veins helped numb any anxiety you might have felt in the situation.
You nodded, raising your cup back to your mouth and taking another long sip. "Daredevil doesn't hurt innocent people. We all know that." The taste of the wine lingered on your lips and tongue, and you shuddered at the taste, the sharp sting of the liquid sliding into your stomach. "And seeing as the most heinous thing I've got on my record is an awful speeding ticket I received from going way too fast in a construction zone, I doubt I'm on any list of criminals you're trying to track down."
The shadow moved closer, and though the rooftop was pretty dark, you could see the way his head was tilted slightly, shoulders broad and tense as he observed you. You stayed where you were, unafraid but still cautious, eyeing him curiously as he took a few steps forward. 
"Are you okay?"
The question struck you as funny for some reason, and you snorted gracelessly, the sound almost bitter as it sounded across the rooftop. "I'm up here in ratty clothing and drinking wine out of a plastic cup on a Friday night. I'm definitely not great."
The man looked like he grimaced, the expression seemingly sad, though you couldn't quite tell if you were reading the expression correctly in the limited lighting on the rooftop. It was probably just your imagination that someone would care enough to be sad for you.
You assumed a man like him was used to experiencing a certain level of sadness himself, having seen and experienced the darkness housed in the people living in Hell's Kitchen, more so than anyone else had. You supposed he wasn't as immune to the anger and desperation that reeked from the city's pores as the news portrayed him to be.
The neighborhood seemed to label him as cold and uncaring, calculating and intentional about the violence he inflicted. But staring at him now, you could see the lingering fire that rested underneath the devil's dark clothing, even as he stood calmly in front of you.
"I can go if you want. I didn't mean to intrude."
Eyeing him with vague interest, you shrugged your shoulders apathetically. "I don't care either way. I won't be here much longer, and I don't own the roof. Stay as long as you want."
The man settled onto another ledge, some old AC unit that obviously wasn't on this time of year, approximately fifteen feet in front of you. He crossed his ankles in front of him, hands resting on the AC unit on the outside of his thighs to balance his weight, face aimed in your direction. The skin of the lower half of his face was a stark contrast to the black he was wearing, and it stood out sharply, even in the dark.
"Long night?" You asked suddenly, lowering your gaze and watching as you swirled the wine in your cup, deep red sloshing against the sides. You could only imagine the way the liquid was staining your lips with every sip you took, as if this innocuous liquid was also trying to place its red, sharp mark on you the way one Matthew Murdock had.
The man lifted his shoulders and dropped them. "It's just getting started. Yours?" The tone of his voice seemed familiar, but it was too dark and raspy to be anyone you knew, so you shoved the thought aside.
"I guess," you said with a sigh. You pulled your legs up and folded them underneath you. "Mostly came up here because it sounded less depressing than drinking in my apartment alone. Figured fresh air is somewhat healthy, right? Not that New York has what one might consider to be fresh air."
His mouth dipped further down and settled into a frown that had become more obvious than just a few minutes before. "Do you drink by yourself a lot?"
Your lips twisted into a wry grin before you took another sip. "Recently, yeah. It's never really been much of a habit before."
"Are you…are you sure you’re okay?"
You let out a loud laugh at the question, and the man seemed to be startled by it if the way he rocked back slightly was any indication. "Is Daredevil doing wellness checks these days?" You asked with another laugh that was close to being described as bitter. 
The man in front of you didn't deserve anger at such a simple question, but you couldn't bring yourself to care much. You were sad and angry and hurt, and unfortunately this man was receiving the brunt of everything that was blazing inside of you. "I haven't been in the city for very long, but I thought you would have better things to do than talk with random drunk women on their rooftops."
He shook his head. "I do whatever people need me to do."
You laughed again, and you couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or genuine, too buzzed to determine the motive behind the sound. "I think you should find someone who actually needs help. There are better uses of your time."
"Something tells me I'm right where I need you to be."
"Okay, man," you said with a shrug of your shoulders. Tiredness suddenly slunk into your skin, and you decided to lean into the exhaustion, rather than fight it. After all, sleeping was far more preferable than drinking shitty wine and having a pity party. "I'm going to head down to bed anyway, so enjoy the rooftop."
"I hope you're not leaving because of me," the man rushed out, abruptly rising from his spot, his face looking mildly alarmed from what you could see in the dark. 
You shook your head with a sigh. "I'm not," you replied honestly, standing up and folding your blanket. After taking the the last sip of wine in your cup, you tossed it in a nearby trash can. You picked up the box of wine that was far lighter than it had been when you’d walked up the stairs with it, already wincing at the hangover that was bound to set in tomorrow morning based on how much you had consumed. 
"I'm going back downstairs because I'm sad and drunk and I'm ready to go to bed. It was nice meeting you."
Turning quickly on your heel, you were already halfway to the door when your name rang out across the open air, and you heard it as clearly as if it had been said by someone standing next to you.
Head whipping around instantly, you opened your mouth in surprise. "How did you–"
But the words died on your lips, because the way your name had been said was unique, each letter and each syllable carefully crafted by the mouth it left, and there was only one person who said it exactly like that, only one person whose voice you had all but memorized since the moment you saw him in the coffee shop.
But…it didn't make sense.
The vigilante stood a few feet closer now, arm still lightly outstretched as if he had been reaching to pull you back into him, and you couldn't help but notice the knuckles that seemed to be perpetually split, the very same knuckles that had ran themselves down your cheek on more than one occasion. He had stepped further into the small light the open doorway offered, and sure enough, there was no way that mouth belonged to anyone else.
It was parted in surprise, red lips you'd spent so much time beneath still forming your name, and your breath caught in your throat. 
His voice, in his desperation to make you stay, no longer sounded so raspy and on edge. It had shifted rapidly into the one you were so used to hearing, and you found yourself reeling at the thought that you had completely shoved the familiarity of it aside just minutes earlier.
He stood facing you silently, the only sound ringing out across the roof coming from the people and cars below, and it was clear he was as surprised at the calling out of your name as you were. 
You cleared your throat loudly, hands starting to tremble at your sides. You shoved the items you were holding back onto the ledge you had just vacated, unable to hold the weight when your world had just been rocked almost violently. "Take off the mask, Matt."
Leaning his weight on his back foot, he swayed ever so slightly away from you. "I don't–"
"Take it off!" The words that tore from your lips were shrill, a direct result of the alcohol surging through your system and the panic that was rapidly rising. 
Without another word, his hands reached up and yanked his mask off, dark hair simultaneously slick with sweat and sticking to his forehead while also standing up slightly in the back. His face was pale, and even in the dark, you could see a cut that was bleeding sluggishly at his hairline and a bruise rapidly forming on his cheekbone.
You had noticed the random bruises and scars on his body, steadily mapping every inch of his skin with the gentle press of your fingertips during your months together, but he had somehow crafted reasonable excuses for the marks that littered his flesh. Upon the sudden realization of what was actually happening, you felt incredibly stupid. 
While your mind continued to race and put together every single puzzle piece and clue you'd received over the past few months, never knowing they'd fit to form a picture like this, Matt stood frozen in front of you, eyes darting rapidly around the rooftop. 
"You're…Daredevil." It wasn't a question. There was no denying that the man in front of you was the infamous Man in the Mask, broad shoulders and muscled thighs poured into dark fabric with thick gloves wrapped in ropes around his hands. They were the same shoulders you placed your weight on when you rode him, the same thighs that slammed against the back of yours when he fucked you from behind.
You didn't understand. 
Matt licked his lips as he always did when he was nervous. "Yes."
"How?"
"I have…abilities."
"That seems to be the most bullshit oversimplified phrase I've ever heard come out of your mouth."
He flushed, looking deeply uncomfortable, but you weren't about to let this go, so you looked at him expectantly and demanded an answer again when he was quiet for longer than a few moments.
"I...uh, it's hard to explain."
"Try me," you said with the crossing of your arms over your chest. You widened your stance as if you were physically preparing yourself for what was to come.
"When I lost my sight, things changed. I was suddenly able to–”
“Are you saying the two are related?” You asked in some type of disbelief, mouth dropping open as you cut him off before he really began. “Losing your sight and…gaining whatever abilities you have that allow you to run around like a goddamn ninja and beat the shit out of people?”
His chest expanded in what you assumed was a deep breath. “I…yes. I guess that’s one way of putting it.”
You shook your head in disbelief. “I still don’t get how it’s correlated.”
A small smirk settled on his face, and your eyes narrowed at the expression. “Don't interrupt me and maybe I'll get a chance to explain it.”
You sniffed and tilted your head up in a motion of defiance, though you knew he was right. “That’s fair.”
“Like I was saying,” he said, clearing his throat, hand tightening on the mask held in his grip. “I lost my sight, and things just happened. I don’t know how, I don't know why. But suddenly everything else was just…more. More than I could process. Too much was coming in and I–”
"Let me guess," you cut him off again, ignoring the look of exasperation he sent you as your voice rang out over his. "It heightened your other senses, right? Isn't that the expectation, that other senses somehow slightly make up for the lack of sight?”
“That’s generally not how it actually happens when people lose their–”
You couldn’t help but groan in something bordering annoyance as you spoke over him again. “I didn’t mean literally. I meant that people learn to lean on their sense of hearing more, so naturally they just tend to listen and focus on their surroundings better. I feel like that's just…common sense, really. "
"Yes," he replied slowly, blank eyes out of focus as his head tilted in your direction, looking vaguely frustrated at the constant interruptions. "But it's more than that."
Your eyes narrowed further, even while your head shifted closer in curiosity. "How so?"
He ran his hand through his hair. "My sense of hearing is beyond that of what you might…expect, I guess. I can hear things from a few blocks away. I can hear through walls, through buildings. I can hear your heartbeat."
You raised your eyebrows in alarm, taking a step back and raising your hand over the left side of your chest, as if to cover the muscle in question. "My heartbeat?"
He took another step forward, gradually closing the distance between you that you kept creating. You didn't pull back further. "Yes, and it's pounding, but not in fear. Perhaps anxiety? Nervousness. Like part of you wants to run, but the other part knows you need to stay and hear me out."
You moved your weight to your other foot, every bit as anxious as he'd said you were, beginning to catch on that he knew far more about your reactions and motions than you thought he did. "Do you do that a lot? Listen to my heartbeat?"
Matt smiled faintly, and you couldn’t help but be momentarily settled by it. "It's become one of my favorite sounds, actually."
Flushing, you cleared your throat, refusing to let it charm you, this idea that the sound of life pounding through your veins was something that might be important to him. "What else? I'm guessing there's more."
"I can pick up the shifts in movement because of the air it displaces," he replied, gesturing towards your face. "I can tell by the heat in your cheeks that you're blushing because I can sometimes tell the difference in temperatures if I’m within close range, almost like–"
"Like some sort of thermal detector."
Matt shrugged half-heartedly. "I…sure, I guess? Not really, but we can go with that. It usually only happens when the heat or cold is extreme, and it doesn’t form an image, it’s just...there."
"And you're able to use some of that to guide you around?"
He lifted his shoulders in a deep inhale, before letting the air out rapidly in a sharp exhale. "It's a little more complicated than that. My sense of smell is…intense, too. I can smell the sandwich you had for lunch, or can sometimes even taste coffee off of your lips, regardless of whether or not you had a cup today or two days ago."
You shifted your weight again, the feeling of awkward still lingering on your skin. "Is that all?"
"Basically," he replied with a sigh. A random car horn sang out sharply across the rooftop, and you didn't miss the way his mouth twisted into a slight grimace at the noise. "It all forms some sort of idea in my head of what’s going on around me, something that allows me to shift focus and move quickly, pick up on things people don't usually think about or notice."
You nodded as if you understood, but you really didn’t. "And…the fighting? Where did you learn that?"
Matt lowered his head slightly, as if this was the harder topic to discuss. "I had a mentor at one point, pretty early on. He helped me focus on things around me, helped me hone my senses. And while he was teaching me those things, he also taught me some of the…skills you've probably seen on the news."
You smiled slightly, because yes, of course you’d seen some things on the news, but it left your face half a second after it appeared. Images of a man, lithe and powerful and dangerous, prowling through the city, full of fury and the need to enact his will on those who would harm others. "Yeah, I've seen a few things here and there. It’s…intense stuff.”
Huffing a quiet laugh, he shook his head lightly. "I kept up with the training, even once he left. Just never stopped practicing. Came in handy later on, I guess," he said with a self-deprecating grin. 
"And…this is the thing you've been hiding, right?" you whispered, voice suddenly softer than it had been all night, playing with the hem of your shirt, a nervous habit of yours. "All those times I asked what was going on, only for you to lie repeatedly that nothing was wrong."
Matt looked extremely pained, face twisted in a grimace and hands twitching at his side, but he didn't hesitate. "Yes."
"And it's why you've seemed so tired and stressed and unable to spend time with me."
He lowered his head in what appeared to be a level of shame. "Things have been ramping up on the streets and I...I needed time to figure some things out with that, see what was going on, what I needed to do, and I didn't realize how wrapped up I got in it until you were walking away. I didn't mean to avoid you, or hurt you. I never wanted you to feel that way. I'm so sorry, sweetheart."
You took a deep, shaky breath, the sound rattling in your chest, nodding in understanding as you did so, wordlessly accepting the apology even as the reminder of being temporarily moved to the side continued to sting. "I guess I get it. I mean…this is a huge secret of yours, right? What you do, no matter your good intentions, could send you to prison the rest of your life. Makes sense that you wouldn't just…share this with someone until you knew you could trust them, right?"
His jaw dropped. "You think I didn't tell you because I don't trust you?"
"Clearly not," you said with a loud sigh. Your eyes briefly shifted to stare at a few random bricks on the building next store for the sole purpose of trying to reign in the sense of sadness that you felt was seeping out of your skin. "It sucks, but I get it, I think. We've only been dating for a few months. Not nearly long enough to trust someone with a secret like…this."
"That's not at all why I didn't say anything."
"Then why?" You shot back in question, shifting your eyes back to him and the defensive way he was standing. "Was it because you really were giving me the slip? No use in telling someone when you're not planning on sticking around, right?"
Matt finally took a few steps forward until he stood in front of you, lips still tilted in a sharp frown. "Stop putting words in my mouth."
You looked up at him. "I mean, you're not really giving me much to go on, Matt. What else am I supposed to think?"
Blank eyes darted over your face, red mouth parted, and a brief flicker of want rushed suddenly through you, one that you were unable to fight it off, even with the tension still flowing through your body. When was the last time he had kissed you? "I didn't tell you because you deserved better."
"Ah," you said, unable to keep the hurt that flooded over the single syllable that fell out of your mouth. "The classic you deserve better than me speech."
“You do deserve better.”
“I think that I get to be the one to decide that, Matt,” you responded with another helpless shrug of your shoulders. “Don’t I? I’m a grown adult, I get to decide what’s best for me. Not you.”
“But–”
“No,” you cut him off with a shake of your head. “If you want to do the thing where you push me away because you think you’re doing the right thing by letting me go, then I guess I can’t stop you. I’m old enough to know that forcing someone to stay just ends up being more hurtful in the end. But…if you…if…”
Matt took another hesitant step forward, even while your feet remained glued to the concrete of the roof. “If I what?”
“If you decide that you’re willing to…be more open about things, then ok.”
He looked absolutely flabbergasted, eyes wide, jaw going slack, as if he couldn’t understand or process the simple words you had just said. “Ok? What does ok mean?”
“It means that I’m ok with this.”
“You’re ok with what? You’re okay with me being Daredevil? You’re not mad?”
A laugh that was bordering the territory of bitter left your mouth. “I mean, yes, of course I’m mad." You didn't miss the way he grimaced just the tiniest amount, but you continued anyway. "But not about this, not about you being Daredevil. Just the lie. And like…even while I’m mad, I still somehow get it? It’s not an easy secret to let go of, something that could send you to prison. I wish you would have said something sooner, but I get why you didn’t.”
Matt continued to look like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and it struck you that maybe he didn’t. 
“You’re…I can’t…”
“It’s fine, Matt. Honestly.”
“But–”
At last you took a step forward, determining it was your turn to close the distance that still remained, and you couldn’t help but notice the way he tracked your movement. Had he always done that? How had you not noticed the way he always seemed to know exactly where you were without you saying anything?
"I'm thinking that based on your reaction right now, you weren’t expecting me to…react favorably," you said with a shuddering breath. “Am I right?”
His jerky nod was enough to answer your question, and it seemed like he had temporarily lost the ability to speak. With a sigh, you reached up to push a lock of hair off of his forehead from where sweat had pressed it into his skin. Matt didn’t move an inch, but his breathing did hitch, and it was enough to crack your heart, just a little. 
“And I’m guessing that other people haven’t reacted well in the past either.”
Matt shook his head, and when he opened his mouth to respond, the words were dry and cracked. “No. Not at all.”
“Because of the lying?”
He shuddered, his eyes closing briefly. “That, and they didn’t always agree with my…methods of justice.”
“Got it,” you said quietly, hand lowering slightly so that you could run a finger over his cheekbone. “Foggy and Karen?” His responding nod was confirmation, and your mouth tilted down slightly at the corners. “I’m sure it was a shock for them.”
“Yes,” he croaked out, fingers twitching at his sides as if he was resisting the urge to either flee or pull you into him. “But they were right to have some issues with it. It’s not an easy thing to hear.”
“It’s not,” you told him honestly, wincing when he flinched. Your finger traced over his cheekbone in something that was supposed to be soothing, though you’re not quite sure if you succeeded. It didn’t quite hit the mark on soothing you, either, as you still felt a lump forming in your throat. “But I’m not going to judge you or hate you for it, if this is what you feel you need to do.”
His eyes fluttered shut again, a deep shuddering breath pouring from his lips. “It is.”
“Ok. Then it’s ok.”
"Just like that?"
You sniffled as you nodded your head, tears suddenly welling back up, and you lifted your arm to rub lightly at your nose gracelessly. His head tilted to the side, no doubt aware of the tears that had gathered briefly, if his explanation of his…abilities was anything to go by.
"Will you…will you tell me what’s going through your head, sweetheart?" He asked softly, the words barely floating over the sound of the wind sifting by. "Will you talk to me? Please?"
You kicked at a small pebble that was an inch or so to the right of your foot, arms wrapping tighter around yourself. With a sigh, you opened your mouth and revealed a large insecurity that had been resting in your head these past few weeks, the thought that had been skillfully and ruthlessly gnawing at your skull. 
You couldn't help the brief watery laugh that bubbled up. "Daredevil things aside, I honestly thought you were seeing someone else, and I think the idea of that is way more hurtful than you hiding this from me."
There was a low moan that rose from Matt's chest, and the sound was one of something akin to anguish. Before you could even take another breath, he was pulling you into him, one hand wrapped around the small of your back, the other pressing your head against his shoulder. You could do nothing but wrap yourself around him in return.
A heavy, solid press of his lips to your forehead was all it took for a few tears to escape, and he was pulling his head away before they could slide more than an inch down your cheek. Calloused fingers wiped them away, the touch soft but the purpose weighted, and it wasn’t long before he was pressing his forehead to yours.
“There hasn’t been anyone else, not since you. Not since the first time I held your hand in mine,” he whispered, the words caressing your face as they spilled out. “Do you remember that? On our first date?”
You nodded your head. “Yes, I remember.”
“Your hand fit so perfectly in mine, and now it’s like nothing else feels right if I’m not touching you,” he said, and you sniffed again, closing your eyes before more tears could force their way down your face, though you knew he’d wipe them away the second they started drying on your skin. “I promise, sweetheart, I promise that it’s just you. I think it's always going to be you. And I’m not perfect, and this won’t be perfect, not with the life I have, but there’s no one else who has the hold on me like you do.”
There was a tiny hiccup that escaped your mouth as you tried to stop tearing up, though you weren’t quite as successful as you would have liked. “Promise?”
Matt was apparently already done with not holding you to him because there was only a split second between the word that left his lips and the movement that pulled you to him. “Promise.”
The weather didn’t seem quite as cold up here as it had when you first stepped outside, not with the inferno of Matthew Murdock pressed against your front. With his arms wrapped around you and body positioned so that it was taking the brunt of the wind, you felt like you could stay trapped up there forever, despite the chill of the nighttime October air. You weren’t quite sure how long he held you, but it simultaneously felt like forever and no time at all before he pulled away again, hands still resting at your sides.
You sent him a questioning look, but before you could actually say something, he parted his mouth as if to speak. He opened and closed it a few times, seeming to have difficulty with what he wanted to say, so you let him formulate the words without trying to interrupt this time.
The breath he took was deep, his chest pressing into yours slightly. "You haven't asked me if I'm really blind," he said quietly, and the way his fingers twitched despite their hold on you told you how serious the topic was for him, how reluctant he was to bring it up.
Ah.
Eyes raked over his face in consideration. "I know you are," you responded simply with a roll of your shoulders.
His head tilted to the side, face questioning and curious. "How? It's something everyone asks when they find out I can do what I can do."
Your heart ached in your chest, and you couldn't help the swell of pain that flowed up through you, hurt on his behalf. No wonder he kept things to himself, no wonder he expected people to pull or push away from him. Lifting your hand, you ran it gently down the side of his face, watching as he leaned into it. "Because even just standing here, telling me everything, you still won't meet my eyes. And it's not because you don't want to, but because you can't."
Matt took in another deep breath, closing his eyes as the hand settled at your waist shook for a moment. He nodded, the movement causing your hand to shift slightly, and you used the opportunity to wrap it around the back of his neck to angle his head down so that his forehead could press against yours.
"That's an old wound isn't it, Matt?" You questioned quietly, unsurprised when he nodded again, though this time the movement seemed to be more hesitant. "People accusing you of hiding a very real disability because they can't understand these abilities."
He shuddered again, swaying more heavily into you this time, and you'd bear his weight gladly, if it meant he was still yours like this.
"I'm sorry people have asked that," you whispered, moving your head from his so that you could rest it on his shoulder instead. With a quiet exhale, he pulled you in tighter, fully wrapping himself around you. The chill of the fall weather ceased to exist when he held you to him the way he was now.
"Don't be," he said, the words pressed lightly into your hair. "I think it's a…reasonable thing to ask."
You found yourself shaking your head. "Maybe if asked by people who don't know you. But not by people who have been in your life for a while."
“I…yeah,” he mumbled softly in your ear, his breath fanning lightly across your cheek. “It wasn’t great to hear, but I guess it is what it is.”
Reaching up, your hand settled against the heart that was thumping underneath the skin and muscle of his chest, and you wondered briefly what it might sound like if you had the hearing he did. You were sure, without a doubt, that it would be one of your favorite sounds in the world, too.
“You deserve better than that, Matt. And I’m sorry.”
A quiet laugh shook you from where you rested against him. “Am I going to get my own you deserve better speech?”
Your own quiet laugh copied his. “Shut up.” You moved to pull further away from him, but he pulled you quickly back in, hands tugging at your sides. His face was serious, despite the laugh that had left his lips just moments before. Leaning forward, he placed his mouth against yours softly before lifting his head to press it into your forehead.
"I was never going to stay away, sweetheart," he said as a hand tangled lightly in your hair. "I just…needed some time to figure out how to say what I needed to say. Please tell me you believe me."
It was your turn to nod, and you did so gently, letting out a quiet sigh when his lips found yours again, the kiss soft and light and unrushed. No words were needed for him to understand that you believed him. He kissed you like he had all the time in the world to make you his, though you both knew, with one hundred percent certainty, that you already were.
He offered himself up to you completely, finally tearing himself open and sharing with you his most trusted, his most dangerous secret, and you weren't exactly surprised when you realized with sudden clarity that you’d never be able to offer anything but your whole self in return. 
With a smile, the first real one to settle across your face in what felt like weeks, you tugged on his hand and pulled him with you down the stairs and into your apartment, desperate to feel him pressed as tightly against you as he could be, knowing you’d never be able to let him go again.
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jugheadthelesbian · 5 months ago
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sfw requests r open!!
alright im caving. while not feeling completely up to writing new chapters for anything, i am desperate to write something 😭😭
so x reader, x oc, and pairings requests r now open!! just send me ur asks w whatever u want for the following fandoms/characters
criminal minds
🩷 x reader/oc: i will do any of the characters from the team x reader or x oc but i LOVE writing elle, garcia, and morgan specifically
🩷 pairings: morcia, galvez, spencelle, hotchi, jemily, jelle, jarcia, ellemily, rossi x gideon, gideon x hotch
harry potter/marauders
🩷 x reader/oc: harry, ron, fred, george, lee jordan, hermione, ginny, luna, cedric, angelina johnson, lily evans, marlene, remus, sirius, peter, james, regulus, dorcas, mary, pandora, evan, barty, bellatrix, narcissa, alice, andromeda, and rita
🩷 pairings: ronmione, linny, lee x george, lee x fred, jily, jegulus, jegulily, regulily, pandalily, wolfstar, dorlene, marylene, marylily, quillkiller, nobleflower, and rosekiller
the hunger games
🩷 x reader/oc: finnick, annie, johanna, katniss, peeta, haymitch, cashmere, gloss, enobaria, lucy gray, sejanus, and cinna
🩷 pairings: odesta, johannie, everlark, hayffie, cashbaria, clato, and glarvel
mean girls(2024)
🩷 x reader/oc: regina, damien, janis, cady, gretchen, karen, and aaron
🩷 pairings: rejanis, fetchen, cady x aaron, ms norberry x mr duvall
stranger things
🩷 x reader/oc: max, lucas, dustin, mike, will, el, steve, robin, nancy, eddie, jonathan, argyle, and chrissy
���� pairings: lumax, elumax, byler, elmax, steddie, platonic stobin, ronance, hellcheer, buckingham, and jargyle
note: i will not do anything beyond making out and i will do angst and fluff :) if a character/pairing was not mentioned, but u want to request it, feel free to ask anyways and i will respond privately if i dont feel comfortable doing it. i can do head canons or full-on drabbles, u pick! i can also do platonic pairings or x reader/oc
as for introductions, im a chronic flirter with an obsession for reading who is loved by one(@siriusblackwannabe)
for more writing, go to my ao3:
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allisluv · 1 month ago
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it's my birthday tomorrow, and, as sad as this sounds, i have no plans (apart from calling my gorgeous girlfriend) so feel free to send in lots of requests and i'll try to turn them into blurbs or drabbles or maybe even some longer fics! feel free to send in thoughts or just drop by for a chat either! mwah mwah mwah!! 💋💖
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itsss4t4n · 1 year ago
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Who I write for /Rules
Masterlist
I'm new-ish to writing (i used to write fanfiction when i was like 13. i'm 19 now and write very rarely) but I really wanna do it again.
So this is a list of characters/fandoms I write for as well as some rules for asks. Some things may be missing from this list so if you dont see something on this list, feel free to ask. :))
Do add as much detail as you want to a request and please ALWAYS have at least some sort of prompt, as i'm really not good with coming up with storys on my own yet.
I WILL NOT DO SMUT SO DONT REQUEST IT! I might however do spicy stuff (Nothing more than making out or somewhat implied stuff tho).
My writing will be mostly pg 13 but please still be careful if the fic-warnings include sensitive topics, and i might repost some 18+ things so be careful when navigating my blog.
Please be nice and have manners when requesting.
Also please include what gender/pronouns you want the reader to have (i write for all genders). If its not included I will default it as gender neutral. :)))
I also write poly relationships and AUs.
Some things I will not write include: Pregnancy, toxic/yandere, student x teacher, love triangles.
(Also english isnt my first language, and even though, in my opinion, i speak it really well, if they are any mistakes, thats why.)
Heartbreak high
Harper Mclean
Quinni Ghallager-Jones
Darren Rivers
Spencer "Spider" White
Anthony "Ant" Vaughn
Malakai Mitchel
Sally face
Sal Fisher
Travis Phelps (male or gn readers)
Larry Johnson
Ashley Campbell
Harry Potter
Fred Weasley
George Weasley
Charly Weasley
Bill Weasley
Cedric Diggory
Olliver Wood
Draco Malfoy (+6th year only)
Theodore Nott (+6th year only)
Marauders
James Potter
Sirius Black
Remus Lupin
Regulus Black
Evan Rosier
Barty Crouch jr
Pandora Rosier
Lilly Evans
Marlene Mckinnon
Hogwarts Legacy
Sebastian Sallow
Ominus Gaunt
Gareth Weasley
Poppy Sweetings
Imelda Reyes
Die drei fragezeichen / the three investigators
Bob Andrews
Peter Shaw
Justus Jonas
Skinny Norris
Twilight
Jasper Hale
Emmet Cullen
Carlisle Cullen
Esme Cullen
Rosalie Hale
Alice Cullen
Sam Uley
Paul Lahote
Charlie Swan
Leah Clearwater
Jacob Black
Pjo
Let me know if you want book or show
Percy Jackson
Annabeth Chase
Luke Castellan
Clarrisse La Rue
Selena Beauregard
Charles Beckendorf
Ethan Nakamura
Nico di Angelo (no romantic fem readers)
Rachel Elizabeth Dare
Will Solace
Travis Stoll
Connor Stoll
Hazel Levesque (no romantic)
Jason Grace
Leo Valdez
Piper Mclean
Magnus chase
Magnus Chase
Samirah al Abbas ( no romantic)
Alex Fierro
Blitzen
Hearthstone
Mallory Keen
TJ (Thomas Jefferson jr)
MCU (Avengers)
Bucky Barnes
Steve Rogers
Tony Stark
Sam Wilson
Natasha Romanoff
Yelena Belova
Peter Parker (tom holland and andrew garfield)
MJ
Wanda Maximof
Piedro Maximof
Clint Barton
Scott Lang
Stephen Strange
Kate Bishop
MCU ( Guardians of the galaxy)
Peter Quill
Daredevil (Season 1)
Matt Murdock
Karen Page
James Wesley
X-men universe
Deadpool
Wolverine
Francis
Xavier
Mystic
Angel
Kurt
Venom
Eddie Brock
DC
Harley Quinn
Jason Todd
Dick Grayson (any version, young justice, robin, nightwing,etc.)
Wally West (youngJustice)
Artemis (young justice)
Roy Harper (young justice)
Disney Descendants
Mal
Evie
Carlos devil
Jay
Benjamin Beast
Chad Charming
Audrey Rose
Jane
Lonnie Fa
Uma
Harry Hook
Gil
Rise of red
James Hook
Hades
Bridget
Ella
Cloe
Red
Morgie
Kingsmen
Eggsy
Tiny Pretty things (Netflix)
Bette Whitlaw
Oren Lennox
Shane Madej (no romantic fem readers)
June Park
Jennifers Body
Jennifer Check
Colin Gray
Ever after high
all characters
Redacted Audios
(no x reader, just ships)
literally all characters
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ruanbaijie · 9 months ago
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🌌 art (part 1)
[x] i'm sorry. did i come too late? by @artofalassa
[x] tgcf ghost king playing cards by @crimson-chains
[x] tgcf silhouette locations by @crimson-chains
[x] mdzs collage by @crimson-chains
[x] vampire gojo by @rice5x
[x] boring hua cheng headshot no. 239084 by @meru90
[x] dongfang qingcang, xiao huayao and shangque by @clj-art-blog
[x] ghosts of the old valyria by @innavjuzhanina
[x] harvest moon by @gabrielleragusi
[x] hua cheng by @roremy
[x] taxian-jun and his concubine by @mondaijo
[x] freedom. by @kozukeneo
🌌 art (part 2)
[x] jujutsu kaisen sushi restaurant by @pocketleslie
[x] till death do us part by @hellinglaozu
[x] i really want to get lost in my dreams.. by @ysd-2-0
[x] aziracrow by @alexiphale
[x] year of the dragon by @yuumei-art
[x] destiny meeting at dusk. by @xieliancore
[x] kings of ghost city by @fmd-art
[x] my comfort by @stasyanarts
[x] hua cheng by @yannacchattamou
[x] the yiling patriarch by @alin-linlinlin
[x] bingqiu by @sadbugbois
[x] it's you and me by @mochipong
🌌 edits
[x] i will never let go of your hand. i promise. by @morkofday
[x] iwtv episode posters by @fayevalcntine
[x] i shrink the world, nothing left by @half-lightl
🌌 gifsets (part 1)
[x] yi bang won + villain by @seamayweed
[x] queen charlotte + some of my favourite lyrics off maisie peters' the good witch by @danburys
[x] i know. i know. i'm so blameless i'm choking on it. by @everelore
[x] spider-man: across the spider verse by @antoniosvivaldi
[x] the first-year trio by @cal-kestis
[x] hen & karen wilson by @maddiebuckley
[x] the questing trio + cards by @yenvengerberg
[x] the 4 bases of intimacy according to geralt & yennefer by @dadralt
[x] mulan by @gloriapritchetts
[x] narnia by @maliagf
[x] my demon by @chaeyoojung
[x] lucy gray baird by @userghouls
[x] 🧃 + anthony bridgerton by @jakeyp
[x] crowley and aziraphale + gold by @ughmerlin
[x] love between fairy and devil + shades of (team jasmine) yellow by @jiaoliqiao
🌌 gifsets (part 2)
[x] and so the devil fell in love with a human by @muldery
[x] rose tyler by @muldery
[x] (alleged) causes of lesbianism: a peggy carter case study by @margarethcarter
[x] every night, i save you by @spuffygifs
[x] castles crumbling by @laylaeelfaouly
[x] it's the things we love most that destroy us. by @onlyhereforangst
[x] didn't write it - just happened so. by @richardgrimes
[x] jujutsu kaisen + tarot cards by @simoneashley
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f0rg3t-me-n0t · 10 months ago
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Shelter
🔞minors do not interact 
Arthur Morgan x Reader 
Summary: After fleeing to Colter you and Arthur take it upon yourselves to hunt some food for the gang. Everything goes south after a bear surprises you and you both have to take shelter in a small cabin.
Words: 10,3 k
Warnings: slight angst, fluff, one bed, smut, p in v, oral (female receiving), fingering 
A/N: It’s been a while since I last wrote something. RDR kinda has me in a chokehold since a few months so I decided to write something for my boy Arthur <3 enjoy!
Masterlist
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~~~
The area around Colter was extremely cold. That was the first thing you had learned when you and the gang arrived in the small abandoned mining town after fleeing from Blackwater.
Even inside the small cabin most of the gang stayed at during the day it was freezing. The fire that was burning inside the old fireplace didn’t help much and the general mood around the people was pretty low. 
Blackwater had cost too much for nothing. Everything had gone so far south, that you didn’t even know if anything worse could’ve happened. You had lost Jenny and Davey and you had to leave Sean and Mac behind. Hell, you didn’t even know if both of them were still alive, plus, now all of you had a high bounty on your heads. The area around New Austin was completely taboo and the other states wouldn’t be completely safe either.
A sigh left your lips as you brushed your hands up and down your arms desperate for some warmth. Your gaze wandered around the room. Karen and Mary-Beth were talking in hushed voices, Mrs Grimshaw had her usual glare faced towards the snowy scenery outside, Hosea and Lenny were staring into the crackling fire and Abigail was tending to John who luckily had been found a day ago by Arthur and Javier. He had gotten lost in the snowstorm and nearly been killed by wolves.
Finally, you decided that you had to get outside for a bit. Colter was unforgiving. The gray landscape and the quietness and whisper of hushed voices were enough to make your mind go crazy about the last few days. The ache of your trembling body due to being tense constantly didn’t make it any better. You rubbed your hands together, breathing into them as you stepped towards the horses that were hitched in front of the cabin. 
„You good, girl?“, you muttered and patted Willow, your horse, who greeted you with a gentle whinny.
You smiled as she nuzzled into you, searching your clothes for something to eat and a soft chuckle fell from your lips.
„I know. Here, that’s all I have.“, you said and pulled some crackers from the pocket of your coat.
Willow curiously sniffed the treat and looked at you a bit disappointed. She was more used to the apples and carrots you normally gave her.
„Don’t look at me like that.“, you sighed and offered her the crackers once more. „We’re all kinda low on food right now. It won’t be long until I can get you some fresh treats. I promise.“
At least you hoped your words were true and you stretched your hand out for her. Again she sniffed the crackers that lay on your flat hand and finally, she took them from you.
„That’s my girl.“, you muttered with a sad smile and gently caressed her neck, then you heard some footsteps.
Curiously you turned your head and noticed Arthur walking over to his horse that stood right next to yours.
„Arthur.“, you greeted him and he gave you a little nod, then his steps slowed down and he gave his mount a gentle pat.
Even though he had lost his trusty mare Boadicea during the mess of Blackwater he still took good care of the old horse that he had picked up when he, Dutch, and Micah had stumbled upon the Adler widow.
You both had never talked much with each other apart from a bit of small talk so it quickly fell silent again and you looked back at Willow who was still chewing on the crackers you had given her.
With a sigh you began to pat her once more, your fingers slowly tracing through her thick and warm fur coat. By repeating the motion you tried to get some warmth off of her but your fingers nearly felt like they were frozen by now.
„Damn it.“, you cursed quietly and rubbed your hands together, blowing against them.
You would kill for some gloves. It had been a few months since you had joined the gang and until then you had only stayed in the warmer region of New Austin. Due to this, you hadn’t been prepared for what was to come after Blackwater and even the girls didn’t have a spare pair for you. „Luckily“ they had been able to give you poor Jenny‘s winter coat, bless her soul. You still couldn’t believe she was dead.
As your thoughts started to wander you didn’t notice Arthur’s gaze on you.
„Y/N.“, his voice finally managed to pull you out of your daze.
„Oh, I’m sorry!“, you flinched a bit and looked at him. „Did you say something?“
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he pulled something from his saddle bags.
„Here.“, he then stepped closer to you. „You can have these. I don’t need 'em anymore.“
Arthur offered you a pair of woolen gloves. There were a few loose threads and they were riddled with holes here and there, but they would surely warm your hands up.
„Oh.“, you muttered softly.
You hadn’t expected this. Especially since the two of you hadn’t exchanged more than a few sentences since you had become part of the gang.
„Thanks…that’s…real nice.“, you didn’t quite know what to say, but you were really thankful.
„Don’t mention it.“, he waved it off immediately, humble as always. „I don’t want you to freeze your fingers off. You still need 'em.“
He stretched his hand out and you finally took the gloves from him to put them on. They were a bit big but you felt better immediately. Arthur gave it a nod of approval, then he set into motion again, heading for the small cabin he, Dutch, Molly, and Hosea were staying in.
„I’ll see you around.“, he said and you could only mumble a quick „Y-Yeah.“.
Your gaze followed him until he was out of sight and you were still pretty taken aback by what had just happened. Sure, he had never given you any reason to think bad of him or make you think that he didn’t like you, but you knew that he was one to be skeptical of new additions to the gang, so it had been quite the surprise.
Slowly you rubbed your hands together again, the woolen fabric leaving a comforting feeling on your skin and another shout of your name made your head turn to the cabin you had left a while ago.
It was Miss Grimshaw. Of course, it was.
„Miss L/N! The work won’t do itself!“, she ushered and you rolled your eyes.
„Coming!“, you shouted back and gave your horse one last pat before you headed back inside.
~~~
The mood around the gang seemed to be getting worse and worse by the day. The Blackwater massacre was still deeply embedded in everyone’s minds and being on the last few rations of food didn’t make it any better.
After doing some chores you had decided to sneak away to escape the rest of the gang for a while. It just felt awful being with grumpy people the whole day and you were longing for some much-needed time to calm your nerves and mind. Strolling around the old abandoned mining town you hoped for some interesting discoveries, but after half an hour you gave up. Colter was just as boring as the gray scenery gave away.
With a huff, you kicked some snow around and slowly made your way back. Miss Grimshaw was surely looking for you by now anyway. Just when you arrived by your horse you overheard a conversation between Pearson, Charles, and Arthur.
„We really need some food.“, Pearson sighed. „I only have a few more supplies and people will begin starving by tomorrow evening if we don’t manage to hunt something. I already sent Lenny and Bill and they found nothing.“
Arthur chuckled after this.
„Well, Lenny's more into book readin' than huntin'. Bill's a fool.“, he snorted and pointed to the mountains in the background. „Unless those mountains are full of game that wanna read... ain't no wonder they found-“
„Enough of this. We'll go find something.“, Charles cut his words short with a sigh and they both started to walk towards their horses, coming closer to you in the process.
„What about your hand?“, Arthur asked and cocked an eyebrow as he looked at Charles. „You can't go hunting with that wound.“
You bit your lip as you eavesdropped. He was right. Charles had burned his hand during the chaos in Blackwater. He wouldn’t be of much use during the hunt apart from maybe helping him to track something. 
Should you offer your help? After all, you had often accompanied your father on his hunting trips before your parent had been killed and you had to manage your life on your own.
You gulped hard as the memories came back, but still decided to speak up.
„Arthur. Charles.“, you approached the two men who were still arguing and preparing their horses.
They immediately turned around to you with questioning faces.
„Hello Y/N.“, Charles greeted you and Arthur gave you the usual nod. „What is it?“
„I…uh…I kinda overheard your conversation and…“, you scratched your neck. „I thought I could go with Arthur. I have a bit of hunting experience so it would be no problem for me. You should rest, Charles. Your hand needs time to heal.“
In the beginning, your voice had been a bit meek and shaky but towards the end, it had gotten stronger as you found your confidence. You really wanted to help. Well, maybe not just that. Being away from camp would surely do you good, but you still mostly wanted to contribute to getting some food for everyone.
„You sure?“, Arthur furrowed his brows, while Charles seemed to be pondering about your offer. 
„Yeah.“, you nodded eagerly. „I‘ve hunted a few deer and rabbits, one time even an elk.“
It went silent and the two men were deep in thoughts.
„Well….we both know that you can handle a gun.“, Charles then said. „But you really gotta make sure that you catch something. We all depend on you. Are you sure you can do that?“
Arthur nodded in agreement and you went quiet for a moment as you reminisced your previous hunting experiences. You felt their eyes still boring into you as you snapped back to reality and finally nodded.
„I’m sure.“, you then confirmed. 
You felt nervous as you said this, after all, it meant that there was no option to fail, but your voice was firm.
„Alright then.“, Arthur muttered and Charles gave in.
„Fine. I‘ll leave you two to it then.“, he said. „Be careful.“
With that, he left the both of you alone.
The relief made you breathe out, a breath you didn’t know you had been holding in and you went over to Willow to get her ready for the trip.
„You ready?“, Arthur asked when you hat mounted her and you led your horse next to his with a nod. „Here. You’ll need this.“
He handed you a rifle that you hung over your torso, then you both finally left Colter. You rode silently for a while, following some leads Charles had given Arthur earlier, but soon Arthur spoke up.
„How come you have huntin‘ experience?“, he asked. „I always thought you were a thief and provided yourself like that. At least that’s what Dutch and Hosea told me.“
You met his blue eyes and sighed.
„You know, I had a pretty normal life before the thievery.“, you chuckled sadly. „I often went out with my Pa. He taught me all I know.“
After you had spoken Arthur just kept on looking at you for a while, his lips tightened and eyebrows furrowed.
„I see.“, he then muttered and didn’t press any further. 
It was like he had sensed that this was a sensitive topic for you.
Quietness engulfed the both of you again and you now began to look around for traces of animals since you both were nearing that spot Charles had told Arthur about.
After some time you noticed some dung and tracks in the snow.
„Here. I found something.“, you said and stopped Willow to dismount. „We should continue by foot.“
Arthur was with you seconds later and his gaze wandered over your findings.
„Must be some deer.“, he guessed and you nodded.
„Yeah, I’m pretty sure it is. They must’ve been here recently. Come on, let’s follow the tracks.“
You slowly began to move and Arthur followed right behind you. The snow crunched underneath your boots as you made your way through some trees and soon enough you spotted two does in the distance. Your steps halternd and you gave Arthur a sign to slow down as well.
„There.“, you whispered and pointed towards the animals. „Let’s get a bit closer. Be quiet.“
„Sure.“, he answered in a hushed voice and you both sneaked on.
This time you stopped him by his shoulder when you thought the distance was small enough. He had nearly been a bit too eager to get closer to the wildlife.
„That’s enough.“, you mumbled. „We‘ll scare them away if we get any closer.“
Arthur cocked an eyebrow as he turned his gaze to you.
„If you say so.“, he said, not really sounding like he believed your words.
Of course, he had a bit of hunting experience, and since the does still hadn’t noticed you he would’ve gone a bit farther. Just then the two animals looked up and he fell silent immediately.
„No word.“, you whispered. „You get the right one, I’ll take out the left one.“
You slowly pulled the rifle from your back and aimed for your target, movements calm and precise so as not to scare them away. Arthur did the same and you breathed out deeply before looking at him.
„On three.“, you muttered. „One.“
The both of you turned your gazes back towards the deer.
„Two.“
Your finger began to close in on the trigger.
„Three.“
Two gunshots rang through the air as you breathed out and you held the position until you could confirm that the both of you had managed to kill your prey.
„Would you look at that.“, Arthur seemed pretty satisfied with the outcome and rose to his full height as hung the rifle over his back again.
„We did it.“, you nodded and walked up to the dead animals with him.
„I gotta say.“, he began to speak as he kneeled next to the doe he had shot. „I was a bit skeptical about your abilities at first but I guess you proved me wrong.“
His gaze met yours.
„You did good.“, he added.
There was a barely noticeable smile on his lips and you felt some blush creep into your cheeks.
„T-Thanks, I guess.“, you said and cleared your throat. „I’m just glad that everything turned out well. Would’ve been some real trouble if we didn’t catch anything.“
„Right.“, Arthur chuckled and lifted one of the does. „You had quite some pressure on yourself there. But you managed well. Let’s get 'em back to camp now. The sun will set soon.“
You just nodded and Arthur helped you to stow the other deer on your horse after he was done with the one he had shot, then the both of you set off. 
For a while, it was silent until Arthur asked you about your little „adventures“ with your father. You hesitated at first, not quite ready to talk about this still-aching wound but after a few seconds of considering you began to talk. 
The talking lasted quite some time and it somehow did you good to talk about these memories. Every thought about your parents had hurt incredibly after they had been killed during a robbery. But talking to Arthur about your father was relieving, that you couldn’t deny.
After you were done with your stories you both rode in silence again. You were dwelling in the past for a bit, your gaze slowly wandering over the landscape in front of you, then it fell on Arthur who seemed to be a bit in thought as well. With a soft sigh, you averted your eyes from him to your hands that were holding the reigns.
For a few seconds, you just started at them, then you said: „Thanks for the gloves again.“
His eyes met yours and he looked a bit puzzled as if he didn’t get what you had said to him.
„I just wanted to thank you for the gloves once more. My fingers would’ve already frozen off if it weren’t for you.“, you repeated yourself and chuckled. 
A lopsided smile sneaked its way on his lips and he waved it off like the last time.
„'M glad to help. You’re better off with 'em than I was“, he shrugged. 
„Still.“, you insisted. „It’s not your task to look after me but you did nevertheless. I’m grateful for that.“
Now he just looked at you for a bit before he cleared his throat and nodded. He had never been good with people thanking him but you didn’t press it further. You knew he appreciated your words.
It fell silent again and suddenly your horse flinched, making you look at her.
„What is it, girl?“, you looked at Willow who was now tippling around nervously, deep exhales forming vapor from her nostrils.
„Stop.“, Arthur’s stern voice made you face him and he pointed towards the trees next to you.
Your eyes followed the direction and widened when they settled on a bear. It was slowly emerging from some trees. Your heart began to pound faster in your chest and you gripped the reigns tighter.
„Don’t move.“, Arthur whispered and you gulped heavily as you nodded.
Just then the predator noticed the both of you and started to head directly towards you, its steps fastening. Now, Arthur gave you a sign to carefully back away. He reached for the rifle on his back and just when he pointed it at the bear everything happened so fast that you couldn’t react.
Willow whinnied hysterically and the bear let out an angry roar. Immediately your spooked horse started to bolt and you were holding on for dear life as she galloped away with you.
„Shhh, easy girl!“, you tried to calm her down, but it was no use.
The fear had consumed her completely and it was like you were riding a wild beast instead of the calm mare she usually was. 
„Calm down, Willow! It’s okay!“, you spoke or well, shouted at her through the turmoil.
She was directly heading towards a patch of trees and you desperately pulled the reigns to stop her, which only made her climb and finally, you fell. The air was pushed out of your lungs as your back hit the ground hard. You cried out in pain and in the corner of your eye you could see her running away as fast as she could, then she was gone.
„Damn it.“, you murmured and sat up, rubbing your back.
„Y/N!“, you heard Arthur’s shout in the distance and looked behind you. 
He was directly steering towards you on his horse, the bear still hot on his tail and your eyes widened.
„Oh hell no!“, you blurted out and then you began to run. 
As fast as you could you sprinted for that patch of trees, hoping to not end up as that bear‘s dinner, but before you could reach it you were suddenly lifted from the ground. The impact knocked the breath from you again and before you knew it you were sitting in front of Arthur, his arm tightly wrapped around your waist as he ushered his horse to go faster, faster and escape that bear.
„Hold on tight! I’ll get us out of here!“, he assured you as you’re gazes finally met, your eyes staring at him like that deer before you had shot it earlier.
You gulped hard and gave him a slow nod, then you slung your arms around his torso, your eyes peeking over his shoulder as the two of you fled through the slowly falling snowflakes.
Through all the trouble you hadn’t even noticed that it had begun to snow, but now you also felt how the wind increased. Surely another snowstorm was nearing. Just perfect.
Again your eyes fell on the bear. It was slowly falling behind and a few more seconds and even more distance later it finally gave up and headed into the woods.
„It’s gone.“, you breathed out in relief and Arthur slowed down his horse, the grip on your waist loosening.
„Took it long enough.“, he muttered as you leaned back.
Your eyes met his, then they wandered to the tight space between your bodies, noticing how close you were. Immediately blush crept into your cheeks and you cleared your throat, squirming a bit uncomfortably in front of him.
„We need to find Willow.“, you said and averted your gaze from him to scan the landscape for any traces of her.
You had to squint your eyes as the storm had picked up a bit and the sun had begun to set. It would be pitch black soon. Arthur sighed behind you and scooted a bit backwards to give you more space.
„Listen…“, he then said softly. „I know how important that horse is to you, but…we won’t find her right now. Not with those conditions.“ 
He gestured around with his hands and you looked at him, opening your mouth to insist on finding your mare, but he already spoke again.
„It’s hard to lose a horse. Believe me…I know that.“, he tightened his lips. „But I don’t even know where we are right now. We gotta make sure to find our way back to camp first or find some shelter, plus we gotta wait the storm out.“
He now gave you a sorry look.
„But if you ask me. 'M sure your girl will be fine and already waitin' back at Colter for us. She’s clever.“, he then added, trying to calm your racing thoughts.
You chewed on your lip as you listened to him. He was right. You both just would get yourself killed if you looked for Willow right now. 
„Alright.“, you muttered, your shoulders slumping down in defeat. „Let’s try to get back to camp then.“
Arthur hummed and gave your shoulder a gentle pat, then he nodded over his shoulder.
„You wanna change the position? You could sit behind me. 'M sure it’s not that comfortable sittin' on the front of my saddle.“
Immediately you nodded. Your behind did hurt a bit, plus you were nearly sitting on his lap which made you quite nervous. Not that you found Arthur unattractive, but it felt strange with you both never having talked much to each other until this day. A lot had changed now, but it still felt too intimate for your liking.
After your answer, you carefully jumped down from the horse, next, Arthur lent you a hand to help you settle behind him. You sighed in relief when you were finally sat, glad about having your legs on both sides of the animal now and also about a much more comfortable base. 
„Alright, let’s go, boy.“, Arthur clicked his tongue after you had placed your hands on both sides of his waist and ushered his horse on.
As you stomped through the storm the both of you kept an eye out for any familiar structures that would help you remember the way back to Colter but the nastier the weather got and the more the night set in you slowly lost hope.
„Darn it.“, you heard Arthur mumble after what felt like hours.
You were shivering badly behind him, trembling against his back that gave you some shelter from the unforgiving snow that was relentlessly falling on you.
„We need to find some shelter. It’s no use keepin' on searchin' without being able to see clearly.“, Arthur finally spoke up. „Also we gotta warm up or we‘ll freeze to death. I can feel you tremblin' in my bones.“
„S-Sorry.“, you answered a big embarrassed through chattering teeth.
You hadn’t thought that it was that bad.
„'S okay.“, Arthur assured you. „Nothin' to be sorry about.“
With that, he led his horse towards the trees to your right. At least you would have somewhat of a shelter from the snow there. You slowly looked around as you rode deeper into the woods and just then your eyes caught the dark outlining of a building.
„Arthur.“, you muttered weakly, the hypothermia already getting to you.
He grunted in response.
„T-There. A c-cabin.“
You stretched out your trembling hand and pointed in its direction. 
„Well spotted.“, Arthur muttered and immediately steered his horse towards the little house. „Come on. Let’s get you inside.“
He dismounted and hitched his horse, then he helped you from its back. By now you were trembling so bad that you didn’t have the strength to do it yourself anymore. Gently he reached for your waist and pulled you down, his hand rubbing your back when you finally stood next to him.
„Get in, I’m right behind you.“
Arthur held the door open for you and you gave him a weak but thankful smile before you entered the cabin. It was small. A single bed stood in the right corner, a fireplace right next to it. Not far from the bed was a small table with two chairs and to the left of the entrance you could see an old stove with a cabinet. It all seemed to be abandoned for a while now.
„I’ll start a fire.“, Arthur said after he had closed the door behind you, finally stopping the merciless assault of the cold wind and snow. „Here, eat this. You need to get some energy.“
He reached into his satchel and pulled a tin of salted offal from it. You scrunched your face in disgust as you took it from him, which made him chuckle.
„I know it ain’t exactly what you would prefer right now, but that’s all I have. Pearson gave it to me before we set out.“, he patted your back, then he went to grab some firewood from the stack next to the fireplace, but stopped in his tracks. „Unless you want some deer meat. It’s still stowed on my horse.“
Arthur looked back at you and you sighed before shaking your head.
„I-It’s fine. You’ve been cold long enough, too.“, you said. „I’ll survive…e-even if it means that I have to eat…this.“
You opened the tin with your shaking hands and gave the contents a sniff, which turned out to be a bad mistake. Immediately you had to gag and put the tin down on the table.
„Let me correct myself.“, you muttered sourly. „I’d rather starve than eat this.“
A grin made its way on Arthur’s lips as he watched you and finally, he shook his head. 
„Not under my watch. I’ll get us some meat. I gotta eat too and to be honest…nothing will get me to eat that stuff.“, he said and grabbed his hunting knife before he opened the door to head outside again.
„Arthur…“, you protested, but he was already gone, the door closing with a harsh thump.
You softly exhaled and sat down on the chair as you waited for him. Despite your objection, you were thankful that he was getting the both of you some real food.
Just minutes after he finally returned a big chunk of meat in his hand. He had wrapped it in a cloth and handed it to you.
„Hold onto this while I take care of the fire.“, he said and you nodded, then he finally went back to get some wood.
Soon it crackled inside the fireplace as the flames danced around and the both of you sat down in front of it, eager to catch some warmth. The cabin was still pretty cold, but you hoped it would get better now that you had ignited a fire.
„Now for our dinner.“, Arthur looked at you and you gave him the wrapped meat, which he quickly unpacked and diced. 
„I reckon it’ll be faster to grill it over the fire instead of heating the stove for it.“, he muttered as he sliced the meat into thinner pieces.
„Sounds good to me.“, you nodded and watched him skewer a piece of meat onto his hunting knife, then he handed it to you and pulled out another knife to use for himself. „Thank you.“
You scooted a bit closer to the fire and held out your hand with the knife to slowly grill the meat. It only took a few minutes and during this time you warmed up immensely from being so close to the fire. A comfortable sigh left your lips after you took a bite and Arthur’s gaze fell on you.
„Feelin' better?“
„Yeah.“, you gave him a little smile as you chewed on your food. „'M glad we found this cabin.“
„Me, too.“, he agreed and pulled his knife back to eye his dinner.
When he was sure it was all cooked through he bit off a piece.
„You know.“, he mumbled while chewing. „I was gettin' real worried about you. You could’ve gone hypothermic, hell, I think you were pretty close, but luckily you still managed to spot this hut.“
„Mhm…“, you hummed softly. „'M still pretty surprised about it, too.“
You chuckled and he gave you a smile after biting off another chunk of meat.
„Well, it probably saved our lives.“, he then said. „Let’s hope the storm calms down overnight. We still gotta make sure to get the rest of that deer to camp tomorrow or else people really will begin starvin'.“
„Right.“, now you sighed and your thoughts wandered to your horse. „Maybe Willow managed to get back. Last I’ve seen, she still had that deer stowed on her back.“
You hoped your words were true. Willow had been your trusty mare ever since you had been on your own and you couldn’t imagine losing her. But Arthur was right. She was a clever girl so it wasn’t that far-fetched that she might already be waiting for you by the time you would arrive back home tomorrow.
„It’s a good thought.“, Arthur murmured and looked at you. „Your girl will be alright. I’m sure of it.“
It was like he had sensed your worries and he patted your shoulder before standing up.
„We should call it a night…regain some energy. We might need it tomorrow.“, he said and nodded towards the bed. „You take this, I’ll sleep on the floor.“
„Thank you.“, your gaze followed him as he went to fetch his bedroll from his horse.
As the door opened you could see that the storm was still raging outside and sighed softly.
Who could’ve known that this day would end like this? Your horse gone and you and Arthur in this cabin, stuck for however long this weather would continue.
You rose to your feet now, too, and walked over to the bed, sitting down on the squeaky bed frame. It wasn’t exactly comfortable but it was surely better than sleeping on the floor. You were really thankful that Arthur was such a gentleman.
Soon he returned and set up his bedroll in front of the fireplace before he grabbed another piece of wood to keep the fire going.
„That’s the last one.“, he sighed. „Let’s just hope we sleep through. It’ll surely cool down fast after the fire is out.“
You hummed in response and watched the flames consume the log for a while, then you looked at Arthur who was getting comfortable on his bedroll.
„Thanks again for leaving the bed to me.“, you said and your eyes met.
„Don’t mention it.“, he waved it off and held the eye contact for a few seconds before he turned his back to you. „Can’t have a lady sleepin' on the floor.“
His answer made you smile softly and you finally laid down, tugging the old blanket over your body.
„Good night, Arthur.“, with those words you closed your eyes.
„Good night.“, you heard him mumble back and only seconds later you were gone, no wonder, the day had really drained you.
~~~
You were awoken by the howling of the wind sneaking its way through the old cabin. Next, you noticed how badly you were shivering again and looked over to the fireplace that seemed to have gone out long ago.
„Damn it.“, you muttered quietly and pulled the blanket tighter around you. 
It was riddled with holes so it didn’t really help much and you sighed discontentedly. So much for your hopes of sleeping through.
Your eyes met Arthur’s sleeping form. He must’ve turned during the night because he was facing you again. His facial expression seemed tense and he also trembled barely noticeable. As you kept on watching him you couldn’t help but be thankful that you hadn’t gotten separated by that bear, it was already bad enough that Willow had run away.
„Do I have somethin' on my face or why you starin' at me?“, Arthur suddenly mumbled and his eyes opened.
You flinched a bit and immediately averted your gaze from him as a blush crept into your cheeks.
„S-Sorry, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Didn’t know you were awake, too.“, you apologized and he chuckled softly.
„'S okay.“, he said. „You alright?“
His eyes wandered over your shivering body.
„Yeah.“, you nodded with a sigh. „It’s just pretty darn cold.“
„Mhm, tell me about it.“, Arthur grinned with a pained expression. „Maybe I should look for some wood outside, get that fire goin' again.“
He sat up but you stopped him.
„You really wanna go out in that storm? It’s even worse than when we went to sleep.“, you frowned and he shrugged.
„We need to warm up.“, he said. „Neither us will go back to sleep while shakin' like a leaf.“
You bit your lip and watched him stand up to walk over to the door. He even struggled to open it due to how much snow had piled up in front of it and how strong the wind was. At that moment you pitied his horse who had to stay outside but luckily the cabin had a little covered outside area where Arthur had hitched it so it was at least protected from the snow.
Arthur peeked outside for a moment, then he closed the door again and shook his head.
„Maybe you’re right.“, he said with a soft chuckle and laid back down on his bedroll. „Let’s…let’s just try to get some more rest. Ain’t got any other options, I guess.“
His eyes met yours and you nodded, still huddled up under that blanket. Somehow you both just kept on looking at each other and it seemed like he was pondering.
„You know…“, he mumbled after a while. „I know it…might be an absurd idea…but…we could share that bed. Sharing our remaining body heat could help us both warm up.“
He fell silent, waiting for your answer.
„Only if you're comfortable with it…I know we ain’t exactly close.“, he added.
His words made your heart rate pick up immediately. It had been quite some time since you had last shared your bed with a man. Though it hadn’t been just for sleeping.
„I…“, you began and cleared your throat. „Uh…yeah. That’s okay with me.“
Arthur sat up and cocked an eyebrow.
„You sure?“
You looked at him as he stood up and chewed on your lip, then you nodded.
„Y-Yeah.“
„Alright.“, Arthur came closer and you scooted over to make some place for him. 
He lifted the blanket and slipped under it while you turned your back to him, suddenly nervous. You felt him settle behind you and after a few seconds, his arm hesitantly sneaked around your waist, pulling you closer to him. You gulped hard but you couldn’t deny that you already felt less colder.
„That okay?“, he whispered and you nodded.
„Yeah.“
It fell silent and you closed your eyes, trying to finally fall back asleep and also calm yourself down. Your heart was still pounding far too fast inside your chest but a little part of you also liked how this felt. Arthur was an attractive man and now you had also learned that he was really kind, too. First the gloves, then him comforting you about Willow and offering you the bed, and now this.
Slowly you felt yourself calm down but even though you already had warmed up a bit with Arthur’s body right behind yours you couldn’t help but still tremble. You just weren’t made for this kind of region, not with you living most of your life in the hot area of New Austin.
„You’re still shiverin'.“, Arthur seemed to have noticed it, too.
His hand gently brushed up and down your side.
„Y-Yeah. I’m…really not used to this weather.“, you bit your lip, the feeling of his touch somehow making your heart beat faster again.
He hummed as he acknowledged your words and it was quiet for a few seconds before he began to speak.
„I…uh…I heard sharin' body heat works better with…less clothes.“, he seemed to be clearly embarrassed about his own words. „N-Not that I wanna do…uh…things with you…I just…“
He fell silent, fumbling hard with his words.
„Oh.“, you just managed to say and you blushed hard.
It was uncomfortable how awfully quiet it had gotten now apart from the raging storm, but after some time you nodded. You trusted him, that you had learned today, and you knew that he wouldn’t take advantage of you.
„Alright then.“, you finally answered and sat up.
You didn’t look at him but you could feel his surprised gaze on you before he turned away and began to undo his coat. After discarding your own one you pulled your woolen topper over your head. You hesitated as you reached for the blouse you were wearing under it. It would be the last item of clothing before your torso would be only clad in your undergarments. With a deep breath, you finally discarded it and quickly shimmied your pants off, then you pulled the blanket over your body again, now only dressed in your underwear. From the corner of your eye, you could see that Arthur had stripped down to his union suit and unbuttoned the top part before slipping out of the sleeves so he was bare-chested. Next, he faced you again and your eyes met, you blushing even harder, but you also noticed some faint redness on his cheeks.
„Uh…just…just turn around again.“, he mumbled and broke the eye contact, waiting for you to follow his order.
You quickly did and his hand gently touched your naked skin as he put his arm around your waist, making your breath hitch in your throat. Nervously you chewed on your lip as he scooted closer to you, his chest flush against your back and you could hear him gulp hard.
„J-Just tell me if anythin' makes you uncomfortable, alright?“, he then said.
You could just nod, your voice stuck inside your throat all of a sudden. After another shaky breath, you closed your eyes and it went silent, making you more well aware of everything that was happening. Your heart was pounding fast inside your chest, just like his against your back. Nervous inhales and exhales filled the silence and the touching of your skin made your mind race.
Why the hell was Arthur lying with you making you feel like this? It wasn’t even like anything more than that would happen.
Again you began to chew on your lip and even though the shaking of your body slowly subsided you just couldn’t seem to get some rest. His breath against your neck, his hand on your stomach, his body spooning yours…it was enough to make your thoughts wander, wander further than you had ever thought it would.
How would his lips feel? What would it feel like to be his, your body under his as he slowly pushes his-
You stopped your thoughts there, heavily blushing as you sighed shakily.
Why the hell were you having these thoughts right now? You barely knew him.
„You okay?“, Arthur suddenly asked.
„S-Sure.“, you nodded immediately, trying to not let those sinful thoughts get to you.
„We can…stop if it’s too uncomfortable for you.“, he suddenly said and you looked at him over your shoulder, your gaze meeting his. „I know it must be real strange doing this with a feller you barely know.“
He averted his gaze from you, his hand retreating from your waist, which made you turn around to him.
„It’s…it’s not that.“, you tried to assure him and his blue eyes met yours again. „It’s just…unfamiliar, but I’m not uncomfortable.“
Your voice was barely a whisper. His face was only inches away from yours which you didn’t realize right away, but when his hand settled on your skin again you suddenly became well aware.
„You sure?“, he muttered and licked his lower lip.
Slowly you nodded, not breaking the eye contact and his hand wandered higher to rest against your cheek.
„Me, too.“, he whispered. „'S like…I can’t manage to calm my thoughts around you.“
Now his gaze fell onto your lips.
„Why the hell can’t I stop thinkin' about ya?“
His face came closer to yours and he stopped just before his mouth could meet your own.
You breathed out shakily.
„'S not just you.“, you mumbled, your eyes meeting his one last time before you leaned in to close the gap.
Your lips met in a hesitant kiss and he softly groaned against your mouth, then he pulled you closer into him, kissing you with more intent, and gods did it feel good. You didn’t even know why you had craved this so much but it was unlike any other kiss you had had before. 
„What are you doin' to me?“, Arthur muttered against your lips and began to leave little pecks on your jawline, trailing down to your neck.
You exhaled softly and your body automatically arched against his as the kisses became more open-mouthed and sloppy, making more and more want flood your body.
„A-Arthur…“, you whined.
„Please tell me you want me.“, he muttered against your skin, his voice desperate.
You nodded as he then looked up at you.
„Want all of you.“, you whispered and he smiled in relief before he kissed you gently.
„Would’ve never thought that we’d end up like this, but I ain’t complaining.“, he gave your waist a squeeze and you chuckled softly against his lips. 
His kisses became more urgent then and his tongue sneaked its way into your mouth, meeting yours gently at first. Before you knew it you both were panting against each other as the kiss turned heated and sloppy, all tongues and teeth. During this he moved on top of you, settling between your thighs, and began to grind against you, making you feel how hard he was for you.
„P-Please…“, you whimpered weakly into the kiss and he chuckled before he looked at you with lust-filled eyes.
„Oh, I know what you need, darlin'.“, he assured you and leaned in again to trail kisses from your neck to your cleavage. „Let’s get this off of you.“
His hands grabbed the bottom of your chemise and slowly pulled it up, revealing your breasts to him and he groaned softly.
„Look at ya…so pretty.“, he mumbled, then his head dipped so he could wrap his lips around one of your nipples, while his hand gently massaged your other breast.
A quiet moan escaped you and you buried your fingers in his hair, tugging at the strands a bit. With a pop he released your nipple to take care of the other one, making his way to it with hot kisses and you squirmed under him impatiently.
„Hold still, darlin'.“, he muttered against your naked skin, his darkened eyes meeting yours shortly. „Gotta get you warmed up for me first.“
A huff left your lips and he chuckled, then he finally descended lower, his mouth grazing over your ribs, and your navel until his teeth nipped on the hem of your bloomers and you somehow couldn’t help but feel nervous all of a sudden.
Arthur seemed to notice it.
„You shiverin' 'cause you’re cold or what’s wrong?“, he asked and sat up, his hands gently caressing your sides in a calming way.
You sighed softly
„It‘s just…been a while since I last laid with a man.“, you then muttered.
He hummed in response and leaned down to give you a gentle kiss on the forehead.
„'S all okay, darlin'.“, he reassured you. „I’ll take good care of ya. You just relax and enjoy it.“
Arthur gave you a lingering peck on the cheek, then his lips connected with yours again in a sweet but also needy kiss, his tongue slipping into your mouth and making you yearn for more. His hand gave your hip a gentle squeeze as he continued to move his lips against yours, then he sneaked his fingers along your thigh and finally to your aching center. You whined against his mouth when he slowly drew circles on your sensitive flesh.
„That’s it.“, Arthur whispered when you spread your legs more for him, eager to get more of that addictive feeling.
He put a bit more pressure into his touch and continued with this for a few more seconds before he sat up again, you following his lips with a whine, not ready to part from him yet.
„Don’t ya worry, I’ll make you feel even better in a bit.“, he said with a smile, his hand against your cheek before he leaned in and gave you a peck, then his fingers hooked into the sides of your bloomers. „Just need to take these off.“
With that Arthur pulled and you leaned back with a soft sigh, lifting your hips to help him undress you. When he was done his eyes wandered over your naked body in awe and his hand gently traced your curves.
„Such a pretty girl.“, he muttered and dipped his head down to meet the skin under your navel, making you gasp softly as he came closer to where you needed him.
„Please, Arthur.“, you whispered, arching into him, desperate to feel him.
„Patience, darlin'.“, he smirked at you and skipped your glistening heat to kiss the inside of your thighs before he hooked your legs over his strong shoulders.
Your heartbeat quickened and you bit your lip as you watched him slowly kiss his way closer and closer to your folds and just when you were about to beg once more he finally licked a long strip through them, making you moan in surprise. You grabbed into the mattress underneath you as your body grew weak and your eyes rolled back.
„Oh god.“, you whispered and Arthur began to circle his tongue around your little bundle of nerves, his fingers gently caressing your thighs during this.
Again a soft moan escaped you and he hummed in encouragement, his hands spreading you more open to him as he moved his tongue against you harder, faster, intent to get you to that point of no return. Once more your hands found their way into his hair and then you couldn’t help but moan louder, freely, while he smiled against you.
„You sound so fuckin' pretty.“, he muttered against your sex and you blushed hard, but didn’t hold back either.
Instead, you began to grind your cunt into his mouth, desperate to feel more, get there, because Jesus, without much effort he already had you nearly over the edge.
Your eyes met his, face flushed and eyes sparkling at you with lust, then he buried himself even deeper into your heat, like a man starved, ready to devour you whole.
A sound of both surprise and pleasure left your lips and your head thumped back into the pillow, deep breaths coming out of your mouth as you whisper his name like a mantra.
„Come on, darlin'.“, Arthur whispered. „Let go for me.“
His tongue rolled over your clit, again and again, assaulting it sweetly and then he finally had you. Your mouth fell open in a silent scream as your body convulsed and bucked into him, the waves of pleasure crashing in harshly.
„That’s it.“, you heard him mumble through the ecstasy, his eyes watching as he pushed you over the edge.
When your breathing had calmed down a bit Arthur gently pushed your legs off his shoulders and leaned in to press his lips against yours. You tasted yourself on his tongue, tangy, a bit salty, and sweet.
„Need to work ya open a bit more.“, he then muttered against your mouth, his hand slipping between your thighs, cupping your cunt before you could even answer.
Instead, you mewled into him, breath hitching in your throat as his fingers slowly brushed through your wetness, once, twice, before he teased at your opening and gently pushed them inside. There was no resistance as his fingers sank into you and your jaw grew slack, a helpless sound leaving your lips.
„Taking me so well.“, Arthur praised, his lips tracing open-mouthed kisses along your jaw now.
Gently he began to pump his fingers into you, gliding in and out so easily that it almost made you embarrassed. No man had ever made you feel like this. Your pussy squelched around him and he groaned deeply at the sound of it, adding a third finger that made you gasp because the stretch ached. Not painfully, but so deliciously that your legs began to shake.
„A-Arthur.“, you choked out and he shushed you softly, connecting his lips with yours again and you whimpered desperately as his movements became faster.
„Almost there, darlin'.“, he whispered against you. 
You felt the addicting burn inside your belly again and you knew it won’t be long until he would make you reach another high, but just then, just when you were nearly there his fingers slowed down and he pulled them from your slick cunt. A protesting cry left your lips.
„Shh. Just needed to make sure you’re ready for me.“, he quieted you, before giving you a gentle kiss.
You reciprocated it eagerly and Arthur began to undo the last few buttons of his union suit before pushing it down. Next, he broke the kiss and sat up so he could get rid of it completely. You’re eyes fell onto his erect member and now you finally understood why he had been so intent on working you open first. He was really big. He smirked at you as he settled between your thighs again.
„You think you’re ready for me?“, he asked and you gulped hard, but nodded nevertheless.
You needed him badly.
„Alright.“, Arthur whispered, leaning in to press his lips against yours.
Your hands sneaked around his back as he began to grind against you, his cock brushing through your folds to collect some wetness a few times. It rubbed against your sensitive bundle of nerves during this and you whimpered against his mouth, your fingernails digging into his skin and he hissed softly.
„Getting impatient there, darlin'?“, he asked with a chuckle and you nodded. „Well…then…“
He changed the angle slightly and his tip caught on your entrance. Unintentionally you held your breath and looked down between your bodies to watch as he then slowly sank into you. He wasn’t even halfway in when a loud mewl escaped your lips.
„You alright?“, Arthur stopped immediately, his hand finding its way to your cheek.
„Y-Yeah, j-just…ah…“, you were fumbling with your words, mind a blurry mess. „You f-feel so good.“
Through hooded eyes, you met his and he smiled softly, leaning down to catch your lips in a sweet kiss.
„Oh trust me, darlin', you feel just as fantastic.“, he then whispered, lips trailing to your jawline and neck. „So damn perfect.“
And with that, he pushed deeper, your mouth falling open as more and more inches sank into you until he filled you up completely. Soft pants from both of you broke the silence and he nuzzled into the nape of your neck, his soft hair tickling your face slightly as he let you accustom to his size.
„Just tell me when I can move.“, he muttered against your skin which was now covered with a thin layer of sweat.
You nodded slowly and let yourself just feel him for a few seconds, how good he felt even though it was nearly too much.
„Ar-Arthur…please.“, you whimpered then, your hips pressing against his impatiently.
He groaned softly, his mouth trailing back to yours and finally he began to move. Gently he retreated before he ground his length into you again, making you gasp in pleasure, eyes rolling back while your fingers gripped onto his back for dear life.
„That’s it, darlin'.“, he murmured and repeated it one more time, his cock pulling out of your weeping cunt slowly before he pushed back in.
The stretch was so delicious, that you couldn’t help but moan his name and let your legs fall more open, inviting him in like an old friend. 
„Just like that.“, Arthur praised you immediately, his lips barely touching yours during this, before he connected them and let his tongue slip inside.
With a soft whine you met him, the kiss turning more eager as his gentle rhythm sped up just a notch. He ground his hips against you with purpose, cock rubbing against that special spot inside of you just right and you had to turn your head to the side, gasping for air. It was like there wasn’t enough of it all of a sudden. All you could consume was him and Christ did it make you dizzy, dizzy from all the pleasure you were feeling.
You hadn’t expected anything to happen today but you sure as hell would’ve never expected this.
Again you whined his name and he gently grabbed your face to turn it back to him, dark blue eyes meeting yours.
„Look at you, so beautiful for me, darlin‘.“, he whispered and one of his hands slipped between your bodies, sneaking its way to your clit to rub it gently.
„O-Oh!“, you moaned.
You were rushing towards the edge again with an immense speed and you began to meet his thrusts that were becoming faster and harder by the minute. Arthur smirked as he watched you.
„Gonna make you feel real good.“, he muttered and a sudden deep and especially hard push made you yelp, but Christ did it feel good.
„A-Again.“, you managed to choke out and he obeyed, hips slamming into you hard and with purpose.
The sweet ache between your thighs was almost unbearable now and you knew it wouldn’t be much longer now. You clenched around him, barely managing to keep yourself from falling over the edge and he groaned loudly.
„Come on, darlin'.“, he panted and his fingers circled around your clit faster, almost abusing it, but that was just what you needed.
He was fucking you so good in that moment, you couldn’t help it anymore and finally you came, crying out his name as your body shook, tensing up from the violent orgasm you were experiencing.
„Such a good girl.“, he praised you and his lips found yours, muffling the sweet sounds that came out of your mouth, his hips not stopping with their movements.
It was getting too much and you whined, squirming under him, but the way his lips moved against yours, tongue licking into you made you forget the pain fast, turning it into pleasure once more. 
„Arthur…“, you muttered and his hand caressed your cheek reassuringly.
„You alright there?“, he asked after leaning back just a bit to look at you.
His cock was still trusting into you, now a bit slower and more gentle. You managed to hum in response and he smiled softly.
„Good.“, his lips connected with yours again in a quick peck. „Think you can do it a second time?“
Your mind was all blurry and foggy so it took you a moment to get the meaning of his words, but then you nodded slowly. Right now you would give him everything.
„That’s my girl.“, he whispered and with that he was back at it, his thrust getting faster again, pulling a high-pitched moan from you.
Arthur ground into you hard and deep, but it felt like it still wasn’t all he was capable of and the more the delicious ache between your thighs intensified the more you were craving all of him.
„Don’t hold back.“, you whined into the nape of his neck. „Please.“
In a moment of surprise, he stopped and you cried in protest.
„You sure, darlin'?“, he sat up now, his brows furrowed a bit.
„Please.“, you nodded and stretched your hands out for him, desperate to be closer to him, even closer than just being connected.
He groaned softly at how you were looking at him and it was all it took to persuade him. His lips collided with yours as he finally continued to thrust and you gasped. His pace was unforgiving, skin slapping against skin hard, and when he pushed even deeper you moaned loudly, fingernails digging into his skin, tearing him open as he nearly split you into two.
„Aah-Arthur!“, you cried into his mouth and he grunted, tongue forcing its way between your lips and you knew he was a goner.
His rhythm was getting sloppy, hips just slamming into you like he was desperately looking for something. The bed was creaking under your bodies in protest but right now neither of you cared for that, right now it was just a race to get to that sweet release and before you knew it you came hard around his length. Your pussy clenched around him tightly, his thrusts stuttering and he was barely able to pull out of you when his hot spend already burst onto your stomach.
Heaving he sat in front of you, chest rising and falling rapidly while his eyes were faced to the ceiling like he was praying to god, then he breathed out deeply and he nearly collapsed on top of you.
„Goddamn, woman.“, he panted into the crook of your neck. „You nearly killed me there.“
His words let a laugh bubble from your throat and you gently caressed through his hair with your fingers. 
„Sorry.“, you giggled and pressed a kiss to his temple.
He lifted himself with his arms, eyes meeting yours and a lopsided smirk was displayed on his lips before he pressed them against yours.
„Don’t you ever apologize for that again, darlin'.“, he muttered.
His hand cradled your cheek sweetly and he sat up again to finally clean you both up a bit with the blanket, then he laid down next to you and pulled you against him. Silence engulfed the both of you and you hummed softly, your legs shaking a bit from how intense everything had been.
„Don’t tell me you’re still cold.“, Arthur looked at you with a lifted eyebrow and you chuckled while shaking your head.
„No, not anymore.“, you said. „You warmed me up quite a bit.“
He smirked softly.
„Good.“
It went quiet again, the silence only punctuated by your soft breaths and the howling of the storm outside. It must’ve been minutes until you decided to speak again.
„To be honest…I didn’t really expect this when we agreed to share the bed.“, you muttered and your gazes met.
„Me neither.“, Arthur nodded slightly and chewed on his lip. „You…don’t regret it…do you?“
His eyes looked you up and down with a hint of worry behind them.
„Absolutely not.“, you reassured him softly. „It was just surprising…that’s all.“
„Yeah.“, he nodded. „I get what you mean. We didn’t speak much until we went huntin' and now…“
He didn’t have to end the sentence. Both of you knew what he was implying.
„Right.“, you murmured. „Well, didn’t know what to think of you but…turns out you’re quite nice.“
Your words made him laugh and he pressed a kiss to your temple.
„Quite nice, huh? Now that’s somethin'.“, he whispered against your skin. „You know…when we finally leave that damn town Colter…maybe we could go out for a ride…spend the day somewhere nice. What do you say?“
Arthur leaned back so he could look at you. A smile made its way to your lips.
„Sounds good to me.“, you agreed and he breathed out softly, like he had been holding it in.
„Then we have a deal.“, he nodded and pulled the blanket over your bodies. „Now…let’s try to get some sleep until the mornin'. We still have a bit of a journey ahead of us tomorrow.“
„Yeah.“, you hummed softly and leaned your head against his shoulder. „Good night, Arthur.“
You closed your eyes, his body engulfing you comfortably. It would surely warm you through the night.
„Good night, darlin'.“
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dollsome-does-tumblr · 28 days ago
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some more thoughts on the x-files: perihelion novel by claudia gray, which i zoomed through ravenously! tl;dr -- if you are searching for msr healing after the terrible s11 finale, you should read this and bask in its profoundly healing glow. you're welcome!
spoilers--
so, i had nooooo idea this existed until reddit told me the day before yesterday, and then my hoopla app actually had it, so i could get it INSTANTLY! it was like a dream come true!! the stars aligned for me! i honestly might read it again now.
i really love how this takes all the awfulness of the truly awful s11 finale and says, "okay, let's dive in and grapple with what this emotional reality would really be like. let's frickin' process." scully's pregnant in her 50s! their son is dead and apparently wasn't their son at all, instead the product of medical rape! you can so tell that this is written with the wisdom and insight of a woman writer's perspective, in a way that most of this show struggled profoundly with even in the 2010s (and it was so extra glaring and painful in the 2010s). it really dives into the repeated loss of bodily autonomy that scully experienced throughout the show, and how she grapples with that as she moves into this surreal experience of being pregnant again. it's just such an achingly astute portrayal of scully and how she tries to bury things and be sensible and keep moving forward and how at a certain point that's not tenable anymore. it felt like getting to be with her again in the best way. she also gets a female friend (ilu, dr. karen jones)!!!! which i adore!!!
i can see the hokey side of the whole 'scully now has powers that control electricity!' plot twist, but i have to say, as someone who feels sooooo ragey over everything scully went through, there's something so cathartic on a metaphorical level of scully's repressed feelings literally exploding the world around her. yeah! ⚡
you can tell this is written by someone who's a deep fan of the show and is intimately familiar with it (fanfic writing skills, what what! i distantly remember this author's fic from the days of yore!!) and especially with everything mulder and scully have gone through emotionally, which is so rewarding to read. i think the canon of the show itself kinda forgot some stuff, or didn't find it worth diving into, so it's so great to get that more fandom-oriented perspective that's really aware of the significance of the events of canon and how they would pile up on each other and create such a lasting impact. also, thank u for making mulder and scully kiss some more. long game! <3
both mulder's and scully's voices are absolutely perfect, both in conversation and narration, and their chemistry shines off the page. it really feels like being with them again. i don't have quite as much to say about mulder, since this is first & foremost scully's time to shine to me, but i think it captures his humor and disillusionment and general perspective so well, and the way he grapples with his sense of purpose. and there are just some really delightful mulder zingers in here, which are essential to my well-being.
domestic mulder and scully who are sort of a couple again but sort of keeping their distance is just such a delicious state to get to hang out in, and seeing them start to work through their trauma and get closer is so sublime!!! i just felt so fond of them, and i love how this captures both their fun, affectionate banter and their more serious, painful issues. this story really digs into their full relationship history in such a deep and thoughtful way. it's all there! they finally have sex in a motel shower! nature is healing!!! i can't believe i can buy this at a bookstore and hold it in my hands!!
i also love how this keeps in the style of the show with the extremely earnest philosophical voiceover-style monologuing from mulder and scully. it's truly just an essential part of the show's style and i love that it's here too.
(and scully writing diary entries and then tearing them up into tiny pieces and putting them in the incinerator!!! girl!!!! <3)
even if i'm obviously here for the shippy stuff first & foremost, i enjoyed the plot stuff. i like how this has a misogynistic serial killer plot, and it winds up that the guy doing it is just sort of small and horrible and easily defeated -- that felt so validating after having recently watched just, like, so many episodes about gross men killing women. the new mytharc is also fun enough that i would absolutely enjoy a multi-book series of mulder and scully dealing with it!
absolutely love the suggestions that mulder IS william's dad and that william is not dead. (and skinner's not dead either!) take that, s11 finale!!!!!! your evils are not insurmountable!
i wasn't familiar with the word "perihelion" so when it's revealed what its relevance is, i was sooooo in my feelings. now that's what i call emotional payoff!
oh my gosh they've got a baby girl on the way. 🥹🥹🥹 and now i really want to meet herrrrrrrrr. pls let this become the series it's so clearly setting up. 🙏
p.s. absolutely loved that we got a "SCULLAAAAY!" or two. it had to happen. <3
this book rules!
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