#he snores a little. wakes up and tells you a strange little story about this group of people he met once. they eroticized car crashes

[jimmyspades]

[junesilk]

hihi can you write abt how sleeping (in the literal sense) with the main 4 would go? separately if you can pls <33

SLEEP TO DREAM

aka: how the hxh main 4 sleep with you!

characters included: kurapika, leorio, killua, gon

kurapika—

He’s a silent sleeper for sure. You could wake up and forget he’s even there.

I think he might be kind of a blanket hoarder, just because he gets cold. He doesn’t mean to, he swears!

Very peaceful. You could watch him sleep for hours, because he’s just a pretty sleeper.

He gets nightmares, sometimes, about everything he’s been through.

Nights like those, the only thing that soothes his pain is being held by you.

On a lighter note, he likes drinking warm tea before he sleeps. It’s a habit he got into when he was in his early teens, and now it’s just instincts.

He always offers to pour you a cup, too.

leorio—

Doesn’t sleep very much due to him being busy studying, but when he does, he’s a mess.

You’ll go to bed cuddling and wake up and he’s on the floor, along with all of the blankets off of the bed.

Speaking of cuddling, he’s huge on having you in his arms. Spooning? Yes. Laying your head on his chest? Of course.

A human heater. It’s nice on those cold winter nights, but in summer.. it can be a bit much.

Snores like a dad.

Goes to bed after you and wakes up before you. He’s naturally more of a morning person, due to school and work.

On the rare occasion he gets to sleep in, he wakes you up by pressing loving little kisses to the crook of your neck.

killua—

Being an assassin and all, he’s expected to be silent and still when he sleeps.

But when he’s around you, he feels a level of comfort that lets him break out of those habits.

He’s a sprawled out sleeper. Takes up over half of the bed when he’s fully relaxed, but you don’t mind much.

Killua doesn’t dream often, but when he does, he mumbles a bit.

You can sometimes hear him say a few words at most. Usually, it’s your or Gon’s name.

Also a clinger, I’d imagine. He just likes to be close to you, so he can protect you! Totally not because he loves the feeling of you in his arms.

Or even, him in your arms. He feels like he’d be a little spoon.

gon—

Naturally, he’s another calm sleeper. He’s still when he sleeps, just because that’s how he’s always slept.

He might snore, but when he does, it’s pretty quiet.

At most, he’d have his arm wrapped around you, but I don’t see him fully clung to you.

You both like your space, and you both don’t need a large amount of physical touch to be happy.

He can fall asleep strangely quickly. It’ll be late at night, and you’re quietly telling him a story about your past.

Look over, and he’s silently slumped over, asleep in minutes.

It’s not that he wasn’t listening, your voice was just so calming that he fell asleep!

When asked about it, he somehow knows the entire story in all of its length, like he was listening in his sleep.

tried to be more even with the length of each one of these this time! reblogs/likes very much appreciated but not necessary <3

[askinkiskarma]

The Archer | Chapter IV: Peace

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X

Summary: Adapting to the Metkayina is harder on you than you thought it would be. Friction develops as both you and Neteyam's seeds of resentment for each other start to grow. Gideon discovers a secret in the forest that will change his purpose.

Pairings: Neteyam x Avatar!Reader, Lo'ak x Tsireya

Word Count: 11.8k words

Warnings/notes: smut(18+, minors DNI!), angst, mentions of death, blood, violence, cursing, SPOILERS for ATWOW

A/N: This chapter has probably been the hardest thing I have ever written - still finding writing the film whilst somehow finding a way to make it feel new and fit with the story extremely difficult. I tried to fit a lot of the Metkayina storyline in this chapter, but still have a long way to go, and so this will probably be a couple more chapters than I had originally planned. It was nice to reimagine the movie to fit the reader in, and I hope you enjoy reading about what I think went on behind the scenes we did get to see 🥰 Next chapter is when everything picks up and becomes angst-central, so enjoy this aptly named instalment x

Also, Lima Charlie means Loud and Clear, for everyone like me that was confused in the cinema x

Series masterlist (x)

And you know that I'd swing with you for the fences

Sit with you in the trenches

Give you my wild, give you a child

Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other

Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother

Is it enough if I can never give you peace?

Neteyam woke up naturally with the sun, something he has always been able to do. Whether willing or not, he has always been an early riser, ready to make the best of each day given to him by the grace of Eywa. It was strange sharing a tent with his family again, but he did enjoy hearing all the soft rhythmic breaths and the slight snore coming from his father. His attention swiftly turned to you, and he watched as you slumbered peacefully, chest rising and falling with each deep breath. Your mouth was slightly agape and there were strands of hair fallen over your stunning face, that Neteyam reached over and moved. Atan.. 

He didn’t think you were ready to get up yet, so he gently removed himself from your loose grasp, trying not to wake everybody up as he did. His gaze shifted to a little blister pack, you said it was called, and his mood worsened instantly at the sight of the pills, those damned pills. 

“What are these?” Neteyam picked up the little pill pack you took everywhere with you and the pills you took every day since you have become an Avatar just a couple weeks ago. “Is it for the virus?” 

Neteyam watched intently as your gaze shifted from his, busying yourself with something else as the morning comfort faded away. You moved swiftly from the warmth of your new mate’s body and the sheets you were wrapped in all night, and went to your desk, where you struggled with your hair, untangling the pieces that were flowing freely down your back. You didn’t look at him as you answered. 

“No, they’re not for the virus.” 

Slight panic rose in Neteyam’s chest thinking of what these could mean. Were you sick again? Did the remnants of the disease in your human body transfer alongside your consciousness?

“Atan, you are starting to scare me. Just tell me what they are.”

You sighed and put down your brush, staring at the hands now tugging at each other in your lap. 

“They’re birth control pills.” 

“What are birth control pills?”

“They are pills so that you don’t get pregnant.” 

There was a distinct pause in Neteyam’s mind, where his entire brain just stopped functioning for a little while. Neteyam knew that Mo’at has certain herbs and potions for situations where a pregnancy is wildly outside of what is appropriate, or for when the woman’s life is at risk, but neither situation seemed to apply here, and Neteyam couldn’t help the sudden pain and anger that seemed to rise in his chest. 

“Why?” 

You were picking at your nails cuticles so badly they were all bleeding and Neteyam found himself putting his hands over yours to stop it, the thought of the pain you were putting yourself through eating at him, above everything else.

“Atan… Just tell me. You’re my mate… and beyond that, you’re my best friend, my soulmate. I want to know.”

“I don’t want to have a baby. Not yet. I am still a baby myself, learning to take my first steps in this new world, in this new body - this new life. I have so much to learn, so much to live, so much I want to experience for myself first. I have been stuck in a lab for 18 years. I have been in pain and hurting and suffering my whole life. I am finally getting better, but there is still so much I need to do, so much growth I need to go through myself before I can take care of another being.”

“I also just don’t want to share you. Is that so bad?” 

Neteyam thought about it long and hard, and felt the anger subsiding slowly. It made sense to him, although unnatural, but you are human. You don’t think about things the same way, and he has always tried to bear that in mind. And to be completely truthful, he wasn’t ready to be a father yet, either. He just got you. You had a lifetime to be a family, but once you have your first child, it will never be just the two of you again, and Neteyam also wanted to be selfish in his desire to keep you just for himself for now. 

It’s been almost a year since that happened, and although most of his feelings remained the same, through time, a seed of hurt and pain was planted every time he saw you hurry off from his embrace in order to make sure you don’t miss any pill whatsoever. A hint of anger dwells in his soul every time you forget it and the subsequent terror that envelops your being, like the thought of having his baby was inconceivable to you, it was horrifying to you. Neteyam didn’t think he wanted a baby, but he definitely didn’t like how much you didn’t seem to want his baby. Neteyam knew he was being irrational, and the much more logical explanation was that, just like you have mentioned multiple times before, you were just not ready to be a mother yet, and it had nothing to do with him. But he couldn’t stop the nagging feeling that ate at him each time, regardless how much he tried. 

He was so deep in thought, sitting with his legs in the water at the edge of the marui, that he didn’t even notice Kiri making her way outside until she placed a hand on him, making him jump slightly, which elicited a small laugh from his baby sister. He rolled his eyes, then sighed quietly. 

“What is wrong, brother?” 

“Soon, it will be one year since she and I mated”, Neteyam said, gazing at you, still sleeping peacefully in the tent. 

“And that upsets you how?” 

“It doesn’t upset me. I am so happy, happier I’ve ever been. Her and I, we’ve spent our whole life loving each other, exchanging longing looks and secret moments, I almost lost hope that she would ever be mine. For so long, I thought what I felt for her was impossible, what I wanted was wrong. And now she’s here.”

“I still fail to see the problem.” 

Neteyam didn’t know if he should say this out loud. He hasn’t even thought it to himself, and he was now going to confess to another person, to his baby sister? He didn’t want to burden her with his issues.

“You’re right, there’s no problem.” 

“Brother, you are the worst liar. Just tell me.” 

“I feel like we are not in the same place sometimes. I feel I’ve grown, I feel like our relationship is in one stage, and I feel like she feels our relationship is a few steps behind.”

“I find that hard to believe. You two are the most connected people I have ever met. Sometimes it feels like you are constantly linked through Tsaheylu. It’s a little freaky, if I’m being honest. Have you talked to her about it?” 

Neteyam finally removed his eyes from your form, looking at the water he was stirring with his feet and the fish that were swimming peacefully around him. 

“I’ll take that as a no. Don’t you think you should? Before you jump to conclusions and drive yourself crazy?” 

Neteyam saw memories flash across his mind’s eye, of you holding Tuk tightly as you slept in your tent and you teaching her and protecting her, and of the pills that haunted his dreams, and with a sigh, got up and decided it would be better to go for a quick walk. 

Kiri rolled her eyes at her stubborn, closed-off older brother, and said “You haven’t grown if you still feel the need to keep everything inside and not communicate with the person you love most in the world. Also, do something special for the anniversary.”

“Already on it. Thanks, baby sis.” 

Neteyam came back a little after everyone else was ready to get on with their days. His eyes immediately went to yours, and he saw you had a concerned expression on your face, eyeing him curiously. What’s wrong? You might as well have been screaming the words to him, they were so clear in his mind. He gave you a small smile, and shrugged minutely. Just a weird day. You scanned his face for more information, and he felt a small blush make its way to his face under the scrutiny of your gaze. You could read him like a book, could read most people like a book, and Neteyam always found your ability to see into people’s souls a little intimidating. He couldn’t keep secrets from you, and right now, there was one he kind of wanted to. 

“Ok, Sullys fall in.” Neteyam heard his dad calling out to them all, and when he saw Lo’ak wandering around the marui aimlessly, he pulled him to his knees forcefully. 

“Remember? Family meeting.” 

His baby sisters both looked a little despondent - Kiri was still in a foul mood from the move and this whole ordeal and Tuk looked sad. Neteyam’s heart tugged at the sight, and then did some more when you pulled her closed to you and placed her in your lap. 

“Ok, take a knee, let’s go.”

Jake looked only at him and Lo’ak as he spoke - figures. 

“Now, I need you kids on your best behaviour. I mean it. Learn fast, pull your weight.” His eyes fell on Lo’ak. “Don’t cause trouble. Got it?” Neteyam chuckled at the specific need to address only Lo’ak, and he grabbed his baby brother’s neck affectionately, pulling at it. Lo’ak hissed in his brother’s direction and Neteyam let go, a little hurt at the overly defensive action. 

You were nervous about today, you realised. Firstly, your mate seemed off. You were worried about him, in light of everything you two have been through in the past week, and you were hoping this whole situation wasn’t affecting him too much. You hoped being in the water, being together for the first time in a while with no looming threat of death and violence, of humans killing everything you hold dear, would ease his anxiety. Secondly, you weren’t looking forward to this, to being in this village with people who looked at you like you were a demon, where the spiritual leader hates you. It reminded you so much of your childhood, and how the Omatikaya eyed you down with disgust plastered all over their faces, with fear, with anger. You were not looking forward to reliving these experiences.

You were comforted slightly by the feeling of Tuk in your lap, and you were slowly running your hands up and down her arms when you felt slight shaking from her part. A small whimper escaped her lips, which made you painfully alert.

“I want to go home.” Your heart broke at her words, and tears filled your eyes as you took in her trembling voice and hunched body, almost as if she was trying to make herself smaller. 

Jake took her hand in his and gently played with it as he spoke. “Tuk, this is our home now.”

He turned to face the rest of his family. “Now, we’re gonna get through this. We’re gonna get through this if we have each other’s backs.” 

You were holding Tuk tightly in your arms, letting her cry it out in your lap. 

“What does your father always say?” You heard Neytiri say in a calming tone, which brought comfort to your worried disposition. 

“Sullys stick together.” 

You met the girl, who you now knew is named Tsireya, and her brother, the annoying Ao’nung, at the edge of the village. You exchanged a few awkward interactions, taking in how Lo’ak withdrew in himself at the mere sight of your new beautiful friend, and laughed softly, poking him in the ribs, and much like his earlier interaction with Neteyam, you were met with an annoyed hiss. You laughed louder now - you were going to enjoy this. 

The two siblings and their friend Rot’xo gracefully dove in the water, followed by Neteyam and Lo’ak. You, Kiri and Tuk were last, and you jumped in holding hands, trying to remember to hold your breath so as to not drown. You were not the best swimmer, and your anxiety built up at the thought of the struggle ahead of you. 

Every feeling you had, every thought melted away instantly, the second your eyes took in the spectacle around you. A whole underwater world appeared in front you, and you struggled keeping your mouth closed, feeling the need to open it to showcase the shock you were experiencing. The most beautiful views you have ever seen, the most wondrous creatures and plants, plankton and coral, colourful and bright, unique and dazzling, taking your breath away if you had any to spare. You looked over at Neteyam, who had a similar expression on his face, and when your eyes met, you smiled at each other, as well as you could underwater. So the water did help. Good. 

You glanced over at Kiri, who dove much further than any of you, and was fully immersed in the experience, touching all the fish that naturally seemed to gravitate towards her. You watch as the Metkayina kids swam deeper and deeper down, their tails undulating in the water and propelling them forward, an evolutionary advantage you lacked, and with the heartbeat you could feel painfully in your ears, you made your way to the surface. You gasped for air when your body found it again, trying to make up for the oxygen deprivation you experienced while in the water.  

Soon enough, Neteyam, Lo’ak and Tuk joined you, trying desperately to catch their own breaths. You felt Neteyam’s hand reaching for yours under the water, and you felt happy his mood seems to have improved significantly in just the span of a couple hours. 

“Bro, let’s go.” Lo’ak nudged you and went back in the water, and you and your mate exchanged an amused look. “Someone’s in looove.” You said laughing. Neteyam shook his head lightly, but smiled at your childishness. You took as deep a breath as you possibly could, and, still holding on to Neteyam’s hand, you both submerged, trying to actually go deeper in the water as opposed to just staring in awe until your lungs feel like they were exploding. 

It didn’t take long for the need to resurface to become necessary, and you found yourself once again grasping for air trying to settle your breath. You saw Tsireya, Ao’nung and Rot’xo return from their deep dive, and with a gentle voice, Tsireya spoke, and her voice calmed you instantly. You were wondering if it had the same effect on your baby brother. You doubted it. 

“Are you alright?”

A squeaky voice came from behind you. “You’re too fast!! Wait for us!!”

“Just breathe…breathe.”

An aggravating voice broke through Tsireya’s calm one, and you felt the twinge of annoyance taking over you as Ao’nung spoke in a mocking tone. “You are not good divers…maybe good at swinging through trees…” A smack in the head coming from his sister was duly appreciated, or you would have done it yourself if it hadn’t happened.

“We don’t speak this finger talk, guys. we don’t know what you’re saying.” 

“I will teach you.” 

Gideon was still in shock, still unable to process what he was told hours ago, in the dead of night, by a kid he’d rather never have met, if he was being honest. One of them is yours. One of them is yours. One of them is yours. 

His own. His kid. How was that even possible? Jo wasn’t pregnant, was she? He thought all the kids were Sully’s, they are all blue. Did they manage to make you an Avatar? He thought that was impossible. 

He had so many questions and not a single answer. It was driving him mad. It was killing him, not knowing. It would be long until he would be able to be alone with Spider again, and he had to know something. He had to find out anything. He made his way to one of the security rooms, where a few men in a uniform were attentively watching the many screens displayed in front of them. God, what a fucking boring job, Gideon thought. 

“Morning, guys. I was sent by General Ardmore to review the footage from the train attack. If you can pull those up, that’d be great.” 

“Right away, sir.” 

He watched as the footage from all angles played on different screens, and he took his time rummaging through its entirety, focusing on one at a time. He recognised Jake and his wife, and winced as he saw the damage they were inflicting on the humans piloting the helos. In certain angles, he saw the pilots and gunners being shot down from a great distance, and saw fleetingly a girl on a white banshee,  shooting a sniper rifle. His heart stopped in his chest. None of the other people were shooting a gun, outside from Jake, who was a marine. Everyone else was using bow and arrows. He can faintly make out the girl’s features, and he recognises her from the woods. She was the one by which they figured out they were Sully’s. She had 5 fingers and eyebrows, like an Avatar, and a mean aim. He watched in wonder as this kid shot gunner after gunner head and chest only, and felt a swell of pride overtake him.

Could it be? Could this possibly be true? Could this be his daughter?

Gideon stalked off as soon as he finished getting the information he wanted, and moved on to the lab where he knew Spider was being tortured for information. He had to put an end to this, now. 

He heard the screams before he made his way in the room, and with an uneasy feeling in his stomach, he entered. General Ardmore was standing on a platform and watching as the poor kid wailed in agony. He didn’t pay much attention to it, going straight for Quaritch, who was also watching, an unreadable expression on his face. He didn’t think he was enjoying this either. This was his son, after all. No louder than a whisper, Gideon approached Quaritch. “We need to put an end to this.” 

The commander turned his head in Gideon’s direction, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. “Why would we do that?”

 “Because you know as well as I do that this is fucked up. This is your fucking son, Quaritch.” Gideon saw a flash of guilt and sadness pass over his face, and he was surprised to find out Quaritch did indeed have a heart, albeit a small, tiny, inconsequential heart, but there nonetheless. 

Feeling empowered by the silent confirmation, Gideon went to the machine and pushed the big glaring button that meant the stop of the torturous process. His general turned around with a feral look on her face. Crazy bitch, Gideon thought. 

“General, we can use this kid. This kid’s been with the Sullys for 19 years. He has lived amongst the Na’vi, he knows his way around, knows everything about Pandora, about the Omatikaya. He’s loyal, he won’t give them up. But maybe if we try the…personal approach,” he said, looking at Quaritch, standing limply on his left, “we might get better results. He can teach us the ways, the language, he can help us integrate better in the environment, so we can travel the Hallelujah mountains easier, and find them faster.” 

Gideon saw the she-devil processing his words carefully, and he knew he won. He was one step closer to his daughter, and nothing was going to stop him from finding the truth. 

You watched as Ao’nung stepped forward and clicked his tongue rapidly in the direction of the open sea, and you watched in amazement as a few beautiful sea creatures made their way to him, circling all of you docilely. Your gaze fell on your mate, who was holding his baby sister up in his arms, the chiseled muscles of his limbs on full display, and between the way your ovaries throbbed at the sight of him being so paternal, so protective over the child, and the sight of his incredible body, you were just about a puddle of desire, grateful to be surrounded by water for once. 

“These are ilu.” The Metkayina boy’s voice pulled you out of your indecent musings, and you tried to focus, tried to learn. “If you want to live here, you have to ride.” 

After hours and hours of pure torture, you were ready to admit to yourself you hated this, and you sucked at it, which probably contributed to that feeling. Turns out riding the equivalent of a baby ikran underwater and being thrashed around every few seconds because you didn’t have the lower body strength to hold onto it was not fun, and by eclipse, you were tired, wet, grumpy and definitely ready to call it a day. You were at least a little happy to know that the two Sully boys didn’t fare any better, but you were a little jealous of Kiri and Tuk, who seemed to fit in right away, and they were already riding their ilu to your family’s marui for the night. 

You could see Neytiri and Jake chatting over the fire, smiles on both their faces, and you felt a wave of contentment envelop you at the sight. Maybe you could all begin to heal, in the midst of this untouched, tropical beauty, far away from the threat that was plaguing you in the forest. Maybe you can learn to live without fear again, or for the first time in your life. 

You were walking towards the tent when you felt a soft hand wrap around your waist, pulling you snugly against a strong, taut body. Neteyam’s breath fanned across the side on your face as he whispered lowly in your ears, sending pulses of electrical current down the column on your spine. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” 

You turned your head slightly to meet his gaze, needy and full of desire, and your stomach filled with messy, energetic butterflies. “Wherever you want me to?” 

“Good girl.” 

You walked all the way through the village and towards the forest, and called for your ikran, that you spent a little quality time with - the whole ilu business made you realise how much you loved Neyn, and how irreplaceable to you she’ll always be. She was feeling a bit down, you could tell when you bonded, and you knew she also missed her home, just like you all did. You gave her a few treats, some fish you managed to get a hold of on the way here, and you were off. Eclipse rides with your mate was one of your favourite ways to spend your nights, but whatever you were about to do would definitely always be the top contender. Nevertheless, the bliss of the open air against your face, the races and the laughs as you bumped into each other, the feeling of the wind taking your breath away, the thrill of the power coursing through your veins as you went so fast the whole world blurred around you - nothing would ever compare. 

You sighted a small island - island is probably a generous term for this patch of sand with one lone tree adorning it, and you both landed on it, Seze a few seconds before Neyn.

“And the master wins… again.” He says cockily, with a mischievous smile as he dismounts and reaches for you, and you jump from your banshee straight into his arms. He catches you, as he always does, and his hands find your ass as your legs wrap around him. 

“I let you win.” You look at his beautiful face and you laughed when you saw him giving you a look that you assumed was the equivalent of raising his eyebrow at you. 

“What’s your punishment for this face, huh? Whenever I do it, you tell me I need to be taught a lesson.” 

He pretended to think about it for a second. 

“Huh, I think either way you’re the one getting punished.” 

You smacked his arm playfully and feigned indignation.  

You loved when he was playful. It happened rarely, as he has always been a serious, no-nonsense kind of a guy, but when it did, there was no one who shone brighter, no one whose eyes sparkled more, no one who made the world more beautiful. He put you down on the ground gently, and his soft lips found your forehead. It was such a simple gesture, but so intimate, so heartwarming that your heart picked up pace in your chest. “I love you.” 

“I love you more, Atan. I need you to remember that, cause it won’t feel like that in the next couple hours.” 

Your mouth flooded with saliva at his words, and the warmth in your chest swiftly moved in between your thighs and you remember that it’s been a while since you were alone, a while since you felt his hands and mouth on you, in you, the only place they belonged. 

He took the blanket he always kept on Seze and spread it on the warm, soft sand, and motioned for you to lay on it, which you were more than happy to do. 

He slowly started removing his adornments, much easier job now, having left the Omatikaya jewellery and cummerbund behind, leaving him in only his loincloth and the bracelet he refused to ever take off. He saw your breath quicken laying on the blanket and you parted your legs for him, like on command. “Now…before we were rudely interrupted by Lo’ak in our tent, I was asking you to be quiet for me. I think I’d like to see that now. Do you think you can keep quiet for me, baby girl?” The look you gave him drove him feral, and his loincloth was hurting him, painful against his hard-on, twitching wildly, begging to be set free, begging to feel you - to fill you. He slowly got on top of you, planting kisses on your body, purposefully avoiding your needy core. 

“Neteyam…” 

“Shh, Atan, what did I just say?”

He removed his mouth from your body and came face to face with you. “I said we have to find a way to keep you quiet. How is this for a way? You don’t keep that beautiful mouth shut, I stop.” He laughed at the way you squirmed underneath him, raising your pelvis trying to get some release, any sort of friction, but he skilfully avoided you, and continued his onslaught, lips and tongue all over your beautiful body, that he couldn’t wait fuck until you were crying with your eyes rolled in the back of your head.

“So fucking unfair.”

“All in good time, my love.” 

Torturously, he made his way to your belly button, and slowly descended, taking both of your legs and placing them on top of his shoulders, until he could feel your heels on his back. You were too far gone to see anything around you, so fucking desperate you were sure you were ripping the blanket by how tightly you were coiling it around you hand. This was torture, agonising torture, and you felt your ass dripping in juices from how wet you were. You wanted to scream, you wanted to let this island, the village, the whole world know what he was doing to you, how wild the feelings you were experiencing ran. You wanted to cry out his name in pleasured moans , falling from your tongue like a litany, like a prayer to never stop, to never take away this feeling.  

He saw how desperate you were by how hardly you were biting down your lip, so hard he was sure he could see blood, even in the dark. His poor Atan, so damn needy. He would have to make it up to you. 

You moaned loudly when he inserted two fingers in your drenched core, and left them there, unmoving and cruel. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll stop. Just move, please. Please.” You started grinding against his fingers, trying to get your own release. He removed his fingers and looked at you sternly. “Do you know what happens to bad girls, Atan?” 

You panted wildly but said nothing, refusing to look at him. He rose from the position he was in and faced you again, opening you mouth with the two fingers he had in you and pushing them down you throat. You sucked on them, loving the taste of yourself on him, wishing it was his dick instead. You licked his digits clean and it was his turn to moan, to which you raised an eyebrow. “Unfair!”

“All’s fair in love and war, baby girl. You taught me that.” 

He removed his fingers from your mouth and was trailing them down your throat and chest, until he reached your nipples, that immediately hardened upon contact. He flicked them in between his fingers and placed his mouth on one, sucking and licking til they were sore, after which he moved to the other. You were bruised now, hickeys all over your body except in the one place you wanted. Your eyes were glossy with unshed tears, and he knew the need was becoming too overwhelming for you to bear.

“I think you’ve suffered enough. I need to fuck you now.” He plunged three fingers back in your desperate core, and he started pushing in and out of you with slow, languid motions, knowing exactly which spot to hit to make you see stars all around you. His mouth then followed, sucking and licking masterfully at your clit, unrelenting in his attempts to ruin you. You tried so hard to keep quiet, and you were doing so well, only the lewd sounds of his onslaught could be heard, sloppy and hot and you came all around his fingers and mouth, biting hard into your arm til blood came out to keep silent. 

“That’s my good girl.” He licked the cum dripping over his fingers and moaned at the taste. 

“You should taste yourself again, Atan, you taste unreal.”

“Only if it’s licking it off your cock.” He growled at you like an animal, and you could hear the loincloth ripping at the stitches as he pulled on it with such ferocity it would be scary if it wasn’t so fucking hot. 

“You are such a little slut, aren’t you? Always wanting to suck my dick, you like milking me dry, don’t you, Atan?” He pistoned in you with enough strength you let out a pained cry, and there was no warming up, no slow burn, no building anticipation about the way he fucked into you until you felt he was going to break through your cervix. You still tried to keep quiet, the sounds of skin on skin slapping and his balls hitting the underside of your ass over and over the only ones you could hear and it was maddening, the pace, his look, the way his biceps were bulging to allow him to keep this ruthless pace, the way his abs contracted over and over to get him deeper and deeper in you, the way he lowered his mouth on yours and licked the blood from your bottom lip that was dripping from when you bit into it, it was all too much, and you felt yourself nearing that second orgasm, desperate for his cock to fill you up. 

“That’s it, baby girl. Come all over my cock, let me see what a good girl you are. Let me hear you, Atan.”

At his permission, you came so hard you felt like you were going to pass out, loud shrilly moans escaping your lips with no concern for his previous command anymore, or the thought of anyone hearing you. Let them hear, let everyone hear how well you were being fucked on a nightly basis. 

He removed himself from your still throbbing heat, and didn’t give you time to come down from the high, as he scooped you up from the blanket and took your place. 

“Come on, baby, sit on my face. I want to come in your mouth.”

“Neteyam, I can’t..”

“Yes, you can, baby. Come on, let me make you feel good.”

You did as you were told, and gasped when your pussy made contact with his mouth, and his tongue immediately found your insides, fucking you with it like you didn’t just cry in pleasure from your last mind-numbing orgasm. You reciprocated though, licking his cock from balls to tip, loving the taste of you on him. You sucked on him like he was your favourite lollipop, which he was, teasing and licking the slit of his tip, taking him all in and moving your head up and down while pumping the base with your hands. He moaned loudly in you, the vibration making you clench around his tongue. You started grinding aggressively on his face while he fucked your mouth and you felt thick spurts of cum sliding down your throat as you cried out from the overwhelming sensation, slightly overstimulated, but deeply satisfied. You licked the last drops of cum from the tip, smiling as you felt him do the same with you. You learned in time that nothing gets wasted on Pandora.

It took Kiri and Tuk no time at all to learn the ways of the Metkayina, and you wish you could say the same about yourself, but in reality, you were struggling - a lot. It was taking a toll on your mental health, as you have never struggled with learning anything new your entire life. You prided yourself on your intelligence and self-sufficiency, on your prowess to always excel at any new tasks. You were trying to give yourself some grace, as you have only learnt to swim properly in the last year, and even then, you were doing it mostly as a fun post-training activity with Neteyam, never as a serious endeavour.

On a positive note, you and Tsireya bonded over your love for the ocean, pretty jewellery - she commented on multiple occasions on the bracelet adorning your arm, which lead into a deep discussion into the best places to find shells and stones fit for a Metkayina warrior, that she was sure you would be in no time -, your maternal care for Tuk and your mutual admiration for a certain Omatikaya troublemaker. You were over the moon to observe the pure, puppy love developing in between your favourite brother and this beautiful, caring, smart and gentle girl, who looked at Lo’ak like the sun rose in his eyes, just like you told him someday someone would. 

“Breathe in…” Tsireya says in a calming tone, as she follows her own command. “And breathe out. Imagine flickering a flame. You must slow down your heartbeat.” You watched as she placed both her hands on Lo’ak’s body, and you could tell he was hyperventilating inside just by the look on his face. 

“Breathe in. Breathe from down here.” She instructs with her hand on his torso. “Breathe out slowly.” 

It was taking all the effort of your being to not start laughing at your baby brother, who was staring at his newfound flame like she was the only person in the world. 

“Lo’ak. Your heartbeat is fast. Try to focus.”

“Sorry.” he says meekly, and you couldn’t stop yourself - a small chuckle that you tried to no avail to mask as a cough. You turned your face towards your mate, who was also snickering silently, and you both reached for each other’s hands, gleefully reminiscing about your own beginnings. 

“What’s this?” Tsireya liked to come by your marui, she did so often, even when there was no one else around but you. You found yourself alone a lot more often these days, as Jake was training with the Olo’eyktan, Neytiri with Ronal, the rest of the siblings were always out in the water, and you found it hard sometimes to find your place in this new life, in this new world. In time, you and Netetam spent less and less time together - he was working hard, as he always was, to make sure he was doing well and pulling his weight. You felt a bit jealous over the fact that you no longer felt important to the kids, especially to Tuk, who now spends most of her time with the Metkayina girl, going as far as to adopt her way of dressing. It’s been a while since you and Lo’ak were alone and bonded over your many shared interests, as all his attention was now swiftly placed on the girl sitting in front of you. Between all of that, your hardships adapting to the new environment and feeling the gaping hole that the forest and leaving Norm and Max left in you, you ended up alone a lot, in this Marui that you learnt every square inch of. 

Your gaze turned towards what she was pointed at, and fell on your guitar. “It’s called a guitar. It plays music.” You smiled at her. You liked Tsireya, and didn’t feel any resentment towards her, despite what the darkest parts of your being told you. She had a kind soul, a brave heart. And if there was anyone to replace you in Lo’ak and Kiri and Tuk’s heart, you were happy it was her. 

“Can you show me?” 

“Sure I can, but only if you ask me in English.” That was one of the things you have liked the most about being here - your daily English and Sign Language lessons with Tsireya. She taught you, you taught her, and it was the only thing you felt good at, so you always looked forward to it. 

“Can…” you encouraged her with your expression, urging her to go on. “..you…see…me?” 

“Show.” She smiled apologetically, a small blush colouring her cheeks.

“That’s great, Tsireya! You’re getting better every day.” 

You picked up the guitar and tuned it quickly, and then played a familiar tune, humming mindlessly as your fingers glided across the strings.

“You have a beautiful voice. You should sing more, you should sing during our communal dinners.” 

You smiled a small, sorrowful smile. You used to do that in the clan all the time - your clan. You wondered if this would ever feel the same. 

“Why are you so intent on learning English? I mean, you have no real use for it.” You knew the answer as you asked, but you were curious to see her fumbling for an explanation outside of ‘I’m desperately in love with a boy who is half human and speaks English every day with you’.

It was just as amusing as you imagined it, and you felt a little bad for how hard she was blushing as she was picking at nothing on her loincloth. “It just seems useful, with all the humans that are plaguing our planet.” 

“That makes sense… you can also just admit you like Lo’ak, you know?” You placed a hand on hers, trying to get her to stop messing with her clothes. “He likes you too, you know?” 

You smiled widely at her doe-eyed expression, so overcome with happiness, your mood shifted instantly to one of hope, that at least something good came of all of this. 

Gideon watched as Spider and Quaritch made their way to the helicopter they were all huddled in, and he felt grateful that the kid didn’t have to suffer anymore. As soon as he was inside, he immediately gripped the gun posted in the door, and Gideon reached over and pushed him on the seat.

“Woah, hold on there, hot shot.”

Quaritch was not far behind, and when he entered, he grabbed his son by the arm and spoke to him. “You listen up. There’s a tracker built in that mask. We hit the ground and you take off, I’ll have you back in two minutes and give you an old-school ass whipping. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

The Avatars landed in the midst of the forest, huddled together to listen for instructions from their commander. 

“Ok, listen up. Jake Sully’s gone underground. Don’t matter. Wherever he is, we’ll find him… and his batshit crazy wife too. To do so, we go Na'vi. Full tilt all the way. That means we eat Na’vi, we ride Na’vi, think Na’vi.”

“And that starts with speaking the language.” Gideon knew a little more Na’vi than most soldiers, having learnt it in time from his beautiful Jo. He knew enough to know Quaritch was butchering it, and badly. He heard Spider snicker mockingly. 

“Is that what you call speaking Na’vi?” Spider continued, but Gideon didn’t pick up what he was saying. 

“Alright, smart guy. You just went from being our monkey mascot to official interpreter.”

It’s been a few weeks since you have arrived in Awa’atlu, and things were slowly moving forward. You were getting slowly - very slowly - better at this whole water thing. This morning, you decided to leave Neteyam alone with his parents for a while, thinking it would be beneficial for them all to spend some time together, outside of military training and practice. You and Kiri settled on going to the beach and just enjoying the clear warm water and endless sandy shores. You loved spending time with Kiri, and you felt guilty that it’s been a long time since you were just the two of you, alone together, talking about everything and nothing, just being in each other’s presence enough to fill endless amounts of time. You always felt connected to her, and you had a lot in common, which has always brought you two together. You used to spend many an hour just discussing your mothers, going through footage of them both, trying to understand the biology as children, just so you can feel closer to them, feel like they weren’t gone. 

You were laying together on the sand, laughing at something she said, when she became a little more serious and turned her gaze to you.

“How are you? Like really?” 

You were a little taken aback by her line of questioning, and the sudden shift in the mood of the conversation. You thought about it for a second.

“I don’t know, to be honest. There’s just a lot going on, a lot of new to adjust to. But then again, we are all going through the same things, so I can’t complain.”

“Well, we are not all going through the same thing. It’s only one of us whose father rose from the dead and is now attacking us. Well, actually…” Her voice faded when she realised, and a small tears fell down her cheek, before she quickly brushed it away with her hand. 

“I’m sorry about Spider, Kiri. I know how much he means to you. But I think you shouldn’t be too worried. He’s a tough kid, this knucklehead brother of ours, and he’s going to be back with us in no time.” 

“I hope so.” 

“Do you think you’ll ever reach out to your dad?” 

You scoffed, resigning yourself to drawing little figures in the sand. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to. And I don’t think there’s any point. He’s always been dead to me, why change anything now?” 

Kiri rolled her eyes at your stubbornness, but to be fair, he couldn’t blame you for not wanting to relive a part of your traumatic human life. 

“Let’s go in the water.” 

You were both just looking at the sand in the water, her - just because she liked it, you because you needed to get better at breathing underwater and fast. She was laughing as she watched you struggle and you almost drowned, but then continued for a while, enjoying yourselves until turquoise feet came into your line of sight. You brought your head out of the water and saw Ao’nung and Rot’xo, as well as two other Metkayina boys you have never met before.

“What? What’d you say?” Said Kiri innocently. Neither of you heard whatever it was they said just a few seconds ago, but based on their mocking tones and faces, you assumed you were about to get very angry. 

“I said, are you some kind of a freak?” 

You hissed, barring your much larger canines at the people in front of you, placing a protective arm in front of your baby sister. 

“No…” Kiri continued, trying to move away from them, but they were unrelenting, following you across the beach. 

“Are you sure? I mean, you’re not even real Na’vi. I mean, look at these hands. Look at them.” 

You pushed the boy as he reached for your hands, and Lo’ak’s voice broke through all the noise, bringing all the attention to him. 

“Back off, fish lips.” He walked until he was so close to Ao’nung, he started backing away to maintain the distance between them, but continued laughing and insulting your appearance. 

“Oh, another four-fingered freak.”

They all got impossibly close to you, starting to touch your body. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a blue form moving quickly towards you, and you knew instantly who it was, and you were now worried for the men currently harassing you. Neteyam put his body in between yours and the Metkayina’s, aggressively pushing Ao’nung away. God, he was hot. You were a lucky girl, you thought to yourself, smirking at the new development. 

“Back. Off. Now.” A flash of fear crossed Ao’nung’s face, and with his stupid smile wiped off, he brought his arms out in defeat, backing slowly away from all of you.

“Smart choice.” Neteyam was fuming, you noted by his tone and voice, but he maintained his calm demeanour, always choosing to try the non-violent way first, if possible. 

He looked at each one of the boys individually, before he continued. “From now on, I need you to respect my family.” He placed a gentle hand on Kiri’s shoulder, silently telling her to leave, and he did the same to Lo’ak, who kept looking back at the perpetrators. Your eyes locked and you thanked him silently, to which he gave a soft smile, before clicking his tongue in Kiri’s direction, asking you to follow. As you did, you notice Lo’ak falling behind, until his body was fully turned away from you and the rest of his siblings. 

“Lo’ak.” You snarled in his direction, knowing all too well where this was headed. 

“Don’t worry, sis. I got this.” 

Those words have literally not once not made you worry. 

He made his way back to where all the boys were, and stopped only when he was in front of the Olo’eyktan’s son. 

“ I know this hand is funny.” He says, bring his hand into view, twisting it around to show it from every angle. He points his pinky, raising it even closer to Ao’nung’s face. “Look, I’m a freak. Alien.”

“But it can do something really cool. Watch. First, I ball it up really tight like this, ok? And then -“ you watched as Lo’ak punched him straight in the nose, and then twice more, in the chin and cheek. “It’s called a punch, bitch. Don’t ever touch my sisters again.”

You sighed and rolled your eyes at Lo’ak, but were a little impressed with his technique, that you knew Jake would be proud of under normal circumstances. A full-blown brawl emerged, a tangled mess of limbs and tails, and you saw Neteyam scratch his face and huff in amusement, joining in to stand up for his brother. In any other conditions, you would be mad about this, mad about Lo’ak’s immaturity and Neteyam’s interference, that you knew would cost him a big scolding from the Sully patriarch, but you couldn’t help the little smirk and swell of pride that overtook your being, watching your two men trash the four Metkayina boys, watch them get what they deserved for the weeks of incessant bullying. You and Kiri both started laughing, just watching and enjoying the show, before you felt like it had gotten far enough, at which point, you decided to break it apart, and take your family home. 

Neteyam watched his dad’s body go stiff as soon as his eyes landed on his two sons, who were bleeding and bruised, and knew he was in for the ass-kicking on a lifetime. He felt mildly comforted by your being, knowing his father never lost it as much anymore when you were around. As you entered the marui, you instantly went to your medical bag, and left them to their own devices. 

“What was the one thing I asked? The one thing?” 

“Stay out of trouble.”

“Stay out of trouble!” 

“It was my fault.” Neteyam put his hands up in defence, positioning his body between his father and baby brother’s. He heard a low growl coming from where you where, and he saw his dad look over to you, taking in all the information he was receiving. 

“Yeah, I don’t think so. You have got to stop taking the hit for this knucklehead.”

“Look, dad, Ao’nung was picking on them. Called them freaks.” 

Their dad stopped in his tracks, eyeing them intently, then sighed deeply. He knew then the fight was over. Jake Sully could stand a lot, but disrespect to his own family, especially his daughters, will not be tolerated.

“Is this true?” He saw his eyes go back to where you were, and Neteyam watched as you made your way back to them with supplies in hand.

“Yes, it’s true. Jake, they have been bullying us for weeks. I don’t care about myself, but it’s getting to Kiri. They had it coming.” 

“You’re not helping.” Jake rolled his eyes at his new daughter, but couldn’t hide a ghost of a smile.

“Go apologise to Ao’nung.”

“He’s the chief’s son, do you understand?”

“I don’t care how you do it, just go make peace. Just go.”

“Hello? Let me at least clean their wounds first. Lo’ak!” But it was too late, as with a shake of his head, Lo’ak was gone. You turned your head to his father, with a cross expression marring your features.

“I know you’re unhappy, but there’s rule of conduct that has to be followed. You are Na’vi now, it’s time you learn.” 

You rolled your eyes, but said no more. You motioned for Neteyam to follow you outside, and he did, before turning back around when he heard his dad’s voice.

“Hey…so what’d the other guys look like?” 

Neteyam smirked. “Worse.”

“That’s good.” 

“A lot worse.”

With a small smile, his father pointed at where you stood. “Get out of here. And keep an eye on your brother.” 

You felt intense annoyance overtake your being as you were patching up Neteyam yet again, for - yet again - another one of Lo’ak’s reckless decisions. You said a silent prayer to Eywa that at least this time it wasn’t as serious, but still, it brought back many painful memories and many unresolved issues within you. You found yourself angry yet again, at your baby brother, at your mate, at your surrogate dad, who all were happy to let Neteyam take the fall for everything. You’d hoped with the Olo’eyktan pressure out of the way, things would change. You hoped that he would finally be safe, finally yours to keep, so you can shake off this feeling that you were going to lose him and move on - move forward, start a family in time. But he wasn’t ready. It was made clear to you again today, like it has been many times before. 

“Atan…”

You didn’t want to bring it up yet again, this conversation you have had one too many times, so you continued cleaning his wounds, mostly found on his face. His lip was bleeding, and he licked the blood off which he regretted when you smacked him across the arm. 

“Stop that. Let me clean it.” 

“Let’s go for a swim, just you and me? I feel like we don’t get that much time to ourselves anymore.” 

You sighed as you continued patching him up, feeling tears swimming in your eyes. You chewed on your bottom lip mindlessly, trying to ignore all the feelings of inadequacy that have been plaguing you for weeks, trying to ignore how your heart sank at the thought of the home you left behind, that you couldn’t seem to forget as easily as everyone else did. 

“Life was easier when swimming just meant splashing around in the river of our clearing and you carrying me around like I was a doll pushed away by the current.” 

“It was, but this can be easier, too. You just have to want it, Atan. You are not a doll anymore, but a rock - unwieldy and unmoving against the current. You have to remember what it’s like to just let yourself go with it, and see where it takes you. I miss home too, so much I will never be able to express into words. But I also want to make the best out of a bad situation. So let’s go, just you and me, let’s swim. Let’s flow with the current.” 

“I always thought I was the philosophical one.” 

“You’re the science-y one, and I still have some aces up my sleeve.” He winked at you with his boyish smile you loved so much, and you knew he was right. You could be making more of an effort. 

“Fine…” 

You were happy you went with him. Turns out swimming just for the sake of swimming and not trying to compete or not make a fool of yourself was liberating you and making you perform better, and in no time, you managed to break your own - albeit unimpressive - breathing record. You both called for an ilu, and just enjoyed yourself, admiring the beauty all around you, admiring each other, tumbling and doing acrobatics on the back of your new marine friends. You both came up for air at the same time, and he had an awe-struck look to him, and you felt blood rush to your cheeks at how he was staring you down.

“See, Atan? You’re annoyingly good at everything you do, you just needed a good teacher.” You both laughed at his comments, and you raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“Are you saying Tsireya’s not a good teacher?” 

“No, I think Tsireya’s a great teacher. You just need a… more assertive presence.”

“Is that so?” You say with the same expression on your face. 

He growls lowly. “Let’s go back in before I show everyone in this village things they will never be able to unsee.” 

You were actually impressed with yourself by eclipse, as you have made more progress in one day than you have in weeks. Tired, but content, you made your way out of the water, your mate close behind you, when Ao’nung came by in a hurry, panting - fear clear on his features. 

“… I…”

“Just spill it, what did you do?”

“It was supposed to be funny…” 

“What was supposed to be funny, dumbass?” 

“I think Lo’ak’s in danger.” 

Both you and Neteyam came to a halt, breaths hitched as you took in the boy’s words. Neteyam’s face immediately changed to one you knew well, one that Ao’nung cowered at, one that was forged in time by years of being the future Olo’eyktan. 

“What. Did. You. Do?” He spoke lowly, purposefully, enunciating every word. 

“He came to apologise, but he did it as a joke, so we took him to Three Brothers and left him there. We thought he’d be back in no time, but it’s been hours and his ilu came back missing part of its fin. It was supposed to be funny.”

You hissed at the same time Neteyam snarled in his direction, moving his body towards his and taking him by his queue roughly. You could see Ao’nung being pushed towards the village, and you considered just calling Neyn and looking for him yourself. It was dark, and even Lo’ak wasn’t this irresponsible. Your heart was beating wildly in your chest, fear overcoming you at the thought of your baby brother in danger. You couldn’t imagine how your mate was feeling. 

You made your way to your tent, where Neytiri and Jake were. 

“Tell them. Tell them what you told me.” 

You got on Neyn as soon as Jake gave permission and left alongside Metkayina that would cover the water, while you would look from above. It took a while, but you eventually spotted him, making his way… on top of a huge animal, the biggest you have ever seen. A tulkun - you recognised in awe. It was beautiful, and leaving of trail of mystical glow in the darkness surrounding them. You whistled from on top of your ikran, and watched Lo’ak’s face shoot upwards, a big smile at your sight.

You made Neyn lower you towards where he was floating peacefully, and you watched as Lo’ak said goodbye and ushered his new friend away. 

“Need a lift, lil bro?”

You stretched your arm out for him and he took it, getting on your banshee and settling in behind you. 

“Expected to see you half dead washed on some stoney shore, not chilling on the back of a tulkun. Want to catch me up?”

“I’m going to kill those assholes.” 

“No, you won’t. Still the chief’s son, no matter what a bunch of jerks they are. They’re just bullies, which probably means they have their own shit going on that they are overcompensating for. So tell me.” 

“I was attacked by a fucking akula, and he almost got me, but the tulkun saved my life. He was impaled by some sort of metal hook, and I helped him, and we bonded. It was great, Angel. Best thing I have ever done.” 

You smiled a little at your brother and his pet name for you, that you were surprised he was still using, endlessly relieved to hear and see him - alive and kicking. 

“Why would you go with them, Lo’ak? You know you’re not allowed to go past the reef. Why must you always knock so loudly on death’s door?” 

“I was just trying to do what dad told me, just trying to bond with these kids.”

“Bullshit. Maybe you can feed that to the family, but not to me. What’s going on with you?” 

“I don’t know, Angel. When he told me, I instantly said no, but then he teased that he’s asking the wrong brother, and… I don’t know. Whenever someone compares me to Neteyam, it triggers something in me, a blind rage that I can’t walk away from. I’m -“ 

His train of thought was interrupted by a big horn announcing his return, and you saw the village in an uproar, waiting for your arrival. The last thought on your mind is that you and Lo’ak will forever be bound together by your daddy issues.

You landed on a wooden platform, in front of Neteyam and Jake, as well as Tonowari and his family. Jake rushed to his son’s side, checking for injuries, as Lo’ak angrily kept his gaze onto Ao’nung, ready to pounce on him at the earliest opportunity. 

“Let’s have a look at you.” Jake said worriedly, trying to also defuse the tense situation unfolding in front of him. 

“He’s fine, he’s fine. Just a few scratches.” 

Neytiri made her way through the crowd and rushed to her son’s side, gasping while she took him in. “I pray for the strength that I will not PLUCK the eyeballs out of my youngest son.” You saw her ears flatten in fury, mirroring his own submissive ones, so pushed back they were getting lost in his hair. 

“No! My son knows better than to take him outside the reef. The blame is his.” You saw a wince make its way on the Olo’eyktan’s son’s face, and you felt a small ping of sadness at the sight - it reminded you a lot of Lo’ak and how he is treated by Jake. It seems you found a reason for Ao'nung's need to bully others. 

Relived, Jake took you both and started making his way home. “No. This was not Ao’nung’s fault. This was my idea. Ao’nung tried to talk me out of it.” Oh, baby brother…

“Sorry.”

Jake sighed looking at Tonowari, and started walking away. “I got this.” 

As you walked away, hand tightly in Neteyam’s, Lo’ak turned to face his family. “Dad, you told me to make friends with these kids. That’s all I was trying t-“

“I don’t want to hear it. You brought shame to this family.” 

A low guttural snarl made its way out of you without your consent or control. You hated how Jake treated Lo’ak, hated how this was the exact reason Lo’ak always acted out, what then got Neteyam involved and endangered. Jake looked at you out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing about your little outburst. 

“Can I go now?” 

“Any more trouble you get a knot in your tail. Do you read me?”

“Yes, sir. Lima Charlie.” You saw Lo’ak walk away, and you wanted to follow him, wanted to talk him down, but you were interrupted when both the parents turned to you and Neteyam. 

“Where were you?” Neytiri says, a stern look on her face.

“Yeah, what happened to keeping an eye on your brother?” 

You nose flared and your teeth bared at the unfairness of it all. You couldn’t believe either of them, and you could believe Neteyam even less when all he said was a quiet “Sorry, sir.”

Neteyam and his mum walked ahead when Jake pulled on your arm, keeping you in place. 

“You have something to say, kid? It seems you’re very vocal about your opinions today.”

“Oh, there’s a lot I have to say. But I’m too pretty to have to live by myself in the forest when you kick me out of the marui.” 

“That’s never stopped you before. What, you think I’m too harsh?” 

“On your adolescent son who looks at you like the universe was born in your eyes and does everything he does to gain some respect, some recognition, some love, and all he gets in return is constant ass chewing and disappointed stares? Yeah, a little.” 

Jake removed his hand from you and took a step back. His widened eyes took a second to recover, and a hard look replaced it when he found his composure at last. 

“Lo’ak will live because of me. Because he won’t have to make the same mistakes I did, because I can stop him from being just like I was at his age.”

“I think all you’re doing is pushing him into those mistakes without realising. Look, I have hated my dad my whole life. I just don’t want Lo’ak to hate you, because unlike my dad, I love you. And I love him. And neither of you will make it in one piece if you keep going like this. You’re going to push him so far he will never recover, and you’ll hate yourself when that happens. And by that time, it’ll be too late to fix it. You still have time to fix this.” 

You turned around and walked away, and hoped in silence their relationship has a better chance of surviving than yours and your father’s did. 

Gideon landed in the forest that housed the Omatikaya on the back of his new banshee, a beautiful beast that he felt more connected to than to most people he’s ever met. It was surreal and a little scary, feeling another being’s heartbeat, breathing, emotions. He could tell when the banshee was anxious, or scared, or elated. He could feel it all. In return, Ikran (not the most original name, Gideon can admit) could sense his emotions, how frightened he was when he first connected their queues together, how free he felt on his first flight, how anxious he is feeling right now, having to rummage through the forest for a sign of the people he is meant to kill. They all spread out, hoping to cover more ground this way, and so he was left alone, with his thoughts that plagued him without interruption. 

The forest was lush and brimming with life, and Gideon stopped to admire it for a while, to feel the beauty that surrounds him. He was close to the village, close to the labs that were now just empty, lifeless metal crates and he couldn’t help wonder how many times Jo passed the exact spot he was currently on, how many times his daughter did. He’s learnt a couple more things in the weeks that have passed, a small bond forming between him and the blonde kid with a big mouth and an equally big heart. 

Your name was something him and Jo have discussed before, on one starry-night escapade, laying on the Pandoran grass that was dangerous for both of them, while making plans for the future. 

“And if we have a daughter, I think we should name her after that crazy aunt of yours - what was her name again?”

“You want to name my daughter after my crazy aunt?” 

“Well, yeah, she was good crazy, driven crazy, smart-ass crazy, cat-lady crazy, and that’s exactly what I want my daughter to be.” 

“My Jo, you are weird.” 

“You love it.”

“I do love it, you crazy girl.”

He couldn’t believe that he had a daughter. A 19 year old daughter, who grew up completely without him, whose presence in her life is non-existent at best, tortured and messy in most-probable reality. Gideon didn’t know how he died - didn’t know if he ended up executing his orders or following his heart and he felt guilty either way. He was betraying one family or the other, no matter the choice.

As he was walking through the wilderness surrounding him, he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of a small clearing, full of scattered light that left pleasing forms on the ground. He was stunned when his gaze landed on two exo suits, like the ones the RDA still used. Residue from the battle that transpired almost two decades ago, no doubt. He was surprised to find out the RDA just left these here, surely they could be used for spare parts. As he was walking towards one of them, he reached for his radio in order to call it in and have someone pick it up, when he saw the name on it, that was covered in vines. BARLOWE. His hand dropped instantly, reaching instead to break down the creepers to see better. So this is how it all ended. There was no body that Gideon could reasonably see anywhere, so he assumed he died somewhere else, alone on this planet where no one could find him, no one could mourn him. 

He took the screen on the exo suit in his hands, that looked a little less dusty and disheveled than the rest of the suit, and fiddled with it until he could hear it start up. The last few moments of his life would play out in front of his eyes, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to face it. 

In his viewpoint stood Weinfleet, reloading his gun and pointing with his exo-hand. 

“Captain, I think if we go through this clearing, we should be closing in on the tree of souls in about 3 clicks.” 

“You’re right. But I don’t think we should do it.”

Lyle looked stunned, and he stopped whatever he was doing to turn around and look and where Gideon stood. “Barlowe, what are you talking about?” 

“This is wrong, Lyle. You know it, I know it, everyone here fucking knows it. And if you don’t, you’re even a bigger psychopath than I thought you were. We have to go back.”

“I’m not fucking going anywhere, Captain. These freaks are going to kill all of us if they get their way. Someone has to stop them.”

Gideon saw himself pick up his gun and point it at the bald man he knew too well. “Are you disobeying direct orders, lieutenant?” 

“You’re not my squad leader, Captain. And I have orders from above.” 

The last thing Gideon saw was the ugly fight that ensued and that resulted in both of them needing to evacuate their suits. The last shot of the camera was Weinfleet hurrying to him with a knife. 

Gideon Barlowe could count on one hand the amount of times he had been left speechless in his life, and most of them ironically happened in the last few weeks. There were so many shocks to his system, he felt he would short-circuit in time, nothing left of him but fragments of a soul no one would be able to upcycle. 

Betrayed by his own squad. What a shit way to go. Although, he assumed he had betrayed them first - it was at least consolation to know he didn’t go to the planes of eternal life with his last act being genocide of innocent people. He had chosen right. He had chosen to sacrifice himself for the good of this planet, that was a lot more beautiful than his own, for his soul that was maybe not as broken as he had thought, for his love who lived and raised a daughter 10 years after his passing. He had done the right thing. 

He continued walking to a tree, where he spotted something that he couldn’t quite place. He now had to count on both hands, cause there he was - again - too stunned to speak. There was a skeleton in the natural nook made by the roots of the tree, and Gideon reached his hand in between the flowers and vines covering it to pick up a rock and a necklace he quickly recognised as his own dog tag. The rock was decorated with shapes and patterns, typical of the Na’vi, and in the middle, was writing carved on the surface. 

“You won’t be forgotten, dad. Thank you.” 

Gideon held the rock so tightly his knuckles were pale blue, almost white. He wiped the tear that fell down his face and swore he would make himself worthy of your gratitude. 

Taglist (thank you ily x) @changing7 @erenjaegerwifee @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @winchestertitties @puffb4ll @rebeccao03 @ultimatebluff @cottoncandy23 @zaddyneteyamlovergirl @n3t3y4msm4t3 @loquatious-josephi-krakousky @eternallyvenus @fresh-new-yoik-watah @lu-the-ghost-reader @@miawastakens @mm0thie @fanboyluvr

[anneangel]

Friendship...

I just love the friendship between Bilbo and Elrond, Bilbo and Aragorn, Bilbo and Frodo, and Bilbo and Thranduil, and I'm sad because I've already read all the little fanfictions about Bilbo's friendship with them!

So here are some excerpts from the books in case anyone wants to get inspired:

“Hmmm! it smells like elves!” thought Bilbo, and he looked up at the stars. … He loved elves, though he seldom met them. … Bilbo would have liked to stay a while. Also he would have liked to have a few private words with these people that seemed to know his names and all about him, although he had never seen them before. He thought their opinion of his adventure might be interesting. Elves know a lot and are wondrous folk for news, and know what is going on among the peoples of the land, as quick as water flows, or quicker. (…) They (the dwarves, Gandalf and Bilbo) stayed long in that good house, fourteen days at least, and they found it hard to leave. Bilbo would gladly have stopped therefor ever and ever.

The master of the house was an elf-friend — one of those people whose fathers came into the strange stories before the beginning of History, the wars of the evil goblins and the elves and the first men in the North. In those days of our tale there were still some people who had both elves and heroes of the North for ancestors, and Elrond the master of the house was their chief. — He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer. He comes into many tales, but his part in the story of Bilbo’s great adventure is only a small one, though important (…) His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley.

(...) Bilbo heard many stories there (...)

“What are moon-letters?” asked the hobbit full of excitement. He loved maps (…) and he also liked runes and letters and cunning handwriting, though when he wrote himself it was a bit thin and spidery.

“Moon-letters are rune-letters, but you cannot see them,” said Elrond, “not when you look straight at them (…)”.

There a warm welcome was made them, and there were many eager ears that evening to hear the tale of their adventures (…). When the tale of their journeyings was told, there were other tales, and yet more tales, tales of long ago, and tales of new things, and tales of no time at all, till Bilbo’s head fell forward on his chest, and he snored comfortably in a corner. He woke to find himself in a white bed, and the moon shining through an open window. (…) “A little sleep does a great cure in the house of Elrond,” said he.

Weariness fell from him soon in that house, and he had many a merry jest and dance, early and late, with the elves of the valley. - The Hobbit

‘(…) you are the heir of Bilbo, the Ring-finder.'

`Dear Bilbo!' said Frodo sleepily. `I wonder where he is. I wish he was here and could hear all about it. It would have made him laugh. (…)

Gloin looked at Frodo and smiled. 'You were very fond of Bilbo were you not?' he asked.

`Yes,' answered Frodo. 'I would rather see him than all the towers and palaces in the world.'

Elrond went forward and stood beside the silent figure. 'Awake little master!’ he said, with a smile. Then, turning to Frodo, he beckoned to him. 'Now at last the hour has come that you have wished for, Frodo,' he said. `Here is a friend that you have long missed.'

The dark figure raised its head and uncovered its face. `Bilbo!' cried Frodo with sudden recognition, and he sprang forward.

`Hello, Frodo my lad!' said Bilbo. `So you have got here at last. Ihoped you would manage it. Well, well! So all this feasting is in your honour, I hear. I hope you enjoyed yourself?'

`What were you doing?'

`Why, sitting and thinking. I do a lot of that nowadays, and this is the best place to do it in, as a rule. Wake up, indeed!' he said, cocking an eye at Elrond. There was a bright twinkle in it and no sign of sleepiness that Frodo could see. 'Wake up! I was not asleep. Master Elrond. If you want to know, you have all come out from your feast too soon, and you have disturbed me-in the middle of making up a song. (…) I shall have to get my friend the Dunadan to help me. Where is he?'

Elrond laughed. `He shall be found,' he said. (...)

They did not notice the arrival of a man clad in dark green cloth. For many minutes he stood looking down at them with a smile. Suddenly Bilbo looked up. 'Ah, there you are at last, Dunadan!' he cried.

`Strider!' said Frodo. `You seem to have a lot of names.' (…)

`Where have you been, my friend? Why weren't you at the feast? The Lady Arwen was there.'

Strider looked down at Bilbo gravely. `I know,' he said. 'But often I must put mirth aside. Elladan and Elrohir have returned out of the Wild (…).

`Well, my dear fellow,' said Bilbo, `now you've heard the news, can't you spare me a moment? I want your help in something urgent. Elrond says this song of mine is to be finished before the end of the evening, and I am stuck. Let's go off into a corner and polish it up!'

Strider smiled. `Come then!' he said. `Let me hear it!'

(…)

`I was not sent to beg any boon, but to seek only the meaning of a riddle,' answered Boromir proudly(…) He looked again at Aragorn, and doubt was in his eyes.

Frodo felt Bilbo stir impatiently at his side. Evidently he was annoyed on his friend's behalf. Standing suddenly up he burst out:

‘(…) Not all those who wander are lost (…)’. Not very good perhaps, but to the point -- if you need more beyond the word of Elrond. If that was worth a journey of a hundred and ten days to hear, you had best listen to it.' He sat down with a snort.

`I made that up myself,' he whispered to Frodo, `for the Dunadan, a long time ago when he first told me about himself. I almost wish that my adventures were not over, and that I could go with him when his day comes.'

Aragorn smiled at him; then he turned to Boromir again. `For my part I forgive your doubt,' he said.

- The Lord Of The Rings.

And for Bilbo and Thranduil, here, see this post:

[tomtenadia]

Detours to You - ch 13

Gooood Sunday!!! Here we go with a new chapter which alas, has some angst...

MASTERLIST

The solstice was only a week away and Rowan had been super busy at work. The investigation on the fire at Aelin’s building had gone underway as soon as Nesryn had finished placing together all the proof she had collected. She had discovered some nefarious documents that had framed Hamel with no chance of redemption. OFI had confirmed the fire had been arson and that the lack of maintenance had escalated the situation. Once arson was confirmed the man had been charged for manslaughter by gross negligence. She had also found proof of a lot more illegal activities connected to the building and they were all hoping to see the man in prison for a long time.

The building had been scheduled for demolition after it had been deemed unsafe but the mayor had prohibited the land to be used for commercial reasons once they would start building again. 

The trial would happen in the new year but for now all he cared was that Hamel and his cronies were behind bars.

But now his main problem was to find a present for Maya for the solstice. Aelin had explained him that they always went to her parents and that year was not going to be any different. Evalin and Rhoe had asked for his presence and both grandparents had, according to Aelin, been delighted at the idea of a family solstice.

As another week passed things had started to settle down in his house. That evening he was meant to go home and decorate with them. He had missed the solstice celebrations. Wendlyn followed Yule but it was not as glorious as Terrasen festivities     were.

Mug of coffee in his hand he was taking a break from his pile of documents and was browsing for telescopes for kids. He knew Maya had one at her grandparents and his was far too advanced for her, so he had been researching the best one for toddlers who were just beginning to discover astronomy. He was looking forward to spring when they could use his garden at night and look at the sky. Telling her mythology stories had become their bedtime ritual after she had asked him for a lullaby. The question had floored him and upset him to no end, but he had fixed it by telling her that he knew a lot of stories. Maya had seemed happy and now it was his special moment. Sometimes Aelin would join them and sit on the rocking chair at the side of her bed, with a cup of green tea, and would listen to him. It was all he had imagined in his dreams of a family. But he also could feel how precarious the situation still felt. There was so much he had to learn on how to be a father. He tried to remember all his dad had taught him and at the same time the pain of the loss hit him hard every time. He wanted to be a worthy dad for Maya. And Aelin… he felt that every day was a test. That she was constantly keeping a tally of his actions as if she was getting ready for a verdict. As soon as the fear after the fire had passed, Aelin had gone back to her room and Maya had not visited him at night anymore. He knew she was going to her mum and a very petty part of him was jealous about that. He had loved waking up with his daughter in his arms, her drool on his t-shirt, her cute little snores. He missed that. Rowan had also noticed that Maya’s behaviour towards him was changing too. According to the articles he had read it was just her adjusting to the situation but all he could do was fear that she was already fed up with him. It was killing him.

He had bought her the telescope and was going to collect it after work. He also hoped that the news he had for her might help fix the strange relationship that had formed. Rowan had found a course for hockey for kids’ Maya’s age. One of his colleagues had suggested that to him. He had done his research and apparently it was also endorsed by the THL. On his way back from an inspection in the south of the city he had stopped to the ice arena and had gone to gather some more information. The course seemed perfect. It started with basic lesson to learn to skate. It was a six weeks introduction and it seemed well planned out. His colleague had sworn that his kids loved it and it was also safe. All excited Rowan went ahead and enrolled her in the January intake. It would be a nice birthday present too. He knew that Aelin had been looking too but so far nothing had happened and Maya had been quite vocal about wanting to play hockey so he had gone ahead. Aelin would probably kill him but he had no regrets. 

Now it was six and was finally switching off his computer, ready to go home. 

The snow had stopped falling for a few hours, but up his neck of the woods it seemed that the roads had not been cleared yet. Rowan had begged Aelin to use his car to go to work. It was a pickup with proper 4x4 capabilities. Her car was not suitable for those roads and he was paranoid at the two in the car.

At home he sneakily ran to his room to hide the present he had collected from the shop, changed and went back downstairs where Maya was practicing her letters while Aelin was working away on her laptop.

“Dad!”

Rowan ran to Maya and kissed her “what are you doing?”

“I am writing my solstice letter to the elves.”

He looked at the piece of paper and his heart broke at the words mama, dada no fight.

He and Aelin had a few arguments and although they had tried not to shout too much and alert their daughter, something must have reached her. Something had to change and he had a feeling that his next revelation would cause another fight.

Hockey was the word just below it and no matter how much Aelin would fight him, he had done the right thing.

He looked at Aelin and then back to Maya “I think you can score this off your list.” He pointed at the word.

Maya looked up at him with big green excited eyes.

“I have found classes for you and you start in January.”

It was a second and the little tornado crashed into him and the two fell on the floor, Maya on top of him, hugging him tight “Yes.”

His eyes lifted and saw Aelin glaring at him, her lips tight in a thin line of displeasure.

Maya climbed off him and started running around the living room screaming “I am playing hockey.”

He sat up and stared at the undiluted joy in his daughter.

Aelin stood and nodded to the kitchen door “Maya, baby stay here okay? I need to talk to dad.”

Rowan followed and prepared himself for battle.

“You went behind my back!” She accused him “You signed her up without consulting me first.”

Rowan leaned against the counter “I found a good class, it’s very popular and spaces are limited. Maya wants this.”

“It was my job. I am her mother. I was looking into it.”

He groaned and pushed his frustration down “I am her father.” He bit back “This has been recommended to me by a colleague and it’s endorsed by the THL. It’s the best out there.”

“You had to check with me first,” she roared back.

“Do I have to check everything? Do you need to approve as well the solstice present I bought her? Not all I do needs your stamp of approval, Aelin.”

“I looked after her for five years without your help. I provided for her. You can’t think you can take over after only a few months.” She moved closer “We managed just fine without you.”

Rowan froze and felt sick at those words. He had tried to follow Aelin’s rules but it seemed it was never enough. He understood that Aelin was just being protective but how was he going to really get close to his daughter if she kept placing so many blocks?

He felt like crying. 

Aelin stormed out and he heard her sooth a distressed Maya who had heard their fight. Again. 

He forced his numb body to go in the living room and saw Aelin gathering Maya’s stuff “We are going to my parents for a few days.”

“It’s not safe to go out.”

“I just need space.”

Maya protested and his heart ached “I’ll drive you.”

“No. I can drive, Rowan.”

He just stood and watched Aelin carrying a crying Maya upstairs.

Rowan felt empty. The hopes of a family quickly slipping away from him. And for s split second a terrible thought crossed his mind. He should have never come back. Maybe Maya would have been happier with the lie that he had died an heroic death on the job.

He wanted to be a father so badly that he had messed up everything and now Aelin was taking his daughter away. His hand shook as he watched them climb down the stairs with a duffle bag.

“Aelin, let me drive you, please. The roads are bad outside.”

“We will be fine.”

“Take my pickup at least.” One last effort to see them at least safe. He grabbed the keys from the tray in the hallway and passed them to her “Please.”

Aelin took them “Okay.”

“Call me as soon as you arrive.”

She tried to protest but nodded at his pained expression.

Rowan moved to Maya and kissed her while she sneaked her arms around his neck “I will miss you, baby. Have fun at the grandparents.”

“Love you, dad.”

“I will see you at the solstice.”

“Ok.”

He then stood and stared at Aelin. He could not care. He was going to the solstice. Evalin and Rhoe had invited him and there was no way in hell he’d cancel on them. It was his first solstice with Maya and Aelin was not going to rob him of that moment.

With deep anguish he followed them outside and while Aelin got Maya in the car seat he cleared the windows and the front one until it met his high standards. He knew the car was in top shape as he did regular maintenance and the winter tyres were brand new.

And although he knew his car was safe, he could not shake the fear. He had seen his fair share of car accidents and knew that even if Aelin was careful and his car was well maintained there were another possible hundreds of reasons why a MVA would happen. And the fact that he could almost name them all was not helping at calming his anxiety.

“One last try that you reconsider this?”

Aelin closed the door “I am too mad at you right now. A couple of days at my parents will help.”

He nodded.

“We will still wait for you at the solstice.”

He signed in relief. Maybe not everything was lost.

“Be careful, please. Am I at least allowed to tell you that?”

She gave him a shy smile “Yes, buzzard.”

“Remember what I taught you about winter driving. Easy on the breaks and avoid brisk accelerations.” He added “If you are stuck call me. Any problems you call me right away.”

She gently touched his arms “I do remember. Thanks.”

Eventually she climbed in the car. He looked at the back and waved at Maya who returned the gesture.

Rowan remained still until the lights of the car disappeared.

He did not move when snow flakes started to fall once more.

Rowan remained on the porch staring at the empty road for who knew how long, then he went back in. He was numb. He was finishing cleaning up when his phone went off.

It was not his personal phone though, it was his work phone.

He grabbed it quickly and answered.

“Chief?”

“Yes, Ilias.”

There was a moment of silence.

“There has been an accident.”

taglist

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[apocalypseornaw]

Resurrect (Pt 4/4)

Benny Lafitte x reader (nicknamed Nix)

When you and Dean find out that Sam has a hunter tracking Benny and bodies are dropping in Louisiana you hit the road, hoping your trust in him isn't proved to be falsely placed. The stress of the situation forces certain confessions to be made.

Warnings: the usual, violence, cursing

You sat up straight out of a dead sleep, washed down in sweat. It was strange facing the things you did on the daily yet still suffering from nightmares, at times it made you feel weak as if you weren't up to par but Dean, Sam and Bobby had all assured you it had happened to them before as well.

You looked around the motel room, clocking your open duffle on the small table in the corner. If you listened closely you could hear Dean snoring in the conjoined room. After the last argument between you and Sam, Dean had deemed it a good idea to get you your own room. You hated arguing with Sam, you really did but it felt like he was taking issues he had with Dean out on Benny and by side effect on you as well.

You kicked the blanket off your legs, knowing sleep was no longer an option. You started to knock on the door and see if either one of the boys were up but your phone caught your eye. You considered it for a second before picking it up and scrolling until you hit Benny's number. It rang three times before his voice hit your ear "Nix, darlin not that I'm complaining but its three in the morning. Why aren't you asleep?" You laughed lightly suddenly feeling extremely self conscious "I couldn't sleep, had a few bad dreams and didn't want to wake Dean cause that meant waking Sam"

He sighed before saying "You and Sam still on the outs?" you wiped a hand across your face then said "He won't listen to logic. I don't give a damn if you're a vampire or not, you saved my life time and again. You saved Dean and Cas. You're every damn bit as important to me as him or Dean. I should not be expected to pick sides, you haven't asked me to" "And I never would" he replied and it was only then you realized that you'd call to him to simply catch up and had instead ended up ranting to him.

"I'm sorry Benny I didn't call to ramble in your ear..I um..I kinda just missed hearing your voice and wanted to see how you were" You could hear the smile in his voice when he said "First of all never apologize for calling me, no matter the reason, I'll listen to you ramble any time. As for you missing my voice well I gotta admit it's damn good to hear yours too and I'm doing good, staying out of trouble" "And machete fights?" you asked with a laugh and he replied "Those too"

The two of you talked for nearly an hour, Benny telling you about places around the world you'd one day love to see and you telling him about hunting and some stories about the people you'd cared about and lost along the way.

By the time you started to hang up you were feeling better. "Call me whenever you want darlin, you know I'll always answer for you" You smiled at his words before saying "Same goes for me Benny, hopefully I'll get to see you soon" "Look forward to it" he replied before you both said your goodbyes. You laid the phone down then decided to try to get a little more sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weeks passed and not a day went by without you talking to Benny, if Sam noticed he didn't comment on it but Dean did.

You were waiting next to Dean for the burgers he'd ordered, sipping on the lemonade he'd got you. You and him had both taken to giving Sam a wide berth although it was weird in itself trying to heal that relationship while defending your individual relationships with Benny. He cut his eyes at you twice before you finally waved your hand "Spill it Winchester"

He smirked before saying "So I heard you and Benny talking night before last" you felt your face warm just from his tone but tried to hide it "Yeah, he's working at a diner down in Carencro, seems to be doing pretty good considering" he scoffed "I imagine he is, especially with you talking every day" you turned to face him before asking "What are you trying to say Dean?"

He shrugged one shoulder "Just if you want we could always ditch Sam again and head that way for a day or two. I know you'd like to see Benny and from the times we've talked I'm fairly certain he'd like to see you" Ok that made you curious as to the nature of Dean and Benny's conversations.

"Why, what was said about me?" Dean laughed "Benny may have asked in a round about way if there was something besides friends between me and you cause I told him about that time we had to strip down to our underwear after running across a skunk den when we were hunting that werewolf"

You almost laughed at the memory had the fact that Benny asked such a question not made your mind race. At the look on your face Dean ruffled your hair slightly "Weirder has happened then a hunter and a vamp...just saying" about that time the window called Dean's order number so you helped him grab the food before the two of you headed back to the impala.

Sam was on the phone with someone but all you caught was him telling them to hang tight until they heard from him. You looked at Dean in the rear view as Sam hung up.

"We got to get" Sam said so you asked "What's the deal?" He looked from you to Dean "We got a vamp kill in Carencro" you and Dean exchanged a look before Dean asked who was the source. "Martin Creaser" "And the fucking looney toon is hunting why?" you asked, feeling your stomach drop at the ideas floating through your head.

"Glendale springs discharged him last month" Sam reasoned but Dean cut in "And? shouldn't he be assembling toys in a padded room? What's he doing back on the job" you hoped you were wrong, you really were but the moment Sam said "When he got out he called and asked me if I had anything that could help ease him back into the game.." you knew you were right

"And?" you asked and Sam turned to look at you "I found Benny's location reverse tracking your calls so I've had Martin watching him" "You son of a bitch" you whispered and Dean nearly growled "You put that crazy bastard on Benny? And invaded Nix's privacy to do so?"

You could feel your hands shake from anger, "Why is a man who has spent years in an insane asylum hunting at all?" "He's not hunting, just tracking. Observe and report only, I was crystal clear on that"

"I can't believe you Sam" you spoke and he looked back at you "Really? cause Benny is a vampire and any hunter worth his or her salt isn't gonna let one just walk around freely..." "Back off of her" Dean warned to which Sam said "Well it's looking like I made the right call" You shook your head even as Dean asked "Martin said Benny did it?"

"Yeah" Sam replied so Dean turned to look at you, the two of you sharing a filled look before you took a deep breath "Ok" "Ok?" Sam asked so Dean replied "If Benny is in Louisiana draining folks..we should look into it" you couldn't bare to look at Sam as Dean started the impala. You sent Benny a text that simply read "I know this wasn't you" as Dean pulled out onto the road.

You hadn't spoken a word and still didn't even when the three of you arrived in Carencro and Dean parked the impala, opening the back door for you.

You refused to look at Sam as you followed both men inside the building Martin was staying at. You knew your time would've been better spent going after Benny but Dean wanted you at his side for this.

Sam got to the right door and the moment he raised his hand to knock Martin snatched open the door "You said look for an eruption, hows mount vesuvius?"

------

You put Dean between you and Martin once the three of you were in his room with him. "I got into town about a week ago, he'd been clean up until last night" "Doing what?" Dean asked and Martin shrugged "Minding his own business, working at the gumbo shack"

"Benny's working at the gumbo shack?" Dean asked as if you hadn't told him that and Martin nodded "He may be Benny to you but folks around here call him Roy" You rolled your eyes "Martin, honey..you sure you're on a full charge here?" he half smiled "Yes ma'am, little shock therapy in the morning and I'm good to go" you cut your eyes at Dean as Sam asked Martin what had happened the previous night "I followed him home, like every night..he turned a path, I hear a scream.. I catch up then boom there's the old guy Roy was eyeing at the shack all vamped up"

"Did you see Benny kill him or not?" Dean asked and Martin shrugged "I saw enough" You were tired of biting your tongue so you spoke up "Then you crazy asshole how can you be sure it was Benny if you didn't see him do it?" Martin took a step towards you but you didn't move an inch even as he said "I saw Benny go up the path then two seconds later theres a body with it throat ripped out. Y/N you ever hear of occam's razor? Keep it simple, stupid? It's not that complicated" his chest was nearly touching yours and you knew Dean had clocked the change in your posture even before he pulled you back next to him "She's not wrong man, there is a lot of holes"

"Holes? The only holes are in the vics neck" You and Dean both shook your heads "This aint the Benny we know" Martin's eyes widened as he turned to Sam "The Benny you know? Why am I getting the impression that your brother and friend are vouching for a vampire?"

"How about address me directly or not at all?" you snapped at Martin which made Sam say "Lets not argue" Dean grabbed your arm again, shooting you a look "No one is arguing but if this is Benny and that is a big ass if.." "Oh its him" Martin replied and you snatched from Dean's grip "Me and Dean both have history with him and we aren't signing up for a damn witch hunt. We owe him so much more than that"

Martin took a step towards you as he asked "What in god's great creation could you two owe a vampire? Am I hearing this right?" you smiled with no good intention behind it as Dean bodily put himself between you and Martin "Until we get the facts, the bloodlust gets stowed and this case gets worked correctly or we work it separately"

"Doing it right would be separating his head from his shoulders" Martin snipped and you itched to punch him. "Just give us some time Sammy" Dean tried but Martin cut in "And let the fang take another life? I dont think so"

"How much time?" Sam asked and you felt a small smile when Martin looked shock "You're considering this?" "Couple hours, tops" you replied and Martin spun on you "And if it turns out to be Benny?" you went toe to toe with him before saying "Then it's Benny and me and Dean will deal with it"

Sam pushed off the wall "Couple hours Nix, no more" "Nix?" Martin asked and you realized he hadn't known your nickname until that moment, meaning he had probably heard Benny talking to you. Dean nodded to Sam then grabbed your arm and the two of you were out the room before Martin could get another word out.

-------------

Once the two of you were outside you spotted an older couple and gave them a smile "Excuse me, could you point me to the gumbo shack? I've heard it has really good food and me and my friend are starving!"

The woman smiled and gave you directions before telling you to order the pecan pie when you got there. You thanked her then walked over to the impala, climbing in the passenger side.

Dean pulled out onto the road before saying "You were about to kick Martin's ass weren't ya?" You nodded "At least Sam still has some sanity left so it seems...Dean this wasn't Benny" he cut his eyes at you "That your heart or your head saying that?" You and Dean really didn't have any secrets by this point in your life so you replied "Both" and he nodded "Here's hoping they're right"

Dean pulled to a stop outside the gumbo shack and nodded towards the building "Let's see if Benny or well Roy is here" you climbed out and followed Dean up the steps and across the wooden porch.

He held the door open for you then walked in right behind you. You clocked the room, seeing Benny wasn't there and felt your heart drop. Where was he?

You and Dean walked up to the counter, taking the two avalible stools that were there as sitting. The lady behind the counter put down a menu and started to walk away before Dean said "Actually, we know what we want" she turned and when you met her eyes the shade of blue they were made you freeze, they reminded you of Benny. "Let me guess, gumbo?" she asked and Dean shook his head before motioning to the pie. The woman smiled "The special is pecan"

You smiled at her "We heard in town that it's good. Can we get two slices please?" She walked away so you glanced around and spotted a photo of the woman and Benny on the side of the register. You bumped Dean's hand and nodded towards the photo "She probably knows where he is" you whispered.

About that time the woman walked back over and smiled "Bad news.." "You're out of pecan?" Dean asked with that smile you knew could win damn near anyone over. You gave her a smile "Maybe there's something else you can help us with?" She returned your smile warmly "I'll be glad to help if I can" you cut your eyes at Dean before saying "We're looking for a friend of ours..Roy" she looked at you for a moment before her eyes lit up "You're Y/N but Roy says you go by Nix isn't it?"

You nodded "Yes ma'am" she smiled even brighter "You look just how Roy described you..he talks about you all the time" Dean chuckled lightly "I apologize if he sounds anything like she does, happen to know where we could find him?"

She looked towards Dean and again it struck you how much she reminded you of Benny, "He had been parking his camper out back but he just called to tell me he's gone up the road to mill creek for a few days" Dean nodded "He say why?" she shrugged one shoulder "Fishing, I think. He really deserves a break, been working doubles for two weeks straight" Dean shot you a look then grabbed a piece of paper and wrote his number down "Do me a favor if he pops up will you give me a buzz?" he passed her the paper and smiled again "Or you could just drop a dime yourself" you laughed lightly at Dean's flirting, she was really pretty. She nodded, looking at the paper "Sure thing Dean"

He went to stand before asking her name, she smiled "Elizabeth" you shook your head at being between their obvious flirting "Nice to meet you Elizabeth" she nodded slowly "You too Y/N" then smiled at Dean who said "Take a rain check on that pie?" She looked him over and you laughed to yourself as she said "Definitely"

You followed Dean out and you both took turns calling Benny but he didn't answer either time. After Dean left a voicemail to go with yours he looked at you but you shook your head "It looks bad, I know but I still trust him" Dean let out a breath "Lets hope he deserves it"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You trusted Benny but you also weren't an idiot so when you and Dean headed up to Mill creek you both had a machete close at hand. It didn't take much to track that damn truck of Benny's down. When Dean parked the impala he cut his eyes at you before you both got out the car "If it's him and if it comes to it, I'll do it. I'm not letting you live with it"

You wanted to argue him and say you were capable of doing the job regardless but the thought of killing Benny made you sick so you just nodded before following him up to where you could spot Benny's broad back where he was washing his hands in a metal tub.

-------

You knew he was aware of yours and Dean's presence even before he said "It's not me, Dean" You'd decided to let Dean do most of the talking until you knew for sure. "Which me are you talking about, Benny or Roy?"

When Benny finally turned around as he dried his hands, he was talking to Dean but his eyes were on you as he said "I'm just trying to blend in" "Blend in?" Dean asked before looking at Benny's hands "Who'd you plant Benny?"

He looked towards you again before answering "Victim number two" then looked away "If you two are concerned about the missed calls, I didn't want to get you involved" he looked towards Dean as his hand hovered near the machete he had stuck into a stump "Now, you wanna safety that thing, talk a bit or what?"

Dean pulled the machete from behind his back, holding it loosely and you did the same. You saw the way Benny looked at your machete and not Dean's... he was hurt you'd come armed. You laid your machete on the hood of Benny's truck as Dean said "We're all ears"

Benny nodded slowly then took a deep breath "Rogue vamp, came into the cafe a couple nights ago..youngster, goes by the name of Desmond. He uh he remembers me from the good old days" "Good old days?" you asked and this time when his blue eyes landed on you he nearly smiled "I know its hard to believe sugar but I haven't always been this cute and cuddly" you felt your lips twitch with the effort to not smile before he said "He's chasing a memory, that's all. He's crewing up a new nest and hoping I can give him some cred. I told him no"

Dean looked at you before nodding "Alright, so far so good. Lets get to the part about you being bloody" Benny walked closer, leaving just a step or two between where you stood next to Dean and himself "He didn't want to take no for an answer. Trying to roust me out, leaving dead bodies in my wake until I sign up. Two bodies in two days. No amateur is gonna kick me out of my hometown. Not this time"

"Hometown?" you asked and he smiled "Born and bred" Dean nodded approvingly so Benny looked back at you "With Andrea gone and you two hunting seemed like the right time for a homecoming. You two shouldn't have to be at my heel to keep my ducks in a row..I went back to my old job at the cafe and I even found someone to hold myself accountable to.." found someone? your heart dropped at his choice of words until he continued "Best kind of someone, family"

It hit you then, why Elizabeth seemed so damn familiar and reminded you so much of Benny "Elizabeth?" you asked and he nodded "She's my great grand daughter darlin" you cut your eyes at Dean and he grimaced slightly as you smiled "Really?" Benny didn't miss the look you and Dean had exchanged "Now, hold it now Dean, you didn't.."

Dean chuckled "Uh no. no" you raised your eyebrows and he shook his head at you "um does Elizabeth know cause her and Nix were downright bonding" Benny shot you a warm smile before saying "No. As far as she's concerned, I was just another drifter. She know I'm rather fond of Nix but I'd like to keep it her not knowing who I am"

You nodded as Benny admitted "Its been tough walking the line here, after all those years in purgatory not having to deal with the hunger but Elizabeth keeps me honest. I finally feel like I got a handle on this thing" "Handle on things? Benny you got two stiffs on your hands and two hunters on your ass"

Benny scoffed "Oh please, that half wit who found me at the cafe? I'll take my chances with him.." Dean cut him off "That half wit was sent by my brother and trust me my brother is not someone you want to mess with" Benny nodded "I don't have time to worry about them, Dean. I didn't think Desmond had an ounce of steel in his spine, but I was wrong about that so now I gotta do what I should've done two days which is put him back where he belongs"

Dean shook his head "You know there's only one way to do that right? That is for you to sit on the sideline while I convince Sam and Martin to go after Desmond. They see you out there, they don't care if you're collecting dimes for the march of dimes. They are gonna slice first and ask questions later. You know that"

"You really think they'll go for that?" Benny asked and Dean shrugged "I can make em" you looked between both of them before saying "Lets get back Dean" but Dean shook his head "No, you're staying with Benny" "Why?' you asked, a little pissed to be sidelined yourself.

Dean cut his eyes at Benny before grabbing your arm and pulling you a few steps away to at least give the illusion of privacy "Nix, you care about him too much to talk to Sam and Martin. You were damn near feral before, now that you've seen him and know about Elizabeth? I can't trust your temper so stay here, keep an eye on him and if Desmond comes you two handle it. I'll stay in contact but for once let me handle it" you knew he was right, despite the urge to argue so you simply nodded "Fine" he looked over to Benny "Keep an eye on her"

Without another word he walked back to the impala. You heard the engine roar to life then fade away before Benny called your name, you looked over to where he was leaned against his truck "Wanna talk?" you shrugged and walked over to stand next to him, not quite letting your bodies touch but close enough you could feel the heat coming off of him. "You heard what Dean said" you didn't attempt to make it a question. He nodded "Nix, I've wanted to see you, to tell you why I picked Carecro and introduce you to Elizabeth.."

He trailed off so you turned to face him "Why didn't you?" he waved a hand around "This, all this. Darlin, you're a hunter. How am I supposed to pull you into my life and turn your own kind against you? You already argue with one of your closest friends over me.."

You cut him off by saying "That's my choice to make Benny! Why is it so damn hard for you to believe that someone beside Andrea could go in, eyes open and still pick you?" he stood there for a moment before a slight smile pulled at his lips "You trying to tell me something here?" you threw your hands up in frustration "Sitting aside the desmond and two hunters on your ass thing?" he shrugged "I can't do anything about all that at this moment but this?" he motioned between the two of you "This, we can tackle here and now"

You nodded "Fine, you stubborn asshole I started developing feelings for you before we ever found Dean.At first I shrugged it off thinking ok maybe it's a trauma bond or something but it hasn't faded, if anything its got worse. I miss talking to you, I call you when I have bad dreams or hard hunts. It hurt me seeing Andrea die because I know it hurt you, standing here knowing Elizabeth is your great grand daughter I would fight half this damn state to protect her. I care about you Benny, I know its strange with the circumstances of our lives but I do. I don't see you as some vampire that got me out of purgatory, you're a good man Benjamin Lafitte. I just wish you'd believe it too"

He stood there for a moment and you started to wonder just how long it would take you to walk back into town. You'd rather face Desmond, Martin and Sam then the silence that had fallen in the air along with your confession hanging heavily. He took a step towards you and the next thing you knew his lips were on yours. His beard tickled slightly but that was the furthest thing from your mind.

He slipped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to deepen the kiss which caused a gasp to escape your lips. You moved your hands from where they'd been against his chest up to around his neck, pulling him even closer. A low, almost growl escaped him and you felt heat flood your lower stomach. You finally pulled away to catch your breath and smiled up at him, your chest heaving slightly "Well damn"

He chuckled before catching your lips in another quick kiss, "I've wanted to do that for quite a while" he admitted. You laughed lightly "Glad you finally did" "It's gonna complicate things" he reminded you but you just shrugged "We'll handle it"

Benny stood with one arm around you as he told you about Elizabeth and her grandmother, the similarities he saw between her and his daughter. You listened intently until he stopped mid sentence "Thinking of our age difference?" you shook your head with a laugh "Thinking about how gorgeous your bloodline is actually, those damn blue eyes are genetic" he cut his eyes at you and you shrugged "What?" he shook his head "Never imagined making it outta purgatory let alone this"

After a moment he sighed "I told Desmond I'd meet him tonight" before you could ask anything Benny's phone rang. He showed you it was Dean before he answered it "What'd they say?" Benny moved so you could get close enough to hear Dean as well "They didn't go for it. They're on their way to you. I'd get scarce"

Benny shook his head "No offense Dean but your little brother doesn't exactly send a shiver down my spine" "Benny you don't know Sam..he can and will kill you" You pleaded so Dean added "She's right plus if they come do you think she's gonna sit it out? She will have to fight them" on the other end of the phone.

He looked at you for a moment before letting out a breath "What now?" "I go find Desmond" Dean replied. You pulled away from Benny to retrieve your machete from the hood of his truck and return it to the holster on your side. Benny watched you as he told Dean "You take me with you" you started to shake your head, to reason it made much more sense for you and Dean to do your thing and find him after. You weren't sure what Dean told him because he took a few steps away from you "That aint gonna work this time, bub. You take me with or I don't tell you where he is" you followed him and heard Dean ask "You know where he is?"

Benny plucked his own machete from where it had been sitting stuck into a log "He said he isn't going to stop the killing till I join his little nest. Two bodies is enough. I told him I'm in, that I'd meet him tonight before I ever knew you and Nix were in town" Benny held your eyes as he said "Dean, this is my fight. Are you in or are you out?" "Tell Nix to text me where we're meeting" was the last thing Dean said before hanging up.

Benny hung up then nodded to his truck "We gotta go" you climbed into the passenger seat and watched him go around to the drivers. Once the truck was moving he told you the name of the docks Dean needed to meet the two of you at. You sent the text then cut your eyes at him, seeing how his knuckles gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Benny those bodies aren't on you" he laughed humorlessly "Yeah they are darlin. I should've told you two days ago when Desmond rolled into town" "Mistakes get made, even as a human and a lifetime hunter bodies have hit the ground because of me. Do you look at me differently?" He shook his head "No" you nodded "Then don't look at yourself like you killed them, now lets concentrate on ripping the head off the bastard that did"

He cut his eyes at you for a moment before looking back towards the road "Woman, I still say you're gonna end up being the death of me" the way his lips turnt upwards as he spoke pulled a smile to your face "Yeah cause with me at your side the chances of anything else killing you is slim"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Benny parked at the docks he watched you as you climbed out of the truck then walked around the front to meet him. He smiled slightly at you "I need to change into some clothes that aren't as bloody" you raised an eyebrow before grinning "By all means don't let me stop you, hell need help with the buttons?"

He shook his head and couldn't help but laugh, you had that calming effect on him and it had been that way since a few weeks after meeting you. Just something about the way you carried yourself and interacted with everyone. He pulled you closer with a hand on your hip "Just stay close while I change ok?" you nodded with a smile "I'll stay close enough to make inappropriate comments if I see a bare chest" he laughed "Ok"

------

After a few moments Benny was back at your side, changed into clean clothes that were free of blood. You smiled when he stepped closer to you "Lafitte, are you trying to flirt with me before a hunt?" he smiled slightly "Maybe" you shook your head and heard a text alert go off on your phone.

You dug it out of your pocket to see it was from Dean and read he was two minutes out. You held it up to Benny "Dean's almost here" he nodded before pressing a quick kiss to your lips that was nearly chaste compared to the kisses you two had shared at Mill Creek "Better keep my hands to myself for now then"

------

You rolled your eyes but moved to stand next to him, both of you leaning against the back of the camper by the time you heard that familiar engine and saw headlights approaching. Dean parked then climbed out, eyeing Benny's machete "This the place huh?" you nodded pulling your own machete from the holster once Dean did the same. Dean nodded to you so you followed him to the trunk of the impala, hearing Benny behind you.

You moved to prop the compartment up with the sawed off while Dean asked Benny "What's the plan? Me and Nix hang back while you guys do trust falls and binge drinking?" Dean pulled out a bag and passed you a syringe that you clocked as dead man's blood. Benny's eyes followed your movements as you and Dean both tucked a syringe a piece into your jackets before chuckling "Man, if I didn't know any better I'd say you two have an extremely low opinion of us vamps"

You cut your eyes at Benny with a smile "Call it healthy skepticism" He shook his head but smiled.

You were used to hunting with Dean and Benny so you weren't surprised at getting herded between the two of them as you moved through the building. When they decided to split off Benny nodded towards Dean so you followed him.

You and Dean moved slowly, clearly every corner carefully. As you walked further you got the sense of something behind you but it wasn't that familiar sense of Benny. Dean must have as well because you both turned at the same time. You moved to clear the area but something dropped behind Dean, he spun as a blonde vamp threw him across the room then sat his eyes on you, you ducked hi first blow but the second caught you hard. The vamp ignored you and went after Dean.

You heard him say "Didn't know Benny was bringing a friend" and Dean's response of "You're not gonna talk a lot are you?" You got to your feet in enough time to see Desmond crush Dean's syringe of Dead man's blood. You couldn't see what was going on but he was going towards Dean's neck. You ran across the floor, plunging your own syringe into Desmond's back, he turned towards you as if to grab you but before he could Benny came out of nowhere and sliced his head clean off. You half smiled "Nice timing"

"Took ya long enough" Dean groaned so Benny looked down at him "You've lost a step friend" he helped Dean to his feet before adding "You need to lay off the junkfood" it was only then that you saw the blood on Dean's neck and felt your stomach drop. You looked back at Benny who wouldn.'t meet your eyes "I'm fine" was all he said before turning away.

You and Dean exchanged a look but you didn't know what to do. If the blood was bothering Benny probably not the best decision to approach him but on the flip side he was nothing short of one broken shoelace away if he thought he didn't have yours and Dean's trust. You both watched Benny walk out wordlessly.

------

You cut your eyes at Dean's neck then dug the bandana out of your inner pocket "Here" he took it with a smile "Thanks" he looked back towards where Benny had walked away "That's pretty decent control" you nodded slowly "Think we should go after him or give him a minute?"

He shrugged "What happened between you two when I left?" you dropped your gaze and he chuckled "In that case, lets let him catch his breath so he doesn't feel some type of way then we'll go after him" you raised your eyes back to him "So, you're good with it?" he nodded "Yeah, as long as he's good to you and stays with his nose clean"

---------

When you and Dean made it to where Benny stood at the fence line he didn't turn at your approach before asking "My life here is over, isn't it?" you glanced at Dean who nodded before saying "Afraid so..once word gets out..the machete swingers that'll come for you..you can't take em all..it's impossible and I'm not letting Nix be put at the risk either..Benny if you care about her..about Elizabeth..guys like us don't get a home and it's rare to get family.."

"You got Sam" Benny told him and he nodded "Benny, you gotta go deep underground...where nobody knows who you are..Nix can help.." you were silent until that point, the thought of losing Benny making your mind race. He finally turned to face you and Dean "I got one thing I gotta do before I leave here"

Benny wanted to see Elizabeth one more time. You stood between him and Dean outside the cafe. Benny was watching Elizabeth move around through the window and you felt your heart ache for him yet again. Dean pulled you into his side "We need to talk" you touched Benny's arm gently to let him know you were moving before you followed Dean to the trunk of the impala.

He stood there for a moment, looking at Benny before turning to you with your duffle of clothes in his hand "Go with him Nix. I'll swing through Sioux Falls and get you a car running from Bobby's old junkyard and bring it to you..." "You and Sam?" you asked and he smiled "We'll be ok sweetheart" "Hunting?" he shrugged "You were out the game for two years, I think you can take a few weeks off, hell you deserve it"

You looked back at Benny "Sam will never understand" "He will come around" Dean assured you so you looked back at him with a smile before pulling him into a hug "I'm gonna miss you" he patted your back "I'll catch up to you two soon, I promise. Any trouble just call and I'll come running"

------

When you two walked back over to Benny he held his hand out to Dean who grabbed it "Thanks for not giving up on me, brother" Dean smiled "Don't give me a reason to" Dean nodded to you "And take care of her"

Benny eyed your bag then looked up at you "Darlin, I can't ask you to walk away from your life" "Good thing you're not. I'm just taking a break" he smiled "In that case, let's hit the road" you hugged Dean once more before following Benny to his truck.

You weren't far out of Carencro when Benny's phone rang. He cut his eyes at you before answering it with a smile 'Hey, Liz. How's your shift going?" you'd turned your attention out the window until you felt Benny's mood shift as he said "Who is this?"

------

Martin went after Elizabeth. You had Dean on the phone before Benny ever turned the truck around good. You were currently arguing with them both, Benny across the truck and Dean on speaker "Listen to me! He is gonna be looking for Benny's truck so I get his eyes on me and you two come in the back, he is one wacked out human..we can handle this!"

"And if he hurts you and Liz?" they both asked in damn near unison "He won't hurt her, I won't let him and if he hurts me well I've got one of the strongest hunters that's ever walked and the only vampire that's made it back topside after purgatory backing my play. I trust you two with my life, trust me enough to let me try to diffuse this because if Martin ends up dead it is gonna go over a lot better with me or Dean having the killing blow"

You spotted headlights fall in behind the truck as Dean said "Benny get in with me"

---------

You took a deep breath as you pulled the truck to a stop. You climbed out and walked up onto the porch. You eased the door opened and looked around to see Elizabeth tied to a chair. You gave her a soft smile "It's gonna be ok Liz" her eyes were wide and christ she looked terrified "Nix? What's going on?"

Martin looked around her from where he was crouched behind her chair, using her as a shield "He sent you? Couldn't even face his own comeuppance?" You shrugged "I volunteered. Now let her go, you got a new hostage"

He shook his head before standing up, a knife to Elizabeth's throat "Not quite. Do you have any idea what a disgrace you are to hunters? You and Dean both?" You saw the way Elizabeth flinched when the blade got closer to her neck and felt your anger flare "Why? Because we didn't go in blind? Benny helped us take out who was dropping bodies"

Elizabeth looked at you "Who's Benny?" You immediately kicked yourself for the slip up. Martin chuckled "Oh she doesn't know, does she?" "Leave her the hell out of this. You hate him, me and Dean right? Hurt me, they'll both come after you but she's not a part of this"

"Oh but isn't she? Your vampire lover's great grand daughter" Elizabeth's eyes never left yours "Vampire?" You took a step closer "Ok Martin, I'll ask once. What do you want?" "Your vampire dead along with you and Dean because if you uphold it you're no better" "Then kill me" you taunted and he tightened his grip enough that the blade knicked Elizabeth. You made a dive for him, effectively knocking the blade out of his hand.

"GO!" You screamed at Elizabeth, never taking your eyes off Martin. She ran towards the door about the time Martin pulled the machete from his side "I'll make him and Dean both pay and send you on to hell" you shrugged "I know a guy" then waved him towards yourself "Cmon"

----------

Dean grabbed Elizabeth the moment she made it outside. "He's got a knife! Nix is in there!" Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked from him to Benny "Help her!"

The two men burst in the door of the cafe in enough time to see Martin's body drop. For a moment they were relieved until the scent of blood hit Benny's nose and it wasn't Martin's.

You turned to face them and touched the handle of the knife that was buried in your stomach gently and groaned "Son of a bitch had a third blade" before you crumpled.

---------

Dean caught you before you hit the floor. His eyes flicked towards your face then back to the blade. If the blood and positioning was any indication the son of a bitch had hit your spleen, which meant you'd bleed to death before any ambulance could get to them. "Nix, look at me sweetheart" he begged and your eyes met his and a weak smile slipped onto your face "Is Lizzie ok?" He nodded "She's fine"

Benny felt his world collapse around him as you struggled to breathe in Dean's arms. He was going to lose you, for good. "Dean.." he tried but the hunter shook his head "Get your ass over here and open a vein"

"What?" Benny asked even as he went to Dean's side and your eyes locked onto his "Turn her" Dean demanded, holding a knife out. "What?" Benny asked and Dean shouted "DID I STUTTER GODDAMMIT. IF YOU LOVE HER TURN HER! WE CAN CURE HER AS LONG SHE DOESNT FEED!"

Benny had never known of a cure but he took the blade without another word, slicing across his wrist as Dean passed you to his lap "C'mon Nix, drink" Dean demanded, helping to prop you up.

The moment the blood hit your mouth your nose crumpled but you did as they said, when your drinking got weak Benny moved his hand to your head, easing it back to ensure you got enough blood into your system for the change to happen.

He watched the bleeding in your stomach and when it slowed he nodded to Dean to pull the knife free. Eventually you passed out in his lap. "Did it work?" Dean asked so Benny pulled your shirt up enough that Dean could see the wound mending "It's working now what do we need for this cure?"

Every one of your senses were in over drive when consciousness came rushing back. The lights were too bright although the room was lit just by a few candles, you could tell there were three heartbeats in the room next to you and could clock each of them as belonging to Dean, Liz and Sam in that order.

You felt arms around you and realized it was Benny, what the fuck had happened? Memories flooded you... Martin stabbing you, Dean screaming at Benny to turn you then the metallic twinge of blood being forced down your throat. "Am I?:" you asked and Benny nodded "Just for a little while. Dean and Elizabeth are making the cure as we speak"

You turned to face him and saw the two of you were sitting on a small couch "Where are we?" He looked around "This place belonged to my daughter. Lizzie said no one's been here in years" You wanted to ask how she'd taken the news, how he'd taken her knowing but you were wondering why you weren't going batshit feral "How am I calm?" Benny shrugged "Turns out your maker can help soothe you as well so I'm doing everything I can to keep you calm"

You nodded slowly before allowing yourself the urge to curl up against his chest "Thank you for saving me" you whispered and he replied "Don't thank me yet, Dean said the next few days are gonna be hell on you after you take the cure" you cut your eyes up at him and the way he was watching every movement of yours "I'll be ok Benny. Thanks to you..."

He smiled, placing a gentle kiss to your lips "Just rest sugar"

__________________

A while later Elizabeth and Dean walked in and she was carrying a Mason jar full of a thick red liquid. You swallowed hard remembering some of the ingredients for the cure.

"Elizabeth are you ok?" You asked, taking the jar from her hand and she nodded "Thanks to you" her eyes cut towards Benny and she smiled "Even if you're a little young for my great grand father"

You smiled at seeing the ease between the two, how had she accepted the truth so easily? You didn't have time to think about it at the moment so you just held the jar up "Here's to my health" and tipped it back.

The moment it hit your stomach you felt the room shift and Dean said "Here comes the first wave" before chunking Benny a bucket. Benny managed to get the bucket under your mouth and your hair pulled back fast enough before you emptied the contents of your stomach. The moment you were through puking you felt darkness wash over you and heard Dean say "It's normal you two, I promise" right before you passed out again.

The worse two days of your life occurred over the next forty eight hours. You threw up more than humanly possible, went through chills hard enough you were fairly certain you cracked a few teeth only to be burning up the next moment.

Dean, Sam and Elizabeth came and went but Benny remained at your side for every last bit of it. The third day when you woke up you were alone in the bedroom but smells coming from the kitchen made your stomach growl.

-----

You eased yourself out of bed and walked over to the door, aware that you were wearing one of Bennys shirts and a pair of Deans boxers but not caring considering Dean and Sam had seen worse and Elizabeth had helped Benny help you clean up.

The first thing you noticed was the light didn't hurt anymore. There were no heartbeats in your ear besides your own.

Benny and Sam stood talking at the stove while Dean and Elizabeth were sitting at the table. You laughed lightly "Damn all i had to do was nearly die and we're all one big happy family" every set of eyes turned towards your voice.

Sam somehow made it to you before Dean or Benny. "Nix, I am so sorry" you held up your hand "Easy Winchester. We don't do guilt trips. Just hug me and we're good" "Hug her gently" Benny added with a laugh that made Elizabeth scold him "Don't tease him! He was worried"

One by one you hugged them all. Dean whispered into your ear "Told ya the nickname Phoenix suits you" you shook your head at him before Elizabeth was pulling you into a hug "I owe you my life" you pulled back to look at her with a smile "You don't owe me anything Elizabeth" she hugged you once more before looking over at Benny "Uh oh, I think he's jealous you're showing attention to another Lafitte"

You walked over to Benny and he wrapped both arms around you "How's about not scaring any of us like that again?" You cut your eyes up at him "I'll try but it'll cost ya a kiss" Dean and Sam groaned playfully and you heard Elizabeth tell them both to hush before Benny smiled "I can manage that" and leaned down to catch your lips in a gentle kiss.

@123passwort @valeks-star @mysticvampyre

[themurderofcrowscollective]

The detective wasn't expecting to hear a feminine voice but the more he focuses his eyes, the sooner he realizes who exactly is talking to him. Red crimson hair, bright orange eyes that are close to yellow, and attire you'd find a man wearing with the same sword he saw earlier, hanging off her belt. The Red Witch carefully approaches him and crouches, getting a wet rag from a bowl of water nearby and wiping off the drool from his chin. " You snore, loudly. I suppose you're here because of the townsfolk below finally sent in reports about my presence, and you're here to arrest me. Am I correct? " Her gaze pierces into his soul as he slowly sits up with a groan. " Uh... I only came here for an investigation behind the rumors. Are you the Red Witch? " " Someone's done their homework. Yes, I am her. Now answer my question, are you here to arrest me, or kill me? " Her tone of voice dropped to a monotonous one, her eyes staring deep into his eyes. Dare he says it, he's a little intimidated but he clears his throat. " No, no. Although, I would like to question you about your side of the story, why everyone has outcasted you from society, why you've been mistreated. " " So a detective with a strong sense of justice and fairness. Very well. We will hold this mock interrogation later when you've rested and eaten, I suggest you sleep now as those scars haven't fully healed yet. " She speaks softly, her intense stare softening as she gets up and walks out of the room. He watches as she leaves before sighing and laying back down. He can't outright arrest her and drag her back to London, but all he can do is rest until next time. - - - The next moment the detective wakes up, he is slightly blinded by the morning light shining into the room. It's strange to think that with all these boarded-up windows, there'd be no light but here he is, squinting as he gets up slowly and pulls the covers off of him. It's peacefully quiet in the room as the fire has gone out and the welcoming smell of breakfast leads his eyes to the table in front of the couch. A plate of biscuits and gravy sided with sausage links and a few strawberries await him along with a glass of... juice? He's going to assume that's juice, it's too red to tell whether or not that's wine. Alas with a sip, he sighs in relief; it's just cranberry juice. He figures to eat and doesn't acknowledge the fact that the Red Witch is entering the room, holding a half-eaten peach in one hand and a half-folded newspaper in the other, seeming engrossed in it as she sits in the chair next to the couch. Granted, the detective looked at her and sips the cranberry juice again before choking a bit. " Uh oh, try to breathe. " She murmurs with her eyes glued to the newspaper, biting into the peach while he breathes and clears his throat. " Don't try to wolf all that down either, take your time. I know you would've slept for a while but not for 4 days. " " Excuse me? " " You heard me, four days. " " Was it that bad? " " For a man your size, losing all that blood was really bad. Throughout each night I had to hold you up and make you drink water but you kept talking in your sleep. " The detective goes quiet, blushing a little as he finishes his food. He knows about his tendencies to talk in his sleep but he's embarrassed to ask about what he said. " Do you have a name, by the way? I just know you're the Red Witch but a name would be nice. " " You go first, all I know is you're a stupid detective who got his ass handed to him by a pack of wolves and slept on my couch for 4 days while babbling like a newborn baby about cheese. " Oh fuck he had the cheese dream again. Ignoring the blush deepening on his cheeks, he clears his throat. " Right, forgive my lack of manners. My name is Detective John MacTavish, thank you for saving my life. "

Rose Red

(Another fuckin' fanfic, let's get this bread!) (The fanfic title is inspired by Emilie Autumn's 'Rose Red', I recommend it.) - - - There are all sorts of tales that speak of wondrous adventures and knights and princesses, dragons and the highest towers of a castle in ruin, kings and queens. Many of these stories make the knight play as the hero, a man of valiant honor and loyalty, set out to save the princess who is trapped or captured but these types of stories... are just about everywhere. In the 1700s, in Manchester, Britain... there lives a woman who is considered the most infamous outcast there is. Her name is unspoken of as she is a taboo topic to speak of, considering her past. Her family were loved and were spoken of in high praises as they all were noble, fair and talented greatly in art, music, story writing and architect. Anyone would have something good to say about this family, that is until the dreadful fire that set their home ablaze and took them all with the home, all except their middle child who survived. In order to maintain her high status, she had immediately married into a rich family to rebuild her home and restore honor to her family name as she is the sole survivor, but all came crumbling down when her marriage abruptly ended with her husband dying of a cruel man's actions. She mourned the loss of her love but rather than going through the grieving process, she swore vengeance at the funeral and revealed a side to herself that shook the whole audience to their very core. Rather than going to the authorities to arrest the man who killed her lover, she spent days figuring out where he had fled to and recovered a family heirloom that her father gave her before his passing. The heirloom? A sword of pure steel with red rubies adorning it's hilt and the family crest in the center of the hilt. As her brothers were deemed unworthy to wield it, they were jealous of her and kept patronizing her with 'facts' such as 'You know that only a man can do a man's job, right?' or 'Women shouldn't be allowed to wield swords!' but on that fateful night, she proved them wrong. That night, with the rebuilding of her home completed, she hosted a party to celebrate and invited everyone including the man who killed her husband. He had thought he was lucky and wanted to find a way to woo her into marrying him, so he could kill her next and inherit the fortune left behind for her but what he found out was it was all a trap. He was led away by her during the party into the gardens of red roses, not expecting to be met with a sword to his throat instead of her 'goods'. Infuriated, the man took out his own sword and swore to kill her but little did he know, she was trained by her grandfather to kill from a young age. The fight was glorious and they nearly fit well together but rather than giving him a truce when she had him on his back, she uttered softly with a fire burning in her eyes... 'No retreat, no surrender.' And like that, he was beheaded with one swift swing of her sword. Before anyone could find the two, the lady buried the man she killed and went back to the party like nothing happened, having cleaned up her attire from the blood until someone comes running back inside and exclaiming that they had seen her kill the man responsible for her husband's death. The party went into a panic and the guests fled the manor, while a few men stayed behind to kill her for killing their friend. The last thing they saw was each of their friends dying quickly, the rubies glowing and the lady's eyes burning a bright orange color similar to the embers of a fireplace. That night, the lady's name became lost to time and thus became The Red Witch. - - -

[misscherry-26]

Oh i got this total idea where chris evans is taking a nap for an interview with ET while his wife, reader cooking up. their toddler girl has a makeup kit for kids and use it on chris. Chris didn't know about it until the interview

Mommy, do you like the way I did daddy's makeup? - Chris Evans

Or said by Blue Evans: "Mommy, do you lite the 'ay I tit daddy's mateup?"

Summary: Chris decides to get some rest before the ET interview, and falls asleep on the couch. His daughter, Blue decides to get her dad ready for the interview.

Pairing: Husb!Chris Evans x Wife!Reader x Daughter!Blue Evans.

Author's note: I swear I've been working on this for a week and I even felt a little bad because I never got around to finishing it because of how busy I was.

I have to say that I loved writing this beautiful and cute story!!!

Hope you like it and thanks for requesting!

Gif from Pinterest

Little Blue Evans is sitting on the floor, with all her toys scattered on the carpet, watching cartoons on television.

At least that's what you see from the kitchen. You're making some chocolate cookies. Chris and Blue's favorites.

And speaking of Chris, your husband, you realize that you didn't see him with your daughter. How strange. If you remember correctly, he told you that he would be there.

You take the tray with the cookies and place them inside the oven. Then, curious, you go to look for your husband. As you get closer, you start to hear a slight… snoring?

And you're not wrong. In front of you is Chris, lying on the couch, sleeping. Looking at the time on the clock, you move him a little to wake him up.

"Chris. Chris." He shifts a little on the couch, but doesn't open his eyes. You try to call him about two more times, and that's when it seems to work.

In a hoarse, sleepy voice and opening his eyes a little, he asks you what you need.

"Don't forget that you have the interview with ET in an hour babe"

Chris has been up since six in the morning, going from interview to interview about his projects, life… so it's more than understandable that he is taking a nap.

"Mhm, I know, I'm up now" and he goes back to sleep.

You shake your head, chuckling at your husband's action, and head back to the kitchen to clean and put everything away, as well as checking the cookies from time to time.

But what you don't know is that little Blue, hearing that her father has an interview, got up as soon as you left, to get her makeup kit.

The little girl quickly returns and places the small pink suitcase on the floor and opens it. She then gets down on her knees to get up to her father's face and… gets to work...

—

Chris wakes up to the sunlight starting to hit him in the face. He slowly sits down on the couch and wakes up a bit. He watches the clock. Just in time for the interview.

Without time to see himself in the mirror, he straightens his hair a little and takes the computer and turns it on.

"In today's section we will be interviewing a great Hollywood star, husband and father. With you, Chris Evans"

At that moment Chris turns on the camera, completely inhibited of what is happening… on his face.

On the other hand, you are in the kitchen decorating the cookies with a chocolate coating, when Blue runs in with the small suitcase in hand.

"Mommy mommy mommy!"

"B I told you the cookies aren't ready yet" you notice her running in "and what did I tell you about running in the kitchen? It's dangerous B–"

"Am 'orry mommy, but come! Loot what I tit!" Your daughter drags you by the hand. You hope she hasn't broken anything, but the surprise you get is a very funny one.

Chris is sitting on the couch, computer in hand, camera and microphone turned off. His face, it's hard to find expression on it. You don't know if he wants to laugh, scold his little girl or even cry.

Your husband is full of paintings on his face, or rather… makeup.

"Mommy, do you lite the 'ay I tit daddy's mateup?"

[honeykngdom]

𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 | 𝚎.𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 | 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎

Pairing: Embry Call x Original Character Summary: Join Ainsley and Embry as they embark on a journey where they are forced to question everything they thought they knew, and embrace the pain that is inevitable to avoid in love. An imprint story. Self-discovery. Angst and romance. Word Count: 5k Warnings: Jacob is a cockblock. That is all. prev. chapter | next chapter

“What’s mine is mine: I don’t share what’s mine.” 

“You’re my honey.” 

The words echoed and bounced off the confinements of my mind in the early morning, fingers aimlessly tracing circles against the warmth of Embry’s back. He settled himself against my chest with his arms encircled around my waist, hugging me lightly as he quietly snored. His russet skin stood out against the pale white sheets, legs entwined around my feet in an effort to keep as close to me as possible. 

I reared my thoughts back to the previous night: Embry had definitely overstepped some boundaries. Instead of lingering on the past, I was willing to push everything aside and move forward. That was the healthy thing to do, right? No sense in ruining what appeared to be a perfect morning with something as silly as my insecurities and anger. 

When he stirred against me, his snoring halting for a brief moment, I brought my hand up to hug his head tightly, pressing my lips to his hair. It still felt as though I were dreaming, as if any moment I would wake up in my own sheets drenched in sweat. Each passing minute aided in helping me realize it was real: I was wrapped up in Embry’s strong arms, contently listening to the even exhale of his breath. 

The sun barely peeked past the tops of the trees in the distance, a cool breeze dancing across what exposed skin there was to soothe the burning that rippled through my body. 

“This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.” 

I pressed a kiss to his forehead, lips lingering. It was strange to think about where I would be in my life if he hadn’t pushed himself to become such a large part of it. How well he seemed to fit in my arms, how right it felt to wake up next to his frame. This was my Embry. This was my happiness, my sole reason for pushing out of my tiny shell. I had never once thought about how grateful I was for his presence, for the calm he seemed to invite into my daily routine. Despite the raging temper I knew boiled in his veins, I had never felt more safe or more at peace than when I was with him. 

He lifted his chin, opening his warm brown orbs to watch me carefully. The smile that tugged on the corners of his lips filled my chest with adoration, eyes watching him as he pushed himself up with his hands to drop his face near mine, mouth leaving warm kisses against my cheek and neck. I hummed in delight. 

“You didn’t leave.” He mused, resting his head in the crook of my neck. I felt his hand wander along my side, easing over the gentle curve of my hip and down the thigh. “I definitely spent most of the night thinking you were going to completely hate me in the morning.” 

“You know what, Embry?” I tried not to laugh, instead resting my eyes and exhaled, “In another life, I could love you.” I mumbled. 

“I might love you in this one.” 

My arms shifted, tightening their grip on his shoulders. I refused to let go. My mind swirled with a million different thoughts, most of which were overpowered by the very loud, obnoxious voice that insisted this was nothing but a trap. Growing up, I had firmly believed that the good guys finish last. All I needed was a little patience, and a man that had been sculpted to fill the parts of me would find me. It would be an epic love. It would last forever. 

Don’t say that, I wanted to whisper. I wanted to tell him that he could do much better than me, that whatever it was he was feeling was temporary. Instead, I lifted his face to mine and pressed my mouth to his in an eager kiss. I didn’t want him to figure it out. I didn’t want him to leave me. 

Embry smiled against my lips, his mouth warm and inviting. I found myself breathing him in, pulling my body closer. When he finally pried himself away, he chuckled at the quiet whimper that slipped past my lips. “We’ve got a lot of time for more of that.” He promised, pressing his lips to my forehead. 

“Embry!” The noise from outside his window was followed by a loud bang. Two pairs of heavy boots stomped up the stairs, pounding down the hall. I had just enough time to pull the sheet up over my bare legs, sinking back into the mattress. 

The door swung open to reveal a breathless and shirtless Jacob. His eyes settled on the pair of us in front of him before he cut his eyes to Embry. “Sam needs you.” He bellowed, chin lowering to his chest. 

“I’m a little busy.” Embry replied, jaw clenching tightly. 

“Emb,” Quil pleaded quietly, eyes completely focused on his brother as he stepped into the bedroom. “This isn’t negotiable. We need you.” 

I watched the exact moment when Embry clued into his brother's words, watching the way his face contorted and pulled into a dozen different emotions before he looked down at me quickly, almost apologetically. “Ains ..” 

“No way.” I growled, sitting up to glare at the men in the doorway. 

“Sorry, Ainsley,” Jacob huffed, throwing a shirt in my general direction. “But he doesn’t get a say in this.” 

I threw the fabric back at Jacob. “Because Sam said so?” 

“Because I said so!” He yelled, eyebrows pulled together. We remained like that for a few heartbeats, watching each other angrily for two completely separate reasons. As much as I had grown to love Embry’s brothers, and as much as I loved my cousin, they had managed to barge in on what could’ve been the most perfect morning of my existence and managed to sabotage it in less than 10 words. 

I was furious. 

Embry pushed himself up, lips at my ear. “It won’t be long.” He promised, snaking his arm around my waist. His mouth pressed against my neck, trying to soothe me. “Ains, please.” Embry pleaded, pulling back to block my view of Jacob. 

“Emily’s expecting her.” Quil said quietly when Jacob pushed out of the room, stomping down the stairs to the front door. Quil picked up a few articles of clothing off the floor, placing them on the edge of the bed. “We have to go, dude, the others are already out there.” 

“This doesn’t change what I said.” Embry said firmly, grabbing my chin in his hand. “Okay? Nothing changes.” 

“Let’s go!” I could hear Jacob yell from outside. Quil looked out of the window, swallowed thickly and let out a defeated sigh. 

I kept my eyes glued to Embry’s, trying to find a weakness to convince him to stay — but he seemed desperate. Damn that fucking loyalty. 

“Okay.” I lamented, feeling helpless. He released a sigh, and kissed me quickly. 

In the next few moments, he was off the bed hauling on a pair of cut offs, then pulling a set of keys from his top drawer. “Take the truck to Emily’s — I promise I’ll explain everything later.” When I didn’t move, he groaned and leaned over the wooden railing to press his mouth firmly to hers once. “Honey, please.” He whined again before Quil gripped his arms and pulled him through the bedroom door. He glanced back once at me surrounded by the mess of pillows and blankets, face broken in disappointment. 

I pulled my jeans on slowly, eyes lingering on the dirty sheets as I gripped the set of keys in my fist. “Stupid piece of shit.” I grumbled, pulling my coat over my frame. 

EMBRY

It had been nearly two years since he had last forced himself to phase; after spending so long training his body to keep the convulsions at bay, after promising himself that he was better off with this part dormant, Embry found himself relishing in the surge of power that raced through his veins. The familiar heat that pulsed, the throbbing in his chest, the way his limbs burned and stretched as he pushed himself forward, paws pounding against the damp earth with a newfound purpose. 

Maybe they’re visiting? Seth asked from somewhere over the noise, his own guard up on alert. As much as Seth had enjoyed befriending Edward and the other Cullen’s, his instinct to find danger in the presence of another vampire had his body on edge. 

Embry snorted, jumping around the sharp rocks of the cliff side before he launched himself off the edge and dropped onto the sandy beach with Quil following behind him. Unlikely .

Do we have any idea where they are now? 

They?

Sam growled lowly, There’s two — a couple, I’d imagine. Sam thought back to the grocery store where he held up two different packages of gravol, trying to think about which would benefit Emily more. She had been complaining of an upset stomach for most of the morning, and his body heat hadn’t been making her feel any better. Sam had gone into Forks looking for some odds and ends to help his wife; that’s when he first caught their scent. 

The couple, appearing no more than twenty, stood a few yards away from him, sharing the same curled lip. The female's hair was long and blonde, perfectly coiled around her square face. She would be much easier to spot than her male counterpart — who looked so much like anyone else in the tribe. His eyes were coloured a deep red that hid behind the set of contacts that would have been undetectable to the human eye. 

On our land? Leah snarled, the hair on her back stood as a shiver rolled down her spine. Her thoughts raced back to the familiar face of the sun kissed tattooed male, his wide cocky smile barring through their minds. 

Which in turn led the remainder of the imprinted pack to think of their partners. Ainsley flooded Embry’s vision, her pretty blue eyes heavy with such disappointment and sadness, but he couldn’t find himself caring much about that right now. Her safety was priority number one — her anger he could handle later. 

So what do we do? Brady asked from his place next to Collin and Seth.

We don’t know if they’re a threat — 

The Cullen’s have no idea who either of them are. Alice isn’t able to get a reading on what either of them are here for . Jacob snapped, glowering over at Seth. They’re an unknown danger to the tribe and the people of this town.  

Jake, Seth whined dropping his muzzle to the floor when Jacob turned and snapped at the air. 

Jacob’s right, Sam boomed, coming up on the left side of Embry. They shared a low growl, crouching their bodies in unison. We must destroy them before it’s too late. 

There was a collective agreement amongst the wolves, their paws kneading the ground eagerly, snarls tearing through the air as they all recalled the last time they had met in this manner. How they had ripped through the bodies of their tribes biggest threat, how powerful and strong they all had felt. There was a magic in their blood that burned whenever danger was near. 

They’re not alone. Leah had decided, pacing around. The girl — she looks like someone that visits Trent’s shop. Daily. 

Think we can talk to them face to face? Seth asked, feeling defeated.

The response was automatic. No! the remainder of the pack growled. 

Are you trying to get yourself killed? Paul asked angrily, moving forward to press his paw down in front of Seth’s vision, forcing him to meet his eyes. We can’t protect ourselves as humans. 

I was just thinking –

You weren’t thinking. Embry retorted, turning back to look at Sam and Jacob. The sooner we find them, the better. We aren’t here to reason with leeches, he seethed, looking around the pack. They all watched him pace frantically, all feeling the sense of urgency that coursed through his veins. The familiar inner turmoil vibrating through his core — the anger he had tried to desperately to keep at bay finally leaking through. We’re here to kill every last one of them — let’s not make the same mistake twice. 

AINSLEY

“He just left.” I complained, popping another piece of banana bread into my mouth. For the last forty-five minutes, I had been whining non-stop to Emily about the scene from this morning; each time I thought back to the pitiful apology he had offered, I grew more irritated. “God, they just barged in!”

Emily had yet to move from the kitchen, her hands moving quickly. “That’ll happen. Just gotta learn to live with it.” 

“Live with it?” I repeated incredulously, leaning forward on the table. “My cousin came in and cockblocked me!” Emily stopped moving to grip the counter and lean down slowly, her eyes pressed together tightly. “Hey — are you okay? You’ve been doing that for a few days.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, waiting another two heartbeats before she stood up and nodded. “Just comes and goes. I’m fine.” 

I watched her skeptically, chewing on the last piece of my banana bread thoughtfully. “You really think I don’t need to be worried?” 

“Trust me, Ains.” Emily sighed, setting the timer on her third batch of cookies. “That man is crazy about you and it’s driving the others nuts. On any other day, those boys wouldn’t have even thought about stepping into that house. Well,” Emily paused, then shrugged, “except maybe Jacob.”

“Jacob?” 

“Yeah, Emb and Jake live together. You didn’t know that?” 

I blinked slowly, returning my gaze to my hands. I didn’t know that. “So, why did they, then? Intrude this morning?” 

She stopped, lips pursed together with her hands on her hips. Emily shook her head and sighed, “I can’t be the one to tell you.” 

“Why,” I groaned, throwing my head back, “does everyone keep saying that?” 

“It’s Embry’s choice. If he wants you to know, he’ll tell you.” She said, joining me at the table. She plucked a piece of bread from the top of the plate and hummed in satisfaction. “Damn, I’m good.” 

I let the corners of my mouth turn up in a half-hearted smile. Another hour passed by, and still no sign of anyone. Kim was working that afternoon, no doubt completely hating herself for drinking as much as she had the night before. I could see it now: Kim’s tired eyes and pale-russet skin moving like a zombie through her day, trying not to fall asleep in some corner. 

By the time the sun was setting low in the sky, Emily was passed out on the couch and I was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, snacking on another slice of bread. I patiently watched the open door, waiting for some sort of indication that the guys were returning home. After what felt like hours, the familiar cackle of Paul sounded through the air, prompting me to sit upright in my chair. One by one, the men trailed into the kitchen, taking their respective seats around the large oak table. 

“Oooh, Embry’s in trouble.” Paul joked, watching me with careful eyes as they all entered the room. I narrowed my eyes at Paul, then focused on Jacob’s blundering frame behind him. 

“You.” I seethed, pushing out of the chair, brushing past Embry’s worried look, hands pressing against Jacob’s broad chest. I pushed him with all of my might, satisfied when he stumbled back. “If you ever pull that again, I will make sure you never have children.” 

“Woah, Ains, hold up —” I slapped Quil’s hand away from my shoulder, shooting him a glare in warning before I moved my eyes back to Jacob’s.

“I don’t care who you think you are, that was my morning you ruined.” My voice was slow and low, trying to keep myself from breaking out in anger, “It will not happen again.”

“It won’t.” Jacob promised, holding his hands up in defeat, “I’m sorry, okay?” 

“No, not okay.” I replied bitterly, turning on my heels to glance at Embry. He swallowed, weary eyes watching me take four steps towards him before my arms circled around his waist. “You owe me.” I grumbled, relaxing when his arms hugged my shoulders tightly.

“Dinner?” He suggested, pressing his nose to my scalp. “I’ll even cook.” 

Quil whistled from somewhere behind me, “Embry can make a mean chicken parm.” 

“I do,” He nodded, looking down at me with a warm smile before blinking, then he sighed and his face fell. “Actually, your brothers are looking for you.” 

I tried not to groan, closing my eyes tightly. I had completely forgotten about updating my parents, knowing they were probably losing their minds at home regarding my whereabouts for the last twenty hours. “I’ve gotta go home.” My fingers reached for my coat, slipping around the group of men who already began devouring all of Emily’s hard work. 

“I’ll walk you.”

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The conversation between Jennie and I lasted a total of five minutes before TJ threw his hands up in defeat. “She does no wrong.” He grumbled, leaning over to press a quick kiss to the top of my hair. For the most part, TJ was more lenient than Jennie could be; if she had it her way, we’d all be home straight after work and school, just like when we were kids.

Sometime later that week, I sat in the living room between my brothers, Trent lazily flipping through television channels as the weather outside whirled loudly. 

Thunderstorms had taken over the reservation for nearly four days straight, making it difficult for Embry to sneak into my room each night. I visited Emily and Sam’s once in the meantime, but was unable to stay for long. Embry worried about me driving through the rain — there were times when it came down so hard it was nearly impossible to see what was in front of you. 

I reached my fingers into the open bag of candy, popping a few into my mouth to chew thoughtfully as Trent skipped over another television show. 

“Could you just pick something?” Travis asked in annoyance, ripping the head off another gummy worm. 

“Could you just shut the fuck up?” Trenton mocked, taking another sip of his beer.

I sighed from the middle, watching the screen flicker in bright colours. I stole the remote from Trent’s fingers, pressing the buttons so that an episode of FRIENDS overtook the screen and nodded in satisfaction. “Shut up and watch.” I grumbled, shoving another handful of candy into my mouth.

There were no complaints: two hours later, Travis snored from his end of the couch, face pressed into the cushions while Trent and I split the pizza we had paid for with his money. 

“So,” Trent started, opening another dipping sauce. “You and Embry, huh?”

I watched him closely, “How did you know?”

“Leah.” He shrugged, folding his piece in half. 

I pressed my lips together, chewing on the inside of my cheek. I wanted to ask about Leah, but I knew that he would just see it as avoidance. “What about it?” 

“Is it serious?” 

I laughed, picking a pepperoni off my slice, “I don’t really know — I guess so?”

“You guess so?” 

“I’m not some random hookup,” I pointed out, “I like him.” 

Trent sighed, “That’s what worries me.” 

“Isn’t he your friend?” I asked, squinting up at him. 

“Your point?” 

“So, I’d like to think you don’t befriend complete douchebags. Don’t worry about me, I’m perfectly fine. Happy, even.” I offered, smiling to myself as I thought about Embry’s dopey smile. It was quiet for a while, the pair of us finishing off the pizza before we retreated upstairs to our respective rooms. 

“Something doesn’t feel right,” He mused quietly, offering me a water bottle from the fridge on our way past the kitchen, “I like the guy, but —”

“But what?”

“Nothing, I guess. Leah’s pretty adamant that he’s not .. here to spite me.” 

“Is that what you think this is?” I asked, dropping my voice. “That’s he’s only interested in me because it’ll piss you off? Couldn’t be because I’m adorable as fuck or he likes me?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Trent sighed. It had been two months of the same shit; Trent trying to make me feel small to keep me where he wanted me. At home, safe and sound, making no noise or trouble. This is where you belong, he’d say, this is where we can protect you.  

A few years ago when Trent was leading underground fights for easy cash, I had gotten myself stuck in the middle on quite a few occasions. More than once I had somehow been pushed into the center of the circle, had gotten knocked on my ass, and had to spend nearly an hour each morning hiding new bruises. By the time I was seventeen, my run in with a former club member had convinced my brothers that they needed to kick it to the curb. 

Almost four years ago, I attended what I believed was just another house party. My date’s name was Maddox; he was sweet, charming, and had been able to make me feel as though together we were invincible. He never lost a fight, never spent much time away from me. It wasn’t until later that evening when he’d slipped something into my drink that I started to see what perhaps everyone else saw in him. 

I ended up in a spare room, trying to separate myself from the rest of the party while my head swirled in confusion and fear, trying to keep my body upright as the drug coursed through my body. The hands hadn’t belonged to Maddox, but to one of his frat brothers. I remembered kicking and screaming, crying out for help as the dress I saved all my money for was ripped from my body. I had been dehumanized and humiliated, left naked and alone on the cold tile in a bathroom that belonged to a stranger I didn’t even know. 

That was the last I saw Maddox. 

That was also the day Trenton swore he’d never call for another fight. Not that Travis had been happy about it — they were bringing in easy money with those fights, and as two college students, that easy money was getting them by. But for the sake of their sister — for my dignity — they cut their ties and prompted our parents to move from Victoria. It had taken a while for the idea to take hold with Jennie, but once it had, there was no turning back.

It only made sense they ended up back on the west coast of the United States, surrounded by a small town with pleasant faces. They were safer there. No one needed to know, and they had promised to keep it that way. 

“You don’t need to protect me from him.” I replied gingerly, shouldering past him into the hall. “He’s not the problem.” My door slammed behind me, the frame shaking slightly. I listened to the footsteps of my brother trail down the hall, his own door slamming before I sighed and turned.

I also screamed. 

“Jesus Christ,” I breathed, sinking to the floor against my closed door. My weary gaze looked up to Embry: he was laying in my bed, arms folded behind his head with a smug smile plastered across his face. 

“Hey, honey.” He chuckled, sliding over to make room as I crawled over and onto the bed. Iyah lay at the foot of my mattress, watching Embry with careful eyes. “Ready for bed?”

I thought about his offer for a moment, moving to straddle his hips. I shook my head, leaning down to press my lips against his eagerly, his hands moving to capture my waist tightly. I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth and sucked gently, eliciting a quiet moan from his throat. The sound caused my skin to erupt in goosebumps, running my hands across his warm, bare torso excitedly, satisfaction washing over my limbs as his response was almost immediate: Embry pulled my hair free from its ponytail and gripped tightly onto the roots. 

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

“That’s stupid.” Seth grumbled, watching Quil and Claire lounge on the living room floor in front of the television. 

Renesmee sighed, chin perched in her hand as she shrugged. “You’re stupid.” She teased. 

“Nessie.” Jacob chided. The woman smiled impishly in response, looking up at Jacob with big eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh. The last few days had been full of their presence as Embry seemed to be much busier than usual. In between picking up extra shifts, he was fighting to see me, eat and get a decent night's sleep. Each time I saw him, he looked more tired — but his face still lit up when I hugged myself to him. I never grew tired of that. 

“You look bored,” Jacob teased, throwing a pillow in my general direction. 

“Just waiting for Emb.” I sighed, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It was almost dinner time, and he had yet to stop by. 

“He’ll be here.” Quil promised, eyes focused on the television. “No later than seven.” 

Seven? I almost wanted to throw a tantrum. I hadn’t signed up to be in a relationship with Embry’s brothers — and in the last few days, I spent more time with them than I had even seen his beautiful eyes. I was growing impatient, sick of watching crappy reruns on Sam’s small television, sick of hearing ‘it’s not my place to talk about it’ whenever I asked why he was so busy. 

I was also sick of feeling sick; as crazy as it was, I had no other reasonable explanation. I must have been addicted to Embry, because without him I truly felt physically unwell. 

Just as I finished dinner, Embry and Jared came waltzing through the open kitchen door, laughing in harmony as Sam trailed in behind them with a smile. I tried not to let it bother me that he seemed to always find enough time to see them before he thought to come and see me. Maybe you’re just overthinking it.

I quickly moved into the kitchen, removing a plate from the cupboard. I pulled bits and pieces of the meal together, filling the plate to the brim and drizzling gravy over the heaping mountain before I set it down in front of Embry. 

“Thanks, honey.” He grinned tiredly, pressing his lips to my throat, then to my jaw, then the corner of my mouth. I tried to offer him a forced smile, sitting in my chair next to him while he shoveled forkful after forkful into his mouth. At least he was eating. 

“I told Jennie I’d be staying with you,” I said quietly, pushing his too-long hair away from his forehead. “Even brought a bag with actual pajamas and everything.” 

He pulled his brows together, “That’s tonight?” 

I deadpanned, halting my movements to look at him. “Seriously? You forgot?”

“No! Well, yes — I mean —” He dropped his fork and ran his hand over his face, eyes pressed shut tiredly. “I just lost track of the days, that’s all.” 

I pressed my lips together, watching his eyes open slowly to meet my gaze. “If you’re too tired, we can do another night.”

“No,” Embry sighed, gripping my knee in his warm palm. “I want you to come.” He said quietly, leaning over to kiss my cheek in reassurance. 

He finished his dinner in silence, meeting my eyes every so often to ensure I didn’t look completely pissed off. Once he was finished, and I looked more at ease, he leaned over with a coy smile.

“What?” I asked, trying to suppress a smile of my own. 

“Oh, nothing,” he mused, snaking his hand up my thigh, “just thinking about sharing a big bed with a beautiful woman I know, that’s all.” 

“Is that so?” I laughed, setting my bottle of water down on the table, eyes darting down to his lips. “Sounds like quite the treat.” 

“Oh, she is the treat —”

“Okay, that’s disgusting.” Seth gagged from across the room, chucking a leftover muffin at Embry’s head. “Take it somewhere else.” Seth’s slight outburst pulled a chorus of laughter from the group; the guys always chalked it up to Seth’s lack of know-how, but I could see the slight hint of jealousy in his eyes every time he watched Emily and Sam kiss, watched Jared and Kim laugh or watched Embry and I interact. He was longing for someone of his own, although I was sure he’d never admit to it. 

The group said their round of goodbye’s as Embry pulled me out into the cold by the hand, entwining our fingers as we cut through the forest towards his house. Our footsteps carried through the silent woods, giggles erupting from my throat as he slowly chased me around, fingers wiggling into my neck. Moving with him in the night seemed to put my mind at ease, and offered me a sort of comfort. It wasn’t until the dim brown panes came into view that I realized we were near his home; I ran onto the street, hands holding the straps of my bag to my back securely as I looked up at him. “What?”

“You’re adorable, you know that?”

I shrugged, offering him a small smile, “You may have mentioned that once or twice.” 

“I mean it, y’know?” He asked, slinking his arms around her waist. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a very, very long time.” 

My face softened at his words, heart swelling in my chest. “Aw, Emb,” I whispered, reaching a hand up to touch his cheek, “You’re not getting all soft on me, are you?” 

“That’s it.” He growled playfully, swooping down to flip me over his shoulder. I squealed in delight, holding my bag steady as he jogged towards the door of his home. “You’re in trouble, young lady.” 

I tried to keep my smile at bay, mind already thinking about what kind of punishment he would see most fit. 

[its-deputy-caleb]

hi it is me again coming to say I love you and to request some sean/m!reader general fluffy/romantic stuff?

BRO ILYSM! 😩i hope you enjoy this as much as i did writing it!!

Fluff HC’s

Sean and you have always gotten along, the two of you having always been jokesters it was really only natural that you started dating.

You were in that strange area between not dating but also knowing you were more than friends until at Sean’s return party.

With enough whiskey in Sean’s system for half a town he wandered over to you and wrapped his arms around your neck and kissed you in front of everyone.

You’ve been joined at the hip ever since and the two of you are always seen hugging around camp.

While you’re just a wild as Sean, you do have more of a level head than him. When you’re helping out with chores around camp, he’ll come up and cuddle you even if you insist the work has to be done Sean will hold onto you for the next hour.

You love doing guard duty together because you just get spend time with the man you love, often sharing a bottle of whiskey while you watch the tree line.

Sometimes when the gang is particularly down after a bad job or a visit from the Pinkertons Sean will come and sit by you and just tuck his head under your chin.

The two of you love to just hold each other when you both need that comfort. Sean can struggle to ask for what he needs but a cuddle is your way of showing it.

That being said Sean loves you and trusts you enough to share his feelings with you. Despite the jokes about his infamous ‘da stories’ Sean will tell you about his family and his up brining in the quiet hours of the night.

Sometimes the two of you will have a little laugh about the childhood memories you both decide to share and other times Sean ends up crying into your chest while your arms wrap protectively around him.

Both you and Sean love physical affection, especially when its just the two of you alone. When you cuddle on your bedrolls you take turns being the little spoon and no matter what Sean will snore into your ear but its adorable nonetheless.

You two are always each other’s first pick when it comes to choosing a partner for a job. You both want to prove yourselves to the camp but Sean more than anything wants that approval.

You often hold his face in your hands and kiss his nose while you tell him how important he is to the camp and to you most importantly.

There’s been numerous times where either you or Sean have returned from the saloon or a job and need patching up after a bad fight.

You’ve never seen Sean so scared as to when you returned to camp with life threatening injuries on your chest and abdomen and he didn’t sleep until you were all patched up.

Sean has had his fair share of bar fights and so you often sit by the camp fire wrapping him in bandages and kissing all his bruises.

There are times where you managed to escape from camp for some time to yourselves, often going on dates to the river for a late night skinny dip, robberies or to take Ennis and your horse for long rides.

One time you went on a little adventure of some of the mountains in the Grizzlies, taking a week to go hiking and camping.

On a particularly big rock you hand to hoist Sean up when he couldn’t climb up and you ended up playfully teasing him about it for the rest of the day. His blush is the cutest thing you’ve seen.

Your favourite memory of the two of you together is from that hiking trip when you stayed in an abandoned cabin overnight.

Waking up in the morning, Sean was beside you sleeping softly. The light was shining through the cracks of the wooden planks, making his face glow softly as you tucked a strand of his orange hair behind his ear and kissed him gently.

[amillionmillionvoices]

Prompt from the list (for Ted and Rebecca obvs) snowed in for the night 😍

Thank you so much for the prompt, darling! I hope you enjoy it!

--

They’re both drunk enough that by the time he says it, the suggestion makes perfect sense. 

They’re in her living room, on the floor by the couch because reaching for the booze on the coffee table was too much work, and her floor is, surprisingly, quite comfortable. Ted had announced so shortly after sliding—unintentionally, she thinks—off the couch with an umf. 

The bottle of wine—she’s lost count of how many this one makes, the empties on the counter in the kitchen—is now gone, and she’d been pouting, not wanting to get up for more. 

Not wanting to get up for much of anything, but the storm keeps raging outside and she’s not tired. 

He’d come over for dinner, the way he has been for the last few months, once a week, to help her learn how to cook. They make simple things: pancakes and eggs and salads and pasta dishes, but if her excuse of needing his help has him over more often, she isn’t going to protest. 

In fact, it’s been rather wonderful, having him captive—the storm is blowing in snow and sleet and it’s too dangerous for him to leave, so they’d started with a game of chess and moved on to telling childhood stories and watching a movie and they raided the leftovers around 10pm and now it’s half gone midnight and she’s bored. 

Not of him—never, ever of him—but the fact that she’s stuck makes her feel itchy and even though she doesn’t want to be anywhere else, she does. Somehow. 

It makes sense in her drunk brain. Made sense when she told Ted how bored she was, but happy to be bored with him, and if she’d gone on a little too long about how decidedly not boring he is—with all his jokes and stories and observations about the world and how much she’s grown to love just listening to him talk, and if Ted’s cheeks had pinked and he’d felt like something warm and safe had curled up in his chest, they’re both drunk and giggly and every time she shifts it’s somehow closer, until his hand is on her knee and her fingers are brushing his shoulder. 

She feels content here, to be in this space with him, even though she can’t quite stop herself from looking at his mouth. 

(It won’t be until tomorrow, when she wakes up with the sun in her eyes and a pounding headache and Ted, snoring softly behind her, that she’ll realize all of it was inevitable. That it wasn’t the snow or the dinners or the booze, it was just them—like magnets—and she’ll turn her face into his chest and fall back asleep.) 

She doesn’t notice Ted doing the same, but even still, when she drops her head back against the sofa and offers, “I could get another bottle of wine,” she doesn’t expect his answer: 

“Or we could make out.”

Rebecca blinks, startled but not really—she hadn’t expected it of him, and thinks maybe if she were sober, if they were both sober—it would seem like more of a step. More important, more terrifying. 

Instead, it just sounds right and not boring and when she looks at him he’s wearing a slight smirk, slightly self-deprecating, like her answer is hers alone. 

She stares at him a moment, her brain a bit fuzzy and her skin starting to tingle as she imagines his mustache on her neck, her fingers in his hair. 

It’s a bad idea. 

It’s a fantastic idea. 

It’s his idea, and she thinks it’s that more than anything else that makes her say, 

“Alright.”

Ted’s smile grows, but also shifts into something quieter, sweeter. She’ll think about that smile the next day, and the day after that, and every day—

But for now she shifts closer, watches him do the same. There’s a strange dance they do, uncertain of where to put hands and how to shuffle together on the floor, and there’s a long moment where they lean in closer, his breath against her cheek. They’re so close, her nose brushing his, but neither of them move. It feels suspended, out of time, both of them aware a line is about to be crossed, but she doesn’t feel tense or anxious or concerned. Doesn’t feel rushed, or frightened, or any of the things maybe she should be, and then his lips brush hers and it’s like she’s forgotten what this is supposed to be like, and suddenly remembers. 

His lips are warm and a bit chapped but his mustache is softer than she thought it would be. He moves so slowly, almost tentative, and Rebecca mirrors his pace, slips a hand up to slowly cup his cheek, almost experimentally. His skin is warm and he has a slight stubble and her fingertips find the edges of his hair—it’s soft, too, though why she’s surprised she doesn’t know. 

Ted is soft. Soft, and sweet, and currently kissing her like she’s something precious. His hand slides around the back of her neck, barely any pressure, just resting softly, and she makes some sort of sound—not quite a whimper—and Ted pulls back. 

He stares at her, eyes drinking her in like he can read her expression, read what she needs in her face and maybe he can because the next thing she knows he’s pulling her back to him and kissing her deeply, his mouth open and tongue licking along her bottom lip and her hand finds its way fully into his hair. He kisses her and doesn’t stop kissing her and Rebecca feels like she’s been lit on fire, sparks everywhere and a desperation curling in her stomach. 

She wants to be closer to him, needs to, and shifts, hikes her leg over his and settles into his lap and Ted groans, a gorgeous sound that makes her kiss him harder. 

He holds her to him, hands moving up and down her spine, along her neck, into her hair. 

He’s so warm and she feels so safe, so wanted and needed and it should feel like falling but it doesn’t. Feels grounding, to have his mouth moving along her neck and her hands in his hair and she doesn’t know how long they sit there, like fools on the floor, just kissing. 

He doesn’t try to take off her clothes or worm his hands under her blouse; she doesn’t try to make him go any faster, both of them content to exchange kisses, lazy and heated and everything in between. 

She hasn’t done anything like it in decades, just kissing for the sake of kissing someone—because she needed them or wanted them or loved them. 

She loves him, and it’s at once a realization and a feeling so obvious and whole that she doesn’t know why she’s surprised. 

She pulls back to look at his face, sees his eyes closed and his expression serene. When he looks at her, his palm finds her cheek, and he smiles. 

Rebecca swallows. “I have a confession to make.”

Ted blinks, and she didn’t mean it to sound so dramatic. He stiffens slightly, just for a moment, but he doesn’t let go. Squeezes her hip, gives her a reassuring smile. 

“Truth bomb?” he asks. 

She smirks. “It is that time of year,” she says, almost like an offering, an out. 

But Ted just brushes his thumb over her cheek. 

“Hit me.”

Rebecca takes a deep breath. 

“I know how to cook.”

Ted stares at her for a moment, uncomprehending. “What?”

“In the kitchen,” she says needlessly. “I know how to cook. I used to help my grandmother with Sunday roasts every week. And then in university, I hosted dinners. I’m actually quite good at it.” 

Ted frowns. “You nearly burnt pasta.”

“I did it on purpose.”

He doesn’t look angry, just adorably confused. “Why?” he asks, like the reason isn’t obvious. 

“So you’d come back.”

Ted stares for a long moment, quiet, and she tries not to tighten her grip on his sweater. 

And then he kisses her, draws her in close and kisses her until she’s breathless, until they’re both panting and her heart is pounding and she didn’t realize she needed to hear the words so badly until he says, 

“You never gotta come up with a reason for that.”

He smiles reassuringly and she smiles back and then kisses him, hears him mumble against her lips, 

“Maybe next week you can teach me somethin’,” and it’s a question she hears so clearly, and promises him, 

“I will.”

[ ask me for a (ted lasso) snippet ]

[btsydtrash]

Euphoric Endeavours [7]

vampire bts, poly ot7 x uni student yn

(AN: Hi, all! This story is actually already posted on AO3. But! I want to try and grow a little community on Tumblr, too. So, I decided to post it on here. I have almost 50 chapters of this story up over there, so I’ll slowly be adding them onto here too. I hope that you like it!)

also, i don’t have a tag list, but if you follow/put notifications, you’ll get alerted. tysm loves!

find me on twitter        word count: 5.1k

(angst / smut / fluff / gore / yandere)

TW: brief injury care

Chapter 7 - ‘Reanimation’

When you wake to see such a strange message, from an unknown number, you don’t pause to contemplate anything before sleepily deleting it. You don’t know who it could be from, and you have no idea whom ‘they’ are referring to. Honestly, you assume Young-mi had used your number again online and so now, you’re going to be a victim of spam.

Instead, you go about your normal day, scanning through Young-mi’s sporadic messages.

Apparently, upon her awakening and the doctor’s determining that Mei’s health was, for lack of better word, fine, Young-mi was sent home and a quick peek into her room shows her snoring form, tangled in her bedsheets. According to the rest of Young-mi’s messages, Mei Li remembered nothing of the attack. In fact, she doesn’t remember anything about the day before – not even speaking with you in the kitchen. It was unnerving.

After packing your lunch for the day, you dress and lock up your apartment, careful to not disturb your other roommate’s ant collection (you don’t understand it, and you try not to look at it for too long as the tiny legs scurrying along never fails to send shivers down your spine) as you leave.

An incessant beeping catches your attention in the distance.

“YN! YN! I’ll take you to class today! C’mere!”

Taehyung is half-hanging out of the driver’s side window, in front of your cheap apartment complex, grinning brightly. You think that a smile must be his natural disposition, considering how easily it seems to appear on his face. A small part of you envies the ease with which he grins.

The sight of such an expensive car, with such a handsome driver, doesn’t fit with the dreary, grey morning.

You approach and ask, “What’re you doing here, Taehyung? It’s like,” you check your phone, brows climbing in surprise, “Eight in the morning.”

He nods, giddily. “I’m an early riser. I got you some coffee.”

“I don’t drink coffee,” you lie, but you slide into the passenger seat nonetheless.

“Don’t lie to me, YN,” he says, with a laugh. “I’ve seen you with my own eyes take more caffeine into your system than the average middle-aged office worker. Now, do me a favour and drink.”

He gestures to the steaming coffee cups in the car’s console, and you let out a sigh of surrender, reaching for it. At the first sip, you practically melt in the heated seats. You ignore his smug grin in favour of savoring the flavor on your tongue.

“You’re awfully chipper this morning,” you comment, eyeing him suspiciously. “And I’m not going to class yet. I’m going to the hospital.”

“I thought you might be heading in that direction,” he tells you, sparing you a quick glance. “I’ll take you.”

Just like that, he drives you, one hand on the wheel, the picture of nonchalance, to the hospital to see your injured friend. He dones’t sat much, just hums along to whatever song is playing on the radio, seemingly content to simply be in your presence.

Unable to handle the strangeness of the whole ordeal, you ask, frown deepening, “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I told you already, you’re my friend,” he replies, never taking his eyes from the road. He tacks on, cheekily, “Your memory must be bad, Cutie.”

“We-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know,” he says, rolling his rich brown eyes, mockingly. “We aren’t friends. Yadda yadda yadda.”

You scoff. “As long as you know.”

“I’m more than aware of our tentative relationship,” he tells you, pouting heavily. “I wish you would just let me take care of you, YN. You’re so stubborn.”

You sink further into your seat, avoiding his gaze.

He turns his eyes back to the road ahead and asks, aiming for light and airy, “How is your friend? Is she feeling any better?”

Instantly, you perk up, and you reply, excitedly, “She’s much better, apparently. She’s awake. Young-mi came home early hours of the morning, so she’s been by herself. Which is why I’m bringing these,” you gesture to your backpack. “Breakfast.”

He states, a strangely hesitant tenor to his voice, “You really care for her, right, YN?”

“She’s my baby,” you reply, a small, pleased smile on your face. “I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

You miss the way his jaw thrums and the tightening of his fist against the steering wheel, but you do notice how the silence becomes strangely tense, filled with an unspoken electricity that makes you squirm uncomfortably in your seat. You think maybe he’s just concentrating, and you feel yourself relax, observing the line of the city, watching as the sun morphs from the foggy grey morning to something crisper.

He drops you off without another word, bidding you a safe trip with a curt nod of his head, and there’s a moment of awkwardly intense eye contact as you step away from the driver’s side window where he just watches you, intently.

“Take care of yourself, YN,” he says, uncharacteristically serious. “There are all sorts of... things around, especially at night.”

Brow puckering, you attempt to laugh off his strange behaviour. “Whatever. First, you want to be my friend. Now, you want to be my dad? Make up your mind, Taehyung.”

He pauses before he breaks and his shoulders shake with how he tries to suppress his giggles. “Do you want me to pick you up before class?”

Shaking your head, you move away, out of his orbit, away from his penetratingly passionate eyes and his contagious smile. “I’ll find a way to class.”

“You really don’t like making things easy for me, Cutie,” he grumbles, before pulling off with a nonchalant wave.

Nudging open the doors to Mei’s room, you’re met with a sight that you wish you could tattoo onto the back of your eyelids. Mei, sitting up, a small smile on her face, decidedly awake, alive and healthy. You almost burst into tears at the mere sight of her but you hold it together, somehow.

What you weren’t expecting, though, was the man next to her.

You drop your backpack from your shoulder and ask, brow quirking, “Who’s this?”

You eye the dark-haired, pale-skinned man, apprehensively. You hadn’t met him before, and you were very good with faces. Names, not so much, but faces, you could do in a heartbeat.

His hair was quaffed, despite the early hour, and he was dressed formally in a crisp button up, coupled with a deep red tie and a blazer, as if he were going to work. He smells strongly of expensive cologne and he has a neatly decorated pocket-square in the front of his jacket pocket. Despite his well put together and somewhat attractive appearance, something was off about him.

You felt the same prickly sensation in your gut that you did whenever anyone mentioned anyone from Bangtan. A strange, twisting discomfort – a tingling in the back of your mind.

“Hello, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Min Dongwon,” he stands and gives you a solid yet polite bow. “Mei Li has told me much about you. I’m glad to finally put a face to the name.”

“All good things, I hope,” you reply, cautiously. “Who-”

“He’s the guy I’ve been talking to for the last few weeks,” Mei tells you, shyly. She’s playing with the edge of her bedding, and she keeps sending him tender glances. “I got my phone this morning and realised he had been calling me, so I told him what happened, and he came straight away. Isn’t that sweet?”

“Very,” you answer, sitting down. As much as your stomach was rolling at his presence, you put a polite smile on your face and say, “I’m glad my friend has someone to rely on.”

“I’ve got you too, YN,” she grumbles, reaching for your hand with a shaky grip. Upon noticing you watching the tremor incredulously, she explains, “The doctors say it’s because of the blood loss, but they say that by tomorrow morning, I’ll be fine.”

“If that’s the case, then you should be resting,” you chastise lightly.

The man opposite you leans forward and says, “She’s been doing nothing but sleeping. I think Mei might be hungry.”

You send him a look that screams ‘I didn’t ask what you thought, scumbag’, but it seems like Mei appreciated it, as she tosses him a thankful look, bordering on the cusp of dreamy.

Acquiescing, you zip open your backpack and say, “Fine, fine. I brought some food from home.”

“Rather than that, I can organise some food to get delivered. How does that sound?” he suggests, eagerly. Mei’s eyes catch his, before she nods her head, shyly. He continues, completely ignoring your existence, “What do you want to eat?”

You stare at him, feeling the strange atmosphere swallow you whole, but Mei doesn’t seem bothered. If anything, she melts further into the bed and mumbles, “Chinese food, I think.”

You try not to get your feelings hurt by her dismissal, acknowledging that maybe she might want something a little fancier than the small bites you put together, but it stings.

Just a bit.

He nods, eagerly pulling out his phone and in a flash, he orders the food without consulting her.

Curiously, you ask, brow furrowing, “How do you know what she likes?”

He shrugs, not looking away from Mei’s face, as if fascinated, enthralled even. “I know everything about her.”

Your brow furrows, but Mei lets out a playful squeak of happiness and grabs his hand. Never being one for such bold displays of affection, you avert your eyes, only to catch him staring at you. He averts his gaze once he realises you’ve caught him, and the unpleasant look in his eyes – it makes you feel shiver.

Mei catches your attention with a soft question, “Don’t you have class today?”

“Not until later,” you tell her, squeezing her hand over the quilt. You feel Dongwon’s eyes on your joined grip, but you don’t want to give him the satisfaction of making you visibly uncomfortable, so you square your shoulders and assure her, “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”

“I don’t want you to miss out on classes just for me,” she says, lightly. “I’d feel worse than I already do.”

“If you think I’ll be able to concentrate, knowing you’ll be here by yourself, you’re crazy,” you tease her. She blushes deeply and ducks her head to hide her face. You realise that she’s had her hair brushed, even though her face is bare of makeup, she looks a little sallow around the gills and you feel concern well up in you.

Dongwon jumps up, excitedly. “I’ll be with her, she won’t be alone.”

“Don’t you have work today?” Mei asks him, curiously.

He shakes his head. “I can call in. You’re more important, my love.”

The nickname seems to catch her off-guard, if the surprised expression means anything. The desperate fondness on his face makes your stomach feel queasy.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” you tell him, holding her hand once more and catching her attention. “I’ll be here for you, Mei.”

His jaw ticks but he says nothing else, slumping back in his seat, playing idly with her fingers.

Hours pass, and you find yourself in a strange cat-and-mouse game with the stranger sitting opposite you.

It didn’t take you long to realise that he was very into your friend. Every word she said, he was hooked on. Every expression, he cooed at. At every twitch of pain or discomfort on her face, he was at her side, instantly.

A sip of water? Check.

Fluffing her pillow? Check.

Massaging her feet? Check.

It was almost too much. For you, anyway.

You felt so uncomfortable as the minutes ticked by, that you almost, almost, wished you could just disappear off to your next class at three instead of being forced to endure the sickeningly sweet displays of affection.

Sure enough, as if God herself was hearing your worries, your phone pings in your back pocket, signalling an incoming call. Shyly, you shuffle out of the room, giving apologetic bows to the elderly neighbours who sniffle and huff at the disturbance.

You close the door behind you, leaning against the wall and murmur, “Hello?”

A voice asks, curtly, on the other side of the receiver. “Where are you?”

Staring at the handset, confusion written across your face, you enquire, “Who is this?”

“Can’t you recognise my voice? I’m hurt, YN,” he says, whimsically.

A pause. “…Hoseok?”

“The one and only,” he replies, and you can imagine him rolling his eyes at your words. “Answer my question, pretty girl.”

“At the hospital,” you respond, automatically. “And, stop teasing. I don’t like the nickname.”

He pauses. “Two things I don’t do, pretty girl. Tease and lie. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“No, don’t co… And, he’s put the phone down. Great.”

You slide down to the floor, holding your knees up to your chest, needing the moment of respite, before you walk back in to see Dongwon spoon-feeding Mei more mushed bananas.

True to his word, Hoseok pulls up outside of the hospital in ten minutes, having broken a few speeding rules to get there.

He uses his nose to trace your scent. Thankfully, the nasty, sterile smell of the hospital being drowned out by your heady natural aroma, practically leading him by the collar to the appropriate floor. To see you sat on the floor, head in your lap, nearly asleep. Unable to help it, he mutters, quietly, “Cute.”

You wake up to the side of someone’s expensive loafers in front of your eyes. Your eyes trail upward, following the black cigarette pants, the YSL belt cinched around an astoundingly thin waist with a deep purple, short-sleeved, silky shirt tucked into it.

“Mmm-What?”

“Nothing,” he laughs, crouching down, so the two of you are eye-level. His hair is pushed back, showing a dangerous amount of forehead, and his eyes practically twinkle with amusement as he observes you. He murmurs, tenderly, “Hello, again.”

“What are you even doing here?”

He shrugs, hooking his arms around his knees. “I wanted to see you.”

You eye his, distrustfully, “To finally enact your revenge when I’m at my weakest?”

“I’m over it,” he replies, plucking imaginary lint off his slender shoulders. “If I wanted to, I’d have done it a long time ago.”

“That doesn’t sound remotely ominous,” you answer, grunting to pull yourself up to your feet. He does the same, with an infinite amount more grace than you. “If we’re done here, I have to get back to my friend.”

“That’s what these are for,” he replies, gesturing to the flowers in his hand. You hadn’t even noticed them, too enthralled by the swirling nature of his rich brown eyes. “After you.”

You push open the door, stepping inside and Hoseok follows behind you. Instantly, you notice the stiffness of his shoulders, but when you glance back, his expression is carefully blank of any emotion. He surveys the people in their beds, bowing as he passes, maintaining his polite, soft-boy image.

He’s such a fucking liar.

“Mei Li, you’ll never guess who’s come to see you,” you sing-song as you approach her bed. Pulling back the curtain, you find Dongwon already staring at you. Well, not at you. Behind you. And the look in his eye, you can only liken it to pure, unadulterated black rage. “Woah…”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Mei Li,” Hoseok says, ignoring Dongwon’s presence entirely. You wonder if this is what they call a dick-measuring competition. “Where can I put these?”

He gestures to the blush pink flowers and Mei Li stumbles over her words. “I-I don’t h-have a vase.”

“I’ll find one, okay?” He says, with a playful wink.

She giggles, but Dongwon lets out a firm cough, drawing attention to him. He comments, curtly, “I don’t think you’re allowed to bring flowers in the communal rooms. Someone else might be allergic.”

Hoseok’s brow quirks at his words, before spinning on his heels. He addresses the room, with a polite smile, “Sorry for the interruption. Is anyone in here allergic to pollen? Or to flowers?”

A low mumble of ‘no, not at all’ wells up in the room, before he turns back with a self-satisfied smile, the sight seeming to set Dongwon off even more. “I think it shouldn’t be a problem if I spruce up this boring old room, especially for our Mei Li.”

Dongwon averts his eyes, but you keep yours on his face, noting the ticking of his jaw and the way he shifts his knees away from Mei’s body, as if he couldn’t bear to see her engaging with someone else.

Mei Li doesn’t seem to notice, as she asks, courteously, “Hoseok, how was dance class today?”

The other boy drags an unused chair from the corner of the room to sit beside Mei’s body, and shrugs in response. “Nothing special. I’ve got a jazz showcase this weekend.”

“I wish I could go,” she laments.

He says, after a moment of deliberation, “If you’re feeling better, I’ll get you tickets. How does that sound?”

“If YN comes, I’ll go,” she barters playfully.

Dongwon reaches out and squeezes Mei’s other hand. “I’d love to see the showcase too.”

“You’re more than welcome,” Hoseok says, and his mouth is smiling but his eyes- they’re decidedly sharp. He looks to you and the intensity in them makes you quiver. His eyes soften when they notice the unwitting shudder, and he leans closer to you. “You in?”

“I- I don’t see why not,” you answer, quietly. “Hoseok, can I- can I speak to you? Privately?”

“Later, pretty girl,” he says, and his tone is tinged with seriousness for only a moment before he sheds whatever is weighing him down and claps loudly, surprising everyone in your vicinity. The bubbly persona is back in full effect, practically giving you whiplash. “I want to hear all about Mei Li, and how she’s healing up.”

An hour passes and the four of you spend the time discussing Mei’s condition, the things the doctor has told her about her outpatient care, briefly touching on her relationship with Dongwon (who, you notice is practically vibrating in his seat in excitement) and her studies. Anything to keep her mind off the giant elephant in the room – the incident.

Her parents arrive, and after giving her mother a tearful, long hug, both you and Hoseok exit the patient room, promising to return the next day, after class. Hoseok leads you, by your elbow out of the hospital, nudging you into the parking lot to his car – the fancy white Mercedes.

“Is having a stupidly expensive car a requirement to join your little boy’s club?” You ask, not unkindly, just for something to fill the cavernous silence that had engulfed the two of you.

He glances at you, letting out a short snort of amusement. “Why? Thinking of joining the Bangtan Boys?”

“I’d rather choke,” you reply, shortly.

He opens the passenger side door for you, gesturing to the inviting-looking seat with a grand sweep of his arm. “M’lady.”

“You’re being slimy again,” you chastise, hopping in and slamming the door shut. He makes a face at you through the window, crossing his eyes exaggeratedly and sticking out his pink tongue. Strangely enough, he doesn’t look as ugly as you would expect, and with a scoff, you glare out at the front screen.

Getting into the other side of the car, making it shudder with the weight, he switches on the heating instantly, but only lets the car rest in the car park.

“Let it out,” he says, staring ahead, expression bemused.

You stare at him, confusion written across your face.

“Whatever you had to say, let it out,” he explains. “I know you’ve been practically bursting to talk about it.”

Letting out a huff, you ask, “Do you know Dongwon from somewhere? He seemed really… angry with you.”

“I’ve never met him before,” he replies, purposefully vague. The tick of his jaw being the only sign of his deep-seated irritation. He cards a hand through his hair. It’s longer than you remember, piling on his head in chestnut brown waves. You’re sure you could pull it back in a messy bun, and the image stirs something hot and silky in your gut.

“Are you not going to give me anything more than that? Because clearly something happened,” you tell him, frustration leaking into your tone, unwittingly.

“I know of his kind,” he answers, and it seems that the words were pulled from his throat, roughly, as if you were tugging on his molars.

You echo, confusedly, “Kind?”

“I don’t want to explain any more than that,” he says, simply. “Don’t ask me anything else. Please, YN. I can’t lie to you.”

He stares into your eyes and the way he does so makes you feel that he’s pleading with you, he genuinely doesn’t want to lie to you, but he can’t explain whatever his reasons were. You wish you could muster the energy to argue with him, shout at him, demand an explanation – this was one of your best friends you were talking about – but the words didn’t form.

In fact, you nod, meekly and stare down at your hands.

You can feel his eyes on the side of your face, but you’re too busy picking at the bed of your fingernails to meet his eyes. The image of Dongwon, hovering persistently over Mei’s battered and bruised body just doesn’t sit well with you, and you are so sure Hoseok knows more than he’s telling you and you should be enraged but all you feel is disappointment.

Suddenly, a warm hand clasps over your own, and he says, “Don’t do that. You’ll hurt yourself. Yoongi picks his nails sometimes when he’s nervous, and he bleeds all over the place.”

“It’s a bad habit,” you admit. “I can’t help that I’m anxious.”

“You’ve had a rough couple of days,” he tells you, turning to face you, his thumb swiping along the back of your hand, soothingly. “Your feelings are valid.”

“What are you, my therapist?” You ask, with a bleak scoff.

“If you want me to be,” he replies, with a salacious wink. “I’ve always said that I look good in a doctor’s coat.”

He looks so handsome, right beside you, real and warm and he’s giving you support – real, genuine support. You aren’t surprised that girls fall at his feet, he has this aura, this orbit, this pull that is undeniable. And then, you spot the lewd expression he sends your way, and you are back to realising why you want to step on his head half of the time.

Shaking off your momentary weakness, you toss a sharp glance at the joining of your palms and you ask, tightly, “Can I have my hand back?”

He counters, quirking a brow, smartly, “Are you going to stop picking at your nails all over the interior of my car?”

“I’ll rub my blood all over the seats,” you promise.

His eyes cut down to your hand, the look in them darkening, sharpening, before he lets out a soft sigh. “You really- You play with fire, you’ll get burned, pretty girl.”

“Whatever,” you reply, tugging your hand away. “Just take me home.”

“Your wish is my command,” he answers, pulling out of the parking space and driving onto the main road, quickly hitting the highway.

-------

Mei Li is released from the hospital at the end of the week, her health and well-being coming along much faster than the doctors thought possible. Her parents stay with her for most of her stay, but her Dad needed to go back to work and they couldn't risk his job, so they left her in your care.

You don't mind though, because she's your friend, practically your little sister, so it doesn't bother you one bit to change her bandages three times a day and help rub ointment on them every other hour so they don't get infected. You quickly get accustomed to the strong, bitter scent of the antiseptic creams and the way she winces whenever you touch the tender cuts by her collar-bone and along her jawline.

You do wonder, sometimes, if her discharge had come too early, though, because even though her cuts were healing well, she always carried a sickly dewy finish to her swallow skin.  She would hold your hand in her clammy, trembling ones and assure you, as if you were the one in her postion and not the other way around, “There’s really nothing to worry about, YN. I’ll be fine,” and turn over in bed, falling asleep.

One thing you did mind, however, is the fly in the ointment, for lack of better word.

Dongwon.

The translator - you had learned that little titbit about the annoyance one evening after he had spent the whole evening translating the English movie that you were all watching into Korean, making the experience unbearable - quickly became a fixed presence in your house, practically having moved in by the time Mei Li returns home.

Young-mi tosses you a firm look when she catches you roll your eyes for the eighth time during movie night, but the fact is, you can’t stomach their intense PDA from across the room, slurping noises from where their lips smack together, interrupting your movie experience.

Sometimes, she would have bursts of energy, where she would jump on you in bed, giggling and laughing, or wake you up with breakfast. Other days, she could barely lift her wrist to drink from a glass or go to the bathroom by herself.

Today was one of those positive days, apparently.

Young-mi pinches your side under the heated blanket that the two of you are sharing on the couch and hisses, lowly, “Tone down the aggression in the eyes. They’re just… enjoying each other.”

Even she doesn’t seem convinced, lips curling up in something that resembles a grimace.

You mutter, spitefully, “In front of my salad?”

She snorts. “Fine, it’s gross. But, Mei just got out of the hospital and she’s finally getting over Hoseok.”

“She’s been over him,” you reply, but the words lack the usual heat. “This is something else.”

Since the conversation in the car, Hoseok has shown himself to be a pillar of support for you. He picks you up and drops you off, regardless of direction and location, and never fails to bring you your favourite foods each time. He does things without thinking, without expectation, and it has been painfully hard to maintain the distance between the two of you. While you might not consider him a ‘friend’, off principle alone, he has quickly become someone irreplaceable in your life. Kind of like a pricklier, less friendly Taehyung, who’s special ringtone echoes out of your phone, signalling a text message.

Gucci Boi: I’m outside, Cutie! Hurry, hurry! ^^

You shuffle out from under the blanket and you say, as you’re kicking into your shoes, “Late night study session. Don’t wait up.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Mei replies, giggling into Dongwon’s mouth.

You blanche at the sight and toss a sympathetic look Young-mi’s way.

“I’ll probably go up to sleep, then,” the svelte dancer says, rolling up the blanket and moving to her room. “YN, have a good night.”

“You too, Young-mi,” you blow the two girls quick kisses before closing the door behind you. You ignore Dongwon’s presence, and he does the same for you – the two of you have a strange understanding. He knew you weren’t fond of him, and he never showed you any kindness, save for when he was in the presence of Mei Li.

Taehyung is in the front seat of his car, sunglasses on the tip of his nose, despite the late hour and distinct lack of sunlight, and he beams brightly when he spots you, shoving the glasses into his hair. Which is… blue.

“You like it? I did it myself. Kookie helped, but he has ham hands and ended up just timing me, so I didn’t burn my scalp,” he says, showing off the deep blue strands proudly. He puts his hands under his chin and says, in a baby voice, “Tell me I’m pretty, YN.”

“You’re the prettiest boy around,” you reply, scratching behind his ear as if he were a puppy. You walk around to the passenger side, only to pull up and see Namjoon’s gently smiling face and it gives you pause. “Oh, hello.”

“Evening, YN,” he says, politely. “Sorry. I’ll get in the back.”

“Are you kidding? I could sit in the trunk and be comfortable. You’re like seven-foot tall,” you remark, jumping into the back. Beside you, holding laptop cases in his hands, is a silent Yoongi, who greets you with a blasé tilt of his head.

“I’m exactly six-foot, if you should know,” he tells you, preening.

Taehyung pulls off onto the main street and says, “I hope you don’t mind but I invited the boys to your study session.”

“No problem,” you reply, quickly.

Yoongi rolls his eyes at your words, and Namjoon snorts. The taller boy remarks, “You’re a terrible liar.”

“Why do you guys keep saying that? How do you know I’m lying?”

Yoongi pulls the face-mask from his mouth to rest on his chin, exposing his small, pouty mouth and he explains, “Your eyes – they can’t lie.”

You close your eyes, playfully, before cracking one open and asking, “How about now?”

Taehyung lets out an amused giggle and replies, “I’d be able to tell by your expression.”

“I agree,” Namjoon tacks on, glancing at you in the rear-view mirror. “Your face is very open.”

“I don’t know how I feel about that,” you answer, honestly. “I thought I was a good liar.”

“That isn’t a good characteristic to have,” Yoongi says, sagely, leaning on his fist, staring at you. “You should be happy that you can’t lie well. It means you’re trustworthy.”

Catching his eyes, you ask, bluntly, “Does that mean you trust me?”

The three boys go quiet at your words, and their refusal to answer is answer enough for you.

Clearing your throat to ease the awkwardness, you ask, “What are we doing tonight, if we aren’t studying?”

Namjoon asks, pouting, “How do you know we aren’t studying?”

“You two aren’t in any of my classes,” you gesture to the honey-blond and white-haired men in the car. “And I don’t think you would necessarily enjoy spending your spare time just watching Taehyung and I argue.”

“I don’t know about that, Cutie, you’re awfully funny when you get mad, especially when food is involved,” Taehyung teases. “How does a change of scenery sound?”

Curiously, you ask, tilting your head to the side slightly, “What do you have in mind?”

You only receive a mischievous look in the rear-view mirror as a response.

- end - 

Masterlist / Chapter (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16)

[chil2de]

ohoho, i dare you to write something soft for toji. we know he's all about that good pussy and kinky sex, but i genuinely believe that he gets softer and more vulnerable for his partner and only them <333 because listen, he's been through some shit, someone give him some cuddles and some love

it’s canon that toji softened up when he met megumi’s mother and lost his shit when she died so... i live for this with my entire being <3 omfgggg i really have a lot to say about this i could write like three different parts to this because i KNOW that toji can be the biggest softie (this also offsets the top tier filth i’m about to write for toji/megumi so-)

the format is kinda strange on this one, it’s too long to be headcanons but too short for oneshots.. it’s just.. some of my collective thoughts about a slice of what the fushiguro family could’ve been like :) enjoy! lmk if you’re interested to see more / different scenarios

-

the epitome of happiness came in a bundle of blankets with the radiance of a thousand suns and steel blue eyes to boot.

“lemme see him.” toji extended his hands.

after a moments consideration, toji could only stare down at the being with a dumbfounded expression. his eyebrows screwed, scarred lips upturning as he stifled a snort.

“he’s kinda ugly, no?”

“toji!” you guffawed, ogling him with wide eyes and an ‘o’ for a mouth,

“you can’t just say that about our newborn son!”

perhaps that’s when it occurred to him.

our son.

he wasn’t alone anymore.

“megumi.” toji blurted rather abruptly, peering down at the newborn he cradled in his arms.

“we’ll name him megumi.”

toji could hear the little pitter patter of footsteps, no matter how silent megumi thought he was. even in the dead of the night, he wasn’t used to this quiet and peace.

your quiet and gentle snoring sang into his ears, instantly calming him down. his shoulders slumped, muscles relaxing and he reminded himself to take a breath.

through one screwed eye, toji pried his eyelid open when the footsteps ceased to exist just outside your shared bedroom.

he let out a small sigh, lightly smiling to himself in the dark as he carefully clambered out of bed. you stirred, letting out a gentle groan when his weight disappeared from the mattress.

toji curled his hand around the handle, carefully opening it.

“hey.” he whispered softly, crouching down to his three year old’s eye level.

“can’t sleep, buddy?” toji murmured, reaching his fingertips out to soothingly ruffle megumi’s cowlicked hair. megumi shook his head, pouting. one of his small hands trailed a stuffed toy of a white wolf behind him.

“come on. i’ll read you a story, yeah?”

“n-no.. i want to be in the big bed, with mommy.”

“a-and you too..”

toji cocked his eyebrows, features lighting up with delight. he felt like cackling outright, but decided against it.

“you wanna sleep with us tonight?” he combatted the mockery that would have laced his tone. he found it sweet, really.

“yea..”

toji stood up, extending his hand for megumi to hold onto. the small boy wrapped his hand around just one of toji’s fingers, for that’s all he could manage to grab.

“no pushing and shoving, okay? your mom’s been working hard. don’t want her to wake up on the floor.”

megumi giggled at your to-be misfortune, earning a chuckle from toji.

like father, like son.

you can see it clearly now, toji staring down at you with that cocky grin as he snorts whilst megumi attempts to hold in his laughter, refusing to meet your gaze.

toji closed the door shut behind him, leading megumi up to the bed. due to the sheer size of the bed, there would be no way on earth megumi would be able to get up onto the platform. to him, it probably resembled a mountain.

toji carefully grabbed his son by linking his hands underneath megumi’s arms. he gave him a moments warning before gingerly hoisting him up and plopping him down onto the mattress.

“why isn’t my bed so soft?”

“because you’re not old enough, megumi. we’ll get you a nicer one when you’re older.”

“come on. get comfy.”

toji pulled back the blankets enough for megumi to keep warm. because of the drastic size difference, the blankets went up to megumi’s chin. as for toji, they only went up to his waist. it was okay, though. a worthy sacrifice to make for his son.

he pulled megumi in for a kiss on his temples, giving megumi one more head ruffle as he sandwiched in between you and toji.

“goodnight, megumi. sweet dreams.”

funnily enough, it wasn’t just megumi who had the best sleep of his life that night.

-

the pan sizzled audibly, emitting low hisses as you spooned in ladles full of pancake batter.

“what’re you doing?” toji remarked from the doorway, glancing over at you as though it weren’t the most obvious thing in the world; especially based on smell alone.

“this? i’m making pancakes. why?” you creased your eyebrows, glancing over your shoulder at your husband who raised an eyebrow at you indecorously.

he only strode over, broad frame overwhelming yours in an instant as his back clicked into your torso.

“you’re making pancakes at 4pm?”

“you’re complaining?”

“no. go take a seat. i’ll do it.” he stole the spatula out of your nimble fingertips, shooing you away to the dining room.

within a few moments, toji served up a piping hot stack of pancakes at the table. he brought out an assortment of toppings suited to your tastes as well as some hot coffee and a bowl of fruit.

“you know, you make a good woman.” you chortled, taking a bite out of a strawberry.

“you saying i make a better wife than you do? i’m flattered.” he snorted, glancing up at you as he poured you some orange juice.

“oh? where’s megumi?” you inquired through a sip of your beverage, blinking at the empty space at the dining table. by then, he would have come dashing into the dining room for food.

well, perhaps not. he’d say he doesn’t want pancakes, then nonchalantly walk into the dining room before taking a seat and digging in.

“i’ll grab him.” toji stated, getting up to check in on megumi.

you hummed an acknowledgement, waiting for your son at least before properly digging into your food.

“said he’s not hungry.” toji returned promptly, clambering back into his seat.

“you feed him?”

“we had some leftover dog food, so i gave him some of that to eat as a snack.”

“toji!”

“of course i fed him.” toji sneered, scarred lips grinning at you over from the rim of his mug.

“so? tell me about your day.” he asked after a sip of his espresso, leaning his face into his right hand.

as you went on a tangent about some drama at work, toji could singlehandedly say that he didn’t understand over sixty percent of your story- there was one thing that he knew for sure.

that he was thankful this was the life he had chosen.

[ttuesday]

Hello there! Thank you for writing all these amazing headcanons! <333 I get so much joy when there's a new post from ya!

I had a prompt in mind: what are the gang members like when they get reaaaaly drunk? Who gets sad & sentimental, who gets all funny and jokey, who is all sleepy, and etc etc etc?

now this is an interesting one hehe

Arthur

When Arthur's drunk, he does his absolute best to try to convince everyone he isn't that drunk. He tries to walk in a straight line to prove he’s ok but accidentally walks into Uncle.

He somehow has great hearing and joins in on every sing song within a five mile radius. Arthur could be talking to you on the outskirts of camp but if he hears someone singing by the campfire, he joins in immediately.

He gets into a very jolly mood when he's drunk and talks about anything and everything. He rambles on about so much he interrupts himself a lot.

If he's sweet on you then Arthur asks to hold your hand and he won’t stop holding your hand for the e n t i r e night. No matter where you go or what you do, Arthur will potter after you with his hand still holding yours. And whenever you look at him, Arthur has a big, proud smile on his face as he looks at your hand in his.

Charles

Who is this man? Where tf did Charles  go? He acts very differently than sober Charles. Whatever idea springs to mind, he wants to do it. If he wants to do interpretive dance in the middle of camp then that's exactly what he does or if he decides to go skinny dipping at 4am then off he goes, trying to find a lake or a river.

One second Charles could be laughing so much he's nearly crying, a second later he could start sobbing because he remembered that time he accidentally shot a lawman's horse when he was trying to aim for the guy. Please hug him.

It doesn't matter how drunk Charles is, he can still yeet anyone over Mount Hagen and he can go from fun and goofy to deathly intimidating in under 1.5 seconds.

And if you and Charles are dating then he just wants to kiss you. He kisses your temple all the way down to your jawline before kissing back up to your ear.

Dutch

Dutch gets quiet when he's drunk. He just kinda sits there and stares off in a daze for ten minutes. When someone talks to him, it's like he buffers for a few seconds before responding.

But when he starts talking, good luck trying to get Dutch to shut up. And this man needs everyone to stop what they're doing and give him all of their attention when he decides to say a speech. And if one person stops paying attention then Dutch storms off.

Dutch really does believe he's unstoppable when he's drunk. And if you don't believe him then don't worry, Dutch has no problem spending three hours explaining how all of his plans are apparently bulletproof.

If Dutch is sweet on you then he tries to flirt with you. But the more he drinks, the harder it gets for him to string a sentence together. "Your eyes..." he slurs his words but tries to stay composed "they remind me... of uh... eyes".

Micah

Micah is so goddamn laid back when he's drunk. Strangely people tend to get on with Micah when he's drunk but by the time he's sober again he's gone back to being... well, Micah.

He's nice ? Which is so bizarre but he actually makes an effort to talk to people without antagonising them and instead of taking offence to comments, he laughs them off and sees it as a joke.

As long as the conversation stays light, Micah keeps his happy demeanour and he isn't even a bad loser when it comes to poker and five finger fillet. In a way, seeing Micah so friendly unnerves some of the other gang members because of how baffling it is.

If he's sweet on you then Micah will continuously asks if you'd like to sit on his lap. Of course he flirts with you but he's a lot sweeter than normal and tells you that you could definitely do better than him so he understands if you reject him.

John

John comes out of his shell when he's drunk. Instead of keeping his mouth shut, he says whatever he thinks of. Yeah he gets into more fights cause he doesn't know when to stop talking.

He can fall asleep anywhere and at any time. You could be chatting with him by the campfire and slowly feel him lean against your shoulder as he starts to softly snore. He once fell asleep while standing up right with one of his hands on a barrel for support.

When John tries to go to sleep when he's drunk, he's like a kid trying to go to sleep at a sleepover. John loudly says the most random words and makes random noises before he bursts out laughing, thinking it's the funniest thing in the world.

If John has a crush on you and he's drunk, he tries to be so helpful. He constantly asks you if you need anything. If you ask him to get you something then he walks a few feet away before completely forgetting what you asked for.

Bill

Let's be real, Bill's already a hothead when he's sober and he's exactly the same when he's drunk. He's very fast to start a fight but if someone lands one punch then that's Bill done for the night. Usually he's a better fighter but he has terrible balance when he's been drinking.

He tries to be productive when he's drunk, thinking that now's the perfect time to do some chores and to go on guard duty. Everyone knows better than to leave Bill go out on watch when he's like this. One time he tried to shoot a squirrel cause he thought it was going to run into camp.

Bill rambles a lot too, mainly telling stories from when he was in the army or reminiscing about different robberies he's done with the gang.

Bill can get really anxious so if y'all are in a relationship, he needs your comfort. His mind starts racing and he worries about little things so for you to be there and tell him everything is alright truly means a lot to him.  

Javier

Javier gets very goofy when he's drunk. He's keeps things light hearted, joking about things but is still able to hold his tongue when needed and have proper conversations too.

Honestly, Javier is probably one of the most level headed people in comparison to the rest of the gang but because he tends to stumble and get his words mixed up, people presume he's completely wasted when he's had a few to drink.

This man LIVES for those 2am deep and meaningful conversations. He absolutely adores having them and being drunk helps him open up more about his feelings so he has no problem expressing his emotions.

Are you ready to be swept off of your feet, both metaphorically and maybe literally depending on if you'll leave Javier do that? He's such a hopeless romantic when he's drunk. If camp is near a field or woodland then he sneaks off, picks some flowers and shyly gives them to you.

Sean

Sean manages to go through every mood when he's drunk. Everything is funny to him and he tries to make jokes about whatever comes to mind. Usually he jokes about Bill and Micah which leads to one of them arguing with Sean.

That's when Sean gets angry and thinks he's able to knock out anyone with one punch. Normally he ends up accidentally walking into a table or tripping over himself cause of how focused he is at punching the air.

Then Sean gets all sad and sentimental, feeling sorry for himself cause he accidentally bruised his leg. He has no problem sitting on the ground and pouting for a while, hoping that someone will walk past and give him some attention for a while.

If y'all are dating then Sean will tell you over and over again how much you mean to him and how much he loves you. He just wants to cling on to you for the night and make sure you know how loved you are.

Hosea

I hope you're sitting comfortably cause Hosea's gonna tell you every single goddamn story he can think of. Hosea tells you funny stories, sad stories, how he first met John and how he conned rich people. He really likes to reminisce when he's drunk.

Towards the end of the night, Hosea eventually gets quiet and if there's a party at camp where everyone is celebrating, then he goes off by the outskirts for a while.

Hosea likes to sit back and watch as everyone enjoys the night. He can get very sentimental when he does this but he likes to enjoy the little moments of the night and savour it all.

If he’s sweet on you then Hosea makes sure you know how special you are and that you deserve the best. He doesn't necessarily flirt with you but instead wants you to know how great you are.

Sadie

When Sadie drinks, she gets sad. She doesn't mean to get sad but her mind wanders and she thinks a lot about everything that's happened in her life and how she's ended up where she is today.

She doesn't speak a lot and ends up getting stuck in her head with thoughts whirling around and around. It can get overwhelming which is why she isn't that keen on getting completely wasted on alcohol.

She doesn't like how crowded camp can get so instead she likes to go off and find a nice scenic area to rest. Normally that helps calm her mind but Sadie also gets sleepy by then too.

If Sadie likes you and feels comfortable around you then she leans against you as ye both sit there in a peaceful silence. And if you suggest it, then she'll hesitantly rest her head on your lap and fall asleep as you play with her hair.

Kieran

Kieran doesn't get drunk often. He hates waking up the next morning and wondering if he pissed anyone off or said something he shouldn't have.

He's very happy when he's drunk, only seeing the positives in things and always smiling. Kieran is still a little shy but he's more open to being involved with what the gang's doing, whether that be singing along to some songs or dancing with whoever to Dutch's gramophone.  

Because of how involved he can become with the gang when he's drunk, he can get involved in a few fights or arguments. But contrary to popular belief, Kieran doesn't back down and makes sure to get his points across.

Kieran gets more confident after a few drinks and flirts with you more than usual. The more accepting you are to his comments, the more he flirts with you. Though if you flirt back then he gets very flustered.

[ladyvesuvia]

Moniker Origin

PAIRING: Sirius Black x Fem!Gryffindor!Reader

SUMMARY: Befriending a stray dog not only leads to a routine rendezvous every midnight but also the story of how Sirius got one of his many names.

WORDS: 5.5k

WARNING(S): Just fluff but involves cursing, name-calling, nicknames, mentions of celebrities/characters from the 70s, mentions of eating and food. || SECOND PERSON

A/N: can u tell this is kind of an indirect prequel to i’m a dreamer hsjsiw anyway i hope u like it!!! for @meiitanoia my beloved sirius black lovebot <3

[NAVIGATION] [MASTERLIST]

    You woke up with a start. The curtains to your four-poster bed danced gently, as if attempting to put you into a trance. It worked: You watched it, transfixed more than ever until you slowly gained proper consciousness, or at least enough to let you yawn.

    You reached out to push the curtains a bit to find that it was still night-time. You could hear light snores coming from your roommates, but you ignored it in desperate hopes of falling asleep again. You couldn’t; not that you didn’t want to, because you really did. The reason for your tossing and turning at this late hour was most likely because you slept around six p.m., an unideal hour for sleep on a weekday. You’d passed on dinner, and told yourself you’d just take breakfast early in the morning.

    Giving up, you threw out your feet off the bed, feeling the cold surface of the floor. The clock told you it was half past eleven as it kept ticking and ticking and ticking.

    Before you knew it, you were trudging down the deserted halls of Hogwarts, half-melted dark chocolate in one hand and your lightened wand in the other. You bought it from Honeydukes just last weekend on your visit to Hogsmeade. You didn’t know where you were going, but you just wanted to be somewhere else, maybe even do something exciting.

    For cautionary measures, you looked in every direction every time you reached a turn in fear of getting caught by any roaming person of authority. Peeves would probably make a sound that’ll draw Mr. Filch’s attention; Mrs. Norris could appear, and that in itself is bad news already; Mr. Filch himself could catch you and start throwing insane threats; or maybe someone from the faculty could catch you and put you in detention, and you knew full well you did not want to spend time doing an absurd task.

    When you managed to slip out unnoticed, you walked over to the bank of the lake, the rocks crunching under your feet. It was probably one of the things you find in horror movies when all is still, all is sleeping, and the monster is yet to come—

    Your pulse skipped a beat when the sight of something running away from the forest shuffled past. You realized it was just a dog, but it gave you a shock nonetheless. Just a dog, you thought. Just a dog.

    You pulled out the chocolate from your pocket, unwrapping it carelessly. It wasn’t until you took your first bite did you realize the dog was right behind you, watching you with curious eyes.

    “I’d give you some but dogs aren’t allowed to eat chocolate,” you said to the dog, who then whined in response as it sat down. “I really can’t, I’m sorry.”

    One might think a big black dog sneaking up on you in the middle of a night would cause a fright, but it was strangely more comforting than eerie. After all, it was just a dog.

    Just looking at the creature reminded you of Snuffles, your very own dog who died while you were away from home and sitting in History of Magic, unaware your best bud had passed. You looked down hopefully at the dog in front of you.

    “Snuffles?” you inquired hesitantly, reaching out your hand. Please don’t bite, you chanted more to yourself than to the dog. To your relief, it approached you gingerly and let you pet its head. “Is it you?”

    Highly unlikely, you knew that, but it wouldn’t hurt to hope that it was, right? You’d spent your entire childhood with that dog: Sleeping together under a poorly done fort until daybreak; getting lost in the neighborhood together, earning disapproving opinions from the neighbors; and most of all, countless birthdays.

    Well, just to name a few.

    Maybe it was the moonlight reflecting off of the lake’s waters, but you could’ve sworn you saw the dog wink. You took your hand back to rub your eyes before studying the dog. “Are you Hagrid’s?”

    The dog simply sat there, looking at you curiously. “Right, like a dog’s gonna talk back to me.” You chuckled, laughing at yourself. “Come, I’ll bring you back to him.”

    It didn’t move. “Look, I can’t give you chocolate. Maybe I can sneak you some steak or something next time if you’re still here. I’d give you dog food but they don’t have that around here. But I reckon Hagrid has some, though. Do you want me to get you food?”

    Once again, maybe (just maybe) it was only your imagination, but you got the sense that the dog disagreed. You didn’t push it any further and so you simply made yourself comfortable even under the rocks. You set down your cloak under your bottom to serve as a mat. It didn’t do much, but it was better. You gestured for the dog to come closer.

    “I’m gonna call you Snuffles now,” you said as you picked up a stone. “Watch this.” With a swing of your arm, you sent the stone flying into the lake, skipping three times. “I used to be able to do four. You’d know, you were there!”

    Snuffles your dog from years ago indeed was there with you when it happened on your family trip to your lake house, but this was not Snuffles; this was your very own classmate and Housemate, Sirius Black himself. He’d never talked to you before, much less noticed you, so it was a surprise to him that he’s spending his time with you at this late hour.

    Nevertheless, it was a time well-spent even when it was mostly (entirely) just watching you skip rocks down the lake as you talked about the aforementioned Snuffles. He didn’t know how long you two sat there, but sat you did anyway. Twice he thought of a joke to tell only to be disappointed for of course, he couldn’t voice it out.

    “I named her Snuffles because she used to cry a lot when we first brought her home from the shelter and mum didn’t want us to call her Sniffles so I went with the next best thing.” You put your legs in front of you. “Poor little thing.”

    It wasn’t until the sky brightened a bit did you realize you were thirsty from all the talking you were doing. You would've stayed for the sunrise but, well, schedules would tragically overlap.

    “Crap,” you thought as you began picking up your cloak, “I’ll end up dozing off in class! Anyway, I’ll try and bring you steak later, Snuffy.”

    With a wave, you ran away from the lake, cloak in your arms, unaware that you had left your wand behind. Sirius was watching you until you disappeared from sight before he spotted the wand, which he then picked up.

    He de-transformed on his way just a bit by a wall, and as soon as he did, he tucked your wand into his own cloak. He glanced back just for a second before running back to the castle. By the time he got to the painting of the Fat Lady, he halted at the sight of the girl from earlier — you.

    “—you know me already, ma’am. I just forgot the password is all. Please let me in.”

    “No password, no entry,” spat the Fat Lady. “And it does not do to wake up a sleeping person.”

    “Well, you’re just a painting,” you mumbled. And if Sirius could hear it from where he was standing, the Fat Lady probably heard it too.

    “Hmph!” exclaimed the Fat Lady. “Children are foul.”

    “They are, aren’t they?” you chimed in hopes of getting on the Fat Lady’s better graces.

     “I was talking about you, child,” said the Fat Lady with disdain. “Now scoot!”

     You were about to walk away when Sirius decided to walk in. You froze.

    It was only until then did it dawn on Sirius that he did not know your name because you had not told him anything earlier. He turned to the Fat Lady.

    “Spondulicks,” said Sirius. The Fat Lady merely grunted as the painting swung open to reveal the room. “After you, m’lady.”

    It was like he was seeing a different person; you refused to meet his eyes as you hurriedly walked into the opening of the painting, arms crossed. He was almost about to give you your wand but realized what a bad idea that would be, and so he kept his mouth shut.

    You kept walking straight ahead, and Sirius had to stifle his laugh at the sight of you missing a step on the stairs to the girls’ dormitory, especially when your pace quickened after this.

    That morning at breakfast, you were nowhere to be found. Sirius took his seat next to James while skimming the length of the Gryffindor table.

     “What’re you looking for?” asked James, curiously scanning the table as well.

     “This girl with [Y/H/C] hair,” Sirius replied absentmindedly as he slowly settled down, still looking for her.

     “A girl? You’re gonna have to be more specific, mate. But bagsy snogging her.”

    “What — you can’t bagsy her, you haven’t even met her,” spat Sirius. James was rather taken aback but still seemed to be stifling his laugh at the outburst nonetheless. Sirius cleared his throat. “And need I remind you that you’re trying to get Evans?”

    “Mhm, I was just trying to see how interested you were in this girl to be preoccupied with looking for her instead of petting your hair.” More and more people began to file in to the common room and Sirius’s attention went to the door after determining you were not seated in one of the tables.

    “It’s called combing, and you should try it.” Sirius ran his hand through his hair. “It would do you good to look fresh at least once.”

    James snickered. “What can I tell you, Pads? The ladies like the rugged look.”

    “I don’t think they do,” remarked Remus.

    “Oh trust me, Remus,” James started with a smug grin. “They do. The key to it is—”

    But Sirius never found out what ‘the key to it’ was; at least, not today. After a group of younger Ravenclaws walked in, he finally spotted you right behind them and his back straightened even more. For what, he did not know.

    You took your seat beside a couple more Gryffindors and helped yourself to food on your own plate. You were busy rubbing her eyes, giving Sirius more time to watch. When you finished, you caught him looking at you, but he didn’t break the eye contact; instead, he smiled.

    “Oh, her?” exclaimed James, trying to get a better look. Sirius gently kicked his foot at how obvious he was, but he nodded in confirmation. James blew a raspberry. “I can’t bagsy, can I?”

    Sirius scowled. “No.”

    “Then I call dibs.”

   “Wha — that’s the same thing! You can’t just call dibs.” Sirius cleared his throat once more, for James was raising a brow to signify he’d proved his point. “You can’t.”

    “Wouldn’t hurt you to go on over and talk to her, would it? After all, you do it all the time.” James stretched out his arms and made gestures of triumph. “Hook, sink, liner.”

    “It’s actually ‘Hook, line, and sinker,’” said Remus.

    “No it’s not. Get a load of this guy,” James joked (or not). “Anyway, come on, I’ll come with you. But I apologize in advance if my hair works better than yours.”

    When they made it over to where you were sitting, you appeared to be manually wiping your plate with a tissue.

    “Excuse me,” started Sirius, gesturing at the plate, “May I?”

    Hesitantly and still not meeting his gaze, you handed him the plate. Sirius pulled out his wand and with a small flick, he said, “Tergeo!”

    When he handed it back, you simply nodded your head in thanks and began to stuff it in your bag.

    “Wait, are you stealing a plate?” James asked with a grin, on the verge of laughing. “You wouldn’t want to do that. See, our friend’s a Prefect and he’ll totally tell Professor Meownerva — pun courtesy of Peter, by the way.” James snickered. “I wish I’d thought of it first be—Ow!”

    Sirius had stepped on James foot. “I’ll take it from here, Bambi.”

    James managed a scowl before leaving the scene. You didn’t know what to do; so in your mind, you started devising ways to get yourself out of that situation: Make a run for it or melt on the spot; neither seemed like a good option.

    “Why are you stealing a plate?” he asked.

    “Er — long story. Have a good day.” Then you stood up and began to walk away, backing up a bit to grab a piece of sandwich before completely storming off.

    When Sirius returned the other three were there, laughing out loud together.

    James leaned closer. “Her name’s [Y/N].”

    “Then why didn’t you tell me?” exclaimed Sirius, annoyed.

    “Hook, sink, liner,” said James confidently.

    Remus cleared his throat again. “Again, it’s ‘Hook, line, and’—”

    “Yeah, sure, whatever,” dismissed James.

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

    On your first class (Transfiguration), the two of you clearly could not at all suppress your yawns: Sirius was doing fairly better compared to you, for he had the decency to not let his head plop face down on his desk, but he was sleepy nonetheless. This was no surprise to Sirius. After all, he hadn’t slept that morning. As for you, he did not know whether or not you slept but according to your peaceful and sleeping face, he kind of had a clue.

    He wasn’t listening, and so when everyone brought out their wands, he just cluelessly followed the others. Professor McGonagall approached the middle row and stopped just right next to you.

    “Miss [Y/L/N]?” started McGonagall. “If I’m not mistaken, bedtime ended hours ago.”

     You merely grunted. McGonagall cleared her throat. “Excuse me, Miss [Y/L/N]?”

    The professor put the back of her palm against your forehead. She lifted your face off the table and her eyes widened. “Heavens! Child, you look positively ghastly. Remus, kindly take—”

    “I’ll do it,” said Sirius. “I’m her. . .” As he trailed off, all eyes went back and forth from you, McGonagall, and him. He opened his mouth again to add, “friend. We’re friends.”

    Although McGonagall appeared to be reluctant, she let you go, advising you to visit Madam Pomfrey. Sirius risked a smug look in James’s way before following you out the door, eager to speak with you.

    “So you’re feeling unwell?” asked Sirius.

    “Look, buddy, I appreciate it but I honestly just want to go to bed.”

    “Didn’t Minnie McG tell you to visit Madam Pomfrey?”

    You halted. “I’m not sick.”

    “What do you mean? What about the drowsy eyes and the head hurting and the red nose—?”

    “Okay, now you’re making my head hurt.” You faced him, hands on your hips in defiance. “Here’s what’s gonna happen, Black: I’ll go back to my room and you’ll take a walk to the Hospital Wing and back to class.”

    “But you’re sick.”

    “Buddy, I’m really not,” you said with an irritated laugh. “I haven’t slept yet and I lost my wand. How do you think I’ll be able to go to class without a damn wand?”

    Sirius scoffed. “Then what about your runny red nose and teary eyes?”

    “Really? Are purebloods really that dense not to come up with basic ways to get out of class?” It was almost ironic. After all, you’d heard tons of brilliant things pureblooded wizards could do. Clearly they weren’t as crafty. You snorted. “Do you really want to know?”

    “Do I? Of course I do.”

    And with a bit of consideration, you recounted your gimmicks: collecting two chili peppers from the table and lightly patting your finger under your eyes to make it teary (it badly hurt), pinching your nose as soon as you left the Great Hall and sprinkling a bit of pepper on your sleeve to get yourself to sneeze, taking a quick hot shower without getting your hair wet, and more.

    “Wow,” he exclaimed under his breath, astonished. You shrugged in response, turning around to walk away. “Wait, then why did you agree for me to take you instead of Remus?”

    “Eh, well, your friend who’s trying so hard to be Michael Landon said that the Remus guy was a Prefect so I figured that he’s probably a snitch.”

    “Trust me, he’s not a snitch,” Sirius said with a laugh. “Wait, I don’t even know who Michael Landon is but could you say that thing again but to James’s face tomorrow morning at breakfast?”

    “No.” You turned your back on him, walking away. “May we never talk again.”

    “You’re welcome, by the way!” He watched as you made a turn, disappearing from view before making a face. “Ungrateful chick.”

    That entire day, you spent your time in bed, tossing and turning to keep yourself awake. Whenever someone came in during vacant time, you made sure the curtains to your four-poster bed were sealed shut while pretending to sniffle.

    It was Friday, so you were thankful for the time to rest. You were thinking of just looking for your wand tomorrow when you remembered the dog. You shifted in your bed as you slowly stood up, peeking through the curtains of your bed. Your roommates were probably still in the common room, so you peeked your head out to grab your bag from beside your bed and pulled it in before shutting the curtains close.

    You pulled out the plate you got from earlier that morning and waited.

    Waited for your roommates to come in and chat for a while.

    Waited until the lights went out.

    Waited until the only sound you could hear was the ticking of the clock in the room.

    You were about to fall asleep when what you could only assume was a bird hit itself against the window, jolting you awake.

    It was dead silent. And just like you did hours ago, you threw your feet out of your bed. Going out at this hour without a wand felt threatening, but you reassured yourself, just thinking over and over that it would be just like old times back when you didn’t know you were a witch.

    There was no one in the common room by the time you got down there. You tightened your grip on the plate in your hands, thinking about how good a weapon it would make (it probably wasn’t, but it was good enough to make you feel like you had a chance).

    You slipped out, unaware once more of the same boy you had talked to the night before following you.

    The walk down the halls and stairs without a light made your tour all the more frightening: Jumping when you accidentally graze your hand too much on one of the paintings which often earned an angry grunt from them, feeling for the next step of the stairs in fear of tripping over, and so on.

    Sirius resisted the urge to just approach you and give you your wand, resorting to just staying behind to make sure you got out safely. He was about to keep going straight ahead when you made a turn, confusing him.

    It took a few more turns for him to realize you were headed for the kitchens. He had to wait outside until you came back out a short while later with something in the plate.

    Laughing silently to himself, he followed you again to the grounds, your wand in his cloak pocket, feeling like a hundred pounds weighing him down.

    You went back to where you were last night, scouring the rocks in hopes of spotting a distinct shape among the round shapes. You cursed under your breath in disappointment as you set the plate of steak aside, your eyes falling to the dark surface of the lake. Gulping, you tied up the pant legs of your pajamas, mumbling inaudible words to yourself at what you were about to do.

    Only your feet were in the water when you heard a loud bark, causing you to jump a bit, toppling backward at the sight of the black dog. You felt the water soak your back and a bit of your head.

    “Snuffles?” you asked the dog whilst shaking yourself dry as you stood up. “There’s steak over there. It’s for you.”

    If it weren’t for his physical state, Sirius would be laughing right now. The least he could do was walk your way, sitting right beside the plate of the steak.

    “I know it’s not as good as I promised but it’s the best I could give, I’m sorry,” you said to the dog as it looked at you curiously. You bent down to pick up your cloak, drying yourself and wrapping it around you. With a huff, you squeezed the water out of your hair and sat down on the rocks once again. “I only came down here to look for my wand. It probably rolled down to the bottom of the lake already.”

    You yawned. The lack of sleep was already taking a toll on you and you couldn’t let the sun rise before you could lie down in bed.

    “Do you not like the steak?” you asked again. “You know, I got that plate for you.”

   The dog’s ears perked up, and you reached out to pet it.

    “Thank Merlin I got away from that fruitcake.”

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

    “I’m a fruitcake,” Sirius told his friends that morning as they fell in line for their Hogsmeade trip. James looked at his friend as if he had gone mad (well, one can say he’s halfway there). “Out of all the things I could be, I’m a fruitcake.”

    “Took you long enough to figure that out,” said Peter, who then brightened when James burst into a laugh.

    “You sure?” said Remus, adjusting his tie. “If you are, then you’re far too salty to be one.”

    “Guys, I’m ser—” He cut himself off, aware that they were waiting for an opening to pick fun at his name. “I am not joking.”

    “Because you’re. . .?” James said, encouraging him.

    Sirius let out an exasperated sigh. “Serious.”

    And just like that, the entire group howled in laughter. Rolling his eyes, Sirius scanned the crowd again, but it was the same thing as yesterday — you were once again nowhere to be found.

    “Wait, where did you get this fruitcake comment from?” asked Remus.

    Sirius recounted your past encounters with him, earning a whoop of cheer and a pat from James.

    “I have a plan,” said Sirius. “I’ll just so happen to ‘run into’ her in Hogsmeade and she’ll think I’m charming because I did my hair better today.”

    “I don't know, I reckon it’ll be hard to jump from fruitcake puppy to charming knight and shining armor,” said Remus.

    It wasn't until they were near the front of the line did Sirius realize there was still no sign of you. He then stepped out of the line, earning sudden protests from the rest of the group.

    He made a show of waving at the other three as he disappeared from view before darting down the halls and up the stairs until he made it to the common room, where he plopped down on the couch. A couple of first and second years were gathered by the window playing chess.

    Sirius kept his head down as he waited for you to come out until finally, about almost ten minutes later, heavy steps came from the girls’ dormitory as it descended down the stairs. Sirius kept his face down so as to hide himself for you, cursing at himself for being too. . .what’s a nicer way to put creepy again?

    He followed you again like the night before, going over the things he wanted to say.

    Hello, I’m actually Snuffles.

    I’m Snuffles.

    Hi, I’m not really a reincarnation of your dog because I’m actually a fruitcake!

    It just kept getting worse in his head the more that he dwelled on it, and so he resorted to just focusing on his step when you halted, causing him to run into you.

    “You,” you started, stopping with your finger pointed right at him, daring him to speak, “why are you following me?”

    “Because. . .” Sirius trailed off. Why was he following you?

    Because I'm Snuffles and I have your wand. Because I can turn into a dog. Because while I am Snuffles, I'm also not really Snuffles. Because—

    “Because I found your wand,” he blurted out. “Well, consider it as a token of appreciation.”

    “For what?”

    “For being a good friend. . . ?”

    “As far as I know, the first and only time we ever even talked was just yesterday,” you said, gesturing with your hands. “What’s your deal?”

    “I want to take a walk,” Sirius relaxed, grinning at you.

    “Then do it yourself!” you exclaimed.

    “With you, I mean.”

    Sirius’s tone calmed you down at least a bit, and so you cleared your throat. Come to think of it, he’s probably not that bad.

    You began to walk with him on your way out to the grounds. “And what do I get out of this walking thing of yours?”

    Sirius waved his hand with a flourish as we jogged ahead to stop right in front of you, tipping an imaginary hat. “Bragging rights, madam.”

    You halted. “You’re gonna have to try better than that, Vinnie Barbarino.”

    “Er — that’s good, right?” he asked, tensing up again as he composed himself.

    “Depends on how you look at it.”

    “Well, does he have nice hair?”

    “Again, depends on how you look at it.”

    “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

    “You and me both, Vinnie,” you told him with a huff as you two set foot outside.

    “It’s certainly better than fruitcake,” he muttered under his breath. You leaned in closer, your brow raised in question. He shook his head and told you it was nothing.

    By the time you made it to the bank of the lake, you found yourself unconsciously searching the rocks for your wand.

    Sirius snorted. “You can keep looking but it’s not there.”

    “Wasn’t trying to.”

    He watched as you bent down to pick up a rock and moved closer to the lake. Just like you did a few nights ago, you swung your arm to skip a rock. It was kind of like a movie for him; the way your shoulders sunk a bit after getting only three skips. “I used to be able to do four.”

    I’d know, Sirius thought as he grinned at the irony. I was there. Maybe I really am Snuffles.

    “So, when are you going to give me my wand?” You turned around to face him again, dusting your hands as you did so.

    Sirius wanted to tell you about his alter-ego badly. But at the same time, it was right there and then Sirius realized something. He normally hated the idea of a routine; loathed it, even. But he figured that maybe, just this once, he could make an exception. He didn’t mind going out every single night as Padfoot or Snuffles if it meant the world to you to have something to look forward to. In fact, the line was starting to blur between all his names: Sirius Black, Onion, Padfoot, Snuffles, Fruitcake.

    Sirius cleared his throat and told you, “Monday morning when you have breakfast with me.”

    “I’m not gonna have breakfast with you.”

    “You are now because you’ll get a coupon.”

    “What coupon?” you asked, crossing your arms.

    “Bragging rights for spending time with me — Sirius Orion Black.”

    “You’re awfully presumptuous.”

    “Why are you so mean?” Sirius feigned pain by clutching his chest, making a show.

    You bit your cheek in attempt not to laugh. “Look, just give me back my wand.”

    “Give me your word that you’ll have breakfast with me first.”

    “Fine,” you told him. “Now will you give me my wand back?”

    Sirius let out a long sigh before taking a step forward and bending down to pick up a rock. He swung his arm backward as he made a shot.

    One, two, three, four.

    He faced you. “Hook, sink, liner.”

    “It’s ‘hook, line, and sinker,’ how could you mess that up?”

    “Damn it, James,” he cursed under his breath. “Anyway, here’s your wand.”

    This definitely took you by surprise, especially when he pulled it out of his coat pocket and handed it to you with only a friendly smile and without any hesitation.

    You grabbed it as fast as you could just in case he changed his mind at the last minute.

    Sirius fought the urge to pick fun at the fact that this was close to what one may call fetch.

    Wow, he thought. Merlin, I’m literally Snuffles. Sirius could hear his friends’ jeers light years away: Playing fetch with her, Snuffy? Will you also let her walk you? Oh, wait, you already did!

    “Thank you,” you told him. “I was literally prepared to dive down there just to get my wand. I know what a big hassle it is to get it replaced and everything.”

    “I know,” he said, pertaining to how he knew the lengths you were ready to go to just so you could find your wand, but you took what he said an answer to what you said last.

    Sirius began walking again, and you followed. “Why didn’t you go to Hogsmeade with the others?”

    “Eh, I’ve been there a lot of times. We’ll go there next time. I’ll take you to—”

    You halted. “Woah, woah, who said I’ll be coming with you?”

    “Time,” Sirius protested. “It tells you things even you wouldn’t be able to know.”

    You scoffed as you kept walking alongside him. “Eh, well, we got Professor Trelawney for that. What do you say we visit her classroom and play with balls? I mean, orbs. No, stop laughing.”

    But he didn’t stop. And honestly, neither did you; not even when you completed a turn around the grounds.

    That night was a brilliant one: You were headed back downstairs, this time keeping your wand tight in your hand as you did so.

    Just like as far as always can go, Snuffles sat by the lake, looking at the ripples that danced along its surface. Why did the dog suddenly look familiar?

    You stood right next to Snuffles, who was now looking up at you curiously.

    “I can’t stay for long,” you told the dog. “I have to sleep early, you know. I mean, you don’t, but — whatever.”

    You bent down to pick up a rock again, watching it skip three times. You cursed under your breath, “How’d he do it?”

    Snuffles, originally Sirius himself, snorted. You turned to the dog and shook your head, telling yourself it was your want of sleep playing tricks on you.

    “Fruitcake’s actually not that bad,” you started as you picked up another rock. Sirius looked up again. “I think I’ll give him a chance.”

    When you finally gave up on skipping rocks, you sat down right next to the dog. “He kinda left a ring of his, see?” You showed the dog Sirius’s ring. The dog blinked. “I’m not planning on keeping it, I’ll give it back to him on a good day.”

    A bird flew by, causing you to jump a bit. “Yep, I’m gonna need to sleep this out. Go to Hagrid’s will you? Actually, no, come with me.”

    You lead the dog to Hagrid’s hut and told it to stay there. Sirius thought it was funny seeing you boss him around in a gentler manner.

    With a wave, you ran back to the doors and dashed up the stairs until you reached the dormitories, where you hastily got in your bed and tucked yourself in.

    When breakfast came and you casually sat down right across from Sirius and beside James, a thought came to Sirius’s head again: He wanted you to know him as Sirius Black, no disguises involved. Sure, maybe he’d learn more of you if he continued doing it but . . . he wanted you to learn more of himself, too.

    As for telling you his secret identity (not Batman), he decided that it’d be best to let his future self deal with it and just enjoy breakfast with you, which is hopefully just the first of many.

    One last thing, though: Snuffles grew on Sirius. Safe to say that he got attached; so much that even when time told new people new fates, he found a way to let the name stay by using it as a safe codename as an attempt to become a lovable stray in the time of danger.

    But that doesn’t matter just yet, not when the group was busy having one of the most brilliant Mondays to date.

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[isthisthingeven0n]

every word : a.h

hotch wakes up with an unexpecting phone call, one he’s longed to hear; you’re awake. (1.9k) 

a/n : holy shit you guys i didn’t expect this response to ‘hear you’ but thank you so much! i promise there’s a happy ending to this, i think we all need it 

hear you / every word 

all my links

(everything on my blog is my own writing. if it is shared on another page or website know it hasn’t been approved me unless specified. all rights reserved. - i have to start doing this as I had some shit on my other blog with plagiarism)

DO NOT STEAL MY WORK - IT IS ALL MY OWN WRITING

Rolling over, you shuffle closer into his embrace, feeling his breath fanning across your shoulder. “Are you awake?” Aaron whispers, brushing his lips across your neck, listening to you giggle.

“Well, I am now,” You joke, lifting your gaze up to your boyfriend, never tiring of his drowsy smile. “I suspect we have approximately two minutes of privacy.” You whisper, and Aaron nods in agreement.

“Let’s make the most of it then,” Aaron mutters as he wraps both arms around you, pulling you on top of him as you try and suppress your squeal. “you gotta be quiet, honey.” He whispers into your lips as he kisses you softly, feeling you moan happily.

“Wait,” You pause, resting your hands on either side of Aaron’s head as you peer your head up toward the door, seeing the knob rattling.

Swiftly, you lie back down beside Aaron as you pretend to sleep and snore loudly like a cartoon character.

Within seconds, the door opens and Jack rushes in. He jumps up onto Aaron’s bed and lands in between you both.

“You’re just like your Dad, Jack,” You chuckle as he dives underneath the sheets, curling up in between you and Aaron. “king of subtlety.”  

Aaron laughs lightly as Jack pops his head back up from under the sheets, messing his hair up as he looks between you and his Dad. “Do you have work today?” Jack asks with a heavy heart.

“Not that we know of,” You happily tell the mini Hotchner who smiles brightly. “so, what do you wanna do today then little man?”

You perch up on your elbow, listening to Jack intently as he rambles on about all the things you could do today, forgetting that there are so many hours in a day. But just watching you with Jack, Aaron feels at peace, that he’s finally allowed himself a chance at happiness with you by his side.

Opening his eyes, Hotch looks around.

It was just another dream. You’re still in the hospital.

Sighing heavily to himself, Hotch wipes his face as faint sunlight tries to filter through his blinds. Ever since you went into the hospital, he hasn’t had a full night sleep. You possess his mind, haunt his dreams of a simple life that he’s unsure he’ll ever have back.

Hotch turns to look at your side of the bed, untouched. Your pillows remain perfectly fluffed up as your perfume coats the cotton, weaved into the fabric that provides some comfort in the dead of night.

“I miss you, Y/n.” Hotch mutters under his breath, returning to lie flat on his back as he stares up at his ceiling, missing those early mornings of bliss with you and Jack, his family.

Yet, out of the corner of his eye, Hotch can see his phone lighting up. Without hesitation, he reaches for it and answers it. “Hotchner,” He responds, now sitting upright.

“Hi Mr Hotchner, we have you down as Ms Y/l/n emergency contact?” A woman on the other end of the phone questions and Hotch tears the sheets from his body, now perching on the edge of the bed with his feet hanging just above the floor.

“That’s correct, has something happened?” Hotch asks as the worst possibilities cloud his mind and remains unaware of his bedroom door opening and Jack peering in to see his Dad tensing up with his phone against his ear.

“Ms Y/l/n has woken up,” The woman states, and Hotch has to catch his breath as his heart hammers against his chest.

Barely able to process anything else the woman on the phone says, Hotch just nods to himself. “I’ll be right there, thank you.” He tells her and hangs up, taking a moment as he laughs happily to himself, ignoring the tears forming in his eyes.

“Is Mom awake?” A tired voice inputs and Hotch glances over his shoulder to see Jack stood there in his PJ’s, fidgeting as he leans against the door.

Rising to his feet, Hotch walks over to his son and kneels down. “Yeah, buddy,” Hotch quietly states with a smile crossing his face. “come on, we gotta go.” He tells his son, taking his hand as they both head downstairs for their things before rushing out of the door without a second thought.

*

It felt strange, that much was undeniable. Every time you blinked, you worried your eyes wouldn’t open again, that you’d be forced back into the darkness alone.

You were regaining control of your limbs as your Doctor explained everything to you in detail once you were fully conscious and competent. Part of you wondered if you dreamed everything you heard whilst in a comatose state, but as you listened to your Doctor, he was simply telling you everything you already knew.

Now, it was early- you knew that much as you sat upright enjoying the warmth basking your skin.

“Sir, you have to come back during visiting hours,” Your ears perk up to the sound of voices in the corridors, and suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end as his voice stands out.

“I haven’t seen her for weeks, please,” Hotch pleads, his voice cracking as he moves on, heading to your private room. He pauses outside of it, the blinds still closed. “hey Jack?”

Jack looks up at his Dad, clad in his PJ’s and slippers, but covered in his coat for warmth. “Yeah?”

“Mind giving me a minute okay? I just wanna talk to Mom privately.” Hotch asks, and Jack simply nods as sleep still laces his mind.

Standing up tall, Hotch tries his best to compose himself as he reaches for the door handle and pushes the door open.

“Hey stranger,” Your voice is raspy but clear as Hotch stands in disbelief. He closes the door behind him quietly as he keeps his focus on you, seeing you awake and looking right back at him.

“Y/n,” He breathes out, forcing his feet forward toward your bed as a sad smile forms your lips whilst they quiver. “oh, Y/n.” He reaches out, unable to stop himself as he hugs you tightly, not wishing to part from you again.

You rub your hand across his back as you feel him sob into you. “Aaron,” You mumble, ignoring the tears falling from your eyes as he pulls away and sits down beside you, his hand never leaving yours. “I’ve missed you so much.” You tell him, sniffing as you remain in disbelief. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Hotch chuckles to himself. “I’m so sorry Y/n, for everything that happened that night, I, I should’ve walked with you.” He explains, but you squeeze his hand tightly, cutting him off.

“It wasn’t your fault, Aaron,” You sigh in relief. “God, you have no idea how long I’ve waited to tell you that.” You laugh, and Hotch furrows his brows in confusion.

“What do you mean?” He asks, clearly perplexed.

You shuffle in your hospital bed, ignoring the mild throbbing of your forehead as you take a sip of water, even if it still burns your throat.

“It’s going to sound insane,” You preface, but Aaron keeps his eyes on you. “I, well, I heard everything whilst I was in the coma.”

Glancing up, you see Hotch staring back at you with that unreadable expression. “Everything?” He asks quietly, and you nod in response. “That, that’s insane, honey.” He tells you.

“Yeah,” You know it’s crazy, hell, how could you possibly begin to fathom it? “but I heard every conversation, every visit from the team and when you came,” You trail off. “yet, all I could think about was telling you that it isn’t your fault. None of it was or ever will be.” You tell him, not daring to tear your gaze from his. “I love you, Aaron, so please, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“You heard me?” His voice softens as you nod. “I, I,”

“It’s okay, Aaron, you don’t have to say anything else.” You smile, lifting your hand from his as you place it on his cheek, missing the feeling of his cheeks rising as he smiles into your palm.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” Hotch admits, feeling the searing pain cross his heart at the thought.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Hotchner.” You joke, stroking away the stray tears that fall from his eyes.

You glance over his shoulder, noticing the door beginning to open.

“Looks like we’ve got company,” You whisper, and Hotch quickly wipes his eyes as Jack shyly enters.

“Come on over, buddy,” Hotch calls over his son who rushes over.

“Hey, Jack,” You try your best to remain composed as Jack looks up at you with those big eyes, full of love. “I’ve missed you, kiddo.” Your voice cracks and Jack stands in front of his Dad who helps him up onto your bed.

“I’ve missed you, Mom.” Jack remains strong as he hugs you, both arms around your neck as you hold him close.

“I see your Dad wasted no time in getting here, huh?” You joke, seeing him in his PJ’s like Aaron. “I feel a bit left out.” You ease into laughing with Jack, knowing it’s the best medicine for situations like this.

Seeing you with Jack, laughing like old times despite everything is just another reason why Hotch loves you with his whole heart.

“I’ll just be a minute,” Hotch comments as you nod to him before averting your attention back to the mini Hotchner, listening to his stories from school.

He glances through the now opened blinds, seeing you smiling with all your might, despite the evident fear in your eyes.

Hotch takes out his phone and dials Rossi, knowing he’d need to know.

“Rossi.” Dave answers.

“Dave, Y/n’s awake.” Hotch states and Rossi laughs happily through the line and can hear him telling Krystall the good news.

“Oh Aaron, that’s excellent news, is she alright?” Rossi asks, now sitting down as Krystall pats his shoulder before heading into the kitchen.

“She’s doing okay,” Hotch comments, looking over his shoulder at you and Jack. “she’s vulnerable, but I can tell she’s putting on a front for Jack’s sake.” Hotch explains.

“I’m just glad she’s awake,” Rossi sighs. “does she know how long she’s been out?”

Hotch chuckles under his breath. “Y/n erm, she heard everyone the entire time.” Hotch states. “I know it sounds crazy, and trust me, I agree, but she explained how she could hear every conversation someone had with her or others in the room.”

“Damn,” Rossi whistles. “Reid's going to have a field day with this.” Rossi tuts, hearing Hotch laugh lightly. “That’s a lot to have on her mind, though, Aaron.”

“Yeah,” Hotch mutters. “it’s going to be a process for all of us, but we’ll work through it, as a family.”

Rossi smiles to himself, having seen Hotch at his lowest to his highest of highs with you by his side. “Send her our love, okay?”

“I will, thanks Dave.” Hotch hangs up after that and takes a moment to compose himself, knowing it’ll all work out in the end, as you have each other, and that’s all that matters.

okay so thank you for reading! and thank you to these wonderful angels for their amazing and entertaining comments: @spencerreidsoulmate @ellyhotchner @donttellanyoneireadfanfiction @ssa-kassidyhughes @obsssedwithjustaboutanything @lumineshawn @oreogutz​ @prentisswrites​ @theinsanespaceship15​