#he gave me a women’s small flannel shirt too which is close.

[hatefulvirago]

Worst part of xmas is my dad giving us weird as fuck presents he found on temu or such shit

[impala1967dwinchester]

Dean Winchester: Brandy

*Credit to the gif owner*

Pairing: Dean W. x Fem!Reader

Pov: Deans

Warnings: Drinking, drunk texting, bad dancing, having to rescue Dean, Friends to loversish, Believing in destiny kinda.

Summary: Dean spends the whole night at the bar, tryin' every bottled drink. Ends up drunk texting Y/n and being completely honest with her

Word Count: 2.1k

A/N: (Based on the song Wine, Beers, Whiskey by Little Big Town)

Dean Winchester Master List

Main Master List

I sat at the bar of the old bar. It reminded me of Harvelle's. The old smell, the plaid-up men and women that I noticed came walking in through that door.

It was amazing. I was a drinker, always had been. The first drink I had with my dad, I was fifteen. A beer we shared, that should be an amazing moment for father and son, but it was ruined for the simple fact that we had no home, and my father and instructed me to take care of my younger brother.

I grew up, mostly without my father after that. He prioritizes hunting and saving people over me, and over his youngest son. Everything was always secrets. So many secrets, that it's started to become how Sam and I live.

There were certain things that I had learned from my father. How to protect, how to be anger almost all of the time, and how to handle my liquor.

So I sat at the bar, my hand around an iced cold glass of beer. I sipped and watched people. I wasn't in the mood to hook up with any. I mean yeah sure there was probably someone out there that was meant for me, but that's getting into destiny shit.

You know how bars, almost always have music playing. Well being in the good old state of Kansas, so pretty much any place you walk into is playing music more specifically country music.

It started to come through the speakers. I had already been here for what seemed like hours, I had enough beers, that I had switched to drinking something harder.

Something like a whiskey.

"My friend named Jack"

"He's got my back"

"He always seems to know right where I'm at"

Well, this is definitely a song I could get used to listening to. I don't think anybody else was listening. All having their own private conversations. The barmaid was a beautiful young lady, but even still with her crop top of a shirt and the cleavage that was burst out of her shirt.

I wasn't interested in her. Every time she'd come over. "You need anything else sweetheart." Bending halfway down to try and have me look down.

I waved her off. Maybe I should try something else. Waving her back over, I asked "Do you have something stronger?" she looked at me sideways, before saying "If it's something stronger than you want I've got you" and then she walked away.

When she returned with the rest of the bottle of Jose. A half left standing in the clear bottle. "Here's something stronger, forty percent." She said taking my empty beer bottle and empty cup that had been holding the recently downed Jack Daniels.

"My friend Jose"

"He likes to play"

"He's always up for anything I say"

I downed the rest of the bottle, not even needing the new glass she had bought for me to use. Slamming the bottle down on the countertop. She snapped her head around, our eye making contact before she grabbed something off the shelf.

"If that's the type of night you're having you should have said." She said handing me a half empty glass of crown apple. "Thanks, I can handle my liquor so no need to worry about me," I said as she left to take care of other people sitting at the bar.

I sat alone. Like I always have, it was the best way to number one people watch, but it also gave me a reason to think. Nobody trying to pull my belt out of my jean loops. No need to save someone this was my safe haven sometimes.

Alcohol was my safe haven. It's always been that way. It's always been able to understand me ten times more than Sammy. Well I mean there was always Y/n, she lived with us, but she was my friend, my best friends. There is something that she just doesn't need to know.

I took a swig, drinking down most of the bottle.

"Little bit of red, lotta bit of crown"

"Don't matter what it is"

"I'm gonna drink it down, down, down"

Was it just me or was this song getting better by the second. Maybe, It was just me. I looked around me, couples stood dancing to this song, some sat with clasped hands. And the older men sat at the bar, I was an older man sitting at bar watching like a creep.

"The wine, the beer, the whiskey"

"Are the only things that fix me"

"I'm not saying it's a problem"

"I can stop it if I wanna"

"But the wine, the beer, the whiskey"

"They always get me"

Wow, I'm started to get the idea that I can relate to this song. The lyrics are right you know. Liquor is the only thing that can fix me, calms me down and then I sleep it off. It's right the lyrics I can stop if I wanna. But do I really wanna stop?

"Here," The young lady said, handing me a made drink "Here's a gin and tonic." Walking away yet again to take care of other patrons. A gin and tonic, not a drink I was every ballses enough to try.

Taking the little green umbrella out, I took my first sip. "Shit that's actually really good," I said more to myself than anyone else. I looked up from my gin and tonic drink, looking at the glass wall.

It held so many drinks that I hadn't heard of before. Like a new drink called "Screwball", "Kingfisher". Odd brand names but they all looked like awesome drinks. But of course, there was the regular drinks, the brandy, sherry which is a wine, and Jim Beam

"My friend named Gin"

"She's got some friends"

"I'm talking Brandy, Sherry, and their brother Jim"

"Hey, so it sorta looks like we're going along with the song, so I'll grab you a shot of rum, Captain." She said pulling a tiny shot glass out and pulling the bottle off of the shelf.

She slides the small glass across the table, I caught some rum tipping out and falling over my thumb. 'I wonder what Y/n would do if she was here with me? I wonder if I would have her pushed up against the wall, kissing down her neck.'

Shaking my head; stop thinking of her that she... She doesn't think of you in the same way, you are an idiot. Taking my rum-filled shot quickly. I pulled out my phone.

'Don't do what you're about to do'

"I'll be fine," I said to myself. The room was starting to spin. Or maybe I was just spinning. 'Stop thinking about Y/n. She doesn't need to deal with your drunk ass' "Oh come on I'm not that drunk" I was still sitting at the bar, but people were starting to look at me.

>Y/n, you know I've just gotta say. YOu're beautiful.

Dots played at the bottom of my screen.

>Dean that's very nice.

Minutes pass, so I send another message.

>You know I think I'm falling.

Immediate answers came

>Falling?? What do you mean?

>Winchester? Where are you?

She asked, she only ever called me Winchester when she was pissed off, but I was too worried about telling her the truth.

>Y/n, I've spent the past forever fawning over you. I spent it, wanting, yearning for you. I guess after years of wanting you, years after having nobody in my bed. Wishing and hoping that it was you.

>Dean send me your current loca!

>We can talk more tomorrow

I was able to send her my location, she pulled up in a rather crappy car. Walking in distress, her black night shorts, a pair of slippers on, and my red and black plaid shirt on.

She came over, apologizing grabbing my arm, and wrapping it over her head. "Dean, let's go, now," she said dragging me out. "You smell so good Y/n," I said going to pet her hair. She rested me up against the side of the baby.

"Where are your keys, Dean?" She asked her voice starting to become more worrisome. "In my.." I stopped talking and just reached for her hand, shoving it into my jacket pocket. "Right here!" I said I let go of her wrist and she looked up at me.

She got me into the car, somehow. I rested my head against the back of the front seat. "I felt and heard the rumble of baby engine. "Dean, what were you doing?" I looked over at her. "I wanted a drink."

The rest of the drive was quiet, she helped me out of the car after shutting the loud engine off. The sound finally stops bouncing off the cinderblock walls. "Dean. Couch, bed, or table?" She asked.

"Couch, comfier," I said breathing in more of Y/n's scent. I've never been this close to her, for this long. she smelled like a garden of flowers and honey. she smelt of summer. She looked like summer half the time.

"Are you a god?" I blurted out. Her eyebrows creased, licking her lips. "No, Dean I'm not a god," Y/n said reaching around behind the couch and grabbing a blanket but not before untying my boots.

She tossed the blanket over my body and went to walk off. "Y/n?" I asked. "Yes, Dean." She said with a sigh. "Can you get me a water, so I can maybe explain myself?" I asked.

A pleading look on my face, the puppy dog eyes I had learned from Sam. "Fine Winchester, but you've five to explain yourself." She said stomping off into the kitchen, and back with a tall glass of ice water.

She stood next to me. "Can you sit? Please Y/n?" I begged. I sipped on the water, trying to regain any sort of control of myself. She sat crisscrossing her legs. Her exposed legs, my eyes drifted from her legs.

My eyes came back up to hers. "Start explaining Winchester, you've got four minutes." I shook my head, clasping my hands together. I cleared my throat.

"I've sat here for the past few years, wondering why everything seems weird. It's hard. y'know because that song was right in the bar. I don't want to be alone not anymore, I don't wanna watch the couple dances anymore, I wanna be one of the couples, that hold each other hands."

I said, looking at her. She broke our eye contact when she started to fidget with the bottom of my flannel. "You know that's my flannel?" I asked grabbing her hands.

"I want you, I want you in my bed. I want to drink with my girl. I want to love you because Y/n that's really the truth." I said, "I love you Y/n" We sat in silence for a few, "Y/n please say something?" Now I'm begging her, this entire night has been a fucking mess.

"What are you waiting for you dumb Winchester? Come kiss your girl." It only took a few moments for the words to click in my mind. I grabbed the back of her neck and she fell into my lap.

It wasn't like fireworks or lighting coming down. It just fit so well, it was more like finishing a puzzle, puzzle pieces just fitting together so well. A missing part of me found filled and always there for you.

"Dean? Y/n?" I heard Sam said and properly say "Nevermind." And leave. I felt Y/n's lips leave mine. Realizing that I needed air, my lungs burning but in a good way.

"That was something," I said, catching my breath. "That's was awesome!" Y/n said kissing chastely. "Did you hear Sam?" I asked her, she giggled she rolled her. "I bet he's in there going I just knew it," Y/n said. I laughed and hugged.

"My feet hurt, I think I may have blacked out and started dancing by myself," I said, flexing my socked toes. "You dancing!?" Y/n questioned, "Oh we've gotta go back to that bar and get that tape, for FBI reasons." Y/n said.

My mouth gaping open. She laughed more, and she started to have a few tears. "You know Y/n. I'll you back for that, now come on. You'll love the memory foam bed." I said, Whispering closing to Y/n's ear "It remembers you Y/n." My hand landing on her lower as we walked to my room.

Completed on: 05/12/2021

Posted on: 05/14/2021

Dean Winchester Tag List: @akshi8278 @deanswaywardgirl @hit-meup69 @fofisstilinski @doctorlilo @wonderfulworldofwinchester

[rowyn-writes]

Funny Business

Warnings: Angst, fluff, language

Pairings: Gabriel x Winchester!Reader

Characters: Gabriel, Dean, Sam, Castiel, Rowena, Jack (mentioned only)

Word Count: 2.2k

Summary: You’re Dean’s daughter, and you’re all getting ready to go to apocalypse world to rescue Jack, your best friend. When Gabriel sees that you’re upset about Jack’s absence, he tries to cheer you up and confesses that he likes you.

Requested by @daisyelll​

You missed your best friend.

It felt like Jack had been in apocalypse world for centuries. Of course you missed you grandmother, Mary, but you weren't really that close with her.

Yeah, Dean Winchester was you father. He had you at a young age, 22, to be exact. Your 'mother,' wasn't really ready to be a mom yet, so she had given you to Dean in hopes he would be a good father to you. And he was.

Dean didn't want you to grow up the way he did, so he never took you traveling. Most of the times, you would stay at Bobby's house, but your dad called to check in every night and to say 'I love you,' before you would fall asleep. Whenever he was in between hunts, he would always come see you and do a 'Daddy-daughter date,' where he would take you to the movies and go out to eat.

When Sam was stuck in the Cage with Lucifer, Dean came and got you, taking you to live with him, Lisa and Ben. You loved your little dysfunctional family. Lisa was a good female influence in your life, seeing as how your own walked out on you. That's why you were devastated when Castiel wiped Ben and Lisa's memories of the Winchester's.

But that all happened when you were a kid. Now, your 21, and desperately trying to find a way to bring your best friend back from apocalypse world.

You had never connected with someone like you connected with Jack. He was like your brother, and you'd kill to protect him.

"Where is the Witchy Winchester?" A Scottish voice filled the air. That was a nickname that Rowena gave you. A few years ago, you had dabbled a bit in magic, and ever since, she had been adamant on training you.

"Rowena!" You said happily, hugging the woman.

"Y/n Winchester." She smiled as she looked at you with sad eyes. "How are you, deary?"

"I'm powering through." You assured her. "I'm just ready to get my family home." Your father rested a hand on your shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"We'll get them back, sweetheart." He kissed the top of your head.

"It would be a lot faster if this dumbass, impotent archangel would grow a pair and lend some grace!" You growled loudly enough for Gabriel to hear from wherever he was in the bunker.

"Oh whatever, Baby Winchester! You try being tortured by a Prince of Hell and see how you feel." He called back.

"I was." You deadpanned. "And do you see me acting like a little bitch? No." Sam and Dean snickered at your comment.

"Alrighty then," Rowena said before your argument could continue. "Let's get started." She set down a large bowl on the table, along with a bunch of other ingredients. "Fruit from the tree of life." You began gathering your things, such as clothes, non perishable foods, water, and of course, weapons. You and your father had argued earlier on in the day about you joining them to go to apocalypse world, which ended in a screaming match that you won. You definitely got your temper from you father. "Blood of a most holy man." Sam tossed over a pack of glow sticks that you put in the bag. "And ah. . ." Rowena reached up and plucked a hair out of Dean's head.

"Ow!" He complained, rubbing the back of his head. You rolled your eyes as you continued to pack.

"Something from the other side." Rowena finished, adding his hair to the mix.

"Hey. How’s Gabriel." Sam asked when Cas entered the room.

"He said he needed a minute alone." He said, his voice a low rumble. "He wanted to extract his grace by himself. In private." You shivered at what the Angel told you. You did not want to imagine what he was doing to extract his grace. Your uncle and father had the same disturbed look on their face as you did. "So I left him alone in Dean’s room."

You bursted out laughing, your eyes crinkling at the edges like your dad's did. "You what? No." Dean seemed very grossed out at the thought of what Gabriel was doing in his room.

"I hate to interrupt, but I can’t be the only one to noticed the rather glaring hole in this plan." No one seemed to pay attention to the witch as you continued packing up for the trip. "We open up the rift, it gives us a day to find and save your Mom and the boy. And it’s a very big world over there, and you’re not even sure where they are, so. . . "

"She's right." Cas spoke up. "The clock may run out on us."

"Yeah. It might." Sam seemed indifferent and unconcerned. You couldn't help but feel the same way. All you wanted was your family back together. You tucked your loaded gun into the waistband of your jeans, covering it with your flannel shirt.

"Yeah, well we don’t have any better ideas." Dean shrugged.

"Mm, that’s inspirational."

"Here it is!" Gabriel exclaimed, walking in with a very dim looking vial of his grace. " The final ingredient - a fresh serving of archangel grace."

You raise your eyebrow, tilting your head to the side. "That's pathetic." You announced, earning a snort from Rowena.  "Dude, I could give more 'grace' than that, and I'm a human. You could do better." Gabriel scoffed at your words.

"That is the jet fuel of divine emissions." He proclaimed. You gave a little gag, as Dean and Sam gave him disgusted looks. "It’ll be more than enough to get the job done."

You, Rowena and Cas gave each other skeptical looks. You all knew that there was no way that was going to work.  You shook your head as Rowena added more ingredients to the spell. You strapped two katana's on your back, adjusting them so they fit comfortably.

"Ya know, we won't judge you if you chose to sit this one out, kiddo." Your dad tried to convince you to stay back once more.

"Dad." You whispered, linking your hand with his. "I want to go. You're my family, and we don't leave family behind. Never." Dean gave you a small smile as he squeezed your hand. You noticed from the corner of your eye that Gabriel was watching you with curious eyes.

Rowena called you over to her, needing assistance with casting the spell. It was a rather powerful one, meaning it might need two witches instead of one. "Ready, deary?" You nodded.

"Koth Munto Nuntox." You both bellowed, motioning your hands towards the place where the rift was supposed to open. It gleamed orange, but you could tell the light was fading. There was no way anyone was going through that rift.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Cas asked the group.

"Yeah, all right." Sam nodded.

"Let’s do this." Dean agreed.

"Let's get our family back."

As you go to step through the rift, just like you expected, it began to fizzle and lean to the side. You all tilted along with it.

"Okay, that was very, very fast." You noted. The group seemed to agree with you.

"One could even say premature." Rowena remarked, making you laugh. Gabriel seemed to be flustered by you laughing at Rowena's joke.

"Um. . . I thought it would be enough." Gabriel coughed.

"All right, great. What do we do now?"

"I think we all know what to do." You said grimly. Rowena sent you and Sam a terrified look. You gripped her hand to give her reassurance. "I don't like this as much as the next person, but we need an Archangels grace. And it seems there's only one left on this god forsaken world that can actually provide his grace."

"No." Sam shook his head.

"We need to get Lucifer."

.

. .

. . .

You had decided to stay back while Sam, Dean, and Cas went to get Lucifer. Gabriel had already offered his assistance before coming back to the bunker. You were holed up in the library, starting at old pictures and videos on your phone. All of them were of you and Jack.

You giggled as you watched a video of Jack trying ice cream for the first time. "Ah!" He exclaimed, rubbing his temples. "Is it supposed to hurt? Is this some kind of torture that humans use on each other?"

The video shook as you began to laugh. "No, silly. You just ate it too fast. It's actually really good if you slow down and savor it!"

You felt a tear roll down your cheek as you scrolled through pictures of the two of you. He was your best friend. Your brother. And it hurt like hell to be so close to getting him, but still not quite there.

"Hey, Baby Winchester!" Gabriel said happily, walking into the room. "Guess who just captured Lucif-" He cut himself off as he saw the state you were in.

You quickly wiped away your tears, exiting out of the video app on your phone. "What do you want, Gabriel?" You sniffed.

"Are you okay?" He asked, seeming genuinely concerned, which shocked you. The Archangel never cared about anyone but himself.

"I-I'm fine." You nodded.

He frowned as he approached you, sitting down in one of the arm chairs. "Hey, what's with the waterworks?"

You bit the inside of your cheek, shaking your head. If you spoke, you were sure to sob. You calmed yourself before you began to speak. "I miss Jack." You confessed. "He could always make me laugh when I needed to. And right now, I really need to laugh." Your voice broke as you talked.

Gabriel's frown deepened. He knew you to be this strong warrior, this tough young woman who feared nothing and no one. And to see you so broken hurt him. He stood up, snapping his fingers as he did so. I Wanna Dance With Somebody began to play.

"Really?" You asked, raising an eyebrow at the man.

"Yes, really. Now get your ass off that chair and come dance with me. You know, many women would kill to be in your position." You glared at him, feeling skeptical. It was known that Gabriel was a huge flirt. Hell, not even two hours earlier, he was flirting with Rowena, who quickly shot him down, clearly not interested.

"If you try anything, I'll kill you faster than you can say uh-oh." Gabriel held his hands up in surrender, silently promising that he wasn't going to pull any funny business. You slowly got up off the couch and walked towards him. He extended his hand, which you hesitantly took. Gabriel spun you around, making you gasp in surprise.

"I'm quite the dancer, if you didn't know." He smirked. You still weren't in the mood to put up with his bull shit. "I'm going to make you laugh, if it's the last think I do." He promised.

"Why do you care so much if I'm unhappy. You barely know me." You mumbled as Gabriel led you around to room.

"Because, from how little I do know about you, I know that seeing you cry is a rarity. You're this badass warrior goddess that supposedly doesn't have any emotion." You were about to question him when Gabriel interrupted you. "You're a legend in the Supernatural World." He explained.

"Yeah, for being Dean Winchester's daughter." You said bitterly.

"Ah, now why is that such a bad thing?"

"Because I want to be known for the people that I've saved and the good that I do. Not for just being my dad's daughter."

"Well, trust me, sweetheart, that's not all you're known for." You looked up at Gabriel as he rocked you back and forth to the music. He clearly wasn't pleased with the fact that you were still frowning, so he picked you up off the ground and twirled you around.

You gave a giggle of excitement as he did so, earning a proud grin from Gabriel. He began hopping around the room, making you laugh harder. "There's that beautiful laugh."

"Beautiful." You scoffed. "Yeah, okay."

"Why do you find it so hard to believe that someone would use that word to describe you?"

You shrugged. "Because no one thinks of me that way."

"Now, that's not true. I'm sure many, many men and women would love to be with you." Gabriel insisted, which made you blush.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" You asked.

"Well, if I told you, I think there would be a multitude of people trying to murder me." He confessed.

You gave him a questioning look, not realizing what he was trying to tell you.

"Jeez, you Winchester's are so oblivious. I like you, Y/n. But I know if I acted on anything, you're family would murder me in a heartbeat."

You looked at him for a moment before grabbing his jacket and pulling him in for a kiss. It took him a moment to kiss you back, but when he did, you were breathless. "Then we don't tell anyone. Not yet at least."

"Ooh, a secret love. I like that sound of that, Winchester." He murmured as he kissed you again.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I can promise there will be a part two, hehe. 

[kamilah-is-queen]

Hey! Please make a part 2 of Kamilah's wisdom tooth removal. I am laughing and will laugh my entire life because of the last two lines in the post. I need a part two of Kamilah under anaesthesia and talking all sorts of rubbish. Also please include Kamilah back to consciousness and listening to what she was saying/doing under anaesthesia and her reactions to it.

Kamilah Under Anesthesia, Part 2 Tagging: @kamilahtopme, @rhonda-sayeed, @genietotherescue, @queenkamilah, @ilove-kamilah-sayeed, @millasayeed@vonda-b-real, @livvynka, @iamsimpforpoppy

Kamilah quietly trudged into her luxurious apartment, placing her briefcase on the sofa and draping her blazer over the pillows.

“Amy, I’m home.” Kamilah called out, only to be met with utter silence.

With a frown etched onto her face, Kamilah began searching the apartment. “Amy, darling?”

The vampire came to a halt in the bedroom, Amy speaking on the phone, gazing out of the glass windows of their bedroom.

“Yes, of course, Doctor. That sounds perfect, we’ll see you tomorrow.” Amy ended the call and gasped softly when warm, strong arms wrapped around her from behind.

“Doctor, hm?” Kamilah peppered tender kisses along Amy’s neck while gently stroking her wife’s hips.

Amy hummed in content, tilting her head to the side, “Yeah. You have to go back to the dentist tomorrow.”

Kamilah’s eyes widened in disbelief and halted her kisses. “The…what? No, you remember what happened last time habibti, I’m not going through that embarrassment again.”

“Oh hush, it’s not that bad.” Amy turned in Kamilah’s arms, wrapping her slender arms around the Egyptian’s neck. She began swaying slowly to ease her wife.

“Besides, it’s not embarrassing to take care of yourself Kamilah.” Amy massaged her fingers against Kamilah’s scalp carefully as she kissed her cheek.

Kamilah huffed, frustratingly, “But-“

“No but’s.” Amy placed her forefinger over Kamilah’s lips to shush her, “you will go. And that’s final.”

“Since when did you become so bossy?” Kamilah grinned lopsidedly, taking Amy’s finger aside. They kissed slowly, and lovingly with every ounce of love behind each touch.

Kamilah’s lips easily dominated over Amy’s, tenderly sucking Amy’s plump, soft skin.

She let out a soft groan in response, “You know I only do it to tease you, darling.”

“That’s right.” Kamilah tossed Amy back onto the sheets gently, starting to unbutton her white shirt slowly, “because you know exactly how I’d punish you if you were serious.”

Amy gulped, her lips latching onto Kamilah’s again greedily as their kisses were the first of many in that fervent night.

Next morning….

Kamilah woke slowly, blinking her eyes rapidly as small rays of sunshine peaked through the thick blinds. She let out a soft grunt, her body aching and sore while her skin was marked with red, scratch marks. The ones on her back and hips more feverish than the others.

When Kamilah felt a heavy mass stir on her chest, she smiled knowingly and tightened her arms around her wife.

“Good morning, baby.” The vampire’s gentle voice cooed in Amy’s ear, prompting the young woman to roll off and onto the mattress.

“Mmm, morning Kamilah.”

Kamilah gazed over Amy’s bare body, her gaze flickering to the dark, purple hickies on her wife’s back and shoulders.

Amy gasped suddenly, “The appointment!” She hurriedly checked the alarm beside her and threw the covers off. “We’re gonna be late, come on!”

Kamilah only laughed, watching Amy lovingly. “What a goofball.”

Amy rushed to freshen up and throw a decent pair of clothes on, a red flannel shirt and jeans. She quickly threw two pieces of bread in the toaster, waiting impatiently.

When Kamilah emerged from the bedroom, Amy knew exactly that it was all a delaying tactic. The young woman narrowed her eyes, “You planned this all out, didn’t you.”

Amy folded her arms over her chest as Kamilah chuckled, “perhaps.”

“Kamilah, baby, I promise you’ll be fine. It wasn’t so bad the first time around.” Amy spoke gently, forcing Kamilah to nod in agreement.

“I suppose your right, perhaps I’m just overreacting.” She nestled in the barstool chair as Amy served up breakfast.

Amy then rushed to throw her shoes on with half a piece of toast between her teeth. “Come on! We’ll be late.”

Doctor’s office, 11 a.m.

The dentist emerged from the chambers where Kamilah was resting, prompting Amy to stand.

“How is she?” There was a slight hint of anxiousness in Amy’s voice as Lily offered a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

The dentist flipped through his files. “She’s responding very well. She’ll be in tip top shape by tomorrow. But uh…”

He leaned closer, “be careful of the anesthesia.” He chuckled softly and left the two women to themselves, before they entered Kamilah’s room.

There she lay, slumped in the chair and her eyes closed as Amy smiled to herself.

“Okay, I’m definitely recording this.” Lily whipped out her phone, grinning cheekily at a disappointed Amy.

Amy merely rolled her eyes. “Seriously Lily?”

“What??” She placed a hand over her chest, feigning surprise. “I’m shocked you don’t find this as funny as I do. I mean look at Kamilah, the Vampire Queen under anesthesia, you can’t tell me that’s not hilarious.”

Kamilah stirred slowly, groaning in pain as she went to grip her jaw.

“Hey, hey…it’s okay Kamilah. It’s me, Amy.” She gently took Kamilah’s hand and held it between her warm palms.

Lily was loving every bit of this, as she stood near the seat, recording everything.

Kamilah squinted in the light. “Wha? I don’t know no Awy.”

Lily had to bite her fist from bursting out into laughter, quickly shutting up when Amy gave her a death stare.

“You do, darling. I’m Amy, your wife.” She smiled softly, hoping Kamilah would recognize her just a tad.

Kamilah took her time gazing at Amy’s features, even though they were completely disoriented.

She weakly raised a finger, “why do you have two noses?” Kamilah’s words were slightly slurred, her mind still foggy from the medicine.

Amy scrunched her nose. “Don’t be ridiculous Kami.”

“AHAHAHAHAH!”

Lily’s laughs filled the room as the phone wobbled in her hands. Kamilah sleepily looked up, narrowing her eyes to concentrate.

“She does. Two noses and…”

The plump tissue in her mouth only furthered her slurring, “eight eyes?” She shook her head. “This is bad. Vewy bad. Bwack magic is real.”

She turned towards the phone, “whose thwat?”

Lily’s hands further shook as she was consumed with laughter. “This is called a phone, and you're gonna kill me when you watch this later.”

Kamilah yelped and kicked it out of Lily’s hands. “Bad dog! Down boy, down.”

Kamilah’s gaze flicked to Amy. “Did you swee that? He…he twied to bite me.”

Amy only shook her head, hefting Kamilah out of the seat carefully. She wrapped her arms around Kamilah’s strong body, steadying the vampire.

“You bad bad dog.” Kamilah wagged her finger at the phone’s camera lens before Amy guided her outside and back to their apartment.

Next morning…

Kamilah looked up from the files on her lap. “Yes Lily? What is it?”

Kamilah wore an unamused expression, the polar opposite of Lily’s cheeky grin. “Okay well, I recorded you yesterday in the dentist’s office and…”

Kamilah’s brows furrowed harshly. “Lily.” She spoke with a serious tone.

“I’m sorry! It was funny!” She quickly handed the phone over to Kamilah, the screen shattered from the fall it took yesterday.

Lily took amusement in the way Kamilah’s eyes widened in horror. The older vampire quickly turned the phone off, visibly embarrassed.

“Oh my god.” Kamilah quickly buried her face in her hands, her cheeks burning red. “Why would you record something like that?”

Lily could only laugh, “come on, that was funny and you know it.”

“Was. Not. Funny.” Kamilah glared at Lily, flashing her dominating red eyes which forced Lily to go back down.

“Okay, okay. Geez, I’m sorry. Apparently vampires don’t have a sense of humor.” Lily mumbled under her breath.

Before Kamilah could say a word, Amy stepped between the two of them, grinning.

“You did kick that phone like it was a rabid animal, it was quite hilarious.” Amy nestled onto Kamilah’s lap, peppering soft kisses on her face as Amy felt Kamilah’s anger slip away.

“Hmph.” Kamilah only gripped Amy’s hips. “I suppose.”

“But no more recording me next time. That goes for you too.” She pointed at Lily, who saluted. “Yes Ma’am.”

Amy chuckled contently, resting her forehead against Kamilah’s.

“You truly are something else, My Queen.”

[unmaskedagain]

Marinette Vs Santa: The Final Round

Okay, so it’s 11:38 on Christmas. I promised I would post this today. So I am. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. Enjoy your present.

           The jolly fat man would get his, Marinette swore. She wore a lovely gold, snowflake-embroidered cocktail dress. Her hair was done in a French side braid with voluminous Curls; more than she ever had in her entire life. Honestly, she looked like a princess.

           And it would’ve been a win for her if it wasn’t for the circumstances that made it yet another Tie against Santa.

           Roy has his hand on the small of her back since they step out of the limo. The forced sweet smile on her face was for the paparazzi that had waited outside the restaurant. When they got inside, and as they were shone to their table, Roy's hand slipped south.

Marinette stiffened and leaned close to Roy and whispered in his ear, “If you don’t get your hand off my butt, I’m going to take off one of my five-inch heels and slit your throat with it.”

Roy’s hand was gone in a flash, “Aww babe,” He said, a little loudly, nodding to the table where his parents’ Oliver and Dinah waited; their eyes watching the young couple’s every move. “You know I can’t keep my hands off you.”

           Marinette giggled, as she fought the urge to slam his against a nearby table, “Not in front of your parents. It’s called manners.”

Your lucky homicide is still technically illegal, Marinette thought viciously, and a sure-fire way to get on fat bastard’s naughty list.

           He wouldn’t win. No, Marinette had gone too far; been through too much to lose now.

“Thank you, Marinette,” Dinah stood once the two approached. She pulled Marinette into a hug. “I’ve tried to instill etiquette into Roy for years. His last girlfriends and he nearly in trouble for public indecency. Maybe you’ll do a better job than I did.”

           Marinette laughed, “I will even if I have to cut off his hand.”

           Oliver chuckled, “You’re definitely Bruce’s girl.” The resemblance was uncanny.

           After that the fell into an easy conversation.

“That dress is beautiful,” Dinah said. “Who’s the designer?”

           Marinette beamed, “I am. I love fashion. It’s my dream,” She explained. “I plan on launching my own company. While there’s always room to learn and enhance my designing skills, I feel as if I have that side at least somewhat covered. However, the business angle is something I need to learn. Which is why I plan on getting my MBA at an Ivy League. I was considering Yale or Princeton.”

“Princeton,” Oliver grinned. “Did you hear that Roy?” Roy rolled his eyes, and once again, regretted being born. “Marinette’s considering Princeton. That’s the top school on his list. Queens have gone there for generations.” He pulled his wife into a hug. “It’s where I knew Dinah was the one.”

           Dinah gave Marinette a blank stare, “I couldn’t get rid of him. It was like having bedbugs.” (“Hey!” Oliver cried in protest.) “No matter what I did, he just coming back. The only solution was to burn the entire place down and vanish without a trace. But apparently, that’s illegal or whatever. Stupid.”

“I know, right,” Marinette nodded earnestly. “What’s up with that?”

           They had a wonderful dinner. They watched a paparazzi pretending to be a waiter be escorted out of the restaurant. It was great, amazing even. Oliver and Dinah had been perfectly lovely. Roy had acted like a perfect gentleman. Marinette could’ve almost pretended she was actually meeting her boyfriend’s family. She was about to count the entire night as a win until…

“So how many grandkids should I expect in the future,” Oliver asked, a sincere look on his face, though he was snickering inside.

           Marinette chocked on her chocolate mousse and ended up in a coughing fit that Dinah helped her with. Roy had met his father’s gaze and gave him his most charming smile, “Seven,” He answered.

“Seven!” Marinette barked out and she looked around frantically as if Ashton Kutcher had revived his hit show and was about to pop out.

Oh, gods; please let me be getting punked, Marinette prayed.

            Oliver’s eyebrows went up, “Seven, huh, big family.”

           Roy hummed, “the Wayne-Queens certainly will be.”

“You mean the Queen-Waynes,” Oliver corrected, his hackles rising.

“Well, I figured since we’d be living in Gotham,” Roy didn’t even bother to hide his smirk. “We’d go by the Wayne-Queen family. I actually found this great place not too far from Wayne Manor. Plenty of room for the kids, maybe a dog or two; a rose garden. You know how Waynes are about their roses. You can visit whenever.”

           Marinette might have momentarily blacked out during this. It was how Marinette knew she had officially lost that round to Santa.

           Oliver and Dinah just looked at Roy; their entire bodies stiff.

           Dinah took a long drink from her wine glass, “Gotham has such a high crime rate. Have you considered Star City, Marinette?”

“I’ve never been,” Marinette said sweetly. “But I could live anywhere really. I’m pretty open.”

           Roy wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “Yes, but I figured you’d want to spend as much time with your family as possible. Jason’s my best friend. I love Gotham. It just works. Besides Bruce Wayne would make an amazing grandpa.”

           The grip Oliver had on his dessert fork made Marinette fear for Roy’s life. It was time to step in. “I suppose Robb or Thea would love a big backyard to play in.”

           That got the other three’s attention.

���Robb? Thea?” Oliver whispered. His throat was dry. His brain tried to process what was said.

“I wasn’t supposed to say anything. But Roy and I started talking one day and well,” Marinette trailed off. A soft pink blush appeared on Marinette’s face, enhancing her overall innocent aura. She had done background on the Queen family. “Our firstborn; if it’s a boy Robb as in Robert Thomas; for your father and my grandfather. If it’s a girl, Thea Sabine; for your sister and my mother. It was Roy’s idea. He knows how much you loved them.”

           It was then that Marinette got to check off one more wish off her list. It had been made as a joke in passing to Chloe and Kagami months ago. They had been having a girls’ night. When Chloe, ever prepared, asked what they wanted for Christmas. They had been watching a Justice League fight on the news. Marinette had laughed and said she wanted to show them up one day; make a superhero cry.

           However, watching The Green Arrow tear up while the Black Canary comforted himself, made her think that Santa took her to wish out of context.

           Roy was pulled into a big hug by his parents, and he sent her a vicious glare, and mouthed, “What did you do?”

           Oliver pulled back, wiped his eyes, and said, “You know; there’s nothing like a spring wedding in Star City.”

           Marinette threw down her napkin.

Fuck Santa.

-

           The news had a field day. The picture of Marinette in her dress and Roy in his designer suit was what everyone was talking about. The women of the view talked about her outfit. Wendy Williams talked about her outfit. It was as if Marinette was living in another universe.

           Nothing could bring her down.

“What the hell?” Jason asked as he picked her up for school. “Why the fuck is Roy spamming me with hate texts. Why the fuck is Oliver arguing with B over visitation rights to his grandchildren? Who the Fuck are Robb and Thea? And why the fuck is Dad asking Aquaman if Atlantis really sunk on its own, or if it had a little help?”

           Marinette tiled her head, “Is Papa planning on sinking Star City? And that’s forty dollars for the swear jar.” Her parents had implements after one too many curse words were thrown around.

“Worth it!” Jason said. “And yes, I’ve positive that’s what’s going to happen. It’s gonna be amazing. Also, he’s gonna kill Roy!”

“He deserves it,” Marinette crossed her arms.

“Hey!”

“He put his hand on my butt!”

           Jason paused and narrowed his eyes. “Correction. I’m gonna kill Roy.”

           Marinette rolled her eyes, but then she realized something. “Aren’t they’re usually two of you? Where’s the other one?” It was the routine. She was always escorted into school by two members of the Wayne family.

           Jason smirked, “You’ll see.”

           The paparazzi mostly screamed the usual things at her. At that point, she was used to it. It was the few changes at school that she was used to.

           Damocles had been fired for bribes and severe negligence. He was replaced by Mendeleev. Bustier had been fired for her role in Marinette’s expulsion without proper procedure and basically catering to bullies while blaming the victim. She replaced by a sterner teacher name Miss Reed. She was by the book and not afraid to call in the higher-ups if something smelled fishy.

           The first was any and all forms of bullying in class was no longer tolerated. The school had issued a zero-tolerance policy that the kids in Bustier’s class had felt immediately.

           The second was Lila’s supposed medical history. No doctor’s note, no special treatment. It was also required that Lila present a note from her mother regarding any future absences.

           The third was Adrien’s being pulled randomly out of class. CPS got involved real fast regarding child labor laws.

           The days of her classmates getting away with bloody murder were over. Reed saw everything. Everything.

           Alya, who had returned to class always avoided Marinette at all times. Her parents had given her the biggest talking to about respecting others’ right to privacy. Marinette had agreed to drop any legal charges against her former friend provided she adhere to the cease and desist order. The girl knew too much about Marinette. And Marinette needed to make it clear that she would bury the girl in lawsuits before she’d allowed even one-fourth of it to be made public.

           Jason had walked her to class. But he didn’t leave. Instead, he went directly to the back of the class and took a seat next to Chloe. He pulled out his phone and proceeded to ignore the curious looks from the students.

The blond eyed the ripped jeans, the overly sized red flannel shirt, and the beat-up leather jacket, “Grunge died in the 90s. Like it deserved.”

           Jason, not bothering to look up from his phone, “Paris Hilton said it’s cool that you plagiarized her look.”

           Chloe gasped.

           Marinette just looked up at the ceiling, knowing exactly how this was going to go. Chloe would not forgive this. Jason was an asshole. It would be war.

           Miss Reed walked in and didn’t look twice at Jason.

           Marinette narrowed her eyes; something was up.

           The class went on without a hitch though until just about the end of the first period…

           When Tim and a pretty, brown-haired, tanned skin, an older woman walked in the door. They looked to be having a pleasant conversation.

“Mama,” Lila gasped, her eyes wide. “What are you doing here?” She looked around frantically.

“Ooohhhh,” Marinette nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.” That was what was happening. Operation: Get That Bitch.

“Oh!” Tim feigned surprised. “I didn’t know your daughter was in my sister’s class, Naomi.”

           Naomi had been pleasantly surprised when Tim Drake, the CEO of Wayne Industries reached out to speak to her about potential business ventures in Italy. He was in Paris visiting his sister and wanted an insider perspective on Italy’s economy and tourist information. Her bosses were thrilled. Wayne opening up a site in Italy would do wonders for the overall economic and industrial growth. Then they got to talking about a potential student exchange program that Wayne Industries were willing to fund.

           What Tim hadn’t told the Ambassador was that Wayne Industries had been scouting locations in Italy for their new plant for the last ten months. All the research was done. Everything was primed to go. Still, Tim was kind enough to ensure that Naomi Rossi received the credit for getting Wayne Industries on board.

Mrs. Rossi blinked in surprise, “I had no idea either. Lila, we’re here to discuss a potential international exchange program for kids all over the world. Tim wanted to say hello to his sister. Why didn’t you tell me you were friends with Marinette Wayne?”

           Marinette leaned forward in her seat. A slow smile spread across her face.

“I, well, I,” Lila struggled to say.

“We’re not the closest, Mrs. Rossi,” Marinette offered. “She’s always so busy, we haven’t had the time.”

“Ahh,” Tim snapped his fingers. “That Lila Rossi. Marinette told me all about her.” He crossed his arms. “Naomi, how was Achu? I haven’t gone yet. But from what Marinette’s told of Lila’s stories, you two go all the time. You become close to the royal family, yes?”

           Coldness went down to Naomi Rossi’s spine. She stiffened. Her eyes went to her daughter who had a look of dread on her face. Not this again, she nearly groaned. “There’s been some… confusion,” Mrs. Rossi said, gearing up every ounce of diplomacy she learned in her twenty-year career. Lila was so grounded after this. “A miscommunication, I suppose. My ambassadorship has taken my family to England, Spain, and Japan for a little while, and here in France, of course. However, nowhere else. We have never been to Achu. That is a bit above my paygrade, I’m afraid,” She laughed nervously.

           The class was as silent as a library. If Bustier was still there, a few students would’ve started yelling their complaints and cries for explanations. One or two would’ve started screaming at Lila for lying. But Bustier was gone. And the look Reed was giving her class, dared them to try.

           Tim chuckled, “Kids. When I was seven I swore I spent the summer in Greece with my parents. I didn’t find out until I was eleven that I was actually in Rome. What can you do?” He gave her his most charming smile. “England, was that where Lila met Jagged Stone? I think he’s from there.”

“Jagged who now?” Naomi asked. “The Rock Star? No, Lila’s never met him. She’s a huge fan though.”

“But he wrote a song about her!” Alya cried out. “She saved his cat from getting hit by a plane!”

           Miss Reed, “Alya, please raise your hand and keep to a reasonable level while inside. It will be detention if I have to tell you again.”

Miss Reed and Mendeleiev had agreed to The Wayne's suggestion of revealing Lila’s lies to the class. It was the only way they would believe it and that she could lie her way out of. It was unnatural the way the students trailed after the girl, simpering over grand stories and promises of famous connections. They needed to learn to rely on hard work and their own talent, not on how many famous people they might get to the chance to meet.

“A plane?” Mrs. Rossi asked, an affronted look on her face. “You think I would ever allow my child to be in such danger?” She looked at her daughter. “Your grandmother always said you would be a grand writer with all the stories you tell. You could’ve at least come with a sensible lie.”

“I can explain,” Lila said but whether she was talking to her mother or class was anyone’s guess.

           Rose raised her hand, “Lie? Lila can’t be lying. What about all the trips she takes with you? The charity organizations she runs? The famous people she knows like Clara Nightingale who always ask her for help. She’s close friends with Prince Ali. That’s why she’s always away from school. One time she was gone for weeks.”

           Naomi Rossi looked at her daughter, who did everything she could to avoid eye contact with her mother. “You told me that the school was closed due to the Akumas. It was a lie.” She looked at the teacher. “If the school wasn’t closed, Lila should have only missed three days of school this semester due to her being ill with the flu. She should have only missed seven to ten days in total last year. I do apologize, my daughter…” She gave Lila a dark look. “Seems to have a talent for tall tales.”

           Miss Reed stood up, “It’s a matter for the Principle. Her last teacher overlooked many things and wrote off what she couldn’t. Her schoolwork was done the year before; her grades were good enough to pass. She has not missed too many days so far; a few more than the average student but it happens. Any homework missed can still be made up. She is welcome in my class. However, when you get the chance, I would like make an appointment to discuss with you any medical accommodations she has that need to be addressed.”

           Mrs. Rossi crossed her arms, “She never wears her glasses. She has sensitive eyes that prevent her from wearing contacts. Without them, she can’t see more than a few feet ahead of her.” She looked straight at her daughter. “And she knows this.”

           Marinette wanted to bang her head against the desk. Why couldn’t Lila just say that? She’d have understood.

           Mrs. Rossi looked at the class, “I am so sorry for any trouble my daughter may have caused.” She looked at Tim. “I hope this doesn’t cast a negative light on any prospective business relations.”

           Tim shook his head, “Kids will be kids. Let’s continue to speak over lunch.”

“I’ll see you at home, Lila,” Mrs. Rossi said.

           Tim grinned, “Marinette, I’ll see you after school. Jason.”

           Jason got to leave only to stumble nearly down the stairs. He cast a quick glare at Chloe.

           The blond gave him a vicious smirk, “Walk much?”

“Oh it’s on,” Jason hissed.

           Marinette rolled her eyes. Last year, she had wished with all her might that her friends would see Lila for who she really was. Now the truth was out. Lila had been exposed.

           Regrettably, Marinette had already lost all her friends. And those who were still her friends, already knew the truth. So it wouldn’t change much. She’d had already forgiven her ex-friends a long time ago. Marinette just had to intention of being friends with them again. Still, it was a victory.

           Fuck Santa; this round went Marinette.

-

-

           The Justice League had been stunned when they learned that the masked hero Ladybug who was protecting Paris in an adorable bright red suit, who seemed to be made of sunshine, rainbows, and happiness was Batman’s daughter. Like so stunned that as soon as they saw her secret Identity of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and her takedown of monsters twelve times her size; one or two (or twelve) asked Superman to take a DNA test too. Because Bruce Wayne wasn’t the only black-haired Superhero around, and you know things happen.

           …Batman hadn’t been happy when Oracle alerted him that someone in the Watch Tower was running his daughter’s DNA against Superman’s.

“How sure are we?” Hal Jordan asked. “The DNA results never came back. How do we know she’s not Big S’s?”

           The main members of the Justice League were waiting for Batman and his family to arrive. Then they were would officially be introduced to the hero Ladybug.

           Superman glared, “Stop it. Batman already brought out the kryptonite the last time you mentioned it.”

           Wonder man nodded, “Her civilian self is the spitting image of Bruce.”

“All of his kids have dark hair and light eyes,” The Flash reminded them. “One of like seven or twelve, or however many he has now, we know for sure is his.”

“They are all his,” Black Canary stated with a growl. She and Oliver had adopted Roy when he was young but that didn’t make the boy any less hers.

           Just then the light of the zeta beam sounded and Batman and Ladybug appeared in the room. The clear contrast between the two was startling.

           The Dark, brooding, Knight of Gotham dressed in all black with a look on his face that could’ve made Superman wince in fear. Ladybug, dressed in bright red, with a big, cheerful, smile on her face and large blue eyes that looked positively mesmerized by the heroes.

“I brought cookies,” The small girl chirped as she motioned to the goodies in her hands. “And apple pie! It’s a family recipe. I made them myself. I really hope you like them.”

           Batman glared worsen to the point where a few Justice League members feared for their lives. The message was clear; they’d like them. Or else.

“I’m sure they’re wonderful,” Diana smiled. “Come on, let me show you where we’ll be meeting.

           Marinette tried not to stare in awe at her favorite superhero. “I also brought Vegan. And gluten-free cookies. I wanted to make sure everyone could get some.” She said as she was led away.

           The world-renowned heroes visibly cooed at the young hero. She was the most adorable thing they’d ever laid eyes on.

           The Flash laughed, “What did you bring, Bats?”

“Death,” Batman growled as stalked after his daughter.

           Cyborg swallowed hard. “I’m not saying you’re right,” He told Hal and Barry. “I’m saying for this type of situation; Maury is classier than Jerry Springer.”

           Superman groaned. They were going to get him killed.

“Apple pie!” The flash said. “She brought Apple, Clark; it’s a sign from the gods.”

           Ladybug briefing them on her hero journey had been riveting. The Justice League had always been aware of Ladybug's existence. Once aware of her, Diana had told them all the history of the Miraculous and how her own mother used to be one of the users. Ladybug, with Chat Noir for a time, handled herself and protected the city well. They saw no reason to interfere. The Justice League had strict rules of interfering with another’s heroes’ turf. They figured if Ladybug needs help, the hero would call on them. They never knew she was a child.

           Her age bothered them.

“She can’t protect the city,” Aquaman said. “We’ll need to step in.”

“Excuse me,” Marinette said.

           The Flash nodded, “We’ll need to run Intel. I’ll have Vibe take a look at things.”

“Wait! I don’t think you-” Marinette started but was cut off.

“The magic is ancient and powerful,” Hawkman interrupted. “We should call Constantine. Or Doctor Fate perhaps.”

           Ladybug shook her head, “That wouldn’t be a good idea!”

           Green Lantern waved her off, “It’s fine, kid. We’ll handle it. While we’re at it; consider joining Young Justice or Teen Titans. Get you some training before you call yourself a real hero. Until then stick with the little league team.”

           Marinette froze. What did he just say? White-hot anger coursed through her veins.

           And to think she always dreamed of meeting the Justice League; of standing face to face with the heroes after having proven herself; proven that she was just as much of a superhero as they. However, Marinette knew she was already a hero. And no one would tell her otherwise.

           The round went to Santa. But Marinette would have her due.

           Fuck Santa!

Superman said, “We’ll start having unplaced league members scouting the area. They’ll notify us at the first sign of Hawkmoth.”

“ENOUGH!” Marinette yelled. She growled at the heroes. “Who the hell do you think you are?” The silence that followed that question was deafening. “You know nothing of Hawkmoth; saw nothing of what I’ve been through. There is a reason I never called in the league. Superpowered individuals still have emotions; still anger. He can turn any of you into akumas. Get inside your heads; learn who you really are. You’ll be a toy for him. Batman brought me here to meet you; not for you to pretend you know how to do my job.”

           She glared at the room and then zeroed in on the Green Lantern. Within seconds, Ladybug had yanked him out of his seat, pulled the ring off his finger, and held by his collar as the man detransformed. “Real Hero? You think I’m not a real hero? I’ve fought monsters nightmares couldn’t even begin to fathom. You want to see what I’m capable of, Glow Stick? How about I take you to the nearest training room and see if you bleed green?”

           Batman stood up, “My team will be running point on the Paris situation; following Ladybug lead. You’ll refrain from entering the city of Paris until further notice. That is all.” He looked at his daughter and had to fight to keep the smile off his face. “Ladybug let Green Lantern go, and give him back his ring.”

           Ladybug huffed, “I’ll give him back his ring. And then I want ten minutes alone with him.”

           Hal gulped.

“No,” Batman said. “We must leave. You have to get ready for Winter break. Next time.”

           Ladybug glared and then dropped the hero on the ground. “Next time,” She promised.

           Then swiftly the father and daughter duo departed.

           Once the two were gone, Wonder Woman chuckled, “Anyone else want to question Ladybug’s Paternity. Anyone?”

           Barry had to fight the shivers that went through him. Ladybug had Batman’s glare and knew how to use it. “Nope. Never again.”

-

-

           Marinette’s first night in Gotham was memorable. The entire bat family had been waiting for Marinette when she arrived; Bruce, Alfred, Kate, Dick, Barbara, Jason, Cassandra, Tim, Stephanie, Luke, and Damian. Alfred, the man her brothers had deemed their grandfather, had welcomed her with open arms and a dinner that was more like a feast than a simple meal.

           On the outside, Wayne manor looked like any home in the neighborhood; quiet, idealistic, and seemingly perfect.

           On the inside, as soon as Bruce and Alfred stepped away for a moment, her siblings took her to the Batcave. It was as grand as she always imagined. Then someone (Tim) brought out lightsabers.

           Marinette thought it was a fancy version of the toy she used to love so much as a kid; her only complaint was that the plastic swords only came in green, red and the occasional blue. She really wanted a pink one and had put it on her Christmas list for two years straight.

           She pressed the button, only for the sword handle to heat up, and a pink laser rises out of it. “Tim?”

“Yeah?”

“…This is a real lightsaber,” The heat from the sword threated to burn or hand a little. Or worse. She’d seen all the movies. She knew how this usually ended up.

“Yep.”

           Marinette nodded slowly. Because what the heck.

“Just go with it,” Luke shrugged. “Just-just go with it.” He sounded like a defeated man. A tired one at that.

“Don’t be like that!” Dick smiled, “Family bond time is the best time.”

“Jedi versus Sith?” Marinette just asked.

           Tim pointed a bright gold lightsaber at her, “Jedi versus Sith.”

           Marinette looked around at the different colored and very, very dangerous lightsabers. There was no way this could possibly go well. And with the way her Kate, aka Batwoman, was smirking there was no way Alfred would consider her proper adult supervision. Someone was going to lose a hand. Or die. Most likely both.

           But she wouldn’t back down. This was more or less her eight-year-old self’s dream. It was also likely to get her killed.

           …Marinette would take those odds.

“What team am I on?” She asked.

           Cassandra shook her head, “Up to you. Good versus is a chose; just a game though,” She cast Stern looks at Jason, Tim, and Damian, who now sported black robes, clearly, by the Darth Maul make up that had somehow appeared on Damian’s face, were clearly Sith Lords.

           Santa thought this would scare her. That she would be cowed into submission. Finally admit defeat. Well, Marinette only had one thing to say to that. Two things actually.

“Give in to the dark side, sister,” Damian ordered her. His lightsaber was red and had two sides to it much like the character he matched.

           Marinette got into a fighting stance, “Not today.”

           And Fuck Santa.

           …

           Alfred and Bruce were not happy when they finally located the children.

           Or the fact that someone had to get their hand reattached.

--

--

           It was two to two. Christmas day had arrived. Marinette had expected the worst; had geared up for the worst.

           Nothing happened.

           Marinette spent the day with her family.

           Her parents had even arrived from Paris on the day before Christmas eve.

           They shared presents. They sang songs. The entire family was together. It snowed outside. She and all of her siblings had a snowball fight while her parents and Alfred watched from the porch.

           It was a perfect Christmas day.

           Except for one thing…

           Marinette knew the truth.

           The perfect day was the result of one thing…

           Santa was preparing too. He didn’t back down. The fight wasn’t over yet. He was too busy to mess with her on Christmas Eve or Christmas. Nevertheless, that didn’t mean anything.

           Everyone knew the Holiday season didn’t officially end until January 1st.

           After New Year’s eve.

           That was the final round.

           The match to end all matches.

           On New Years’ Eve, it would be war.

-

-

           Roy wore a tailored tux as he walked her down the carpet, passed the flashing lights of the paparazzi.

Marinette never thought she’d fight the most battle of her life in a ballgown. It was a jaw-dropping, off the shoulder, floor length silver dress with lacy unique floral accents. Her hair was in a side-braid with small forget-me-nots on top of her hair like a crown.

            It was her battle armor, and she was ready for anything.

           It was a promise, she made to herself.

           …

           Okay so it turns out, Marinette lied to herself.

           She wasn’t ready for anything. She did not stand a chance against Santa. He was a jerk. And she was six-second from throwing in the towel and running off crying.

           Marinette had known exactly who was attending the ball. She had memorized every guest on the list. Trying to figure out exactly what the fat guy who throws out her. As soon as she saw exactly which celebrities were coming. She knew.

           The first punch had been the man ten-year-old Marinette swore she was going marry. Harry freaking Styles.

           But Marinette had prepared herself.  It would be a quick conversation and then she wouldn’t speak to him for the rest of the night.

           When she met the superstar, Marinette had smiled and laughed; had a good conversation, wasn’t even awkward at all. She wasn’t the overly One Direction obsessed 10-year-old anymore.

           It was a hard hit, and the best conversation of her life, but Marinette didn’t go down.

           Santa’s next move was a cheap shot, and she stumbled.

           Marinette had been trying to find a quiet place to think for herself so could get strengthen up a bit but, to avoid one of her brothers (Dick), she collided straight into Nick Jonas and fell on her butt.

           She hadn’t even realized it at first as he helped her up.

“Thank you,” Marinette said kindly, as she brushed off her dress. When she looked up and saw exactly who had collided with, her face turned a bright red. “You’re Nick Jonas,” She squeaked; literally squeaked. She wanted to die.

           Nick Jonas. She loved Nick Jonas. She listen to all his songs; even his old Jonas Brothers ones. She had always wanted to meet the singer; she had dreamed about it.

“Yeah,” Nick smiled. “You alright.”

           No. Marinette was not alright.

           Still, she chirped a quick, “I’m fine.” And introduced herself.

           Then he said, “Love your dress.”

“I made it! I can make you one!” Slipped out before she could stop it.        

           He just laughed though, “How about a suit instead?”

           Yeah, so that happened.

           And the night just got worse from there.

           …

           Santa gave her a combo hit; worthy of a champion.

           Not many knew but Marinette was a huge Harry Potter fangirl. Hermione Granger was her all-time favorite. She was a hardcore Harmony shipper; Harry/Hermione forever.

           Tim knew it though. He was a big-time fan as well. And he thought it would be a great idea to introduce Marinette to the actress who played her favorite character; Emma Watson.

           It was not a good idea. At all.

The first words out of Marinette’s mouth upon seeing Emma Watson were literally, “It's leviOsa, not levioSA!”

And it was at the point that Marinette just wanted to call it a night.

Emma had laughed it off, promising she got it all the time.

…

Marinette met Chris Hemsworth and just wouldn’t stop giggling.

Stephanie had to pull her away.

It was then that she knew Santa had her on the ropes.

…

She met Big Time Rush.

The boy band had become internally famous over the last few years. Not as big as One Direction but they still had their dedicated fans. Marinette was one of them

Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, and Logan Mitchell. They were all eighteen

It should’ve have been easy. She liked their band but not nearly as much as she liked Harry Styles, or Emma Watson, Or Chris Hemsworth.

Still, she hadn’t seen James asking her to dance coming.

However, Marinette had remained calm and cool.

It’s a pity, she was still such a klutz.

Suffice to say, Marinette wouldn’t be listening to Big Time Rush for a while. And James Diamond wouldn’t be asking strange girls to dance any time soon.

Santa gave her a punch right in the face.

…

She ran into Tom Holland the exact moment she got the hiccups. He did his best to help her get rid of them

…

Marinette had just stuffed an entire cupcake in her mouth when she realized Jennifer Lawrence was standing next to her. It wasn’t too bad. As the blond did the same thing a second later.

…

She pointed at Johnny Depp and said, “Jack Sparrow. You’re Jack Sparrow. Oh my god!!!”

           To which he replied, “Captain Jack Sparrow.”

           …

           Suffice to say, Santa didn’t have Marinette on the robes anymore.

           No, Marinette was on the floor; waiting for the referee to call it.

           …

           It was an hour until the official New Year. Fifteen minutes until Marinette was supposed to perform. She was backstage. Everyone was waiting for her. She promised Tim.

And she found that she just couldn’t do it.

           The entire night was too much.

           It was all too much.

           It was over.

           She had lost.

“Rough night?” Roy, her date and pretend boyfriend asked.

           Marinette was sitting on a chair, her face in her hands, “You have no idea.”

           Roy sat next to her, “Pretty exciting though right?” He didn’t get an answer. “Tim said you met Emma Watson, that had to be awesome.”

“It was embarrassing.”

           Roy frowned, “Sabine told me you used to dress up as Hermione Granger all time. You’re saying meeting the Queen herself wasn’t even a little cool?”

           Yeah, it had been amazing to meet her in person. “A little cool.”

           Roy chuckled, “You met Harry Styles,” He reminded. “And from your blond bestie told me; my only real competition.”

           Marinette giggled. “That had been… awesome.” And everything.

“You met Chris Hemsworth,” He added. “Tom Holland, Big Time Rush, and a bunch of other celebs that I’ve been told you were huge fans of. Yeah, you were a little embarrassed.” He shook his head. “But I don’t get it; I’d be so psyched right now if I were you. So why aren’t you.”

           Marinette paused.

           Why wasn’t she?

           Marinette had met people she never even dared to really hope she’d ever meet one day. She wore the most beautiful dress in her entire life; danced with Roy Queen and James Diamond. Joked with Harry Styles. Talked Emma Watson the actress who played the character she loved most out of all the books, tv shows, and movies she’d ever loved.

           It was all a matter of perspective really. Marinette was so focused on the bad, she never even realized just how great it was. Santa had thrown the worst at her but was still there. She hadn’t run back to Wayne Manor no matter how much she had wanted to. She stayed strong.

           At one point, she knew for certain that she wouldn’t just surrender; after the Chris Hemsworth incident. If Santa wanted to win, he was going to have to knock her out.

“Thanks, Roy,” She said. “I couldn’t wish for a better date.”

           It was the most amazing night of her life.

           And no one was going to make her feel otherwise.

           Marinette stood up, determination on her face.

           She had a song to sing.

           …

           Marinette stood on stage. The crowd looked up at her. Her hands were shaking. Her mouth felt dry. The lights were near blinding.  She had changed the song at the last minute. The music was coming from her phone anyway.

           Marinette knew the lyrics to the song by heart; had sung it a thousand times in her room to herself.

           She could do this.

I will do this, Marinette swore.

           The music started. It was her favorite song. And Marinette was going to sing it so loudly, so proudly; they could hear her in the North Pole.

“What if I told you

It was all meant to be

Would you believe me

Would you agree

It's almost that feelin'

That we've met before

So tell me that you don't think I'm crazy

When I tell you love has come and now.”

           She was doing it. Marinette was really doing it. She always had a good voice. She had taken singing lessons for a long time. And her teachers always praised her talent. But after one terrible incident, she never thought she’d ever get on stage and sing in front of anyone again.

           But there she was.

“A moment like this

Some people wait a lifetime

For a moment like this

Some people search forever…

           Honestly, Marinette could fall right on her face and it would stop the euphoric feeling coursing through. This was her victory song.

           Jolly Saint Nick had thrown at her more than she ever thought she could take. But she was still standing.

           And as long as she was, the big red guy would never win.

For that one special kiss

Oh, I can't believe it's happening to me

Some people wait a lifetime

For a moment like this…”

The music faded. The applause from the audience roared.

…

Marinette and Roy slow danced to something my Celine Dion neither could recognize. The New Year was less than two minutes away.

“You’re looking a lot better,” Roy smirked. He knew he was good at Pep talks to matter what Artemis said.

“I feel better,” Marinette admitted. “It’s been an awesome few weeks.”

“Yeah?” Roy asked as he twirled her around.

           Marinette nodded, “Nearly Every. One. Of. My. Christmas wishes came true.” She tried not to growl. Positive outlook after.

“Santa must be out to get you.”

           Marinette looked up at Roy with appreciation, “You have no idea.”

“Anything he didn’t get to?” The redhead asked. “Something you can do for yourself first?”

“Countdown to New Years in 10!”

           Marinette thought about it for a second but she realized there was. There was one more thing on her list, that she added at the very beginning of Christmas.

“Yeah, there is.” She said. “Do you want to kiss me.”

           Roy nodded earnestly.

           The crowd counted down. “7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1” And then Marinette kissed Roy.

           Balloons came from above. Everyone cheered. But Marinette kept kissing Roy.

           She always wanted a New Year’s kiss.

           Take that and stick it up your chimney, Santa.

           Marinette was officially the winner.

           Nevertheless, there was always next year.

           But for now, fuck Santa!

[moonflower-31]

I Won’t Forget You - Spencer Reid x Reader

Masterlist 

Part 26  

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader 

A/N: Sorry it’s late. Again. Technical difficulties :/ 

Warnings: None 

Tags: @dra-reid, @eevee0722, @ceeellewrites, @anotherr-fine-mess, @ssahoodrathotchner, @egg-boy03, @helena-way07, @l0ve-0f-my-life, @serendipity-imagines, @kaelyn-lobrutto24, @thatsonezesty13, @bihoeofmanyfandoms 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe 

Spencer raised an eyebrow as Garcia came into the room with her open laptop in her hands. She immediately placed the grey slab on the desk and began typing rapidly. 

"W-what do you mean? What do you have?" Spencer asked, rushing over towards Garcia's side to see what she intended to show him. 

"I've been keeping track of all the surveillance cameras in the surrounding tri-state area. And get this; just an hour ago, I got this glimpse of a very Peter-y looking guy up in Baltimore on one of their traffic cams. He got out of the city but he's headed back here. His license plate wasn't in his name, but he was driving a black chevy truck. I've put it out on the APB so the police can bring him in if they find that car." Garcia shows, turning the laptop towards Spencer to show him the footage. 

On the screen, sure enough Peter was there in what was a chevy truck and with a baseball cap and a dirty flannel. He seemed to be on the phone. Whoever he was on the phone with obviously got on Peter’s nerves, as over the ten seconds of video where he was in the view of the camera, he yelled into it before tossing it out his window. 

Spencer widened his eyes and began to stumble over his words. "D-do we know if that was a-a disposable?" He asks. Garcia looks up at him and shakes her head. 

"I don't know his true personal number so I can't track and see if it's called any numbers repeatedly." She apologizes. Spencer curses under his breath and rubs his face tiredly. 

"I… I guess I'll have to ask (Y/N) when we get back if her phone records still exist from before she abandoned her old life. Maybe we can check the numbers he used to stalk her with. If any of them have any recent repeated calls we need to bring them in for questioning." Spencer insists, pacing through the room instead of getting anywhere on the geographical profile. 

Garcia nodded. "I'll do the best I can for now Jr. G Man." She says, closing her computer and then clicking her heels as she left the room to get back to her temporary office. Spencer sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took an exhausted sip of the coffee JJ had given him. He watched Garcia go, nothing but sleep weighing on his eyelids.

All he could think of was you. But unfortunately, they had a case. And the case came first. 

But that didn't mean Spencer wouldn't be willing to drop everything he was doing to drop kick Peter onto his ass multiple times if he decided to show himself. 

Spencer grabbed the small box he had of pins and got back to work, hoping sincerely that you were okay back at home. 

It wasn't long after he finished that JJ and Emily came back from investigating the main dump site, and came back to inform him of the new findings. 

"Another body? Where?" He asked, turning his head towards Emily as he picked up another obnoxiously red pin. 

"9 miles from here. It fits the distance, except it was 3 miles more than the normal 6-7. What made him change?" She asked. 

"Maybe someone saw him abduct this girl and he drove farther to prevent this murder being tied to the others?" JJ asked. 

The two women continued talking while Spencer added the pin and began to look over the map. He wasn't really listening. Why was he so distracted? He never usually had this much trouble, especially when you were here. 

His mind was going blank as he looked over the blending blurs of the map. He was developing one of those headaches again. The colors on the map all began to blur together and he couldn't make any of them out. He grunted in frustration and gripped the side of his head from the sudden onslaught of pain. 

"Dammit…" he exhaled as he narrowly placed the box of pins yet again in the marker tray of the map. 

"Hey… you okay there Reid?" Emily asked, her voice changing to express her concern. JJ wasn't too far behind her, her voice soft and motherly. 

"Yeah, you've been kind of out of it since we left." 

Spencer shook his head. "I'm fine, alright? Just… another one of my headaches. Garcia's news didn't really help anything." He grumbled. 

"News? About what?" Emily spoke up, putting her pen against her hand. She adjusted in her seat, as if preparing herself for whatever news Garcia had given him. 

Spencer groaned and rubbed the front of his head, his fingers digging into his scalp. "She said she found traffic surveillance footage of Peter in South Baltimore. He wore a… pretty pathetic disguise? Like… a Yankees cap and a stained flannel hiding some sort of beer company t-shirt. The only letters I could come up with from the exposed fabric were C, D, and B. The B ended up standing for beer when he moved and exposed more of the shirt-" he was pacing now without realizing, and stopped himself once he noticed. 

JJ looked towards Emily for a moment, then back at Spencer waringly. "Do we know for sure where he is?" She asked. "He could be in Quantico by now if this footage isn't too old." JJ warned. 

Spencer’s eyes widened. "No… no, no, no… He… Morgan’s at home. He doesn't know my apartment… she's safe…" he began to rant, more to himself than to the women. 

Emily sighed and stood up. "Reid, I think you need to take a break." 

Spencer looked up from the sudden change, his eyes and pupils as wide as saucers. "What?" He breathed. 

"A break. You know, take a walk. Read a book or 16. Call her maybe." Emily suggested, her shoulders rising with her last one.  

Spencer looked back down to the ground for a moment, finally his nerves deciding to take a break from causing him so much distress. "Maybe… maybe I will…" 

Emily smiles down at him, but unfortunately was a little too soon. 

"But only after we find this unsub. Hotch wouldn't want any of us to slack off. Especially with two of our team members on leave." Spencer insisted. Emily sighed and looked to JJ for help. The blond just shrugged and gave her a smile. One that most definitely said 'Well, we tried.' 

"Well… Good luck then Reid. Don't overwork yourself though, okay? If you do I'm telling (Y/N) myself." Emily teasingly threatens. 

Spencer chuckled. "You wouldn't. She hasn't told me anything regarding overworking myself before." 

JJ grinned. "Doesn't mean she won't." 

○●♡●○ 

A few hours passed and Arthur had to leave. Your mother would be tracking him by cell phone before he knew it, and he didn't want to risk giving your mother anymore 'product' to sell to Peter. You understood, and wished him well as he went off, of course not without Morgan giving him a talk about trying to use a disposable from now on. 

But for now, you were doing the dishes as you listened to Beethoven and tried to distract yourself from Derek's obnoxious snoring. Yes, he had decided to catch up on sleep while he was with you. But you didn't blame him. There wasn't much to do. So you settled on chores while Spencer’s favorite composer played over the speakers of your cracked I-phone (Or Samsung). 

You hummed along with the familiar tune and scrubbed at the ceramic plates Spencer had in the sink. It was a miracle they were even used at all, given the amount of paper plates you had found and had thrown away when you first actually got to sleep in the apartment. It seemed so long ago since he first brought you here. He hardly ever used his flatware and relied on the 'Great value' brand to supply him with things in which to put food on to eat. But thankfully, you had been slowly getting him brought back to the light side of the force. But it was an uphill battle for sure. 

"Why do I have to use them? They're easily breakable, (Y/N). The plates I buy are biodegradable." Spencer had grumbled as you insisted on putting the food you had made on one of his ceramic plates. 

You had playfully rolled your eyes. "Because! You wouldn't have to buy the 'biodegradable stuff' if you used plates you could wash instead. Problem solved." 

Spencer had then replied with a very childish and frustrated stuck out tongue and an annoyed huff that had sent you and your aching insides into a fit of laughter. 

The memory brought a smile to your face, causing you to put the plate down so as to not drop it into the sink from how far you had it held in the air. (If you dropped it, he'd really get after you about the paper plates) 

As you continued to wash the dishes, your mind began to travel back to Spencer. You wondered what he was up to. What he was thinking about. Did he think of you? If he did, did he think of you the way you did him? 

A sigh released itself from your lungs, letting your chest fall. The dance you had invited Spencer to was still in four months. Maybe then would be your next chance to tell him how you felt. But with that long of a wait, you didn't think you could do it. You wanted him to know. Even if you ended up being hurt in the end, you wanted desperately to tell him. Unfortunately, cookies and killers were successful at pushing your opportunities away. 

You finished the last dish; Spencer didn't have any more than 6 dishes in his sink due to it only being the two of you. Derek always washed his dish when it was cleared. You turned the sink off and quickly dried your hands with the dish towel on the oven handle. Once the dishes were all in the dishwasher, you began to wander back into the living room. 

You had done what laundry there was to do and Derek wasn't due to wake up for another 2 hours. He had specifically asked you to wake him up when it was 6:30 pm. So you decided that since you had virtually nothing else to do, you'd take a nap. You'd wake up at the same time you were set to wake up Morgan, and then you'd both be rested. 

You turned off all the lights and closed the curtains for a dimmer light. You then grabbed the blanket Spencer had recently been keeping on the back of the couch and curled up in it. You didn't want to head into Spencer’s room and bother Derek just to borrow one of Spencer’s hoodies. No matter how much you really did want to steal one. 

You settled in on the couch, and closed your eyes, letting your body begin to rest more and more with each inspiration and expiration. 

When 6:30 hit, and Derek had somehow managed to wake himself up without your assistance, he groggily got up to go check on you. 

"Hey, Pretty Girl, what happened with you waking me up, huh?" He asks you, rubbing his eyes with his hand. He expected an answer, but instead heard the sudden movement of fabric and the thud of something hitting the coffee table. He narrowed his eyes and looked down at you, and found you asleep. However, it was not peaceful. 

Your leg kept trembling, almost kicking the coffee table as the rest of you shook in terror. You mumbled incoherent pleas under your breath, causing Morgan to panic. He was afraid this would happen. 

"H-hey, kid," he started, gently putting a hand on your shoulder to slowly get you awake without alarming you. He gently shook you, but you proved to be unwakeable. So he took in a deep breath before he shook you a bit harder, calling your name a little louder. "(Y/N), hey, come on kid it's just a nightmare-" 

You finally woke, heavy breathing and a jolt forward followed by a violent shaking came afterwards. You hated this. Even after having just woke up. You felt terrified. Fear was coursing through you and you had no way out of it. 

You whimpered and curled up in the corner of the couch, unable to calm your racing heart or your uncontrollable breathing that came in harsh sobs. 

Derek felt his eyebrows tilt as he looked at you. "Kid I… " he sighed, looking at you pitifully. You and him both were in the same boat. He had been sleeping more often to escape the look in Peter’s eyes he was reminded of whenever he saw you. But he knew you needed him, that was why he had been cutting back on his sleeping. It wasn't healthy anyways. 

"C-call Spencer…" you whispered softly, hugging your knees. 

Derek raised a confused eyebrow and got a little closer to your reserved form. "What'd you say?" He asked, unsure of what you actually said. 

"P-please…" you spoke up a little louder, taking a deep breath as you began your request. "C-call Reid…" 

Derek didn't know how Spencer was supposed to help, but he didn't want to sit by when you clearly needed the genius. 

He nodded and grabbed his phone from his pocket, dialing Reid's number. He pressed the phone to his ear, whispering pleas for Spencer to pick up the phone. He reached over and gave you the option of holding his hand, to which you thankfully accepted. You squeezed his hand for dear life, just wanting to hear Spencer’s voice and hear him recall one of the many poems he'd read to calm your mind. 

Meanwhile, Spencer was currently standing beside JJ, feeling his phone buzz as Hotch tried to deliver the profile. Spencer had given his expertise already, and just wanted to see who was calling him. He'd already been on high alert in case it was you. And no amount of convincing himself to focus on work was helping. 

"Please have all of your available officers out looking for this unsub, and warn women of his type around the neighborhood and in the kill zone." Hotch began to warn. Spencer’s phone continued to buzz, causing the room to turn their eyes towards him. He blushed softly and flashed Hotch a desperate look. He sighed, but nodded. 

Spencer nodded back in rushed thanks before muttering his apologies and leaving the main room to answer his phone. 

Once outside, he picked up his phone and answered.  

"Sorry, we're in the middle of delivering the profile, so I was a little caught up. How is she?" Spencer asked. 

"Reid, she's… I don't know…" Derek replied, wishing he could hug you and soak up all your pain. He took the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker. "She just woke up from another nightmare. She told me to call you." 

You look towards Morgan, gesturing to see if you could take the phone. He nodded, still never letting go of your hand. 

"S-spence?" You whispered into the phone. 

"Hey…" he replied calmly. "Are you okay?"  

Instant relief washed over you. Not completely instant and overwhelming, but you suddenly felt a rush feeling of being protected and loved. Even if Spencer didn't know it yet. 

You sniffled. "H-honestly? No. I'm the furthest from okay." You wiped your eyes of incoming tears, exhaling sharply so as to not encourage more sobbing. 

Spencer felt his heart ache from hearing you cry. He wished he were home with you. So it wasn't just you and Derek. Strangely, after that thought, a misplaced thought of jealousy panged his heart. Seriously? This wasn't the time to be jealous of his best friend for getting to spend extra time with the girl he loved who he hadn't gotten enough courage to confess to yet. He supposed he was just worried that when he'd be ready to tell you, you wouldn't feel the same anymore. 

"Is there anything I can do to help? I still have all of Edgar Allan Poe's works memorized if you need me to recite one." He offers. The idea brings a slight, and small smile to your face. 

Derek's face lit up at the arrival of said smile, showing off his own signature one. 

"Please? S-spence I don't want to i-intrude on the c-case but-" you began to ramble and try to explain. 

"Hey, it's okay. Hotch cleared me to come take this call. You're my top priority right now. Not the case, not the profile, you." Spencer assured, smiling genuinely as he even was able to hear your voice. 

You sighed gently, and let your mind relax for a moment. "O-okay… but y-you pick this time." You replied. Spencer replied in kind. 

"Sure, (Y/N/N). He answered. "How about The Raven this time? It's one of his most well known works, and it surprises me you haven't asked me to read it yet." 

You can feel your nerves slowing down and relaxing as you let out a soft giggle. "S-sure. But you know that's because you prefer the obscure ones." 

Spencer rolled his eyes teasingly, as if you could see them. Derek gave you a reassuring look, and you nodded, letting him sit back for a moment as Spencer Reid began to read yet again another poem to you to calm the raging storm of emotions stirred from your nightmares. 

Spencer cleared his throat teasingly before he began, pulling a slight laugh from you. "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore--while I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping…" 

Just as it was each and every time he did this for you, it calmed every part of you to hear his voice alter somewhat to fix the tone of the poem. To hear the way the words rolled off his tongue even without the poem in his hands. 

You were asleep before he could even finish the poem. But that didn't matter to him. He just finished the poem and sighed to himself. 

"Is she asleep?" Spencer asked softly.  

"Yep. Out like a light." Morgan says, readjusting the blanket over you. 

"Good. Just… call me if she needs anything else. I should be able to answer. If not text Hotch for me." Spencer expressed. 

If only he could be there to see your beautiful face asleep on his couch. Maybe even with your head on his chest. To hold you close. To hear your gentle breathing in and out. 

Derek got to do that. 

Spencer couldn't help the jealousy he felt in his heart. Derek could get any girl he wanted. Even you. But Spencer's heart couldn't help protesting that you were supposed to be his. He wanted you to be his. His life. His love. His Darling. Well...

Only time will tell if that will ever change. 

[enbies-and-felonies]

Here Comes the Sun (And I Say, it’s Alright)

The second part in the “Finding Home” series!! (pt one)

AO3 LINK

taglist, just ask to be added or removed: @barrel-of-cat-mituna @completekeefitztrash @tiergan-andrin-alenefar @lemontarto @hershis-kotlc @genesiscaveat @everything-else-and-mars @juline-dizznee @chaotic-basics @an-absolute-travesty @classyfunnyquotesmuffin7 @iamstealingyourgenderaswespeak @itstiger720 @introvertedscarecrow @sunset-telepath @an-idiot-in-a-trenchcoat @cowboypossume @anaccidentwaitingtohappen @sofia-not-sophie @fire-sapphics @dr-alan-grant @real-smooth @juline-dizznee

Warnings: some swearing

Summary: Keefe meets Sammy’s moms (they love him).

Keefe looked down at the small boy who walked beside him, gently swinging his hand back and forth and humming. Sammy was a cute boy with wavy, slightly wispy, light brown hair that reached below his ears and hung in his eyes, causing him to pause every so often in order to brush it away before returning to whatever he had been doing before. He had freckles covering his face and spreading lightly over his neck, and he was missing one of his front teeth. Keefe smiled; Sammy also had the tendency to walk with little hops, or to skip and gallop. It was kind of endearing.

"Mr. Keefe?" The young boy abruptly stopped and peered up at Keefe, swiping at his hair with a thoughtful expression that seemed the wrong fit for his round face. Keefe was struck all at once by the vividness of green in his eyes.

"Yeah kiddo?" How did people normally refer to kids??

"You don't need to worry. My moms- my moms are nice and- and- and you know I'm pretty sure they will love you. I love you Mr. Keefe, and my moms will love you. You fixed my knee!" Apparent mission accomplished, Sammy turned away and started off, humming again under his breath.

Keefe's throat got thick, but he just smiled and nodded, too overcome by the pure emotions rolling off of Sammy to answer. How could one person hold so much hope and joy?? How could this kid, after knowing him for barely seven minutes, already feel such overwhelming love and fondness for him?

It knocked the air out of his chest.

"Alright, sure Sammy." His voice was tight with emotion, but he smiled anyways. The kid was alright.

"Hello, my name's Keefe." He flashed his most charming smile and tried to ignore the thumping of his heart. it's FINE, he just looks like he kidnapped their kid. Again, FINE-

"Hello Keefe! I see you've met Sammy; Thanks for finding us." The taller of the two women in front of him gave a teasing smile at Sammy, "Mischief maker." He giggled up at her and she scrunched her nose back.

She had light brown skin and her curly umber hair, which was the length of her chin, was pulled half-up into a ponytail. Her eyes were smiling when she turned them back to Keefe, and although his heart was stilling going faster than a rabbit's, he smiled cheekily back.

"I'm Maren Sauveterre, but if you even think of calling me Mrs. I'll set Sammy on you, y'hear?" Her stern words were offset by the crows-feet at the corners of her eyes and the lilting laugh that escaped. "Anyway, this is my wife, Aden."

Keefe glanced over at the muscular red-haired woman beside Maren. Despite being shorter than Maren, which actually wasn't saying much since Maren seemed to tower over everything, Aden was an imposing figure and Keefe had to remind himself to steady his breathing. At least Maren didn't seem to have a problem with his accidental kidnapping of their kid, and if worst came to worst she would probably stop her wife from beating him up.

Aden raised an eyebrow and grinned, putting her hand out for him to shake. He could do that, shaking hands was normal, it was a normal thing and he wasn't an elf and if he didn't impress her she wasn't going to kill him-

Taking her hand with what might be a tighter grip than necessary -hadn't he always been told a firm handshake was a good first impression?- Keefe gave a quick nod. Her feelings were a strong barrage of confidence, amusement, affection at Maren and Sammy.

"Good grip, son." And then Aden was smiling and turning to Maren; "You'll have to be careful with this one, Love, he's got spirit."

Keefe felt slightly relieved when he looked her over again and realized she was someone who would likely return his banter, and let an easy smirk pull at his lips.

"Yes ma'am." He responded with a small wink, and Aden burst into laughter.

He was about to say something again when Sammy tugged at the corner of her shirt and whispered up at her "Mom, mom I gotta tell you something." 

Aden quickly knelt down and tipped her head so Sammy could whisper into it, "What's up button?"

Meanwhile Maren seemed to be studying Keefe, whose heart had begun racing again. What had happened to the numbness from before?

"When was the last time you ate, or had a place to shower?" Her eyes were calculating, but not unkind, and Keefe felt his cheeks flush. He must smell worse than those selkie skins he'd once had to clean Fintan's capes with.

"I think I ate dinner last night, and the last time I showered... was longer than I care to remember." He was lying, and his heart skipped three beats. He'd had a small lunch... three days ago. Oh. That wasn't good.

"Well," Aden straightened up and crossed her arms (if Keefe hadn't already pegged her as a kindred sarcastic soul, his anxiety would have spiked again), "Sammy says you healed his knee, so I guess you're coming to our place for dinner."

"I-" What. What the fuck was the protocol for that??? Keefe did NOT have the emotional stability for- "Sure." The smirk convinced them, even if it didn't reassure him at all.

On the way to their house, Keefe learned a few things. First, that Maren might be tall as hell, and Aden muscular and *intimidating* in a way that almost made Keefe second guess his initial 'smart-ass who enjoys banter' assumption about her, but they were both kind and welcoming in a way that burned his throat.

Aden swung Sammy up onto her shoulders and called Maren 'Love' and teased them both with a fond smile just hiding on her lips, and Maren rolled her eyes and tried to tickle her side before breaking out into her bell-like laughter. Maren wore a strawberry shirt and light jean overalls that reached her mid-thighs. On her ears were strawberry earrings, and Keefe got the feeling that that was kind of her vibe. He liked it. 

Aden had her flaming red hair in a set of ornate braids twisted up to lay against the nape of her neck, side bangs hanging on either side of her face. Her outfit was a simple pair of black jean shorts, a grey tank-top, and a deep red flannel (that's what he remembered Sophie calling it at least, and he didn't dwell on it because the thought kind of stung) tied around her waist. Keefe approved of both their outfits; must be the gay.

(Another sentence Sophie had said. He really needed to stop thinking about his friends.)

It was... nice, to walk with them and not feel like there were these expectations that he had to live up to. Aden and Maren clearly adored each other, and Sammy, and they never for a moment made him feel like he was "other". Sammy rambled about bees -something about them not having lungs- and Aden complimented his knowledge while Maren smiled at the both of them, glancing at Keefe as if to say "See them? They're the loves of my life."

And Keefe could. He could see the way they fit together, the way they belonged, each, together. They fit together like families rarely did, in Keefe's opinion, and it made him ache. He had that with his friends, and now-

Now it was better not to think about it.

"C'mon Mister Keefe!!"

Keefe looked up ahead at where Sammy pulled at his Mom's hand, now back on solid ground, and smiled. Soft this time, no smirk to mask feelings he couldn't show. Sammy was already beginning to grow on him, and if Keefe wasn't careful he would let it happen. Let himself grow close to someone just to have them pulled away again, or worse, until he pushed them away, like he did everyone else.

But looking at the Sauveterre's, they way they loved their son, each other, the way they loved life-

Well, maybe this was the dawning of a new chapter in Keefe's life.

And maybe, just maybe, he would let it happen.

[onedoesnotsimplywriteafanfic]

That is what you get for saving the enemies wife

(I do not own the Gif) 

Characters: Jax, Juice, Opie, Tig, Chibs, Half Sack/kip, Gemma, mentioned ; HectorSalazar, Clay morrow

Pairing: Prospect Juice X reader, Jax x Sister!reader

Summary: When you walked by the clubhouse of the Calaveras, you notice smoke coming out of the building. After a better look you find out the clubhouse is on fire. You decided at first not to interfere but after hearing someone crying for help you climbed trough a window without hesitation. A women is trapped in the burning room, while you break open the door you try not to get notice because you’re on enemies ground. No one saw you help the women later know as the girlfriend of Hectar Zalasar, only leaving the building trough the window you came.

Zalasar is determent you started the fire and wants revenge. Sending you a package filled with an acid bomb which leaves you blind after opening.

Seven years after and still trying to make the best of your life you grow closer to the new prospect. He is the first one besides your brother you open up to over the incident.

Warnings: none?

Word count: 5,709

Navigating through a room filled with black smoke, I looked for the door. My lungs filled with smoke and my eyes full of tears I struggled to kick in the door. The silhouette of a woman was barely visible. I ran in and helped the woman to her feet. With one arm around her waist and the other I held her arm, which was over my shoulders. At walking pace we walked through the corridors to the main entrance. I let her go a few meters before the entrance. Saying she had to move on herself.

I turned around and walked back to the room from which I had entered. Looking back, the woman tried to identify me but all she saw was the logo on my jacket. The reaper.

With my whole body wrapped in cold sweat, I shot straight up in my bed. Gasping and coughing, I panicked and tried to look around but everything was dark. Tears came to my eyes when I found out it was a dream. After I had calmed down, I put my feet next to my bed. I stroke over my clock on my bedside table for the time, half past two. With a sigh I got to my feet and walked more cautiously to the kitchen.

Navigating through the hall with one hand on the wall, I found my way. In the kitchen, I took a glass from the counter and filled it with water. I felt the cool liquid slide down my throat. I thought back to my dream, I couldn't remember much of it, but from the way I woke up I had an inkling of what it was about. 

I had no regrets about the day or the things I did. Maybe if I had kept walking, my life would have looked different now. A second pair of footsteps came down the stairs, faster than mine. They walked into the kitchen and stopped there. ‘’Jax?’’ I asked out loud. The footsteps could only belong to one person, my brother. ‘’I'm here, darlin’. Another nightmare?’’ I nodded slowly. I heard Jax approach, he pulled me closer and put his arms around me. ‘’I wish I could do something about it, I hate to see you like this.’’ With my arms around his waist, I buried myself in his chest. ‘’It will be okay.’’ It came out less believable than I had hoped.

Jax heard the disappointment in my voice. ‘’I wish I could sit with you on the couch, waiting for you to fall asleep again but the club needs me.’’ I pulled away from him and put a hand on his cheek. ‘’Go, I'll see you later today.’’ I squeezed his cheek softly and smiled. With a kiss on my crown he walked to the door, there he stopped and called. "Will you call when you arrive?" After my accident, he was very protective even though he knew I could take care of myself. ‘’I'll be fine, I'll ride with Mom.’’ I shouted after him. The door slammed back into the lock. With a deep sigh, I refilled my glass with water and then found my way to the couch. I made myself comfortable and started a podcast that I listened to until I fell back asleep.

Later that morning, I was awakened by my mother. "Honey wake up, I'm leaving in thirty minutes." Slowly I woke up. I opened my eyes with a dull feeling. Sitting upright, I felt for the TV remote and paused the podcast. I rubbed my eyes extensively but gently. In the kitchen my mother was busy making coffee and as soon as she had her cup she went straight to the club, which meant that I had to hurry.

Feeling through my closet for the right combination, all my clothes were divided into compartments. Pants, T-shirts, tops, cardigans, blouses and even dresses. Separated by small edges at the top of the railing. My outfit for the day was simple, jeans with a T-shirt and flannel blouse. My shoes were down by the door. Before I left my room I grabbed my cane and sunglasses. 

Downstairs my mother had a cup of coffee ready for me. ‘’Drink up." She handed me my mug. ‘’Thank you, Jax is already at the clubhouse.’’ I gave her the heads up. ‘’I suspected it.’’ She looked over her shoulder. I stood against the counter and drank my coffee. Listening to the movements my mother made and the vibrations I felt under my feet, I got the feeling that she was stressed. ‘’Is something wrong, Mom?’’ With my mug between both hands, I looked in the direction I thought she was standing. ‘’The garage, there is another customer who is difficult and your father," she stopped mid-sentence. My father was Clay Morrow, Jax was John Teller's son. 

My dad ran the Sons of Anarchy, it was sometimes hard for my mom to agree with some of the decisions but she was 100 percent behind him. ‘’Dad knows what he's doing and we have to trust that.’’ I placed my now empty mug on the counter. ‘’I know, and I do.’’ She stopped and thought. ‘’Let's just go.’’ She said finally. I nodded and walked to the door. Before I left the house I put on my ankle boots and slipped into my denim jacket with my Sons vest over it. Matching my brothers style.

The ride to the club was not long, the sound of the engine filling my ears. The wind blew through my hair through the open window, with my face turned out I felt the rising sun warm my face. The radio echoed softly in the background. With my thoughts elsewhere, I didn't realize we were already there. The car had been parked for a few minutes. My mother taps my arm gently. ‘’Hey, we're here.’’ Blinking my eyes, I sat straight up in the chair. ‘’Thanks for the lift.’’ With a smile, I opened the passenger door and got out.

Always parked in the same place, the same way. Parked backwards in the parkingspot so the passenger was facing the club. That way I knew immediately where to go without asking. ‘’If you need me, I'll be in the office.’’ My mother called from her side of the car. ‘’Okay, I'll come by later, I think.’’ She nodded and walked to the office, without my knowing, I continued my way to the entrance of the club.

Inside, Tig, Chibs and Oppie were sitting at the bar, with Half Sack as the bartender. The four men greeted me one by one. ‘’Hey there Doll.’’ Tig was the first to get up and walk over to me. With one hand on my cheek he gave a kiss on my crown. The goatee on his chin tickled my forehead that made me giggle. ‘’Hey Tig.’’ I said with a big smile on my face. Tig and I were always very close, now worse than ever. People sometimes thought we were together, maybe if he had been a little younger or if I was a little older who knows. Age didn't matter, but deep down twenty years was quite a lot. When Jax wasn't around, Tig was the first to stand up for me and be capable of anything.

Chibs sat at the bar and greeted me candidly. ‘’Oi, love.’’ Chibs was barely understood with his accent and he only said two words. For hours I could listen to him, talking about one of his many stories. The way he told it combined with his accent was everything I lived for. He often talked about his life back in Belfast. The place where he grew up in Northern Ireland.

On the other hand, Opie got up and greeted me with a hug. ‘’Hey kiddo.’’ His arms folded around me. ‘’Good to hear from you again.’’ Opie was on a ride with a few other members and was gone for four days. He was like a brother to me. The three of us grew up. It was always Jax, Opie and myself. ‘’I missed you.’’ I whispered into his chest. His grip around me tightened a little. ‘’Missed you too.’’ He whispered back.

The door behind us opened and by the way and sound of how they walked, Jax emerged from the chapel. ‘’Okay, listen, everyone is expected in the chapel.’’ Opie turned to Jax and stepped aside to show that I was there too. ‘’Hey.’’ Jax said with a smile in his voice. ‘’I'll have a very important job for you.’’ He stopped in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. ‘’Oh, really?’’ I looked at him with a tilted head. ‘’Yes, we are getting a new prospect this afternoon. But there is no one who can put him in his place.’’ I had to chuckle the way Jax conveyed it.

Whenever a new prospect came into the club, we treated them like he was less than us, that way we taught them to stand up for themself. Life in a motor club was not easy, the violence, the blood we had on our hands. ‘’So ...’’ he stretched the words. ‘’I was thinking about you, they need to know who to really fear.’’ I laughed. ‘’Okay, I have to do some shopping before the next lockdown, because someone forgot.’’ I emphasized someone and patted him on the chest. ‘’I had Half,’’ I interrupted before placing the blame on the prospect. ‘’No, it doesn't work that way, it was your job and now I can do it.’’ With one hand on my hip, I looked at him. ‘’Sorry, sister.’’ He spoke honestly. ‘’The things I will do for you.’’ I said with a sigh.

Before I closed the club doors behind me, I heard Jax say. ‘’Kip, go with her.’’ And moments after, Kip, also known as Half Sack, came running out. ‘’Hey, wait a minute.’’ He called as he tried to keep up with me. ‘’It's sweet of you, but I can go shopping alone.’’ A panting Kip walked up next to me. ‘’But who will help you with lifting the groceries, do you know how much you have to take back?’’ enough to feed an entire orphanage. ‘’Fine.’’ I said briefly.

I didn’t want Kip to drive us. It was not because I didn’t trust him in a car but I liked to walk. ‘’What do you think they are talking about back at the club?’’ Kip asked out of nowhere. ‘’I don’t know, if it is important we will know soon enough.’’ I answered his question, shrugging my shoulders. Important or not Jax would tell me anyway.

The club was under some stress with the Niners, the police were on our backs and my dad and Jax weren’t speaking on the same page. There was a lot they could have been talking about. On the occasion I was allowed in the chapel, be present by the meeting and be able to vote. Every other time I was not, Jax would always fill me in later on in the day.

The grocery shopping took for ever, people that were complaining that it took me to long to choose a product or that I hit them with my cain. One man, in his late thirties, was ready to start a fight and I was having none of it. Getting more and more angry, not of the fact that he accused me of anything because of my blindness but of my vest.

He was mansplaining me that women didn’t belong in the club and that we were only good for getting beer and sex. It took everything in me not to hit him but I got close. Kip did had to hold me back before I did. ‘’All I am saying is that it women belong in the kitchen not in the club itself and don’t get me started on women wearing the vest.’’ before I handed Kip my cain I checked where the men was standing. ‘’Hold this.’’ I said and let go of I it and took a step forward.

Kip who knew me and what I was capable of, jumped into action and wrapped his arms around my waist holding me back. ‘’If I were you, you should shut up and leave. Blind or not she has a mean right hook.’’ Kip warned the man. The man looked at me, but before he could protest he was asked to leave by the staff of the grocery shop. ‘’I am so sorry ma’am.’’ The young lady of the staff said. I smiled nicely at her. ‘’It’s oké.’’ And continued looking for everything else we needed.

After paying and double checking if we had everything we headed back to the club. Kip was carrying more then he could and I had two bags. ‘’Don’t you think we may have bought to much?’’ he had difficulty walking due the extra wight. ‘’No, with those animals, you can never have enough.’’ I thought back to a couple lockdowns back, we had enough to last two weeks. One week in and the kitchen was empty.

The prospect arrived just after Kip and I had left. The young man in his late twenties of Puerto Rican descent with a mohawk and head tattoos reported to my mother in her office. A soft knock could be heard on the door. ‘’Come in.’’ Gemma called from within the room. Carefully he opened the door and stepped into the small office. Gemma turned herself in her chair and looked at the young man. ‘’I'm looking for Jax Teller. Do you know where I can find him?’’ He immediately got into business. ‘’And who may you be?’’ She asked uninterested, ignoring his question. ‘’My name is Juan Ortiz, I'm the new prospect.’’ He continued talking.

Gemma looked him up and down. ‘’Great.’’ she said and stood up. ‘’Sit’’ She said as if he was a dog and walked out. He did what she said and took a seat in one of the chairs next to the desk. ‘’Don’t touch anything.’’ Gemma said before walking out the door, heading to the clubhouse.

We entered the parking lot of the club and headed inside. ‘’Maybe we should have taken the car.’’ I said as the realization hit me. My feet were sore and I felt bad for Kip. ‘’Need a drink?’’ I asked him, placing the bags on the pool table.

Kip placed his bags on the table as well and made a relieving sound. ‘’I can’t feel my arms anymore, and I am not allowed to drink, yet.’’ he said, pouting. It was one of Jax many weird rules, prospects don’t drink from the bar. ‘’Oh toughen up, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Besides, I am the one who offers.’’ Making my way behind the bar.

Neither one of us knew my mother was in the chapel as well until they walked out. Kip was sitting on one of the bar stools and I stood behind the bar. Both a glass of whiskey in hand.  The door opened and every one walked out one by one. First my mother, followed by my brother and then the rest of the group.

The first thing Jax noticed was Kip drinking. ‘’What did I tell you,’’ he started but I stopped him. ‘’Shut up and let him have it. He deserved it.’’ I said trying to point him Jax his direction. Kip crabbed my arm and pointed it more to my left. Now I was pointing at Jax. Some chuckles filled the room, mostly of the others while Jax stood with an amused expression. I was the only one who could talk back to him like that.

After a good laugh my mother asked Jax to follow her. The others joined us at the bar for a drink. ‘’You know my poison, doll.’’ Tig said seductively and winked, while adding a sound effect. So I would now he winked, not that I wasn’t already thinking that.

I grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. Everything was labeled with braille, the shelves, the bottles, all to make my life easier. Placing the beer on the bar and before I could let go Tig already took it from me. ‘’Thank you, dear.’’ he said with the utmost sweet voice he could muster.

While we had fun in the clubhouse, talking and drinking, Jax walked back to the office with Gemma. Inside Juan still sitting on the chair, looking like a lost puppy. He noticed the two walking in and stood up immediately. ‘’I’m,’’ he started while holding out his hand, but Jax cut him off. ‘’Don’t care follow me.’’ Jax said and turned around to walk back to the clubhouse.

Every new prospect was treated like a no body when they first got here. The sooner you grew a pair and stood up against them the sooner you got treated as an equal. They both entered the room and all the heads turned to them. I stood still leaning against the bar looking ahead of me.

Neither of the guys spend much attention to Jax and kept talking. The two walked over to the bar, standing close to it to hear their conversation. ‘’One rule, don’t piss off the lady.’’ Jax said while pointing to me, knowing I could hear them. Juan followed his gaze and looked at me. ‘’I don’t see,’’ he started and a smirk played along my lips. Their it was, the one thing I hoped he would say. ‘’Well neither can I.’’ I said as the bitch I can be.

Everyone else tried to hold back their laughter. ‘’I’m sorry?’’ he asked a small panic in his voice, not realizing I was blind. ‘’What did he say about not pissn’ of the lady’’ Chibs said in the most Scottish way possible. The boy looked horrified. ‘’Well? What can’t you ‘’see’’?’’ I asked with quotation marks when I said see.

I looked in their directions, waiting for him to speak. ‘’I don’t see how I could piss of such lovely lady.’’ He stuttered a bit. Licking my lips I thought of what to say next, but I thought we had already scared him enough for now. ‘’Don’t worry, you don’t piss me off that easily.’’ I flashed him a soft smile.

But not everyone agreed with my statement because Tig snorted loudly. ‘’Watch it Trager, before I put real poison in your drink next time.’’ I shot him a death glare as I put down my sunglasses. He knew I didn’t mean any of it, and couldn’t help but laugh. ‘’You love me to much to have me dead, doll.’’ I shook my head and laughed, knowing it was true.

I turned back to Jax and Juan. ‘’Please take a seat.’’ I gestured to a hopefully empty stool. Jax excused him self and walked back into the chapel as his phone ringed. Juan took a seat and I pored him a glass of orange juice. ‘’Here you go.’’ I placed it on the bar and another fit of snickers and laughter erupted from the others. ‘’Orange juice?’’ He questioned.

Leaning with my elbows on the bar I turned to him. ‘’Got a problem with that?’’ I tried to look at him straight but failed, I ended up looking past him. ‘’No, not at all.’’ he said careful not knowing how els to respond. ‘’Good, so tell me, what is your name?’’ A playful smile lingered around my lips, the boy in front of me sounded to innocent and brought a different type of myself to the surface.

For a strange reason I felt comfortable around him, even tough we’ve just met. ‘’Juan Ortiz.’’ He held out his hand and waited for me to shake it. ‘’Yeah, we ain’t gonna call you that for ever.’’ Standing back up straight and ignoring his outstretched hand. Here most of us had a nick name or something els then our real name to go by. Most men just called me pet names in staid of my name.

Juan looked at me, more like staring at me. ‘’What is your problem?’’ He blurred out, realizing what he had said once it was to late. ‘’Excuse me?’’ I said turning my head once more in his direction. This time I meant being bitchy. The boys went silent and I could hear someone walking towards my side of the bar. ‘’Well you see,’’ I had to interrupt him then and there. ‘’That is my fucking problem, I CAN’T.’’ I said angry and ripped off my sunglasses tossing them god knows where.

I looked at him, my face exposed to him. It was the one thing I was insecure about, my eyes. The were pearl withe and glossy, but the skin around my eyes was red and burned. A gasp left his lips and he was lost of words. ‘’That’s what I thought.’’ I said and walked away, nearly tripping over someones feet. ‘’Sweetheart.’’ Tig tried to hold me back, he was standing behind me and it were his feet I tripped over. ‘’Don’t.’’ I said with a trembling voice.

I brushed past him and walked outside, forgetting my cain behind the bar. ‘’I.. I uhm didn’t know.’’ Juan started but didn’t know how to continue. ‘’It was kinda obvious, you could have seen her scaring, even whit sunglasses and there is braille everywhere.’’ Opie stated the obvious. Juan began to feel more guilty by the second. ‘’I should talk to her.’’ he started and looked for my sunglasses to give them back to me. ‘’I don’t think that’s the best idea.’’ Jax said, standing in the door frame leading to the chapel.

He walked over to Juan and took the glasses from him. ‘’Don’t take it personal. Losing her sight took a toll on her.’’ For the first time ever to a prospect, Jax spoke in a soft and empathic way. ‘’She wasn’t always blind?’’ He looked up at Jax, registering what he had said. ‘’No, and that is not my story to tell.’’ With a sigh Jax walked outside looking for me. Already knowing where I would be.

We both shared a lot of things, from music taste to disliking the same people and even our hiding place when things get to complicated. It was on the roof of the office, at first it was scary to climb the latter but now it didn’t bother me any more.

Hearing the familiar screeching of the latter I knew someone was coming up. A while back Jax had brought up two chairs to sit on so he took a seat next to me. ‘’What is wrong?’’ he asked worried. ‘’Everything.’’ I said in between sobs. Without saying another word he pulled me closer in to a tight hug. ‘’I didn’t mean to lash out to him like that.’’ I said after a while still crying my eyes out.

Somedays everything got to much to handle and I needed a good cry. ‘’He knows.’’ we sat like this till I completely calmed down. ‘’So, wanna tell me what happened at the store today?’’ I shook my head. ‘’Not really, it’s not worth it.’’ it really wasn’t I could take care of myself. ‘’Alright.’’ he said quietly.

Jax gave back my sunglasses and cain, we were about to head back inside when he was once again intercepted by the ringing of his phone. He looked at the caller ID and put the phone away. ‘’He can wait, family is more important.’’ He threw his arm around my shoulder. We entered the clubhouse and I took a seat on the cough.

The rest of the day went by rather quickly. Jax had yet another club thing to discus and my mother was also making over hours, so I asked Tig to drive me home. That night another nightmare corrupted my sleep.

Fire, everything was on fire. The walls, the floors. The heat alone was burning my skin. The smoke filling my lungs. Tears filled eyes, trying to find my way to the screaming women.

Finding her wasn’t the difficult part, it was getting out unnoticed what would be tricky. My mouth covered with my sleeve, searching for a way out. Climbing out the window I came in from.

With a gasp I jolted up straight. Panting heavily, crying softly. Cold sweat covered my body once again. Never had I nightmares of the accident that caused me to lose my vision, it was always what I had done to deserve it.

The nightmares got worse and worse each night. It would be seven years ago, in a couple days and the days leading to that anniversary, always took a toll on my mental health. At night I didn’t sleep and the day I tried to distract myself by bonding with Juan, who I kept calling Juicy or Juice. All because I still give him a glass of juice when we gather around the bar for drinks.

Not only did I feel worse each day but I looked worse too. Walking into the clubhouse I was greeted by Juice. ‘’He… oef you look like the dead.’’ he joked and kissed my cheek. ‘’Careful, before you are son.’’ Chibs said with a laugh in voice. I let out a tired laugh. ‘’Don’t worry, you are to adorable to kill.’’ I patted his chest before making my way to the cough and sitting down.

It was a slow day until Jax called everyone on a run. ‘’Alright, we are needed by our brothers in the town next door, so saddle up.’’ Jax looked around the room and saw sitting on the coughs with my knees to my chest and my chin resting on them. ‘’Juice,’’ he started waiting for the prospect to look up. ‘’I need you to stay here. I need some one here to look after my sister.’’ He too looked at me. ‘’Of course.’’ he said, at the time not knowing why it was so important for Jax.

I was so in my own thoughts that I didn’t catch a word of what had been said. I felt the couch sink in next to me. ‘’Hey, darlin’.’’ Jax said softly, placing a hand on my arm. ‘’Uh?’’ I asked turning my head to wards him. ‘’Did you heard what I just said?’’ he asked and I shook my head. ‘’The boys and I are leaving. Juice is staying here with you.’’ He explained.

I was to tired to argue so I nodded. ‘’Be careful.’’ I said as I hugged my brother. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me as close as he could to his chest. ‘’When am I not?’’ He jokingly asked, causing me to laugh. ‘’Don’t get me started.’’ I had a list of the times he was everything but careful.

Every one got an hour to go home and pack, before meeting back at the club. Now everyone was ready to leave. Juice and me stood outside. I never let them leave without a hug. Once I couldn’t hear the roaring of their motors, we headed back inside.

Together we sat at the cough. ‘’What do you want to do?’’ Juice asked me, a little nervous. I could feel him bouncing his leg. ‘’Can we just listen to music. I don’t feel like doing anything.’’ I said between yawing. ‘’Sure.’’ he said and put on a playlist.

It didn’t last long before I fell asleep. My head fell on his shoulder and I tried to make myself comfortable. Juice looked down at me and smiled. He too noticed how tired I was lately, he tried to make me talk about it but I didn’t want to.

Juice tried to lay down on the cough without waking me. He took of my sunglasses and lay them on the table. Together we lay on the coughs, wrapped in each others arms. First it was a peaceful slumber but soon was corrupted by nightmares. I started to twitch slightly and murmur in my sleep.

Not knowing what was going on, Juice looked down on me again. ‘’Are you oke?’’ he asked quietly, but not getting a respond. The nightmare got only worse by the second and soon enough I screamed out in terror before waking up.

For a second I didn’t know where I was. Juice got up too and grabbed my hand. ‘’It was just a dream.’’ he said in a soft tone, trying to calm me down. ‘’What ever happened can not hurt you here.’’ He pulled me into a hug and held me till I stopped crying. ‘’Please talk to me about it. I hate to see you like this.’’ He wiped away the tears from my face.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. ‘’Alright, I will tell you what has been haunting me for seven years.’’ It took me a significant amount of courage to say those words. Of course everyone who was there that day knew what happened but I never talked about it with no one except for my brother. As we sat back down on the cough I started my story, reliving it as I spoke.

Seven years ago, I walked trough rival territory, fully aware that I shouldn’t have been there. As I was walking down the street, the smell of smoke filled my nostrils. Looking around the area I noticed smoke rising in the air. I followed its trail back to the source and saw that it came from the Calaveras club house.

With my head low, I walked trough the crowd that had gathered in the street. Once I was clear from the crowd I picked up my paste, knowing I needed to get the hell away from there.

Walking past the burning clubhouse I heard a women screaming for help. It pained me to hear her scream, begging for someone to save her. Till this day I still don’t know why none of the firefighters went back inside to save her. With myself in battle of what to do, I either lost or won, but I went inside trough a back window.

Following the woman’s scream, covering my mouth with my sleeve to prevent smoke inhalation. The screams came from behind a closed door, it was either locked or blocked. Kicking in the door, was the only possible way to enter. Black smoke filled the room and I could barely see the woman in front of me.

I ran towards her and helped her up. With one arm around her waist and the other holding on her arm that laid over my shoulder, we made our way to the door. The closer we got to the exit, the more screams from the outside I could hear.

Mainly I heard the screams of Hector Salazar. ‘’My wife is still in there!’’ So they knew that she was missing. I brought her as close to the exit as I could, she had to walk out the last few meters. No one could know I was there.

Carefully pushing the women to the exit I said. ‘’You got this, just keep moving.’’ She nodded and held herself steady against the wall. ‘’You got this.’’ I said again before turning around to make my way out trough the same window I came in from.

I thought that she had already turned around before I did, but she didn’t and saw my vest. She saw the Sons logo on my back and she tried to tell her husband that I saved her. But once he heard that the sons were involved he made the conclusion I was also the one who started the fire. And he wanted revenge.

My voice was horse from crying and talking. Juice held my hands the entire time I talked, to let me now he was still there. He would squeeze my hand every now and then to let me know he was still paying attention. ‘’But that still doesn’t explain you losing your sight.’’ He noted, after I was silent for a couple minutes.

It made me laugh weakly. ‘’You are so impatient sometimes.’’ I said with a small giggle in my voice. ‘’First he showed up at the clubhouse, threatening me. He had me followed by his men to harm me. But when I didn’t left the clubhouse anymore in fear of my safety, he had to get creative.’’ My heart was beating way to fast and breathing was uneven.

We sat around the bar having a laugh and a drink when Tig brought in a package. For me. He placed in front of me on the bar. ‘’For you, doll.’’ he said, kissing the top of my head, that being the first time to see me that day.

Not remembering I had order something, I examined the box. For as far I could see there was nothing suspicious about it so I opened it. As I opened it and looked inside something exploded and a wet substance burned its way onto my face.

Turning my head to my hands I continued. ‘’It was an acid bomb, not big enough to take me out. But to leave a message. That is how I lost my sight.’’ New tears filled my eyes and I didn’t fought to hold them back.

I let them stain my face, I let everything that I had bottled up the past seven years out. ‘’I never should have been walking in that neighbourhood in the first place. Cause this is what you get for saving the enemies wife.’’ I faced Juice, pointing at my face. ‘’I hate waking up, every day, not being able to see the faces of every one I care about. I hate my self,’’ Juice interrupted me by placing his hand on my cheek.

He tilled my head slightly up so I faced him head on. ‘’You saved a life, she is alive because of your bravery. Never hate yourself, cause to me, you are perfect.’’ I was lost of words and couldn’t help but smile. I hugged him once more and never wanting to let go.

[kindness-bliss]

New Beginnings Ch. 7

Timothy Thatcher x OC

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: none

Tim looked over at her discreetly he witnessed her trying to open a jar and cleaned his hands on his already stained shirt “I got that for you”   “And I got this for you” she said as she went into her small closet in the living room and pulled out a flannel shirt  “It’s my dads, I don’t wanna see you in a bloody dried up t shirt as we make dinner”   He nodded quickly as he took off his shirt and unbuttoned on the one she gave him Maya blushed as she grilled her ground turkey and noticed how chiseled he was, his upper chest having the perfect amount of body hair and peaks, his biceps bulging out nicely but not overly muscular or anything like that    “It fits” Tim grinned as he showed her  “Not that bad on you” she admits with a small grin “Plaid is definitely your style, I like it on you” “I-I don’t deserve you being so nice to me” he said quietly “Maya, I won’t ever be able to stop saying sorry to you ever, know that. I’m probably gonna say sorry to you for as long as I know you”   “Tim, when’s your birthday ?” Maya asked suddenly as she looked at him “I know it’s 1983 but month ? What month ?”  “March….March 17th” he answered slowly “why ?”   “Oh my god you’re a Pisces, suddenly everything makes sense wow” she nodded as she laughed “Gosh you fit it to a T, you’re a water sign”    “What does that have to do with anything ? A water sign ? What the hell is that ?” Tim asked confused as he put his cutting board down   “It’s your sign Tim” she chuckled “Your sign is a Pisces which makes sense because they’re...well you are considered to have a sign that is known for its over sensitivity, self-pitying but also very selfless and very accepting”    “Oh” he said softly “well I guess yeah, kinda is me. My mother says it’s because I’m an only child and never got to experience things other children got at my age since I also stayed with my grandmother a lot. I think that made me highly sensitive”   “You call it highly sensitive, I call it highly aware” she grinned as she took the carrots and celery from him and added them to a pan to saute   Tim observed as sat on a stool by her “what are you making ? It looks kinda complicated honestly” “Bolognese” Maya says “Though I’m kind of cheating because I’m using sauce from a jar, but I promise it’ll be good”   “Oh” he nodded “I don’t cook much honestly, I only have ever made chicken or ham and it’s typically without seasoning. Same with my rice, I stick to bland foods for the most part. I broke my diet when we went to that Korean BBQ place” Tim said softly as he reached over and cut up onion for her    “Glad I got you to change things up for a bit, though you ghosted me and acted like a child afterwards and ruined me introducing you to better places” she giggled   “I’m gonna age myself here a bit but um, what’s ghosted ?” he asked with genuine interest as he looked down at her   “It means ignore, basically a millennial way of saying you ignored me” she answered back  “Ah I see, I like that...ghosted. I’m adding that to my vocabulary” he nodded as he repeated the word under his breath as he chopped   “Gosh he’s cute” Maya thought to herself as he stood only inches away from him, their arms basically touching as she sauteed. She made sure she stayed in close distance as she cooked looking around as silence began to take over   “Since you were a dick to me, you have to be really nice to me now like really nice” she said with a smile  “I will do whatever you want or need me to do” Tim smiled at her with his dimple popping out more “Kiss me” she whispered nervously as she looked into his eyes    “Like...like right now ?” he asked nervously “o-okay...I’m not that good at it though and my beard is gonna scratch, my lips are kinda dry too and-” he stopped blubbering when he felt her soft lips gently press onto his as she carefully put his hands on her waist as he leaned in more and placed hers on his cheeks    Maya grinned up at him afterwards as she gently wiped his lips and put ice back on his face “go sit with this on while I finish here and by the way, you’re a good kisser”  He chuckled as nodded and sat on her couch “well thank you, haven’t heard that one in like 5 years at least”. Tim sat quietly as he iced his face trying to make sense of what had just happened. Just 6 hours ago he had told her horrible things and now here was having just had a make out session in her kitchen as they cooked dinner together. Tim looked around as he picked up magazines she had on her coffee table and looked through them smiling when he realized they were all her covers or features. One in particular catching his eye, a feature in a parenting magazine where she was holding a baby on her lap.    “Last year” Maya grinned “I typically don’t do those kinds but they needed a model last minute and I happened to be in the area and went in. It was fun, kids and babies were great to work with honestly and now what I expected. That little one stole my heart, made me think I wanted my own for a bit”    “You think about kids ? Not in a weird day of course, just since like me you’re an only child” she asked “I mean yeah, sometimes” he admits quietly “Granted I really thought I was gonna stop wrestling when I was like 30 and settle down and have that white picket fence life everyone else had but clearly life has passed me by. But I’ve had some other good things in life, experiences and memories not everyone has had in life. I’m not one to complain, you ?” Tim asked as he looked at her   “Sometimes I want 1, sometimes none and other times I want like 5” Maya chuckled

“5 ?” Tim laughed “That’s a basketball team right there, Jesus that’d be feeding an army daily”   “Which is why then I think maybe not having them at all would be more beneficial” she laughed “I’ve got time to think about it thankfully, like 5 more years”   “Enjoy your youth, and your job. It’s interesting, really it is Maya” Tim says genuinely “You’ve been to some amazing places, you have experiences most won’t get and you’re only 25. It’s amazing truly”  Maya grinned at him as she fixed the ice pack on his face “I appreciate that, but your face will appreciate this ice way way more”. Damn, kissing him must’ve been the best thing she felt in ages, she could tell he wanted it just as bad as she did yet kept his usual calm demeanor. She came out of her daze as she heard her her cell phone buzz, muttering quietly as Marcel’s pet name appeared  “Dinner tomorrow is still on ?” “Yeah….but let’s meet somewhere, I think I’m ready to tell Tim the truth” Maya sighed as his name quickly appeared on her screen and declined his facetime requests and calls immediately  “Answer me please, Maya just don’t do it today please. Let’s meet tomorrow and we can figure something out...please ?” “Fine, I won’t do it tonight but I’m doing it soon, I like him a lot and I’m not gonna keep secrets from him Marcel, and neither should you. I’ll text you tomorrow morning” she sent as she put her phone on silent and set their plates up She went to the bathroom as she wiped her residue makeup off her face and put her hair up in a ponytail to fresh up, applying some perfume lightly as she looked herself over and left the bathroom    “Oh” she whispered as she saw Tim sleeping on her couch, giving soft snores as his arms were crossed on his chest. Even in his sleep he wasn’t relaxed, it kinda looked like he was just closing his eyes to her and waiting to spook her any second. She contemplated waking him up for a second and went to touch his shoulder, but instead decided to graze his cheek with the back of her hand gently, covering him up with her throw she had on the couch.  Maya shrugged as she turned on the tv and sat on the opposite end as she stuffed spoonfuls of pasta into her mouth watching Real Housewives of New Jersey, shaking her head at the stupid drama on her television shifting when she heard Tim move around and groan   “What ? What happened ?” Tim asked with a groan as he stretched “did I fall asleep here ?” “You did” she nodded “only been like an hour and a half, now please get yourself a plate and don’t bother me for the next 20 minutes because Teresa Giudice is about to cause drama at this fashion show so shhh”   He raised his brow in confusion as he stood up and served himself a plate and sat next to her going back and forth between her reactions and the tv screen in front of him “Did she just call her an old hag and a bitch ?”    “Tim shh” she put a finger to his lips absentmindedly Tim nodded quickly as he leaned back into the couch and ate, speaking up when the show was over with wide eyes “That was… a lot. Is all reality tv like this ?”  “Only the best” Maya laughed “and by the way, sorry for shushing you like that” He shrugged “I deserve more than that”  “Tim, as of tonight we drop it” she turned to look at him “Please” Maya cleaned up thinking what the hell she got herself into with him, this wasn’t in her character at all. One second she was ready to see him drop dead 8 floors to the ground and the next she was making out with him in her kitchen. This was new territory she was going into and deep down it felt right, it felt right to kiss him and feel his touch and she could feel he was feeling the same way. She turned her head , gasping as she bumped into him    “Yes ?” she whispered “Maya, I like you” Tim said “I like you a lot...and I feel like if I don’t tell you now that it’s just us here in a comfortable environment I probably won’t say it again. This isn’t like me one bit” he admits “I’ll be honest yeah I’ve had girlfriends, I dated women here and there but I never felt like this…”    “Like how ?” she asked softly  “Scared, scared that when I was with you I liked who I was for once, I felt at ease and like I didn’t need to put the harsh wrestling persona up. You didn’t care or give it much thought either or pestered me like some others had in the past. And I just wanna say-” “Tim shut the fuck up and just kiss me already” she said softly    And he did. He kissed her deeply as he moved his hands down to her hips and lifted her with ease onto her kitchen countertop feeling her hands move up and down his chest. It wasn’t just a long kiss, it was several kisses with small breaks in between to ensure they could catch their breath as their hands roamed freely all over each other's bodies. Maya unbuttoned the first 3 buttons off his shirt as she lightly traced his chest with her nails as her forehead pressed against his “we should go to my room….we don’t have to you know...have sex but we can just do more of this there comfortably”   “Okay” he nodded as he took her hand and followed her into her room, looking around at the pristine condition everything was in. A vanity organized with makeup items and skin care products he couldn’t even name, her bed perfectly made and covered in pillows, a closet the size of his bedroom with clothes in every color of the rainbow. Everything so neat and luxurious, everything he didn’t have.   She leaned up against him she kissed him again, this time with more dominance as she stumbled onto her bed on top of him, feeling his hands lightly on her lower back    Tim pulled apart from her as he rubbed his slightly red lips and pet her hair gently with his hand “I haven’t had anything like that in a while” he admitted with a small grin    “Neither have I’ she chuckled, licking her lips feeling them swell “It’s like free lip filler” “Always a comedian” Tim laughed genuinely sitting up on her bed “Jesus it’s 11 already and I gotta walk back to my car to get home, I got tapings tomorrow”   “Just stay here and I’ll take you back in the morning, it’ll be early I promise” she said softly as she gave a comforting grin “Okay, I”ll take the couch though. I’m not sleeping in your bed, this was a one time thing that I typically don’t let happen”    “What a gentleman you are” Maya said as she brought him a pillow and blanket “I’ve got all the works on my tv so feel free to watch what you like, bathroom is right next to the closet”    “Thanks, I appreciate it really” She got up in the morning as she turned off her alarm and got ready for the day, taking a peek and seeing Tim up and sitting as he watched tv making different facial expressions  “What are you watching ?” she chuckled as she walked out and turned on her Nespresso machine “Danielle is a mess, I get why you watch this trashy stuff. It’s addicting” he shook his head as he turned it off  Maya laughed as she took out two mugs from her cabinet “Well now you know and let me guess, you take your black ?” “ Yeah” He nodded as he got up and sat on a stool    “I got a shoot in like an hour so I probably won’t be able to talk to you for most of today” she said softly as she packed her bag “chances are till late late tonight”   “Oh….well um I was hoping if you’re able to, I actually have a taping tomorrow and I wanted to ask you if you would like to attend ? It’s about 2 hours, it’s fun even for someone like you who’s never been around wrestling” Never been around wrestling, after a great night she remembered the big mess she had yet to talk to him about. Marcel, shit.    “I’ll try my hardest” she responded with a grin as she drove them back to his car “Thanks again for driving me here, I appreciate it have a good shoot” he nodded as he lingered for a while leaning in slowly as he pet her cheek with his hand and kissed her “Um I think your friend over there saw us” Maya laughed softly as she pointed to an opened mouthed Oney at the gym entrance    Tim chuckled and shook his head as he got out “I’m not gonna hear the end of this one, I’ll text you later, have a good work day” he smiled softly as he walked away “Is that….you have a ?, speak up already” Oney pushed as he followed him to his car “you can’t just not tell me what’s going on after kissing someone like THAT” He turned around as he got out his gym bag “excuse me ? what do you mean like that ? what’s with the emphasis on the end there ?”    Oney shook his head as he gave a scoff “Do you have any idea who that is ? What kind of work she does ?”

  “Uh yeah she’s a mode” Tim nodded as they walked inside “I’ve seen her stuff, she showed me and talked to me all about it”

“I can’t believe you’re dating a model man, you of all people. No offense of course but I mean I never pictured you even dating someone at all”

Tim raised a brow “I’m that bad of a catch huh ? Gee I feel great now that you’ve given me this amazing pep talk, feeling like I can conquer the world now” he answered sarcastically stretching

  “How old is she ?” Oney asked “because there’s no way she’s older than 30”

“25….” he said softly “she’s 25, just turned 25 actually about 2 months ago”

“WHAT ?” Oney said as he spit out his water “No fucking way, you’re dating a 25 year old ?”

  “Would you stop, we’re not dating…….we’re friends that’s all” he answered as he began his cardio

  “Oh yeah because you totally suck face with a friend before leaving right ?” Oney chuckled “You’re in deep, you did the cheek grab and the little linger after you kiss” “Well maybe I like her, friends right now but who knows maybe after she comes to the show might change” he gave a smile “I invited her and she said she’ll come” “Who are you and what have you done to my friend ?” Oney asked with a raised brow “Because you are not the Tim I know” “Let’s just say maybe I wanna enjoy life a bit more” He shrugged “and I’m starting with her, she likes me. I like her, there’s nothing that can go wrong” Nothing right ?

[440mxs-wife]

That One Night

Pairing: Dean x Reader

You were in the library, taking advantage of the silence to dive into the next chapter of your favorite book. You reached for your cup of orange cinnamon tea on the table behind you. The cup was almost to your lips when you heard the bunker door fly open. You nearly spilled your drink in your haste to return the cup to the small table next to your chair. Heavy boots clomped down the stairs and you bolted from your chair to greet them.

"Hey, you guys are home early! I take it things went well?" you asked as you stepped in for a welcome-home hug.

"We came, we saw, we sliced off their heads," Dean quipped. "Seriously, though, if you hadn't called with that last minute bit of info, this would've gone very differently. Thank you, sweetheart," he said as he kissed your temple. "You saved our asses tonight."

You felt your cheeks grow warm at hearing Dean's praise. "Let's not exaggerate things, Dean. You guys have been in much tougher situations way before I came along. You survived just fine," you reminded him.

"Maybe, but it's a lot easier, now that we have the best damn research artist in the hunting world," Dean replied. "I'm gonna go take a shower, then we're headed out for a drink. You wanna join us?" he asked you.

"Nah, you guys go ahead. You deserve to celebrate, since you did all the hard work," you answered.

You had your reasons for not always going to the bar. Usually, you sat in the background while Sam and Dean traded stories with other hunters. From time to time, you went up to the bar to pick up another round, or some snacks. Eventually, the boys would each find a warm body to keep them company. Then, you were left to entertain yourself, at least until someone wanted to go home.

"Aw, come on, sweetheart. What you did was just as important. You deserve to have a little fun, too. Please?" Dean pleaded.

You rolled your eyes in mock annoyance. "Fine. While you're in the shower, I'll get changed," you relented with a smile. You decided to dress up a little, so you changed into your new pair of faded blue jeans with decorated back pockets. A sparkly red scoop-neck tank top, black-and-white flannel shirt and your red Converse shoes completed the outfit.

When you heard the shower turn off, you knew you only had about ten minutes before it was time to leave. You fluffed and sprayed your hair to hold it in place, and kept your makeup to a minimum.

"Last one to the garage buys the first round!" Dean shouted. There was no sense in running, since you had decided you were going to buy the first round anyway. You climbed into the back seat of the Impala, and headed to town.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You'd met the Winchesters several years ago on a particularly nasty ghoul hunt, after which you moved into the bunker. Since you took up residence in the bunker, your role in the hunting world changed. It became less about hunting and more about taking care of things on the home front. You covered the research, kept the boys well-fed and patched up the injuries.

Because of your love for books on any and all subjects, you and Sam quickly became best friends. You liked a lot of the same movies, and told some of the same jokes. You knew every piece of Star Trek trivia, while Sam gave you a run for your money on Star Wars knowledge. On long car rides, you loved to challenge each other with random facts about your favored series.

But Dean? Well....Dean was different. Your dreams were filled with visions of his sexy green eyes gazing at you like you were the only woman in the world. His muscular arms that you longed to have wrapped around you like a warm blanket, keeping you safe. That deep, husky voice of his that nearly melted you every time you heard him call you "sweetheart".

You had no idea when you first noticed your feelings towards Dean were starting to grow. They had almost reached a point to where you were afraid that one day you'd accidentally let it slip. Then you knew you'd hear the inevitable "I love you, but just as a friend" speech. After that, life at the bunker would be forever changed. So you dealt with it the only way you knew how. You pushed your feelings down, ignored them and talked yourself out of having them altogether.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As usual, most of the talk around the table was about hunting. What wasn't usual was that for some reason, Dean seemed to be paying extra attention to you tonight. He wasn't letting you just sit back and let everyone else talk. He had his arm around your shoulder, sometimes running slow, lazy circles on it, causing goosebumps to form. From time to time, he would lean over and whisper in your ear to tell you some smart-ass remark or a joke.

You looked around the bar and there certainly was no shortage of women for Dean to choose from to keep him company. It made you wonder why he was focusing all of his attention on you tonight. Some of the women would slowly walk by the table, trying to catch Dean's eye, but he didn't seem to care. As they left, the women mostly glared at you, like you didn't belong with Dean.

Jerry, one of the other hunters at the table was in the middle of a story when a blonde and her red-headed friend stopped by the table. "Hey, there handsome," the blonde purred. "Wanna dance?" she asked Dean.

"What a great idea," Dean said as he exited the booth. His eyes never leaving yours, he held out his hand. "Shall we, sweetheart?" he grinned, leaving the blonde to pick up her jaw from the floor.

"I...I...sure, Dean," you stammered. You slid out of the booth and took his hand. When you stood up, you were close enough to Dean that your noses nearly touched.

"After you, darlin'," Dean said. His hand moved from holding yours to the small of your back to guide you to the dance floor, where the next song was a slow one. Dean smiled as he took your hands and brought them up to clasp them behind his neck. Then he settled his hands on your hips and pulled you closer to his chest, swaying you both to the music.

As the song ended, Dean pulled back from you a little, a soft smile on his plump, kissable lips. "Thanks for the dance, sweetheart," he said softly. He leaned in and as he gave you a lingering kiss on the cheek, you closed your eyes in contentment.

"Anytime, Dean," you whispered.

"Want to head back to the table for another drink?" he asked.

"I will in a minute," you answered. A puzzled look crossed his face. "Restroom," you giggled, as he relaxed a bit.

Still tingling from the dance and what happened after, you had a bit of a spring in your step as you headed for the restroom. Maybe there's hope after all, you thought. Maybe it isn't just me feeling this way. You entered the restroom and closed the stall door behind you.

Suddenly the door burst open and slammed against the wall behind it. Somebody's pissed, you thought.

"Joanie, calm down!" you heard.

"Calm down?!? Shelly, how the hell can I calm down?!? I ask him to dance and he completely ignores me!!" Joanie seethed. "And for what?? That stupid, pathetic nerd-girl who never says anything, just fetches drinks for them all night!"

You could see through the space in the stall doorframe that "Joanie" was the blonde from earlier who stopped by your table. "Shelly" was her red-headed friend.

"What could he possibly see in her?" Joanie continued. "She's not pretty, a boring techno-geek who probably runs around quoting 'Star Trek' all the time," she finished.

"Well, he has been drinking, or maybe he felt sorry for her because she doesn't have a boyfriend," suggested Shelly.

"That has to be it. Because there's no way he'd go for someone like her when he could have someone like me. Can I borrow your lipstick? I'm going to go back out there and do something about this. I need to 'freshen' up before I go back out there, though," she giggled.

Tears sprang to your eyes at what they were saying about you. You knew you didn't deserve anything they said about you, but still their words hit a little close to home. Worse, it got you thinking about why Dean was paying extra attention to you tonight. What if they were right? That he was drunk and didn't know what he was doing? Or worse, that he felt sorry for you?

You washed your hands and checked your face before exiting the restroom. You knew your eyes were probably still red, but in the dim lighting of the bar, you thought no one should notice.

When you got back to your table, you noticed that your partially finished drink from earlier was still there. However, everyone else had moved to the back corner where the pool table was. Oh, good. Maybe a game of 8-ball will take my mind off of things, you thought.

You picked up your drink to finish it off. Before the liquid could touch your lips, you heard the same laughter as you did in the restroom. You lowered the glass and your eyes traveled over to the corner. There for all to see was Dean up behind Joanie, helping her line up a shot.

You gasped at the sight before you, final confirmation of Dean's true feelings about you. Joanie must have heard you or had otherwise known you were there. Just before she made her shot, she looked up at you and gave you a knowing smirk. When the ball went into the pocket, she squealed, jumped into Dean's arms and locked lips with him.

Not waiting around to see what came next, you turned on your heel and headed for the back door. The bar had a patio area for additional seating, but it was empty tonight. You climbed up on one of the picnic tables to sit on top as your feet rested on the bench seat. Your hands covered your face as tears streamed down your cheeks.

The sound of flapping wings caught your attention and you turned to see Castiel had appeared, his trenchcoat billowing behind him. You wiped your tears and tried to regain your composure. "Hey, Cas. What are you doing here? Do you need something? Is everything okay?" You stopped because you realized you were rambling a bit.

"Good evening. No, I don't need anything, but I don't think everything is okay with you. Am I right?" he asked.

You turned to look in his ocean-blue eyes and rested your head on his shoulder. "Yeah, you're right, it's not okay with me right now. Can you please take me back to the bunker?" you asked.

"Shouldn't you tell Sam and Dean that you're going home?" Cas asked.

"They'll figure it out when I don't come back from the restroom. Besides, I saw them in the corner at the pool table. They're having plenty of fun without me," you muttered.

In the blink of an eye, you were back in your room, with Cas standing next to you. "Thank you, Cas. I'll be all right for now," you remarked.

"Are you sure? I'm here if you want to talk about anything," he offered.

"I really don't, Cas. I'm going to take a shower then go to bed. Goodnight," you said with a yawn. With a flapping of wings, Castiel was gone.

You gathered your robe and your towel then headed for the showers. The rushing hot water from the shower was doing little to wash away the thoughts about what happened earlier. You put your hair up in your towel and walked back to your bedroom to dry off. After you changed into some pajamas, you locked the door and turned off your light to try and get some sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So, you didn't see where she went?" Dean asked. He and Sam were returning from the bar, worried about what may have happened to you.

"Dude, you took her out on the dance floor, and that's the last time I saw her. I was too busy on my phone looking for cases to see anything else," Sam replied.

"Dammit! Where could she be? Last place I saw her was after the dance, then she went to the restroom. I thought for sure she'd come back and we could pick up right where we left off," he remarked. "We were having such a good time tonight, too," he muttered.

"I noticed you were getting a little cozy with her tonight," Sam smirked. "If you were having such a good time, what were you doing with that blonde chick, um, Joanie was it?" he asked.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's her. Practically threw herself at me, which, for a woman to do normally isn't a problem. But, this time it felt....wrong, like I was betraying someone," he replied.

He explained to Sam that Joanie had stopped by the table earlier and asked him to dance. He mentioned that he had turned her down and asked you to dance instead.

"Joanie's had her eye on you for months now and hasn't really let up at all. Then you choose someone else to dance with? I bet she was pissed," Sam observed.

Dean said that before you could come back from the bathroom, Joanie dragged him over to the pool table to play. He told Sam that it was his intention to play a game with you, not Joanie.

"Joanie asked me to show her how to make this one shot, so I did. Then she kissed me and afterwards, she asked me if I wanted to go home with her. I told her no, and she went ballistic. Her friend, Shelly, had to drag her out of there, kicking and screaming," he chuckled at the memory.

A little later, Dean pulled the Impala into her parking space in the bunker garage. He raced down the spiral staircase, noticing that all the lights were off but one. When he got to your bedroom door, he tested the knob only to find that it was locked. Dean gently knocked and softly called your name. He didn't hear anything or see any light under your door, so he figured you were sleeping. He turned and went back down the hall to his own room, hoping to get some sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, you got up early to make breakfast. After last night, you wanted to minimize your chances of running into Dean, at least for the moment. Being in the same room with him was bound to be awkward for awhile. You decided to do your best to keep it on a friendly level, no matter how much you wanted it to be more.

After you finished the last batch of pancakes, you covered them with aluminum foil to keep them and the bacon warm. At that moment, Sam came in from his morning run and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Hey, what happened to you last night? We were looking all over for you," he remarked, taking a long pull on the bottle.

"What do you mean?" you replied, your eyes never leaving the task at hand.

"Dean said you were in the restroom, then you never came back to the table. What's up?" Sam persisted.

"Nothing's 'up', Sam. I did come back to the table. I was going to finish my drink, realized it was all watered down and left it sitting there. I saw you all in the corner by the pool table, but I started feeling tired. I went out back for some air, Cas showed up and I asked him to take me home," you finished.

"Why didn't you let one of us know where you were? Dean was worried about you when you didn't come back from the restroom. If you were tired, we would've taken you home," Sam said pointedly.

"You all looked like you were having enough fun over there without me, and I didn't want to intrude. Besides, it looked like Dean was keeping himself occupied anyway," you muttered. You put a couple of pancakes on a plate for yourself and snagged some bacon, leaving the bulk of it for Dean. "I'm going to my room for a while. Later, Sam," you said as you exited the kitchen.

You saw Dean walking towards the kitchen and ducked into the library just in time to escape his radar. Guilt crept in that you were actively trying to avoid him, but you felt it would be better for you both in the long run.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A short time later, Dean stumbled into the kitchen, his hair sticking up in all different directions and his eyes not quite focused. He saw the plate of bacon and pancakes and was on instant alert. "She made breakfast? Where is she now?" he asked.

"She just left, took a plate to her room. She looked tired, eyes were kind of red," Sam explained. He filled a plate and took a seat opposite his brother at the table.

Dean fixed himself a plate of pancakes and mostly bacon. He wanted to talk to you about what happened last night and ask why you didn't come back to the table. He decided that after breakfast, he was going to talk to you and make sure you were okay.

Last night when he couldn't sleep, Dean thought back on the events of the evening. When you said you would go out to the bar, he couldn't believe his luck. He noticed that in the few times when you did join them at the bar, you tended to keep to yourself, not really saying much. Dean wished you felt more comfortable in the group, that you would open up a little more.

When you came out wearing that sparkly red tank top, his mouth ran dry and his heart started racing. It was his favorite color on you, because it reminded him how sassy you were when you wanted to be. He loved your sense of humor, injecting hilarious one-liners into the conversation when no one was prepared.

Dean also knew that beneath your quiet exterior was a woman of genuine caring and pure passion. That's the layer he wanted to get to, and learn more about. Thus, he made it his mission that night to show you that you belonged in the group, even if you didn't always feel that way.

As the night continued, he found himself drawn towards you and really seeing you, maybe for the first time. He thought about how your eyes flash when you and Sam get into your "Star Trek vs. Star Wars" debates. The way your mouth scrunches up when you're researching for a case. Your soft and silky locks that he can't wait to run his hands through or use to tug you closer to him.

The more he noticed about you, the more it made him want to focus more of his attention on you. To him, it felt natural for him to put his arm around your shoulder and keep you close. His fingers tracing patterns over your skin could almost be considered possessive. Kind of like his way of telling other men to back off, that you were his. Having you in his arms as you danced together, he felt an overwhelming sense of peace, and he never wanted to let go.

When Joanie was hanging all over him, it was different. It felt empty and superficial. When she kissed him, Dean didn't feel that connection, that spark the way he did with you. He couldn't wait to break away from her lips and get as far away from her as possible. He realized now who he felt like he was betraying when Joanie was all over him. She wasn't you.

Dean finished his breakfast and put his plate in the sink. He started to walk back to his bedroom when he saw you in the library, reading in your favorite chair. Well, you had a book open in your lap and you were sitting in your chair, but your eyes were doing anything but reading.

As Dean approached you, he could see the redness in your eyes. If he didn't know any better, he would say that you were tired, but he knew that you'd been crying. He was filled with this need to find out who had hurt you and to make sure it didn't happen again.

"Hey," he said softly as he rested his hand on your shoulder to get your attention.

Mask in place, you slowly turned to face Dean. "Hey, Dean. What's up? Is there something I can help you with? Some case you need researched?" you asked.

Dean knelt down next to your chair and searched your face for some clue as to what happened last night. "No, no, nothing like that. No cases right now, you can relax. Are you okay? You seem a little upset about something," he remarked.

You fought to keep your emotions under control and hoped that the battle wasn't showing in your face. "I'm fine, a little tired maybe, but I'm fine," you tried to assure him.

"If you're sure," he murmured, though not quite convinced. "Hey, what happened to you last night? You said you were going to the restroom, then I thought you were coming back," he stated.

You slammed your book closed and abruptly rose from your chair. "I already explained this to Sam. I went back to the table for my drink, but you all were off in the corner by the pool table. About that time, I was feeling tired, so I went out back to get some air. Cas showed up and I asked him to bring me home. End of story," you spat out in a rare flash of anger.

As you started to walk away, Dean quickly stood up, staring after you. He raced to catch up to you before you could leave the library. "Wait a minute. If you saw us over by the pool table, why didn't you come back over? I thought we were having a good time together," he persisted.

"We were, Dean. It was one of the best nights I've had out with you guys in a long time. Until...." you broke off, tears threatening.

Dean reached out and took your hand. "Until what, darlin'?" he asked softly.

You tore your hand from his. "Until I saw you and Joanie locking lips in the corner. After what she said about me in the restroom...." You shook your head. "You know what? I've got no right to say who you hook up with, who you choose to be with. I don't know what I was thinking," you muttered as you started walking towards your room.

"Whoa, wait a minute. What did she say about you? Because I'll guarantee you it's not true," he demanded, blocking the entrance to your room.

You took a deep breath to compose yourself. "She said I was a 'stupid, pathetic nerd-girl, a boring techno-geek who runs around quoting Star Trek all day'," you replied. "She said there was no way you'd go for someone like me when you could have someone like her," you whispered.

"Oh, sweetheart...." Dean whispered, his heart aching for how you must have felt.

"I don't know what's worse, that she said all that, or that I'm inclined to believe her," you started. "I wasn't sure why you were paying so much attention to me last night, when usually you're otherwise occupied.

"But, I do know that I liked how you made me feel, especially when we were dancing. Even if it was for just one night," you admitted softly, your eyes cast downward.

Dean hooked his finger under your chin to tilt your head up so he could gaze into your eyes. "Who said it was for just one night? When you said 'yes' to coming out with us last night, I was so excited, darlin'. I know you don't come out with us often, so I wanted to make it special for you.

"As the night went on, I noticed how much I was enjoying just being with you. It was fun to whisper jokes and comments in your cute little ear, because it let me get even closer to you. To have my arm around you felt like the most natural thing in the world, like you belonged there. Especially true when we were dancing," he grinned, causing you to giggle a bit.

"Dean, when I saw you kiss Joanie, I thought I had read too much into what was going on between us. That you didn't mean it, that she was more like what you wanted. It was one of the reasons why I didn't go over to the pool table. I figured that if you were happy with her, I was going to stay out of the way," you explained.

"Darlin', I swear, that was all her, the kissing part. Anyway, I couldn't kiss back," Dean confessed. "One, I didn't feel anything, there was no connection. And two, I felt like I was somehow being unfaithful to someone....well, to you.

"I couldn't sleep last night because I was trying to figure out how I feel about you. Sweetheart, I am in love with you. You are a compassionate, selfless and intelligent woman who has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. That's what makes you beautiful to me. Although I must say, you are smokin' hot on the outside, too," he remarked, waggling his eyebrows.

"I am in love with you, too. Have been for a long time, just never had the courage to say it. You are one in a million, Dean Winchester. You are a smart and caring man, who puts others before himself and who's more than a little bit gorgeous," you giggled. "You are worthy of all the love this world has to give, and I am more than happy to give my heart to you," you finished softly.

Dean licked his lips and reached up with his hand to cup your cheek, while you moved in to close the gap between you. Like two magnets, your lips crashed into each other as what started as a spark soon built into a raging bonfire.

Your tongue swept across Dean's bottom lip to request access, which he gladly granted with a smile. As you explored each others' mouths, you could taste the sweetness of the maple syrup from the morning's pancakes with the salt from the bacon. Your hand slid up to cup his cheek, gently caressing it with your thumb.

Determined to leave no territory untouched, Dean dropped a trail of feather-light kisses across and down your neck. When he reached your collarbone, his playful nips turned into more of a love bite, sucking at the skin to soothe the pain. "Mine," he murmured against your skin.

"Yours, only yours, Dean," you whispered as you ran your fingers through his hair. You gave it a gentle tug and were rewarded with a growl of pleasure.

When the two of you broke apart, you were both panting, trying to catch your breaths. "All this time," Dean began, as he touched his forehead to yours. "All this time, and you were right here. How could I not have seen how lovely and wonderful you are before now?" he mused.

You closed your eyes, your hand still on his cheek. "Doesn't matter, Dean. What does matter is that we're together now. And I intend on making the most of our time, regardless of whatever may come our way. I love you, Dean," you remarked.

"Sounds like a great plan, making the most of our time together. I love you too, sweetheart," Dean replied.

[coeurdastronaute]

Essays in Existentialism: Troublemaker (Before)

Previously on Troublemaker

“See! You’re having a good time!”

The music pulsated through the streets, and Lexa didn’t care that her sister was gloating because she really was having a good time despite all intentions otherwise. The sun was bright and glaring without a cloud in the sky, and downtown was brimming with all colors, alive and vibrant, celebrating. And she as swept up in it, proud and overflowing with the music and freedom of being completely herself and being completely unknown in the crowd. 

It’d been a hard fought battle for her to agree to come with her sister to Pride, but she didn’t have anything else to do, and because of Anya’s need to be an overachiever, something they both ascribed to genetics, she was going to be doing an internship and leaving soon enough, thus cutting their summer together incredibly short. The guilt and her sister’s incessant need to prove a point brought them downtown for the day, and Lexa was almost okay with it.

“I knew you would like it,” Anya gloated, dancing around with her sister in the pulsating group of bodies at the concert in the park. 

“Is it always like this?” 

A gaggle of scantily-clad men moved through in nothing but speedos and suspenders, and Lexa let one of them grab her and twirl her around. The entire day, she’d been absolutely adored and adoring of everyone around her. An inundation of love and support was enough to make her unsure of how to go back to real life.

Her sister watched as Lexa danced, hands up, smiling wide and overjoyed. She enjoyed the fact that her sister came out to her and she could actually do something about it. Though straight, Anya spent her first two years of college taking a crash course in gay when her random roommate was a very out and very proud girl who liked to use Anya as a wngman. She was incredibly helpful in coming up with things to help Lexa feel normal and supported, and Anya was going ot be the best big sister possible. She was that type A.

“Pride is always like this,” Anya promised. “And you get to be super gay anytime you want. Isn’t that great?” 

“You’re worse than mom and dad. They’re like oddly proud to have a gay kid.” 

“Nah, just because you’re you.” 

“Shut up,” Lexa rolled her eyes and moved, wiggling around, goofy and carefree. 

For the entire day, the sisters moved through the crowds, checking out vendors, eating delicious food, listening to speakers, and got decked out in glowing necklaces and rainbows painted on their faces. It was exhausting to be so gay, but Lexa finally understood what she’d been missing in her fear of joining the GSA, and her fear of being out at school. She hadn’t thought about how wonderful it would be to not have to worry about hiding, or at least, not actively living. 

“Thank you,” Lexa offered, as the pair stood on the side of the road for the parade. She hugged her sister as the sun began to set between the tall buildings. “This has been the best day of my life.”

“You’re a sap.” 

“I am not.” 

“You are.” 

“I’m not,” she smiled and danced around, her sister not used to such a carefree girl in front of her. “I’m just super gay-- Oops, I’m so sorr--”

Lexa stopped moving after bumping into someone behind her, not paying attention and living her life too widely and too queerly for such a confined area. She gaped and stared at the body she bumped into, more mortified than she’d been in her entire life. 

The body came attached to a pretty face. A familiar face. A face with bright blue eyes, and a mischievous grin and a messy bunch of wavy blonde hair. A face that had a tongue ring. A face that was attached to the girl who protested the Sadie Hawkins dance, the pep rally, and last year single handedly turned the swimming pool pink for women’s history month.This was the same face that Lexa couldn’t help but stare at anytime she walked by in the halls at school. This was the face that didn’t even know she existed. 

Clarke Griffin stared back in equal parts amazement at the girl who did the bumping. In all of her wildest dreams, she never imagined Lexa Woods, class president, Academic Decathlon team captain, Student of the Quarter, perfect attendance-winning, overall adorable nerd, would be standing next to her at Pride. And not just standing-- dancing, covered in rainbows, and smiling in something other than a primly put together button up shirt with a schedule strapped to her chest. 

“Clarke,” Lexa gulped, unable to say anything else, unable to hide her fear and confusion. “I-I-I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you. I was just… um… ” 

“It’s okay. Kind of close quarters and you were just being super queer,” she returned gracefully as she eyed the entire being of Lexa on summer break. “I didn’t think I’d run into anyone here. I thought everyone left for summer.” 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Oh, I’m always recruiting people for my zine. Intersectional politics and good music with a queer tint. Honestly, it’s whatever anyone submits. We set up a tiny booth,” Clarke explained, rambling slightly. “And I’m kind of gay.” 

“Kind of?” 

This was incredibly new and important news to Lexa, even if she didn’t know what to do with it.The entire school knew that Clarke ran with the same crowd, a crowd Lexa didn’t know anything about other than idle gossip. And it always looked like she was very close to Bellamy Blake. Romantically close. 

“Bi.”

“You have to go?” 

“No-- no… I’m bisexual.” 

Lexa felt her face burn and she wanted to melt into a puddle, right there in the early June evening. Maybe disappear into the sewer and wash away into the sea for the rest of time. But she didn’t. Instead, she just stood there, in front of the biggest badass tough guy hot girl she’s ever seen in her entire life. 

It was the longest they’d ever spoken, and she’d ruined it in under three minutes after learning that Clarke was gay-ish.

“That’s cool,” she finally managed, earning a small smile. 

Clarke pushed some hair away from her face and scratched her neck, using the pause to look at Lexa’s legs. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t try too much. 

“Is this your first Pride?” 

“Is it that obvious?” Lexa sighed, bashful at her display. 

“No, you look cute. I like the festiveness.” 

That didn’t help anything at all. Lexa looked around for her sister who made herself busy talking to other people and not at all available to bail her out of saying anymore words. 

“I’m gay,” Lexa finally blurted after a prolongued moment of silence. 

“That’s cool.” 

“Thanks.” 

A shout reached them over the noise of the parade, and both looked in that direction. 

“I have to um,” Clarke looked over her shoulder at the group that was calling her name. “I have to go catch up with my friends.”

“Right, yeah, definitely.” 

“It was good to see you, Woods,” she grinned as she backed away. “I hope I get to bump into you again.” 

“Right, yeah! Me, uh. Me too,” Lexa nodded.   

With another wave, Clarke was gone, swept up by her friends as they moved through the crowd. Lexa caught the look that Clarke gave her over her shoulder and she smiled because she got a look back. It might not have meant anything, but it still felt kind of good. 

“Your first Pride, and you’re getting chatted up by a grade A hottie. I’m impressed,” her sister slung her arm over her shoulder. 

“That was just a girl from school.” 

“She was not what I pictured for your type.” 

“I don’t-- I don’t have a type,” Lexa furrowed. 

“Everyone does. It just so happens that yours seems to be punk baddies with probable daddy issues.” 

“There’s no way you could know--”

“She was digging you too, by the way.” 

“There’s no-- I don’t-- She wouldn’t-- That was-- No,” Lexa shook her head. 

“Trust me. I’ve seen gay relief, and that girl was gay relieved you were gay.” 

“That’s not a thing.” 

“Don’t be mad because i have my ear to the ground in the gay community,” Anya shook her head. “I’ll have you know that Kaitlyn said I’d make a great lesbian.”

“Please let me die right here.” 

XXXXXXXXXX

The library on Fourth Street was nearly always empty around the end of lunch time. It seemed to empty out come the hottest part of the day with the normal crowd of parents and kids looking to stay busy during the long summer hours came in for story time and craft projects. 

With no particular impetus to move quickly, Lexa pushed her cart of returns through the aisles and rearranged any messy or disorganized stacks she found. But her head wasn’t particularly in it. 

Instead, Lexa thought about Pride, and replayed the entire interaction with a certain mild degenerate who had a pretty smile, who called her cute, she realized, halfway through overanalyzing it again for the hundredth time. All she could wonder was if this is what having a crush felt? And if so, was it possible to have crush after just three minutes? Nothing really prepared her for this. How could it? He didn’t have time for a crush. She only had to focus and get into the school she wanted. And then she could be who she thought she might want to be. 

“Hey Woods.” 

Lexa stopped as she turned to the next aisle, only to find the exact subject of her internal debate. There was a book tucked into her elbow as she retracted an arm reached out to grab something on a top shelf. Lexa looked to her bare arms, and then to her hips where a flannel was tied, and only subtly hiding her short shorts and some of the long legs and Lexa was gay. 

“I know it’s a library, but I’m sure you can talk a little bit,” Clarke smiled. 

Sunglasses tucked and holding her hair up out of her face, the girl had a motorcycle helmet tucked into the same elbow as the book. 

“Hey,” Lexa managed. 

“You work here?” 

“Yeah, just doing some little things, stacking, kids story time and stuff.” 

“Sounds fun,” Clarke nodded. She leaned against the shelf behind her and watched Lexa push her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. This was the Lexa she was used to seeing, and it did nothing to make her less interested, which was insanely weird. 

“Here for anything good?” 

“Uh, just some of the summer reading for Lit. And I’m kind of interested in a few SAT practice books. I took it already, but there’s one more that I can take before applications are due, and I’d like to see if I can do a little better.” 

It certainly wasn’t the reason Lexa expected, but she should have known better to expect anything from someone she really didn’t know other than through stories of stories of stories from other people. 

“Sounds like you have a busy summer planned.” 

Clarke laughed and ducked her head and Lexa tried not to be entranced by the action. 

“Have to keep busy between the protests and debauchery.” 

“Right, same.” 

“Everyone kind of left for the summer, it seems. It’s kind of nice, isn’t it?” 

“I was thinking the same thing,” Lexa agreed. “I miss my friends, but I’ve gotten a lot of things done.” 

“I’m sure you’re already done with the summer homework.” 

“No… well, just most of it.” 

“We’re two weeks into summer break, Woods,” Clarke pretended to admonish. Lexa shrugged, slightly guilty. “We’re going to have to find something to keep you busy.” 

“I think work will take care of that.” 

“You’re forgetting that I saw you at Pride. I know that you know how to have fun,” she teased, wiggling her eyebrows slightly. “And I know that you find me absolutely irresistible and cute.” 

“How could you possibly know that?” 

“So you admit it then?” 

“What? No,” Lexa shook her head and pushed her cart down the row, looking for the place to put the next in her pile. 

But Clarke wasn’t ready to leave, and she hung around, pushing off of the shelf only to follow Lexa and hover closer than Lexa could almost handle. 

“You checked me out at Pride.” 

“I did not.” 

“You did. I saw it. And you let me know you were interested in girls. If you didn’t know yet, I’m a girl, so the math seems to be adding up.” 

“Correlation does not imply causation,” Lexa responded quickly. “Your logic is not at all close to sound.” 

“So you don’t like me?” 

“I don’t even know you. If anything, I just find your face and,” Lexa moved her hand in Clarke’s direction, “that, all, pleasing.” 

“Good to know.” 

“Who even walks around telling people that they find them attractive. It’s maddening to have that much confidence.” 

Lexa jammed the book into the shelf as Clarke leaned beside her, grinning that grin that meant she was amused. That was also maddening. All of it suddenly was maddening, and Lexa missed the quiet of her shelves and wished she could go back in time and not let herself go to Pride. Then she wouldn’t have to see Clarke Griffin. 

“I like to have a healthy opinion of myself.” Lexa snorted. “And you should have one of yourself. Want to know a secret?” 

It was the smile that did it. And the eyes. But Lexa looked at Clarke and softened somewhat. It was due to the proximity, she told herself. Nothing else that she could control. 

“Sure.” 

“I didn’t really need these books,” Clarke offered. “I mean, I could have just ordered them online like a normal person. And I live closer to the Redwood Branch.” 

“Then why’d you come here?” 

“Hard to imagine you’re the valedictorian,” she chuckled. “I came to see you.” 

“Me?” 

“Yeah. I saw you at Pride and was intrigued. Thought I might feel it out a little bit.” 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“Why not, Woods?” Clarke sighed. “I’ve got nothing but time and… well, I didn’t know you were into girls.”

“How can you be so just… How can you just say what you’re thinking?” 

“Lots of practice,” she smiled. 

“I could never imagine just… just… just…” Lexa waved her hands around slightly as she tried to explain what she couldn’t. “I couldn’t just do that. What if it went badly?” 

“Is it going badly?” 

“No, but-- wait. Maybe. What I mean is…” It didn’t help that Clarke was leaning closer and Lexa was stuck in the stacks with a girl that was flirting with her and she’d never had that before and it was way better than she could have ever imagined. “Wouldn’t ou have been embarrassed if I just ignored you or something?” 

“Oh yeah, big time,” Clarke nodded. “But my dad used to tell me to do one thing every day that scared me. Figured I’d get it done before dinnertime today.” 

She was charming and honest and refreshing and unlike anyone Lexa had ever met. It was a whirlwind. 

“I have to finish this before my shift ends,” she tore her eyes away from Clarke’s and looked back at her cart. 

“Right, yeah, definitely,” Clarke agreed. 

“I should do that.” 

“I should go check these out.” 

“Maybe I’ll see you around this summer.” 

“Yeah,” Clarke grinned. “Maybe.” 

Lexa stood there as Clarke turned back toward reception.

“Clarke-- I um,” Lexa watched as she turned around. “I’ve never flirted… with anyone, really.” 

“That is surprising news.” 

She could tell from her tone that it wasn’t news, and Lexa pursed her lips and set her jaw. She stood a little straighter, steeling herself. 

“I hope I see you around.” 

“We do seem to keep running into each other.” 

With a final smile, Clarke winked and disappeared. 

XXXXXXXXXX

Standing outside of the house on the corner, Clarke looked at the perfectly trimmed hedges and the flag that hung by the door. The lawn was manicured and neat, the house was beautiful, lit up and glowing with life inside in the waning light. It was in the suburbs and insanely suburban. A tire swing hung from a giant oak. A basketball hoop hung over the garage. 

For the life of her, Clarke wasn’t sure how she ended up here, except that she made herself stand awkwardly in front of Lexa Wood’s house. Three years ago, she met Lexa as a freshman, and instantly had a crush on the girl who argued with her in history class. But Clarke also decided to avoid having a crush on the cute girl who pushed up her glasses and tried very hard to be absolutely perfect. 

She still kind of always had a crush, despite her refusal to admit it. For the past three years, Clarke tried to make Lexa smile from time to time. She’d do something stuipd and make sure Lexa was watching. 

But Pride was one of the few times in the past year they’d spoken. And Clarke was certain that now was her chance, so she took it. And after the library, she spent every day for a week and a  half showing up at the library. She brought Lexa lunch a few times, followed her around the stacks, chatting and fully developing a crush. It was easy to do. Lexa was funny, and serious, and witty, and quiet, and smart, like ridiculously smart, and she wasn’t afraid of Clarke, or intimidated. She debated her with vigor, had opinions, had plans, and more importantly, had dreams. 

Clarke knew why she was standing on Lexa’s front porch, and she knew why she was slightly nervous to knock, she just hated someone being able to do that, in equal parts as much as she craved it. 

She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this was good before she knocked. 

“Hey,” Lexa greeted her, smiling and pushing up her glasses as she does her best to not look winded from running to the door. 

“Hey,” Clarke sighs,  matching her grin, forgetting all of the thoughts of before. “You look really nice.” 

“Thanks. I, uh, you too. I like the black eye in particular.” 

“Oh, this?” she motioned toward the eye that had a little bruising. “Just, um. Bopped myself in the face while working out.” 

“What were you doing? Boxing?” 

“Krav Maga. My partner got a little overzealous.” 

“Goodness.” 

“I’ll try to be extra charming to make up for my disfigurement. I hope your gentle eyes can make it past my horrible appearance.” 

“I’ll do my best to look past it.”

“Good,” Clarke smiled and handed over a helmet. “Are you ready for the first date?” 

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

They walked toward the motorcycle sitting near the curb. Clarke pressed her palm to the flat of Lexa’s back. She handed over a helmet and Lexa looked at it curiously. 

“For your protection. Have you ever ridden on anything like this before?” 

“I’ve driven go karts.”

“Not the same thing,” Clarke chuckled. “Here, I’ll help.” 

The helmet eclipsed her, but Lexa tilted it upwards so that Clarke’s skilled fingers could tighten the strap beneath it. She lifted the visor and watched Clarke work. 

“I feel like a badass.” 

“You are.” 

“Do I look the part?” Lexa asked, smiling slightly as Clarke hopped on the motorcycle and put on her own helmet. 

“Very much,” she promised, flipping down both of their visors. “Hold on tight.” 

The date wasn’t anything fancy, but Clarke was hoping it was enough. They drove to the park, with Lexa’s arms wrapped tightly around her, and she took the long way, nice and slow, just for that reason. 

The park was busy, fully of people ready to enjoy the evening and a movie. Clarke unloaded a blanket and her backpack full of snacks, fully prepared to show off her dateable skills. From what she knew about Lexa, she assumed it was her first first date, and she was going to set the bar extremely high. 

Before the movie started, they talked about nothing in particular, and Clarke was careful to get in a little teasing, which Lexa returned, smiling the entire time, challenging her. During the movie, Clarke let Lexa lay her head on her lap, and shivered because she gave her the only sweatshirt she had. 

Even after it ended, they remained, hanging out in the twilight and talking, hovering, close and unsure and happy. Later into the night, after another trip back to Lexa’s, Clarke bashfully stood on the porch and earned a hug and completely bungled the kiss, unable to read Lexa and unable to make herself that brave. 

“Did you have a good time?” Clarke ventured, leaning against the railing. 

“I really did. Thank you.” 

“Maybe we could do it again sometime.” 

“I’d like that.” 

“Good.”

“Good.” 

“Great,” Clarke grinned. 

“Great.” 

XXXXXXXXXX

It was almost like a game at this point, for Lexa to stumble upon Clarke somewhere in the library during her shift. Rarely was it in the same place twice, and rarely was it when she was expecting it, though she found herself always looking forward to the smile and girl that sometimes brought her snacks. 

For the first month of summer break, Lexa didn’t even realize she’d spent most of it talking to or spending time with Clarke Griffin. It just kind of happened, and she found herself getting attached. She found herself flirting, or so she thought. She definitely found herself flirted with, which was still so wonderful. 

Clarke wasn’t what she’d thought. She was insanely frustrating and still too hot for her own good, and smarter than she wanted anyone to know, while at the same time being absolutely addicted to her moral code and her’s alone. 

In a month, Lexa learned that Clarke was not in a gang, despite everyone thinking it was a gang, but rather had a close knit group of friends that occasionally contributed to shenanigans of a disruptive nature. She learned that she was a hell of an artist, sketching things here and there, and when they ventured out on a hike or spent time lounging around, showed her sketchbook very timidly. She learned that Clarke’s father died three years ago, and that was where she disappeared to freshman year. She learned that Clarke liked to work on her motorcycle herself instead of taking to a shop because she wanted to feel closer to her father. Lexa spent an entire afternoon learning parts of the bike and helping with an oil change. 

For an entire month, Clarke pushed Lexa. She pushed her to go on dates. She pushed her to jump off of the old bridge foundation at the river when they went swimming. She pushed her to watch a few movies she wasn’t sure of. She pushed her to egg street signs for the first time ever. 

“Excuse me, but I’m looking for a book about a cute librarian who has a crush on a girl named Clarke. Know where I can find that?” 

Lexa smiled despite herself as she turned the corner in one of the farther aisles in the library’s second floor. 

“I was just thinking about you.” 

“All good things I hope.” 

“More or less.” 

That seemed like good enough for Clarke who returned Lexa’s smile. The two stood there, close in the tight aisle, but used to the proximity. 

“I was wondering if you’d like to come over tonight. We could watch a movie and you could read my essay and give a million edit suggestions. I’ll even let you use your red pen.” 

“It shows up better.” 

“Yeah yeah,” Clarke humored her. 

“I’ll be over after dinner then.”

“Good.” 

“Were you leaving already?” Lexa furrowed as Clarke shoulder her backpack and shifted instead of getting comfortable or even grabbing some of the books to help her put back on the shelves. 

“I have to see a guy about a thing.”

“Just a drive by today, and no snack?” 

“Like I would ever leave you wanting,” Clarke tsk’d as she dug in her bag and pulled out Lexa’s favorite assortment of gummy bears. “I know what you like, Woods.” 

“You’re spoiling me. I’ll have to start working out more often or I’ll be too slow for track.” 

“You’re fit. I mean, you’re--”

“Perv.” 

“Sometimes,” Clarke shrugged. 

Lexa held her bag of snacks in her hand and smiled at them softly. She saw Clarke’s shoes nearly touching her own, and when she looked up, she realized how close they truly were. But she didn’t move. She just stood there and tried to figure out what Clarke’s eyes were saying, because they were furrowed until they weren’t, and then there was a peace there, a decisive calm. 

Lexa felt a hand on her shirt, grasping it near her heartbeat. Clarke paused before she did it, waiting for Lexa to pull away, asking for permission. Only when she got it, did she lean forward and kiss Lexa enough to take her breath away. The only thing Lexa could hear was the blood thumping in her ears, but she ignored it and kissed Clarke back eagerly. 

“Thanks, Woods,” Clarke murmured after a few seconds. “I needed that.” 

“Yeah, no, yeah.” 

“I’ll see you later.” 

“Right, later, mhm,” Lexa nodded and ran her thumb along her bottom lip as Clarke moved, leaving her rooted and blushing. 

“If you liked that, we could do it more often,” Clarke offered as she walked backward out of the shelves. 

“Sounds very good to me.”

[zippiestdraws]

Choking Curiosity Ch 9

ftm reader x Michael Myers

read on ao3

The microwave clock says five-fifty am when Michael creeps into the house. He shakes the dew out of the mask’s hair and reaches for the kitchen towel to wipe off the latex.

The book is new. He saunters to it slowly, leaving it untouched other than plucking the note from the cover. Your request in writing is met with indifference, barely read, but his thumb rubs over the inking of your name at the bottom.

He’d seen it amongst your things, but this trinket he can keep. He pockets the paper, crumpling it in his grip, and picks up the book. Beginner’s Guide to American Sign Language.

Michael snarls under the mask. Past anger wells in his chest at the words, fighting to vent through his fingers. They tried to make him use sign language in Smith’s Grove. He never wanted to learn to communicate better, even if out of spite, it was what he could control. The only sign that really stuck was the middle finger.

Michael climbs the stairs with a harsh grip on the spine, sparing a glare towards your bedroom door and throwing the book into his room before him.

*** You wake up with purpose this morning and only spend half the amount of time as usual sitting in your bed before getting up.

Fussing with the bedhead in the mirror, you brush your teeth when a thought hits you. You haven’t seen your new roommate brush his teeth.

Ew.

You sigh. You’re going to have to get him a toothbrush and some deodorant, you can’t imagine being on the lam has left him smelling decent. You gag. He better not have touched your toothbrush.

The book is gone from the counter, which you count as a win. There’s no response to your note, but you’ll take what you can get. You just need to remember to study your book too, when you get back.

Thinking about the cookout, you stop short.

‘Was I supposed to bring a dish?’

You groan, hopefully they won’t judge you for bringing some chips and dip.

You get dressed what would be considered way too early, but you need to get gas anyway, and luckily you did because, as you leave your house, you see Abtin approach from his yard.

He gifts you a tomato from his garden, to your surprise, and begins to tell you how his plants are doing. He tells you he’s gonna cook the rabbit that keeps eating his cabbage if he catches it, in the way he jokes for shock value.

“So, hey, is that your brother I keep seeing behind your house? He keeps coming and going-”

You choke on your own spit.

“I’m just messing with you, I know what it is.” He laughs and slaps his knee. You don’t know what you would say if you could say something. What excuse could you give? You hope he doesn’t mean what you think he does, but you’re the only person he gossips to anyway.

You’re relieved when he moves on to critique the spray paint still out front, but at least Halloween is next month and then you’ll probably be able to paint the house.

In another ten minutes, you pocket your tomato and make it to your car to drive for the first time in probably two months. Hopefully you’ll have enough gas to make it to a station.

*** You’re lucky you filled the tank before leaving because you got lost twice trying to find the turn off indicated on the map. Finally, on another turn back, you see a faded red flannel tied around a tree, and upon closer inspection, an old dirt road hidden at an odd angle.

When the trees part into a wider clearing down the road, you slow to a stop in the drive of what appears to be a tricked out log cabin. Putting your car in park, you jump at a loud whack nearby, someone splitting logs in your peripheral.

Jake is wearing what looks like a cowboy hat, but you’re more enamored with the way his arms look in his sleeveless vest when he swings the axe. You close your mouth and remind yourself he’s spoken for. Stepping out of the car and grabbing the food you brought, he waves to you, then points to the cabin. Right on time you see Dwight and someone you don’t know lifting a wooden picnic bench, and you jog over to help because Dwight looks like he’s about to get squashed.

At its destination, the other man introduces himself as David and slaps hands with you, throwing his arm around Dwight. It’s almost surprising, the two of them look like a stereotypical high school nerd and bully, but David tussles his hair like an older brother.

After letting go, he pulls you over to where some logs are felled around a firepit to “grab a beer and meet the queers”. You laugh at the overtness of it, and again as a girl with red hair chucks a bag of marshmallows at his head when she hears him say it. Maybe finding someone like you isn’t a lost cause here.

“Hey!”, when David opens the cooler, you look up to see Laurie standing there pointing at you. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” you smile, glad to see a familiar face.

“I came with Meg and Claudette,” Laurie gestures at the two other women who nod to you.

“I’m Meg and this is Claudette, to be clear,” the girl with red hair clarifies and nods her head across from her, “and over there is Ace- and so help me, Ace, if you shoot that at me I will roast you over the fire.”

You turn towards who she’s speaking to and see an older man sitting in a blue, plastic kiddie pool struggling to fill a small water pistol while laughing.

“Here you go, mate.” David grabs your attention trying to hand you a beer.

“Oh, no thanks, I gotta drive home tonight-” you put your hand up, but he presses it into your palm.

“Come on, relax, just one won’t hurt. And if you get hammered, you can just camp out here like everyone else.”

It’s in your hand now and you nod at him, but you don’t want to reveal that you think beer tastes like shit.

Dwight returns with Jake and firewood in tow, Ace squirts the water gun at them ‘to cool Jake down’ and you duck out of the way as they drop the tinder into the pit.

“Hey, glad you came,” Jake says, dusting splinters from his hands.

“He brought chips!” You both hear David yell over from the table, presumably with his mouthful.

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t bring something better-” you start to apologize but he tells you not to worry about it, chips are great and you brought enough so that David can’t eat them all. David yells back that he takes that as a challenge.

You can’t remember the last time you’ve laughed this much.

It’s a warm enough afternoon that you don’t need to light the bonfire yet, and David gets the grill going while Jake runs back to his cabin to grab the meat. At this point you remember the tomato in your pocket, pulling it out and setting it on the table sheepishly.

“Nice tomato! I always bring a vegetarian option for everybody too, Jake keeps them separate on the grill for me.” Claudette smiles at you from across the table as she sets down some plates.

“Thanks, my neighbor actually gave it to me from his garden this morning before I left.”

The two of you talk, and you learn that planting marigolds with tomatoes is a great way to prevent pests and Claudette knows a whole lot about gardening because she happens to be a botanist.

Meg sits down next to her and listens happily for a couple of minutes before calling Ace over to challenge him to an arm wrestle.

“Don’t let him near the grill, everything he touches burns…” Meg whispers out of the side of her mouth as he walks over. You catch Laurie’s eye from where she’s standing with Dwight, Jake, and David at the grill, exiting the conversation before swiftly making her way over to you.

“I’m gonna show (Y/n) where the bathroom is.”, her hand lands on your shoulder, you guess you have no choice.

You swing your legs around the bench and follow her off towards the cabin with a shrug. When you’re a few paces away from the group, she hisses to you under her breath without looking and you almost miss it.

“Have you seen him again?”

It takes a second before you register what she’s talking about, but you respond before you come to a full conclusion on what you tell her.

“No, not since the first time.” She opens the front door of the cabin and you avoid eye contact. You hope your body language reads ‘upset’ and not ‘hiding something’. “I don’t want to talk about it right now…”

Laurie lets it drop, but sounds irritated when she points out the bathroom. On the way back you whisper a ‘sorry’ and she responds with a ‘me too’. You scrunch your brows in confusion, but head over to the grill. She disappears from your side but a thirty seconds later a stream of water hits you in the side of the head.

You yelp in shock and duck, but Laurie keeps squirting the gun, catching Dwight in the crossfire.

“It’s on!” David yells, dropping the tongs on the grill and vaulting over the table after her. Laurie runs to the other side of the kiddie pool that you see Ace getting out of, holding a beer aloft.

There’s a stand off on either side of the water, broken by David launching over it and landing one foot in the drink to lunge at Laurie, only for her to jump out of his reach. Almost in slow motion, everyone watches as his one foot slips on the plastic and he goes tumbling down, soaking his pants and getting a face full of grass. Everybody has a good laugh while he climbs out with a flurry of curses and peels off his shirt.

Damn.

Jake calls over as he sets one huge plate of hot dogs and burgers on the table and follows it with one of corncobs and what’s probably the veggie patties that Claudette mentioned. Meg whistles at the sight of the food and starts serving hot dogs after passing the vegetarian plate to Claudette, everyone falling in at the table to eat.

*** You eat until you’re stuffed, unashamed as everyone else does the same. The sun is sinking in the sky now, casting a pleasant glow through the trees. Jake deems it enough to start the fire and you approach to watch curiously as he strikes flint onto the dry brush and blows on it.

When he’s finished he tells the group to keep an eye on it while he fetches the s’mores stuff.

“I thought we put it out right here-” Dwight turns toward the logs, confused, but Jake takes him by the arm to bring him along to the cabin.

“I brought it inside because the chocolate was melting.” Dwight seems to accept this and follows along.

When they're out of earshot, Meg leans in towards the log you’re sitting on from her own.

“Jake is proposing tonight! I think he’s doing it!” She squeals a bit in excitement and tries to look like she’s not watching when Dwight looks back before ducking inside.

You share in their excitement and join Ace in stoking the fire into a roaring flame. You watch the smoke dance and carry some ashes into the air and lean back happily. The sky is turning from purple to deep blue now. The light from the fire dances off the trunks of the trees, and you take in the nature of your surroundings as your friends chatter around you.

You squint at a shape between the trees and it moves behind a thicker trunk.

White mask.

*** Michael would never admit to himself of ever feeling jealousy, but a certain irritation of possessiveness grows as he watches. His stomach rumbles at the food, but it’s of little relevance to him.

He spots Laurie and his knife is already in his dominant hand. The strings are connecting what he’s seeing to the same feeling of what he saw watching the teenagers in 1978. This time Laurie is collateral. Funny.

All he has to do is wait.

He could go after the two that already diverged from the group, but he wanted you separated. He moves closer to where you will see him.

The firelight flickers over your form, creating a beautiful moving sepia of you that reminds Michael of the old photographs in the asylum. As you poke at the fire, it licks towards your fingers and that are drawn back sharply.

What sounds would you make when it touched you?

Your eyes had a dream like quality, observing the realness of your habitat, peering through rose-tinted glasses to only see the welcoming nature when surrounded by the lurking sharpness of it.

He may have felt smug when the illusion broke around his presence.

Michael moves out of your line of sight, but he humors over the way a human freezes like an animal in the headlights.

The annoying man who fell in the pool speaks. Michael doesn’t like the way he looks at you.

“Oi, (y/n), you look like you’ve seen a ghost, what’s got you bothered?”

You snap out of it quickly, looking towards him and then shaking your head.

“Um, yeah sorry, I’m just...cold. I’m gonna go get my jacket from my car, I’ll be right back.”

You skitter off nervously, Michael can see the confusion on some of the other faces.

You make it to your car before scanning the woods and spinning to check your blindspot, but you don’t need it, Michael is already walking toward you and you can see the way the orange of the distant campfire glints off of the knife he’s brandishing. You step back, you don’t want to be intimidated, but you fear for what he’ll do to your friends.

The car door stands between the two of you when you open it, pulling out your jacket without breaking eye contact. It’s seeming like you can’t escape him.

“How did you get here?”, you whisper, not knowing exactly where Jake and Dwight are.

You wait for an answer, and when you give up on one, he turns his head deliberately toward the backseat of your car and back to you.

You’re incredulous, the main question you don’t want to elaborate on is “how?”, but you wave it away to get to the point.

“Please.”, you don’t know what you’re appealing to, but you hope there’s some leverage you have in the way he sees the situation. “Please don’t hurt these people. I’ll-”

What will you do?

You don’t know, but you have to save them from whatever he’s planning.

“I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll-I’ll leave right now, okay?” He just stares at you. He twists his knife once.

“The car is open, I’ll go make an excuse to leave and be right be right back, I promise.” You hold up your hands placatingly.

You do a quick jog back to campfire and it looks like you return shortly after Jake and Dwight.

“So, what’d I miss?”, you hope you don’t enter as clumsily as you feel.

Jake and Dwight turn to you on the log and Dwight is wearing the biggest sheepish smile and looks like he cried a little bit. You can see the little gold band on Dwight’s left hand and smile back, issuing proper congratulations.

You force yourself to say it, feeling guilty for springing it on them during a sentimental moment.

“I wanted to stay for the s’mores, sorry guys, but I gotta get home.” Some sad ‘awws’ erupt from the girls and Laurie looks at you suspiciously.

“What, are you afraid of the dark?”, David jeers as you say your goodbyes.

“No, I just have work tomorrow.”, you grimace.

he responds with a hum of acknowledgement before laughing.

“Hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave.”

You give him a good natured punch in the shoulder before waving to everyone and heading out.

Approaching your car once more, you can see Michael’s silhouette in the backseat and gulp. Sliding in and starting the car like normal, you try not to look back, but in the mirror you see the shadowed eyes watching you.

It’s easy to imagine how vulnerable you are to him in the backseat. The ride home is awkward, but only for you.

[mrsalwayswritex]

Premiere Night

A/N- This is my first non prompted fic, but be brutal and tell me what you think!

Word count- almost 6k (what a way to start off)

Pairing- Ben Hardy/Jones x Fem!Reader

Warnings- light angst (little sad), fluffy friendship untiiiiiiiil, gwil softness

Two weeks ago, your best friend asked you a huge question, and it took you days to answer him, despite the constant texting.

Jonesy- please please please please

You- I told you I needed time to think

Jonesy- think faster would you

You- don't you pressure me jonesy, i will fight you

Jonesy- please please please please

You- I'm done having this conversation, bud. xx

Jonesy- fine xx

He wanted you to go to the premiere of 6 Underground with him, and as excited as you were for him, that really wasn't your scene and it honestly scared the crap out of you. There would be way to many people for your liking and the fact that all eyes would be on you pushed you closer to an anxiety attack, but then you though back to his face when he asked you.

-

“Hey, y/n, would you mind stopping over later?” He spoke into the phone before you could even say ‘Hello’, but you smiled anyways. “I mean if you like have other plans, that uh- that's alright too, but uh-”

“Hello to you too! Don't worry Jonesy, I'll be over at yours in maybe a half hour? I need coffee or I could possibly die.” You chuckled into your phone and though you couldn't see him, you knew he was smiling too. “What do you want?” You asked, swinging your legs out of the blanket and off the bed with a soft grunt.

“You’re the best, y/n.” Ben chuckled into the phone before basically rattling off his usual order, which made you roll your eyes. “Just because I'm not there doesn't mean i can't see you rolling your eyes at me. I know you, y/n/n. How long have we been friends?”

“Since before sliced bread, Jonesy.” You smiled into the phone again pulling on a pair of black denim shorts, while trying to balance the phone on your shoulder. “See you in a bit.” You huffed out and closed the phone before he responded. Changing your sleep shirt for a tank top and grabbing a flannel shirt you were out the door in less than ten minutes.

There was a small coffee shop almost directly between your apartment and Ben’s and the two of you often met up there so when you walked in and they saw you, they repeated your everyday order with a smirk and you shot them the finger guns you usually did and stood off to the side while other people came in. Once your order was up, you blew a kiss to the barista and you walked the next block and pushed the button for Ben’s apartment with your nose until the door buzzed open.

“I don't know why you won't let me help you.” Ben said when you kicked at his door with full hands and a paper bag in your teeth. He took the coffee you handed him and he grabbed the bag from your mouth.

“Strong and independent.” You gave him a wink while you kicked off your old converse walking straight to his couch. “Ok so I'm here, what did you need from me?”

“Oh! I wanted to ask you if you would mind being my plus one!” He seemed excited but also, in normal Ben fashion, shy as hell. “Like for the 6 Underground premiere?” He said slower when he saw your jaw drop.

“I know what premiere, Benjamin. You really think that I'll fit in there huh?” You scoffed, taking a large sip of your coffee, burning your tongue. “I don't know, this is kind of a huge thing isn't it?” Ben rubbed his hand through his hair and sighed, giving you a weak smile.

“I really want you to go though, you haven't been out with me like that since EastEnders and I miss it!” He gave you his best pouty face and you rolled your eyes and sighed at him. “Pleaseeeeee, y/n!” He ran over to the couch and jumped beside you, puffy out his lip and shaking his hands at you. “Pretty pleaseeeeee.” He begged.

“Let me think about it, when is it?”

“Three weeks from tomorrow.”

“Ugh, Jonesy you're killing me.”

-

The image of your best friend pouting beside you had stuck, which is what brought you here, dress shopping with Ben. You were more of a converse and jeans kind of girl so this was not even close to your scene, but then again neither would a premiere be your scene. He is so lucky that he’s my best friend. You thought to yourself as Ben was flicking his way through rack after rack of fabulous dresses that you never thought you would ever be thinking of wearing. “What are you wearing, Jonesy?” You asked, flipping through a rack of so many colors and sparkles it almost was too bright to look at, you shook your head lightly and moved down the line.

“All black, my stylist says it makes my hair pop?” He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “Black would look good on you too! Let’s look for those!” He exclaimed happily grabbing your hand and dragging you through the rows. You tried not to think of the warmth of his hand as you followed him with a giggle. “Oh look at this one!” He asked pulling a long black gown with small flowers on it and a split almost the whole way up the side.

“I don't know about that one, look at this slit!” You whisper-yelled, “You’ll practically be able to see mine!” You whispered the last part, looking around you and Ben let out a laugh so loud that people started looking at the two of you. “I swear to god, Jonesy, stop making people look.” You tried to hide your face but he wrapped his arms around you, chest still rumbling from laughter and he pressed a kiss to your hairline.

“You had better get used to it if you're going to this thing with me, y/n/n.”

“Fuck off.” You grumbled but hugged him back none-the-less.

You and Ben had been friends for almost your whole life, and you had tried years and years ago to deny that there was anything more than friendship you were feeling, but Ben had never showed any extra interest in you so you just pushed those aside and basked in the friendship of this sweet boy you grew up with. It had been only a few months ago that he had broken up with his long time girlfriend, and you noticed him being more touchy with you. You had brushed that off as him needing some sort of contact and pushed the feelings away again. This is your best friend, y/n. Get over yourself. You admonished yourself often when Ben would lay his head on your lap during a movie, or like now when he gave you a big hug and a kiss to the forehead, which you used to do a lot when you were younger but that fad had disappeared as you grew up. You and Ben had been through so many things in life together that you would never risk this friendship for some silly crush.

When the two of you broke apart moments later, your face bright red, you dove right back into flipping through the hangers. Finding a simple black lace dress that had next to no poof - the way you like them- your jaw dropped. Seeing your reaction Ben poked his head over your shoulder and gave a small whistle. “If you don't go and try that on right now, I will leave you here.” His breath on the side of your face made you shiver and he chuckled in your ear. “Go try it on, but don't let me see it.” Gently grabbing the hanger, you walked over to the lady behind the desk, and asked for help getting it on. She smiled brightly at you and took you back to the fitting rooms.

“Oh honey, this is your dress.” The saleswoman clapped her hands happily as she zipped you into the gorgeous black dress. “It's like it was made for you! Do you want to show your boyfriend?” She asked with her hands interlaced by her face. You shook your head, unable to speak as you looked into the mirror. This dress was made for me. You ran your hands softly down the fabric as it hugged every curve perfectly, and the plunging neckline made you feel glamorous.

“Oh!” As if just realizing what she said and you turned red again, “He is just my best friend!” The saleswoman gave you a sly smile that said she didn't fully believe you but shrugged and apologized anyways. “He doesn't want to see it yet, he wants both outfits to be a surprise.” You explained as you spun around, looking at your reflection in the mirror with a huge smile. “But this is the one.” She clapped again and began helping you out of it as you nearly vibrated with excitement.

When you walked out holding the dress with great care, Ben saw your smile and pumped his fist lightly. “This is the one.” You beamed at him and he wrapped his arm around your shoulder as you handed over your card to the saleswoman who gave you a small smile.

“She looks beautiful in it.” The woman mock whispered to Ben, shooting you a wink.

“She always does.” Ben smiled down at you and you blushed, quickly pulling your gaze from his face as the woman put your dress in a garment bag and zipped it closed. “Now the fun part, shoes!” He laughed fully again as you rolled your eyes again for the millionth time that day.

-

Shoe shopping wasn't as bad as you thought it would have been and soon you were back in Ben’s car on the way back to your apartment. “See? Shopping wasn't that bad.” He elbowed you in the side lightly as his eyes flicked back and forth between you and the road. “Now I'm thinking some take out and a movie?”

“Sounds alright to me, bud.” You gave him a small smile and leaned your head against the window, trying to contain your excitement. “Pizza or Chinese?”

“Horror or RomCom?” He questioned back.

“Either pizza and romcom or chinese and horror?”

“How about chinese and romcom so when you laugh there is a chance for a noodle out of the nose again.” He cackled and you smacked him in the chest, laughing with him.

“That was ONE time, can we please move on!” Both of you laughing felt right and you felt more and more the need to keep him as your best friend, butterfly feeling or not. “Pizza and romcom it is!” you brought your fist down on your knee like a gavel, decision made.

“Why can't all women be like you, y/n? In five minutes you decided on not one, but two things.” He shot you a wink, “One of those actually being the answer to the question ‘What do you want for dinner’ I am so proud of you.” You stuck your tongue out at him and he returned the gesture.

Once you were back at the door to your apartment, Ben was on the phone in an instant ordering your pizza with his phone on his shoulder as he leaned down to untie his shoes. Once in the kitchen you pulled the ashtray out from the shelf and set it on the island, knowing that Ben chain smokes when you are together. This was a normal thing, so you went about the usual routine while he thanked the person on the phone, dropping it to the table before pulling out a barstool to sit across from you as you slid him a beer.

“So tell me a little more about what I'm going to have to do next week, Jonesy.” Taking a sip of your beer, you pulled out your pack of marlboros, took one out and slid them across the counter to him, he accepted with a smile. “What is my job?”

“Honestly I just want you there because I miss going to these things with you,” He lit his own cigarette and blew it out of the corner of his mouth. “You don't have to do anything but stand there and look pretty. Take a few pictures with me, and then watch the movie while looking fabulous. That’s really it!” He explained, taking a sip of his beer too.

“What am I supposed to do when they want pictures of you alone? Just stand there awkwardly?” You tried to not seem too worried about it but you knew that he knew you were terrified. Crowds were not really your thing and especially when there will be constant pictures being taken of you, it was nerve wracking and he knew it. When he reached his hand over to yours and touched it gently you automatically looked right to his face.

“Joe and Gwil will be there too, so when I'm needed alone you can just stick around them, you know they love you.” He nodded his head, the gentle look on his face making you feel only slightly better. “Besides, I don't plan on leaving you alone if I can help it. What’s the point in you going with me if I leave you behind somewhere?” He chuckled a little, pulling his hand back and you hated that you instantly missed the warmth and softness of his hands. Pull yourself together.

“Well I guess that doesn't sound all that bad.” You sighed giving him a weak smile. The two of you sat there and polished off your beers and laughing with each other until there was a knock at your door, your pizza was finally here! After all these years it began to be a game between the two of you, who could reach their wallet and the door first, and this time was no different. You both grinned at each other as you both took off towards the door, Ben sticking his leg out to the side as you tumbled onto the couch with a shriek, he cackled loudly as he reached the door. Huffing you got off the couch and stomped your way to the kitchen for another round of beers and napkins, no plates, knowing you will both just eat straight from the box.

The two of you met back in the middle on the couch and ben handed you a box and kept one for himself. “Oh we should have gotten cheese sticks!” smacking yourself in the forehead lightly, Ben smiled at you and handed you a smaller box. “You are seriously the best, Jonesy” You blew him a kiss as you both settled in side by side on the couch and you turned on the movie. You munched happily on your bacon, onion and extra cheese pizza while ben enjoyed his pepperoni and cheese one, both of you offering the other a piece at the same time.

Once you had your fill of the pizza, you carried the boxes to the refrigerator and grabbed the ashtray on the way back through, setting it between you on the cushion. Ben moved it over and once you were settled, he laid down and settled his head in your lap, your hand instinctively going to his hair and he let out a happy sigh. The movie kept playing and you both stayed there, happily enjoying the night.

-

Before you knew it, it was premiere day and when you rolled over to look at the time, you groaned when you saw that it read 6:25 am, you didn't have to be awake for another three hours. Tossing and turning for a bit longer before you sat up with a huff. Coffee! Coffee! Was the only thing your mind could think of, as you kicked off the blankets and shuffled into the kitchen. Cup of coffee in hand, and a cigarette in the other, you yawned as you kicked on the bathroom light.

Hearing your phone going off and groaning loudly, you set the cup on the bathroom counter and turned on the hot water before you ran to the bedside table where the device sat. Jonesy. “Morning, Jonesy.” You yawned into the phone, getting a grunt in return. “Couldn’t sleep either, bud?” You smiled as you walked back into the bathroom. Ben grunted again and you understood it as an agreement.

“y/n. Are you in the shower?” He suddenly sounded wide awake and you huffed out a laugh.

“Not at the moment, but I was about to get in when you called. Can I call you back in like 20 minutes or did you need to talk?”

“Talk. I may have gone to a few of these but my nerves always get to me beforehand. Wanna go get coffee soon?” You heard him shuffling around on his end and you pictured his morning zombie walk to the kitchen. “What time do your appointments start?” He mumbled through a yawn.

Pulling your hair up into a high bun so it didn't get wet, and switching to speakerphone and setting it on the counter next to your shower. Pulling back the curtain and stepping into the hot water, you let out a soft sound of happiness. You swore you heard Ben choke on whatever he was drinking, but he cleared his throat to cover it. “Back to back hair and nails starting at 10, and yes to the coffee. What about your appointment?”

“Claire is coming over to mine around 12, we need to head out about 3, will you be ready by then?” You could tell he was trying to talk louder so you could hear him over the sound of the water.

“Can I just come to yours to get ready? I'm gonna need help with this dress. I'll try and make it before Claire leaves, I'm sure she would help me.”

“You got it, babe.”

-

You and Ben met up at the coffee shop about a half hour later, not hanging up until you could see each other down the street, and you both nervously drank multiple cups of coffee, then he offered to drive you to your appointments, to which you happily agreed. Soon your hair was perfect and your nails were a glittery black color to which Ben happily approved of.

“11:15, let’s go grab your things and head back to mine?” He held open the door for you before rushing forward to get the car door as well, “Don't want your nails to get ruined!” He beamed at you sweetly.

Luckily you were super anxious about today, you had already gathered up everything you would need from shoes to earrings stacked neatly in front of the garment bag holding your dress. Squealing softly and gathering your things, you were back in Ben’s car in minutes and on the way back to his apartment. Neither of you spoke on the way back, nerves speaking loud enough for the both of you. When you pulled up to the front of the building a familiar car was parked in front. Joe and Gwil were both bobbing their heads in the front seat, Ben threw himself into the side of the car dramatically and after hugs and hellos, the four of you made your way up the stairs, each of the boys carrying something of yours so your hands were free. (“Gotta protect the nails, y/n.” Ben winked at you.)

-

Claire had finished putting the final touches on Ben and the boys before coming back the spare bedroom you had taken over. Patting the wall like a drum roll and you opening the bag, she clapped her hands loudly. “Oh y/n! It's beautiful!” She cooed and you grinned happily. Claire was an expert at this, literally her job, so within minutes you were securely in your dress and had just slipped your shoes on while she clasped your necklace. It was a small silver chain that clasped around your neck but fell into your cleavage, shown off by the low cut dress, it was the perfect accessory. “Oh my love, you look so beautiful!” She out both hands on your either of your cheeks and kissed your forehead before touching her forehead to yours. “Let’s go out there and make Benjamin’s jaw drop!” You rolled your eyes, waving your hands at the door, letting the woman go first. She scooted down the hall clapping her hands for the attention of the small group. “Premiere ready for the first time in years, Y/n is back to grace us with her beauty! Ben, keep your eyes closed, Y/n, darling, you too!”

“How am I supposed to walk in these heels with my eyes closed, Claire?” You laughed back and the older woman tossed her hands in the air. With another warning to Ben, Claire walked around the corner where you were patiently waiting and linked your arms with hers. Stepping around the corner with your eyes closed lightly and your steps even lighter, Claire whispered that the boys were blocking ben so you could open your eyes, you were glad you did because you never would have imagined the jaw dropping looks on Joe and Gwil’s faces.

“You look incredible, y/n!” Joe rushed forward and wrapped you in a tight hug, squeezing your eyes closed, before Joe turned you around so you couldn’t see..

“Even more than usual!” Gwil concurred as he came for a hug next.

Then with both boys and Claire standing beside you, Claire cleared her throat. “Benny, you can stop bouncing over there.” She snickered, making you and Ben both chuckle. “You two can turn around now.”

“1. 2. 3.” You and Ben counted out loud together before you both turned around, finally facing each other.

“Holy shit.” You both said in unison, making everyone else make various ‘aww’ sounds.

“Daaaaamn, Jonesy.” You slowly clapped your hands as he gave you a small bow, his eyes never leaving yours.

“You look absolutely beautiful, y/n/n.” He breathed out softly and he swept forward, pulling you in a crushing hug as he lifted you up and spin you around before setting you back down softly. “So fuckin’ beautiful.” He whispered so softly you barely heard him, as he held your hand above your head and you giggled and spun around, his eyes trained to the small silver chain on your chest.

“Alright love birds, since Joe and I obviously don't need to be validated ‘cause we know that we look good, it's nearly three, can we get on the road?” Gwil sighed, gesturing towards the door. Neither you or Ben dared to move, neither of you wanting to break whatever spell was cast over this moment. Gwil clapped loudly and your eye contact broke, both of you turned to look at him a little dazed. “You two are going to be insufferable tonight.” He rolled his eyes, making the same gestures much harsher this time. “May we leave now?”

Ben pulled out his pack of marlboros and shoved one in his mouth, your eyes following the movement a little too closely, before his piercing green eyes snapped to yours and he gave you one too. Muttering out a thanks, you blushed when he lifted his arm to you ad you wrapped yours around his, walking out the door before Gwil could snap again.

-

The four of you had a better conversation once in the car, and it was a lively drive to the event. The boys gave you a beautiful and horrendously dramatic Queen concert on the way. By the time you arrived on location, your eyes were watering from laughter and all of your fear had gone away, but that could have something to do with the fact that Ben hadn’t stopped touching you since you left his place. Knees resting against each other, arms brushing, it sets your skin on fire but you wouldn't change it for the world.

All of your anxiety came back though when you started to hear the shouting of the people on the carpet line. Ben heard it too and he reached for your hand quickly, and you held on tightly. Joe was quick to put a hand on your shoulder and gave it a squeeze for comfort. You smiled weakly at him and Gwil smiled at you happily. “Let’s do this folks.” Joe put on a huge grin and hopped towards the line coming out of the door.

Joe and Gwil went ahead of you and Ben but walked slower so they could be close to you, for the exact situation you worried about last week. As soon as your silver strappy shoe hit the carpet, the cameras turned towards you and the flashes began, Ben leaned in and whispered something funny in your ear, making you laugh loudly, and when he pulled away, he just stared at you while the flashing lights went off. People were calling Ben’s name left and right and he smiled wildly in all directions. He was so in his element and he didn't even realize it.

People were shouting questions at you and Ben and Ben smiled and answered as many as he could, including the questions about who you were, but it was like he was purposely avoiding the questions about if you were his girlfriend. You stayed silent, smiling as genuinely as you could when you had a sinking feeling in your heart. Ben wanted you here to dispel the rumors that he was single. Luckily for you, Gwil was at the end of the line and he was beckoning for you and you were just about to shuffle towards him, when you heard the one thing that you had been dreading since the realization hit you.

“Ben, give her a kiss!”

Your eyes shot towards your best friend, knowing the look in his eye. He was so wrapped up in all of this, he was going to do it. You shot Gwil a frantic look and he looked like he was about to step forward and save you but within seconds, Ben’s face was at your ear and he was whispering into your ear, “Trust me.” Suddenly his hand was on the small of your back and he had you in a low dip, shooting the cameras a smirk and he leaned down and pressed his lips to yours gently while the cameras flashed and the crowd cheered. Your heart was somehow in the middle of glowing and breaking and you could feel the brokenness creeping up your throat and when Bens lips left yours, you hated that you missed it. You hated that you came. But most of all, you hated Ben for putting you into this situation blind. Had he just told me I could maybe have played along, but this is just too cruel.

Slowly Ben pulled you back up and you gave him a weak smile, glancing at Gwil and Joe who stood out of the view of the cameras, jaws wide open before Gwil recovered and made an exaggerated smile, pointing to him cheeks. You had to keep the smile up you thought he was trying to convey so you tried your best to give a dazzling smile as you leaned into Ben’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. “That was a dirty trick, Jonesy.” You gave him another smile for the camera and then when as if on cue, they started asking for pictures of just Ben and you quickly took his arm from around your waist and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before waving and giving another huge smile and walked towards Gwil and Joe, the latter still standing with his mouth wide open.

“Close your goddamn mouth Joseph.” You gritted out with a smile still plastered on your face. “I need to go outside.” You directed the second part to Gwil and he nodded his head quickly, putting his hand on your lower back and leading you to the side door.

“Just hold it until we get out there.” Gwil whispered softly in your ear and you nodded furiously, smile still on your face, but as soon as you feet touched the concrete, a sob ripped itself from your chest. You were lucky that Gwilym was there because he was the only one who knew about your girlhood crush on your best friend, and before this moment you regretted telling him, but now you were glad you had someone here who understood how what had just happened affected you. He was quick to wrap you in a tight hug and started shushing in your ear softly.

“This is why he wanted me to come.” You sobbed into his chest, “Why would he do this to me. He has to know by now, Gwil, it's been almost 15 years!” You shouted, pounding your fists against his chest but he tightened his grip and held you closer, rubbing your back. “I'm going to have to see those pictures every time I go online and they will haunt me forever. It’s not like it was our first kiss but it was the first one since we were 14 and I figured out I had a crush.” When you stopped pounding on his chest, Gwil pulled away from you and used his jacket sleeve to dab at your face, still saying silent as he reached for your purse, pulling out your pack of marbs and tapped one out for you. With a shaky hand you took the offered cigarette with a small laugh. “You are a man of few words, Gwilym, and I love that about you.” He smiled back at you brightly but his smile faded quickly when he saw your sour face. “Oh no, now that I've said I love you, now you must go kiss me in front of the entire world.” You sighed, taking a ragged puff of you cigarette and blew it out slowly.

“Oh, y/n, you know he doesn't think about what he does. Ben’s an idiot, and I know this isn't news to you, but you have to understand the headspace he’s into out there, I'm sure this wasn't his plan from the beginning.” Gwil reasoned, but then he closed his eyes tightly like he was remembering something.

“What do you remember?”

“When he and his girlfriend broke up, he told Joe and I that he was gonna ask you to go with him.”

“He asked me three weeks ago, but your telling me that he’s had this planned for months.” Nodding your head and turning your back on Gwil you paced around, shakily smoking through the cigarette.

“Hey, that doesn't mean he had that whole show out there planned this whole time, I'm sure That was spur of the moment.”

“He whispered ‘Trust me’ in my ear right before he did it.” You scoffed, a fresh stream of tears making their way down your face. Gwil reached out and dabbed away the tears before they could make your makeup run down your face. The moment the door opened you turned your back to it and quickly wiping at your face.

“Y/n?” Ben and Joe had walked out at the perfect moment for you to now be embarrassed and angry at the same time. “Are you crying? What happened?” Ben’s voice was full of concern and before you know it you were flipping through emotions like a flip book, sad-angry-embarrassed-furious-heartbroken. When a laugh escaped your lips, Gwil sucked in a breath.

“That was messed up, Benjamin, and you know it.” You turned to face him with anger in your eyes, “You had no right to take advantage of my feelings, and you're a goddamn asshole.” You light another cigarette off the first one and turned your back on him.

“What did I do wrong, y/n? Tell me, you know I hate it when you're upset with me.” Ben took a step towards you, but you moved away quickly, as if his touch would burn you. “Y/n/n, talk to me.” He grabbed your shoulders quickly but gently as he turned you to face him. When a mutinous tear slipped down your face, his hands went from your shoulders to your cupping your face, wiping the tear with him thumb. “The kiss was too much wasn't it?” His eyes got wide and you scoffed at him.

“I know that you know, Jonesy, you may be an idiot but you still know.” Your eyes bore into him and he dropped his head. “See? You know. You knew and you still did that to me in front of everyone.” You gritted out, trying to not let anymore tears slip from your eyes. “You had no right to fuck with me like that.” Your bottom lip was trembling and your voice was hoarse with the effort. “No fucking right.” You stuck your finger in his face.

“You're right, y/n, I did know.” He whispered, looking down at his feet. “I did know, and I did plan it.” He added softly, still not meeting your gaze. You let out a manic laugh and it kept going until you were full out laughing.

“Of course you did.” You patted him on the shoulder and started walking over to a table that was a short distance away. When you heard footsteps following you, you stuck your hand out behind you, then the only sounds you heard were your heels clicking on the pavement.

One Week Later

You sat alone on your couch for the fourth night in a row, you had turned something on but you couldn’t focus enough to remember what it was. Crushing out another cigarette in your already over full ashtray and you curled into the cushions and just stared at the fabric, only breaking your trance when you heard a soft knock at your door. Contemplating ignoring it, you sniffled a bit and walked towards the door. When it opened you saw him. The person you had been avoiding since the premiere. You had stayed there for the rest of the night but you didn't speak to him again, and you hadn’t since.

“Jesus, y/n.” He breathed out and you just shook your head, as if it were as easy to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. “I- uh- Listen-” He stuttered out and you scoffed at him, preparing to close the door in his face but he grabbed the door first and pushed his way into your apartment. He walked close enough to you that as you back up, you slowly backed against the wall, his arms trapping you in. “I had a whole speech planned but I just-”

“Stop, Ben, I can't do this.” Your lip trembled and his eyes softened.

“Fuck the speech.” He whispered out before he crashed his lips into yours harshly, he pulled away for only a second to look straight into your eyes. “I planned it because I love you, y/n.” He kissed you again, softer this time and your eyes shot open wide at his words. “And I,” kiss, “ am so,” kiss, “so fucking sorry.” He let his forehead rest on yours and he stared into your eyes, waiting for a response.

“You are such an asshole, Jonesy.” You chuckled lightly, grabbing his face and peppering it with kisses, he let out the breath he was holding and wrapped his arms around you tightly.

“Will you let me be your asshole?” He asked gently, you answered only with a nod and pulled him close.

x

[angelkurenai]

Hottie from 4B - Dean Winchester x Reader (Soulmates/Neighbors AU)

Title: Hottie from 4B

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader, Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: None

Summary: Imagine living in a world where everything is black and white until you meet your soulmate. When your eyes meet, colors burst all around you filling every single corner as far as your eyes can see. So what happens when you figure out that your new neighbor - who to you is still Hottie from 4B because you haven’t heard his name yet - has the most striking pair of green eyes that stare in shock back at you?

The first time you saw him you couldn't lie, you were certain you looked like a creep who couldn't stop staring at the new hottie next door. Not that there really has been another hottie next door ever since like, well, ever. Maybe that was part of the reason why you stared, who knew?

You hadn't seen much of his face, especially given how fast he had turned to face the other way or how you were in a rush to make it to the elevator, your car and a very impatient boss demanding you weren't late a minute. That however didn't stop you from pausing in your tracks and just straight forward ogle the man's back. Long legs covered in dark faded jeans, slightly bent but with a very attractive and confident swagger as he strode towards yet another box he had to carry. Broad shoulders covered first in a flannel and then a dark T-shirt, moved as he took off the first material of clothing. As if his back and shoulders didn't have you staring already then those big, firm arms seriously made you stop blinking altogether just so you wouldn't miss even a split second. It was only when he actually disappeared out of your line of sight and the open door didn't do any help in letting you enjoy the view that was called your new neighbor anymore. You knew it was a bit too wrong but there was no harm in admiring, was there?

A sad sigh had left your lips but there was only so much you could do. And with the elevator doors pulling open before you and your clock telling you that you were already more than a handful of minutes late, your mind couldn't afford to think about hottie from 4B but rather to come up with an excuse about why you were late that would calm down Amara. Maybe if her brother showed up she'd be in a better mood? You could play that card, yes.

By the time you had come back home there was no moving truck on the road and no boxes by the entrance for sure. The door to the apartment was closed and you realized in the end that that was your interaction for the day with your neighbor.

The second time you saw him once more didn't include eye contact. Well, you didn't take a look at him at all in all honesty. It was a couple days later actually, all the while you have been too busy with work to welcome him.

You were just getting out of the elevator, scrambling to keep all your papers - all the papers Amara had the pleasure of forcing you to take with you to work on outside work because did you have a personal life? Not at all! - within their folders despite how much they seemed to want to slip out on the floor. Nearly bumping into a solid chest you had almost dropped every file so you couldn't forget that kind of scare but maybe the voice you heard coming out of the apartment could have made you forget your own name.

“Alright, but call mom first. Oh and don't forget the pie!” it was gruff and deep, the kind of voice that could have many women right at his feet just begging him to say other things meant for them to hear and only them.

“Yeah yeah, I-” but the man that had just come out of the apartment, and who was probably related to your new neighbor given his previous words, stopped abruptly when he realized he was heading right towards you, stopping barely just in time “Oh I'm so sorry! Are you alright?”

“No, no it's fine. As long as these files are in place then I'm alive.” you said with a soft laugh and he gave you an adorable dimpled smile that would have any lady instantly melting, especially given how handsome he was. And yet the only thing that came to your mind was how handsome could your new neighbor be if he had the same kind of genes as the tall guy.

“Alright then. I'm sorry again.” he said ever-so-politely and you returned the smile before both of you were rushing towards your previous direction. Opening your door you couldn't help but look back curiously at your neighbor's door to see it slightly ajar. You wished that by some miracle you could have the power to push that door open even further so that you could take another look at him. If anything, he only closed it shut much to your disappointment.

The third time, unlike what you believed, wasn't the charm. More days had passed and although you had gotten the opportunity to hear that far-too-sexy-for-your-health voice more than a handful of times, you had yet to see him. Granted, you had been incredibly busy to even see any of your friends, let alone Hottie from 4B, but at least hearing to his singing in the shower did make up for it up to some part.

The third time consisted of a combination of the first two. Hearing his voice as you exited your apartment building your attention was immediately drawn to him. He was talking on the phone about some lost box, well, nearly spitting threats and you couldn't lie about the scene being a bit too hot for you to admit out loud. Again no eye-contact was made but bit by bit you were able to gather more information about your new neighbor such as the fact that he owned a gorgeous dark car that most certainly looked like an Impala. You were able to catch a couple more details about his face and again, you'd be damned if you lied by saying he wasn't handsome. Every feature you could make from the other side of the road that he was told you that Hottie from 4B was indeed the perfect name for him and you were almost – mind you, almost – not too eager to find out his real name yet.

The fourth time had yet to come as it seemed. You had been a bit more busy than the previous days but thankfully this time it wasn't because of work. You finally had the chance to catch up with your loved ones and even more finally you had the chance to spent the whole day with your best friend. Who by the way was once more late and left you to wait by the entrance of your apartment building in the cold morning a bit too sleepy and also bored out of your mind.

Well, the universe had a funny way of making you less bored as it seemed. Or waking you up. Whatever it was.

“What the hell do you mean this is the only box you could find?” you recognised that voice all-too-well after hearing it almost every morning through the wall of your apartment “I specifically told you there were two boxes, both of which you failed to have here in time more specifically: two weeks ago!”

“Sir we understand that these boxes might contain objects of significant value to you but we cannot-” the other man started apologizing but he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence.

“Oh I'm sure you can! Especially if I remind you that my brother is the best lawyer in all of New York.” his voice wasn't as raised as before but the threat was very much real and his lower voice sounded even more scary if you were honest; so you wouldn't want to be on the other guy's shoes.

A small pause followed and after having taken a few steps away from your previous place you could see the scene with your own eyes now, just as Hottie from 4B took a deep breath in “That box you failed to bring here in time had every photo of my father- my dead father that I've ever had of him. So damn right, objects of fucking value they are.”

“We- we are sorry sir, really.” there was a hint of sympathy but still the man was defensive towards your neighbor “But please allow me to tell you that the first box was delivered to you to this very complex and we do have the papers to prove that.”

“Papers I did not sign apparently!”

“Well the building administrator did and he apparently had an authorization for it, it is not our fault you were not informed. So as I was saying we cannot do anything about that one. As for the second box-”

“So you're saying it's my fault somehow?” your neighbor's voice started to raise again. Anybody hearing the exchange might have thought he was being a bit irrational but given what the box held and the fact that, apparently, the building administrator had not informed him about some of the rules of the apartment complex on top of the transporters losing such an important box, you were sure he had every right to yell when the man before him seemed to give zero fucksabout the whole issue.

“No, sir, we are definitely not. But as I was saying, there is nothing more we can do and you could tell your lawyer that.” there was even a hint of sarcasm that had you been in your neighbor's place you would have loved to punch out of the other man “So, concerning the second box you didn't receive we apologize and are delivering it to you now, free of cost. Have a nice day!”

Your neighbor clenched his jaw, lips pursing for a couple seconds before in the end he grumbled a bit in defeat “You too.”

Once the other man left and before you even realized it, you caught yourself making your way towards your neighbor who was now tiredly rubbing his eyes and clenching his jaw to keep his lower lip from trembling. He was in great distress and you could almost feel your heart hurting for him. You wished you could help, you wanted so bad to, but for the love of you didn't know how.

“Son of a bitch.” you almost heard him hiss, turning his back to you without even knowing it because you had not made your presence known yet. Your eyes kept moving around the place as you bit your lip, trying to figure a way out to take some of the stress off his shoulders, if there ever was one, until-

Your eyes widened in realization set down on you and you couldn't help but exclaim “That's it!”

Apparently you didn't think about the man close to you that had yet to take notice of your presence. He nearly jumped in his place, turning so fast to face you that he nearly fell down.

“Oh shit!” you hid your face behind your hands in embarrassment just for three seconds before you finally mustered enough courage to look the man straight in the eyes. You were too taken by the sheer beauty of this man when you finally stood face to face with him to comprehend the gasp that escaped his lips. You certainly did take notice of the way his lips stayed parted and he stumbled back a step or two, though. His eyes, wide beautiful and an incredible shade of green, stared back at you with possibly as much surprise as yours gazed back at his. You didn't know if it was because you had scared him or because too taken by looking at you, only left speechless. You, for sure, were left speechless because of the features of the man himself and at the realization that seeing him from a distance all the time did no justice to him and his stunning features.

It took you a good couple seconds to gather your thoughts and remember not to gawk at him like a weirdo. You blinked, looking away for a second only “I'm so sorry, I must have startled you. I didn't mean to. I'm- I'm-” you cleared your throat, extending a hand “My name's (Y/n). (Y/n) (Yl/n).”

He hesitated for a bit, a bit too long, to extend his hand to the point it confused you as to why he still looked so frozen in his place and shocked. In the end he blinked and nervously cleared his own throat, taking your hand in his and shaking it. His voice was very low and almost thick with a king of emotion you couldn't place yet “Dean. Dean Winchester.”

An explosion of color. An explosion of color is all he could think about. Different shades of grey long gone.

He held your hand for a little longer, not that you minded, his eyes still big and roaming your face as if he was trying to take everything in, before you gave him a small smile “Nice to finally meet you, Dean.” your slip up didn't earn a frown from him - why really? - but you explained nonetheless “I'm- I live in the building too and uhm I was outside while you had your conversation with that transporter a-and I didn't mean to, I swear, but I heard what you said a-and I might be able to help with your problem?”

“My-” he started, a small frown forming on his face before he finally blinked, as if being brough back to reality and he understood what you were trying to say “H-How?”

“I- I mean, I cannot be sure but I'm pretty certain. See, Crowley, the building administrator, likes to have control over nearly everything in this building to the point it gets annoying but it does help for great organising. It is true, it has been voted that he was authorized for things such as the mail but I assure you he's not some kind of creep that will look into it, so don't fear that.” you reassured him, walking behind the front desk that was always in the mail entrance of the building and grabbed a pair of keys from the lowest drawer “We have a spare room which is a bit like... his office I'd say? I usually say it's his throne room because he's the King of Hell, but don't tell him I told you that.”

You walked down a couple stairs, Dean following closely as he held the other box in his hands. His eyes were all the time glued to you, a half smile tugged at his lips “Why? Is he such a bad guy?”

“Oh no, of course not.” you laughed softly and he was damned already but he let himself grin because it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard “He's great actually... for when you're in the mood for a sarcastic banter, I guess? He's not bad though, for sure. It's just the vibe he gives, you'll see it too. He could definitely run Hell if he wanted to.” you said with a smirk, finally reaching a door which you used the key for “We all have access to the room, anyway. He usually brings the mail we miss here. Everybody knows but I guess since you're new here you haven't been informed yet. He'll get to do that soon, I'm sure. So if your box was indeed delivered to the building and he got it then it has to be-” you paused when your eyes fell on a small box on top of a desk “Here. Is that it?”

It was nearly impossible for Dean to look away from you but he forced himself to, not to look like the weird one when you seemed to be so relaxed and casual around him. Most people didn't make a fuss over finding their soulmate, not as much as others. It didn't mean not accepting it – although there were those people who did say they were better off without their other half – but it did mean treating this... bond and destiny just like every other normal relationship. He appreciated the fact that you were the latter – or hoped you were – because he on his own was nearly terrified and unable to know how to confront the whole issue. Everyone reacted differently to finding out, that much was true.

Take it slow. He had to remind himself to take it slow. It was something natural after all, something to be expected... even if Dean had been partially running away from it his whole life. A fear of his world bursting into colors after years of black and white was always present in his chest. A small part of him didn't even want to believe he had a soulmate, didn't feel like he deserved one, and yet-

“Dean?” you repeated his name, breaking his trail of thoughts “Is that your box?”

Oh how he could get lost in the color of your eyes. And the most funny thing of all was that he didn't even know what color that was. What was even the name of the color on your lips right now? He surely wanted to know that and even more to think about the color itself than the fact that he'd love to kiss them.

“I'll uh-” he tore his eyes away from you, finally noticing all the different colors that had seemed to burst around him a good few minutes ago but he was too busy looking at you to pay much attention to. He approached the box and looked over at it “Yes, that's it.”

~*~

“Thank you for uhm you know.” he could barely even believe he was feeling so flustered like a teenager, all his charisma with women vanished into thin air when he needed it the most, but even more than he could barely get a word out.

“Don't mention it.” another easy smile “What are neighbors for?” you put the key back in its respective place “In case you need anything the key is always at the bottom drawer but if it's not then Crowley always has a spare one. His apartment is the only one at the top floor. But you'll get the whole debriefing soon.”

“That sounds about good enough.” he nodded his head, hesitating for a split second but only finding some courage in the fact that you stuck around to finally part his lips and ask “And what about yo-”

“(Y/n)!” another female voice was heard and both you and Dean looked at the woman fast approaching you “Where were you? I thought you got- oh.” she stopped instantly when standing next to you and took notice of Dean, her eyebrows raising a bit “I didn't know you were busy.” she grinned and you knew that grin so well after all these years of friendship, especially at the tone in her voice when saying the last word. Oh that was the last thing you needed right now “Hello! I'm Raven, (Y/n)'s best friend. I haven't seen you before?”

“Hello, nice to meet you Raven. I'm Dean and I wish I could give you my hand but that's kind of impossible right now.” he said with a soft chuckle, her easiness in a way reminding him of his own friend, Charlie “I just moved in here a week ago, I suppose that's why.”

“Oh oh!” her eyes widened even more and her smile got even bigger, if possible, and a bit knowing? He couldn't read it all too well. He could almost swear he heard her whisper as she turned to you for a couple seconds “Hottie from 4B huh?” before she turned to smile back at him again “Well, welcome to our neighborhood then, Dean! I'm sure you're going to love it here! I live only a couple blocks down the street by the way.”

Before Dean could get a word out and say something along the lines of “Good to know.” you beat him at it and spoke “And yet every time we plan to go out for shopping she make me wait as if she lives on the other side of the city and coming here on foot. Which is why once more we're late and we're going to be late for dinner.” you shot your friend a look that by now she was very used to, but that was probably insanely adorable to Dean. He couldn't help the chuckle that left his lips at seeing you interact with your friend, studying you on and actually learning things about you as if he was learning things about a life he had lived. It was in a way his because being soulmates did mean being each other's halves. “...and so we'll end up running down the street like two weirdos, again.” he was sure you had said something before but he was being a weirdo too caught with admiring all the colors that defined you that and zoned out.

“It's ok, most friends end up doing that.” he shook his head with a smile “I think I should probably let you girls go I still have unpacking to do obviously and you have a busy day. I'lljust-” his eyes lingered on you, he couldn't stop it, sounding too nervous for his liking “See you around, hopefully?”

“Of course.” you said in a soft voice that made him relax even more “I still haven't welcomed you here properly. Prepare for me to invade your space with a huge homemade pie one of these days? That is, unless you don't like it?”

“I love it.” could you get any more perfect? Dean doubted it. “I'm going to hold you onto that promise.”

“Absolutely.” you nodded your head, smiling at how soft the words came from him, and with a couple quick goodbyes you and Raven were both making your way out of the building.

“Hot damn!” Raven nearly exclaimed when you were out “Your words seriously did the man no justice, (Y/n)! How do you even live on the same floor with the man and be so calm about it?”

“As opposed to what? Losing my mind over him or jumping his bones... or both?” you teased and she shrugged with a smirk “At some point in my life I might have, yeah, he's gorgeous. Plus has a stunning car and great taste in music but my life's different now. Things have changed and I-” you stopped when your phone started ringing. You took it out and looked at the ID, smiling at the photo of the man on your phone and adding “Love my soulmate more than anything. I would never betray my other half.”

Before you finally answered the call “Steve, hey baby. Goodmorning!”

[hannahcoursey]

Loose Ends Pt. 1

Pairing: Dean x reader

Word Count: 2, 268

Warnings: Abuse, Sexual Violence, PTSD

Request: Hi there! Do u think u could do one where the reader gets out of an abusive relationship, only to run into him again for Dean to save her? LOVE ur writing xoxo

Author: Hannahc56

PART TWO

---- 

His hand smacked your face, leaving a hot red mark in its place. Instinctively, you reached up and covered your face, cowering away from him as he stepped closer. You looked up, bewilderment in your eyes, at your boyfriend. Something wasn’t right.

Your boyfriend, Matt, had always had a temper. He’d hit you on previous occasions, leaving you to wonder the next morning why you’d put up with his violent ways, but you two had been high school sweethearts and deep in the darkest parts of your heart you knew you loved him. But tonight, this was different. He wasn’t backing down.

“Matt, what is wrong with you?” You spit, trying to let your words sound venomous, but the heavy shake in your tone betrayed you. A smile crawled across his features.

“Nothings wrong with me,” He reached his hand out and grabbed your face ferociously, digging his fingers into your supple cheeks, “I’ve never felt better, baby,” He finished, inches away from your face, the sarcasm dripping from the pet name he’d always call you. You wriggled back until you hit the wall behind you. His fingers pressed harder against your face. The more you struggled, the more it hurt.

“Matt-” You started, but his finger pressed to your lips.

“Sorry sweetheart, looks like your precious Matt has checked out,” He smiled down at your shrunken frame. Your brows furrowed for a moment until his eyes flipped black. Your heart began to beat rapidly in your chest, a small whimper leaving your lips before he reeled his arm back, clocking you dead in the nose. Your head smacked against the wall you were pressed against, as you slid down the plaster, taking the small dining room table crashing down with you. Stars danced in your vision, the deep black of unconsciousness beginning to creep up quicker and quicker.

“Don’t go checking out on me yet baby,” He leaned down, matching your eye level, “Matt is in here just cheering me on like you would not believe.” He tapped the side of his temple for emphasis. You blinked hard a few times, trying to shake off the concussion that was forming behind your eyes. He stood straight again. “You know that he hates you, right? I mean, you’ve done nothing but hold the kid down since you were - what, 16? - God, he cannot wait to be rid of you, he’s already got a whole list of women he’s just aching to get with the second he dumps your sorry ass.” He walked a step closer to you, swiftly connecting his foot to your abdomen, sending you to the ground. The little amount of air you had, slipped through your lips, leaving you gasping. He reached down and gripped at your neck before you could suck a breath in, forcing you back on your feet. 

“Matt, please-” You started, but the blood that followed your cough interrupted any plea you had worked the courage up to verbalize.

“Don’t worry,” He said, punching you square in the face again, “Matt is begging me to free him from you, you make him want to die.” He spit as moved to punch you one last time. Right as his fist was inches away from connecting with your face, you stabbed a kitchen fork into his neck. He stared at you, his fist paused, floating in front of your eyes. He blinked a few times before his grip on your neck tightened. “Ouch,” He rolled his eyes, “That hurt.” He scoffed as if the retaliation offended him. 

This was it. This is how you were going to die, at the hands of the person you thought you were going to marry. 

As his fist pulled back once more, the door to your apartment blasted open, smacking against the wall behind it. An older man, who sort of looked like a retired truck driver, entered the room, a sawed-off shotgun in his hand. The man you thought was Matt turned his attention towards the stranger, releasing his grip from your neck. Your legs gave out from under you and fell to the ground, the darkness completely encasing you and taking you from the nightmare that was playing out in front of you.

----

It had been a little over a year since the night Bobby had found you, beaten an inch from death. He exorcised the demon from your old boyfriend and taken you to shelter back at his place. A few days after the attack, he sat you down and told you that the things in your closet were real and introduced you to the world of hunters after you’d bugged him enough. He begrudgingly lent you the mythology books and taught you a few tricks. He offered you to stay with him for a while, as Matt was your only family since you had been in and out of foster care since you were born, you had nothing to go back to. You had gotten a job waitressing at a diner a few minutes down the road from his house and became good friends with the two Winchester boys that hid away at Bobby’s when the world got to be too much. Bobby had talked in minor detail about what the two boys had gone through - you knew about the yellow-eyed demon and Mary, and both brothers trip to Hell, which still made your mind swim with questions, but you knew you’d never get the answers, so you didn’t bother asking. 

Some nights you’d sit at the top of the stairs just out of eyeshot and listen to the things the boys talked about. You’d come to admire Sam’s gentle approach, but Dean had so many layers to him, you found yourself lying awake some nights wondering what made a man so complicated tick. One time, the boys left a bag of fresh clothes for each of them to keep there, just so they had some spare clothes stashed away somewhere if they needed it. You snuck into the drawers in one of the guest rooms next to yours that Bobby used as storage and stole a long sleeve thermal from Dean’s drawer. It smelled like the worn leather seats of the Impala and old whiskey that he’d probably spilled on it the last time he’d worn it and my God you loved everything about it. You kept it underneath your bed and wore it every now and then until his smell wore off and then swapped it for a different shirt or flannel from the drawer of his clothes. It wasn’t until you had tagged along with some hunts with Bobby that Sam had asked for you to join them. Your heart fluttered so hard in your chest you could’ve sworn Sam could’ve heard it from where he stood. 

That was a year ago.

Now you spent most of your time reading lore and researching whatever cases the boys had found while flipping through the newspaper and local murders. You had climbed your way to becoming a skilled hunter, but you were nowhere close to having the skill set that the brothers had and you were alright with that. Your admiration for Dean had only grown after being in constant close quarters to the man. Sam was your outlet, you were close friends and confided in him like no other. He often made sly comments on the way you stared a little too long and stuttered a little too much around Dean, but he never forced it much. Dean’s hand often found itself resting on the small of your back when in crowds, or around your shoulders after a successful hunt. He smiled a little wider at you and always made sure you ate. Dean always took the couch so you could have the bed in motel rooms and his goodnight hugs became a little tighter and a little longer as the months passed on, and you found your face red in anticipation every night, escaping in the few moments of affection you got from him. Sam noticed.

The boys never really talked too much about their time spent in Hell and you never pushed it. When they asked you about yourself, you usually kept equally as quiet. There wasn’t much to tell. They knew the basics, and more information about the three of you came out as time went on, bonding you closer each time something was learned about the other. 

After a particularly successful vampire hunt, the boys decided they wanted to go to the local bar down the road before calling it a night. It was almost 12:30 when the three of you pulled up in the Impala. 

“I gonna go find us a booth Dean, why don’t you go grab drinks and meet us at our table?” Sam said, over the creaking car doors and you nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll go with Sam and find somewhere for us to sit.” You stuffed your hands in your jacket pocket and followed Sam inside. Dean followed behind you, his hand resting casually on the small of your back, sending chills up your spine. He leaned in, the musty smell of the farm you had slain the vamps in, radiating off of him. 

“You want your usual?” He asked, his voice rough and close to your ear. Swallowing hard, you nodded.

“Just one for now, sure.” You turned to him for a second only to catch his eyes on your lips. He licked his own and grinned.

“Sounds good, sweetheart.” He said as you all entered the bar. Dean had split from the two of you and bee-lined for the bar. You reached your hand to Sam’s shoulder as to not lose sight of him in the crowded bar as he lead you to a booth in the corner. Once you took your seats, Sam opened up his laptop and started tapping away at the keyboard, his eyes already darting in between the lines of another article. You let out a light laugh at the sight of him and a small grin climbed his face.

“I know, I know - I’ll take a break in a minute, I just thought of something and wanna check it out before it slips my mind, alright?” He shook his head and smiled.

“Hey, whatever you want, this is your free time too.” You returned his sincere smile. Dean walked over with your drink and Sam’s beer.

The three of you sat and discussed the nights’ case, talking about how the vampire population seemed to be dwindling in the eastern states and after a few drinks, you found yourself drunker than you’d expected. Dean had walked over to a brunette over at the bar, after making eyes at her from the booth. You looked over as he slid a hand around her waist and whispered something in her ear. You turned back to your cup and slammed the remaining alcohol back. Sam chuckled lightly and shook his head.

“You guys are helpless, you know that?” He joked.

“There is no ‘You guys’ it’s nothing Sam,” You shook your head at him and tried to return the smile as genuinely as possible, but the alcohol made you feel fuzzy, “A girl can dream.” You shrugged. He closed his laptop and slipped it under his arm. 

“I think I’m going to head back, you wanna come with?” He asked, as he stood up from the booth and stood next to you. You shook your head and looked down at your empty glass.

“Hmm, I think I’m alright, I haven’t been to a bar in a little while I don’t mind sitting here,” You looked up at his raised brows, “Seriously, I’m okay, I’ll be almost right behind you.”

“Y/N, I haven’t seen you drink this much in months and you think you’re fine to walk.

 back by yourself?” He laughed lightly, still deciding if he was going to drag you out of there whether you liked it or not.

“Sam, I’m a big girl, I promise I can hold my liquor, I’ll be fine,” You reached out and patted him on the face. He nodded and laughed, obviously at your slurring words.

“Okay Y/N/N, but if you’re not back in the room within the next two hours, I’m gonna come back and personally make sure I tuck you in myself.” He pointed his eyes sarcastically at you.

“Okay, sounds like a fair deal to me.” You answered as he turned around and walked through the crowd, clutching his laptop to his side. You watched as his tall frame slipped through the groups of people until he was out of sight. You threw a few bills down on the table and searched the room for a side door. You opted for the back door by the bathroom and slipped out into the night. The brisk October air was a welcomed contrast from the stuffy, sweaty bar that lay behind the door you’d just exited. You took a deep breath and took a few steps, your legs wobbling beneath you. You take a deep breath and continue walking around the building, reaching the road. The motel was hardly two miles away and the walk would be just the thing to sober you up. A few buildings lay between the bar and the motel, dimly lit up. You turned and looked into the parking lot. The Impala was still sitting there where Dean had left it, and you wondered how long it’d take for him to come stumbling out of the bar with the brunette he had been buttering up around his arm. You took another breath and walked along the faded white line along the outside of the road. You wobbled on your feet, your balance uneven.

“Fuck.” You whisper to yourself, I probably should’ve gone with Sam. Just as the thought crossed your mind, a calloused hand wrapped itself around your neck, slamming you against the side of the building next to the bar. You hardly had a moment to scream.

It was Matt.

Your heart pounded in your throat and your vision swayed as he stood inches away from your face. He was supposed to be dead, your mind was running a thousand miles a minute. 

“Look who the fuck it is,” He leaned in, his breath reeking of booze, “The girl that tried to kill me.” The fire that scorched through his irises the day he beat you half to death burned across his eyes like it was yesterday. You had no words, your lips moved but nothing left them. “You’re pathetic Y/N, you really think this wouldn’t come back to bite you in the ass?” His eyes searched yours feverishly, as if he had asked you a feasible question. “I woke up on the floor with a fucking fork in my neck, I had to crawl to the phone to call 911 and you know what the best part was? No one believed me when I told them you’d tried to murder me - you disappeared!” He screamed into your face, his voice echoing in the empty parking lot you stood in. His grip tightened on your neck and your hands reached up to fight against it, but it was no use. Even with the adrenaline pumping through your veins you had consumed too much alcohol to walk home in a straight line, let alone put up much of a fight. “No, no, no, I’ve waited a long time for this, for you to see what it's like to be left for dead Y/N,” He spoke low, his voice like razors, “We’re done when I say we’re done.” 

And with that, his fist connected with your face and your world went black. 

----

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! 

READ PART TWO HERE

[elektrantchios]

Hard to love - part 2

title- hard to love - 1, 

paring- Sam x reader (female) 

word count- 2.7k

warnings- swearing, mention of death, mention of blood, fluff and longing 

a/n- i have mixed feelings about this part but i like the ending a lot. probably has some mistakes so watch out but anyway please enjoy and tell me what you think.  i change to writing in second person in part 3, and will edit this to that when i’m free

MAIN MASTERLIST | REQUEST OPEN | series masterlist

We spent the day in the motel room, I still wore his shirt from the night before, happy he hadn't said anything about it.

Wearing it made me feel safe in it, it hung down to my under tight, it went well with some plain jeans. During the afternoon we both read our books, sharing our thoughts out loud now and then.  

It felt nice after a hunt just to relax and not be on the move right away. It was around 8 when we began to get ready.

"I hope you're ready for girl talk?" I say from the bathroom, I choice to go with a long dress with a deep v neck. You could just about see the anti possession sigil I had belong my breast.

Sam was sat on his waiting for me. He took all for me in with one look, he was dressed in jeans and his usual flannel shirt.

"is it too much?" I say looking down at my dress and then back to Sam who smiled.

He shook his head and walked up to me, "You look great, I'm just worried someone will steal you tonight".

I playfully hit his shoulder and tried to hide the blush that spread across my face. "I'm all yours tonight, I promise".

                                          //////////

 We decide to use my car this time, Sam gave it a look of approval, "nice car" he said, I had always loved this car. It held so many memories.

"Thanks, I got it from my Danny. He loved this car" I patted the car gently and climbed in.

Sam blinked in confused, "Who's Danny?".

"No one you know" I tried to push it off but Sam wouldn't let it go.

"You can tell me, like you said we've all lost people" his voice was sweet. Too sweet.

" You need to share you own demons before I share mine." I pulled out of the motel and went to a different bar from last night.

The car was filled with a thick layer of awkwardness. I knew I was the reason, I wish I hadn't been so hard and shut off with him.

"I'm sorry" I said still watching the road, "I'll talk about almost anything, like anything. But I can't talk about him" my grip on the wheel was tight enough to make my figures numb.

"I'm sorry I pushed you, I just want to know you" he said with too much guilt in his voice.  

"trust me you don’t" I said, seeking a look at him, his head was bent down, his eyes fixed on his hands in his lap. "Sam, this is just me, I act like I don’t care but it's just a wall and I can't let it down" I tried to explain to lessen his guilt along with mine.

We sat in a  uncomfortable silent until we reached the bar. A knot had formed in my throat. "Sam. I don't speak about what I went through because I can't trust myself" he looked at me with his eyes shining. "I ruin things, sometimes I mean to and somethings it just falls apart. "

With one last deep breathe I left the car and let the summer night air hit my skin. "I can do this" I whispered to myself. I just needed to get through tonight and I could go back to being alone, go back to not having to look at him and his eyes, that made me want to tell him everything.

"Did you say something?" Sam was stood next to me now, his hand was on my back.

I looked from his hand to his face, "Just I'm so ready to get drunk" I put on a fake smile and walked ahead. Sighing in relief when he couldn't see my face.

The place was pretty empty for a bar near the town, a few people were dancing together and more few sat at tables and the bar drinking away.

We settled in a booth near the back. I left Sam to get the beers, I could feel eyes on me my hands covered my chest as I walked forwards.   I saw Danny face everywhere, just mentioning him had brought back so much.

The walk back to the table pass without me knowing. "When did I get here?" I asked sitting down. "I was just at the bar" I pointed to the bar.

"how many shots did you take? Maybe you should slow down" Sam laughed sipping on his beer. I tried to laugh along but it out flat. "I was thinking about what you said about our demons"

"Sam"

"let me finish. You don't have to tell me anything but tell me something and I'll tell you something" Sam reached across to touch my hand.

"Sam, I do trust you more than I feel I should but I don't know if I can relive it all" I moved to hand his hand with it being so close. I worried he'd pull away but he held on tighter.

"I would leave you. You can tell me anything and I'll stay right here or if you want me to go then I'll do that too" he moved around he table so we were sat up close.

"I'll just start with the bad stuff, that way I can get it over with." I said with a weak smile.

2006 Flashback I was living in a forgettable town in the Midwest.  Both my parents were long dead, working in a dine along with night classes for a PHD in mythology. And that's when I met Danny, he went to the same high school as me but we didn't really click until we were 22. He would always come into the diner and always get the same thing.

Then one afternoon we were talking about this or that and he suddenly said, "The only reason I come here is to see you smile". I remember blushing like a 5 year old but god did I love the way he made me feel. We move so fast in our relationship, but it felt right. After a year of dating we had moved in together and were already planning a wedding. We lived in this small 5 floor walk up, cost everything we had we didn’t earn much with the diner and the his job at a factory.  

The walls were painted this color that reminded me of   lemonade.  Nothing match because we just used whatever we had and put it all together. All our friends thought we were mad for doing everything so fast but I didn't care, I had him and that was enough.

Studying mythology, I always loved lore and stories. I guess that’s was my down fall. There was this local legend about a women who lived in the woods, in all the stories she said to be beautiful, she used her beauty to lure men and women, sometimes children to their deaths.

 I was planning on writing my final paper about her and how the whole town were still scared for her, even though no one had seen her. I guess I pocked around to much, I always wondered why no one else had.   I was leaving my class early one morning and it was snowing, everything was white and clean. The whole thing seems like a joke now, that night was pure and light until I reached our flat.

The front door was ripped open, stuff throw all over the floor. Blood was covering the walls. All my books hit the floor when I saw him. He was just sat on the sofa with his guts hanging from him, his throat ripped out. As I got close, my lungs closed up. I was so scared to breathe. Then something ran at me, tried to stab me but I fell hitting my head and they hit my tight, I guess. Next think I knew  I woke up the police were there looking down at me. The people living under me, had already called the police because of the noise and then again when they heard me scream.  

Turns out living in a small town with a local monster isn't as unlikely as I thought.  The mayor of the town has always been from the same family, no one fought to be mayor because everything ran fine as it was. Turns out the monster was a witch who kept everyone happy, all the mayor did was pay her in bodies. Whenever someone die, she got the body and did whatever she did.

I was closer to it all than I thought. The police clean everything up pretty fast, told me it was probably a wild animal which I didn't buy for a second. What kind of wild animal would get into a 5 floor walk up without anyone knowing. Something inside told me I had to look more into it, then the FBI came and started asking questions. I told them what I told the police, it wasn't a animal, it was the witch in the woods. It didn't matter how mad I sounded I needed them to believe me.    

I had all the research and stories to back myself up and I thought it was a miracle that they believed me, but turns out they were actually hunters. They found the witch and killed her. Told me everything because it was the kindest thing they could of done. After that I left everything behind and lived on the road.

2014

When I had finished talking Sam looked lost for words. My chest hurt from the effort of holding in my tears. In my dream I still dreamt of those yellow walls and how they suddenly turned red.

"Now you get why I'm such a mess" I say bitty finishing the rest of my drink off.

"I don't think you're a mess" Sam said, relief flooded my scents. "You thought you were safe and then your world ended".

"I think it's your turn to tell me about your demons" I said dirtily, wishing I had another drink.

Over the course of an hour Sam told me his whole life story, from the multiple deaths and all the heartbreak at came with the life. And most recently the fact that he was prosed by an angel, Dean had tricked him into it to save his life.

"So when I met you, you had an angel inside you? So why didn't it stop the witch?" I ask confused.

"It stepped in before when I was in danger but I guess you came before it had too" Sam explained.

"I know you want to stay mad at Dean for what he did but he did it to save you and from what you told me, you have done or would do the same" I rubbed his back as I spoke. "you can  still be mad at him, hell you can hate him but you shouldn't leave him behind. He's family and you don't leave family".

"I was ready to die though. I was ready, I had had enough of everything" Sam sighed lending back on the chair.

I hugged him without thinking, "I know, I know", my head was against his shoulder. His arms were wrapped around my waist. "Why don't we go back to the motel?" my hand lightly ran through his hair as he nodded.

                                              ////

The drive back so quite and still, Sam offered to drive this time. I laid my head against the window, small rain drops were falling down the other side.

It felt both bad and good that I told someone the truth about my past. I had never met anyone who I trusted enough to tell. Sam had broke down the walls I had built so high.

It was that time of night where everything felt unreal. Even the carefree day we spent had worn down on my energy, all I wanted was to sleep.

The motel was almost empty, only a few cars were left.  Neither of said anything as we made our way into the motel room. Lights were off, the only light coming from a street light.

Nothing needed to said, we had bared our souls to each other. While I changed in the bathroom Sam had the room to changes.

Sam POV Hearing Y/N story had opened his eyes to why she acted so strong but still held herself back. The wild girl he had met that first day had melted away but she still held the same fire that was winning his heart.

While Y/N was still in the bathroom, he checked his phone. Just like he thought a few missed calls from Cas and some from Dean. Y/N words replayed in his mind. "He's family and you don't leave family". She was right, he hated to say it but she was.

"Everything okay?" Y/N voice cutting his thought processes short, she stood in the bathroom door way, wearing the shirt he had given her the night before. Noticing him looking, she blushed. "I hope you don’t mind me wearing it again, I just don't have anything this comfortable.    

"No, it's fine" his watched her smile as she walked to her bed. He spotted a long scar at ran a cost her tight, it looked out of place . She barely had any scars, even the one she did have none of the others were as deep. She mentioned  something about be cut but never said it was that bad.

"So what's next for you?" She asked laying on her side. "Gonna call your brother?".

"I don't know if I'm ready to work with him again, it's hard working with my brother sometime, to tell the difference between what's best for everyone and what you do for family"  he explained, laying down too so they were facing.

"Love makes us blind. I know I would pay anything to get my old life back. I liked what I do, don’t get me wrong. I help people so they won't feel the pain I felt but I wish I had happiness in my life. You have your brother, someone who will always look out for you." she said.

"Do you every get lonely?" he asked.

"yes and no. Like I said, I don't trust myself with other people. Im better alone" she rolled over to her back, so he couldn't see her face.

"You could join me and Dean if you wanted?" he said, as he turned the light off. "We could also use the help"

She laugh which he didn’t expect, "Maybe you should fix what's happening between the two of you before you invited me to tag along ".

He laugh too, "I guess you're right but the offer still stands".

"Thank you, goodnight Sam"

"goodnight Y/N"

                                                        ////    

Reader pov

Sam and I facing each other in the parking lot. The past few had threw by. Sam was unlike anyone I had every knew, I had told him thing that I could hardly say out loud.

"So this is goodbye then" I said quietly. I didn't want to say goodbye.

"I guess it is" Sam said in the same tone.

"You have my number, you can call me whenever you need. " I told him trying to make my tone happier but it fell flat.

"same goes for me, but I don't think you'll need my help much" he joked, which made me smile.

I took a step away from him and to my car but before I made it, I turn around to Sam again. He looked confused at first. Before I could stop and think about it, I kissed him.

Our nose brushed as our lips met. He was hesitate to began with which made me pull away, thinking he didn't want this. But he hooked his hands on my waist and pulled me in closer.

I took my chance and ran my fingers through his hair, my chest burnt from not breathing. When we pulled apart, I was the first the open my eyes. Sam still had his closed, his chest was moving in the same way as mine was.

"That was…" Sam breathed

"Yeah, something to remember me by" I smiled and took a step away. "Leave it like this. If you don’t call or if I don't call then this will be our last memory". I held up my hand and opened my door. "Goodbye Sammy Winchester".

I couldn't but smile at the look on Sam's face through my wing mirror

part three