#he wakes up and when you realize he’s awake you just start screaming and thrashing around in your binds again… he just rubs his face

[carnivorousyandeere]

BRUCIE ANGST BRUCIE ANGST BRUCIE ANGST

Was the last Brucie post real or was he dreaming? :]

[innerfare]

Nightmares - Part 1

Summary: What sorts of nightmares do they have about losing you?

Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Ace, Sabo, Law, Kid

Genre: Angst

CW: SFW // that being said, caution- contains mentions of death, suffering, and slavery

——— 

Luffy:

He grins at the sight of you standing on a cliffside looking out over the water, tranquil in the peace of night. He hurries toward you and puts his hand on your shoulder to turn you around, ready to place a happy kiss on your lips, only to stop short at the sight of your face. You’re completely devoid of joy, the life and will to live sucked out of you by a force he can’t control. You’re a husk, and he’s powerless against it. He realizes the darkness isn’t from night, that there are no stars glimmering in the sky, that the world has had the goodness sucked out of it, yours along with it, leaving you empty. He wakes up with tears in his eyes and buries his face in his pillow to muffle his sob. 

Zoro:

It was an accident, and he watched it happen. If he’d been just a little stronger, a little faster, a little better, it never would have happened. It was an accident, but it was his fault. He stared down at your lifeless shape covered by a funeral shroud, grinding his teeth in rage at the sight of all those flowers left by mourners. You would have loved to have seen those flowers, to have picked them up, buried your face in them, and inhaled deeply. You would have loved the weather that day, too, bright and sunny, as though the universe was taunting him. When he wakes up, he’s in physical pain from the amount of tension in his muscles. 

Sanji:

You’re in the clutches of his brothers while his father watches on in approval, and he’s trying to save you but to no avail. Suddenly, he’s seven years old again- too small, too slow, too weak to put up a fight, completely at the mercy of his brothers. Only, they aren’t tormenting him, they’re tometning you, and from the looks on their faces, they sure are enjoying it. The look on your face, though, is one of complete anguish. And then you scream in pain, and he’s awake again, sitting up in bed with a sheen of sweat on his skin, the image of your face in such pain burned into his brain. He doesn’t register that it was only a nightmare until he puts eyes on you, and even then, it takes him several days to recover from the nightmare. 

Ace:

It starts off normal, him approaching you on deck and wrapping his arms around you, intending to say a joke in your ear that will have you giggling and him grinning proudly. But then you shove him off and sneer at him. He doesn’t recognize you, doesn’t recognize the look on your face as you look up at him. You look disgusted, completely and utterly grossed out by the mere idea of his arms around you. You begin taunting him, saying all the things he’s used to others saying but never you. “You’re a monster. You were never supposed to be born. How could I possibly love someone like you?” When he finally wakes up, he doesn’t thrash around or cry. He’s completely paralyzed by the nightmare, by the fear, and accustomed to the feeling of rejection, even if it hurts more coming from you. Even when he wakes up, the nightmare isn’t really over.  

Sabo:

You’re on stage in an auction house being sold off to the highest bidder. He’s there, but he can’t get to the stage, as if he’s trapped behind invisible glass. He’s screaming his head off and throwing himself at the glass, but everyone just ignores him, the slave auction continuing as though he’s not even there, Sabo completely powerless against the injustice of it all. You’re crying and struggling in your shackles, but it’s no use. He wakes up thrashing, ready to fight anyone who stands between him and you. When he’s met only with darkness, he doesn’t relax but instead gets dressed and wanders off to find some work to do, the sound of your shackles clanking as you struggle against them stuck in his head like a sick song, the sight of Celestial Dragons bidding on you like an object lighting in him a fire that will burn down every auction house in the world. 

Law:

Bang! He never sees the nightmare, but he always hears the gunshot. He wakes up in a cold sweat, shivering beneath his covers, the taste of metal lingering in his mouth and the gunshot still echoing in his ears. He’s awake, but he’s back in that treasure chest, and this time, you’re the one laying dead in the snow. Alternatively, you’re in a hospital bed, writing in pain, screaming in agony, calling out his name, pleading with him to save you, and he’s in sea prism stone handcuffs, forced to watch you succumb to an illness only he can save you from. Again, he wakes up in a cold sweat, the sheets tangled around his legs, trapping him and making him feel like he’s still in that nightmare, completely and utterly useless. He has to climb out of bed and walk it off, might even train a bit with his sword to regain a sense of control. 

Kid:

It’s never like it happened with his first love, Victoria. And it’s always some way new. You fall overboard during a storm and drown, Kid diving into the water to save you but sinking due to his devil fruit ability, Killer diving in to save him but leaving you to die. You get deathly ill and he enlists the help of his ally, Trafalgar Law, to save your life, but he betrays Kid and kills you. He gets captured by a crew of enemy pirates, and when the crew comes to save him, you get killed in the crossfire. The nightmares just keep coming like this, you dying because he couldn’t protect you or expected someone else to do it for him. And each time he wakes up, it is with a renewed certainty that the only way to keep you safe is to do it himself.  

———

Hope you enjoyed it! If you want more, you can check out my masterlist here!

[pietrobarnes]

It’s Okay Buck, I’m Okay

Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Genre: Hurt/Comfort (slight fluff at the end)

The room was dark, the moon casting a silver glow through the curtains. I lay beside Bucky, listening to his steady breathing. These moments of peace were precious, as his nights were often plagued with nightmares. I watched the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, feeling grateful for every second of tranquility he could get.

Suddenly, his breathing quickened, and he started to thrash. I knew the signs all too well. Another nightmare. My heart ached seeing him like this, trapped in the horrors of his past. Carefully, I placed my hand on his shoulder, hoping to soothe him awake without making things worse.

"Bucky, it's just a dream," I whispered softly, my voice trembling with concern. "It's me, Y/N."

But in his dream, Bucky was being attacked. His eyes flew open, filled with a wild panic I hadn't seen before. Before I could react, his metal arm shot up and wrapped around my throat, squeezing tightly. I gasped, my hands instinctively trying to pry his off, but his grip was like iron.

"Bucky, wake up!" I managed to choke out, my voice barely a whisper.

His eyes were wide and unseeing, filled with terror and rage. His metal hand tightened around my neck, cutting off my air supply. I could feel the cold metal digging into my skin, the pressure building as I struggled to breathe. My vision blurred, and a wave of dizziness washed over me.

"Bucky, it's me," I rasped, my voice barely audible. "Please, wake up.

He was still lost in his nightmare, his face contorted with fear and fury. The pressure on my throat increased, and I felt my strength ebbing away. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat a desperate plea for air. I could feel the life slipping from me, my body growing weaker with each passing second.

"Bucky, please," I whispered, my voice hoarse and fading. "It's okay, Buck. I'm here. I love you."

My words were barely audible, and I wasn't sure if he could hear me. My vision darkened, and I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness. Summoning all my remaining energy, I let out a muffled scream, hoping against hope that someone would hear.

As if in response, the door creaked open. I saw a flash of Steve's silhouette in the doorway. His eyes widened in horror as he took in the scene.

"Bucky, wake up! That's Y/N!" Steve's voice boomed, filled with urgency.

Bucky's eyes flickered, confusion washing over his face as he slowly came to. When he realized what he was doing, his hand immediately released my throat. I collapsed onto the bed, gasping for breath, my vision blurred with tears.

"Oh God, Y/N," Bucky's voice broke, filled with anguish. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know—"

Steve was already calling for Dr. Banner, and within moments, the room was filled with concerned faces. Thor gently lifted me, carrying me to the small medical room in the Avengers Tower.

As Dr. Banner and the others tended to me, Bucky stood by the door, his face etched with guilt and despair. I wanted to reach out to him, to tell him it wasn't his fault, but I was too weak to speak.

After what felt like an eternity, I began to regain consciousness. Steve was by my side, his expression softening as he saw my eyes flutter open.

"Hey," he said gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," I croaked, managing a weak smile.

"Do you want to see Bucky?" Steve asked, his voice cautious. "He's been beating himself up about what happened."

I nodded slowly. "Yes, I need to see him."

Steve motioned for Bucky to come in. As soon as he stepped into the room, he burst into tears, rushing to my side and dropping to his knees.

"Y/N, I'm so sorry," he sobbed, his voice raw with emotion. "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave me after this. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if you did, but I would understand."

I reached out, gently cupping his face in my hands. "Bucky, I knew what I was getting myself into when I fell in love with you. I'm not going anywhere."

He looked up at me, his eyes filled with a mix of relief and disbelief. "You mean it? You're not leaving?"

"I mean it," I said firmly. "We'll get through this together. You're not alone."

Bucky's tears flowed freely as he leaned into my touch, his body shaking with emotion. "I don't deserve you, Y/N."

I smiled softly, brushing a tear from his cheek. "We're in this together, Bucky. Always."

In that moment, surrounded by the comforting presence of our friends and the love we shared, I knew we would find a way to overcome any nightmare. Together, we were stronger than the darkness that haunted him.

—————

Should I make a taglist?

[m-musings]

okokokok, i LOVE how you wrote the overwatch boys, and I have a kind of long-winded request for Cassidy, Hanzo, Genji, and (if you write for him) Ramattra:

their s/o was previously a test subject for Talon experiments, something they have nightmares about. how would the boys react to their partner having one of said nightmares and trying to attack the person trying to wake them up.

ik this is kinda specific, but thank you if you write it! ♡♡♡♡

A/n: oooo this is a good request, let's hope my angsty writing chops are up to par bcuz i really hope this lives up to what you want (hcs under the cut!)

Warnings: general angst, accidental physical violence, mentions & implications of past torture (also op doesn't really know how to write nightmares/night terrors asdfghjkl) Word Count:1586

Headcanons: Cassidy, Genji, Hanzo and Ramattra with a Former Talon Test Subject S/O (Separate)

Cassidy:

When Cassidy awakes in the middle of the night to the sound of you fiercely muttering at no one, its safe to say he's concerned.

He listens for a moment as you make alarmed noises, trying to discern what exactly is going on.

After turning over to flip on the light, he glances over at your sleeping form thrashing around with your brow furrowed in terror.

"N-no... get a...away f-from me..." Cassidy hears you say clearly, getting more worried by the second.

As he begins to reach over to try and rouse you from your slumber, the volume of your voice grows from a to an earsplitting shriek.

As you keep screaming, you start becoming combative, slapping and punching at Cass while somehow still asleep.

"Whoa, hey, hey, hey! Jus' h-hold on a darn second here!" He says as he tries to block your attacks by grabbing your hands.

"No! NO! Let me out!" You wail as tears start streaming down your cheeks.

"Darlin', it's a dream, you gotta wake up! I'm here, just open your eyes!"

Debating between forcing you to wake up and just continuing to reassure you and talk you down from the fear, he decides that the latter is probably going to be the safest for both of you.

After a several minutes long struggle, you slowly stop trying to fight Cole as your once frantic breathing begins to return to its normal pace.

Your tired eyes begin to blink open as the last bit of panic leaves your body in a few small gasps. When you fully regain consciousness, Cassidy sighs in relief as realization begins to sink into your thoughts.

"Are you okay, what the hell happened there?!" Questions Cole as he smooths his hands over your hair.

Choking out a small sob, you gently grasp his bicep to try and ground yourself as more tears begin to fall from your eyes.

"Cass, I-I'm sorry... I- I was back in Talon and the pain j-just wouldn't stop!"

His heart drops at the mention of the evil organization, knowing what kind of awful treatment you went through while kept there.

"I tr-tried to get away but I just.... couldn't! It was awful!" You whisper as you cross your arms over your chest.

"Darlin' I'm so sorry... I am so sorry..." Cole responds faintly before carefully pulling you into a hug.

The room grows still again for a moment, with only the sound of your hushed weeps filling the air.

"I don't wanna go back, please don't let them take me!" You cry into Cole's shoulder as he holds you close.

"No, no, you won't. I swear that as long I'm breathin', I will always make sure you never have to go through that ever again."

Genji:

Genji is all too familiar with nightmares. During the first couple years after his confrontation with Hanzo, he would very frequently have them. He's been through that whole song and dance a million times before.

Which is the reason he immediately knows what's happening when he wakes to the sound of your screams next to him.

He rushes to throw your shared quilt off and make sure you're okay, getting punched once or twice in the process.

After the nightmares pass and you calm down enough to speak, Genji is right there to comfort you.

"It's alright, my love, it is over now... Are you okay?" He questions as he holds one of your palms in his.

You shake your head no as you take several sharp breaths in and out.

"I was there again... in that-that godforsaken lab with fucking Moira prodding at me like cattle! It felt li-like it would never end! I can't go through that again!"

"And you don't have to. I don't know all of what happened to you, but I promise you will never have to face it on your own. I'm here to help you however I'm able to."

As the fearful adrenaline steadily leaves your veins, Genji brings your hand up to his chest so you could feel his heart beating just beneath his cybernetics.

"I love you and will sit here with you as long as you need me too."

With a sad, shaky laugh, you nod and you take your hand back in order to wrap yourself around him.

He does the same in turn as you embrace him ever so slightly tighter before he ushers for you to lay back down together so you can get some much needed sleep.

Pulling the blanket back over your bodies, he scooches in a little closer and begins to hum softly in the hopes of lulling you into a nightmare-less slumber.

Watching as your eyes begin to flutter closed again, he hears you mumble something just before you doze off.

"Thank you, Genji... I love you too."

Hanzo:

Hanzo already has trouble sleeping himself, so when your nightmares come around, he's already wide awake.

As you toss and turn underneath your blanket, he tries to calm you down by running his hand over you head, not caring if he gets hurt by your unintentionaly violent movements.

Once the night-terror ends, you start holding your face in your hands and rock back and forth as Hanzo rubs assuaging circles on your back.

"My dear, what can I do? How do I make the fear stop for now?" The archer inquires as you continue to shake in place.

"I don't know, Han... every time I close my eyes, all I can see is the lights and the wires and the needles... It won't go away no matter how hard I try. I just want them to be gone." You state, anxiously starting to press at your temples.

With a noiseless sigh escaping from his lips, Hanzo moves closer to place an arm across your shoulder and rest his forehead against your head.

"I am sorry for not being there with you. If I were able to change history, I would have gone to great lengths to rescue you."

As you begin to cry at his admission, he places a delicate kiss atop your head.

"I would never ask you to do something that dangerous for me. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you..." You sob out as you bury yourself into Hanzo's side.

Hanzo is quick to wrap his other arm around you, offering a comforting squeeze before ushering you into his lap.

"You wouldn't ever have to ask for my help. I would trade my life for yours if it meant that no more harm would come to you."

Ramattra:

It's uncommon for Omnics to dream- let alone have nightmares- so the first one you have around Ramattra? It comes as a bit of a shock to him.

When he hears you yell, he all but rockets out of his reboot cycle to scan the room for any hidden threats to your safety.

After seeing nobody there but the two of you, he glances down to see you- fast asleep but clawing at the air like a trapped animal scratching at a predator.

He then decides to do a scan of your vitals, just to make sure you aren't in any immediate medical distress. The scan reveals to him that your heartrate and breathing are through the roof.

Just as he's about to cross the room to try and wake you up, you shoot up from your fitful rest with a loud inhale as you slam your hands down onto the mattress below.

Swiftly joining your side on the bed, he cautiously turns your visage towards him as he goes to brush a few stray strands of hair out of your face.

While your eyes try to adjust to the low light of your room, you call out Ramattra's name, receiving a modulated but relaxing shush from his vocalizer.

"Calm yourself, pet, I'm right here. Now, tell me what has happened."

As you take a moment or two to collect yourself and come down from your frenzy, you gaze up to meet the faint glow of his faceplate emitting from his eyes.

"It's Talon; they... tormented me... a long time ago. Had me chained down as a doctor injected chemicals into me before he began flushing them out and started the whole process over again..."

Watching as you barely manage to hold back tears, His joints all seem to freeze in place as fury begins to creep in and take over all his systems.

"They need to suffer for their misdeeds. Who are they?..." He presses, his voice now hauntingly deeper than before .

"I don't know their names, and even if I did, I would do everything in my power to forget them."

An uneasy silence fills the space between you two, staying there for a minute before the large Omnic grunts and lifts you into his arms.

"I am sorry for what you had to go through. Just know that if any pain ever comes your way again, the offenders shall be personally dealt with." Ramattra claims as he rests his faceplate against your jaw.

Relishing in the cool feeling of his metal features against your warm skin, you nod appreciatively before he begins to lightly sway you to and fro.

Watching as you drift back to sleep, Ramattra makes a mental note to hunt down the Talon members who hurt you the next time he meets his allies. He wouldn't and will not stand for the mistreatment of the only human he has ever cared about.

[fandoms--fluff]

Nightmare

Part 2

Kid!Fem!Reader x Damon!Salvatore x Stefan!Salvatore

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of boobs, mentions of sex, blood ig

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

It's 2:30am and your thrashing around in your bed, crying. Your dreaming about some time in the early 1890's when you were kidnapped by a vampire hunter, he was torturing you. He was using vervain ropes to tie you up and stab wood through you, getting closer to your heart every time. You did eventually get away but the dream is recapping every part of the torture that happened.

At some point you started to scream. Katherine came running in as fast as she could since the room she's staying in is right next to yours.

"Hey, hey, hey y/n wake up" she said, shaking you.

Once you woke up and saw Katherine sitting at the edge of the bed beside you, you jumped into her arms. Your head resting on her shoulder, crying your eyes out.

"Were you having a bad dream, hun?" Katherine asked rubbing your back.

You nodded feverishly. "You want to talk about it?"

"Wan' Stefy and Damy" you whined and then nuzzled your head into her chest.

Without much thought and because your tired, you started to trace the curves of her boobs from the cleavage of her top. Katherine looked at you and smiled, holding back a laugh. She stood up and started walking to Stefan's room with you in her grasp, continuing the movements of tracing her breasts.

You guys finally got to Stefan's room and right as she was about to turn the doorknob she heard noises of him and Elena having sex.

"Okay, how about we go see Damon instead" Katherine looked to where now you started to suck on your index and middle fingers.

She just decided to let that be Damon's problem, knowing there was a high chance of you biting her fingers. Now she was heading to Damon's room and opened the bed, going inside.

Katherine went over to his bed and placed you on it, making sure you couldn't fall off before waking him up.

"Damon!" All he did was just grunt and turn the other way. "Damon wake up! y/n had a nightmare" that woke him up and he sat up to see you and Katherine.

You rushed and climbed into Damon's lap, still crying. "I'll leave you two alone now" Katherine said while she left, going back to her room.

"What was your dream about y/n/n?" Damon asked, trying to pull your fingers out of your mouth.

You tried to bite him but stopped when he gave you a 'don't even think about it or else' look.

"Mean 'erson hur' me. Burn a wot and awmost kiwl me" you said with a sob.

Damon looked down at you with widened eyes, thinking you would've forgotten about that experience by now. "Oh bub, it's okay. I promise that will never happen to you again" Damon said, reassuring you.

You looked up at him and he wiped the tears off your face with his thumbs. "Pwomise?" You asked.

"I promise" He said and kissed your forehead.

Not so long after, you fell asleep Damon noticed Alaric leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. Damon just rolled his eyes while Alaric walked in going over to him.

"That was cute and impressive" he said to Damon.

"Well she's my baby sister. Literally" Damon said nodding down to where you were now sucking your thumb, leaning against his chest.

Damon laid down with you still laying on his chest, pulling a blanket up. “So are you just going to stand there and stare at us sleeping?” Damon said while closing his eyes. 

 Alaric softly smiled again then left, closing the door on his way out, going back to bed.

In the morning (later)

Every one is now  awake and downstairs, Bonnie and Elena making breakfast. At first Tyler was helping but then got kicked out after almost starting a fire on the counter somehow. Stefan was sitting on one of the couches with a mug of coffee and realized that it was way too quiet.

“Hey where’s Damon?” To Stefan’s question everyone looked around the room, not seeing him. 

Katherine just chuckled and everyone turned their heads towards her suspiciously. “What?” She asked.

“What did you do?” Stefan started to walk over to her.

“She didn’t do anything.” “Yeah, listen to Mister history teacher over there” Katherine said with a smirk. 

“Just go to his room and you’ll see why, it’s cute” Stefan listened to her and sped up to Damon’s room. 

“It is never a good sign when you say something is cute” Elena said walking over and sitting on the couch opposite from her, with a plate of the food her and Bonnie just finished.

“If you don’t believe me just wait until the three of them come down here” She said back to Elena.

“Three? Is y/n with Damon?” Tyler asked and Katherine just nodded.

Soon Stefan and Damon came down the stairs with you in Damon’s arms, leaning on his shoulder, still half asleep. 

“Was she with you the whole night?” Stefan asked as Damon sat down next to Bonnie.

“Yup, she had a nightmare, Katherine brought her to my room at like two in the morning, crying” He said, starting to play with your hair.

“Wait was y/n crying or was Katherine?” Jeremy asked confused, while grabbing some of the food.

“y/n” Katherine said glaring at him. 

You looked up, hearing your name being said, rubbing your eyes with closed fists cutely. You then were staring at some fruit on Bonnies plate. “Do you want a piece of pineapple?” Bonnie asked you.

You nodded your head and bonnie handed you a piece, you started to chew it and after a couple seconds brought your hands up and spat it out into them. Making a disgusted facial expression. Damon immediately carried you over to the sink in the kitchen to wash your hands, getting all the chewed up pineapple off. He also grabbed a paper towel to wipe your chin.

“Alright you don’t like pineapple, noted” Damon said and walked back into the room where everyone else is, everyone now finished their food. “Down p’ease” You mumbled.

He set you down and you went over to Elena, making grabby hand motions. Elena smiled and picked you up, setting you on her lap. Damon sat down, looking offended because you picked you’d rather go to Elena than stay with him.

You turned to face her and saw her necklace. You reached a hand out and touched the necklace but then quickly took back your hand, burned by vervain. Your eyes started to water and Elena pulled you into a hug and started to rub your back. 

“I’m sorry” Elena whispered.

You rested your head on her shoulder and started to trace the curve of her boobs showing. Everyone started staring at what your doing and Elena looked confused before Stefan came over lifting you up, placing you on his hip.

You looked at him with a pout on your face. “Where did you even- why?” Stefan asked while Caroline chuckled at what you just did. 

“Hmmmm I wonder where?” Katherine said smirking at Stefan then Elena. 

“What are you talking about?” Elena asked.

“The fact that last night she started to do that exact same thing to me last night and then when I got to your room you guys were having sex. Also just the fact that she’s related to Damon” Katherine said and you started to kick Stefan to let you down.

Everyone stared shocked at the couple while Stefan let you down. “What did I say about the kicking yesterday?” Stefan said crouched down to your level.

“yes kicking” You said with a smile and ran over to Alaric, clinging to his legs.

“I’m pretty sure that won’t sink into her mind anytime soon” Caroline said and went over to you lifting you up from where you were holding on for dear life to Alaric’s legs.

“Wow she has a strong grip” He said, surprised. 

When Caroline sat back down you started to play with her hair and brought it up to your nose to sniff it. “Smell ‘ood” you said looking up at her.

“I think she likes your hair” Tyler said.

“Don’t be a smart ass” Bonnie said to him.

“ass!” You exclaimed, excitedly.

“No, remember what I said yesterday if you said a bad word?” Stefan said, looking at you. 

Again Jeremy and Tyler were laughing, not helping at all. You look confused at Stefan’s question, your head laid down against Caroline’s chest. 

“Well what I remember is that if you said a bad word you get time with a bar of soap in your mouth” Stefan said. 

“Okay. I no say bad word” You glumly answered your brother.

Meanwhile Elena got a text. “Guys, it’s Elijah. He said we need to meet up. Like now” Said Elena, standing up.

[bean-bean2000]

The Hacker - Part 9

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Status: Ongoing

All feedback is very welcome and appreciated!

Warnings: angst, mentions of torture, reader feels hopeless, swearing, fluff.

Please let me know if i missed any warnings and I will add them.

Series masterlist

Part 8

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You begin to stir as you feel a draft in your room, making you shiver and grab the sheets closer to you.

You're searching blindly, eyes remaining closed from pure fatigue and unwilling to open them, but you can't find your sheets. You grunt in annoyance and open your eyes as you sit up.

You take a few seconds to focus as you squint, until you recognize where you are. You put your hands back down on your bed but feel damp concrete beneath you. You rip your hand away and scan your surroundings.

No. It can't be. NO NO NO NO NO!!!

You try getting up but your met with resistance and the sound of chains clanging. You start to panic as you examine yourself, covered in dirt, blood, cuts and, bruises. Your ribs are broken. You touch your face and feel the fresh cut spilling blood onto the floor and your shirt.

The room is dark, except for the faint light coming from under the door across the room. You see the suitcase sitting on the table.

You shake uncontrollably as you realize what's going on.

"I never left. I'm still here. This can't be, please... please no...I can't do this anymore. It was just another trick from his serums...I thought...I made it out..." you whisper to yourself, tears flowing down your cheeks.

You hear The Reaper's laughter surrounding the room, starting low and getting louder by the second.

"NO STOP IT! NO! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME YOU MONSTER! JUST FUCKING KILL ME ALREADY YOU COWARD." your screaming uncontrollably as you start pulling on the chains, cutting your wrists deeply.

You fall to the floor in defeat.

You hear his footsteps approach you until his shoes are in front of you.

"Well, well, well... you truly thought you had escaped, hmm? You really think you would ever leave? You're going to stay here as my little experiment for as long as I desire. You will suffer here. You will die here, alone, in pain and nobody will ever find you." he laughs maniacally.

"Now, where were we?" He walks to his suitcase on the table.

"Shall we try.... this?... my favourite little instrument... very effective..." he chuckles in excitement.

You look up in terror as you see it "No, not that, please anything but that!" you try to scramble away but are backed into a corner.

"You can never escape. You will be tortured forever." He says as he turns the drill on.

You're screaming as thrashing around to get him away.

You feel strong hands grab your shoulders and another pair of strong arms holding your legs and waist down.

You hear familiar voices calling to you when you suddenly gasp awake.

You're drenched in sweat. Bucky is holding your shoulders down on the bed as Steve is holding your legs and waist down.

You're breathing heavily, trying to understand what's going on. Your eyes are wild, your brain trying to make sense of it all.

"Look at me, doll. It's me. It's not real, it was a nightmare." Bucky says as you stare into his eyes.

You start calming down as you hear Steve reassuring you as well.

"It's ok Cyber. You're safe, it was just a nightmare. We're here." he says as he lets go of your legs, but keeps one arm wrapped around your waist.

Your breathing starts to even out as you understand what's happening.

"It... I...it was so real..." you breathe out.

"I know, doll, I know. It's okay, just keep breathing slowly." Bucky says as he rubs your shoulders and helps you calm your breathing down to normal.

You feel Steve rub his hands up and down your legs in comfort, helping you ground yourself back to reality. You stay there for a few minutes in silence.

"I'm sorry." you whisper, tears brimming your eyes. "I didn't mean to wake you...."

"Doll, please. Don't apologize for this, ever. Trust me, I understand. It's okay, we'll help you find a way to get these nightmares under control." Bucky tells you as he brings you in for a hug.

The bed shifts as Steve moves himself closer to you and Bucky.

"We said we would always protect you. We're here for you, for anything... we mean it." He gives you a gentle smile as he holds your hand.

"Thank you.. I don't know what to do... I can't sleep, and when I do, I'm back there with that monster....." you say quietly, beginning to shake again.

Steve and Bucky are next to you on either side, each holding a hand to comfort you, reassuring you that they'll help you out through the entire healing process.

"I'll make you a tea to help you sleep again" Steve says, getting up and walking towards the kitchen.

You feel Bucky's eyes on you as you turn to face him.

"I get it, you know? It's not easy to open up and talk about it. I can help you get through this. Steve too, he helped me when I needed it most."

You sigh and shrug your shoulders, playing with the edge of the covers.

"You don't have to tell me anything. I want you to talk about it when you're ready. Just know that I'm here for you, we are here for you. Just say the word and we're there."

Steve returns with a tea and hands it to you gently.

He crawls back into bed and turns the TV on.

"What do you want to watch? We'll watch whatever you want" he says.

You tell them your favourite comfort show and they turn it on.

You finish your tea, feeling warm on the inside as you snuggle into your covers.

You don't realize when you start dozing off until you feel them get out of the bed and place your covers over you.

You reach out and grab them "Don't go... please... stay..."

They look at each other, unsure.

"Please, you make me feel safe." you say, as you push the covers over and move to the middle of the bed to make room for the both of them.

They chuckle and get into the bed, each one next to you. Steve is behind you, Bucky in front of you. Their warmth and the sound of their breathing lulls you back to sleep.

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

You wake up to both Steve and Bucky's arms wrapped tightly around your waist. The both of them had turned to face you in the night, each with their faces in your hair as they snore.

You giggle at how cute the two super soldiers are when they sleep.

You try to move out of their grasps to go to the bathroom and get ready for the day, when their arms both tighten around you and they move closer to you.

"Where are you going?" Bucky mumbles, tiredly.

"I was going to go shower and start my day..."

"No need. I postponed all missions until further notice. We're all off." Steve says to you, smirking.

"What?! Can you even do that?" you ask incredulously.

"Of course, I'm the team leader. I do what I want." he chuckles.

"And more importantly, you get to do whatever you want, doll." Bucky says to you, smiling.

You giggle and shake your head.

"Can we just have a relaxing day? Stay in, watch movies, eat junk food?" you ask them hopefully.

"we? you want us to stay?" Bucky asks.

"Well... I mean.. only if you want to... It's okay if you don't... I was just, it's because I thought-" you're cut off by Steve laughing.

"Of course we'll stay with you. Who else would we spend the day with?"

You blush and start to laugh as you wiggle your way out of their arms and head to the bathroom.

"I'm going to shower, I suggest you both do too..." you say jokingly as you give them a knowing look.

"Ha Ha you little joker" Bucky rolls his eyes.

"We'll be back with snacks and blankets!" Steve declares as he and Bucky walk out of your room.

When you get out of the shower, your bed is covered with a plethora of snacks and junk food and tons of blankets and pillows. They closed the lights and turned on your LED lights for a more appropriate lighting for movie watching.

"Oh my god guys! This is insane! Thank you so much!" you squeal excitedly as you go hug them both.

You all settle into the bed with you in the middle and both men next to you on either side.

As you're going through the movie list, you get lost in showing the two super soldiers all of the classics from the 90s and early 2000s that they hadn't seen yet. You feel so comfortable and at ease that the events of the previous night are forgotten. You get lost in the moment of being surrounded by Steve and Bucky, their warmth and laughter enveloping you.

In just a few minutes, you're already smiling ear to ear and talking their ears off as you eat your favourite snacks.

Steve and Bucky exchange a look with each other, communicating silently.

We got our girl back.

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

Please let me know what you think, all feedback is welcome! This may be turning into a stucky x reader? Let me know if you would prefer a bucky x reader or stucky, I could change the plot a bit accordingly.

Let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list!

Tag list:

@unaxv

@winterslove1917

@kandis-mom

@cjand10

@ordelixx

@abbyyourlocalmilf

[hauntedhowlett-writes]

take care - chapter 1

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Pairing: Joel Miller/Reader

Rating: Explicit (18+, MDNI)

Word Count: 6,684

Read on AO3

Summary:

“Sorry.”

You tilt your head. “For what?”

He follows behind you, shutting the door with a soft click. You turn to face him, the small hallway pressing the two of you closer together.

“For not gettin’ there faster,” he grunts, not meeting your eyes. “For you havin’ to get up to take care of her.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. You know, it’s okay to let someone else take care of things once in a while,” you reply.

He regards you with that intense stare of his, the one that makes you want to confess that sometimes, when you lie awake at night unable to sleep, your hand slips beneath the waist of your shorts to thoughts of him. You press your lips together.

“Maybe…maybe you need to have someone take care of you,” you say.

Additional tags: explicit sexual content, p in v, cunnilingus, blow job, dirty talk, mild angst

A shrill scream breaks through your subconscious. Your eyes snap open and you’re out of the bed before your brain even comes fully online, rushing across the hall to Ellie’s room.

She’s thrashing in bed, eyes squeezed shut and fists flying, legs trapped in the faded floral top sheet. She lets out another gut wrenching wail that spurs you back into action.

You gently grasp her face in your hands as you start firmly saying, “Ellie, sweetheart, it’s me, I’m here. It’s a dream. Wake up.”

It takes a few repetitions, but her eyes eventually snap open and she goes limp once she realizes it’s you, and not whatever haunts her memories.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she whispers as she buries her head against your stomach.

“No, you don’t gotta be sorry, honey. It’s okay,” you whisper back. You run your fingers through her sweat damp hair, pushing it off her forehead.

You’ve known Joel and Ellie for three weeks, since they’d stumbled upon your cabin in the woods after escaping Silver Lake and that fucking creep of a leader. You’re pretty certain he’s only stayed for so long because you get along with Ellie like a house on fire and he likes seeing her smile.

You and Joel take turns hunting or heading into the ghost town to find rations. Ellie does a pretty good job setting small game traps now, and she’s been a big help with your garden.

Most of the time, Joel pretends you’re not there. Sometimes, when Ellie says something crazy, he’ll give you a look, like a disapproving father who needs the only other adult on his side, even as you’re trying your best not to laugh and encourage her.

Ellie’s breathing evens out as she falls back asleep. When you lift your head, Joel is standing in the doorway, chest heaving with deep breaths.

He steps in the room, eyes trained on Ellie. “She okay?”

“Yeah. Poor thing had another nightmare,” you tell him. You shift slowly, carefully, moving the girl back to her pillow and lifting the sheet back over her.

“Sorry.”

You tilt your head. “For what?”

He follows behind you, shutting the door with a soft click. You turn to face him, the small hallway pressing the two of you closer together.

“For not gettin’ there faster,” he grunts, not meeting your eyes. “For you havin’ to get up to take care of her.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. You know, it’s okay to let someone else take care of things once in a while,” you reply.

He regards you with that intense stare of his, the one that makes you want to confess that sometimes, when you lie awake at night unable to sleep, your hand slips beneath the waist of your shorts to thoughts of him. You press your lips together.

“Maybe…maybe you need to have someone take care of you,” you say. Oh, god damnit. The impulsive thoughts won. You feel your cheeks burn up from the implication of your words and his eyebrows draw together.

“That’s not a good—“

“Forget it. Forget I said anything. I’m just…gonna go get the coffee started. Yes.” You inch your way past his broad body, shoulder brushing his as you make your escape. “I’ll leave some for you!”

One of the reasons you’ve stayed in the house for so long, instead of venturing out to find other people, is the field of solar panels. They allow you the luxury of using an actual coffee maker instead of the packets of instant bullshit that taste like mud. You set the machine up, watching it slowly drip and brew like it will hold all the answers to your problems.

Ellie pads into the kitchen shortly after the pot fills. She looks at you sheepishly.

“Sorry for waking you up earlier,” she mutters.

“You and Joel have both gotta stop saying sorry for every little thing.” You hand her a half full cup that she dumps a spoonful of sugar into from the cellar on the table. “Don’t let him see you drinking that or he’s gonna complain about me wasting the good caffeine on your youth.”

She laughs and gives you a little salute before heading back to her room. You put your own coffee in a travel cup and go to get dressed so you can check the game traps and feed Millie and Champ, your two horses.

Joel’s nowhere to be found when you head back to the kitchen, dressed in your cold weather gear. The coffee pot is suspiciously less full than it had been when you left, though.

Great. You’ve made it weird.

You grab the coffee thermos and your rifle before heading out into the woods surrounding the farmhouse.

At least you can keep yourself useful and busy.

——

Joel lays in bed, staring up at the yellowing ceiling as his brain plays an endless loop of your words.

Maybe you need to have someone take care of you.

His immediate reaction was to shut it down. No, he doesn’t need anyone to take care of him. He’s been on his own this long, and will continue to be long after he delivers Ellie to the Fireflies.

But the longer he thinks about it, the more his resolve crumbles. The seed of uncertainty has been growing roots in his brain ever since that little girl risked her life to save his. And when he found her covered in blood and screaming into the cold winter air after what David had tried to do to her, he started to wonder whether he was willing to give her up. He’d failed one daughter already - he doesn’t know if he’ll recover from failing another.

He scrubs a hand over his face. Then there’s you. Another root digging into his brain. When they’d come across your cabin, thinking it was abandoned and wanting to rest for a bit, he wasn’t prepared to have a beautiful woman point a gun at his head when he came through the door. But you’d quickly dropped the weapon seeing the state he and Ellie had been in. You’d offered your home to them - hot showers, clean clothes, warm food, and surprisingly easy companionship that’s making the choice to leave harder with each passing day.

And now…now you’re offering something Joel hasn’t even thought of in years. Beyond some quick work with his hand when the urge is too strong to ignore, Joel hasn’t known that kind of release in…a long time.

Would it be so bad to do something with only himself in mind?

After a few hours of him wallowing with his inner turmoil, he hears the front door bangs shut. He listens as you stomp the snow off your boots before the heavy booted footfalls are replaced with soft socked ones. He can hear Ellie talking to you, followed by a chorus of giggles that makes his chest tighten.

When he enters the kitchen, he sees you standing at the counter, skinning a rabbit with surprising efficiency. Ellie is watching, eyes wide like she can’t look away. You set the hide in a parchment lined bowl to be dealt with later before narrating how to cut the meat from the bones.

“That’s fucking disgusting,” Ellie comments, nose wrinkled.

“Might be, but do you want stew or not?” You huff out, faux annoyance lacing your tone. “Chop the potatoes, then, weakling.”

“Was it from one of my traps?” Ellie asks you as she pulls out another cutting board and grabs the potatoes from their box.

“Sure was, kid. You’re keeping me well fed.”

Ellie’s lips quirk in the tiniest smile, the flicker of pride in her eyes making Joel’s heart squeeze in his chest.

He chooses that moment to make his presence known, entering the kitchen with heavy steps. You look over your shoulder and flash a tentative smile at him before going back to prepping the rabbit.

“Where the hell’ve you been?” Ellie asks. Joel reaches out and tugs on her ponytail.

“Around,” he replies. “You need any help?”

“Grab some stock and onions from the basement? And hand Ellie some of the tomatoes and celery to dice,” you instruct.

He grabs the required items from the basement and places two ripe tomatoes and two onions on the cutting board in front of Ellie. He also finds the big stock pot from your cupboard and sets it on a burner and turns it on a medium flame for you.

“Thanks,” you murmur, both hands full of bloody rabbit chunks that you toss in the pot. Once they’ve browned a bit on the heat, you motion to Ellie to dump the vegetables into the pot.

Joel watches as you explain the steps to Ellie, enjoying the calm of your voice as you speak. When you look up for a moment and catch his eye, he doesn’t break the contact. Instead, he watches as your cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink before you duck your head back down.

Fuck.

——

“What do you call a factory that makes okay products?” Ellie asks.

“Christ, not this again,” Joel grumbles around a mouthful of rabbit stew.

“What?” You ask, paying him no mind.

“A satisfactory,” Ellie says.

You press your lips together, fighting back the giggle bubbling up. “That…that was awful.”

“You’re literally trying not to laugh!”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are!”

You throw a napkin at her head and she ducks. Joel is giving you that disapproving father face of his, but at thirty years old, you let it bounce off of you.

Besides, he’s not fooling anyone. The corners of his eyes crinkle as he wrestles his own smile into submission.

“Can we play one of those board games tonight?” Ellie asks.

“Which one? I’m not doing Monopoly again. You’re a sore loser.”

She sticks her tongue out. “Fine. I’ll go pick.” She abandons her empty bowl at the table to go raid your stash of board games in the living room.

Avoiding Joel’s gaze, you grab both bowls and bring them to the sink. As you start to rinse them, you feel the older man step beside you, his shoulder brushing yours.

“I got it,” he says, gently pulling a bowl from your hands. “So…,” he starts, clearing his throat.

“So?” You reply, peeking at him from the corner of your eye.

“Is that…offer…still available?” He’s staunchly refusing to meet your questioning look.

“Offer? What offer?” He raises his eyebrows at you. It takes the gears in your head a second of turning before your eyes go wide, the spoon you’d been washing slipping from your fingers and clattering against the steel sink, but you finally catch on. “Oh! Oh, that…uh…that offer. Right. Yes?”

“That sounds like a question. I need you to be certain.”

You straighten your shoulders before turning to face him, meeting his surprisingly heated stare. “Yes.”

“Good. That’s…good,” he mutters. “Tonight? After Ellie goes to bed?”

“Sure, yeah,” you whisper. He’s pressed closer to you, his chest grazing against your breasts when he takes a deep inhale. His tongue swipes across his bottom lip and your eyes track the motion, glued to his mouth. “Tonight works.”

He shuts the water off, stepping back to set the bowl in the dish rack and reaching for the hand towel on the stove. Ellie runs back into the kitchen, holding the faded Sorry! game box.

“Alright, losers, let’s go,” she says before flopping gracelessly into her chair at the table. “I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”

You risk one more glance at Joel, who seems to have moved on from the moment you’d shared. He sits beside Ellie and helps her set up the game.

“I call red,” you announce as you take your seat across from them.

Joel wordlessly slides the red game piece to you, fingers brushing against yours in the exchange. Just that little touch lights your nerves up, makes you press your thighs together a little tighter. Joel must notice, because his lips tip up in a little smirk before he schools his features back to stoic and grumpy when Ellie gives him the green piece.

“Let’s get this over with,” he mutters.

——

After five games of Sorry!, three of which you lost, Ellie finally announces she’s calling it a night. She’s been yawning through the last game, so it was only a matter of time, but she wanted to beat Joel just one more time.

“‘Night,” she says as she heads back to what you now consider her room, leaving you and Joel at the table. You stand, picking up the discarded game pieces and cards and putting them away neatly in the box.

Joel stands wordlessly, leaving your line of sight and you think maybe he changed his mind.

Large, warm hands circle your hips, pulling you back against a broad chest covered in worn flannel. His fingers slip beneath the hem of your thermal shirt, calluses dragging on the soft, sensitive skin just below the waist of your jeans.

You tip your head back against his shoulder to look up at him. One of those devilish hands slides up the front of your body until his palm presses to your throat, angling your chin so that he can press his lips to yours.

It’s your first kiss in who knows how long, and you hadn’t realized how much you missed this kind of connection with a person. His lips are a little chapped, but surprisingly gentle considering how aggressively this man lives his life. You twist around in his grip until you’re facing him, looping your arms around his neck and pressing your body tighter to his.

His tongue traces your bottom lip and you open to him with a groan. Like the noise breaks some sort of spell, he pulls back.

“Have to be quiet,” he whispers. “Can you do that for me?”

You nod your head and he rewards you with another kiss, this one rougher, more demanding. He wraps his fist in your hair, tugging your head back to change the angle to his liking. Your fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck and this time, it's him that groans into your kiss.

“Have to be quiet,” you whisper, voice teasing. His eyes narrow, another smirk playing at the corner of his lips. You like this look on him - hair disheveled, lips kiss swollen, eyes glinting mischievously in the low light of the kitchen.

He moves suddenly, crouching slightly and wrapping his hands around the backs of your thighs before lifting you up from the ground. You let out a surprised squeak, your fingers digging into his shoulders and legs wrapping around his waist as he carries you out of the kitchen.

You can’t help the laugh that escapes you, and Joel shushes you with a bright smile you’ve not seen yet on the man. Your laugh tapers into a quiet giggle as he shoulders open the door to the guest room he’s been sleeping in, on the opposite side of the house from your master bedroom and Ellie’s room. Once inside, he turns to press you against the door, using one hand to keep you suspended while the other flips the lock.

“Don’t wanna scar that nosey kid more than I already have,” he says before kissing down your neck, beard scratching against your sensitive skin. You let out a quiet whimper as he bites your shoulder, your hips snapping against his. You can feel the hard length of him through his jeans and that quiet desperation that you’ve been feeling for the older man continues to boil in your veins.

You drop your legs from his waist, standing on the tips of your toes as his hand refuses to relinquish its grip on your ass. You push at his chest and he steps back only enough to allow you room to stand on your own two feet.

You wiggle both your hands between your bodies as he continues to press kisses to your neck, your jaw, behind your ear. Locating his belt, you unbuckle it quickly, tugging it through the loops and tossing it away like it offends you.

Joel distracts you for a moment by gripping your face in his palms, kissing you like you’re the air he needs to breathe. You quickly return to your task, tugging open the fly of his jeans and reaching your hand in to palm his cock through his boxers.

“Shit,” he hisses. His head drops back, eyes shutting as you work your hand in the limited space.

It’s not nearly enough.

You drop to your knees, working his pants down until his cock bobs free, thick and long with a bead of precum already pooled at the tip. You grip him at the base, leaning forward to let your tongue swipe across the head and collect the small essence of him.

A rough groan leaves him as you guide him into your mouth. He cuts it short, sticking a knuckle between his teeth to stem his noises. His other hand rests against the back of your head, not pressing, but like he needs to touch you, needs to feel you.

His hips snap forward unexpectedly when you grasp his balls in your hand, making you gag slightly. You can feel the burn of tears at the corner of your eyes as you look up at him. His eyes are wide, laser focused on where his dick slides between your lips and into the tight, wet heat of your mouth.

Without warning, he pulls completely free of you, a hand wrapping around your upper arm and tugging you to stand. He rips your shirt over your head before ridding you of your jeans and panties before you even realize what’s happening.

“What–”

“On the bed. Now,” he grunts, pushing you gently toward the mattress. You sit on the edge of it, naked as the day you were born, eyebrows drawn in confusion.

Joel removes the rest of his clothes before standing before you. “Spread your legs,” he commands.

You move to obey, but must not be fast enough for his liking since he presses his palms to the inside of your knees and wrenches your thighs apart before dropping to his knees.

“Wait, wait,” you say. He stops, looking up at you. “I’m supposed to be taking care of you .”

“Trust me, baby, getting the chance to eat this pussy is taking care of me. Now lay back and shut up.”

You shut your mouth but you don’t lay back, propping yourself up on your elbows to watch as he presses kisses to the inside of your thighs. You’ll be damned if you’re going to miss committing even a second of this to memory.

His tongue swipes through your folds before lavishing broad circles over your sensitive clit. He hums, the vibrations adding to the onslaught of sensation against a part of you that’s gone without attention for so long.

“ Joel, ” you whisper, trying to keep your voice low. He looks up at you from between your thighs and your head drops back on a moan you were meant to be holding back.

“Remember what we said about being quiet,” he rasps, pulling away from you to run his fingers through the slick pooling at your entrance before sliding one, then two inside in quick succession. “You’re so goddamn tight.”

“Been a while,” you huff, voice breathy. Your hips chase his fingers on every withdrawal and when his mouth returns to your clit, your back arches from the bed.

“Gonna cum,” you warn. His pace doesn’t falter as he works you over until your tummy tightens almost painfully. With a slight graze of his teeth, your release washes over you, your muscles tightening around his fingers, your thighs pressing against his broad shoulders.

He stands, beard glistening from his attention, and he slips an arm beneath your back, using it to haul you further up the bed.

“You want this?” He asks, tugging at his still hard cock. You nod, spreading your legs for him once more as he positions himself between your thighs. “Then be a good girl and take it.”

He slides the head over your clit, making you shiver, before slowly pressing inside. His eyes stay trained on your face, watching your expressions as you envelope his cock.

When he bottoms out, he shifts forward so that his elbows rest on the mattress beside your head. Your fingers claw between his shoulder blades as you flutter around him, adjusting to the sensation of being so full.

“You okay?” Joel asks, voice strained. You nod, shifting your hips and making both you groan. He drops his head to your shoulder. “Don’t be movin’ like that if you want this to last.”

You do it again, and this time Joel takes matters into his own hands, pulling back before snapping his hips forward, punching the air from your lungs.

He sets a pace that should hurt, that should feel brutal, but it just feels so damn good . The weight of him surrounding you, the pressure of his hips against yours, the breath you share as he kisses you again, biting into your lower lip to stave off his own moan.

He pulls out, grabbing your hips and twisting until you’re on your stomach. He hitches your ass higher and lands a smack to one cheek for good measure before sliding back inside you. You bite down on the pillow beneath you, letting your noises out into the stuffing.

Joel slams into you again and again and again, like all that pent up frustration you’re sure he bottles up tightly has finally boiled over. He leans over your body, the angle going impossibly deeper, and slips his hand over yours, folding his fingers into the spaces made, what feels like, just for him.

He doesn’t say anything else. All you hear from him at the little groans and grunts that you’re certain would be an amazing experience at full volume. But what he can’t say with words, he does with his touch.

The trail of a hand down your spine, the flex of his fingers between yours, the press of his lips to your shoulder as he chases his release and sends you hurtling towards another.

With a cry into the pillow, you cum around him, muscles trying to stop him from ever leaving your body again. But with a few more thrusts, Joel pulls out, cum landing across your back and ass.

You flop down flat on your belly, body spent and brain offline from the two delicious orgasms. You hear him move about the room, the sound of clothes rustling and open and shut of the door reaching your ears as you lay there boneless. He returns a moment later and runs a wet washcloth over your back and between your thighs, cleaning you of any evidence of his enjoyment.

He shifts you around the mattress until he can tug the covers over your naked body. To your surprise, he climbs in beside you, an arm wrapping around your waist and tugging you toward him.

Joel Miller is a cuddler. Who would have thought?

“Thank you,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head as you slowly sink into sleep.

____

“Wake up, kid,” Joel says, shaking Ellie’s shoulder. “We gotta go.”

Ellie mumbles something in her sleep. With a roll of his eyes, he tugs the blankets off of her, causing her to roll onto the floor with a thud and a surprised yelp.

“You asshole,” she snaps. “What’s the big rush? Why are we leaving now?”

“Because I said so. Now, come on.”

Blessedly, she listens. She gathers her backpack and tugs on her jacket and shoes before trailing out after him into the dark morning.

At the back of the property, Joel directs them to the all black horse named Champ that he’s already saddled.

“We’re stealing her horse? Isn’t that a bit low, even for you?” Ellie asks.

Joel ignores her, swinging himself up and situating himself. She’s right. It is low.

But he knows that if he stays, he may never want to leave.

And he’s got a job to finish.

[babaukulele]

I feel like Keigo would be so good about helping with night terrors, he definitely has some himself. Mine have been more prevalent than usual so allow me to indulge for a second here.

CW: nightmares/ night terrors, pet names (birdie)

Mainly fluff as always

I feel like Keigo would be so good about helping with night terrors, he definitely has some himself. Mine have been more prevalent than usual so allow me to indulge for a second here.

CW: nightmares/ night terrors, pet names (birdie)

Mainly fluff as always

You had always had really extreme nightmares, the rate of which varied day by day, the factors not all that clear. You did however notice that you had less when you slept with someone else in the room. Ever since you had started sleeping with Kei they had nearly vanished, his heroic status and protective wings making you feel safer than ever.

You lasted a good two months pretty much nightmare free, in fact it was often your golden eyed partner needing to be soothed in the night. You felt so incredibly special to be someone he could find safety in, even in his most vulnerable state. You had warned him that sometimes you wake up violently, sometimes thrashing around or even screaming. He had been very understanding and almost completely dismissed it until that first night you finally awoke with a yelp followed by a crash.

His eyes flew open and he immediately covered the bed with his protective wings. His hands roamed around the sheets and his heart almost stopped when he realized you were no longer next to him. He started to yell out your name and roll out of the bed when he recognized the sound of your ragged breathing.

A feather flipped on the bedside lamp and illuminated your hunched body laying on the floor. You were breathing hard and tears rolled down your face, the bed sheets still reaching out for their fallen comrade.

Hawks triple checked that the room was clear and then carefully lowered himself next to you. Your eyes were wild and unfocused, your body coursing with adrenaline leaving your entire body shaking, ready to sprint at any minute

Hawks approached you slowly and kept his voice to a whisper.

“Hey birdie”

You didn’t look at him, couldn’t recognize if you were still stuck in whatever hell you had just woken up from. You wanted to scream, fear paralyzing you to your in between state.

Hawks saw it in your eyes, you were still half asleep.

“Y/N, can you hear me? It’s me, Keigo. Or Hawks, too. You had a bad dream, but it’s over now.”

Your eyes started to focus in, you still stared at the ceiling as your chest heaved.

Hawks gently slid a hand to your shoulder and traced it up till it was under your head, keeping all contact very clear and purposeful. To his relief you didn’t flinch away.

Slowly, he propped your head up till you were looking at him.

“You’re okay, we’re okay…” he recites the current date, time and location, trying to ground you back with him in the present.

Your fingers start to curl around his arm that is keeping you upright as your mind finally registers the change in reality.

Your eyes squeeze shut and you can’t help but let out a whimper of relief. Keigo sighs, relieved himself that you're finally awake and away from whatever left you so distraught.

His big arms pull you into him, his wings covering you but still allowing the lamps light shine in to keep your senses engaged. He had never known to do any of this, until he had met you. Not until you had treated him with the same kindness and empathy that he had strived to remember and return one day.

“Are you hurt? You took quite the fall.”

You shook your head as you wiped at your cheeks. He gently replaced your shaking hands and wiped your cheeks with his thumbs.

“It’s alright, I���ve got you. You’re safe here, I promise.”

You took a shaky breath as your heart rate finally started to slow. You looked up at him through wet lashes almost shy.

“I’m sorry I woke you up and scared you like that”

He cooed at your unnecessary apology and lightly flicked your nose with his pinkie.

“What so I’m allowed to wake you up anytime I get scared or lonely or come home late but you can’t wake me up when you have a nightmare? What a double standard y/n”

His false swoon is almost pitiable. You smack his chest and puff out an annoyed breath. You know he’s right though. He lets out a relieved laugh as you lean your head into his chest.

“Maybe we could talk about it in the morning, but for now why don’t we get you off the floor and into something more comfortable?”

He tried to remember all of the little tricks you had used for him in the past, changing clothes and bed positions to feel like you weren’t in the same space as before. Lighting a candle to add a different scent and even turning down the temperature for peak comfort. You were touched at all the effort. You splashed your face with some cold water to rinse off any remaining sweat or tears and then crawled back into your partner's arms. Not that you had ever really left him, his clingy tendencies soothing you more than ever, clinging to you as you transitioned into a better sleeping space.

You kept the light on for as long as you needed, you and Kei whispering to each other until your eyes grew heavy once again. He watched your breath even and your features soften, staying awake as long as he could manage to make sure your sleep was peaceful. You slept through the night intertwined in each other’s bodies and protection until the sun rose high once again.

[blitzsicedcoffee]

Ficlet- Nightmare

Blitz tosses and turns, his feet kicking and claws thrashing against the blanket. His tail tightens around Stolas's leg, so tight that it wakes him up and pulls a feather or two.

"Darling?" Stolas asks, watching him. He tries to blink away his grogginess and his face turns into concern. He decides to try and shake Blitz.

"Blitz. Blitz darling you're having a nightmare", he says as he gently rocks his shoulders.

Blitz starts awake and breathes heavily and his claws catch against Stolas's arm, drawing blood.

Stolas quickly covers it and it starts to heal.

"Wha-What happen- fuck did I hurt you?!" Blitz asks in distress and Stolas shakes his head, "Of course not darling. I'm alright. Are you?" He asks, giving him a small smile.

Blitz notices it with the little amount of pentagram moonlight strewning into the room, and lets out another breath, trying to relax his muscles.

"I-just bad dream is all", he looks away. Stolas pulls his hand away from his arm and the cut is fully healed. He takes Blitz's hand and rubs the top.

"I know that. What about?", Stolas asks. Blitz winces, "I don't know if you want to know", he replies. Stolas lays back down and pulls the blankets over his shoulders, turning away, "Alright, goodnight then".

Blitz blinks, "Hey, aren't you gonna tell me to tell you anyway?" Stolas coos, "I'm tired Blitz. I just wanted to make sure you were alright". He closes his eyes but it's like he can hear Blitz frown.

"Okay I was in the circus", he starts. Stolas smiles to himself and sits back up to listen, pulling the blankets over him again.

"Will you ever have one when you aren't at that circus?" Stolas asks. Blitz chuckles, "I dunno". He lays his head on Stolas's lap.

"Anyway, I was in the circus and I couldn't save everyone again, but-you were there. And Via, and Loona. I couldn't save any of you. And I screamed and pushed through the rubble but you were all gone. And I-", he chokes in his words and Stolas pets down his forehead, "I understand. That does sound scary. But we're alright".

Blitz sits up and puts his hands on Stolas's cheeks.

"Stols what if I can't protect you", he asks with tears pricking his eyes. Stolas's face melts and he leans into Blitz's lips, giving him a gentle kiss.

"We can protect each other", he says confidently, "I promise nothing will happen to me", he tells him. Blitz gives him a small nod and lays back down on his lap.

Stolas drifts again while sitting up. Blitz realizes and lays him down on the pillow, then huddles under the blankets and cuddles against his back.

"I wish I believed you", Blitz whispers to himself.

[icequeenlila]

A Son for a Son

Chapter 9- 'You've done enough'

Neteyam's pov.

„No!“

Neteyam woke with a jolt.

Screaming, he realized in a daze, blinking against the dizziness.

The sudden movement left his head spinning, sleep weighing heavy on his mind and body. He could hear the blood thrum in his ears.

It was still night time, the fire had died, only the soft glow of Pandora’s bioluminescence bringing light into the darkness.

Neteyam looked around, his head thick with dizziness, trying to find the source of the sudden noise.

“Noooooo!”

Lo’ak is screaming.

And just like that, Neteyam was wide awake, his nerves pulling tight, his eyes sharpening, the heaviness lifting off his body. And he moved.

“Lo’ak.”

He sat up straight, cowering right next to his baby bro, leaning over him protectively. Around him he could sense the others waking up, starting to move, but he paid them no mind.

Lo’ak let out another agonizing cry, his body squirming, lifting off the ground and falling back. His eyes were still closed, but he cried and cried and cried.

“Nooooooohhh!”

He’s dreaming.

“Lo’ak.”

It was their mother’s worried voice, still thick with sleep, but alert. Again, Neteyam did not look up.

Instead, acting on instinct, he reached out both his hands towards his baby brother.

With one he took ahold of Lo’ak’s cheek, finding it wet and hot from tears. Neteyam could feel his brother’s skin shifting beneath his fingers as Lo’ak clenched and unclenched his jaw, as he threw his head from one side to the other, shaking his head as if to prevent evil.

Feeling own tears spring to his eyes, Neteyam let his other hand rest on Lo’ak’s chest, directly over his heart, feeling it racing, beating hard under his ribcage.

And then he pressed down gently, stilling Lo’ak’s head, keeping it from thrashing. Neteyam let his hand weigh down on his brother’s chest, softly, oh so softly as to not restrain him, as to not scare him. Grounding him.

“It’s just a dream”, Neteyam soothed, and he started to shake his own hands. Softly. Sending little sensations into Lo’ak’s body to wake him up, gently. “Wake up, Lo’ak. We’re waiting for you here.”

It hadn’t happened often, but Lo’ak used to have nightmares when he’d still been a young child. They weren’t too bad and their mom always noticed soon enough, and she always had woken him just like this. Holding him, putting soft pressure onto him, shaking gently, soothing with her warm voice.

Neteyam felt fear weighing cold inside his own belly, he didn’t even really know what he was doing, if he was doing right, if this was actually of any help. He had woken from his brother’s cries and his mind had jumped directly to those early memories, and without thinking, Neteyam had copied his mother’s actions .

Lo’ak’s cries grew softer, turning into something more like desperate whining.

+

Told ya next chapter starts with my favorite boy screaming✨

Prepare for mama bear Neytiri, bc she will be mothering her ass off. Also, in this chapter Jake will get his hardest punch to the gut yet (see chapter's title). It's gonna huuuuuuuuurt💙

Link to the fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44201029/chapters/111150181

Have a nice week!✨

[depressedhouseplant]

🔞 In Darkness I Found You 🔞

Chapter 2

Tags: Descriptions of sexual assault

Yoongi was running. This Alpha was slower than some of the others. Outrunning him was easy. It was when he was inevitably cornered that speed didn’t matter. He was simply too small to get out of their grip. He spent more and more time in the pen. He always knew it was one of those Alphas when they had the cuffs and the hood. The Omegas couldn’t learn their way around. Then if they got loose they wouldn’t know where to run. Yoongi didn’t need to know how he got from the holding area to the pen. He only needed to find a weak spot in the pen.

He was outrunning this Alpha too easily. The Alpha was getting frustrated. Forget frustrated, he was getting angry. Yoongi heard the sound of the tranquilizer gun being placed in its housing.

“Yoongi! Wake up!”

Yoongi opened his eyes and saw Hobi sitting up in bed next to him. He had his hands on Yoongi’s shoulders like he’d been shaking him awake.

“What...what happened?” Yoongi sat up and tried to slow his breathing.

“You were having a nightmare,” Hobi said. “You started screaming and thrashing around, but I couldn’t understand anything you were saying.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling his sweaty shirt away from his torso. Yoongi looked at the clock. They’d barely been asleep 3 hours.

“No, don’t apologize. I was just worried about you,” Hobi said. “Let me get you a dry shirt.”

“Okay, thank you,” Yoongi said, still trying to catch his breath. Hobi got up and went to his room to get another shirt. Yoongi rubbed his belly. “I’m sorry, pup. Daddy didn’t mean to startle you.”

Yoongi was terrified that he’d lose this pup. He’d already lost its sibling as a consequence of escaping. This one was the runt and runts rarely thrived. Hobi’s brother seemed to think it was possible though and Yoongi was willing to do whatever it took to keep this one.

“How’s pup?” Hobi asked from the doorway.

“Think I startled it,” Yoongi replied. “It’s really too early for them to move, but I just kinda know.”

Hobi sat on the bed and helped him change.

“Do you want to find out what it is?” Hobi asked.

“Nah. I haven’t known all the other times. I’ll let it be a surprise,” Yoongi replied. Hobi helped him lie back down & Yoongi started scenting him again. Yoongi hated the smell of Alphas. They smelled too strong. Hobi didn’t smell like most Alphas. He still had the basic smell of an Alpha, but there was something else, too. Maybe Christmas? Or a warm drink on a cold day? It was comforting. It was safe. This Alpha wasn’t going to knot him without his permission. He wasn’t going to chase him around a pen that belonged in a prison. He wouldn’t chase him at all. Yoongi hadn’t known comfort & safety in a long time. He still wasn’t completely sold on the safety part, but he felt comfortable with Hobi. Hobi laughed a low laugh as Yoongi scented him. The kind of laugh that echoed in his own chest.

“What?” Yoongi asked.

“You’re definitely a lover and not a fighter,” he replied as he hugged Yoongi tighter.

“I don’t have to fight anymore,” Yoongi replied.

“The only fighting you’ll be doing is with Daisy or Violet for a prime spot on the couch when Tae finally lets you off bed rest,” Hobi told him.

“Why does he care so much?” Yoongi asked.

“Because he wants you to have a happy, healthy pup, too. I know you’re afraid of him because of his profession, but I promise he wants to help you just as much as I do,” Hobi told him. “He became a nurse because he wants to help people. The nurses who took your pups away, who knows why they did it. Maybe they got paid enough to look the other way or they didn’t realize how bad it was. I’m sure Tae has already researched how to manage a high risk pregnancy with a runt. He already said he was getting you the prenatal vitamins.”

“It’ll just take some time,” Yoongi replied.

“I’m sure. Once you see he’s trying to help, it’ll be better,” Hobi ran his fingers through Yoongi’s hair.

“Thank you,” Yoongi nosed at Hobi’s neck.

“You think you can go back to sleep?” Hobi asked.

“I’ll try,” Yoongi said.

“I’m right here if you have another nightmare, but I hope you don’t,” Hobi assured him.

“Me too,” Yoongi managed to sleep through the rest of the night. When he woke up, it took him a moment to realize he wasn’t chained to the bed. It was still raining outside, but not the monsoon that had been coming down last night. He’d rolled over on his other side and Hobi was cuddled up behind him with his arms wrapped around him. He was in a real bed, in a nice house, with 2 Alphas who genuinely cared about his well being. And his pup’s.

The pup.

Hobi’s hands were covering Yoongi’s belly. Yoongi’s hands were on top of Hobi’s. He was protecting a pup that wasn’t his. Alphas didn’t do that. Alphas rejected pups that weren’t theirs. Yet somehow during the night they’d shifted and Hobi was guarding Yoongi’s pup. Yoongi couldn’t stop himself from crying.

“What’s the matter? Did you have another nightmare?” Hobi picked up his head, still mostly asleep.

“No, it just hit me that I’m not there anymore and I woke up to an Alpha holding me & protecting my pup & I just got overwhelmed…” he sniffled.

“Get used to waking up to an Alpha holding you and protecting your pup,” Hobi smiled at him as he propped himself up on his elbow. He still had one hand on Yoongi’s belly. Yoongi rolled over on his back and looked up at Hobi.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because for some reason you collapsed on my lawn in the middle of one of the worst storms I’ve seen in a long time and I’m a sucker for a charity case,” Hobi replied. Yoongi smiled back. Charity case didn’t even begin to cover it.

“I could say thank you for the rest of our lives and it wouldn’t be enough,” Yoongi told him.

“Once is enough,” Hobi lied back down on his side and Yoongi stayed on his back. He looked over at Hobi.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked.

“Sure,” Hobi leaned down and gently touched his lips to Yoongi’s. Yoongi kissed him back. Hobi’s lips were soft. Yoongi knew his were rough. Lip care wasn’t high on their priority list when the Omegas were pregnant. Making sure they were healthy and gave birth to healthy pups was the priority. Of course, healthy and well taken care of were 2 very different things. Yoongi couldn’t remember the last time he’d been kissed. The Alphas didn’t exactly woo the Omegas. He liked this kiss, though. It was a kiss he could stay in forever.

“You and the pup need breakfast,” Hobi whispered against Yoongi’s lips when they parted.

“Okay,” Yoongi desperately didn’t want Hobi to leave. He was afraid if Hobi walked out of the room then he’d wake up and be right back in that hell hole.

“Or I can get Tae to bring you something,” Hobi said. It was then Yoongi realized that he’d clamped his hand down on Hobi’s arm. He let go of Hobi’s arm.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Yoongi said.

“I’ll get Tae to bring something. He’s a better cook than I am anyway,” Hobi replied. He grabbed his phone and texted his brother.

“Is that a phone?” Yoongi asked.

“Yeah. It’s called a smartphone,” Hobi replied.

“How is it smart?” Yoongi asked, resting his chin on Hobi’s shoulder and looking at the phone.

“You know, I don’t really know,” Hobi laughed a little. The Alphas were never allowed to bring anything with them. The last time Yoongi had seen a cell phone, it flipped open. He’d never seen one like Hobi had. Hobi touched the screen and it did things Yoongi had never seen before.

“You wanna try?” Hobi asked.

“Sure,” Yoongi tentatively took it from him.

Hobi was still showing Yoongi how to use his phone when Tae came in with pancakes, orange juice, and another vitamin.

“I haven’t been able to get to the store yet for the right vitamins, but something is better than nothing,” he said as he put the tray down. “I was going to make banana pancakes, but I wasn’t sure if you liked bananas.”

“I think I like bananas,” Yoongi said.

“Well, we’ll try those tomorrow then,” Tae said. “Is there anything you don’t like or are allergic to?”

“Um, I don’t think I’m allergic to anything. I’m not really a picky eater,” Yoongi replied. He couldn’t afford to be.

“I thought I’d stop at the grocery store on the way back from work and maybe pick up some things you’ll eat. I’ve found a lot of ideas for what to feed you if you’re carrying a runt. Good news is there’s a lot of resources out there. I’m also friends with one of the midwives and I’m sure she’s got suggestions, too. Definitely bed rest though. Unless you’re going to the bathroom or bathing, you need to be in the bed,” Tae had obviously spent a lot of the night doing research.

“I…thank you,” Yoongi said.

“I’m happy to do it. Eat up before my brother gets any bright ideas with your pancakes,” Tae looked at Hobi.

“I would never eat a pregnant Omega’s food,” he said. Tae rolled his eyes, but smiled a little. “I’m gonna get ready for work. I’ll check on you before I leave.”

“Thanks Tae,” Hobi said and moved the tray over so Yoongi could eat. He cleaned his plate and drank the juice faster than he thought he would.

“I think I might go back to sleep for a bit,” he told Hobi when he finished.

“I just heard Tae let the dogs back in, so I should be good to stay with you,” Hobi told him. “I might stay awake for a bit.”

“Okay,” Yoongi settled back down. Before he was totally asleep, he heard Tae and Hobi talking.

“What are you thinking?” Hobi asked.

“It’s a minor miracle he isn’t dead. He didn’t miscarry that pup right before he fell in the yard, he was bleeding for a while. When he lets me, I want to do a full exam,” Tae said.

“He’s got scars on his wrists and ankles,” Hobi said.

“I also noticed needle marks. He had a lot of IV something,” Tae added.

“You think he’ll be okay?” Hobi asked.

“Physically probably. Emotionally who knows?” Tae replied.

“He panicked when I tried to leave to get breakfast,” Hobi told his brother.

“Are you surprised?” Tae pointed out.

They were silent for a moment, probably looking at him. He had his back to them, but it was touching Hobi’s leg.

“I hope the pup will be okay,” Hobi said.

“Me too,” Tae agreed. Then Yoongi let himself fall asleep.

[broiderie]

Lost Princessa: Meet the Reaper 13

First things first - I'm terrified to be putting this up. It's my first attempt at anything passed make-out sessions. Please be gentle about it. And as always - don't steal my shit.

Warnings: nightmare, 18+ scene, cursing, talk of guns and weapons. Let me know if I missed anything please.

A few hours later, Hank startled awake as the dog nudged him with his nose. He started to get up when he realized that Rex wasn’t going to the door. Instead he was looking at Megan. Hank realized that he had been so tired from the day, he’d slept through what sounded like the beginning of a major nightmare from Megan.

He quickly reached to soothe her as he heard a muffled scream from her throat. “Easy, mi princessa. Easy. I’m here.” He eased her over onto her back so that she could feel him easier and he could stop her from hurting herself in her thrashing as he shifted to kneel between her knees. He braced his hands on her waist to keep her from rolling onto her bad side. “Wake up, Megan. Wake up, baby. You’re safe. I’m here. You’re safe with me.” He gave her a little shake, hoping to jar her awake a bit, but the nightmare had a strong hold on her.

Megan tossed her head and reached with her free arm whimpering as she tried to move the other one. 

He looked around and saw Rex watching from the floor. “Rex, come.” He patted the bed for the big dog, who jumped up. He moved over and put himself on Megan’s good side before encouraging Rex to lay across her legs and waist. Once the dog was steadying her, Hank moved to stroke her face and neck gently. “It’s just a dream, Princessa. I’m right here. Shhh. Easy, baby. Wake up for me.”

Megan’s eyes opened suddenly and she sobbed out a breath before reaching for him again.

He pressed his forehead to hers gently and let her cling to him. “Shh. Easy, mi Princessa. I’m right here. You’re safe, baby. Nothing’s getting through me.” Rex whined a bit. “Or Rex. He���s here too, baby. We’ve got you.”

Megan nodded as she worked to control her panic. She pressed her hand to his chest feeling his heartbeat and breathing as she sobbed.

He moved up to cradle her close and let her calm against his bare chest. When she curled into him, Rex moved up to support her back. Sandwiched between the two of them, Megan slowly calmed. Her breath evened out and she snuggled close. “Sorry.”

“You’re okay, mi amore. We’ve got you,” he whispered gently. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Megan shook her head. “It hasn’t changed.”

Rex licked her ear gently before laying his head down behind hers.

Megan giggled and whispered, “Good dog.”

Hank reached over her to pet him. “Yes, he is.” He laid back down and kissed her gently. “Think you can sleep again? Or should I get the book?”

Megan yawned. “Can we just… stay like this awhile?”

He cradled her close and stroked her hair out of her face before kissing her deeply, but gently. “Of course, mi amore. Rest. We’ve got you.”

Megan slowly relaxed in his arms and he watched as she fell back asleep. He smiled a little, but didn’t dare move for fear of her waking back up. One glance at the close on what used to be his nightstand and was now Rex’s, showed that it wouldn’t be long before she woke up anyway. Better that she get all the sleep she could.

A few hours later, Rex nudged Hank again before going to the door. This time, he did need out. “Alright buddy, I’m coming.” He tried to disentangle himself from Megan, but she woke up. “Easy, mi princessa. Just taking Rex out. Go back to sleep,” he tried.

Megan whined and stretched before sitting up. “‘Kay. Let’s go.” SHe slid out of bed slowly and slipped her feet into the flip flops he bought her for the beach.

He chuckled and stood to put on his slides while she clipped the leash to Rex’s collar.

They took him out and let him do his business before heading back inside. The coffee shop was just opening in the lobby as they passed it, Megan slowed down. “Want a cup? Papa and the tíos won’t be up yet.”

Hank smiled. “Sure, mi reina. Let’s get a cup. We can charge it to the room.”

They went to the counter and Hank ordered for them. Black coffee for him. Coffee with cream and three sugars for Megan.

“And - a puppichino for the puppy dog…” the female barista said with a wink.

Megan giggled and held the cup of whipped cream down for Rex. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!”

They took their coffee and walked back to the suite. It was early. Very early. The sun hadn’t started to rise quite yet. Megan found a door off the common room that led to a balcony overlooking the desert and took Rex out there. Hank detoured to their room to pull the comforter off the bed. He joined Megan on the balcony and wrapped her gently in the comforter before standing behind her. He held her back against his chest and kissed her temple as they watched the sun begin to rise.

“A new day,” she said.

He smiled. “A new day, mi amore. Today, you start something new. Are you anxious?”

“A little. This helps.” She leaned back against him a little more.

“Good. It’s supposed to.” He kissed her temple again. “Nothing has to change, mi amore. Not with the club. Not with the family. All this does is mean we can stick closer together. You can come on runs. Know everything and be right with us no matter what, and no one can say shit. Not Galindo, not the Irish, not anyone.” He rocked them gently back and forth. “That’s all any of this has to mean, baby. I can handle everything else when it comes down to it.”

“And if I want it to be more?” Megan asked. “If I want to help you, help the club?”

“Then you do, mi reina. But only on your own terms. Your papa and I will make sure of that. Everything is on your terms.” He nuzzled her ear and neck. “I promise you.”

“I trust you.” She tugged his hand inside the blanket he had wrapped around her and placed it against her skin where her tank top had ridden up above her sweats. 

“Good girl.” He kissed her neck gently and pressed her closer. “You look absolutely beautiful right now, Princessa. You have no idea.” He pressed himself against her back. “I love you, mi reina.”

Megan sucked in a breath and turned her head to meet his eyes. “Hank?”

“Yes, mi amore. Yes. I said it. I love you.” He leaned his forehead against hers.

Megan’s eyes teared and she kissed him softly. “I love you too. So much.”

He smiled and kissed her back. He let her turn into him so that she was facing him and kissed her again, sliding an arm around her waist and holding her as tight as her cast and sling allowed. His other hand cradled her neck and face, guiding her to kiss him deeper.

When he sensed her getting short of breath, he guided his kisses across her jaw and down her neck to nibble and gently suck a mark on her neck where it met her good shoulder as she moaned softly in his ear.

He chuckled and nudged her chin up with his nose so he could press more kisses there. “That’a girl,” he whispered as he gently nibbled under her ear. He felt her nails against the small of his back as she tried desperately to pull herself closer to him.

He walked himself backwards, tugging her along, to sit on the patio couch, pulling her to sit astride him. He kissed her again and felt her hops press into his, making his breath catch.

The rising sun highlighted her dark hair and as the blanket fell, he caught glimpses of her skin through her thin white tank top. The yellowing bruises made him pause.

Megan moaned softly again and it snapped him back to the pleasant feeling of the woman he loved on top of him. His hands shift to her hips, pressing her tight against his own, but allowing her to move at her own pace as she rocked against him. He stoked the skin over her low slung sweats with his thumbs encouragingly. “Good girl, mi Princessa.” He kissed her deeply again as her hand ran through his hair to cup the back of his neck as her hips rocked.

Megan whimpered a moan, causing him to groan into the kisses. One of his hands shifted to her lower back under her clothes to guide her motions and support ehr as her back arched. He kissed down her neck again to place wet kisses across her cleavage. “Mmm. That’a girl. Does that feel good, Princessa?” He chuckled against her skin as she nodded, too breathless to speak. “Good.” He sucked another mark at the top of her breast as he guided her rock against him a little harder and faster. She moaned and threw her head back at the increase in pressure. “There you go, amore. Are you close?” He lowered his head to suck gently at a hardened nipple through her shirt.

Megan whined softly and Hank took that as the affirmative. He smiled up at her and nipped gently at her bottom lip. “Let go for me, mi reina. I’ve got you.” She gasped softly and quivered against him as he helped her rock through her pleasure. He watched her face and slowed the motion to pull her against his bare chest. “Shhh,” he whispered. He stroked soothing motions down her spine as she shuddered her way through the come down. “Good girl.” He buried his face in her neck and breathed her in.

Once her breathing evened out, he pulled the blanket back up to cover her against his chest. She nuzzled close, kissing his skin and he grinned at how boneless she was against him. “You okay, mi princessa?” he asked quietly, continuing to stroke her back. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Megan giggled a little. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re still hard.” She looked up at him from her spot on his chest and stroked a hand down his bare side.

He smiled and shifted to kiss her nose. “I’m not the one with broken bones, mi amore. I’m fine. I can wait.” He kissed her softly.

Her eyes closed at his gentle kiss. “Mmm. I’m perfect,” she whispered, keeping her eyes shut and resting against him.

“Good. Let’s get showered and changed. The others will be up soon, and you need to eat.” He stood carefully, wrapping her legs around him and carrying her to the bathroom in their room.

After quick showers for both of them, Hank dressed himself for the meeting with Galindo in jeans and a t-shirt with his green and black plaid over it. He grinned as he realized the shirt smelled like Megan from when she borrowed it.

Megan was digging through her duffle. “What should I wear? I know this meeting is important to the club, but a dress doesn’t feel appropriate for what we’re trying to introduce me as.” She looked up at him.

“Well, you’ll be wearing your kutte for one. We want him to get used to seeing you in it. Think of it as a uniform,” Hank said.

Megan nodded. “The black jeans then.” She pulled them out. Her hand lingered on Hank’s soft colors a moment.

“You can wear them, mi reina,” he said with a smile as he buttoned his cuffs. “I love it when you do.”

She smiled back. “Me too, but it might not look good if we’re establishing me as an officer in my own right. Especially since we don’t want anyone thinking I slept my way in. You can’t take Galindo to the ring.”

Hank chuckled but nodded. “True enough, but I’d sure try if he said something.”

She pulled out another plain black t-shirt and added it to her pile to change into. She finished it off with her new boots from Taza. Hank helped her to unwrap her towel and dress carefully before gathering her blank kutte with a smile. Megan grabbed her hair stuff and they went out to the common room where everyone else was gathering for breakfast.

As morning greetings were exchanged, a cart with breakfast came to the door pushed by Adam, himself. Taza went to speak with him.

Megan sat down her hair bag and waited patiently. Creeper gently touched her elbow. “Need help, Little Princess?”

Megan smiled at him. “Maybe a little. Hard to braid with a busted arm.”

“Can I try? I’ve been practicing since your pop showed me how,” he asked. “I know it’s something special you two do, but -”

Megan smiled at the bald man brightly, “Sure Creep. Thanks.”

He grinned and stood behind her. “I’m not great yet, but let’s see what I can do.” He carefully divided her hair and managed a single french braid. It was a little lopsided and not very tight, but he managed it.

Hank watched with a soft smile as Megan let Creeper braid her hair. When the bald man tied it off triumphantly, he checked Megan’s hair bag. “Here, Creep. Tuck this in at the top.” He handed him one of the combs Diana had gifted Megan that she had yet to wear. It was silver filigree. 

Creeper gently slid the comb in with a smile of triumph. “There ya go, Little Princess.”

Megan grinned. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Marcus chuckled and brought Megan a cup of coffee. “Damn, Poquito. Who knew bikers could braid.”

“Ah, gimme time. I’ll get better at it,” Creeper said with a laugh.

Taza chuckled as well as he brought Megan a plate. “Pretty good for a first try, brother.”

“Figured if I fucked it up, at least you could fix it, man.”

“True enough. Looks good though.” Taza sat the plate down in front of Megan. “Here, Chica. Adam remembered about the pineapple. There’s also almond butter for your toast if you want it.”

Megan’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Hank took that as his que and brought it along with his own plate and the honey. “Here you go, Princessa.”

“Thank you!” Megan said, smiling up at him before carefully spreading a little on her toast.

All of the men gathered around eating breakfast casually and talking. Most of them were planning to hit the casino while the others went to the bike shop. Coco claimed EZ for the day and Megan watched as Angel and Gilly sighed before declaring that they’d stick close too. Riz and the Oakland boys also planned to stay, leaving Creeper to go along this time with Megan, Hank, Taza and her padrinos.

“We’re just picking up the patches, right?” Megan asked seriously.

“Maybe a few other things, Chica,” Taza said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes. “There are TWO vehicles out there loaded down with ‘other things’, Papa…”

Bishop snorted at the sass. “Maybe so, Poquito, but the van isn’t full yet.”

The other men laughed. 

Marcus smiled at her from across the table. “Relax, Poquito. We’ll just look for things you might like to customize your new rides, alright? Besides, last time I was there, there was a whole section for dogs. We can pick some things out for Rex.”

That made Megan pause as she glanced at her big dog, who was contentedly eating in the corner. “Well… he does need some things…”

Bishop grinned. “That’a girl, Poquito.”

After breakfast, Megan went to gather the rest of her things. She didn’t even flinch at leaving the room where her father and Hank were. She brought out both holsters and her new knife. She debated the thigh bag, but decided against it for the day since they would only leave the casino to go to the bike shop.

Hank grinned as he saw her carrying things. “Need some help, mi princessa?”

“Please. If I’m going to do this shit, it won’t be unarmed.” She smiled sheepishly.

“Too right, ma,” Coco said as he came out of his room shrugging on his own kutte. “Anyone bring her kevlar?”

All the men shook their heads.

Coco looked at Bishop. “Prez - I don’t like it.”

Marcus held up a pacifying hand. “I’ve got Marco on it. There’s some that are more concealable than our usual and he’s gonna get it before the meeting. It’ll be lighter on her too.”

Bishop gestured at Coco. “See. We’ve got her covered.”

Megan shook her head. “Gonna bubblewrap me while you’re at it?”

Hank grinned as he started threading her knife sheath on her belt for her. He was sure to do it so the hilt was reachable with her left hand. He ducked his head and chuckled as some of the men stared at her in shock.

Coco shrugged. “Think it’ll help?”

José snorted into his coffee as he laughed.

Megan grinned. “Probably not.”

Taza passed by as he went to retrieve his own kutte and jacket and dropped a kiss on her hair. “That’a girl,” he said as he went.

Marco chuckled and shook his head. “Princessa’s got sass this morning.”

Hank just grinned as he stood from fastening her ankle holster. “Told you. You should see her behind a bar.”

Megan giggled.

“Alright, mi amore. Ready for your shoulder rig?” Hank asked, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck.

Megan took a deep breath and nodded.

Hank unstrapped her sling while she supported ehr arm. Then he carefully maneuvered the holster over her cast and situated it before strapping her sling back into place.

“Yo... Don’t that hurt?” Gilly asked.

Hank quickly got the other shoulder on her and adjusted buckles while Megan breathed through the pain.

Once he was done, Megan smiled tightly. “Not so much once it’s on. This rig distributes the weight more towards my back than my collar bone. Besides- it’s easier for me to draw left-handed this way.”

Gilly winced. “Why not the waist holster until you heal?”

Megan shrugged her good shoulder. “The weight isn’t bad. I promise. And this is more concealable. Plus, I kept dropping my gun drawing from the waist with my left.”

Gilly shook his head. “If this wasn’t with Galindo, I’d say stick to the pee shooter.” He pointed at her ankle. “But I know you’d rather your 9.”

Hank frowned at Gilly. “She knows what she’s doing, man.” He looked Megan over. “All good, Princessa? Need adjusted anywhere?”

Megan smiled up at him. “All good, but I forgot something to cover my holster…”

“I can get something if you want to harness Rex, mi amore. Flannel or hoody?” Hank asked.

“Flannel please. Doesn’t matter which one,” she said with a smile as she popped up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

“Alright. Be right back.” Hank went to find her a flannel in their room.

Megan called Rex over and got him to step into his harness before looking at Gilly. “He’s not wrong. You’re going to have to trust that I know what I’m doing at some point, Gilly. Best to start with me knowing my own limits.” She clipped the harness closed and petted Rex gently. “My body. My choice.”

Gilly shrugged uncomfortably and glanced around before realizing that she’d said it quiet enough not to draw attention from the other men in the room. “I know. Sorry, Princessa. I just don’t like to think you’re in pain.”

Megan nodded. “I understand, but Gilly…” she looked him straight in the eyes. “Not your girl. Not your choice.”

He winced and nodded. “Alright, Princessa. I get the picture.”

“Good.” She stood and patted his shoulder as Hank returned with a dark green flannel.

“Here, Princessa. Let’s get this on you.”

Taglist:

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[portaltothevoid]

For Whom the Bell Tolls - Chapter Eleven - Leather and Lace

Pairing: Eddie Munson x OFC (Kat Ramsay), sequel to Foolin’

Summary: Day One on the run. Kat and Eddie aren’t sure what to do next. They fight about it.

Warnings: established relationship, major characters dealing with trauma, angst,

Word count: 3.5k

Chapter song: Leather and Lace by Stevie Nicks feat. Don Henley

A/N: This has taken way too long to post. Hopefully I still have a couple readers… Things have just been so hectic! If you’re sticking around, I appreciate you immensely. Comments, tags, and reblogs never go unnoticed! Thanks for bearing with me.

Tag list: @munchabunch @madaboutmunson @michele131 @riffcrusader @prettyboyeddiemunson @mickkmaiden333​

She was running. The house seemed familiar, but she knew she'd never actually been here. She went through a dining room, filled with flies and rotted food. Spiders were crawling everywhere. Everything about this place was filled with decay and despair. Eventually she found the entryway, even though it was boarded up, there was a girl standing in front of it, facing it. She was looking out the cracks between the boards.

It was then that Kat registered the cheerleading uniform. “Chrissy! Chrissy!” she called out as she rushed towards her.

Chrissy didn’t budge. She stayed completely still. Until Kat took her by the shoulders and turned her around. Kat gasped at the sight of her, immediately taking her hands off of her and a step back. Her eyes were gone, blood-stained tears stuck to her cheeks. Slowly she started walking towards Kat, who kept inching backwards.

“Kat? Is that you? Kat, help me! I can’t see anything. Where are you? Help me!” she cried out, reaching for her.

Kat could only keep taking a step backward everytime Chrissy stepped forward. Her voice was frantic, but her body language was eerily still. She knew something wasn’t right; this wasn’t Chrissy. 

And then her bones started to break.

She started crawling towards Kat in the most inhuman way. Moving one distorted limb in front of the other. Slowly inching forward.

“You were supposed to save me, Kat. You were supposed to save me.” Her voice became distorted, guttural, almost gravelly. “I won’t be the only one. You can’t save us. We are meant to join him.” She crawled up the wall, cracking her neck so she could look down at Kat. “You could join us, too. There’s no pain. We see everything. We see through his eyes. You can’t run from us. Join us.”

Kat turned to try to run, to try to find a way out. But she collided with a figure. Then she was frozen in place. She couldn’t even scream.

“You cannot defeat me. You cannot stop me. End your suffering, Katrina.” The monster started to put its long, taloned finger up to stroke Kat’s cheek. “Join me… there is still time… Join me…” It lowered its finger. It was centimeters from touching Kat.

“NOOO!” she screamed when she found her voice. As she threw her head back, she was falling. Falling through blackness. 

– – – – – – – – – –

Eddie had woken up to the sound of Kat whimpering in her sleep. He knew a full night’s rest was out of the question and any amount of sleep was better than nothing. Rolling on his side, he faced her to make sure he was able to wake her up if the dream got too intense. Even though she had fallen silent for some time after that, Eddie had proven himself right.

She started mumbling, but it was when she started jolting he knew this was a nightmare. He tried to call her name. He gently tried to shake her. She started thrashing her arms, which Eddie managed to dodge. 

“Nooo!” she yelled. Eddie then grabbed her shoulders to really shake her awake and repeatedly called her name.

She startled herself awake and immediately sat up, almost tossing Eddie to the side in the process. Her breathing was heavy and labored, as if she really had been running for her life. She looked around the room in horror and finally started to realize she was safe. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she rested her elbows on them as she put her head in her hands. Her eyes clenched shut as she shook her head. Eddie hesitantly placed a hand on her back, ready to withdraw it in case physical contact was the last thing she wanted right now.

“What happened? What’d you see?” he whispered.

“I saw her. I saw her without her eyes. She– she said how I was supposed to save her. And– and there will be others. Eddie, there’s going to be others. And they… They said I won’t be able to stop him and… Her bones broke again. I had to see it all again. It was so real… and she crawled up the wall? Then– then he was there. Almost touched me. That’s when I was… when I was able to scream. And I woke up and…” She looked at Eddie with tears in her eyes. “What if it’s true? What if there’ll be others? I can’t…” Finally, everything caught up with her. It was her turn now to break down. Eddie scooped her up in his arms, and like she had done with him hours prior, he comforted her and let it run its course.

– – – – – – – – – 

The sun soon rose over Lover’s Lake. They had migrated to the living room area, where they sat listening to the radio. Eddie tried to get the TV signal to come in, but Kat reminded him of what would most likely make the morning news. It would be one thing to hear snippets over the radio. It would be another to actually see the report, to see his home…

Somehow Eddie fell asleep again on the couch. Kat was absentmindedly tidying up the place. She had to keep busy doing something to keep from bursting at the seams from anxiety. Finally, her stomach started to grumble. 

She searched through the cupboards and soon found two instant Cup of Noodles. Kat shrugged, at least it was something. She tested the tap water, which seemed fine. Next, she found a pan and dumped everything into it and waited for it to cook. Usually, this was a no-brainer as they would just go in the microwave, but this place had been unoccupied for months. So the stovetop it was. Even still, within minutes, Kat had the food ready. 

The smell had woken Eddie up and he wandered into the kitchen. Together, they ate while looking out over the lake. An occasional boat passed by, but there weren't many.

“We gotta lay low so nobody sees us. You know how those guys going out for their morning fishing trip would love to gossip and say they saw something out of the ordinary here,” Kat commented. Eddie just nodded. “We… we really should come up with some sort of plan,” she added quietly.

Eddie sighed. “Yeah, but Kat, you don’t know the people of this town like I do. They will hunt me… us down until they find us. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I can hide us for a while. Even if they come looking, they won’t see us.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, furrowing his brow.

“I can basically make us invisible, so no one sees us.”

“Okay… but what do we do when we run out of food?”

“Well… we take a chance and you lay low while I sneak out and do a food run. Or… I just call my uncle… I’m not– Look, they know about the weird shit that happens in this town. They know about me. If I let him know that it’s all connected, then he can get whatever reinforcements he has down here. Maybe he knows where the other girl from the lab is.”

“Okay, but then we have to get to a pay phone or something. And the nearest one is… probably five miles out by the gas station. We can’t drive, can we? Can you cloak the van or do whatever you do?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. It might be easier on foot.”

“Kat, you can’t use up that kind of energy. It’ll knock you on your ass.”

“Okay, so we do it at three am? And hope that no one sees us and we make it back in time?”

“Fuck!” Eddie slammed his hands down on the table.

“Look, we’re just gonna have to take risks here. I think it’s our only option.”

“So what happens after you make the call?”

“We hightail it back here and we wait.”

“We… wait?” he repeated with an incredulous look taking over his features.

“Yeah, ‘til someone comes… ‘til the cavalry comes? I don’t know! Maybe they’ll put us in witness protection or some shit.” 

Eddie chewed on the inside of his lip and nodded. He knew it was either that or wait until someone found them and turned them in for a bounty. Reaching out to any of his friends or Uncle wasn’t even an option he was going to put on the table. No way in hell would he put anyone else he cared about at risk. “Tonight. We do this tonight. But until then, you better rest, Ramsay. You need to be at full power.”

Kat simply nodded. “Tonight,” she echoed as she stared out into the lake. Her thoughts drifted to the fear that rest brought her. Fear of her nightmares. Fear she’d see him again. Fear she’d relive the past day’s events. “I’ll rest if I can,” she added with a scoff.

Before Eddie could offer any words of comfort, he was cut off by an alert going off on the radio. “We interrupt to bring breaking news…” Kat quickly looked at it and shut it off with a swift shake of her head.

She looked Eddie right in the eye. “Tonight,” she echoed once more with a stern nod.

As the day inched closer to night, they desperately tried to keep themselves entertained. The radio provided solace for only so long as Kat had to change it immediately whenever a “breaking news” alert came through. It was better that they didn’t know, at least not right now. 

After Eddie found his copy of Lord of the Rings he’d left there ages ago, he did a dramatic reading for Kat, until she was relaxed enough where her body allowed her to fall into a dreamless sleep. Even that was short lived, because as Eddie rummaged through the cabinets for some sort of snack, he managed to knock half the contents of it onto the ground. Kat jumped up searching for Eddie and the source of the noise, only to look over and find his wide, guilty, puppy-dog eyes staring at her. She couldn’t help but laugh at him and call him a klutz. 

Shortly thereafter, Kat poked around and found a deck of playing cards. After almost all stations were playing music and going about business as usual, they tried their luck with the radio again. She had to do something to try and quell the searing ache that was creeping back into her head. She knew it could only mean one thing, but as helpless as she felt already, she did her best to ignore it.

“Do you have any fours?” Kat asked Eddie, peering over her own hand of cards.

Eddie smirked behind his own, “Go fish,” he quipped.

“Come on, man, help me out here!” she sighed as she drew another card.

Just then, as if on cue to ruin the moment, the news bulletin alert started. Kat’s eyes clouded with anger and she snapped the radio shut with a look, throwing her cards onto the table.

“I can’t fucking take this anymore. I’m going to get some tapes from the van,” she stated as she stood up.

“What? Kat, no. You can't. It– it's still light outside,” Eddie said, alarmed by her sudden outburst.

“Eddie, no one is going to see me. How many times do I have to tell you that?” she snapped.

“Just stay, I’ll go. I’ve got this.” He got up and shuffled towards the door trying to beat her there, but she just froze in her tracks.

“Are you serious?” she scoffed. “You can’t even silently look through a cupboard without causing commotion!” 

Eddie squinted his eyes. “I can do this. I’m well aware way more is at stake the second I step one foot outside of this house. I’ll be careful.”

“Getting tapes from the van isn’t going to magically give you some heroic redemption. I can do this without literally being seen.”

“But–” he started to say as he stepped forward.

“No,” she said firmly, pushing him back towards the couch with a wave of her hand. He stared up at her, shocked. Never had used her powers on him like this. She never did it with force or out of anger. That was enough to shut him up. “If you want to help, then watch my back through the window.”

He tried to get up, but couldn’t. It was like his body was weighed down with unseen bricks. “Can’t really do that if I’m glued to the fucking couch,” he frustratedly mused through gritted teeth.

As soon as the door shut, he was able to leap off the couch and peered through the curtains. He had a clear shot of where he had tucked the van away, but Kat was nowhere to be found. 

“What the… holy shit,” he whispered as he saw the trees closest to the van’s door shake, just a little as it quickly opened and closed. He moved to the other window to see if he could see her from a different angle. When the front door opened, he let out a yelp.

“I told you. No one was going to see me. That included you,” she said flatly as she set the tapes down in front of the radio, while wiping the small trickle of blood from under her nose.

“H-how did you…?”

“I don’t know,” she said as she looked through the pile of tapes she had grabbed. “I can manipulate the energy around me, I guess. Make it so thick that it’s like I disappear. Or maybe I just trick people’s minds. Never really knew how I did it, just that I could,” she shrugged.

“Oh, so it’s not a new, uh, ability?”

“Nope. There was a lot I blocked out, but as soon as I remembered everything from the Dunk Tank sessions, it was like I’d never forgotten.” Having selected a tape, she placed it in the tape deck, and pressed play. “Figured this was fitting,” she wryly laughed as Ozzy’s Diary of a Madman album played.

Eddie returned her sentiment with a wry laugh of his own. “Yeah, can’t say you’re wrong there… but–”

“But what? Where am I wrong? Hm?” Kat challenged.

“U-uh… I–” he stuttered.

“Am I wrong by trying to get your stubborn ass to let me handle things? Am I wrong for taking the reins here?”

“You act like I’m useless! You act like I can’t contribute shit to this!”

“That is not how I’m acting at all!”

“It is! You aren’t the only one who’s been through some shit in the past twenty-four hours, okay? I mean, Jesus Christ, my father thought bonding time was stealing cars for the goddamn chop shop! It wouldn’t kill you to let people help you once in a while, you know,” he huffed.

“Excuse me for being overly cautious while we’re the prime suspects for a gruesome homicide! Eddie, don’t you understand I’m trying to protect you?”

“Well, then fucking say that!”

“I just fucking did!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, your sudden Jedi mind powers gluing me to the couch didn’t spell ‘protection.’” 

“Eddie, cops or not, you really don’t have any idea what we’re really up against. I’ve seen this shit before. Hell, I’ve battled this shit before. I’m not gonna let you stand in the way of me protecting you.”

“Excuse me for not having anyone die like that in front of me before. I didn’t know that made me incapable of, at least, I don’t know, trying to take some weight off your shoulders. Even if it was just to do something as stupid and as simple as grabbing some tapes. You act like this– this boogeyman is just going to pop up outta nowhere and attack–”

“Because he very well could! He fucking did to Chrissy! How do I know he isn’t going to do that to you, huh? I have to–”

“Protect me, yeah, yeah, I got it. Protect me as if I can’t even protect myself,” Eddie scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

“Because you can’t. Not against him. And I’ll be fucking damned if I let anything happen to you.”

“Why are you so hellbent on–?”

“Because I promised her!” Kat yelled. “I promised her nothing would happen to her and she’s dead. I watched her fucking die. In some dream world and the real one. I was right there. I should have stopped him. I could have tried. But I ran.” Abruptly, she turned away from Eddie hiding her face.

“And how do you think I feel?” He understood. He knew exactly the inner turmoil she was feeling, because he was feeling the same way. It was eating him alive inside that he couldn’t do anything to help either of them, but he was so riled up from fear, grief, and stress, being gentle with his words wasn’t an option at that moment. “I’ve had to watch you suffer for… for weeks now. There wasn’t a goddamn thing I could do about it. Hell, half the time I barely knew what was even going on! I just had to stand there and watch. Just stand there and be useless or in the way. Just completely helpless and absolutely fucking terrified. So yeah, maybe I wanted to do this one simple and stupid thing for you, so I could feel like… like I’m fucking good for something for once.” 

Her eyes welled up with tears again. Her confession of her own thoughts that were swirling around in her mind on a constant loop, and having said that outloud, it was like that made everything real. Her fears, her failures were solidified with her admission of her true feelings. Amongst all that, now she had Eddie’s confession thrown into her lap. 

Keeping her head above water was her main priority as of late. She knew keeping things from him had only made it that much harder. She knew he was also struggling. But she was only one person. She tried to tell him everything she could, but unless someone was going through exactly what she was, she knew they could never really grasp what it was like. Despite having no idea what was happening to her, or to Chrissy, the thought of protecting Eddie was always etched into the back of her mind. There was only so much she could do.

“You have been the only thing getting me through all of this. You’re the only one who I could let my guard down with. There's just so much– I just don’t know how to explain it all so you understand,” she said with her voice breaking. As tears began to fall, she sat down, tugging his hand so he was sitting right next to her and looked him in the eyes. Her volume dropped just above a whisper, “I can’t let anything happen to you. I can’t lose you.”

Immediately he enclosed the space between them, throwing his arm around her shoulders and the other one cupped her head as he pulled her close to him. “You won’t. Nothin’s gonna happen to me, okay?” he whispered. “I just… I just wish there was something, anything I could do to protect you.”

Kat pushed herself back so she could look at him. “You listen to me, Munson, and this better sink in this time.” She started to poke him in the chest as if to physically drive her point into him, “Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. I wouldn’t have had the strength to go through retracing my memories, relearning my abilities, letting people in if it weren’t for you.”

As Kat tried to burn her affection into Eddie’s eyes, their smoldering look was interrupted as she grabbed on to Eddie and cried out in pain. “Kat! Kat, what’s wrong?!”

“My– my head. Fuck. The music… turn up the music.”

After Eddie guided her out of his arms as he went to turn up the radio. “Little Dolls” filled the room. It only marginally reduced Kat’s pain. “It’s happening again. He’s doing it again. Ahhh!” she gasped as she curled up into a ball.

A scene of a deserted road filled her mind. Flashes of a geeky looking boy broke through. He looked lost, terrified. Then flashes of him at a fiery car wreck filtered through. And lastly… the final layer was that thing. Kat couldn’t hear much, just quick snippets. She was only getting glimpses. When his grotesque hand started reaching for the boy, Kat tightened her vice grip on Eddie’s sleeves. “No, no, no, no,” she repeated, shaking her head. She described to Eddie what she was seeing. He was terrified. The only thing he could do was hold her and he held her as tightly as he could.

And as quickly as it came about, everything stopped. 

She loosened her grip on Eddie and sat up beside him. “Eddie…” she started to speak, but the look of fear clouding her face spoke for her.

“There’s gotta be something we can do…”

“We need to call my uncle. Like, right now.”

He nodded as he got up. He started to gather some things they might need, Kat following suit. Suddenly, they both froze. Slowly they met each other’s gaze. Instinctively, Kat grabbed Eddie’s hand. “Do not say a word,” she warned.

Swiftly, stealthily, they moved as a car slowly crept down the driveway.

previous chapter | next chapter

[the-royal-blue-network]

Mikey was startled awake around eleven o’clock in the morning by the sound of his sister screaming bloody murder. Jumping up from the couch, he quickly grabbed the poker from the fireplace and rushed to his sister’s room. 

In the room Paula thrashed around in the covers; a thick layer of sweat coding her entire body.

“Just give him one more week.” She pleaded her arms flailing around.

“Paula!” Mikey yelled.

Still lost in dreamland, or more accurately nightmare land, Paula continued thrashing around. 

Realizing that he probably wouldn’t be able to get threw to her, Mikey got onto the bed and pinned her down. Hopefully restraining her would not only keep her from hurting him or herself, but maybe it would wake her as well. And sure enough, after a few more minutes of trying to fight him off, Paula’s eyes shot open as she gasped for air.

“It’s okay. You were just having a bad dream.” Mikey said.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Mikey pulled his sister into a seated position and into a hug.

Paula wasn’t used to this. Her father wasn’t big on hugs, and with him being the only family she’d ever really been close to, she never grew up receiving hugs. So when her baby brother flung his arms around her, hugging her close, Paula didn’t know what to do. 

“Oh, sorry.” Mikey said, slowly pulling back.

“No, it’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting that. Dad was never really a hugger.” Paula said.

Mikey scratched the back of his head.

“Speaking of dad, we should probably get going.” Mikey said, causing Paula to nod.

…

“You nervous?” Paula asked as she pulled into the drive-thru of a Dunkin Donuts. 

“Yes and no. If dad values family as much as he says he does then he’ll be happy to see me. But does he trust me?” Mikey said.

That question had been in the back of Mikey’s mind since he left his mother’s house the night of his eighteenth birthday. He would hate to have come all this way only for his father to turn him away.

“Like I said last night, or this morning rather, dad doesn’t blame you. You were a baby.” Paula pointed out.

Driving forward, Paula picked up the coffees and donuts before they made their way to the safe house. Making her way around back, Paula was relieved to see only one SUV parked outside; that meant fewer men today. Fewer men were exactly what she and Mikey needed. 

Hopping out of the car, the siblings made their way inside. Using the private elevator, reserved for Pauly and his closest of men, Paula and Mikey made their way up to the top floor. The elevator led right to Pauly's office so the siblings didn’t have to worry about being seen by the others before they even had a chance to see their father.

Lucky for them, today was one of the few days Pauly was actually all alone. Usually Simon or one of Pauly's other men were sitting across from him, chatting him up while he worked.

“Hey kiddo how’d you-” Pauly’s sentence died on his tongue as he turned around and came face to face with the one person he thought he’d never see again. 

Pauly froze for a moment, causing Paula to look back and forth between her father and brother confused.

“Why’s he looking at you like this is the first time he’s seen you? Didn’t he give you the code?” Paula said looking back and forth between her brother and father.

“Actually I got it from Gus.” Mikey said sheepishly.

Paula whipped around and shot daggers at her father.

“You gave Gus the code!” Paula yelled.

Unlike her father, Paula liked to keep a respectable distance between herself and the men she worked with. Too close and they started acting funny.

“Relax, you’re gonna change it tomorrow anyway!” Pauly said.

Though this was true Paula hoped her father wouldn’t make this a habit. The list of men she could trust in this city was already short as it is; she would hate to have to remove her own father from it.

“Next time I’ll let you know before I give it out.” Pauly said holding his hands up.

Paula nodded sharply.

“Thank you.” She said.

Now that that was all squared away, Pauly turned his attention to his son.

“Mikey!” He said holding his arms out.

Mikey stepped forward, allowing his father to grip his face.

Leaning in, Pauly pressed a kiss to both of his son’s cheeks before standing back to really take him in.

“Look at you! You’re a big fucking man now!” Paul said, tears starting to form in his eyes.

For months after Mikey and Paula’s mom took Mikey and up and left him, all Pauly did was cry his eyes out. In the mornings before he started his days, anytime he got a moment to himself, and late at night after he put Paula to bed, all Pauly did was cry. He’d lost the one thing that was most important to him, his family; well at least to third of it anyways. After those few months, Pauly reminded himself that he still had a daughter to look after and provide for. So Pauly dried his eyes and kept it moving. Soon the pain of his wife’s betrayal became dull and didn’t affect him as much, but not a day went by when he didn’t think about his baby boy.

“I’m sorry I never looked for you.” Pauly said with watery eyes.

“It’s not like you could have called the cops.” Mikey joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

Pauly smiled at how understanding his son was. But that still didn’t mean he didn’t feel bad.

“Come sit. Tell me everything. How long are you in town for? Are you married? Any kids?” Pauly asked as he closed the door and headed to his seat.

Mikey laughed.

“No kids and no spouse. I do have my eye on this boy though.” Mikey said timidly.

The other night Paula and Mikey had talked extensively about how her coming out to their dad went. To Pauly sexual orientation didn’t matter, all he wanted were healthy and happy kids.

Leaning back in his chair, Pauly’s face fell, causing Mikey’s stomach to twist.

“A boy?” Pauly asked slowly.

Mikey swallowed hard.

“Son that’ll get you put in jail.” Pauly said with a serious face.

Mikey rolled his eyes as his father and sister began to laugh.

“I hate you.” Mikey said with a laugh.

Paula order them a late breakfast while Mikey caught his father up to speed on his life. Taking his sister’s advice, Mikey skipped over much of the abuse he suffered at the hands of their mother and her friends. Telling their father about it would only send him out on a hunt for heads. 

Pauly called his secretary and informed her that he’d be spending the day with his children, and after lunch Pauly, Mikey, and Paula went for a drive where Pauly talked to Mikey about the family business. 

Wanna Read More LGBT Stories? Click HERE and Visit The Royal Blue Network Today!

[herzblutballade]

Whumpuary Day 1: Nightmares

Language: English Genre: whump just a little bit of hurt and a whole lot of comfort Characters: my OC Cae & @marmeltier's OC Cynthia

CN: Nightmares, disordered sleep, unhealthy relationship with sleep, mentions of hypothetical threat/danger/harm/fight, mention of character being turned into a vampire.

Author's Note: Yeah, let's not even pretend, this turned out very fluffy, not whumpy at all. No regrets tho, I got to write my precious bbys pre-relationship & broke my own heart in the process, 11/10 would do again

***

When the screaming started, Caedes had assumed the worst — and rushed over immediately. He was careful to move as quickly as possible without making a sound, his heart pounding vigorously as he was sneaking through his own house. There’s barely any distance between his bedroom and the guest room, but with Cynthia’s agonizing screams ringing in his ears, it felt like an eternity until he finally reached her.

But when he opened the door and peeked inside, there was nothing — no intruder, no attacker, no tangible danger. Just Cynthia thrashing around in the guest bed, screaming her lungs out.

It’s only now that he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, close enough to make sure she is truly unharmed, that his heartbeat is beginning to resume its usual rhythm. »Cindy?«, he asks, voice lowered, gently shaking her shoulder in an attempt to wake her from her troubled sleep. »Hey, Cyn.«

At first, she doesn’t wake, doesn’t answer, just twitches and whimpers in her sleep. Just when he’s about to raise his voice again, louder this time, she jolts awake, sitting up straight, scanning the room with eyes wide open, a look of absolute terror on her face.

»Hey. It’s okay.« He desperately wants to soothe her, but doesn’t know how, doesn’t dare to initiate any more touch, afraid of startling her even more. So he just raises his hands in a typical gesture of surrender, trying to demonstrate that he’s not here to harm her in any way. »It’s just me. You’re awake now. You’re safe.«

She’s still breathing heavily when her gaze finally fixes on him, and it takes a long moment until she seems to recognize him; until she realizes where she is. She blinks at him, lips parted slightly, no words coming out.

»You were screaming«, he explains, suddenly feeling a bit silly for showing up in her room with a sheathed knife on his belt, ready to fight who- or whatever was threatening his best friend. »I thought …« His words trail off and he shrugs, smiling apologetically.

»Nightmares«, Cynthia sighs, »just those damn nightmares again. I …« She takes a deep breath and buries her face in her hands, rubbing her eyes as if to clear the remnants of her bad dreams away. »Sorry, I forgot to warn you before staying over. Peaceful sleep is … not really a thing for me.«

»It’s okay. Now I know«, he replies, mustering a half-smile. »Sounds kind of familiar, honestly.« In fact, he barely ever sleeps anymore now that his body has much less need for rest than a regular human’s; before he got turned, his sleep was terrible most nights, too, especially the dreams, even though he often couldn’t recall them clearly enough to write them down or tell anyone about them.

Cynthia looks at him for a long moment, as if pondering what to say or do.

»Want to stay up together?«, Cae suggests, his smile widening. »Until you feel a bit better, at least. How about a cup of tea? I’ll set up a kettle and try to think of a good distraction while we’re waiting for the water to boil.«

Although her eyes still have that haunted look to them, Cynthia’s lips now curve into a soft smile, too. »Yeah, I’d like that. Tea sounds nice.« As Cynthia crawls out from under her blanket, Caedes stands up from the bed and reaches his hand out to her, helping her to her feet as soon as she takes it. Before he can turn to leave the room, though, she suddenly catches him in a tight hug. She seems to hesitate for a split second before she adds: »Not being alone sounds nice, too.«

At first, the sudden closeness catches him by surprise, and he freezes mid-motion, unable to react, unsure how to react, but finally, he manages to wrap his arms around her, too, holding her close for a moment that seems to go on for so long he begins to wonder when the appropriate time to let go would be.

Hugging her just a little bit tighter, he lets himself enjoy being this close to her for one more cycle of breathing in and out. »Come on, let’s get you some tea«, he murmurs then, forcing himself to let go and lead the way to the kitchen.

Not being alone sounds nice, too. It’s true: When it’s the right person keeping you company, it absolutely does. Even — or especially — in the most vulnerable moments.

[koolkat9]

Whumptober 2022: Day 4

Prompt: NO.4 Dead on your Feet: Hidden Injury || Waking up Disoriented || Can’t Pass Out

Relationship: England + Canada

Rating: T

Word Count: 637

Stay With Me

Arthur tapped his foot impatiently. Matthew should have been back from his infiltration mission hours ago. But he wasn’t, which was why Arthur was wide awake, listening for any sound that would signal his return. He was starting to nod off when someone entered his dugout. Upon hearing the thumping, Arthur sprung up and reached for his gun. “Arthur, it's me,” the intruder whispered, “It’s Matthew.”

Arthur lowered his gun and sure enough, at the entrance stood Matthew. He was leaning heavily against the wall, clutching his side, but he was here. Arthur stumbled off his cot towards his ward. “Christ, what happened to you lad?” He asked as he looked Matthew over.

“I-I’m fine…Just a little flesh wound is all.”

Matthew tried to step forward but his legs buckled. Luckily, Arthur was there to catch him before he fell to the floor. He helped Matthew over to the cot and sat him down. Quickly he took off Matthew’s jacket and lifted his shirt. He found the boy’s side to be a bloody mess, literally. “Oh, God…” Arthur breathed out, “Did you walk all the way across No Man’s Land like this?”

Matthew looked away. “Maybe…”

“God damn it.”

Arthur rushed over to where he kept some spare medical supplies and grabbed some bandages and a cloth. He poured some water from his canteen and started cleaning the bullet wounds.

Matthew slumped forward, head resting on Arthur’s shoulder. “You’ve got to stay with me, poppet,” Arthur murmured.

“I’m…Fine…”

Arthur worked as quickly as he could, cleaning and bandaging the wounds and whispering for Matthew to stay awake.

“There,” He sighed, pulling back, and checking his work. They were a little sloppy, but they would do. “Matthew?”

“Th…Thank you…Dad…” Matthew's eyes fluttered closed and leaned against Arthur once more.

"Matt–" He sighed, hair carding through Matthew's matted tuffs. "Sleep well, love.

—

When Matthew came to, the whole room was spinning. When he tried to move there was a piercing pain in his side. He took in a sharp breath.

His heart was hammering in his chest, he couldn’t recall where he was, only that it was dark, cold, and the stench of death hung in the air. He wanted to scream and thrash and he couldn’t explain why. Nothing seemed right and he felt fear tearing at him from the inside.

“Oh!” A surprised voice came from across the room. The bed dipped under someone’s weight. Matthew tensed. “Are you awake dear?”

The voice was familiar, soft, warm. “Can you hear me Matthew?” they called.

A hand found its way onto his and gave it a squeeze. The young nation groaned.

“There you are. You’re going to be just fine, lad.”

“Dad?” Matthew rasped.

“Yes. Yes, I’m right here poppet.”

Matthew’s vision was blurry, but he could make out his guardian’s messy blond locks and bulky uniform that never fit him just right. Though fear still gnawed at him, knowing Arthur was there made it just a bit more bearable.

“You’ll be out of it for a little while, in pain, but you should be more or less well enough to be up and about by tomorrow or the next day,” Arthur explained.

Matthew nodded, though he still felt scared. For all their healing and revival abilities, getting injured and nearly killed never got easier. He weakly gripped at Arthur’s hand.

“Don’t worry Matthew. I’m not going anywhere.”

Matthew swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

Arthur’s thumb brushed against his wet cheek. Matthew hadn’t even realized he had been crying until now. “Shhh…Just rest. I’ll stay right here, I assure you.”

“O-Okay.”

“That’s a good lad.”

With Arthur by his side, Matthew let his heavy eyelids slip closed. It wasn’t long before sleep took him once more, Arthur softly humming to send him off peacefully.