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punkshort · 1 year ago

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somewhere to run | 6. the confession

Pairing: sheriff!Joel x f!reader

Chapter Summary: Joel finds out the truth and convinces you to press charges.

Chapter Warnings: language, angst, PTSD type symptoms, mutual pining, domestic violence and SA (discussed after the fact), mental and physical abuse, detailed conversations about DV and SA (I didn't get too descriptive about the SA but I do use the R word a couple times) please let me know if I missed anything because there is a lot going on here

WC: 9K

A/N: as the title implies, we are going to get more details about what happened to reader in this one so once again, please heed the warnings and don't read if you think it will be triggering for you. I tried not to be too graphic.

Series Masterlist

Joel could hardly sleep that night. Instead of going to the station, he headed home so he could be with Sarah. She wondered why he got home so early from his date, but he dodged the question and the two of them worked together in silence - Sarah on her homework, Joel on his incident report. When she asked him why he was working from home, he just shook his head and said something came up. She was a smart girl. She knew something was bothering him, but she didn't push it and he was grateful.

He tossed and turned all night, his mind reeling while he looked at his phone every few minutes. He checked the volume, he made sure do not disturb was off, wondering if you would reach out, but you never did. Maybe it wasn't unusual for Patrick to not come home. Or maybe you heard what happened and you were mad at Joel. That worried him the most. The fear that his actions might have destroyed what fragile relationship he had left with you ate him up as he stared blankly at his ceiling.

Morning came too quickly and too slowly all at once. He rubbed his tired eyes as he dragged himself into the bathroom. When he leaned forward to turn the water on, he was met with a sharp pain in his chest. He glanced down, rubbing the area tenderly and realized a large bruise was forming from his fight the night before. He winced when he pressed on a particularly sensitive spot and tried his best to avoid the area during his shower.

After he dropped Sarah off at school, he headed into work, his heart beginning to beat faster the closer he got to the station. He had no doubt in his mind the whole town knew what happened last night, but he was too tired and too overwhelmed to care about their curious questions and senseless gossip.

When he walked in, he breezed right past Helen's desk with a curt nod, doing his best to avoid all eye contact until he was within the safety of his office. He booted up his ancient computer and waited, his thumb rubbing mindlessly against his lower lip as he stared out his window.

He would go to the diner today. He already decided he had to see you. The radio silence was killing him and he needed to make sure you were okay. He was embarrassed about the Facebook messages, even more so that you weren't the one to read them, but Patrick was right. They were not innocent. The words held more weight than they appeared, but he had to come to terms with the fact that you were not his, and then maybe with some closure, he would be able to move on.

The morning dragged on slowly. Bobby caught him at the coffee maker, already working on his third cup, depending solely on the caffeine to help keep him going.

"Hey, boss. You look like shit, but not as bad as him," Bobby said, pouring himself more coffee and jutting his chin to the back of the building where the holding cells were located.

"Feel like shit," Joel mumbled, leaning against the counter and taking a sip from his mug.

"Think you broke his nose," Bobby added, finally looking up at him. "Called the doc but turns out he's real busy this mornin', won't be able to come by til after hours. Such a damn shame," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Joel understood what he was saying without him having to say it. The people in this town looked out for one another and didn't take kindly to a stranger hurting one of their own. They were leaving Patrick to deal with his injuries longer than necessary.

"I don't think I broke anythin', he did that all on his own chargin' into that table," Joel said, but Bobby shook his head.

"Not the way he tells it," he replied with a chuckle. "You'd think you nearly killed him, the way he's been whinin' back there."

"No doubt lookin' for a lawsuit," Joel said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Don't worry, boss. You got a bar full'a witnesses. Hank already offered to give a statement and he was probably the only sober one there."

"Yeah, good. Thanks," Joel replied, pushing off the counter to head back to his office, trying to ignore the sideways glances of the men watching him from the bullpen. He shook his mouse and grimaced when he saw an email from the mayor looking to set up a meeting with him that week to discuss the incident. He knew he did nothing wrong, but the more attention this brought him, the worse he felt. Eventually, all of that talk would make its way back to you and Sarah, the truth most likely getting distorted along the way. He made a mental note to have a talk with his daughter that night as he slowly typed out a response to the mayor.

He swore he would try to get some actual work done, but he ended up spending more time staring out the window or at his phone, watching the minutes tick by til it was lunchtime and he could see you. Maybe he could pull you aside and talk to you in private. Maybe he could fix this.

The moment the clock read a reasonable hour, he jumped up from his seat and snatched his blazer from the coat hook, rolling his shoulders as he walked and put it on, then stifling a grunt when he felt a muscle in his chest pull from the effort.

He kept his head down as he walked down the street towards the diner, only glancing up once when he passed the pizza place. Your curtains were still drawn, no lights on that he could see, no sign of life.

A few people called out to him as he passed, but all he could muster was a tight smile and quick wave, not in the mood to get wrapped up into any conversations.

When he swung the door open, his eyes immediately went to the counter, searching you out but only finding Betty. Before he had a chance to look around the dining room, he heard María greet him.

"Where the hell were you last week?"

"I was here Friday," he muttered, looking around and avoiding her eyes.

"Yeah, with Nikki. Heard some stuff about that-"

"Is she here?" Joel asked, finally dragging his gaze to meet Maria's. She frowned and shook her head.

"No, she called in sick," Maria said, watching him carefully. "Joel, what's going on with you two? People are saying stuff about you and her husband, and-"

"She's sick?" Joel repeated, panic beginning to bubble to the surface. Maria nodded and shrugged.

"Yeah, people get sick, Joel. Hey! Where are you going?"

Joel didn't reply, he just hurried out the doors, nearly knocking down a middle aged couple as they were about to walk inside. He mumbled an apology as he jogged down the street towards your place.

Something was wrong.

Your eye cracked open when you heard the doorbell, the heavy thudding in your head making you immediately nauseous. You groaned and squeezed your eyes shut, rolling back under the covers. Maybe if you were quiet, Patrick would think you were at work and he would leave. But the bell kept ringing, the sound pinging around in your brain making the headache you already had so much worse.

When he began pounding on the door and shouting from the street, you dragged yourself out of bed and wrapped yourself in a thin robe. You knew your body couldn't take much more, but letting him in would be better than allowing him to make a scene in front of the whole town, so you forced your feet forward, still limping from the day before.

You had to pause in the doorway to catch your breath as you clutched your side, wincing in pain as you tried to gingerly walk down the steps, but you were taking too long and he just kept pounding and shouting and the all noise was making you sick.

"Stop," you called out weakly, not convinced he would even hear you, but miraculously he did because the noise finally ceased, and you sighed a small breath of relief.

Shakily, you reached out to grip the doorknob, your fingers fumbling with the locks until you finally managed to twist the brass handle, opening the door just a sliver, worried people walking by would see your face. Then, unexpectedly, you heard Joel's voice instead of Patrick's say your name softly and before you could peer around the door, you went to quickly shut it with no success. His hand gripped the door tightly, but you held firm, hiding behind the wood.

"You shouldn't be here," you told him, your voice weak and broken.

"I know you're mad at me but I gotta talk to you 'bout what happened," he said from the other side. "Please let me in."

Unbeknownst to you both, you were talking about two different things.

"If he finds you here... no, you have to leave," you said, pushing the door again, but he didn't budge.

"Patrick?" he questioned, sounding confused.

"Yes, Patrick," you rasped, getting dizzy from exerting so much energy in your weakened state. "Please just go."

"He's in jail, did - no one told you?" he asked quietly, trying to keep his voice down.

"Jail?" you repeated, and your grip on the door loosened in surprise. Joel felt it and took the opportunity to open it further. You stepped back quickly, wrapping the robe around you tighter and trying to fidget with your hair to hide the marks, but you knew it was pointless the moment you saw his face after closing the door behind him.

"What the fuck?" he whispered, his jaw dropping as his eyes slowly raked over your face, neck and arms. Your lip was swollen and cut, the scab breaking open and beginning to weep the more you spoke. Your cheekbone had a light purple bruise blooming under your skin, as did your jaw. There was a small gash near your hairline and what looked like scratch marks down your neck, leading past your collar bone and below your robe. When you shakily brought your hands up to cover your face in shame, he saw the dark bruises on your wrists.

"Oh my god," he whispered, unable to bring his voice any louder. When he reached out, you flinched away and he felt like he had been stabbed in the chest.

"You should go," you said quietly, your eyes pinned to the ground.

"I can't," he said in utter disbelief. "I can't... why didn't you call me?"

You looked like you were about to reply but decided against it and instead still kept your gaze averted.

"C'mon, lemme take you upstairs and get a look at you," he said, reaching out again, but you stumbled backwards, nearly falling onto the steps.

"Please don't touch me," you told him, holding up a hand, and he nodded.

"Okay, I won't touch you," he said, trying to remain calm while his heart was breaking. "Let's just go upstairs, alright?"

Reluctantly, you agreed and slowly ascended the steps, Joel following dutifully behind. He ushered you over to the couch, making sure you were seated before he went to your bathroom, rummaging around in your medicine cabinet while you sat there, your face buried in your palms and trying not to cry.

He came back into the living room, trying not to make you feel worse by hiding his reaction, but it was hard. He swallowed and dropped his eyes to the assortment of first aid items in his hands.

"Did you take anything for the pain?" he asked, his voice thick, his throat tight.

"Not today, no," you admitted softly. He nodded and shook out two white pills from a bottle and handed them to you before getting you some water. While safely in the kitchen where you couldn't see him, he let out a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm himself down. How could this happen? How didn't he see it? He should have checked on you earlier. He never should have fucking let you leave with Patrick yesterday. Guilt racked his brain as he exhaled slowly and went back to you in the living room.

"Here," he said, handing you the bottle of water. You took it and popped the pills in your mouth, wincing as you swallowed them down.

He sat down on the couch next to you but was sure to give you your space as he picked up the antiseptic and some gauze.

"Will you let me?" he asked, holding up the items in his hand. You paused and looked at them, then him. His eyes were wide and soft and shiny with unshed tears. Slowly, you nodded and watched as he twisted off the cap and put some of the antiseptic on the gauze, first pressing it gently against the gash on your forehead, then making a fresh one for your lip.

At first, he dabbed at the cut gently, ghosting over your skin as if he were afraid. But then he brought his other hand up to caress your chin, his fingers feather-like and so careful that it made your eyes flutter shut, his touch unlike anything you were used to. When you finally opened your eyes again, his hands were gone and he was staring at you, the look in his eyes morphing from sadness to one you were much more familiar with.

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill him," he said menacingly, sending a shiver down your spine.

"Don't," you said, shaking your head, but his eyes darkened and his jaw was set.

"Why didn't you tell me, sweetheart? I could've done somethin'. I could've-"

"What? What could you have done, Joel? I've heard it all before," you told him, your lip trembling. "I've tried. Believe me, I've tried. And it never works. Nothing ever changes and it just gets worse."

Joel shook his head, still not understanding.

"I'm a cop, I coulda protected you. There's laws in place for this kinda thing."

"I've gone to the cops, Joel! More than once! And they all told me the same shit!" you exclaimed, getting worked up now. "Then I go home, and magically my statement goes missing, or my medical exam report, and I'm in worse shape than before because guess what? It makes him really fucking mad when his buddies on the force find out what he does to his wife at home."

Joel's lips parted as he watched your chest heave for breath, the energy quickly draining from your frail body.

"I... I'm so sorry," was all he could say. He couldn't blame you for not trusting anyone, especially him, now that he finally knew the truth. Everything was starting to make sense. His guilt was pulling him down and he felt like he was drowning in it. So many things he should have done. Should have seen. He should have helped you but instead he trotted Nikki in front of you to make you feel even worse.

"I can really help you, though. I ain't like that," he said, scooting a little closer to you.

"I've heard that before, too," you said sadly, dropping your gaze to the ground. "There's no getting out of this. I thought by running I could try to start over, but it's clear now he will never let me go." You closed your eyes as two tears fell down your cheeks. You wiped them away angrily, hating yourself for being so weak all the time.

Joel felt his chest squeeze, his heart breaking as he watched you fall apart. He needed to do something. He couldn't let you down. You needed to get out of this, or else it could cost you your life.

"Look at me," he said, waiting until your tears slowed and you forced your eyes open. "I promise I'll help you. I fuckin' promise you, alright? You ain't in Pennsylvania, I ain't his buddy, and I will do whatever I gotta do to keep you safe."

You searched his face, eyes all wide and your heart sliced open, lying on the table between you. You've been let down so many times, it was so hard to tell when anyone was being truthful anymore, but you couldn't deny what you felt for him. And what he felt for you. You knew something was there, something real and honest and pure. He wouldn't have any reason to lie to you at this point, so after a moment, you nodded.

"Okay," you whispered, and you could see the relief flood his face.

He sat back on the couch and rubbed his chin in thought, staring at the TV screen across from him that wasn't even on while the gears in his tired head worked overtime.

"Alright," he finally said, slapping his knees and standing up from the couch. "First things first: you gotta get to a doctor."

You immediately recoiled and shook your head.

"Absolutely not."

"I'm sorry, but you have to. I gotta..." he trailed off and chewed the inside of his cheek before pushing onward. "I gotta have a doctor take pictures."

Your face instantly crumpled and you buried your face in your hands once again.

"I'm sorry," he whispered for what felt like the hundredth time, getting down on one knee to be eye level with you. "But in order for this to work, they gotta record evidence, okay?"

"Joel, I can't," you whimpered, your face still covered, but he nodded and caressed the side of your head with his palm.

"Yes, you can. I'll be right there, okay? Unless you don't want me there, but I'll go with you if you want. Or I'll wait outside the door. Whatever you need, I'll do it. I'm gonna get you outta this."

You sniffled and finally dropped your hands to your lap, your gaze finding his.

"This is the last time, I promise you," he said, staring deep into your eyes. "I'll never let him near you again."

You thought his words over for a moment, the two of you sitting in silence, looking at the other. One trying to earn trust, the other trying to give it. Finally, you closed your eyes and nodded, giving your consent for what was to come.

"Okay," Joel said softly, dropping his hand from your face and standing up to pull out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm lookin' up the number of a doctor I trust. She's a woman, too. She's real nice and sensitive. I've used her for a couple cases in the past," he said, finding the number and dialing it, bringing the phone up to his ear. Cases. You couldn't help but feel like just another victim the way he said it, even though he didn't mean it that way. You listened as he spoke to her over the phone in a hushed tone, not giving too much of your information away but insisting it was an urgent matter. When he hung up, he turned to you with a weak smile.

"She can see you this afternoon."

"Oh," you said, glancing down at your appearance. You weren't expecting to leave the house that day and you weren't sure what to do.

"It's okay," he said, sitting down next to you again and resting his hand on your knee. "I'll take you through the backdoor of her office, no one'll see you. She'll be fast."

You nodded and looked up at him.

"Maybe I should shower," you said. He paused and shifted his gaze away.

"You, uh," he cleared his throat and rubbed his forehead with the pads of his fingers. He knew this would come up, one way or another. "I don't mean to get into too much detail, but if he..." Joel trailed off, finding it difficult to finish his sentence. "If he did more than hit you, you shouldn't shower," he finally choked out, unable to look you in the eye.

You froze, finally understanding what he meant. He kept his eyes fixed on the wall, his neck tensing, his nostrils flaring, as he waited for your response.

"I won't shower, then," you finally said, your voice strained.

His eyes slid shut and he dropped his chin to his chest. Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He pinched the bridge of his nose while he tried to steady his breathing.

"I'll just go change," you mumbled, standing up while he nodded, still trying to breathe.

He did his best to collect himself while you were out of the room, but he could feel himself spiraling. What was he doing when it happened? Was he watching a movie with Sarah? Was he eating dinner? Was he getting ready for his fucking date with Nikki?

He could feel the tears welling up but he quickly wiped them away. You needed him to be strong. You needed someone to help you, to take care of you. He couldn't afford to be weak right now. He would let himself feel it later, when he was all alone at home and Sarah was asleep. When nobody needed him and he could just let the guilt and shame and sorrow wash over him.

"Jesus, Joel," Carol muttered as she left the exam room. Joel jumped up from his seat, anxiously waiting for it to be over. He rubbed his palms against his pants, trying to wipe the sweat away. She sighed and looked up at him, taking off her glasses.

"So?"

"So?" she repeated, shaking her head. "So, I have your evidence."

Joel nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"She's been through a lot," Carol said softly, walking him down to her office for privacy. She closed the door but he didn't sit down.

"She's gonna be lookin' for me," he explained, jutting his thumb over his shoulder.

"I'll be quick," she said, sitting down at her desk with a sigh. "There was significant scarring and healed bones, detailing years of abuse, and definitely evidence of some most recently."

"Yeah, I imagine anyone can see that by just lookin' at her face," he replied, but she shook her head.

"I didn't mean her face."

Joel felt his breath get caught in his throat.

"Right," he finally said, his voice cracking.

"She said her husband is a cop?" Carol asked, flipping open a yellow file on her desk. Joel nodded.

"Got him in lockup right now for swingin' on me at Hank's," he explained.

Carol's eyes glanced up at his and she quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I heard something about that," she said, lacing her fingers together and looking at him closely. "Can I give you some advice, Joel?"

He shifted his weight, not sure where she was going with it, but nodded anyway.

"Don't take her statement yourself. Have someone else do it, alright?"

"Why?" he asked quickly, and she gave him a knowing look.

"Because it'll be gruesome, and you're too involved."

Joel frowned.

"Too-"

"Don't care what you've got going on with her, I'm just giving you some friendly advice. Let someone else do it," she said, her eyes softening. "Besides, you got into it with her husband last night. You don't want some hot shot lawyer tossing out her testimony in court because he can link together some personal relationship between you two."

Joel considered her words for a moment and reluctantly nodded. She was right. He was having a hard time keeping things separate, and he appreciated the clarity. He couldn't fuck this up for you. Not now.

"Anythin' else?"

She leaned back in her chair and shook her head.

"You'll have my report in the morning," she said. He nodded, thanking her again for seeing you on such short notice before exiting the room. He turned the corner just as you were opening the exam room door clutching a worn hoodie around yourself and looking around frantically before your eyes fell on him and you visibly relaxed.

"Hey, sorry. You alright?" he asked, his hands gently coming up to your shoulders to guide you towards the back exit. You gulped and nodded.

"Wasn't so bad," you said.

"Good. You did the right thing," he said as he held open the door for you and led you back to his truck.

Once you were comfortably seated and Joel merged back into traffic, you shot him a sideways glance and asked him the question that had been weighing on your mind since he came over that morning.

"Joel?"

"Hm?" he said, twisting his head to the side to change lanes.

"Why is Patrick in jail?"

Joel's grip on the steering wheel tightened and there was an uncomfortable pause before he sighed.

"He came at me last night. We happened to both be at a bar at the same time, he was drunk and swung on me."

"What?!" you exclaimed, twisting around in your seat to look at him.

"I thought you knew since he didn't come home last night. Thought you were avoidin' me by callin' off work," he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the road.

"No, I had no idea. He hasn't been staying at my apartment, he has a motel room somewhere," you said, peering at his face, then dropping your gaze to his hands where you could see now his knuckles were a little red.

"Are you okay?" you asked after a beat, and he scoffed.

"Am I okay?" he repeated with a shake of his head. He looked at you in shock, the corner of his mouth turning up into a half smirk. "I'm fine. Can't believe you'd be worried 'bout me after what you went through."

"Of course I worry about you," you said softly, and he felt his heart melt. Why did you have to be so sweet? After everything you've been through, after everyone in your life has let you down, you were still so fucking sweet.

He wanted to say more. He wanted to say so much more, but he couldn't. He couldn't put that kind of stress on you. It would be selfish to tell you how much he thinks about you, how much he wished you were his, how he hasn't been able to get you out of his head since the moment he laid eyes on you. No, that would be wrong. It wasn't the right time, so he swallowed the words back from the tip of his tongue and focused on the road.

"What's next?" you asked him as he walked you up to your front door. Mercifully, the weather was threatening to downpour so the streets were quiet.

"Well, next you'll have to come down to the station and give your statement so we can formally press additional charges," he said, knowing you wouldn't want to hear it but he was surprised when you simply nodded your head.

"Okay. When?"

"Tomorrow?" he offered, and you nodded again as you unlocked your door.

"I'll have to call off work or come by after," you told him, stepping inside and turning to look at him.

"Listen, 'bout that," Joel began, and you frowned. "I gotta tell Tommy."

"No!" you cried, your eyes going wide with worry, but he shushed you and shook his head.

"I gotta tell him so he can keep an eye on things, alright? I won't be able to keep him in lockup for much longer and I can't be with you all the time to protect you, d'you understand?"

"Joel..." you whimpered, burying your face in your hands. He had to physically restrain himself from pulling you into his arms. He fucking hated seeing you like this.

"We can file a restraining order tomorrow but a piece of paper won't necessarily keep him away, and I can't risk it," Joel explained, his heart breaking for you.

"Okay," you sniffled, finally coming to terms with it. If you were going to do this, you had to trust him.

"Okay," Joel repeated. "Tommy served in the Army, he knows what he's doin', I promise. I'll tell him to keep it quiet, alright?"

"Yeah," you whispered, rubbing your nose with the back of your hand.

"And no more walkin' back from work in the dark. Take your car or get a ride. If I can, I'll drive you - " Joel pulled out his phone to look at his calendar, but you stopped him.

"I can manage, but thank you."

You looked at one another for a moment, both of you unsure what else to say. You were thankful for what he was doing but you weren't sure you had the words to properly express your gratitude. Everything you wanted to say felt so small, so insignificant. So instead of attempting to cobble together some sentence that wouldn't do your feelings justice, you stepped forward and wrapped your arms around his waist, burying your face against his warm chest. He quickly brought his arms up around you in return, gently placing his hands on your head and back as he held you carefully against him, as if he was worried you would break. He was absolutely certain you could feel how hard his heart was thumping in his chest, but he didn't care. He just wanted to feel you, to hold you, to keep you safe.

"It's gonna be okay," he told you, his voice heavy, and he felt you nod against him before pulling back, his chest suddenly feeling so empty.

"Thank you," you whispered, then spared him one more glance before heading inside, the door clicking shut softly behind you.

Later that evening, after you had forced yourself to eat some soup and drink some water, you were settling in on your couch when you heard a soft knock at your door. You muted your TV and strained your ears to listen. It didn't sound like a familiar knock, not one filled with anger or urgency. You glanced down at your phone, wondering if Joel had sent you a text that you missed, but nothing was there.

Hesitantly, you made your way down the steps. Your fingers brushed the doorknob, but before you opened it, you spoke through the door.

"Who's there?"

"It's me," Maria's voice drifted through the wood, and you breathed a sigh of relief. You unlocked the door and met her eyes. She tried to hold back the wince upon seeing your face, but you still caught it.

"Heard you might need some help," she said, holding up a small plastic bag. You frowned, confused, until she tilted it open for you to look inside. There, you found a variety of makeup bottles and powders in shades that looked pretty close to your skin tone.

You opened the door and let her in. You could tell you were able to take the stairs a little quicker than the morning, and you hoped that meant you were healing because you really couldn't afford to miss more time at work.

"Cute place," she said, glancing around before following you into your living room.

"Thanks," you murmured, turning the volume back on the TV as she settled into the couch next to you.

"I hope you don't mind," she said, motioning towards the bag. "Joel called and told Tommy what happened... I'm so sorry, I wish you would've called us, we could've helped you."

"Thanks," you said with a shrug. "I guess I'm just used to dealing with it on my own."

"Well if you're ever scared of staying alone, we have a spare bedroom, so please don't hesitate to ask."

You gave her a small smile, hoping she could tell how grateful you were. With the exception of one cousin back home, nobody had tried to stand up for you before. Not even your own parents. The whole concept was so foreign to you, you weren't sure how to respond.

Maria seemed to sense this and she changed the subject, leaning forward to sift through the contents of the drugstore bag, pulling out item after item and holding it up against your arm to decide which shade would work best. She spent the next hour helping you cover your cuts and bruises, and by the time you were done, you didn't look half bad.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she packed up her things and shoved her sneakers back on.

"A little less sore," you admitted. "I should be able to work tomorrow."

"Why don't you take one more day? Joel said you're going down to the station tomorrow, it might take more out of you than you expect."

You thought it over for a moment before reluctantly agreeing. Money was a concern, but you could wait one more day, and maybe you could pick up an extra shift over the weekend.

You thanked her as she headed down the steps and she reminded you again to call her and Tommy if you ever needed anything, and you promised you would.

When you were finally on your own again, you sat in silence, thinking about these people who barely knew you, who you essentially lied to, banding together to help you out. It was unlike anything you were used to, and you were beginning to think you may have finally found your home.

The next morning, you paced around your living room, anxiously nibbling at your nails as you waited for Joel to ring the bell. He had insisted on picking you up. He said he could swing by after he dropped Sarah off at school, that it wouldn't be a problem and he passed by your apartment anyway. You didn't understand why he was so insistent: the walk was less than ten minutes, but you didn't feel like arguing.

You were checking your makeup job in the mirror for the fifth time when the bell rang. With a deep sigh, you pulled on your sneakers, slung your purse over your shoulder and headed down the steps. When you opened the door, he was standing with his back to you under a brown blazer and his arms crossed, trying to appear casual for anybody who might be walking by, but when he heard you step through the door he swiveled around quickly.

"Good morning," you said to him with a small smile after you were sure the door was locked tight.

"Mornin'. You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," you said as he led you to his truck parked a little ways down the street.

"You really didn't have to do this, you know," you said again, glancing around to see if anyone was watching.

"I know," was all he said before opening the passenger door for you and giving you a hand to step up into the cab.

The quick ride to the station was quiet, only the hum from his radio filling the air as your fingers fidgeted in your lap. When he parked the truck and you made a move to open the door, he held a hand out.

"Wait a minute, I gotta talk to you before we go in there."

You dropped your hand to your lap and looked at him expectantly.

"I can't take your statement today, I'm gonna have another officer do it," he said, his words rushed like he knew you wouldn't take the news well. And you didn't.

"What?!" you cried out softly, anxiety already creeping up and squeezing your chest.

"I'm sorry, I can't," he said, taking a deep breath and glancing out the windshield before looking back at you. "There's a conflict of interest. Patrick assaulted me, and if I go and take your statement, it won't look good to a judge."

"Oh my god," you mumbled, rubbing your eyes with the heels of your hands.

"It'll be okay. I'll be right there the whole time. Right on the other side of the glass, okay? I promise, I won't leave."

He watched you for a minute, waiting for you to say something, and when you didn't he began to question himself.

"Unless you don't want me to hear, I don't have to-"

"No, I'd prefer you be there," you said quickly.

He nodded and took a deep breath in.

"I asked a female officer to do it. Her name's Beth. She's real nice, she's dealt with... situations like this in the past."

"Okay," you said softly, reaching for the handle, but once again he stopped you.

"One more thing. I gotta cut him loose tomorrow."

You squeezed your eyes shut. You knew this would happen, but it didn't stop you from feeling the overwhelming sense of dread that crept up your spine.

"It'll be fine. I'll file the restraining order today. If he comes within fifty feet of you, he's goin' right back to jail, okay?" he said, his hand coming up to rest assuringly on your knee.

"Okay," you whispered, finally opening your eyes to look at him.

"You can do this. I know you can."

You had to hold back the tears that sprung up when his words hit your ears. Nobody has ever believed in you, listened to you, took care of you the way he did, and he hardly even knew you. People who have been in your life for years, your own family didn't encourage you the way Joel did. On one hand, it was depressing to realize it took this long for someone to give a shit, but on the other hand, you were so, so relieved someone finally did.

As Joel led you into the station, he kept his head held high, ignoring the glances shot your way and you did your best to do the same. You followed him towards the back, and you hesitated a brief moment before entering the interrogation room, pushing all the bad memories to the back of your mind and focusing on the present.

You needed to put an end to this, once and for all.

You were doing okay. It was half an hour into giving your statement to Beth, and Joel was right. She seemed very kind and patient, and you relaxed after speaking with her for just a few minutes. Or maybe it was because you knew Joel was just a few feet away, watching from the other side of the glass, just like he promised. Whatever it was, you were doing better than you expected.

You had gotten through the bullet points of your history with Patrick. You had detailed how you met after you graduated from high school, how he had just gotten back from basic training with the Marines and was applying to join the Philadelphia police department. You explained how at first, things were great. He was loving and kind, for the most part, but you had been inexperienced and didn't recognize the red flags when you saw them. Like when he got overly possessive at house parties, and especially so when he started drinking. At first, you had thought it was sweet, but then he started getting a little rough. You explained at the time, he would apologize the next day and promise not to do it again, but a few weeks later, he would inevitably go back on his word. The cycle repeated itself over and over for a year, until he proposed one night in front of your entire family, and you had felt pressured to say yes. You had hoped it was just nerves, that eventually you would be excited about marrying him, but it never came. He had rushed you into planning the ceremony and you were only engaged for a few short months. And again, you fooled yourself into thinking everything was just happening so fast, that it was so stressful planning a wedding and that one day, you would be happy.

You couldn't remember the argument that caused him to first hit you. To really hit you, enough to leave a nasty bruise, but you remembered the shock, and you remembered the pain and the fear. And once again, he had apologized the following day, and you forgave him. Because you were weak and scared and confused.

"Did anybody in your life notice?" Beth asked, her eyes filled with what appeared to be genuine concern.

"I hid it at first, but eventually, yes, people noticed," you admitted, fidgeting with the edge of your shirt.

"Did they offer to help you?"

"My cousin," you said, looking down at your hands. "She helped me... she helped me find a clinic so I wouldn't get pregnant."

"Did Patrick know you were on birth control?" Beth asked gently while scratching away with her pen on paper.

"No, I didn't think he would like that."

"Why not?"

"He's made comments to me in the past about wanting a big family, and I was afraid to tell him no. I was afraid he would hurt our children, too," you said, still staring down at your hands.

"Has he raped you?" Beth asked bluntly, and you visibly balked.

"Oh, um," you faltered, the word for whatever reason sending shockwaves through you. You knew the answer, but you just hated admitting it.

"Yes," you finally said, your voice cracking, so you cleared your throat and took a sip of water.

"I'm sorry," Beth said quietly, catching your gaze and giving you a sympathetic look. "I won't ask too much today, but you need to know if this goes to trial, a judge will ask for a lot more detail. You can get a lawyer and they will help walk you through it when the time comes." She reached out across the table to place her hand on top of yours, her thumb rubbing over your knuckles. You nodded, wordlessly telling her to keep going.

"When did it start?"

"Right after we got married, I think."

"How often?" she asked, pulling her hand back so she could focus on writing.

"A few times a week, I guess? I mean, I don't know what counts. A lot of the times I wouldn't be in the mood and he would pressure me, other times were more... deliberate." You swallowed and glanced quickly at the mirror behind Beth, suddenly regretting asking Joel to listen.

"Did you tell your parents?" Beth asked, glancing up at you.

"I told my mom, yes."

"And what did she say?"

"She told me it was a wife's duty to... be available to her husband. She didn't think it was rape." You spit the last word out like it was poison on your tongue. Beth winced but tried to hide it by looking down at her notes.

"And when would he hit you?"

"It varied. Most of the time it was when he was drunk or high. He promised me all the time he would get help, but he never stuck with it."

"Did you ever have to go to the hospital?"

"Yes. A few times. He's broken my arm twice, fractured my hip, and I've had a few concussions. On one occasion, he strangled me until I lost consciousness. I had to be admitted for a bruised trachea." You absentmindedly rubbed your arm and neck as you spoke, your fingers gliding over the old wounds.

"And you've gone to the police before?" she asked.

"Yes, a couple times, but -" you could feel your resolve breaking, and you bit your lower lip to keep it from trembling. "But he always did something to make it go away, and then he would get really mad. One time when I went to file a complaint, he had a cop friend of his lock me in a room just like this one for a whole day. To teach me a lesson." You twirled your finger around the sparse room, tears glistening in your eyes. "They didn't let me out, I couldn't use the bathroom, I didn't have anything to eat or drink. I was all alone."

You stopped talking and tucked your chin against your chest, trying desperately to keep the tears at bay. You wiped a shaky palm against your cheek, drying the tears that fell before you looked back up.

"There were times he would be gone for two or three days at a time and come back, all strung out and crazy... those were the times, the times I went to the police, that I ended up in the hospital. So I stopped asking cops for help."

She nodded as she wrote, giving you a minute to collect yourself before her next question. You glanced up at the mirror again and wondered what Joel was thinking. Did he leave? Or was he still there? You almost hoped he had left. You were feeling too vulnerable as it was, but the thought of him looking at you with pity after this was over made your stomach turn.

"I've done this before," you said suddenly, pulling her attention off the page. "And it always ends up the same. Please tell me this will be different."

"It will be different," she said immediately, her jaw set. She put her pen down on her pad and laced her fingers together. "I'm so sorry the justice system as failed you so tremendously, but we will do everything we can for you now that you're here."

You nodded and wiped more of your tears away before she handed you a box of tissues from a small cabinet in the corner of the room. Taking a deep, shaky breath, you met her gaze once again.

"What else?"

"I think that's enough for today," she said, flipping the pages closed on her legal pad. "We got your doctor's report this morning, and combined with this statement we will start the process of formally pressing charges. After that, if he pleads not guilty, it will go before a judge. But let's take it one step at a time, okay?"

"Okay," you said quietly, gathering your purse and following her out of the room. Your eyes immediately drifted around the hallway and then the bullpen, searching for Joel, but he was nowhere to be found. You frowned as Beth led you towards the front lobby, prepared to walk home, when you heard his voice call your name just as you were opening the door.

"I'll take you home," he said. His face looked hardened and his eyes looked distant.

"You don't have to," you began, but he just shook his head and gingerly cupped your elbow, directing you out the door and into the parking lot.

The ride back was silent. He didn't even have the radio on. You glanced out your window nervously, trying not to read too much into it, but when he dropped you off with barely a comforting word or any acknowledgement of what you confessed, you were convinced your greatest fear had come true. Now that he knew it all, now that he finally heard the truth, he couldn't look at you the same.

You were glad Maria had the foresight to tell you to stay home that day. You were mentally exhausted. Rehashing everything and then Joel's reaction put you in an awful mood. By 4pm, after lounging around watching mindless television and checking your phone constantly for any sign of life from Joel, you decided to just make yourself an early dinner, take a shower and then go to bed early.

As you were stepping out of the shower, the water finally turned off and all of the day's makeup covering your wounds down the drain, you heard your doorbell ringing incessantly. Repeatedly. Urgently.

A jolt of dread shot down your spine, but you remembered Joel said Patrick wouldn't be let out until tomorrow. But what if he got out early? What if he made a phone call and Joel was forced to release him?

Wrapped in a robe, your hair dripping down and soaking the thin material, you jogged to the living room and checked your phone. Surely, if Patrick was released, Joel would have warned you, but you didn't have any missed calls or texts. Then the pounding on the door started, making you jump out of your skin.

Slowly, you crept down the stairs, your hand gripping the doorknob tightly, your fingers hovering over the lock.

"Who is it?"

"It's me," you heard Joel's voice say from the other side, and your eyes widened in shock. You glanced down at your robe, little streaks and drops of wetness trailing down the shiny material.

"Uh, can you -"

"Please open up, people are startin' to look at me like I'm crazy."

With a sigh, you unlocked the door and stepped back, clutching your robe tightly against your chest. Joel squeezed inside and shut the door quickly behind him before turning around, his eyes raking quickly up and down your body before looking you in the eye.

"You were in the shower."

"Yeah," you said, glancing around anxiously before looking up the stairs. "Did you want to come up or something?" He just nodded slowly, his eyes flitting down once again as you led him up the steps.

"I got worried, I was ringin' the bell but I guess you couldn't hear it," he explained, taking off his shoes and shrugging off his blazer.

"What were you worried about? He's still in jail, right?" you asked, handing him some water before sitting down on the couch.

"Yeah, I just... I shouldn'tve left you alone earlier. I shoulda stayed." He stood there, a glass of water in his hand, the other rubbing over his mouth nervously.

You stared at one another for a moment, both trying to figure the other one out. He was breathing faster than normal, his chest rising and falling rapidly under his white button down shirt.

"Why are you here, Joel?" you finally asked, your heart starting to beat faster. "Because if it's out of pity, I don't want it."

"It's not -" he cut himself off and shifted his weight before setting the water down. "It's not pity." He took two steps and sunk down into your couch, his elbows on his knees as he stared at the floor, trying to figure out what to say.

"It's not fair," he finally said quietly. So quietly, you almost didn't hear him. "Everything that's happened. It's not fuckin' fair."

You scrunched your nose, confused, as you looked at him still staring down at the floor. You were about to open your mouth and ask him what he meant when he spoke again.

"I never shoulda let you leave with him that day. Somethin' felt off, I felt it in my gut-" he sat back to press his hand against his stomach for emphasis. "But I let you go. And he -"

He couldn't finish his sentence, his throat closing up as he fought to blink the tears away.

"It's not your fault, Joel," you told him, resting a hand on his broad shoulder but he stood up quickly to pace around the room.

"I'll never let it happen again," he muttered. "Never gonna let him near you again. I'll fuckin' kill him if I have to, he's never comin' here again." His voice was rising as he spoke, his breath coming in short stutters as he rubbed his forehead with the pads of his fingers, eyes wide and crazed as the panic seized him.

So it wasn't pity. It was guilt that brought him to you.

"Joel, calm down," you said, standing up to reach out to him, but he kept pacing.

"Oh fuck, I'm never gonna forgive myself," he whispered, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"You didn't do this to me, he did," you assured him, trying to get him to stop moving. "You're helping me, Joel. You're the only one who ever really tried to help me. There's nothing to forgive."

He finally paused and glanced at you, his breath a little shallow as the panic began to subside.

"I'm gonna get you outta this, I promise," he said, his voice sounding more steady.

"I know," you replied, nodding your head.

He took a deep breath in through his nose and tore his eyes away from you to glance at his watch.

"I better go," he said regrettably, looking back up at you again.

"Okay," you said, following him to the door and leaning against the wall as he put his shoes back on.

"D'you need anythin'? Did you eat? I can -"

"I ate, I'm fine," you told him with a small smile. "Thank you, though."

"Alright," he said after a moment, then forced himself to open the door. Before he stepped through, he looked back at you over his shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm working dinner tomorrow," you told him, suddenly feeling crestfallen you wouldn't see him for lunch.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he repeated, more firm this time. You slowly nodded and wrapped your arms around yourself, hoping he couldn't see through your robe.

You listened sadly as his heavy footsteps descended the stairs and the door shut softly behind him. You knew him well enough at this point that he would have turned the lock on the knob before he left but you still wanted to peek down the steps to check. Your eyes widened when, to your surprise, he was still standing there at the bottom of your stairs, his back leaning up against the door. His eyes flicked up to meet yours when he noticed movement, and you saw Adam’s apple bob in his throat before he spoke.

"I can't leave."

You looked at one another for a long moment, your heart slamming in your chest, knowing what this meant. You were sick and tired of always trying to do the right thing. Where did it get you? How could you even fool yourself into thinking you had any obligation to Patrick anymore? Joel knew everything now. He knew what he was doing, so you said the words that were on the tip of your tongue. The words that you knew would open the door for something both of you wanted so desperately, you could taste it.

"Then stay."

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thetargaryenbride · 2 years ago

Text

Nail To The Coffin - S2 - Chapter 4

Warnings: brief mention of drugs

Pairing: Steve Harrington x f!Byers!Reader

Word Count: 6328

A.N: Ok! Sorry it took so long but we’re finally entering the actual interesting part of the plot of season 2! Hang on tight! Also, I’ve decided to humanize Billy a bit more because I really do believe he has the potential to become a good person if only there’s someone he can relate to and someone to show him kindness which is a foreign concept for him. As always, please do make me know if I’ve written certain characters OOC and if you think there is something that can be corrected within the story. Thank you for reading. Hope you like it! 🖤 🥀

Masterlist || Chapter 3 || Chapter 5

“Maybe we should check the backyard?” suggested Lucas and you nodded but suddenly Dustin halted.

“Dustin?” you heard your mother’s voice and you saw her after you rounded the corner after the boy.

“Mrs. Byers?”

“What’s going on? Where’s Will?” asked Joyce frantically before she saw you. “Y/N, honey, weren’t you supposed to pick him up?”

“That’s what I was doing, mom. I came here right after I finished my practice but I had no idea that AV was canceled because no one bothered to tell me,” you grit out the last part with a tight smile as you looked at Dustin and he shifted guiltily in his spot.

“Thank God I called the teacher’s office to check on things. Where-where is he?”

Before anyone could answer, Lucas – who none of you noticed had run off to check outside – rushed in, drawing your attention.

“The field!” he shouted urgently before running back out and you didn’t hesitate to follow.

You found your brother rooted in one place, frozen and unmoving despite Mike shaking him and trying to snap him out of the state he’d fallen in.

“I just found him like this!” exclaimed the boy worriedly as you rushed to your brother. “I think he’s having another episode!”

“Will? Will!” you shouted as you grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him lightly.

“Sweetie, wake up! It’s mom!” joined Joyce. “Will! Will, wake up!”

“C’mon, honey, listen to us. Wake up. Please!” you spoke frantically as you tapped his cheek.

It felt as if hours passed since you and your mom began shaking Will and tried waking him up while he stayed paralyzed with his pupils moving behind his eyelids but in fact it was barely а minute.

Then he snapped back into reality with a sharp gasp, eyes blowing wide open.

Everyone let out relieved sighs.

“Can you hear me, baby?” you asked as you squeezed his shoulders and he gulped, nodding slowly. “Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere? Your head or?” he shook his head and you sighed as you brought him into a hug, your mother joining and placing a kiss on his head as the two of you sandwiched the poor boy between you.

“Let’s go home, hm?” she offered, sending you a shaky smile, and you nodded.

“Hey,” you paused on the top of the stairs and turned to look at Max. “I’m sorry you had to witness that. It was probably scary,” you gave her an apologetic look and her eyes widened as she shook her head and was quick to turn down your worries.

“No, it’s ok. You don’t need to apologize.”

“That’s good. Don’t let that scare you out of being friends with these guys,” you smiled and she nodded. “You are…Billy’s sister, right?” you asked and she fidgeted in her spot for a bit.

“Step-sister, yes.”

“Um, look,” you began as you placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her a few steps away from the boys, throwing a look over your shoulder to make sure they weren’t going to eavesdrop, “I don’t want to butt into your life or anything but…Billy seems like…kind of an asshole brother,” you pointed out and she snorted as if you haven’t told her anything new.

“Yeah, he can be like that. But don’t worry about him, ok? I can handle him,” she scrunched up her forehead and nodded confidently.

“I don’t doubt that. You seem like a pretty badass girl. But I felt compelled to tell you, just in case, that if you ever have an extra bad clash with your brother you can come to me.”

“Really?” she looked at you incredulously, having no idea why a stranger would be as kind as to go out of their way and offer her that.

But you didn’t have to know her to offer her your help and kindness. It was enough that you witnessed Billy’s behavior towards her and you took pity on the girl so you wanted to let her know she could rely on you and have an escape route if she needed to.

“Yes, really. You have a place in my home if you want to get away from his prick ass sometimes,” you smiled encouragingly and she let out a lighthearted snort through her nose, returning the smile.

“Thank you.”

“See you guys later,” you bid the kids goodbye after that and rushed down the stairs.

“Update us on his condition, ok?” called Mike after you and you turned to give him thumbs-up before following your mother to the parking lot.

“I can’t remember,” muttered Will and you looked at him over your shoulder while busying your hands with taking a mug and warming up some milk so you could make hot cocoa, otherwise they wouldn’t stop shaking.

“I need you to try,” pleaded your mother. You grabbed the cup and neared the table, placing it in front of Will. Comfort drinks or food always managed to make him feel better so you hoped it would be helpful now.

“I…I was on the field and…and then it…all just went blank, and… and then you were there,” he explained but you could tell he was lying and so did your mother.

“Will, I need you to tell me the truth.”

“I am,” he muttered as he grabbed the mug, his fingers drawing patterns on its surface before he took a sip. Joyce sighed before she stood up and disappeared into Will’s room.

“Hey,” you whispered as you took her place next to him and dragged the chair closer. “I know there’s more to it. Mom can feel it too. I’m sure she’s gonna believe you this time. You know that I believe you. We talked about it, didn’t we?” you gave him an understanding smile and he nodded.

Before any of you could say anything more, Joyce came back, holding two pieces of paper that she placed on the table in front of you. One was Will’s drawing and the other was something resembling it.

“This shape,” she said as she pointed at the second drawing. “I saw it on the video tape from Halloween night. It’s the same shape as…as your drawing,” she explained as she compared the two. “These episodes that you’re having, I think Dr. Owens is wrong. I think they’re real. But… I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Mom is right. We can speculate all we want whether they are real or not and whether you have formed a connection to the Upside Down or not. Personally, I believe that’s the case,” you spoke and Joyce looked at you surprised and worried. “But we need you to talk so we can get a better understanding about this whole situation and try to, I don’t know, find a way to put a stop to this…ok? Don’t be afraid to speak your truth. Talk to us, please,” you squeezed his shoulder encouragingly as he looked at the table then back at you and Joyce, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“That’s right. No more secrets, ok?” asked Joyce and he nodded slowly. “Did…did you see this again on the field?”

“Yes.”

“What was it?”

“I don’t know…It’s almost…more like a feeling,” he tried putting it into words, voice shaky.

“Like the one you had that night at the arcade?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

“What does it want?” you asked after a moment of silence.

“I don’t know…It came for me and…And I tried. I tried to make it go away,” he hiccupped as the tears finally slid down his cheeks and Joyce looked at you with worry in her eyes which you shared. “But it got me, mom.”

“What does that mean?”

“I felt it…everywhere,” he whimpered. “Everywhere…I…I still feel it. I just want this to be over,” he cried out and you and your mom leaned forwards and took him into your arms, hugging him tightly as he sobbed.

“It’s ok, honey. It’s ok,” whispered Joyce as she caressed his head and you felt hot rage bubble inside of you. You didn’t know what that thing was but it had marked your brother and he became its prey once again. How you wanted to get your hands on it and make it pay for everything he was putting Will through.

“Hey, look at me, sweetheart,” you pulled away to look at him and grasped each side of his face. “I will never, ever, let anything bad happen to you ever again. You hear me? We’re getting through this together and this shithead is going to pay,” you told him firmly and Joyce nodded.

“Whatever is going on in you, we’re gonna fix it. We will fix it! I promise!”

The rest of the day you spent working at the diner. It was the middle of the week so there weren’t that many people. It was only around the late afternoon hours when students began piling in which helped keep you distracted.

“On the house,” you smiled as you placed a milkshake and a plate of waffles with some chocolate syrup, banana pieces, cream, and rainbow sprinkles in front of Lorelei and she let out a surprised gasp.

“No, Y/N, I can’t not pay-“

“Nonsense. I promise it’s ok,” you waved off her worries and her guilty expression melted into one of gratitude as she took the straw between her fingers and sipped, letting out a content sigh.

“Thank you. That’s really sweet of you.”

“You’re welcome. But what about you, Chrissy? You sure you don’t want to spoil yourself a bit with something sweet?” you asked as you shifted to look at the other girl who had refused to order any food and was currently holding a glass of water.

“No, Y/N, thank you very much for the offer but I’m fine. There are just too many calories in the waffles and the milkshake and I really have to mind my figure,” she said with a smile but you managed to pick on the nervousness of her tone and the way she fidgeted in her seat.

“Oh, ok,” you let out a small uncertain smile, finding her behavior a bit odd but decided to drop it for now.

“Fancy seeing you here, Byers,” sounded a very familiar voice and you grumbled under your breath as you turned to see Billy strolling towards the counter with Tommy and a couple of other boys from the basketball team following behind. “Interesting how we keep running into each other.”

“Well, it’s a small town,” you lifted your brows as you grabbed a menu and placed it in front of him. “But if you ask me, I doubt you just ran into me by coincidence.”

“Is that so?” the corner of his lip twitched as he battled a smirk from forming and you gave him a downward smile.

“I think…that you decided to hang out with your new buddies and you wondered where you should go to grab a bite and then Tommy the dick Hagan told you I worked here so...there you are,” you blurted out and he couldn’t contain a playful grin from spreading on his face as he let out a chuckle.

“Alright…I’m starting to get why you’re one of the smartest. Frankly, I’m impressed,” he gave a nod of approval and you smiled, shaking your head. “But what, are you going to kick me out ‘cause you’re tired of seeing my face?” he asked, tilting his head, and you sighed.

“Actually, no I won’t. You’re paying my salary,” you said offhandedly and he let out a laugh, almost sending you into a state of shock because you didn’t know he was capable of laughing genuinely instead of mockingly, and you shared a look with Chrissy and Lorelei who seemed to be thinking the same thing as you.

“You know what, Byers? I’m starting to really like you,” he drawled and you snorted.

“Please, don’t. I’d like to keep my sanity.”

“Hey, wait up,” called Billy after you and you turned to face him, waiting impatiently for him to catch up, his confident but leisurely stroll driving you on edge because you wanted to rush back home as fast as possible.

“What is it?”

“I wanted to give it back,” he said as he took your ribbon out of the pocket of his leather jacket and handed it to you, making you arch an eyebrow.

“I thought you were going to keep this as some kind of twisted token or something.”

“Only if you want me to,” he grinned mischievously, retracting his hand, and you quickly grabbed the fabric before he had the chance to put it back in his pocket.

“Thanks…I guess.”

“I was curious about something,” he said as he fell into step with you when you resumed your walking.

“Really? What about?”

“What Hagan said that Halloween night. About your father,” he revealed and you halted in your steps, looking up at him with wide eyes. He detected the slight fear and unease swirling in their depths and let out a sigh, shaking his head. “Nah, forget it.”

“No,” you blurted out. “Uh…it’s ok. Just…it just took me off guard, is all,” you muttered and he looked at you for a while as if trying to decipher you.

“I just wanted to know if what he said was true. About him being an asshole.”

“Yeah…yeah he’s an asshole…so it’s a good thing he’s out of our lives,” you revealed, the grip you had on your bag tightening.

“I see…then what he said that night was a very fucking shitty dick move,” huffed the boy and you gulped, looking at him in surprise.

“It was but…I just don’t understand why you’d care.”

“Maybe I’m just feeling like doing some charity. So I’ll tell Hagan to get off your hair,” he shrugged and you frowned.

“I’m not a charity case. I can take care of myself just fine. Besides, as you kindly pointed out earlier today, I have more than enough knights in shining armor to look after me if I ever need it,” you quipped before turning your back on him and marching to your car, not giving him a chance to respond or follow you as you sped away.

Even through the sideway mirror, you could see his bizarre expression and it made you wonder why he decided to approach you and ask about your father and why he seemed a bit protective about this topic.

Meanwhile, Billy just stared at the rear of your car, his mind focused on the things he learned.

He hadn’t actually meant to talk to you about your father. He didn’t know what prompted him to talk about it and why his curiosity had won.

Today after basketball practice he had asked Tommy about it. It’s not like it was a secret. From what he learned, the whole town knew of Lonnie so it’s not like he was prying into your personal life. He had just wanted Tommy to explain why he said what he said and learn what everyone else seemed to already know. The boy told him about your father being a total jerk, a cheat, a drunkard, and a suspected junkie. He had also told him about you ending up at the hospital with a concussion and a beat-up face one day and that shortly after your parents had divorced. Billy wasn’t stupid. He managed to put two and two together.

And something inside of him had just cracked. He didn’t know what it was but it gnawed at him and made him want to confront you about it and hear it from your mouth.

Maybe it was the fact that he had just found someone who shared the same experience and fought the same battle as he did.

And that made him want to be less of an asshole to you.

You got home extra late once again and all you could think of was getting a shower, checking on Will, and grabbing a snack.

You first went to see your brother, only to find him asleep in your mother’s arms. You smiled sadly. He must have been very afraid. Then you checked on Jonathan. He was also fast asleep.

You took a hot shower, hoping it would help you relax but it didn’t.

You made yourself warm and comfortable in your bed, hoping the tiring day you had would help you fall asleep but it didn’t.

You kept tossing and turning.

You got out of bed and began pacing, picking up something to read only to discard it because you kept getting distracted. You smoked as you mindlessly watched TV, leg bouncing, mind racing.

Before you knew it, you were reaching for the one thing that never failed at bringing you peaceful bliss – Ketamine.

Nearly a year ago

“Chief, you think you can spare me a minute?” asked one of the doctors the following day after your surgery, and Hopper, who had come to visit you and see if things have improved, nodded and followed the man. He had been just about to enter your room when he was called.

“What is it, doc?”

“Amongst the other examinations, we needed to do some blood tests and I felt compelled to inform you that we found traces of drugs in her bloodstream,” revealed the man, and Hopper furrowed his brows, his gut clenching nervously as his mind jumped to a few days ago when he had found you stumbling out of the forest and collapsing by his house.

“What kind of drugs?”

“Uh, it’s nothing too serious, it’s just Ketamine. It’s actually quite commonly used because it either gives you a euphoric state of mind or calms you down. It is a sedative drug, after all,” explained the man, and Hopper shut his eyes, hand going to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I wanted to speak to her mother but seeing the horrible state she was in I decided it would be best if you learned first.”

“No, you did well by telling me first. Don’t say a word to Joyce. I’ll handle that,” he said and the doctor nodded before walking away.

A week later

“Hop?” you called out as you saw the man getting out of his vehicle and he turned around.

“Hey,” he greeted but you immediately picked on his not-so-happy mood. “Where have you been?”

“I took a walk in the forest. Wanted to enjoy some fresh air,” you smiled as you finally neared him and he looked at the arm resting in a sling before back at you. “But why are you here? Is there something wrong?”

“Not really, uh…I just wanted to talk to you about somethin’,” he said and unsettlement crept upon you all of the sudden.

“What about?”

“I’m gonna be straightforward, kid. The doctor told me about traces of Special K in your blood,” he blurted out and your eyes widened, your heartbeat increasing. “Just tell me the truth, ok? Did you take drugs?” he asked and you gulped, taking a deep breath before nodding.

“I did-“

“Jesus, kid,” he rubbed his face with one hand while the other rested on his hip and you hurries to explain yourself.

“I just panicked! I-I didn’t know what to do. I was stressed. Mom and Jonathan needed support so I had to be calm and stable.”

“And you decided that the best way to do that is by sedating your mind with drugs?” he snapped. “That’s bullshit, kid.”

“I didn’t know what else to do!”

There was a tense silence for a moment before Hopper turned around and walked towards the porch, plopping down on the sofa that you had always wanted to replace with a porch swing, and you hesitantly followed and joined him.

“Listen, kid…I…made the same mistakes,” he began uncertainly. “After my…after my daughter died, I fell in a black hole. Just like you, my mind wouldn’t leave me alone. Stress, insomnia, depression, overthinking, pain, regret, you name it, it swallowed me,” he spoke lowly and you gulped. “So I reached for that shit. Alcohol…drugs,” he huffed. “I thought they were helping…but they fucked things up even more. I realized that a bit late, though. I don’t want you to repeat my mistakes,” he finally looked at you and you filled with regret and guilt. It must have shown on your face because Hopper wrapped an arm around your shoulders.

“C’m here,” he muttered and brought you in for a side hug which you gladly returned. “Promise me…for your sake and for your family’s sake…that you won’t get involved with that crap. Put an end to it before it’s too late because it’s gonna become a weakness that might lead to a very bad downfall,” he said softly, concern lacing his voice, and you nodded against him.

“I promise.”

Alas, you weren’t exactly able to keep true to that promise.

While you hadn’t spiraled out of control and gotten into using heavy drugs, which was a good thing, you still smoked weed with Eddie and occasionally took the Special K. You didn’t consider yourself addicted because you were able to survive long periods of time without taking the drug, but you also couldn’t consider yourself as immune to it as you used to be before Will’s incident.

The next morning came faster than you thought. You had not slept a wink for the majority of the night until you had decided to take the drugs which had finally done the trick and you had managed to sleep for around three hours.

When you woke up, your mom was already in the kitchen, making breakfast. Jonathan was nowhere to be seen which was weird. Usually, it was him making breakfast.

“Morning,” you greeted groggily as you squinted your eyes at the sunrays, currently still a bit sensitive to the light.

“Morning, sweetie,” greeted Joyce with a smile.

“How’s Will?”

“Still asleep but I reckon he should be waking soon. Hey, can you please finish this? I gotta call the police station,” she asked and you took her place by the stove.

“The police station?”

“I couldn’t get in touch with Hopper yesterday so I’ve been trying to do it today,” she explained and you nodded.

Yeah, you’d like for Hopper to help you out because you had no idea how to deal with all of this.

“Just tell him to call me the second he gets in. Please,” you could hear her talk to Flo and you shook your head, wondering what the reason was as to why your mother couldn’t reach Hopper. Worry began gnawing at you. What if the government had found out about Hopper hiding Eleven? What if they had gotten her and Hopper? You bit your lip as you thought about whether it’d be a good idea to drive to the cabin and check on them.

“Hey, how are you feeling, sleepyhead?” asked Joyce then and you realized that Will must have gotten up. “Any better? Same as last night? Still weird?”

“Yeah,” he sighed as he gave you a strained smile when he strolled into the kitchen and plopped down on a chair. You put the pan away and quickly washed and dried your hands before joining Joyce to stand in front of him.

You put a hand on his forehead and frowned. He wasn’t warm at all. You thought he might have a higher temperature but he seemed cold to the touch.

“Hey, mom,” you spoke lowly. “Can you, uh…get the thermometer?”

She left your side to go fetch the object and the moment she returned you put it in Will’s mouth and the three of you just waited for the results.

“Ok, let me see,” said Joyce after she finished counting the minutes and took the thermometer to check. You peeked over her shoulder and your brows furrowed.

“Is it a fever?”

“No. Uh…it’s actually cold.”

“It’s thirty-five going thirty-four degrees,” you informed him and he blinked in confusion. “Do you feel cold, though?”

“No. Just a little out of it. Like I haven’t really woken up yet,” he answered and your mother gave him a look that he immediately picked up on. “You promised no doctor!”

“And I meant it. No doctor… You know what? I’m gonna run you a nice bath and it’ll warm you up and hopefully get you feeling better. How’s that sound? Okay,” she grinned at him before patting his hand and standing up, heading for the bathroom, and you uncrossed your arms, going to crouch in front of him.

“Hey, buddy. I know we promised no doctor but I had a lot of time to think last night and…” you licked your dry lips as you tried to word it the best way possible. “Maybe it would be for the better to speak to Dr. Owens after all. If we manage to convince him it’s not just flashes but something happening for real, maybe he can help us. Because if that thing is back and trying to hurt you, we’ll definitely need some backup. At the very least when it comes to manpower.”

“He’s not going to believe. And you promised,” he whined tiredly and you let out a sigh.

“Alright…alright…I won’t contact him. Let’s see what happens and if we can deal with this on our own. But if things start going bad, we’re reaching out for help. Does that sound like a plan?” you arched your brows and he hesitated for a moment before nodding. You smiled and ruffled his hair before standing up and going to the kitchen counter in order to transfer the food onto three plates so you could have breakfast.

“C’mon, dig in. You need all the proper nutrients to strengthen your body.”

You were happy to see him eating but at the same time, this gnawing worry couldn’t let you be at peace so you only ended up playing with your food before your mom interrupted you to call Will for his bath and he left the table to go get a towel.

You had put the empty plate in the sink and proceeded to call the kids over the walkie-talkie to inform them that Will was doing well so far but you wouldn’t be going to school because you feared things would get worse so you preferred staying at home and watching over Will just in case.

Meanwhile, your mother tried calling Hopper and then the police station once again, only to close the phone in frustration.

You were about to go grab your keys and go to Hopper’s cabin because the worry was getting unbearable at this point when Will came out of the bathroom, looking disturbed and sweaty as if he had a fever.

“Mom?”

“Yeah, sweetie, what is it?”

“It’s too hot.”

You furrowed your brows at this. You doubted your mother would’ve run a scalding hot bath and you followed the two into the bathroom only to see that Will had drained the tub.

“I…I can cool it down a little bit, baby, but we gotta get your body temp back up-“

“No,” he interrupted her, voice more deep and serious.

“What?”

“He likes it cold.”

“Don’t sweat it, Harrington. Today’s just not your day, man,” said Billy as he gladly let the shower wash off all filth and sweat, hands rubbing his face.

“Yeah, not your week,” added Tommy and Steve rolled his eyes. “You and the princess break up for one day and she’s already running off with that bitch’s brother. But judging by that dumb expression, you don’t know, do you? Jonathan and the princess skipped yesterday. Still haven’t shown. But that just must be a coincidence, right?” he laughed shrilly.

“Don’t talk like that about Y/N,” grumbled Steve after a moment of silence as he focused his gaze downwards, spurting some shampoo on his palm. He couldn’t really say anything about Nancy or try defending her because much to his chagrin, Tommy was right. And that really left him with a bitter feeling. But he could at least defend you.

“Why? You got another punch cooking for me? I still have to pay you back for the last one,” spat out the boy as he turned off the shower and aggressively grabbed a towel before leaving, making Billy chuckle.

“Don’t take it too hard, man,” he said as he grabbed his own towel. “A pretty boy like you has got nothing to worry about. Plenty of bitches in the sea and you already have one in your net, just waiting to be eaten,” he drawled as he leaned in closer and Steve snapped his neck to look at him, making the boy smirk mischievously.

“I don’t know what you’re talking ab-“

“Oh, c’mon, man, not you too,” shook his head Billy as he turned off Steve’s shower. “You know, Y/N said the same yesterday. You don’t know what I’m talking about? You can’t be that oblivious, can you?” he huffed.

Steve looked at him for a while, trying to gulp down his nervousness and not show any signs of the sudden timidness that had crept upon him, before turning on his shower and washing away the foam in his hair.

“Y/N and I are friends.”

“Then I have nothing to worry about, right?” Billy grinned naughtily, turning off the shower again, and Steve furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the boy once more. “Trust me on one thing…a friendship between a man and a woman? Pretty much impossible. One always ends up falling for the other,” he ran his tongue over his lip as he kept grinning mischievously while wrapping the towel around his hips. “If I were you…I’d hurry up and claim the little fish…otherwise…someone else might steal it,” he leaned closer to Steve and whispered the last words challengingly in his ear before leaving the bathroom with a smug look, making Steve glare at his retreating form and aggressively turn on the shower, fighting the temptation to go land a punch on the boy’s face.

You were nursing a mug of hot chocolate, hoping it would warm you up and calm your nerves a bit, when you heard the comforting, familiar voice of Hopper, making you almost spill your drink as you bolted for the front door.

“Hello?” he called out.

You left the mug on the kitchen counter and pretty much crashed against the man, making him stumble a bit as he tried to catch and steady you.

“Hey, what’s wrong, kiddo? You good?” he asked as he tried to take a look at you but your head was buried in his chest, his heartbeat soothing you.

“We couldn’t reach you since yesterday afternoon. I thought…I thought something bad happened to you and El,” you whispered brokenly and he sighed in understanding as he rubbed your back and placed a hand on your head.

“It’s all good, kid. There’s nothing to worry about. I promise.”

You pulled away and moved so he could enter, grabbing your mug of chocolate.

“No, leave it open,” you told him when you saw he was about to close the door and he looked at you in confusion as you took a sip.

“Hopper?” Joyce came into the living area, cigarette in her mouth, and he nodded in greeting. “Where the hell have you been!?”

“I overslept…What the hell’s going on? It’s freezing,” he asked and she just waved him over, motioning for him to follow her and the three of you headed towards Will’s room.

“Hey! Knock, knock,” she rammed her knuckles against the wooden surface before pushing it open, revealing a shirtless Will sitting on the bed in front of a wide-open window. “We have a visitor.”

“So this thing, this shadow thing… You told your mother and sister it likes it like this? It likes it cold?” asked Hopper as he held the drawing and Will nodded.

“Yeah.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just…know.”

“Does he talk to you?”

“No. It’s like…I don’t have to think. I just know things now. Things I never did before,” he muttered and you bit your lip. It’s like he was connected to this thing and received information from it without even wanting or thinking about it.

“And, uh…what else do you know?” inquired the man as he moved to sit in front of your brother and looked him in the eyes.

“It’s hard to explain…It’s like old memories in the back of my head, only…they’re not my memories… I mean…I don’t think they’re old memories at all. They’re…now-memories, happening all at once, now.”

“Can you describe these now memories?”

“I don’t know…It’s…It’s hard to explain.”

“I know it’s hard but can you just…Can you try describing it?” pressed Joyce gently. “For us?”

“It’s like…They’re growing and spreading…Killing,” he whimpered, tearing up.

“The memories?”

“I don’t know…I’m sorry,” he let out a sob and Joyce hugged him tightly.

“No, no, no. It’s okay, sweetie.”

“Hold on, I think I got it,” you uncrossed one arm while the other placed the now empty mug on Will’s desk. “Whatever that thing is, it got into Will, right? It’s inside him. Like he said, everywhere. So they have formed some kind of like…connection. What if this connection allows Will to see what this thing is experiencing and seeing? That’s why he gets all those weird memories but in fact, they aren’t really memories but just glimpses from the point of view of that-that thing,” you shrugged your shoulder as you waved a hand and the three looked at you with wide eyes.

“I think…I think that’s the best way to put it,” sniffed Will.

“That’s good, that’s…very good. We have some progress. But where is this thing...? How is it seeing? What is it doing? Growing, spreading…where?” asked Hopper and Will shook his head.

“Baby, look at me,” you sat next to Will and grasped his face. “You’re good at drawing…You don’t have to explain it with words… Do it with art.”

“This is…more of the same,” sighed Joyce as she sat on the couch next to Hopper, holding a couple of drawings in her hands, and you went to stand behind her, looking down to see what she was holding while you popped a spoonful of chocolate pudding in your mouth.

“No…there has to be something else to all that,” you commented and the two adults looked at you in confusion. You licked the spoon and put it in the cup before moving around the couch, leaving the cup on the coffee table and sitting on the armrest, grabbing a hold of drawings. “None of these are identical to each other. They are all… different. Sure, it’s the same concept but its structure is different. It’s like a puzzle,” you tried to explain how you saw things as you tried finding fitting images. You smiled when you noticed the lines of two drawings intertwining perfectly.

“There!”

Hopper and Joyce looked at you and then at the two pieces you had put together, finally noticing the way they fit, and smiled.

“Holy shit…you’re right,” drawled the man, and Joyce squeezed your arm as she gave you a proud look and not long after, the three of you were grabbing drawing after drawing, piecing them together all over the house while Will kept producing more and more.

You reached a point when your whole house was littered with taped paper that began resembling something.

“I mean…is it some sort of maze or a road?” asked Joyce as the three of you walked around, inspecting the puzzle you had just finished putting together. “I mean, it’s sort of forking and branching like…like lightning.”

“You think it’s that storm?”

“No, the storm he drew was completely different. He used red. And this is all blue and it has some weird dirt color,” brainstormed Joyce, and Hopper’s face fell in deep thought before realization hit him. “I mean…maybe its roots. ‘Cause remember, he was saying it was spreading and-”

“Killing,” he interrupted her and the two of you looked up to meet his eyes that were filled with urgency. “He said they were killing…Vines…” he finally revealed, rushing to take his hat and coat, “He’s drawing vines.”

“Hey, where are you going?” you ran after him, grabbing your jacket.

“I think I might have an idea where I can find this thing,” he drawled.

“Well, then I’m coming with you,” you informed him offhandedly and he sharply turned to look at you.

“No! You’re staying here.”

“Really? You want to have that argument again?” you glared and he returned it.

“We don’t know what’s actually out there, ok? This is not like last year’s undercover mission! We confronted a man. A man! This thing-“

“Yeah, exactly! We don’t know what this thing is and you want to go out there all alone!? No way,” you grit out. “I’m coming whether you like it or not.”

“What if you get in my way, huh? How am I supposed to investigate and protect you all at once?” his voice raised and you shut your mouth, fists clenching at your side. Hopper cringed inwardly. He didn’t mean it like that. He didn’t mean to say that you were a hindrance. He was just afraid that he wouldn’t be able to protect you if something came up.

“But what if I end up helping you? You never know what’s gonna happen and we can’t keep throwing what-ifs at each other!” you countered and now it was his turn to shut his mouth and look away in frustration before back at you, breathing angrily through his nose.

“Alright, fine…Fine!” he threw his hands in the air and began walking towards his car. You let out a triumphant huff and a smirk before following after him and climbing on the passenger seat.

#stranger things #stranger things x reader #stranger things fanfiction #will byers x reader #jonathan byers x reader #steve x reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fanfic #eddie x reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #billy hargove x reader #hopper x reader #reader #reader insert

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supernaturalfreakout · 10 months ago

Text

Worlds Apart—Torn

[History on Your Side—Chapter 7.] Sam Winchester x Reader

Chapter summary: As you return to Mystic Falls, Sam continues his daily hunters' life. Whilst you are preoccupied with the emotional turmoil of supporting your friends and battling your inner demons, Sam can't get you off his mind. *Please see the masterlist for entire work summary and tags* Read on AO3 | Masterlist

SAM

Sam arrived back at the motel, the weight of the night heavy on his shoulders. As he opened the door, he was surprised to find Dean slouched on his bed, engrossed in an old rerun playing on the TV. He stunk of weed, munching through a bag of tortilla chips.

Dean observed Sam's return with a raised eyebrow, barely glancing away from the screen. "Woah, Sammy, didn't expect you back so soon. Did you scare her off already?"

Sam sighed, kicking off his boots by the door.

"Hey, you didn't pull that kinky shit on her did you? I told you man, some chicks just aren't into that."

Sam sighed. "Not now, Dean. It's been a rough night."

Dean glanced up, noticing the weariness etched into Sam's face.

"Hey, what happened?" His teasing tone evaporated instantly, replaced by concern for his brother.

Sam perched on the side of his bed, opposite Dean.

Dean shuffled upright, trying to make an effort to compose himself and listen to Sam.

Sam looked down and creased his brow as he recounted the situation.

"Shit, that's rough, man. I'm sorry." He sat up, turning off the TV, giving Sam his full attention.

Sam sighed heavily. "Yeah… she looked real shook up… I had no idea what to do."

Dean's expression softened. "You did what you could, Sammy, being there for her… That's what matters."

Sam nodded thoughtfully, going over the nights events in his head. "Yeah. But it's tough, you know? Feeling helpless, unable to do more…"

"I get it. But sometimes all we can do is be there for someone, even if it doesn't feel like enough" Dean reassured, uncharacteristically sentimental.

Sam nodded, thoughts and feelings clouding his mind.

"You did good, Sam. Now get some rest. You look like crap."

A faint chuckle escaped Sam. "Thanks Dean… Appreciate it."

"No problem brother." Dean smiled, eyes like saucers.

Sam huffed in amusement. "Hey, what's up with you anyway? Why are you back, high as a kite? No luck with that bartender eh?"

"Afraid not Sammy. Turns out she was engaged… fiancé turned up and kicked me out the bar".

"Wait, what?! When did all this happen?!"

Dean scoffed another handful of chips. "Just after I saw you leave with Y/N."

"I looked for you… couldn't see you anywhere!"

"Probably because I was busy out back" Dean winked.

Sam scoffed. "Real classy, Dean, as per."

"Hey, don't blame me! I was just trying my luck, it's not my fault she wasn't wearing her ring!"

With that, Sam yawned, headed for the bathroom, feeling a mix of exhaustion and gratitude for having Dean to share the weight of the world with, even if he was stoned out of his mind.

---

YOU

You stir to the chime of the seatbelt sign being turned on, followed by the blaring announcement from the pilot that you were soon to be landing. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, you glance out the window, greeted by the sight of a landscape far removed from where you started. Mystic Falls - now within reach, and Kansas - now a world away.

As reality set back in, you are met with the familiar feeling of anxiety pulling you under the current, filling your lungs. You fight back against the tide trying to drown you, the fear of giving in to its pull even more frightening than the feeling itself. You had been down that path before and it terrified you to death.

You check your phone. 05:44am. Great. You caught the earliest flight you could, but it will take you at least another hour and a half to get to Mystic Falls, and you were exhausted. The few hours of disrupted sleep you had managed to get on the plane did not make up for your sleep deprivation and the emotional roller-coaster you had experienced over the last few days. At least your parents were expecting you and had prepared your old bedroom for you to stay. I am so lucky, you thought, thinking of your parents. Then another wave of anxiety rushed over you as you thought of Elena… Miranda… Grayson. Gulp.

You reach for your water bottle and pop your daily antidepressant whilst you remember. No doubt you'll be preoccupied once home.

Home. You still called Mystic Falls home. You'd made a life in Lawrence for the past few years, but it still did not feel like home to you. Home to you had always been connected to people, not a place.

Your train of thought subsequently wandered to Sam and another pang of anxiety hit you as you recalled the events of last night. Everything had happened so quickly… you were struggling to connect the events in your head. Now, 10,000 ft in the air, most of it felt like a dream, or a distant memory. You didn't know what Sam was to you, it was all so fresh. You wondered if the universe was signaling to you that the course you were on last night was not one to venture down. You take another gulp of your water, trying to shake off the thoughts. You were not in a good place to be making important life decisions right now.

As the plane made it's descent, your dissonant behaviors reflected your inner turmoil. You gripped onto the armrest whilst staring out the window, silently contemplating whether you were about to meet your untimely demise. Despite your dark thoughts, the feeling of flying had always made you feel liberated, detached from your real life. The feeling of being completely out of control, of surrendering your fate to the actions of someone else or the universe, somehow relieved a pressure within you and calmed your nerves.

For as long as you could bring yourself to remember, you had been a perfectionist. Always striving for success in everything you do, be it work, friendships, hobbies, relationships… you placed an immense amount of pressure on yourself that you have never been able to shift, your own feeble attempt to repress the guilt deep inside of you. It had been fairly successful, reaping you rewards in certain areas, but less in others. It was also, according to your therapist, one of the reasons why you were so prone to bouts of anxiety and depression.

As the wheels hit the tarmac, your thoughts grounded too. You composed yourself, reminding yourself that you had to be the best version of yourself for your friends.

You made your way through the arrivals gate in record time. The airport was quiet, fair for a few early morning travelers. You arrived outside just as the sun was starting to rise, a faint orange tinge in the horizon, as you boarded a cab and headed to Mystic Falls.

You arrived at your parents' house just before 08:00am. They were up and ready to greet you as you walked through the front door, ever the early risers.

"Hey honey, come here." Your mom opened her arms to you in a welcoming embrace.

"How are you holding up sweetheart?" Your Dad trembled from behind, walking aid in hand as he made his way over to you from the lounge.

"Hey dad." You pecked him on the cheek. "I'm holding on. Just need to see Elena…"

"Of course." Your mom pursed her lips. "What happened to Grayson and Miranda… it's truly terrible. I keep thinking of poor Elena, and Jeremy…"

"I know mom" you sniff, leaning in for another hug.

"I know you need to head off sweetie, but please… stay for some breakfast first and maybe a shower?" Your mom scanned you over, noticing yesterday's mascara smudges still on your face.

You snort out a laugh. "Yeah sure. Thanks mom".

As you set your bags down in your childhood bedroom, you let out a loud sigh.

You perched on the end of your bed, pulled your phone out your pocket and shot Bonnie a text.

[Y/N] "Hey Bonnie, just arrived at my parents. Going to grab a quick bite and freshen up but then I'm free. Any news?xx"

A reply pinged back almost immediately.

[Bonnie] "Hey Y/N, hope your journey was ok. Stayed over at the hospital last night, they wanted to keep Elena in for observations. We should still be here by the time you get here, but I'll let you know otherwise. Room 102, E floor, North Wing xx"

[Y/N] "Thanks beaut, see you soon xx"

As you hovered over your open chats, your gaze fixated on Sam's name. A wave of uncertainty washed over you, each keystroke feeling like a monumental decision. Stay in touch, his words echo in your mind, but you lingered, teetering on the edge of hesitation. You sighed, succumbing to the indecision, locking your phone and plugging it in for a charge before jumping in the shower.

---

SAM

Sam stirred from his restless sleep, the faint light filtering through the motel's curtains signaling the dawn. Dean's snoring, an orchestra of snores more accurately, provided the morning's soundtrack from the bed next to his.

With a groan, Sam rubbed his eyes and fumbled his hand on the nightstand. Anxious anticipation coursed through him as he unlocked his phone, followed by disappointment as he found no new messages. He sighed, realizing it might be too early for you to reach out after everything that had happened. Nevertheless, he was still left with a sinking feeling, an unease settling in the pit of his stomach.

With a deep sigh, Sam dragged himself out of bed, his feet heavy as lead as he ambled towards the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and glanced at himself in the mirror, the events of last night playing like a reel in his mind. Worry was etched into his tightened brow, and his eyes felt hot and heavy.

As he left the bathroom, Dean's snoring intensified for a brief moment, before stopping.

"Morning, Sunshine." Dean groaned, stretching his arms wide. "You look like you got hit by a train."

Sam managed a faint smile. "Just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I guess."

Dean's eyebrows raised in mock suspicion. "Or maybe someone's been obsessively checking their phone since the crack of dawn?"

Sam rolled his eyes, trying to mask his disappointment.

Dean chuckled, shaking his head. "Relax, Sammy. Give her some time. She'll reach out when she's ready."

Sam nodded, knowing Dean was right, as much as he didn't want to admit it.

"Anyway," Dean said, sitting up. "We've got a few things to check out today. Might as well grab some grub before we hit the road."

Sam nodded in agreement, grateful for the distraction.

As they readied themselves for the day ahead, Sam couldn't shake the worry gnawing at him. He hoped you were okay and that you'd eventually reach out. For now though, they had their own obligations to attend to, another day in the life of hunters.

---

YOU

"Breakfast's ready! I've made your favorite!"

Your mom's voice echoed through the house as you scuttled down the stairs, freshly dressed after your much-needed shower.

You plonked yourself at the kitchen table and picked at your food, the weight of the day ahead looming in your mind.

Breakfast with your parents was usually a comforting affair, a familiar, predictable routine that grounded you in the present. Today, however, even your mom's blueberry pancakes were tasteless, the sweetness soured by the nerves knotting in your stomach.

The journey to the hospital was a blur, each minute clouded by the gravity of what awaited. As you arrived at Elena's ward, your heart raced at the sight that met your eyes. Your friends gathered in the waiting room, each of them wearing their own tell-tell signs of concern.

Caroline, always the supportive force, enveloped you in a tight hug, her worry evident in her restless movements and babbling mouth. "You've just missed Jeremy and Jenna… They'd been here all night… They've gone home to get some rest… Are you hungry? There's a cafe down the hall… I can grab you something, if you want?"

Bonnie's eyes mirrored yours in a silent storm of anxiety as she faked a smile your way.

Matt, Elena's off-and-on again boyfriend looked sickly pale as he sat in a chair, and Alaric—Ric, your ex-turned-'friend' carved concern into his brow as he approached, placing a hand on your shoulder. "Y/N, she's not doing well. Losing her parents… it's hitting her hard."

Ric's hand on your shoulder sent unease through you, offering little comfort as the concern for Elena weighed heavily on your mind.

"She's asking for you," Bonnie added softly, her eyes conveying a silent plea for your support.

Swallowing hard, you nodded, making your way down the corridor to Elena's room.

As you pushed the door open, your heart sank. She looked so rough… broken. She tried to put on a brave face, but the pain was etched in her eyes, her usually vibrant spirit subdued by grief and exhaustion.

"Hey…" Your voice quivered, emotions swelling within you.

A fragile smile graced her lips as she attempted to mask her pain. "Hey, Y/N. I'm so glad you're here…"

You hurried to her side and wrapped your arms around her, trying to hold back your own tears as she started to cry.

"I'm here, Elena. Always," you whispered, holding onto her, offering what little comfort you could. Words were never enough. You knew that well.

She nodded, releasing her grip on you to wipe away her tears.

You sat in the chair beside her, trying your best to distract her from the pain. You shared stories and attempted to lift her spirits, but it was no use. Her eyes looked glazed, her face void of expression.

Your friends eventually made their way into the room, their support and care radiating off the walls.

"They say I can go home today" Elena announced, her breaths shaky. "But I don't think I can go back on my own." Her eyes met yours, filled with grief. "Jenna says I can go back to hers but… being around family, it… I… I think I need a distraction right now".

You squeezed her hand. "You can come stay with me, I'm sure my parents won't mind…"

"No, Y/N… I can't do that. Your folks have enough to deal with…" Elena reminded, referring to your dad's recent Parkinson's diagnosis.

You pursed your lips then opened them, beginning to retort before Bonnie cut you off. "You can stay with me. For as long as you need… We can have a girl's night, like the good old days. What do you think guys?" Bonnie asked, looking between you, Elena and Caroline.

"Sounds great!" Caroline chimed. "We can bake cupcakes, braid each other's hair, paint each other's nails…" She chuckled.

You smiled softly at Caroline's joke. "I'm in."

Ric winked. "Sounds right up my street."

You rolled your eyes.

Elena chuckled lightly. It was great to see her smile. "Sounds great Bonnie, thank you".

"Not a problem, it will be nice to have some company… I should head home then, if that's okay? I'll set up the room, grab some food, tidy up a bit?" Bonnie looked towards Elena for reassurance.

"Of course Bonnie, don't go to too much trouble…Thanks for staying last night… I… I don't know what I'd do without you guys…" Elena trembled, choking up at the end of her sentence as she looked at all the faces here for her. She started to weep and Matt stepped in to comfort her.

The rest of you took this as a signal to leave the room momentarily to give them some privacy. You were out of the loop regarding the situation between Elena and Matt, but it didn't feel right to ask.

"Hey…" Caroline turned to you as you entered the corridor. "I'm gonna go help Bonnie set things up for tonight, you'll be alright here, won't you?" She asked, directing a subtle glance towards Ric.

"Yeah yeah, I'll be fine" you reassured despite your apprehension. "I'll see you guys later," you assured as you embraced both Caroline and Bonnie in a hug.

As your friends made their way down the corridor, unease rose within you, a tension that made you clench your teeth.

"Hey…" Ric's voice broke the midst, his eyes scanning your face as if searching for unspoken answers in your expression. "How have you been?"

You turned to face him tentatively, memories resurfacing of the years spent together; summer of senior year… studying at Duke… You had battled for a long time to leave these memories behind but you were acutely aware of the sentiments Ric refused to let slide.

"I've been… coping…" Your words skirted the edge of the truth, a surface-level response to shield the deeper currents swirling within you. "And you?"

"Busy, but… I've missed having you around." Ric's gaze appeared to soften, as if in longing, but you knew better than that.

His words hung heavy, tainting the air you breathed. Your history with Ric was… complicated, to say the least. You tried your best to avoid him at all costs, yet now, with him in front of you, you were forced to confront him, along with your own insecurities.

"I've missed it here" you admitted, in a purposely vague reply. You wouldn't give him the satisfaction of showing how much he vexed you. "But life takes us on its own journey, doesn't it?"

Ric nodded, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "It does indeed."

Before the conversation could deepen further, a nurse flurried past, pulling you both back into the present. Taking this as an opportunity to escape, you excused yourself with relief.

You gestured vaguely toward the room where Elena and Matt were. "I should…"

"Yeah, of course" Ric sighed, his reluctance evident.

At that, and with a faux, fleeting smile, you turned away, not once looking back.

---

SAM

As the Impala cruised down the winding road, Sam gazed out the window, staring at the passing scenery. Dean drove with his usual swagger, classic rock blasting from the speakers. Despite the familiar routine, Sam couldn't shake the weight of worry that settled within him. He fumbled with his phone, thumb hovering over the screen, contemplating whether or not to send a message.

Dean glanced over, noticing the familiar conflict written all over his brother's face. "Hey, you good, Sammy?"

Sam sighed, glancing at his phone before slipping it back into his pocket. "Yeah, just thinking."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "About her?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah… It's hard not knowing if she's okay."

Dean turned down the music, his expression shifting from playful to serious. "Sam, you did what you could. Sometimes people need space, especially during tough times."

"I know," Sam murmured, fidgeting with the edge of his jacket. "But I can't help worrying."

Dean gripped the steering wheel tighter. "We'll find out soon enough. Just gotta focus on the job at hand for now."

Sam tried to heed Dean's advice, diverting his attention to the details of their current case. Yet, every road sign, every passing mile seemed to echo with thoughts of you, pulling his focus away from the present.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Sam's resolve wavered. He pulled out his phone once more, thumb hovering over the screen. After a brief moment of introspection, he began typing a message.

[Sam Winchester] "Hey, hope you're doing okay? If you need anything or want to talk, I'm here, thinking of you x"

Sam stared at the message for a moment, contemplating whether to send it or not.

Dean glanced over, noticing the shift in Sam's demeanor. "You sending that?"

Sam hesitated, the internal debate playing out on his features. "I don't want to intrude, you know? She might need space after everything that's happened."

Dean nodded in understanding. "True, like I've been saying… but, you're gonna send it anyway, aren't you?"

Sam pursed his lips contemplatively, then nodded in admittance.

"See, I know you Sammy," Dean sighed. "Just send it, if it makes you feel better. Who knows? A simple 'how are you holding up?' might mean a lot to her. Just… don't get too upset if she doesn't reply."

Sam nodded slowly, the advice sinking in, his fingers hovering over the keys before he ultimately pressed 'send'.

As he tucked his phone away, he hoped for a response, longing to ease the aching worry that tugged at his heart.

---

YOU

The crisp evening air embraced you as you stepped out of the hospital, Elena right beside you. Matt and Ric had left about an hour ago and Caroline waited in the parking lot to pick you up. With Elena's discharge papers safely tucked away, you piled into the car, ready to pick up your belongings before heading to Bonnie's.

The drive was heavy; a combination of uncomfortable silence and tentative chat. Caroline attempted to lighten the mood with silly stories and the occasional joke, but it was to no avail. Elena remained solemn, staring out the window, lost in her thoughts.

In a moment of silence, your phone vibrated against your side. You pulled it out your jacket to find a message. It was from Sam. Anxiety built in your chest as you read.

[Sam Winchester] "Hey, hope you're doing okay? If you need anything or want to talk, I'm here, thinking of you x"

Your heart pounded in your throat and your palms became sweaty. He's thinking of me…? You didn't know what you to make of it. You quickly locked your phone and shoved it back in your jacket, wiping your hands on your jeans.

As you approached Bonnie's house, you pushed the text to the back of your mind, focusing on your friends around you. Avoidance was your thing.

A warm glow spilled into the night as Bonnie opened the door, anticipating your arrival before you could even knock.

"We made it!" Caroline announced, flashing a cheerful grin.

"Hey, guys! Come on in!" Bonnie greeted, ushering you all inside.

As you stepped into Bonnie's cozy home, your senses were immersed, bathed in a calming, earthy aura. Scented candles burned on the mantlepiece, flickering softly alongside feel-good Indie music. The big light was off, and her lounge was transformed into one big bed. There were cushions, and blankets. Piles and piles of blankets. She'd really made an effort.

Elena managed a small smile as she took in the space around her. "Wow… Thanks for this Bonnie… I really appreciate it."

"Always, Elena… We're all here for you, okay?" Bonnie reassured, embracing Elena in a warm hug.

Elena nodded, pulling away softly with a sniffle.

"Alright then!" Caroline exclaimed. "Let's get this girls' night started! Cupcakes, movies, bonding time, here we come!"

Following a comforting dinner of spaghetti and baking in the kitchen, you all freshened up and settled in the lounge.

Bonnie took a bite out of a freshly baked cupcake, her legs cocooned beneath the many layers of blankets. "So, Caroline, any tales from the dating front?"

Caroline giggled, adjusting her seat. "Just a few casual outings, nothing too serious… keeping it light! How about you, Bons? Didn't you have a date recently?"

"Ah, don't even go there!" Bonnie chuckled, wiping a smudge of frosting from her lips. "Absolute disaster, I tell you… The worst date, hands down…"

"What happened?" You and Elena asked in unison, joining in the playful exchange. This spurred a wave of laughter as Bonnie recounted her disastrous date. You'd heard worse, but it was funny, nonetheless.

As the laughter settled, Caroline chimed in. "On the topic of dates… any news, Y/N? Elena?"

You paused for a moment, considering what to say, before Elena cut in. "Matt's been really supportive, even before all this…"

Caroline nodded. "He's a good egg, isn't he?"

You nodded, taking a sip of your tea.

"Speaking of support, how's everything with you, Y/N? I know you've been juggling a lot lately…" Bonnie asked, a mixture of curiosity and concern in her eyes.

"Um, yeah… It's been a bit hectic lately, with my dad and everything, but he's doing okay… Work's been demanding too, but I've been managing…"

Bonnie nodded, her lips pulling downwards in consideration as she looked you over. "Okay… well, just.. remember to take breaks for yourself… I know what you're like…"

"I do my best," you replied with a wistful half-smile, wishing for a change of topic.

"Switching gears…" Caroline interjected, also keen to lighten the dampened mood. "You didn't answer my question, Y/N! Any romance brewing in your life?" She winked playfully.

You shuffled in your seat. "Well, uh… there is… someone…" you admitted, a subtle blush creeping onto your cheeks. "But um… it's all quite new…"

"Ooh, spill the tea!" Caroline urged, sporting a mischievous grin.

You giggled. "Well, we… um, met through work," you began, choosing your words carefully.

Bonnie leaned forward. "Oh yeah? What are they like?"

You swallowed, suppressing a laugh at the lyrics that unexpectedly crossed your mind when thinking of Sam.

"He's… um…" So tall and handsome as hell.

"Kind… smart… tall…and freaking gorgeous…" You giggled, feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush.

"Sounds dreamy," Elena remarked with a soft smile.

"Yeah, he… he really is…" You exhale a gentle laugh, blushing slightly at how much he has affected you. "Like I said, it's really new… but it's been surprisingly…. intense."

Caroline raised an eyebrow, her curiosity evident. "Intense…? How?"

You tried to articulate your feelings. "It's…like we understand each other without having to say much… We connect so….effortlessly. It's, um, really… different."

Caroline directed you a knowing smirk. "Hmm, not having to say much, huh? So… have you guys, you know…?"

"No, um…" you giggled, feeling surprisingly flustered. "We haven't gone there… not quite."

Caroline snorted. "Not quite?"

You looked away, running your fingers through your hair as you contemplated telling the girls about last night.

"Ooo, he's really got you in a flush, hasn't he?" Caroline observed, giggling.

You relented. "Okay. Guys… you know when you couldn't get hold of me last night?"

The girls exchanged knowing glances.

You nodded. "Yeah… Not. Quite."

"Ah" Bonnie sighed, the realization hitting her. "He was there when I called?"

Caroline sniggered. "No shit, Bonnie!"

"How did he take it?" Elena probed, genuinely curious.

"He was fine about it, honestly," you reassured, sensing the guilt in her question. "He was really understanding…" Perfect, actually.

"Sounds like you really like him?" Bonnie observed with a soft smile.

"Hm, yeah, I… I guess I do…" you reflected, momentarily lost in admiration. "But it's all so… unexpected…. my mind's all over the place if I'm honest…"

Elena leaned forward. "You don't sound confused about him… Have you spoken to him since?"

"Not since last night" you admitted, regrettably. "But, he, um, sent me this earlier…" You tapped on your phone, bringing up Sam's recent message.

The girls leaned in, sharing knowing glances as they read.

"Awh, that's really sweet of him… He… Sam… seems genuinely caring" Bonnie remarked, glancing up at you with a warm smile as she read his name.

Caroline nodded in agreement. "Yeah… he seems really thoughtful. That can be rare to find these days…"

Elena directed you a small smile. "How come you haven't replied to him yet?"

You sigh, looking down at your phone in your hands. "I… just…I don't know… I just don't want to mess anything up… I have a habit of doing that…"

"It's… not anything to do with Ric, is it?" Bonnie asked, fiddling with her bracelet.

"Ha, God no! That ship sailed a long time ago…"

Caroline raised her eyebrows. "Maybe for you it did."

You groan, looking between your friends. "It's that obvious?"

They all nodded.

Great.

You buried your face in your hands. "It's been three years! Three years!" you mumbled. "He needs to get over it…"

Caroline played with your hair. "Who can blame him though? You are gorgeous, and wonderfully smart…"

"Not helping!" You give her a playful nudge, biting back your self-reproach.

Caroline giggled.

You couldn't blame her, really, seeing as you'd never revealed the whole truth. It was easier for you to pretend those years never happened.

"Maybe hearing that you're with someone else will give him the push he needs?" Elena suggested.

You sigh. "It's way too early for anything like that. Me and Sam aren't… together… I don't even know what we are… I may just be another girl to him…" A well formed in your stomach at the thought.

"Well, you'll never find out unless you reply to him!" Caroline pressed.

You huff, noting the obvious truth in her words. "Yeah… you're right. God, I'm so pathetic…"

"You're nothing of the sort" Bonnie reassured.

You smiled softly. "Thanks guys… I'll drop him a text in a bit…"

As the night wore on, conversations slowed and eyes grew heavy. Elena was the first to succumb to the embrace of sleep, her soft breaths a quiet comfort as you lay there, eyes glued to the cheesy romcom Caroline had put on the TV. You weren't really watching. Instead, you silently mulled over your conflicting thoughts. You still hadn't replied to Sam. You didn't know why; it didn't really make sense.

As the weight of the day gradually settled on your eyelids, you let your eyes fall shut, unable to keep them open any longer. Your consciousness waned, plunging you into a deep, but restless state.

Noticing your sleeping state, Bonnie and Caroline exchanged concerned glances.

"Do you think Y/N's okay?" Caroline whispered, glancing towards you. "I know she said she is but… what do you think?"

Bonnie sighed softly. "I don't know… She's been through a lot lately… I remember how she struggled before… I just hope she's managing everything okay now."

"I know… She's been trying to keep it together, but, today must have been tough for her…"

"Hmm… we need to make sure she knows she's not alone in this."

"Absolutely. We'll be there for her, however she needs…"

As you drifted deeper into sleep, your subconscious mind painted pictures so vivid, they might have well have been real. You found yourself in familiar surroundings, the comforting embrace of your home in Lawrence. Sam sat before you, eyes filled with warmth and tenderness, drawing you closer in an irresistible pull. Your lips met in a kiss, the connection electric and passionate, but then, an unexpected wave of panic swept over you.

Your emotions surged, overwhelming you with a flood of memories and fears.

You pulled away abruptly, your breaths coming in rapid gasps, your heart thundering in your chest.

"Sam, I can't…" you stammered, your voice tinged with regret and turmoil. "I can't be with you. I'm sorry…"

Confusion clouded Sam's eyes as you pushed him away, your emotions spiraling into chaos.

As the dream fragmented and dissolved, you awoke in a state of panic, the remnants still vivid in your mind.

You looked around. The girls were all asleep.

As you tried to calm your breaths, regret gnawed at you, the ache of losing Sam in your dream haunting your waking mind.

With trembling fingers, you reached for your phone, urgency pulsing through every tap of your thumbs.

[Y/N Y/L/N] "Hey Sam, sorry if I wake you but I need you to know how much I appreciate you being there for me. I'm dealing with some things atm but I hope we can reconnect when I'm back?x"

You stared at the screen, at your unsent message. '…hope we can reconnect when I'm back?x'…??? What if he forgets me…?

The words didn't look right, didn't feel right… You wanted to open up to him, to reveal the true depths of your feelings, but something inside prevented you, leaving a hollow ache in your chest.

With a shaky sigh, you eventually pressed 'send', watching the message disappear into the late-night void.

As you lay there in your sorry state, you hoped and prayed for understanding, desperate for a chance to salvage what you feared losing before you'd even had it in your grasp.

Chapter 8

#sam winchester x reader #supernatural #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #history on your side #sam winchester #x reader #tvd

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whump-ghoul · 2 years ago

Text

Whump Month #3 ‘Infirmary’

Day 3 of @cirrus-ghoulette's whump month!

Summary: After a small crisis, Marlowe visits the infirmary in hopes of sneaking away with some bandages. However, he wasn’t expecting a certain ghoul to be there.

Using this day to finish off a chapter of an unposted fic starring my Bishop OC Marlowe!

Tags: Aether/Marlowe / Angst / Original Male Character / Hurt/Comfort

Content Warnings: Depictions of Self Harm / Depression / Burns / Blood - PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THIS

For me, this is just a cathartic way of dealing with stuff.

WC: 1399

The night shift at the infirmary was no fun, that’s what Aether had decided within his first few months of being summoned.

Now, years later, he still despised the long, arduous shift of little meaning or action. Sometimes there’d be the odd drunk sibling arriving after a stunt gone wrong, or to recover from their overindulgence, and even more rarely: a fever that required immediate intervention.

It had been months since the last event, and since taking over this shift from another sibling who was otherwise ‘incapacitated’, Aether had already gotten through every task his routine allowed. He’d arrive, check any patients left from the day (none), check the supplies (apparently things were going missing), check the order lists, tidy whatever mess was left about and then return to his desk for hours of reading. He was nearly as well-read as Cirrus at this point.

To a degree, he wondered just why he was posted at the infirmary. Though it was likely someone to do with the clergy bothering to learn little of their essences and hobbies. Again, Mountain would have been better suited; he was responsible for a lot of the tinctures and balms and herbal remedies lining the medicine shelves of the small infirmary… though Aether figured it had something to do with the giant's lack of bedside manners and tall build. According to a drugged up Sister of Sin, Aether was far more palatable to wake up to. The memory crinkled his eyes from a smile as he tried to focus on his book; a historical fiction novel he’d ordered from one of those online second-hand stores. Every month or two, himself, Cirrus and Mountain scrolled through endless pages until they found something new to read, as there was only so much entertainment on offer at the Abbey grounds.

Yet something set him on edge, and had his mind wandering.

Marlowe.

The exhausted Bishop who smelt of blood, spirits and pain - the man that wore the weight of the world on his shoulder-

-came stumbling through the door, stopping like a deer in the headlights as soon as he saw Aether’s eyes on him.

His heart rate was dangerously high, his breathing labored and every movement had him wincing in pain. Aether paused behind the check-in-desk-turned-nurse-station.

“Marlowe.” He said blatantly, knowing he had to play this very gently if he didn’t want the man to flee like a spooked cat.

“Uh- hi- hello.” He slurred, caught between eyeing the door and the cabinet where the bandages were kept. He was dressed in plaid pyjama pants, a hoodie and socks. His hands were jammed into the front pocket: the metallic scent of blood wafted from one dark sleeve. He gulped.

“What can I help you with?” Aether offered, brows pinched in worry. He seemed out of it; a sweat breaking out on his forehead. His papal makeup, not yet removed, had been smudged with what Aether hoped weren’t tears.

“I- I- need- I need- shit.” He ducked his head, obscured by the large hood as he stammered and shifted on his feet. Aether quietly got up and moved towards one of the old beds.

“Hey, it’s alright. Can you come and sit down? You look like you’re gonna pass out.”

“M’ no, no It’s s’fine.” He slurred, shaking his head as he stepped against the wall, he nearly lost his footing on the way. At this, the ghoul strode towards him, stopping a short distance away.

“It’s fine. Sorry, I’m-“ Aether just had enough time to catch him as he listed forward, face ashen. He brought Marlowe to his broad chest, he was awake, but unaware and compliant. The quintessence ghoul couldn’t help but smell the alcohol on his breath.

“Just breathe through it, Marlowe. C’mere, I’ve got you.” Aether prompted, smoothing his hand down the bishop's bony spine.

“Come and sit down?” He asked, adding the next with a grin: “It’ll be comfier than passing out on the floor.”

After a moment of consideration; where he looked to and from the door a few times, Marlowe shrugged off Aether's hand, and shuffled over on socked feet, just about able to remain upright as he perched on the edge of the bed. He was not about to allow himself the luxury of laying down as his heart was still racing; his right leg shaking up and down as he barely suppressed his panic. Wordlessly, Aether pulled a chair over to sit in front of him.

“I smell blood, Marlowe.” Aether pushed gently, holding a hand out. “Can I see?”

“It- I can do it myself - I just need some bandages - please.”

Tears were dripping down his face. He shook as though in the throes of shock, and Aether was concerned he actually was.

“You know I can’t do that.” Aether pressed gently, placing a stilling hand on the bishop's bouncing knee, though his whole body continued to tremble.

“Please.” Marlowe’s voice was barely above a whisper; a hint of alcohol on his breath.

“Hey.” The ghoul responded in an equally-as-small voice. He didn’t continue until Marlowe made fleeting eye contact with him. The poor man was exhausted.

“You looked after my pack, right?” He said. “Sunny told me you offered to finish their job because they were feeling unwell. You also took a beating for us when those siblings got too harsh with their words. You made Swiss feel better when he was struggling to practice… hell you even passed out after summoning Infernal Essences for the abbey ghouls. You work yourself to the bone; we hardly see you eat or even relax. I’ve only heard pieces of what you went through but you don’t have to do it alone. You don’t have to seek out self destruction, I promise.

You look out for my pack, so let me look out for you.”

Aether held his hand out again: “I promise it’s okay.”

A minute later, Marlowe held his arm out, and the ghoul internally rejoiced. Aether took the skinny appendage in his large hand and carefully pulled away the leather glove Marlowe insisted on wearing. He then pushed the sleeve of his hoodie up. What he saw gave him pause.

Deep, poorly-healed burn scars covered his arm from the back of his hand, all the way to his upper arm. Pink and pale mottled flesh pulled across muscles and tendons; sections of pale skin broken and separated like dried mud in summer. Along the scar were further cuts. One freely bled beneath a wad of tissue taped to it; cut too deep as other small ones, haphazard in their placement, beaded blood to the surface. White scars lined the mottled flesh, running from the wrist to beyond the bunched sleeve.

Marlowe didn’t say anything, his drooping eyes cast to a point beyond Aether as he struggled to stay awake.

Silently, Aether got to work. First pulling a pair of vinyl gloves on, and preparing the bandages he’d need. He carefully peeled away the makeshift plaster from Marlowes skin, noting the disturbing lack of pain registration. He worked as quickly as possible, yet kept his touch gentle. He apologized when Marlowe hissed at the antiseptic wipe and the accompanying butterfly bandages, but offered praise as he passed rolls of bandages over his arm.

“There.” He hummed, taping down the last of the wraps. His touch lingered, offering a light pulse of quintessence energy to promote healing, yet this only exhausted the Bishop further.

Throughout the ordeal, his shoulders shook and his chest heaved with the effort of keeping his tears to a minimum. Aether looked at him with sad eyes; reaching up to cup his stubbly chin in his calloused hand. It was a silent plea for Marlowe to open up, but the bishop had desires of further clandestinity.

“How long?” Aether asked. Marlowe shook his head. Too long, then.

“No one was supposed to see.” Marlowe rasped, in a voice so petulant and timid. He dipped his head to one side, embarrassed. The quintessence ghoul took that as his queue to pull up the hood and roll down his sleeve, for the first time he was at a loss at what to do.

“Just… please don’t tell anyone.” He sniffed, and despite his better judgment, Aether knew he had to make a promise.

“I won’t.” He said sincerely, brushing his thumb across the bishop's cheek. “I promise.”

#whump month #angst #tw: sh #tw: self harm #tw: blood #tw: mental health #original male character #aether ghoul #hurt #comfort

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maybelinefox · 9 months ago

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2003 Lighthouse AU Chapter 6: New Beginning

This is it! The final chapter! If you got this far, thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoy the finale!

Chapter under cut!

The opportunity to answer that question reveals itself far sooner than expected. The very next morning, to be exact.

"A little earlier than I thought", I note out loud as I check the time to find it's only been about six hours since I closed my eyes to sleep. The sounds outside are obnoxious enough I would be surprised I didn't wake up sooner if I hadn't spent the last nearly forty-eight hours running on adrenaline.

I pull myself out of bed and throw on my jacket and boots, having slept in most of my clothes for just this purpose, and make my way downstairs. I already loaded the rifle last night, and I still have the handgun Casey gave me yesterday.

Good enough for me.

I pick up the Marlin, grabbing as much ammo as I can stuff into my pockets, and head out the door.

The muffled sound of people shouting becomes a cacophony as the door opens. I check again to ensure a round is in the chamber as I take a few steps down the rock, looking around.

They already have Splinter again. He and Mikey are on the beach in small cages barely big enough to fit them. Donny is being dragged towards one and I see Raph fighting against his captor's hold and the ropes around him as they try to pull him from the trees. Leo is currently nowhere to be seen, but I know he won't be far behind.

Bringing the scope up, I aim for a spot in the sand nearby a particular person I recognize, and pull the trigger.

The sound echoes enough off the rock and trees it catches the attention of everyone around as Parker jumps away from the new hole in the sand. He whirls around towards me, and I wave as I set the butt of the rifle on the rock beneath me so I can lean on it.

"Hey Parker! Couldn't even wait a whole day to come see me, could ya?"

"It's been a day since you stole this asset," he points out, gesturing towards Splinter.

"I meant twenty-four hours. But either way, I would have appreciated a heads up."

He crosses his arms. "I'll be sure to send a courtesy email next time if you'll be so kind as to do the same first."

I smile.

"Oh, there won't be a next time, Parker."

He laughs at that.

"Of course not. All the assets on the island are now in our possession, so we won't be needing to come back."

He turns towards the forest just as an unconscious Leo breaks through the trees, dragged by quite a few ropes wrapped tightly around most of his body.

Parker turns back to me, a proud look on his face.

"Parker!"

The look falls as he whirls around to face the trees again.

From behind the procession dragging Leo comes a very tall, buff form I would have mistaken for a man had I not just heard her very feminine voice. The burly woman is dressed head to toe in Indiana Jones-style combat gear, holding a large sci-fi looking rifle. Her hair is cut short, grown just longer than military style, but with a little extra poof above her forehead.

"Yes, Doctor?" Parker replies.

Well damn. The big boss finally reveals herself.

"What's the hold-up? We've got clients!"

"Oh, nothing Doctor. Just this keeper here still thinking she's got some say in all this."

Boss lady glances up to me, eyes narrowing.

"Deal with it, Parker," she dismisses, continuing her trek towards all the boats they brought. "We don't have time for this."

"Yes, Doctor."

Parker turns back to me, smug face even more smug, only to be met by my equally cocky smile.

"Yes, Parker, deal with me."

He clears his throat.

I roll my eyes.

This'll be good.

"As this is government land, and we have a contract with said government to remove all strange and unusual specimens from any and all lands within this country not under private ownership, we are authorized to come and go as we please with no notice to our contractors and take what we-"

"Ok, hang on.” I hold my hand up to shush him as I interrupt. “I have just woken up and am currently running on about 6 hours of sleep out of the last couple days, so I'm a bit cranky and hard of understanding when it comes to your fancy wannabe lawyer words. So, if you wouldn't mind dumbing it down just a tad so I can know how best to tell you to go fuck yourself, I'd greatly appreciate it."

Parker's face changes to one of annoyance before he perks himself back up and steps closer.

"Ma'am, I'd like it if we could come to an understanding here. See, we are good, honest people, doing necessary work to rid our country of the monsters that inhabit it."

"You're not doing a very good job."

I motion to him and the doctor as evidence.

He frowns, but continues.

"You see us as the enemy, but what I want you to understand is that these creatures are not your friends. They have been manipulating you and taking advantage of your good little heart. I can tell you're just trying to do what's right, here, so let me make it easy for you. Just forget about all this and go back to your simple life as a lighthouse keeper and let us do our jobs."

"Not sure I feel too happy about that deal," I say, watching as Raph is finally wrangled into a cage. Took them this whole time.

"Well, there's really nothing you can do about it," Parker shrugs.

One of the handlers screams as Raph bites her, shoving himself out of the still-open cage door to do so. It takes six other handlers to get him off of her, and the girl jumps away from him, holding her very bloody hand like it’ll fall off if she’s not careful.

"That one's not containable," the boss lady says. "Parker."

"Yes, Dr. Finn."

Parker pulls a handgun out of a holster on his hip and aims it towards Raph's head, causing the conscious members of his family to start yelling in fear.

A gunshot echoes around the beach.

All sound and motion stops as eyes widen, faces staring slack-jawed towards the blood.

Parker’s gun hits the sand near his feet.

Followed by his arm.

The man's face goes stark white as he slowly turns his head towards where his arm used to be, before his eyes trail down to where it is now.

I think he would scream if he wasn't in shock.

I lever another round into the chamber.

"See, Parker," I say calmly, raising the scope back up so I can see the damage more clearly. "You speak of trying to understand each other, but you didn't really give me a chance to introduce myself."

"What the bloody hell-" Dr. Finn steps forward, but I fire at the ground a couple feet in front of her, causing her to stop. All eyes turn to me.

"Now, here's what you don't know about me. I was raised by a man who loved guns and fishing, and that man would be damned if he let his daughter go out into the world without knowin either, so he could be sure she could protect and provide for herself."

I lever the rifle again as I speak.

"That man died shortly before I was deployed. Yes, you heard me. Deployed. U.S. Navy, if you're wondering. Which means that when I decided I wanted to get back to the quiet life I'd enjoyed with my dad and was discharged, I didn't have anywhere to go. So, while I did take this job so I could be away from people, I also took it 'cause it was giving me a place to live and putting me back on quieter waters where I know my daddy woulda wanted me."

I raise the gun back up, ready to fire again at any movement.

"What I found here was a little family who'd lived their lives in fear of assholes who cared too much about making a quick buck to stop and think if maybe hunting children and kidnapping their father was morally incorrect. And this little family wanted nothing more than to get their daddy back.”

I aim towards Dr. Finn’s face.

“So I got him back.”

Using the barrel, I gesture around to the others on the island as I continue my point, ignoring how Parker has fallen to his knees to cradle what’s left of his arm.

“And now these assholes have decided to come back and step foot on my property - yes, MY property - to continue torturing this family in the name of money. I already signed the deed and everything, which means this island is mine. Which means you're trespassing. Which means I can shoot you if I damn well please. And ma'am, I'm telling you right now: if you don't take yourself and your people here off my island and never return, it will very much please me to do so."

The cross hairs are once again trained directly on Dr. Finn's face.

"So, now that we officially know and understand each other, as your guy mentioned, what's your next move?"

Dr. Finn, to her credit, shows no fear, and doesn't move for a long while.

I don't move either.

"I don't believe you own this island."

"Would you believe that the money you gave Phil for the rat there was left in my care? I decided to put it to good use. They're building a newer, completely automated lighthouse on the mainland, and will no longer need this house or a keeper. So, they offered me the island for a small price. And I accepted. Got the notice a few weeks ago. You wanna see the deed?"

Dr. Finn's face turns to a scowl. She looks around, glaring at Parker’s frantic attempts to stop the bleeding from his now non-existent arm.

"Am I to understand there will be more than just you to deal with if we come back?"

"I've got friends in high places, including the local police department."

She doesn't have to know that only includes beat-cop Casey.

She nods.

"Then I suppose we won't be seeing each other again, miss lighthouse keeper."

"That, Dr. Finn, is a deal I can agree with."

She nods to me, then turns to her people.

"Let them go."

Slowly, cages are unlocked, ropes are unwound, boats are reloaded. Parker has passed out, so he's carried to a boat as first aid is rendered. Luckily, Raph decides to sit still while all this is happening, though it's mostly to protect Leo's still unconscious body.

Finally, the last boat pulls away from shore, Dr. Finn glaring at me as she fades into the distance.

I wave, smiling.

The second they're out of sight, I rush back into the lighthouse, leaning the Marlin against the wall and grabbing the med kit, quickly rushing out to see if anyone's hurt.

They're all gathered around Leo when I make it to them.

"Is he ok?" I ask as I kneel down next to them.

"I think he was just knocked unconscious," Splinter states. "He does not look to be too badly injured other than his head."

I check him over to find Splinter is right, and that, luckily, his head wound isn't too severe. A quick check over of the others shows they’re not too seriously injured either.

Leo is carried into the lighthouse and set on the couch, his wounds quickly attended to before my attention is turned to the others.

I notice Donny staring at the gun.

"Donny?"

He turns to me, smiling, and nods.

I nod back.

"Sorry I made you do that," Raph says quietly. He's already removed the blood from his face, and is currently sitting on the floor, slouching, his shell up against the couch next to Leo's head.

"I think it helped prove my point."

I stand up, heading towards the kitchen.

"I'm gonna make some food. Donny? You wanna call April?"

Donny jumps up, excited.

"Yes! I'll do that!" He rushes to the phone on the wall.

About four hours later, I hear April and Casey's rental boat pull up to the pier.

"You guys should just get your own boat now," I shout to them from the rock as they step out of the rental.

"You're making us consider it," Casey states.

"What happened?" April is staring at the blood still in the sand.

"Why don't you two come in? The guys are all here, and we've got a lot to talk about."

We explain everything to them as I dish out leftovers, and I watch their shocked faces become more and more exaggerated with each new detail.

"They didn't even wait a whole day!" Casey exclaims.

"That's what I said."

"You really shot his arm off?"

"A Marlin will do that. Probably the best thing Phil left me. Aside from the money, that is."

"They really accepted that money?"

I shrug.

"I told them Phil left it behind. They didn't seem to care, since Phil signed a waiver stating that everything he leaves behind in the lighthouse that didn't originally belong to the company now belongs to me, so that money was officially mine."

"Wow," April's face turns starstruck. "So you own an island now. Oh, I'm picturing some fantastic beach vacations here."

Casey shakes his head, smiling. "Of course you'd go there first."

"So, I guess that means you're getting a boat?" I ask. "Cause I'm not coming to pick you up every time you wanna come here, and the rental company is gonna get tired of you."

"Well, like I said. We've been considering it."

"There's still quite a bit of money left over. I can put some towards helping you buy one."

"Some?"

"Well I gotta keep some until I can find a new job. Though, I've been thinking of taking up fishing again and selling to local markets and restaurants."

"That sounds perfect for you!" April squeals.

"Need a first mate?" Mikey asks.

"No!" The turtles and I all answer in unison.

It takes a moment, but we all crack up at that.

The night continues with us joking around and laughing, enjoying each other's presence. A place I would not have predicted myself to be in tonight if I had looked ahead on my first day here.

I certainly didn't expect that the quiet lighthouse job I took up would lead to me getting myself a whole new family, especially not one as strange as this one. But I'm glad I took this job, and I wouldn't trade this family for all the money Dr. Finn could have possibly offered me. You can't put a price on family.

True family is forever.

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#tmnt 2003 #tmnt lighthouse au #tmnt lighthouse au 2003 #writing

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deanwritings · 2 years ago

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FwB: Chapter 1 - The Proposition

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Summary: FwB - Friends with Benefits.

After walking in on Y/N following a fun encounter, Dean and Y/N decide it would be beneficial and much easier to use each other for their needs. But can they keep it just about sex?

FwB - Master List

Word Count: 3,283

Warning: Smut (in case the title was not obvious) and 18+ themes and language.

Gif:

A/N: Just one of those fun little storylines that popped into my head. Enjoy ;)

Putting the Read More's early since it's 18+ content

"Mhmmm," you hum, curling into yourself as you rest on the cool sheets of the motel bed. The man of the hour was re-buttoning his shirt and pulling his pants back on as you relaxed into the mattress.

"How do you take your coffee?" His voice is light as his eyes roam your still naked body. You take a deep breath, the spot in between your thighs still throbbing from your truly breath-taking encounter.

"Light, with milk please," your voice is soft, still not having fully recovered from its overuse last night and this morning. Twice.

He nods his head, giving you one last, lingering look, a smile wide on his face, before he steps out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

You roll onto your side, your knees slightly tucked and your chin resting in your hand, staring at the pastel wallpaper thinking about how you ended up here.

You weren't really the type of person who had one sight stands. You typically liked to share this experience with someone you knew and trusted, but after months of hunting, and no relationships in sight, your vibrator was starting to get old and you were really missing the real thing.

So, you decided to sneak out after Dean and Sam's lights had shut off in their room, and headed to the local bar where you met Jordan; a nice-looking man, probably within a five-year age range of yourself, who caught your attention as soon as you walked in. It took you a few drinks to work up your courage, but you invited him back to your room, and as you laid here thinking about it, you were so happy you had.

You hear the door click open behind you and you slightly turn your head to the noise.

"Well that was --"

"Hey Y/--"

"Dean!" You screech, the hunter appearing in the doorway with his mouth hanging open and not a single sound coming out as his hand falls off the doorknob, his eyes roaming over your naked figure.

"Stop looking" You scream at him again, one hand going to cover your breasts as the other desperately reaching for the kicked up comforter.

"I--" Dean's voice gets stuck in his throat and nothing else comes out.

You finally manage to grab the blanket and pull it around you, effectively covering yourself as you stand from the bed.

"What the fuck, Dean? Did you get hit in the head and forget how to knock?" You screech, your hands tightening around the scratchy comforter protecting your modesty.

"Wha--no,” He stutters before closing his eyes and shaking his head. “I know how to knock.” He finds his voice and his eyes pop open again. “I wasn't expecting you to be laid out naked on the bed!" Dean's voice is an octave higher than usual as he throws his hands towards the bed you had been lounging on.

You just glare at him and he rolls his eyes as his hands slap against his legs.

"I was coming to get you as check out was ten minutes ago and Sam and I have been waiting for you." His deep voice returns, a hint of annoyance to it now.

Your head whips to the digital clock by the bedside, the large, red letters reading 10:14.

Shit. You got so caught up in this morning's activities you completely forgot you were supposed to meet the boys at the car by 10am.

"Why are you naked anyways?" Dean's voice brings your gaze back to him, his brow furrowed and lips frowning at you as he looks you over, not in a checking you out sort of way, but trying to answer his own question.

Before you can answer, the answer appears in the doorway behind Dean, two paper coffee cups in his hand.

Dean turns towards the sound, and Jordan's blue eyes look over Dean, before looking to you.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asks cautiously, and you can practically see his thoughts.

"Who are you?" Dean questions as he straightens out, and Jordan takes a step back.

"Look dude, I had no idea she had a boyfriend," he raises his hands up, still holding the coffee cups.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"I'm not her boyfriend," You and Dean say in perfect unison.

Another set of footsteps echoes off the concrete landing of the second floor, and suddenly, a larger man appears behind Jordan.

"Everything okay here?" Sam peeks into the room, a mix of confusion and laughter in his brown eyes as he takes in the scene of you wrapped in a faded pink comforter, Dean standing a few steps into the room, looking between you and Jordan, and a nervous-looking Jordon who just wanted to bring you some coffee before you said goodbye.

"For fuck's sake can you two give me five minutes of privacy!" You order the Winchesters.

Sam's eyes go wide as he coughs back a laugh but just nods his head, disappearing from your view.

Dean just looks between you and Jordan, his gaze lingering on Jordon for just a moment longer, before he silently leaves your room, Jordan stepping out of his path.

Once the sound of footsteps disappears, Jordan finally steps inside the room and closes the door behind him.

"Friends of yours?" Jordan asks with a light smile as he reaches out to hand you your coffee, his body visibly relaxed now that Dean is gone.

"More like co-workers," you nod a thanks as you take the cup from him and take a sip.

You had mentioned to Jordan that you were a private detective when he asked about your occupation last night. It wasn't a total lie; a lot of your work was similar to that of a PI, but you were typically investigating monsters instead of cheating partners and missing teenagers.

"Ah," Jordan tsks and takes a sip of his own coffee as a silence falls over you.

Now came the awkward part. This being, really, your second-ever, one-night-stand, you weren't really sure what to do next. Last time you had one, you had snuck away while the guy was still sleeping, so there was no need to say "goodbye."

"Guess I better get going." You break the quietness of the room, and Jordan nods.

"Thank you for last night," you smile. "And this morning." This gets a chuckle out of both of you and Jordan's gaze falls down to his feet.

For a brief moment, you wonder what it would be like to date him; a normal man with a normal job, in a quiet, little town that now had one less ghost problem. He was funny and seemed very genuine. He wasn't the type of guy you pictured would take a woman home for just one night of fun, but you thought the same about yourself. In another life, where two infamous hunter brothers weren't waiting for you, you picture yourself dating Jordan, and your smile falls at the thought.

"Well if you ever happen to be in the area," his blue eyes find yours again. "I hope you'll look me up." He smirks and your smile finds its way back.

"I definitely will."

A few minutes later, you're fully dressed and your packed duffle is slung over your shoulder as you approach Dean leaning against Baby's hood, and Sam sitting in the passenger seat with his laptop open.

"So that was you last night?" Dean hums with a shit-eating smirk. You stop in your tracks and ball your fist before landing it against his shoulder, barely phasing the large man. "Sounded like fun."

"Shut it," you mumble, continuing your path to the trunk and throwing your bag inside, Dean's laughter following you before you hear the driver door shut.

"Sounded like fun," you mock, slamming the trunk shut with a little extra force before climbing into the back of the Impala.

Nine hours later, the trio finally returned home to the bunker.

As soon as she stepped out of the car, Y/N hightailed it to her room, Dean's gaze following her movements, his eyes glued to her ass.

He couldn't stop thinking about how he found her this morning; lounging naked on the bed, her tits sitting perky on her chest and her smooth thighs positioned just well enough over each other that he couldn't see what was between them.

Mix that in with the noises he had heard last night and twice this morning, he'd be lying if he said he didn't have a wet dream after he fell asleep listening to the satisfied moans from the woman next door. He had just assumed it was the room on the other side of theirs. He never imagined they would be coming from Y/N's room.

To say the trip home was uncomfortable was an understatement. He tried to keep himself distracted by listening to Sam ramble about some potential cases, but he was pretty much fighting off a semi most of the drive. He would be able to calm himself with memories from his childhood, or some of their more nasty cases, like the bugs from years ago, but a glance into his rearview mirror would undo it all with one look at you.

Maybe he should have gone out to get laid last night, too. Hell, he would have been happy to scratch that itch for you had he known.

It wasn't like he was oblivious to your looks. Yes, you were his friend, and a badass hunter, but you were also a beautiful woman with eye-catching curves and gorgeous Y/E/C eyes.

He had definitely thought about it before, he'd be a fool not to, but he never let his mind wander too far before he made things weird in his own mind.

But hey, if you were game, maybe you could help each other out.

It had been a long time since he had gotten any; he had been too tired to even try after their last few hunts, and he had been avoiding his usual spot in Lebanon after his last hook up, Annie or Dani, or whatever her name was, had become a stage five clinger after their night together.

But what had surprised Dean most about this morning, well maybe not most, was that you had gone out for a hookup. In the year or so you had been living with the boys, Dean had never seen you go home with anyone or take anyone home. He had of course thought it was odd, a girl as beautiful as you keeping to yourself whenever you went out, but it wasn't any of his business and he kept his focus on his own needs instead.

But maybe you were hooking up, and just keeping it under wraps. If Dean hadn't walked in on you today, he would have never known about your night out.

Either way, after this morning's show, Dean wouldn't be able to control his thoughts about you anymore. It had been better than anything he tried not to imagine.

So he wanders down the hall until he's at your door and rasps his knuckles against the wood.

"What!" Your muffled voice responds. There's still a hint of annoyance from earlier and it makes Dean smile.

"Got a sec?" Dean raises his voice just a bit so you can hear him through the divider.

A beat passes before the doorknob shifts and you appear in the doorway.

"Congratulations on remembering how to knock," Y/N sneers as her arm rests upwards against the door. Dean starts to smile at the attitude, but quickly licks it away as Y/N stares him down.

"Can I come in?" Dean glances over your head into your room. Y/N purses her lips and squints her eyes, trying to figure out what he wants before she makes her decision.

"Fine," she huffs and steps aside, allowing him into the room.

Dean steps inside and glances around the room, set up identically to all the other bunker rooms, though decorated with pictures of Y/N's friends and the few members of family she has left. Her opened duffle was on the bed and clothes partially hung out it, Dean clearly having interrupted her unpacking.

“What do you want, Dean?” Y/N sighs as she closes the door behind him. “I swear to god if it has to do with this morning, I’m going to kick your ass.” She narrows her eyes and she turns to fully face him.

Dean looks down and licks his lips. This was probably a bad idea, but he wasn’t really thinking. Not with his upstairs brain at least.

"So, don't shoot me,” Dean lifts his hands up in defense before he even gets the words out, and her eyes crinkle as she squints at him, anticipating his words. “But, uh, it is about this morning." Dean smiles tightly, already anticipating her reaction as she huffs and her arms fall to her side.

"Get out!” She shouts as she points to the door.

“Y/N –”

“No! Let’s not act like this morning wasn’t the most embarrassing moment of my life, but you feel the need to keep rubbing it in my face.” She steps towards him, now pointing to herself as she draws closer.

“And I don’t see what the big deal is, anyways?” Her arms now fly out to her side. “It’s not like you and Sam don’t do the same thing. So why does it have to be a thing when I do?” She spits, her chest heaving with her words, and Dean’s eyes linger a little too long, thinking about what’s underneath her shirt.

“Dean!” She snaps his attention back to her raging Y/E/C eyes.

“It doesn’t!” His tone suddenly matches her, not because he’s mad, but because he got caught ogling her and forgot why she was yelling in the first place. So his natural instinct was to yell back.

“It doesn’t,” he holds his hands up and corrects his tone. He clears his throat and shakes his head. This conversation was getting away from him.

“There’s no shame in it, and I’m not here to make fun of you.” He watches as her shoulders relax, but she keeps her eyes narrowed at him.

“Then what do you want, Dean?” Her voice is crisp, and he realizes if he doesn’t get to his point in the next few seconds, she was going to either kick him out or stab him. Knowing her, she’d probably go for the knife first.

"What would you think about an arrangement?" He raises his eyebrows with a slight nod, hoping his stressed word would tell her exactly what he was thinking.

But Y/N's brows furrow and she frowns.

"An arrangement?" She echos with confusion, her eyes looking upwards like the answer is on her forehead.

Dean looks away and folds his lips. Maybe that wasn't the best term.

Time to bite the bullet and lay it all out.

“What do you think about a friends with benefits situation?” His eyes lock on hers, and his heartbeat is steady as he stares her down, studying her reaction.

Her body immediately shifts, her hip popping out and her head cocking to the side as her mouth hangs open.

"You’re asking to be fuck buddies?" Her E/Y/C eyes sparkle in disbelief.

Dean’s heart begins pounding. He can’t tell if her reaction is positive or negative. She was typically very easy to read; she wore her heart on her sleeve and she rarely hid her emotions. You would know if she was pissed as her screams echoed through the bunker, or if she was in a good mood as she danced down the hallways, humming along to whatever was blaring through her headphones. Like the rest of them, she hid the hurt, but the rest of her emotions were easy to tell.

Not this time though.

Dean takes a deep breath and his tongue darts out to wet his dry lips, the confidence he felt a few moments ago now wavering.

“Look, if it’s not your thing, fine. No hard feelings, no jokes, we’ll pretend this conversation never happened.” He tilts his head towards her. “But I’ve noticed hookups don’t really seem to be your thing, so if you don’t want to go through the trouble of sneaking out to meet someone,” her head dips and her eyes find the wall closest to her. “I’d be more than happy to help you out.”

A beat passes before she finally looks away from the wall and back at him. His lips quirk into a smile. Not cocky, not trying to charm her, but a true, genuine smile.

“Obviously you don’t need to answer now, or really ever, but you know where to find me.” He gives her one last lingering look before gently brushing past her and out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

He takes a step to the side, away from the door, and lets his body relax against the cold concrete as he lets out a deep breath he didn’t realize had built in his lungs.

He wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but he figures that went as well as it could have. She didn’t shoot or stab him, or tell him off, so that had to be a good thing, right?

With a glance over his shoulder, he looks at the door, as if she may appear there, but several seconds go by and nothing changes.

With that, he pushes off the wall and heads back to his own room. He had left his duffle in the trunk of Baby, but figured at this point he could grab it tomorrow.

He heads to the kitchen, quickly finding a cold beer in the fridge and popping the cap off before heading back to his room as he takes his first few sips.

Typically after a hunt, everyone retreated to their rooms to decompress in their own way, and after today, Dean was going to need some much needed alone time with his right hand and his stack of Busty Asian Beauties. Specifically, Mikka on page 17 of volume 84.

Walking into his room, Dean kicks off his shoes and places his beer down on the desk across from his bed as he replaces his jeans with his gray sweats. He stripes off his dirty shirt, tossing it straight into the hamper and goes to his drawer to pull out a shirt for the night when there’s a knock on the door.

His heart jumps as his eyes shoot to the doorway.

What are the chances it’s Y/N?

He licks his lips as he stares at the door. Chances are slim to none. It’s probably Sam wanting to go over one of the cases he was talking about on the drive home, but in case it isn’t, he drops the shirt he had picked up back into the drawer.

He strides over to the door and takes a deep breath, his eyes looking high as he opens the door, but finds nothing.

He can’t help the smile that appears on its own as his eyes quickly shoot down to find Y/N standing in his doorway.

Her Y/C/H hair falls over her coral sleep shirt that has a much deeper V then the shirt she wore this morning. Dean’s eyes immediately find her cleavage, and he feels his heart nearly stop when he realizes her nipples are poking through the thin fabric.

His jaw clenches as his teeth grind against each other, and his semi suddenly returns.

“I’m in.”

Keep Reading - Chapter 2

For my forever tags, I didn't tag you for this as I will not tag anyone unless you ask/consent due to the sexual nature of this story. So if you want to be tagged drop a comment or shoot me a message (goes for anyone!)!

NSFW Tags

@iprobablyshipit91 @recoveringpastaaddict

#dean x reader #dean smut #dean winchester smut #dean winchester x you #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester fic #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester #dean x you #dean x female!reader #dean x y/n #smut

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 4 years ago

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Portrait of a Dangerous Man🎨5

Warnings: (series) non-consent sex and rape; slow creep; cucking; (this chapter) threats, implied and mild violence

This is dark!mob!Clark Kent x reader and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: Your dream of having your work hung in an art show comes true but your first buyer is not all he seems to be.

Note: So between Friday and Saturday I’ll be doing eight hours a day for @buckyownsmylife‘s writeathon (like 12-8pm EST) but you can send an ask at any time. I will share a list of what I intend to work on and possible ideas later today if you wanna ask some questions or gab about whatever. After the last few days on tumblr and that nonsense, I think we need a little carelessness.

Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 As usual, I’d appreciate if you let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

You walked and walked until you could no more. You stopped in front of another humongous set of gates and ordered an Uber. You waited in the dark in the shadow of the wall and a car slowed as it approached. You waved as the model and plate matched the app and got in. The driver remarked on the odd pick-up but you just shrugged and dialed.

You’d called your mom several times and she hadn’t picked up. It was almost eleven then so you gave up as her voicemail beeped once again. You dropped your head back against the seat and held your head. Everything was fucked.

You couldn’t believe it. Clark making the offer, Marcus trying to barter with him. It was all so fucked up. Five years. Five years! You never thought Marcus to be that type, shallow and greedy. Sure, he griped about money but you always made due and you thought if you had each other, it would be enough for him. But it wasn’t and he was ready to trade you to a stranger for a check.

You felt nauseous and crossed your arms over your stomach as you hunched over. You felt like crying but you knew you couldn’t. You had to get what you needed and get out. You weren’t going to stick around to argue with either of those assholes. This was the last time you were going to let your hope be crushed.

How much time had you wasted? On both of them.

You got out in front of your building and finalised the tip for the driver. You felt worse that you were going to leave your work in that cretin’s house. That he thought he could just buy you like he did the canvas. It was all just a ploy to get in your pants. And the way he said it, “I’ll fuck her either way.” Like you would fall into his arms agog and smitten.

You rushed up the stairs as your eyes began to well and you sniffled as you unlocked your apartment door. You wanted badly to trash the large monitor sitting above Marcus’ glowing tower. You wanted to shred all his clothes and take a hammer to everything he owned.

You didn’t. You grabbed your laptop from your desk and swept into the bedroom. You pulled your floral duffel from under the bed and loaded it with your laptop, tablet, and a pile of clothes. You tossed the zip-up pouch with your passport and other important documents on top and hauled it over your shoulder. He could keep the rest of it. You didn’t care if it ended up in the dumpster.

You checked the time as you closed the apartment door and headed down the hallway. It was after midnight. You wondered if they noticed you were gone. You didn’t care. You were sending every penny back to Clark, even if you had to dip into your savings; those years of squirreling away in hopes of buying a home with the love of your life.

That was what you thought he was. You just couldn’t understand how he could be so easily won over by overpriced cars and the ridiculously overdone mansion. You came out onto the street and stopped.

Where could you go? There wasn’t a bus out of town until the morning. You could get a hotel room for the night and head to your mom’s then. God, you felt rotten at the thought of showing up at her doorstep, another failure on your shoulders. You swore to her the last time you talked that you were finally getting your feet under you.

Why were you so stupid?

You dried your cheeks with the back of your hand and adjusted the strap of the heavy bag and turned down the sidewalk. There was a Days Inn not far from your place. They might have a vacancy.

You didn’t make it two steps before you heard the car door. You tried to ignore the man as you were eager to be anywhere but out in the city streets after dark. It was too late to react as the passenger door opened and the dark figure blocked your path. The driver came up behind you and you cried out as you were seized from both sides.

“What the fuck are you doing?” you shrieked, “let go of me.”

“Shut up,” the driver said as he covered your mouth and the other man took your bag.

You murmured into his palm and kicked out with your heel, barely missing the passenger with the sharp tip. He opened the back door and threw your bag inside. He turned back and grabbed your legs as you thrashed and both men struggled to angle you in after the duffle.

You pushed your chin above the man’s hand and gasped, “please, what--”

“Shh,” you were finally forced past the door and it slammed behind you, nearly catching your skirt.

You sat up and pulled on the door handle but it didn’t budge. You couldn’t pull up the locks and your fingers just slid down the switches. Even the windows wouldn’t roll down.

“Who are you? What are you doing?” you kicked the door desperately, “please--”

“Hurry up,” the passenger growled, “don’t wanna keep the boss waiting.”

“Hey! I’m talking to you--”

“And you better stop,” the driver pulled out a gun and turned to point it at you, “close those sweet little lips and be a good girl. We got a far way to go, doll.”

You swallowed and pushed yourself back against the vinyl seat. The driver turned forward and shoved the keys in the slot as the other bent around the console and reached to snatch your clutch from you. He wrestled with you for a moment then ripped it away. He took out your phone and waved it triumphantly as the car began to move.

“Please, what--”

“Don’t make me tell you to shut up again,” the driver warned as he focused on the road, “god damn maniac got me out in the middle of the night with this shit.”

“It’ll be a good cut,” the other man said, “can’t complain about a late night if I’m getting paid.”

“The boss? Who--”

“Fuck, you ever know when to shut up?” The passenger turned to glare at you, “you’re really not doing yourself any favours so please.”

He looked forward again and flipped on the radio. He turned the dial so you were deafened by the raucous tones of hair metal. You cradled your ears and huffed as you fell back against the seat. The street lights flashed down on the seat beside you as you passed and you shook your head.

This wasn’t a coincidence. It couldn’t be. But the question still remained; who exactly was Clark Kent?

🎨

You screamed as the man dragged you out of the car. The other came around to grab your other arm as you swiped out with your nails. Your ankles bent under you as you tried to stop yourself on the mosaic stonework. The large mansion loomed over you in the dark, still night. The party was over and all the cars were gone.

You writhed as they forced you through the front door and you tried futilely to shake off the larger men. Your chest hammered with panic and you leaned back as you were dragged up the stairs. You grunted as you wriggled and hissed at how they twisted your arms back and held them firmly.

“Please, please, just let me go--”

“Well, doll, we’ve come this far,” the driver snickered, “you really think you can get out now?”

“I don’t-- who are you? Why are you doing this?”

You were dragged towards the pair of pale doors that stood open as they offered a peek of the studio within. The amber glow of a lamp washed over shadows and limned the lines of the overturned easel as you were taken inside. You whined as the men stopped just past the doors.

Clark sat in the same chair he sat in for your sessions. He smirked as his eyes fell upon you but your own skittered over to Marcus as he sat on the stool by the table of paints. You blinked and batted away tears of disbelief with your lashes. His eye was swollen and his lip split; thick rope held his wrists behind his back and coiled around his torso and legs.

“What--

“Let her go, close the door,” Clark demanded, “I can handle her.”

The moment the hands left your arms, you spun but an arm caught you swiftly around the waist. You were flung back so you sprawled across the floor. You cried out as you met the polished wood and your body rang with pain.

“Hey,” Clark warned and his footsteps neared you as you pushed yourself up on shaky arms, “that doesn’t happen again, got it?”

“Sorry, boss, I was just--”

“Go,” Clark barked as he knelt and took your arm.

The doors slid closed with a harsh snap and you hit Clark’s chest as he tried to pull you up to your feet. You dug your heels into the floor and pushed yourself away from him. You turned and got up on your knees. You climbed to your feet but he was quick to block your path to the doors.

“You left so suddenly,” he crossed his arms, “not even a goodbye?”

“Fuck you. Fuck both of you,” you sneered, “I heard your offer,” you paused and looked around at Marcus, “and I heard you too. I’m not a whore.”

“Sweetheart, I know you’re not,” Clark said patronizingly, “but apparently he doesn’t.”

“Whatever, let me go, I don’t want either of you,” you snarled.

You tried to brush past him and he grabbed your arms and backed you up. “Sweetheart, I don’t have to pay for it. Understand that. And we did settle on a deal but I’m not paying for your services.”

“What-- Why--”

“I’m paying him to watch,” Clark winked, “I want him to see how he fucked up. I want him to see what a real man can do for you.”

“I’m not interested,” you tried to shrug him off but he held firm, “get off of me, Clark. We’re done. I’m sending you your money back and I don’t want to see you again.”

“Where are you gonna go, huh? No job, no prospects, no money?”

“I did alright before you, I can take care of myself--”

“Sweetheart,” he framed your chin with his hand and leaned in, “this is where we make a deal of our own…” his blue eyes clung to yours as he lowered his voice, “you can go along with it and the boy gets to walk off with just a couple bruises or… he doesn’t leave this room on his feet.”

Your eyes rounded and your lip quivered. You sucked in air and steeled yourself.

“I told you, I’m done with both of you,” you hissed.

“Uh huh, but I know you’re not gonna let him die just like that,” he turned his hand and rubbed your cheek, “besides, neither of us are stupid. I saw how you look at me and you know what lies behind those eyes.”

“No, I don’t…” you uttered and looked back at Marcus. He squirmed on the stool helplessly as he stared at you intently, begging you silently as he bit down on the gag. “Why are you doing this?”

“Shhh, sweetheart,” he trailed his finger over your lower lip, “it’s okay. Haven’t I been good to you?”

“I can’t… please, don’t make me do this.”

“Come on, let’s sit down,” he dropped his hand as his other clung to your arm, “we have some things to sort out first.”

He pulled on you and you locked your legs. After a moment, your knees buckled and you let him lead you over to the chair. He sat and drew you onto his lap. You sat stiffly as his hand tickled your lower back and crawled up to pick at the straps of your dress.

“You see everything I have, everything I can do,” he said staunchly, “I can snap his neck as easily as I snap my fingers,” his other hand settled on your knee and squeezed. He nuzzled your shoulder and grazed your skin with his lips, “and even if it came to that, I’d still have you, sweetheart. This isn’t about what I get, I know my prize, this is about you and how you want things to go.”

You shuddered and shakily touched your neck. You hated the way his fingertips sent shivers through you and his lips made your stomach churn. You stopped his hand as it crawled up your leg.

“I… I only wanted to paint,” you said numbly.

“And did you really think that was all I wanted? A painter?” he scoffed and slipped his hand from beneath yours. He felt along the slit of the dress and shoved his hand beneath the fabric.

“I don’t… know…” you squeezed your thighs together as his fingers curled into your flesh.

“You really want to make this difficult? Sweetheart, you can’t even begin to know who I am and what I can do. This is just a taste.”

“Wh-why me?” you stuttered as he forced his hand between your legs and kneaded your flesh.

“Why not?” he replied.

He slapped your thick lightly and urged you off of him. You stood and he reached beneath his jacket as you wobbled on your weak legs and looked at Marcus desperately. He shook his head and let it slump down on his chest.

“Now, Marcus,” Clark revealed a dark pistol, “we talked about this. If you want your money, you don’t get to look away.”

You stared at the barrel as he pointed it at Marcus and lifted a brow. You flinched as your emotions swirled in your stomach and every one of your nerves was set alight.

“Sweetheart, you have one minute to make up your mind,” he pulled back the hammer, “as much as that looks gorgeous on you, I want you in only this.”

He pushed his fingers into his pants pocket and pulled out the diamond necklace. He held it out and the gems twinkled in lowlight. You swallowed and reached to take them from him.

“Who are you?” you asked as you hooked your fingers through the chain.

He chuckled and ran his fingers along his beard, “I’m exactly who you need me to be.”

#clark kent #dark clark kent #dark!clark kent #clark kent x reader #superman #series #fic #dark fic #dark!fic #portrait of a dangerous man #mob au #au #mob!au #dc #dcu

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violettelueur · 4 years ago

Text

— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE FOUR || CURSE WOMB MUST DIE

↳ featuring : itadori yuji + fushiguro megumi + kugisaki nobara + ryomen sukuna + ijichi kiyotaka from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : swearing + violence + mention of blood + mention of poison + EXTREME grammar issues

↳ form : story

↳ published : 23 february

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ word count : 6.1k

↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....

↳ previous episode : girl of steel

↳ next episode : curse womb must die II

↳ barista’s notes : i am back again with another episode of jujutsu kaisen everyone ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆ i hope you guys haven’t gotten bored with this whole series, to be honest i forgot how long they take to write since it is a whole epsiode i am trying to retell with a new character in ʕ ㅇ ᴥ ㅇʔ ALSO i have created a masterlist for it as well as future stories i might write in the future! are you excited? ʕ￫ᴥ￩　ʔ

BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:

1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only

2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’ - but none is mentioned in this chapter

2.5 for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique

Destructive Curse Spell number one: Sho : 3:26-3:34

Binding Curse Spell number eighty-one: Danku : 3:03-3:07

3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing

Shutting your dorm room door closed, you carefully wrapped yourself in the thin white cardigan you had brought out with you before quietly making your way outside the Jujutsu Tech dormitory wanting some form of fresh air due to your incapability to sleep for the time being.

As you began to walk around aimlessly, you quickly looked down upon your phone - nearly blinded by the brightness of the screen - to find out that it was exactly 2 am making you come to the conclusion that everyone was probably asleep and that no one would find you out for the time being.

To be honest, it wasn’t a surprise that you couldn’t sleep, it wasn’t like you never had these types of nights before. Although, they were becoming a bit more common than what you would have liked during your lifetime, especially at the age you were now where sleep was essential.

Finally making it to the track field (where you were supposed to be in the next few hours for training), you slowly crouched down to take a seat on the stone steps that lead to the tracks itself before cuddling into the warm cardigan since the light winds were slightly colder than what you have imagined.

‘It’s such a drag knowing that I have to be here, later on, to train with the second-years,’ you thought to yourself for a second before letting out a sigh of frustration, while running your hand through your hair as if it was some coping mechanism for the pending stress that was about to explode anytime soon.

“How long has it been?” you quietly uttered to yourself before looking onto the field as if there was something interesting insights or someone was going to answer your rhetorical question.

“A week? Two?” you continuously questioned yourself, before gently placing your hand on your upper arm as if you still felt the linger cursed technique you had used during the battle you had with him.

‘You possess such intellect, such skill, such power and such talent and yet you refuse to go against me with your full potential, are you mocking me?’

“Maybe,” you whispered your answer, before going back to the electronic device you had in your hand to open Spotify as you decided you needed something to fill up the silence with hint sounds of the wind, grasshoppers and passing cars that were surrounding you.

However, before you could press play on the chosen song you deemed was quiet enough to play out loud, there was a sudden presence your felt from behind causing you to raise your index finger to hit them with some sort of curse spell to warn them only for a familiar voice to call out.

“It’s just me”

Turning your body around, you found a tall male with erratic hair standing behind you with a non-expressive face before looking down at the dog that was right beside him with what some people say a happy grin on its face.

Turning back around, you shut your phone off before placing it in the pocket of your black joggers that you wore to bed, allowing the shikigami sorcerer to sit beside you with a gap while his divine dog took the opportunity to sit between the two bodies as it processed to rest it’s head on your shoulder, which you allowed since it was adorable not to deny.

“Can’t sleep?” you asked Fushiguro, as you processed to look onto the field while raising your hand to pet the dog’s head causing it to let out a happy sound before further resting itself upon your shoulder.

“Yeah..same for you?” Fushiguro then questioned, leading you to let out a hum in agreement to tell him you were in the same situation before silence took over between both you and him once again.

To be honest, the silence between you both wasn’t awkward at all, it surprisingly felt natural. Although, even if it was comfortable between you and Fushiguro, you both still have questions for each other, well rather Fushiguro had more questions for you than you had for him.

He just didn’t know where to start.

“L/N?” Fushiguro called out quietly (so quiet that some people might not be able to hear), leading you to turn your head towards his direction while his divine dog’s head covered your vision slightly. “How strong are you?” he then asked, causing you to express a confused look before turning back to the track field in front of you as if you were trying to find the right response to answer his question as if it wasn’t an easy one to reply to.

“Not that strong,” you replied in a nonchalant tone, leading Fushiguro to look at you with widened eyes as your returned response didn’t make any sense to him.

It really didn’t at all.

However, he didn’t have the strength to question your answer.

If he had listened to you back then, would your other classmate be alive with you all right now?

“Fushiguro?” you now called out causing the sorcerer to give you a hum informing you that he was listening in to what you had to ask or say.

“How long has it been since that day?”

ꕥ

The rain was currently pouring. However, it wasn’t too heavy nor was it too light but it was enough to make the mission that you, Itadori, Fushiguro and Kugisaki were assigned to be eerier than it considered to be.

“Our window verified the curse womb three hours ago,” a man, who you recalled was named Ijichi Kiyotaka, mentioned before continued with, “once ninety per cent were successfully evacuated, they made the call to seal off the centre, citizens within a 500-metre radius has been evacuated, as well”.

‘Only ninety per cent? That means either the other ten are missing in there…..or dead’

“Ijichi-san, question,” Itadori stated before raising his hand as if he was in a classroom asking a teacher a question, “what’s a ‘window’ here?”

“A window is a member of Jujutsu Tech who can see curses, they aren’t sorcerers, though,” Ijichi explained as his arms were behind his back in a professional manner.

“Oh, okay,” Itadori muttered, as he understood the explanation that was given to him.

“Let’s continue,” Ijichi quickly stated as it seemed he had more information to be given to all four of you.

“Detainee Block 2, at present, five detainees remain there with the curse womb, if this curse womb is the type that metamorphoses, we predict it will become a special-grade cursed spirit,” Ijichi announced in a serious tone causing you, Fushiguro and Kugisaki to express a stern look upon your faces.

‘Special-grade? Wouldn’t they make a special-grade sorcerer take the job instead of us? Unless….’

“Hey, so...I still don’t really understand what ‘special grade’ means,” Itadori expressed with an innocent face as he looked at the three of you leading Fushiguro and Kugisaki to give him the fed-up look, while you just shifted your eyesight at your classmate since you understood why he didn’t understand any of the terminologies that were thrown at him, your adoptive father wasn’t the best teacher when it came to non-practical work after all.

“Then allow me to explain it so even idiots can understand,” Ijichi stated as if he was calling Itadori an ‘idiot’ causing you to zone out of the quick lesson to look at the detention centre that was in front of everyone right now. From what you could sense, there was an overwhelming presence beginning to loom over from the building that the other sorcerers didn’t seem to feel causing you to look at Itadori will a worried expression since you knew he didn’t have control of the newfound cursed energy he had gained from eating Sukuna’s finger.

Looking around to make sure no one noticed you, you quietly went up to Itadori from behind before hovering your hand over the back of his neck before using your cursed energy for the spell you were trying to prepare for him in advance.

‘This should protect him for one hit if we come into a surprise attack, but there is nothing else I can do without the other’s noticing’ you thought in a frustrated mindset before silently taking a step back to where you were previous to make sure no one noticed that you had planted a protective spell on your classmate.

“That’s real bad!” Itadori shouted, causing you to zone back into the conversation that was in the process.

“Normally a jujutsu sorcerer on par with the cursed spirit would take on the mission. On a day like today, that would be Gojo-sensei,” Fushiguro explained into further detail, while Kugisaki seemed to now paint a worried expression on her face.

“I-I see,” Itadori stuttered as he looked at the erratic-haired sorcerer before looking around as he then asked, “so where is Gojo-sensei?” which made sense since none of the sorcerers in front of you had ever fought with a special-grade from what you could sense.

“Away on business,” Fushiguro answered in a serious tone, which caused Itadori to give him a confused look as he then stated, “he’s not someone who should be loafing around that school in the first place,”.

‘But that doesn’t explain why four first-years have been sent to deal with this situation...”

“Unfortunately, we’re constantly short-handed in this business, you’ll often have to undertake missions beyond your power,” Ijichi expressed as he pushed up his glasses. “The current case, however, is an abnormal one, and most urgent. Do not fight under any circumstances, if you encounter a special-grade, your options are to either run or die,” Ijichi then stated with a serious tone leading you to internally scoff at the warning he gave.

‘That’s easier said than done’

Even though you knew he cared about the safety of everyone that was preparing to go in, it was ridiculous to say to any sorcerer not to fight since once you knew once you encountered a curse, there was no way of getting out of the fight at all, you knew that from experience.

“Please just listen to your fears, do not forget that your mission here is strictly the verification and rescue of survivors,” Ijichi repeated.

“Sorry, but as we are talking those ‘survivors’ in there are most likely dead, there is only a one to five per cent chance that there are any survivors,” you commented with a straight face causing all three of your classmates to look at you with a surprised expression on what you just said, but before anyone could deny your statement.

“Excuse me! Excuse me, where’s Tadashi?!” a worried voice cried, causing everyone to look, only to find a woman waving her hand while guards tried to push her back, preventing her to come any closer to all of you.

“Is Tadashi...Is my son Tadashi all right?!” the woman asked in a panic, leading you to give her a sympathetic look before you slowly walked up to her with a calm expression on your face.

‘If someone asks if someone is okay at the beginning of the mission, take it like a way a doctor calms down a patient or how a police officer informs the public about a case, dear. Imagine it from your perspective, you would want to know if I was okay, wouldn’t you?’

‘Yeah, I would mother’

“Ma’am, we are going inside to see if there is anyone else in the building, if we find your son, we will inform you as quickly as we can, is that okay with you?” you gently asked the worried mother since you needed to calm her down in the worst-case scenario that you, your classmates and she had to prepare for.

Looking at you straight in the eye, she timidly nodded at you causing you to present her with a small smile to help calm her down further. “Please, I need you to step away for the time being since there is a possibility that someone has spread a poisonous gas throughout the centre, but I can not give you any more detail than I can offer,” you explained to her causing the mother’s expression to turned into a shocked one before dropping onto her knees as she grew numb.

“Please find my son,” she begged quietly as tears flowed down her face.

“We’ll try our best ma’am,” you answered her before turning back to your classmates as they looked at you with amazed faces since it seemed like you had done this a million times before - like a profession.

‘Let’s hope that one to five per cent change is in your favour’

“Fushiguro, Kugisaki, Gojo, we’re gonna save them!” Itadori announced in a determined tone causing everyone to turn to him with a determined expression on their faces.

“Of course we are,” Kugisaki answered.

ꕥ

All four of you were now walking towards the entrance of Eushi Detention Centre’s Detainee Block 2 after you have given your black cloth bag that was holding your katana for Ijichi to hold since there was no need to hide the weapon anymore.

“Be careful,” Ijichi said, before raising his fingers to prepare the sleeve that was needed to consume the detention centre, so the outside world didn’t see what was going on inside.

Suddenly, a dark blue aura was cast onto the middle of the sky before slowly descending on all sides like a dome covering a plate of food causing the sky to darken to Itadori’s surprise.

“It’s becoming night!” Itadori shouted as he took a full preview of what was going on, leading Fushiguro to take a glance behind him to inform his obvious classmate that it was the veil Ijichi was placing.

“There’s a residential area nearby, so the barrier conceals us from the outside world,” Fushiguro explained, leading Itadori to express his amazement while Kugisaki gave him the irritated look as well comment since it was basic sorcerer knowledge to know what a veil was.

Suddenly, you heard a loud clap that echoed around the area causing you to look in the direction on where you heard it, only to see Fushiguro’s hands be in a position that was familiar to you.

“Demon Dog!” Fushiguro said before a shower suddenly took form from his to summon the white divine dog that you knew so well from the first time you met him to appear as it howled in response. “He’ll let us know if the curse gets close,” Fushiugro informed you all as the dog looked in his master’s direction.

“Oh, I see!” Itadori said in a light tone before he made his way towards the shikigami to pet it’s snow-white while chanting ‘good boy’ to it as he then expressed his gratitude for its support. However, it seemed like the dog was interested in something else as it stood up on its back legs to make its way towards you before whining as if it wanted something from you.

Looking down at the dog that was now staring at you with its yellow eyes, you couldn’t help but rub its head leading it to relish your affection that you were giving it as it moved it’s head further into your palm as if it can get more out of you.

“I think it’s time to go to Fushiguro don’t you think?” you asked the dog in a light tone, causing it to whine for a moment before going back to its master so it was prepared for the mission that it was about to undertake.

Pushing the door open, Fushiguro and Itadori were in front while Kugisaki and you were behind as everyone prepared themselves for what they were about to go into. “Let’s go,” Fushiguro stated before taking the first step leading the dog to follow in next as well for the rest of you.

However, before you took one step closer into the building you realised something was not what it seemed. From what you can recall, according to Ichiji, the building was said to be a two-story dorm and not the one, you were standing in front of right now, there was no possible way, it was too high up.

‘It’s not a maisonette, it’s too advanced for that,’ you thought as you continued to analyse the surroundings before concluding what you had dreaded, ‘it’s an incomplete Innate Domain, meaning the curse has already fully developed!”

“Hold up!” you shouted at the three sorcerers behind you causing them to pause before turning to look at you, only to find you staring up which led them to do the same leading them to realise why you had halted their movements in the first place.

“Right now, we’re in the middle of the development of an Innate Domain! Is there a door behind me?” you asked in a panic, causing everyone to look at you, only to discover the door had disappeared.

“Th-The door’s gone!” Itadori mentioned in a surprised tone causing you to look at him with widened eyes before turning around to only discover he wasn’t lying to you at all.

‘Shit! How the hell am I going to get everyone back safely? They don’t know how to deal with a special grade from what I can tell, let alone an incomplete Innate Domain’

“How?! We just came in through here, didn’t we?!” Kugisaki mentioned in a stutter as she pointed at the direction where the door should have been while Itadori nodded at her with a few cold sweats dripping down his face.

“What do we do? Ah, what do we do about this?” Itadori and Kugisaki sang as they danced in circles, in a way trying to ease their stress and the tension that came along with the whole situation nearly causing you to giggle at the sight.

“It’ll be fine, the dog remembers the scent of the entrance,” Fushiguro interrupted as he looked annoyed at the two dancers, while the mentioned dog looked back to check on everyone.

“Oh, my~” Itadori and Kugisaki warmheartedly expressed before they started to pet the dog once their mood was lifted with them shouted how they were going to give him jerky later and how much of a ‘good boy’ it was, letting the dog once again relish in the attention that it was being present with.

“You are way too calm!” Fushiguro angrily expressed at two since the mood didn’t match the setting they were in at all.

“You really are dependable, Fushiguro!” Itadori expressed with a grin causing Fushiguro to snap out of his anger. “Thanks to you, we’ll be able to recuse people and save ourselves, too!” Itadori then commented, leading Fushiguro to look at the ground before you suddenly decided to take the first step of carrying on since you were being cautious with the three other sorcerers with you.

‘How long has it been since I faced a special-grade in a fight?’

“Let’s keep moving,” the shikigami user commanded in a stern voice since he saw you making the first way through, letting the other two know that they needed to start moving as well.

While walking, there were the eerie echoes of your footstep causing you to wonder where the actual curse was before entering what seemed to be the centre of the domain. However, you suddenly paused leading the other three to wonder why you came to a halt before looking at the sight that you were looking in the direction of.

Being the first one to react, Itadori rushed to what seemed to be someone’s body - well half of it - and maybe as the second victim since there was a full skeleton that was seemed to be curled up in an excruciating way next to the main body causing you to give your condolences to whoever the person was before observing the area around you to make sure the mention special-grade curse wasn’t near at all.

“Atrocious,” Kugisaki commented in disgust as she stared at the corpses insight.

“That’s...three people, right?” Fushiguro questioned as he quickly took note of how many more victims or survivors there could be - if there were any at this point.

Crouching down, Itadori didn’t answer his classmate’s question, as he then tugged on the detention centre’s dark blue uniform to check the person’s identification, only to realise something that he didn’t want to happen.

“Let’s take this body back,” Itadori suddenly stated, causing confusion to rise within the group since they didn’t know what caused the salmon-haired boy to comment something like that.

“Huh?” Kugissaki asked in confusion.

“It’s that woman’s son,” Itadori regretfully stated, causing you to close your eyes before letting out an internal sign of disappointment before coming to the realisation that you weren’t really surprised at the outcome.

‘Sorry, Ma’am, it seemed the one to five chance wasn’t with you for today’

“But…” Kugisaki slowly stuttered out before being interrupted by Itadori as he then explained that the victim’s face wasn’t mangled and that they still had to give the body back to the mother since it wouldn’t be hard to accept that fact without the body, yet before he could carry on with the plan he was unexpectantly coming up with, he felt someone pull him back by the hood causing him to be surprised at the sudden movement.

“We have to find and verify two more, leave that body behind,” Fushiguro once again commanded, which caused Itadori to shout at him back as he didn’t understand why the body should be left behind.

“Quit joking around! We turned around, and the way we got in here was gone! We won’t be able to come back for it later!” Itadori stated.

“I didn’t say come back for it! I said to leave it behind!” Fushiguro argued back in the same volume of tone, trying to make Itadori understand the situation that they were in and it was not possible to bring the body back at all - there was no point to him. “I have no intention of risking my own life to save someone I had no intention of saving in the first place!” Fushiguro frustratingly stated, only leading Itadori to grab his collar in return as a way to rebuke.

“No intention of saving him? What do you mean?!” Itadori asked in a perplexed tone, confused on what Fushiguro meant when it was their mission to save the remaining survivors that might be in the centre right now.

“This is a juvenile detention centre, Jujutsu sorcerers are granted access to all information about the scene beforehand,” Fushiguro declared before continuing his explanation by stating, “this Okazaki Tadashi hit a little girl on her way home from school while driving without a license, it was his second offence of driving without a license,” leading Itadori to look at his friend in vexation and surprise at the news he was receiving about the man he was going to ‘save’.

“I know you’re stuck on saving lots of people and guiding them to proper deaths, but what are you going to do when someone you saved kills someone else in the future?” Fushiguro asked with a stern tone trying to make his point of view understandable to the boy in front of him.

“Then why did you bother saving me?!” Itadori cried out, as a way to rebuke his statement due to the situation of him being the vessel of Ryomen Sukuna, only to gain nothing but silence from the shikigami user in front of him as he tightened the grip on the collar he was grabbing.

“Oi stop being such drags, I didn’t come to Jujutsu Tech to hear your reasons for being a jujutsu sorcerer, get moving!” you demanded in a menacing tone before unhooking your katana that was secured on your lower back horizontally, preparing to use the weapon to separate them.

“Cut it out! Christ, what are you two doing?! You’re both idiots” Kugisaki shouted in equal frustration with you, as she made her way towards the two boys with her fists in the air.

“Think about the time and place if you-”

However, before she could continue the angry rant, she was suddenly sucked into the floor causing you to quickly react by trying to grab her hand, only to be too late when she was fully consumed into the hole that was created.

“Kugisaki?” Itadori called out in confused, only for Fushiguro to become shocked at the new situation that had occurred before turning forwards to see the sudden and dreadful outcome of his divine dog that was supposed to detect if any curses were near leading you to look at the same direction before suddenly feeling a presence of what you should have felt earlier.

‘If those two drags didn’t distract me with their argument, we shouldn’t have to worry about our wellbeing right now!’

“Itadori! L/N! We’re running, we’ll search for Kugisaki la-” Fushiguro panic before you suddenly screamed at both of them.

“DON’T MOVE!” you screamed, once you suddenly made eye contact on the curse that was standing right in near them, causing you to grip on your katana tighter as all three of you stayed completely still while you were coming up with a plan to see if you could put a distance between the curses and your classmate.

Suddenly, you saw Itadori’s shaky hand reach over to his weapon as he unleashed it from the leather casing before violently swinging it to cut the curse in some way, only for the sudden decapitation of his hand to be the result of his attempt causing massive amounts of blood to spill like a fountain.

“Itadori?” Fushiguro's voice shook while you were in the opposite of that mood right now.

Swiftly, you slide your feet around, landing between the boys before raising your katana making sure the tip on the black wooden casing was pointing at the special-grade curse’s face.

“Destructive Curse Spell number one: Sho,” you chanted, causing your curse energy to travel from your arms to the length of your sword before a small shot of cursed energy to thrust its force against the curse’s face leading it to be violently pushed back against the concrete wall before turning towards Itadori with an angered expression, “I told you not to move and you decide to go against me!” you screamed in frustration before quickly turning back to look at the direction on where the special grade was flung in a confused but equally concentrated manner.

‘That curse spell isn’t even that strong, it’s my weakest, yet it managed to make it fly across the room, is it really a special grade by nature…..or did it eat something?’

“I can’t escape after it’s gotten this close! Hey, Sukuna! If I die, you die too, right?” Itadori determinedly asked, causing you to look at him with a startled expression.

‘Does this guy have a death warrant? Are you even listening to me?!’

“If you don’t want that, then help me out!” Itadori commanded leading you to further look at him like he was the craziest person in the world right now.

“Are you stupid?!” you screamed, only for Itadori to ignore you as Sukuna’s eye and mouth appeared on his cheek.

“Nope! Even if the parts of me inside you die, there are eighteen other fragments of my soul. Still, irritatingly enough, I don’t have control of this body, if you want to switch, go ahead and switch,” Sukuna taunted as he continued with his threats, “but once you do, I’ll kill that brat before the cursed spirit can, then I’ll go for that woman, she’s a lively one, I’ll have fun with her then I’ll go to her right there, she seemed like someone that knows how to fight,” leading you to place your weapon inches away from his eye.

“Stop talking, you’re making me lose concentration Sukuna,” you stated in a nonchalant tone before going back to find an explanation on why your cursed technique managed to give so much force to the special grade that was now starting to stand back up on its feet.

“I’m not going to let you do that!” Itadori declared in an inflamed tone, only for the King of Curses to taunt back without any hesitation.

“I bet! But if you’re too focused on me, your friends are gonna die,” Sukuna teased, causing you to look at the small eye and mouth with an annoyed look on your face.

“I said stop talking, you’re making me lose concentration,” you threateningly stated, only to suddenly realise that the special-grade was about to attack once again, leading to your cursed energy to flow from the palm of your hands to the tip of your fingers as your placed you left hand up like you were stopping someone.

“Binding Curse Spell number eighty-one: Danku!” you chanted, leading to the familiar large rectangular defensive wall to form in front of you, Itadori and Fushiguro, protecting you from cursed energy that the special-grade it was about to attack you with, but the concrete that wasn’t behind the wall didn’t seem to survive since the concrete turned into debris leaving evidence of its strength for you and Fushiguro to observe.

‘Pure cursed energy? So it doesn’t have any cursed techniques….ah what a drag…’ you concluded before turning to Fushiguro only to see him with widened eyes to that attack causing you to predict that he also thought the same thing as you.

“Fushiguro! Fushiguro! Fushiguro!” Itadori yelled out, trying to get the skikigami user’s attention before his third call caught his awareness as he turned to look at the screaming boy. “Take L/N and Kugisaki and get out of here!” Itadori demanded, causing you to look at him once again with an astonished look on your face, yet before you could grab his red collar in a way to argue his point, Itadori continued with, “I’ll keep this one bust until you three are out, as soon as you’re out, give me some kind of signal and once you do...I’ll switch with Sukuna,” to which Fushiguro screamed at his reckless plan. However, you were too focused on the curse in front of you, wondering why it was considered a special-grade then it took some sort of damage from a weak technique of yours.

As of right now, the curse seemed to be enjoying itself even when you managed to damage it and deflect its attack with two simple cursed spells. There was no point in letting your katana out of its wooden casing, it wouldn't be able to take the damage but there was the situation with Kugisaki being somewhere in the building as well, so there was a risk of taking your weapon out.

‘It’s definitely ate something, but what? There is a chance that it is Sukuna’s finger but that’s rare, besides it seemed like the fool hasn’t sensed anything from it to be his finger’

However, before you could even prepare your next attack to exorcise the curse to end the life and death situation Itadori and Fushiguro were in, you surprisingly felt someone grab your wrist before pulling you away from the battle that you had started leading you to look at the culprit to find out it was Fushiguro, who was dragging you away from the situation.

“What are you doing?!” you shouted before trying to pry your hand away from his grasp, only for him to tighten his hold in a way to not let you escape.

“We’re running, we need to find Kugisaki before giving Itadori the signal to get out of there,” Fushiguro explained in a stressed manner leading you to scream back at him on the thoughtless decision that had been made without your input.

“Are you crazy? You need to take back Itadori and let me fight that curse Fushiguro, he won’t be able to survive at all!” you yelled out in anger.

“Are you the crazy one? We don’t know what grade sorcerer you are and you want to exorcise that thing?!” Fushiguro argued back.

“So what makes Itadori capable? He doesn’t know how to control cursed energy or any techniques, TAKE ME BACK!” you panicked, only for his grip to tighten more at your comment of going back.

No one words were exchanged.

ꕥ

Within a flash, you and Fushiguro managed to grab Kugisaki before she was devoured by the curse she was fighting against while both of you were trying to find her.

At this current moment in time, you were outside the exit with Kugisaki in Ijichi’s arm, Fushiguro on the floor tired from running while you were standing behind the other divine dog that was giving Itadori the signal. However, even though you knew the signal was for Itadori to switch with Sukuna, you were conflicted on the idea leading your body to move forward towards the entrance to enter again.

However, you were stopped by the black dog using its body to push you back, once it was done with the signal it was giving to Itadori.

“Stop it!” Fushiguro stated as he stood up to put his arm in front of you to prevent you from moving forward. However, you were angry, pissed off and frustrated at this point.

“You should have listened to me, you drag!” you screamed at him before gripping the arm that was blocking your path. However, while you were looking at the erratic-haired sorcerer with pure rage in your eyes, Fushiguro was startled about the immense amount of cursed energy that was surrounding you as he was shocked that he didn’t notice it earlier when he had met you, it was alarming and intimidating to him as he didn’t even stand a chance to dominant his over you, it extended in power and strength than he had ever thought it would have.

How did you hide it so well?

ꕥ

Currently, you were at the gated entrance to the Eushi Detention Centre, where you had laid Kugisaki down at the back seats of the car before closing the door to stand in the rain with Fushiguro - much to your annoyance.

“Please explain the evacuation area to ten kilometres,” Fushiguro stated in a serious tone since he didn't know what could happen next since Itadori was still inside the building. Expanding the evacuation area was the best thing to do right now.

“What about you and Gojo?” Ijichi asked in a worried tone as he turned to look at you both through the gap on the window of his car.

“We’ll wait here for Itadori to return,” you stated in a serious tone to which Ichiji understood since you were so adamant to enter back to the building despite the many attempts Fushiguro tried to stop you.

“After I take Kugisaki-san to the hospital, I’ll return as quickly as possible,” Ijichi declared, only for Fushiguro to give a discouraged look to him before stating, “no, there wouldn’t be much point in you-”

“I need you to come back but I want you to stay at least one kilometre away from the evacuation area, at this rate if Itadori has switched, I want you to be as safe as possible but in the end, if you don’t hear from us at least an hour when you come back, go back to Jujutsu Tech immediately,” you interrupted Fushiguro by pushing your body in front of him while giving Ijichi the instructions you needed him to hear since you didn’t know the possible outcome that this was going to go to.

“If you can, please send a grade one sorcerer or higher but that won’t be necessary if I don't die,” you sternly commented, leading both Fushiguro and Ijichi to shiver at the statement you just announced.

Still shaken at what you had just said, Ijichi sent himself off before closing the window to prevent any cold raindrops from coming at him as he drove away from the area you and Fushiguro were standing in right now.

“If you don’t want to listen to me, I ain’t going to listen to you at all then Fushiguro,” you stated with a frown painted on your face before looking back at the building behind his body.

Taking your katana, you looked at the bottom of the handle to find a metal loop at the bottom with a red charm tied before it was simply slowly unwinded by you as you prepared for the worst that was about to come.

“What are you doing L/N?” Fushiguro asked in a worried tone, causing you to turn to look at him with a deadpan expression.

“Just preparing for the worst Fushiguro”

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juletheghoul · 4 years ago

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Oblivius Chapter 4

Am I insane for posting another chapter? Yes. Am I doing it anyway? Yes. Should you message me about how you feel about Spills & Francis? YES!

(Got a song you want added to the playlist? send it to me!)

I've gotten so much love over this series and I cannot tell you how happy it makes me that you guys love these two idiots as much as I do. <3

(Feo means ugly in Spanish but it can be used as a term of endearment between [male] friends)

Likes & reblogs are appreciated

Frankie Morales x F!Reader

Pairing: Frankie x F!Reader

Word Count: 2.2K

Warnings: Angst, yearning, 18+ language, alcohol (Spills gets wasted)(Please let me know if I forget anything)

Masterlist Series Masterlist Part 3 Part 5 Playlist

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Age: 17

“No Francis I don’t wanna watch this - I’m gonna get scared.” It was late, you were both sitting in his cozy living-room, a big shit-eating grin on his face.

“Why, are you chicken? It’s just The Shining, it's not even scary.” He put it on and despite your protests, he settled and let the movie play, You gave him a pout.

“Okay if you really don’t want to I’ll change it you big baby.” He rolled his eyes to grab the remote but you stopped him.

“Promise you’ll walk me home?” You knew it was one of his favourites. He smiled wide.

“Of course! If it’s too much I'll change it.” He gave you most of the blanket that was draped over his legs and you sat very close to him. He was taller than you remembered him being, having gone through a growth spurt over the summer and he towered over you now. All knees and elbows.

When the room scene came on you burrowed your face into his neck and he wrapped an arm around you, you were so pretty. Your hair smelled so good and he buried his nose into the messy bun you wore. You practically clawed at him, trying to get closer - he made you feel safe.

“Is it still scary?” You spoke into his neck.

“Yes - don’t look yet, just a little longer.”

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

**Present Day**

Pope was holding up a shot-glass full of something and there were shots lined up for the three of you when you walked in.

“Catfish, I never thought it would happen for you feo, but I’m glad it did. Claudia, he’s lucky to have you.” He raised his shot glass and a chorus of ��To Frankie and Claudia’ rang out before everyone tipped the liquor back.

The burn in the back of your throat couldn’t just be from the tequila, you’d swallowed a lump. You’d forced back the tears stinging your eyes when he dipped her back to kiss her. With her laughing and grabbing his neck they were the picture of romance and the smile you had plastered to your face must have looked manic. Popes eyes caught yours then and his eyebrows raised, a question in his features that you couldn’t quite read but he looked away and left you with your thoughts.

You got very drunk. Fall-down drunk. Forget about everything drunk.

“Spills, I think you should stop - you’re going to feel like hell tomorrow.” He was softly taking the shot out of your hand and you tried to fight him but his grip was iron.

“St-op t-telling me wh-what to do Francisco.” You tried to take it back but it seemed like the floor was coming up to say hi. An iron grip around your middle stopped you from losing a couple of teeth.

“Jesus Spills, okay - that’s enough. I’m cutting you off.” He held onto you and you wanted nothing more than to turn around and kiss him but you also wanted to throw up. Decisions decisions.

“I-think-imgonnabesick…” you brought your hand up to your mouth and part of you expected him to let go but he didn’t.

“Take a deep breath, it’s okay, Pope can you get me some water?” He was holding onto you, rubbing soothing circles onto your back and you tried to focus on his hands on you as the whole room spun dangerously. A few minutes later he was holding a cold glass of water to your lips. “Drink the whole thing, I'm going to hold it because if you spill it I'll kill you.” You chugged it down and he put it on the table.

“When did you get so strong, Francis?” Your words were slurred and you felt his chest rumbling with laughter at your question. “You smell so good.” You said it lower- more to yourself, but he heard and the laughing stopped.

“Oh no! Are you okay Spills?” Claudia was there now, her hands pulling your hair away from your face and before you could succumb to the urge to tell her never to call you that Frankie spoke up.

“She’s okay, just need to get her home. You’re okay right, Spills?” His voice was lower, so soothing you could fall asleep to it.

“Hey Frankie, you and Claudia should stay, tell me where she lives and I’ll get her home.” It was Pope, Frankie must have trusted him immensely because before you knew it he was putting you into the front seat of Pope's rental and buckling you in. Claudia was tying your hair back and putting your purse into your lap.

“Be careful please - this is her address, just make sure she gets in and lays face down. There should be a bucket somewhere in her bathroom - water and some aspirin on her night table.” Frankie was talking as you closed your eyes. When you opened them you were parked in front of your place.

“Hey honey, come on let's get you inside. I’m just going to look for your keys, okay?” Pope was taking your purse out of your lap. You nodded vaguely.

He helped you in and guided you to your bed. You could feel him taking off your shoes and throwing the blanket over you.

-----

Someone is driving an ice-pick into my skull.

The light was intense and you swore out loud when you cracked an eye open. You stretched and felt a piece of paper beside you on the bed.

“I locked your door - keys are in your mailbox. Drink the water - take the ibuprofen. Let Catfish know you’re okay when you wake up- he was worried. - Pope”

You groaned.

[Francis]: Spills, are you okay?

[Francis]: Can you answer me please?

[Francis]: Don’t tell me you’re still asleep? What, are you a teenager? Getting drunk and sleeping until 4pm????

[Francis]: Sorry Spills, just worried - can you please let me know you’re okay before I show up?

You could see the three little dots signalling that he was in the middle of typing another message and you quickly called him to stop him.

“Jesus, it’s about fucking time.” He sounded worried and relieved and it pulled on your heart strings in a way you both loved and hated.

“Stop yelling Francisco, I am begging you.” You threw your arm over your eyes to block out the light as you lay there, in yesterday's clothes. You didn’t even want to know what you looked like right now.

“Feeling all that tequila aren’t you? I haven’t seen you that drunk for a long time.” You could hear the faint smile in his voice.

“Yes yes I know - so fucking embarrasing. Did I do.. Or say anything..?” You were trying to ask him without asking him.

“You almost threw up, but if you’re asking me if you started table-dancing you’re good.” He laughed and you sighed with palpable relief. All you needed was for him to tell you that you’d confessed your love or told Claudia to fuck off.

“Thank god. That would have been all I needed. Can you tell Pope I said thanks? Okay, I'm going to go shower for a million years now.” You wanted to hang up, your head was pounding and you needed a few hours of silence and about a gallon of water.

“Okay - see you in a few hours.” You didn’t want to deal with both of them together, not with how you felt right now.

“No Francis I don’t want to entertain, I already embarrassed myself enough yesterday.”

“It’s just me coming and I’ve seen you much worse. I haven’t been home in a long time so, take a shower and do what you have to do and I'll be there at seven.” He hung up and you could have thrown your phone across the room.

Fuck.

---

The knock at the door at exactly seven didn’t surprise you.

What did surprise you was how nervous you were that he would be coming over.

You were literally attached at the hip at one point, he’s seen you at your worst.

“You’re looking much better than you did last night, Spills.” He laughed as he walked past you and into your home.

“Oh god.” You groaned as he laughed, why had you been nervous? You watched him as he set down the bags of what looked to be way too much food on your kitchen counter. Grabbing napkins and forks - completely at ease within your space. “What did you bring?” moved to peak into the bags.

“Chinese - “ He looked to see your eyes wide and the big toothy smile you were giving him and laughed. “Did you think I’d forget you always get Chinese when you’re hungover?” He laughed as he took out what looked to be all your favourites.

“You’re a lifesaver Francis, truly.” You were practically bouncing on the balls of your feet as you served yourself.

“I know, I’m practically a saint.” He walked over to your couch and plopped down, an egg-roll in his mouth as he turned on your TV and looked for something to watch. This was it - this was how it was supposed to be.

This was easy.

He had come over in comfy clothes and seeing him on your couch in sweats and a soft flannel was almost too much. His hair had gotten longer than he had worn it before he went away and it looked so soft; practically begged for your fingers.

“Are you still a baby about horror movies?” He asked without looking at you, you saw that he had put on some cheesy zombie movie. A big smile on his face.

“No, I’m okay, as long as you check every single corner of this place before you leave.”

“God I love horror movies, Claudia hates them so we never end up watching.” He sighed. Her name cut through the air like a knife. An ice cube casually dropped into your shirt.

“That’s too bad.” You quickly shoved food into your mouth, stopping yourself from saying anything you’d regret but he knew you too well. He looked at you then, eyes narrowing a fraction.

“Do you like her?” He asked, point blank and your eyes widened at him.

Fuck, don’t make me answer this right now.

“Yeah, she’s great.” To your credit, you tried. You really tried to sound genuine.

“Why don’t you like her Spills?” He sighed heavily, putting his plate down onto your coffee table to face you properly.

“What are you talking about? I said she was great!” You could feel the flush creeping up your neck and licking at your face at the lie. She was great, that wasn’t a lie - you just didn’t like her.

“Seriously? You’re going to act like I can’t tell you’re lying through your teeth? Just tell me! I’m going to marry this girl. I have to know why you don’t like her.” He had a little frown on his face and you could see that he was worried, but what would he have to be worried about? Worried you’d picked up on something he’d missed maybe?

“I just don’t know her, Francis, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong with her, you know I'm just weird. She seems really nice and I’m sure I’ll like her once I get to know her better.” You smiled at him sadly, you didn’t want to talk about her anymore.

He smiled back at you and picked up his plate, happy with your explanation.

---

It always seemed to happen this way, ever since you’d been teenagers. He’d put on something scary and you would end up with your face buried into his chest.

“Oh god - that is disgusting!” You shut your eyes as he laughed, his chest rumbling underneath you at a particularly gruesome scene. You felt his hand rubbing your arm, and it was such a comfort that you sighed lightly. The words bubbled up without your permission.

“I missed this.” You felt him rest his chin on the crown of your head.

“Me too Spills, I always missed this while I was away, missed you.” He spoke into your hair, you could feel his breath ghosting along your scalp and your heart raced, you wanted nothing more than to turn and kiss him. His hand stilled, and you felt his heart beating under your ear. You wanted to do it, your whole body seemed to tense with want and you turned slightly to look at him through your lashes. He was already staring at you, his mouth was so close.

His phone rang, snapping him out of his trance and you moved away from him reluctantly.

“Hey babe, what’s up?” He smiled apologetically. “Just take a deep breath, it’ll be okay. I’m on my way.” He hung up and gave you a look that said I’m sorry. “Gotta go, wedding emergency.” He sighed heavily as he got up, taking both your plates to the kitchen with him.

You wanted him to stay, you wanted to grab him and sit him back down on the couch and straddle him. Grab the soft material of the flannel while you kissed him but you didn’t. Instead you smiled and thanked him for coming and for the food.

He made his way through the apartment before he left, opening every door.

“Just checking every corner, so you can sleep.” He smiled.

I love you too.

————————————

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capt-spooki3 · 4 years ago

Text

By The Witch's Grace

Chapter One

A Sbi "choose your own story" fanfiction

It seems Y/n, a known and hated magic user in their small town, has a lot to deal with after the rowdy bunch that is Philza, Wilbur, Technoblade, and Tommy, show up at their door step in the midst of a giant snow storm...

Warning: Cursing, talk of hate/discrimination

2.6k words

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“Alright, we need flour, milk, apples... Uh no no stop meowing, please. Shit okay, flour, milk, apples, and what? Oh god, was it- oh! Bottles! Of course, geez.” Y/n laughs at themself before kneeling down, and pets the head of their cat who was demanding their attention. The little feline, who looked like a little toasted marshmallow, purred and meowed as she was happy with the much-needed attention.

“Alright Poppy, I’ll be back. Be a good little girl for me, okay? I’ll be back in time to give you supper I promise.” They baby talked to the cat with little forehead kisses before getting back up to their feet and reaching toward the wall where a large cloak was hung on a large nail next to the door. They threw on the heavy fabric and clasped the small glass button to keep it on their shoulders, their hand lingering as it passed over the glassy eye that permanently stayed on a chain around their neck. The result of a curse placed, not too long ago, that bound it to their person until death. Just the luck of someone who often plays with magic that they can barely comprehend.

The piece would pass as a decoration to any untrained eye, but to those who delved into the arts of magic, any one of them could tell you what this object was. With the deep and light greens with accents of blue and a cat-eye pupil that was forever staring, there was no mistaking an eye of ender. The object was rich in stored-up mana, but it was no joke. Even with the most skilled of mages, they had to be most cautious and limit their time interacting with the eye. The sooner they distanced themself from it the better as the eye has been heavily rumored to take possession of people who use its magic for too long. Mages long past wrote notes in books, Y/n as read countless times, on how the eye has influenced beings to cause great harm and destruction. Its motives are still unknown.

With the object on their person 24/7, they take caution every moment in case the eye decides it's time to take control. They hope it isn't any time soon.

Tucking the eye of ender under the latch of the cloak, they peeked outside to be met with chilled air kissing their cheeks. The bitter promise of snow.

More the reason to get their errands done as soon as they could to get back home. As if their life being in danger wasn’t the biggest reason to rush so they could hide again. They carefully pulled on their hood and hid as much of their features as they could within the cloak before stashing a satchel that jingled with coins and setting off through the door.

Being able to leave their distant home was always a treat, but also a constant threat to their life. They were never positive if they would return home after each venture. As a magic user, thoughtfully given the nickname of ‘Witch’ from the townsfolk, they weren’t liked much. They made the mistake of trying to show off their powers once before learning quickly that magic was despised among these people. It was only associated with the rich who treated people lower than them like they were dirt under their shiny boots. Luckily they still had a vendor in the town that sold to them, it was the only thing keeping them going.

After about a hour walk down a few winding forest paths that they carved out by themself after years of taking the same route, the port town was in view. Snow littered the ground to the sides of the dirt roads that they walked along and the small breeze that was present ran cold, the overcast sky promised a harsh amount of snow. That is bound to make next week fun. They sure were lucky to bring extra coins so they can stock up.

Once reaching the main town, they made sure to keep their head down and slip through the hundreds of bodies at the markets. It was all routine now, sadly. They took a turn down an alley that harbored a few stray cats and even a dog that scattered when they pressed on down the alley. Softly, they knocked a code to the shopkeep on the old wooden door.

The door just barely creaked open and an old green eye peered out. Y/n looked down to meet the weary eye peeking out at them and couldn't fight a smile. An old cackle rang out and the door opened up wide to an older woman. She was small and had all gray and white hair that was long and braided over her shoulder, but her eyes were alive and she was brimming with joy.

“Oh my little bird, how are you doing?” She said fondly with a slight German accent and Y/n knelt for the woman when she reached to hold their cheeks and look them over.

“I’m well Oma, thank you. You look as young as ever.” The kind words made the woman laugh and she put her hands on her hips and let out a sigh of contentment.

“So what do you need today? I just got in a big order of sugar if you want some.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful actually. I need flour, milk, and is Opa at his shop today? I need apples and he always has those bottles that I need.”

“Actually, he is home sick today,” She started and she walked into the shop to retrieve what Y/n needed. “He caught a small cold but he’ll be better soon. Wait just a moment and I’ll go grab everything.”

The lady went off on her way and Y/n sat on the doorstep, waiting and watching the people walk past the end of the alley. They cringed to themselves whenever they caught the word witch in some distant conversations, they seemed to be a tall tale at this point. At least they weren’t being actively hunted down anymore.

A few long minutes passed and there was a small thump that caught their attention in the shop, when they looked back there were two large sacks and no sign of the woman. Rest assured, after a few moments, the old lady was just barely managing to carry two more large sacks filled to the brim with the few things they had asked for plus much more as they usually only bring one sack home each trip.

“Oma! Oh no, I don’t have enough for all of this! Besides, I can’t possibly carry this all back home.”

“I know, I know. You’ll need it with the weather we have coming on tonight, as payment you can show me that magic you talked about last time. You know that… carrying magic..” She gestured wildly, trying her hardest to remember the word as Y/n stood back up.

“Oh, my spatial magic? I’m not too good at it, but I am sure I can manage this. Alright, are you ready?” They checked the alley for possible watching eyes before holding their hands out with their palms toward the bags.

The old woman stepped back and watched with excitement, her eyes practically sparkling already. Y/n closed their eyes and sucked in a deep breath, their hand flexing a bit and opening wider. A soft purple light began to emit from their hands and two thin, long arms that seemed to be made from the night sky itself stretched out and each hand touched the sack and engulfed it in darkness before retreating back within Y/n’s hands. They let out their held and concentrated breath with a deep sigh, their muscles and bones feeling heavy as they held some of the weight of the sacks within their being.

“That was amazing! Oh, you are so talented, I am so proud of you.” The woman said happily and walked forward, pulling Y/n down and kissing the head of the young mage she seemed to love. “Please hurry home now, stay safe. Opa and I love you and I hope to see you again soon.”

She waved them off and Y/n waved back, pulling their hood down more for precaution, and slipped into the crowd toward the road they took back home. They felt rather blessed they were able to make it home without even a scare.

They walked along the road, waiting to see their well-worn path as the heaviness of their body grew with walking uphill. Using magic like this weighed on the body and the soul with however much the individual was carrying. They reached up, pulling down the clasp to their cloak to reveal the eye of ender to the world. As much as they didn't want to rely on its power, it was the only way they would confidently make it home. Grasping the warm object tight, it pulsed with magic beneath their fingers as if it were alive, they sent their mana into the eye to mix and grant them a magic boost. They knew quite well the item was evil and no good to toy with, what else should one do when it's bound to them for life? With a soft purple glow to their eyes now, their body felt lighter and the strain to keep their goodies in a personal pocket in the dimension lifted almost completely. They shook off their bits of anxiety with the gain of power and picked up the pace to get home as small flurries were filling the air around them.

The walk back home was fast and they were beyond relieved upon opening the door and feeling the hug of the warm cottage and a string of excited meows when their familiar raced to greet them.

“Hey Poppy, miss me?” They stroked the cat before kneeling on the ground to perform the same technique of magic for consuming the sacks to spit them back out onto the ground in front of them and hummed a soft tune while they went through the goodies and put them in their respected places around the three stories of the home. Before they noticed it, the world outside had grown dark and they lit the lanterns around the house and peered through a window to see the snow blowing strongly and the wind howling, they hadn’t even gotten a chance to see the sunset. This was turning out to be a real blizzard, they did a silent prayer that it wouldn’t last long.

Just as Y/n was trying to put the last of the sugar away there was a heavy thump on the door followed by a hurried couple of knocks of which were all inconsistent but did the job of grabbing their attention. They fumbled with the sugar but safely put it down before hurrying to the door, their fast movements spooked the cat and caused her to scramble away to go hide.

Once getting the locks undone they opened up the door to see four individuals standing there, waiting. Two of the larger individuals there stood on the sides to frame the group in a way. The one on the left most who had shoulder-length pink hair and noticeable tusks sticking out from his bottom lip and inhuman down pointed ears, was using his large, red cloak to hold a blond boy who was about to his shoulder, against him and shield him from the snow. The two both had on heavy armor, though, the blond’s armor was a bit more leather than metal. On the other end stood a taller man with brown hair who also was in armor and was hunched over to be able to get covered by a large dark grey wing that held him. Said wings belonging to a man who was shorter than the brunette and had on expensive-looking mage robes and messy blond hair. The winged man looked to Y/n in desperation as he began to speak.

“Please let us stay for the night. We will leave as the sun rises, please just-”

“Stop talking- just come in. Hurry! It’s got to be below zero out there.” Y/n hurriedly ushered the bunch inside as they held the door open for them.

The burly pink-haired man was the first to make a move as he pushed the blond boy off of him and through the doorway and was already reaching over to push the brown-haired man next. He made sure the winged individual made his way in before going in. He looked at Y/n who was still holding the door and adjusted his jaw, a nervous habit it seemed, eyes darting around a bit before he returned his eyes to them and gave a nod of appreciation.

Y/n barley was able to get the door closed after him before they turned around and was assaulted with a hug from the winged man, he was incredibly cold. They hugged the man back, rubbing his back a little as he said many soft thank yous to them, though they watched the other three who stood close and looked around at the bottom portion of their home. The blond boy hugged himself close, shivering and the brunette rubbed his back as he looked around.

They hope they wouldn’t regret not thinking it through before letting a bunch of strange people into their home.

“I truly cannot thank you enough for this. We would have died out there.” The man said as he finally let go of Y/n and studied their face for a moment, looking for words it seemed. “We should introduce ourselves. I’m Phil and the big guy back there is Technoblade. The lanky one is Wilbur and the blond one between them is Tommy. They are my sons.”

Y/n watched them as Phil introduced them, each of them giving them some sort of little greeting when they were called. Whether it was a head nod or a little wave or a smile. They seemed nice.

“One hell of a family..” Y/n mumbled which Phil seemed quite funny and even Wilbur chuckled a bit.

“Oh yeah, but they are my boys.” He said while looking at the three with fondness.

The sweet moment was caught a little short when Technoblade crossed his arms, his body language screaming distrust. He looked down at Y/n and sized them up as he grumbled out a question that sounded more like a command. “What is your name. Who are you.”

“Techno- for god’s sake be a little nicer could ya? Bloody hell, they just saved us.” Wilbur retorted and Technoblade huffed a little growl and looked away. Wilbur gave a short and annoyed sigh, looking back at Y/n as he pulled his hand away from Tommy and instead rested a hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. It wasn’t meant to be seen as a threat, but the gesture did make Y/n a bit uneasy as they shuffled back a tad. Instead, he just spoke kindly with an inviting hand gesture.

“What is your name?” He stated and he and Phil looked at them expectantly.

They hesitated for a moment with the eyes on them and cleared their throat, standing taller. “My name is Y/n... it’s nice to meet all of you.” They thought for a moment about what they should say to these people who stood awkwardly, warming up from the cold. “How about I uh… go get some blankets for you all. Blankets and I’ll set up my two spare rooms.” They added as more of a side note to themselves than the group and hurried up the stairs to get things together.

This was going to be a long night. They can only hope the snow stops soon.

[Chapter Two]

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Hi!! Spooks here. Like the first chapter? Want to make sure you know when i post the next chapter and any after that?

Click here and interact with this post! I'll add you to my tag list!!

And thank you so much for reading!!

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the-insomniac-emporium · 4 years ago

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Serenade (Daniela Dimitrescu/Reader) Pt. 8

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village Rating: T for language? Warnings: None? I think? Please let me know if I missed something Notes: Bit of fluff with some anxiety/update on primary conflict. Next chapter will be a cute date with Dani, the one after that will be maximum h*rny, and then what will likely be the finale. Music for this chapter here. PS this one is a bit on the shorter side, but I hope y'all still enjoy it. Past Chapters: Pt. 1: Nocturne, Pt. 2: Overture, Pt. 3: Accelerando, Pt. 4: Toccata, Pt. 5: Poco a Poco, Pt. 6: Elegy, Pt. 7: Harmony

Chapter 8: Obbligato

(Obbligato: An instrumental part which is essential in a piece of music)

“Okay, okay, serious this time, please? I’ll give you a kiss if you try hard enough,” you promised, grinning up at Daniela as you did. A week had passed since your talk in the library, with the two of you spending most days together, and you were progressing nicely with the musical lessons. Still, your girlfriend (you would never get tired of saying that word) was prone to getting a tad ‘distracted’. By you, usually. Not that it was intentional by any means. There was only so much you could do to keep her focused when the two of you were this close together.

“I could just kiss you anyway,” Daniela teased, leaning in with familiar intent. Right before your lips touch, however, she pulls back and smirks. “But if you insist, I can handle the challenge.” Then she’s turning back towards the piano, carefully finding the starting position. Even with her prior experience, you were impressed with how much she had already learned, and couldn’t help but be immensely proud of her. If anyone could meet Lady Dimitrescu’s expectations within a three month timeframe, it was the two of you. Except, of course, you still had to double-check just what her expectations were.

In the meantime, you were excited to hear your girlfriend play through the sheet music you had written up. Most of what you were working with had come from the family’s storage room, but you had also found some blank sheets, and figured it couldn’t hurt to create songs of your own. This particular one was relatively simple. It had been based on a song from a game you had played years ago, and only posed a moderate challenge due to its interesting rhythm. Daniela had seemed to enjoy playing it, with you even hearing her practice the song outside of your lessons, but had so far today refused to play it seriously.

Finally that was going to change. Once she found the starting notes, she nodded to herself, then started playing. For the first time today her expression is stern, focused. Seeing her like this was nice. She was always cute, you just thought that she was extra cute like this. But you tried not to let yourself get too distracted, knowing that you couldn’t give her feedback if you didn’t pay attention. In your head you “play along”, fingers miming the movements, knowing that it would help you catch any possible mistakes. Throughout the piece there are only a couple that you catch, none of them being severe enough to ruin the experience. Finishing with a little flourish, Daniela returns her gaze to you, grinning expectantly.

“Well? I seem to recall you promising me a reward,” she said, perking a brow. Laughing a little, you roll your eyes, before moving in to give her exactly what she wanted. Both of you are smiling into the kiss, enjoying every moment of it. Soon enough Daniela is running a hand through your hair, and pressing against you more, tilting her head just enough to deepen the kiss. You’re blushing hard now, thoughts going everywhere other than music. It’s not until you pull back for air that you remember what you’re supposed to be doing right now.

“As wonderful as this is… we still have a few more songs to go over,” you murmured, despite how much you wanted to keep kissing Daniela. By the way she groaned in frustration, you figured she felt the same way, more or less. “Hey, don’t fret too much. Think of this as an opportunity to earn a few more rewards,” you teased, gently patting her on the shoulder. For a moment she simply pouts, but eventually she sighs and gets ready to play another song…

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Rushing up the steps, practically two at a time, you desperately hoped that you wouldn’t be late. This was your third “update meeting” with Lady Dimitrescu, which by itself was enough to make you a nervous wreck. Add in the fact that this was the first time you’d be meeting alone? And in her personal study, no less? Well, it was safe to say that you were terrified. You hadn’t even been told why things were different this time. No, you were about as clueless as could be, given the circumstances.

By the time you make it your Lady’s study, you cannot tell whether your heart is racing due to stress or physical exertion. Regardless, you make it there in short time, arriving precisely at the scheduled hour. After taking a moment to settle your nerves, you briefly knock on the chamber door. There’s the sound of movement from inside before the way opens. Lady Dimitrescu has to bend a little to see out, but quickly smiles when she meets your gaze. Which was rather unexpected. The last time you had met with her she had been distanced, although still polite. Then again, Daniela had also been with you, and the focus was, as always, on her.

“Lady Dimitrescu,” you greeted, giving a short bow per customs. Then you were being waved in, brought over to a small sitting area, where you waited for permission to sit down. Once it was given, you relaxed a little. Maybe I don’t have as much reason to be nervous as I thought, you muse.

“Please, make yourself comfortable. There are no reasons for you to be unsettled, as far as I am aware,” Lady Dimitrescu said, smile disappearing for a moment at the end. But it’s back as quickly as it had vanished. Did she suspect something? Perhaps she had seen the way Daniela looked at you, or even overheard the whisperings of your roommates. Both thoughts do little other than renew your anxiety. Noticing this, Alcina frowns and shakes her head. “I was merely joking. Now, let us get to the reason for our meeting: How are Daniela’s lessons fairing? There is only so much I can glean from listening.” Glad to have something to think about other than your secret relationship with your boss’ daughter, you nodded and began explaining.

“Lady Daniela is making outstanding progress, in my opinion. Even with her occasional… lapses in attention, once she puts her mind to something, she’s quick to master it. At this point she can sight read nearly as fast and accurately as myself. However, we’re still going over vocabulary, as well as keys and their corresponding chords,” you answered, barely able to maintain eye contact with your employer. Thankfully, she seems to have accepted the inevitability of your nervousness. You were especially thankful now that you prepared to ask her a question. “My Lady, may I inquire about what specifically you expect from my teachings? If there are certain genres you wish for Daniela to be familiar with, or techniques-... I must admit I am unsure as to how to best meet your requirements.”

Slowly reclining in her chair, Alcina appears to ponder your question. In the meantime she sips at her beverage, holding the cup as if it were a fragile heirloom (which it could very well be), eyes looking into the middle distance. Then she gives a soft hum, setting her cup down and returning her attention to you.

“I suppose I can understand your concern. In some ways you have already exceeded my expectations,” she said, expression oddly plain in comparison to her positive phrasing. “My daughter has rarely invested herself in anything as much as she has in your lessons. For this, I am left wondering what she finds so captivating- the music, or the one who pulls the strings?... But that is not the answer to your inquiry, is it?” In that moment, you are incredibly still, willing yourself to keep a straight face, despite the racing of your heart. At your silence, Alcina perks a brow, expecting you to respond. You can’t, your mouth suddenly dry. “What I expect is a passion to educate, a drive to see my daughter flourish. I expect you to teach her exactly as much as she wants you to, focusing on whatever brings her the most joy. But I expect professionalism. Your duties come first, above your health, happiness, and all other desires. Am I understood?”

“Yes, my Lady. Of course, my Lady,” you replied, stuttering, eyes wide. Did she know? Or merely suspect?... There’s another thought, one you try desperately not to voice, only to hear the words fill the room before you can stop yourself. “May I ask where Lady Daniela’s desires fit into this?” Silence hangs heavy over the room for several seconds. Your employer has narrowed her eyes, lips curled downwards into a sharp scowl, watching you with thinly-veiled anger. All you can do is gulp and wait for her response. When it comes, you are surprised by the stability of her tone. It was almost as if she respected your gall.

“She is young still, with the mind of a lovesick maiden. Daniela does not know what she wants, not really, nor does she understand what she needs. If her… flirtatious nature begins to interrupt your instruction, then your response must be swift, and uninterested. Regardless of how unkindly she takes your rejection, I will ensure that she does not harm you,” Lady Dimitrescu said, giving a stern nod at the end. Though her tone was reassuring, you hardly felt better, considering you were far past the point of turning Daniela down (if anything, you had only turned her on). “Now, with that settled, I believe I should let you return to your duties. Oh, and do tell Cynthia that the tea she brewed was perfect, should you happen to see her.”

Then she looked away, practically ignoring your continued existence. So you rose to your feet, gave another bow, and left before your panic could devolve into a breakdown. Daniela is not going to be happy about this.

#daniela dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu x reader #resident evil: village #re8 village #serenade #my brain got stuck on this for some reason #sorry it took so long #very excited for the date chapter tho!#gonna be hecking cute

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writingssummit · 4 years ago

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𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐬 !

haikyuu as dads!

find the mha version here - bnha as dads !

content: fluff, the boys with children. mentions pregnancy. aged up!

characters: bokuto, daichi, sugawara, lev, and kuroo.

a/n: i’ve been feeling very soft and even though i don’t even really like kids lol, this prompt make me so warm and happy :’) keep in mind that I’m not super far into haikyuu, so i don’t know a lot about the timeskip- sorry !! also a bit messy and unorganized.

so without further ado, here are some soft scenarios and headcanons for each :D

bokuto !

Pleaseeee, we all know he’d be such a good dad!!

You’re tired? Don’t worry, he can watch them while you rest!

Can and WILL play with them for hours.

And of course, he has the energy to keep them preoccupied. This man has more energy than I ever will on 2 cups of coffee with 3 shots of espresso in each.

Mans probably would want a bigger family, but of course as long as you were fine with it.

Thinking maybe 3+. He just wants to have that big family to share with you :’) aww

When you’re pregnant, he’s all over you. Protective to the point of it being a little overwhelming, but he means well.

Pokes your belly a little. Not harshly, but in a loving, gentle way.

“That’s my baby. Right in there.”

Probably cries a little when your baby bump shows.

More so during your first pregnancy, but he still holds that same emotion with the others.

He does NOT know what to do the first time.

“THEY’RE CRYING, Y/N WHAT DO WE DO??”

When the kid/s start getting older, oh lord. He’s such a sucker for them.

Probably gives them ice cream or sneaks candy when you aren’t in the room, even though IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR BED.

I’m sorry, but he cannot and will not be able to help with homework. I’m sorry but it’s true.

If your kid/s have a passion, he’s 100% for it.

Dance? He’ll go to all of the recitals he can make. Volleyball? Even better. Writing? He’ll sit in front of them and have them read it out to him like it’s a bedtime story.

I don’t think he’d be a good cook, so whenever he takes over for dinner, everyone is like “Oh no. Dad’s cooking again.”

Overall, 100/10 dad. Supportive, and does his best. Good boyo <3

daichi !

I think he’d be a good dad too :D

He was kind of just a natural father, so it’s expected.

I think that he originally wanted to bring up the topic of kids to you at some point, but he was hesitant since he didn’t know if you were ready.

So of course, you beat him to the conversation.

He’s very happy that you want to start a family too. :)

I think he’d want a smaller family, maybe 1-2 kids.

When you test positive, he’s kind of in shock for a moment.

“We’re going to have a kid-”

Like duh lmao he put it in you

Definitely calls Suga up to tell him the news.

Is actually very interested in shopping for a baby. He needs a few pointers but he’s got the enthusiasm, so A for effort bby

He’s decently used to having a small child running around him screaming, he had little siblings so yeah

Has a bit more structure than bokuto, but he’s still able to break.

He’d do damn near anything for his kid/s.

He has his moments where he wants to spend alone time with just you.

Decent homework helper, but I feel like he’d be that one parent who goes “This wasn’t how I was taught to do this”, or “Why did they change that??”

Again again, supportive dad.

But also supportive of you <3

sugawara !

Being a teacher, he’s surrounded by kids all the time.

Basically, he is also used to having screaming children within his vicinity

I could never omg how do you do that Suga

At first he didn’t put much thought into a family, he and you were content just the two of you. Also. CHILDREN HE TEACHES.

But something just switches in his brain, probably after he had a really wholesome moment with a student, or maybe even just witnessing a parent + student interaction.

He’s like, “I kind of want that..”

Another small fam kinda guy <3

Suga brings it up, and you’re all for it, you’ve been wanting to start a family with him.

He’s so excited and happy!! oml :’)

Like, he finally gets to start a whole new chapter of your lives together he hadn’t really thought about until now.

When you get a baby bump, he plants soft kisses to your tummy and talks gently to it.

My heart ksjshd

This will be a nightly occurrence now.

He is reading all those articles for raising kids. He’s also at your beck and call, even the baby’s.

He just wants everything for the baby, they end up being a huge daddy’s kid.

Late nights after the kid/s go to bed is prime time for you both.

You enjoy being together after a long day, you snuggle up together in your bed, maybe drink some wine later.

PLEASE. Breakfasts in bed. He and the kid/s will TOTALLY MAKE YOU B in B.

So proud of your kid/s. Has pictures in frames on his desk at school, and when his students ask, he has plenty of stories to tell.

Knows when something is off. Like, he can just tell-

Kid is sad? He’s there. Tissues, ice cream, take them out somewhere.

Probably a teaser.

You already know he gets himself and that kid/those kids into mischief.

“Shhh, don’t tell mom!”

He has deep conversations with them. He cares a lot.

He just loves them <3

10/10

kuroo !

it’ssss kuroo time babyyy

He definitely wanted kids. Strikes me as the guy who just knew, as soon as you got married.

When that test came up positive, he had a dorky smirk on his face.

He’s very proud to know you will have his kid.

This dude is always checking up on you. Morning sickness? He’s there to hold your hair back.

Feeling clingy or upset? Wraps his arms around you.

Lazy pats on your stomach when it’s late.

Why does he seem like he’d play mozart around you because he read somewhere that fetsuses liked that

Sir please we don’t need to listen to Alla Turca (Allegretto) for 12 hours straight

He’s 100000/10 homework helper. Mans is smart af, it’s not even surprising.

“I forgot how smart you were”

“Shut up”

You both are probably so mushy with each other that your kid/s are like “Ew gross”

He encourages and pushes them to do their best.

Helps them find what they’re passionate about. <3

Dad jokes. I’m serious.

“Please stop, dad!”

“One more, one more-”

Enjoys making them suffer with terrible jokes.

In a nice way of course.

lev !

saved the funny one for last!

Okay maybe not super funny, but I had fun writing this

He and you did NOT plan to get pregnant. At ALL.

“Lev the test is positive”

“Wh-WHAT?”

Promptly falls off of chair.

Like this dude was not ready for that information

Tbh he would make even me anxious about it

“..do I have to give them the talk?”

Lev please it hurts me

As soon as he gets used to it though, he’s excited like he usually is.

But this is different. This is a whole HUMAN.

“Do you think I’ll be a good dad, Y/N?”

“Do you want me to be honest?”

Jkjk that was a joke.

I think Lev has the potential to be a good dad. He’s energetic, passionate and dumb, but in a good way <3

Sorry again, no homework help with him LMAO

Your kid will probably be tall. Or at least average height.

After the original surprise pregnancy, he wants to try again but when you both are actually ready.

He would totally take these kids out everywhere. A show off dad for sure

“Hey, did you know my kid did xyz?”

“Look, here’s a picture!”

Lev we get it you love your kids

He would love to have a volleyball loving kid I feel like, but he wouldn’t be too disappointed if they didn’t like it. Would probably propose other sports though, he always loved playing himself, even if it was only volleyball so he wants them to have the same good experiences

If he’s watching the kids while you’re shopping, he doesn’t really know how the first few times- even though you left him A LIST.

Probably then calls his friends up for advice

If it comes down to it...consults WikiHow

and that’s it!! hope you enjoyed, some were harder to write but yk what- i had fun :D as much as i am suga brainrot i literally had a hard time writing his section :’(

but anyways yuh B)

asks/requests are open ! check yay’s and nay’s in basics for this blog !

#haikyuu!!#haikyu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu as dads #kuroo x reader #kuroo tetsuro x reader #sugawara koshi x reader #sugawara x reader #lev haiba x reader #lev haiba imagine #kuroo imagine #daichi x reader #daichi imagine #sugawara imagine #lev imagine

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justkending · 4 years ago

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Moral of the Story. Chapter Four.

Summary: Marrying too young out of highschool leads to a naive and failed marriage. Now 10 years later, word comes that the divorce was never actually completed. Bucky and Y/N have to come back together after all this time to settle what wasn’t all those years back. Passive attitudes, miscommunicated endings, and reminiscing of old loves and lives all comes back for the two.

Pairing: Bucky x Y/N

Word Count:

A/N:

Chapter Four:

Bucky groaned as the alarm blared throughout the room. Rolling over to his side, he threw his head into the pillow. That didn’t stop the beeping like he had hoped, so with a groan he pushed up, smacking the red numbers that screamed at him. He rolled back onto his back and blinked up at the bare ceiling.

Today was the day…

_________________

Y/N couldn’t seem to sleep at all, so she woke up early at 6:30 jumping into the shower. Having the extra time, she took it to have a nice long soak in the hot water. The schedule of the day running through her mind.

The chance of them running into each other was practically at 100%. They had a time frame of 9-10 to get in and sign what they needed. Mr. Murdock said something along the lines that it would take about 30-45 minutes to get everything finalized and copied.

So yeah… Within an hour frame of needed 30-45 minutes of signing shit and getting multiple copies made, meant Bucky and her would most likely be sitting next to the other as it was done.

She let out a tired and irritated moan as she finally decided to turn off the water. She had it running for so long, her hands were prunes and the water was becoming lukewarm. The world was telling her to suck it up and move on with the day.

____________

The car ride there was dreadful. Every stop light just elongated the inevitable meeting. Every turn brought him closer to the terrifying reunion.

He was running early to begin with, but after hitting traffic from a wreck, he was now running just a few minutes behind. So weaving through the people who didn’t understand New York traffic was his specialty in showing up in time.

____________

She stopped at the coffee shop by her house before really heading to the attorneys office. The car ride to the place was easy and smooth on her end. From coming from the outskirts of Brooklyn, the inner city traffic was avoided for the most part. So she was there early. She even had a second to sit in her car and drink the latte she had bought. Something about Brooklyn latte’s was 10x better than anything California had.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact they actually had cold weather to pair the hot drink with, whereas where she now lived, the lowest low in temperatures was 70 degrees.

________________

Getting there with just 3 minutes to spare, Bucky rushed out of the car and walked with a hint of speed to the door that read Nelson and Murdock Law Firm.

No sign of Y/N yet, but as he walked in, he heard a shout from the street that caused him to turn as soon as he walked in. He didn’t have a second to register what the shout was about as he took two steps in and ran straight into someone’s back.

“Whoa!” he said, using his hands to brace himself on the mystery person's shoulders, and the other person making the same exclamation. “Oh God, I’m so sor-”

Before he could finish the apology, the women turned showing the face of his matured high-school-sweetheart.

“Oh,” he let out in a breathy turn. He could tell just from past experience with her, she had a snarky comment on her tongue at the run in, but upon seeing him, the words died on her lips. “Hey.”

She looked great. Like, really great after all these years. Not that she wasn’t a beautiful gal to begin with, but you never know how someone’s going to age. However, she looked almost the same.

Sure, she had aged some, but just like a nice bottle of the finest wine in all the vineyards of California. Maybe that was her secret given her new home.

Her Y/H/C hair was styled in loose curls. It was voluminous with a healthy shine to it. She had on an off white, canvas dress that cinched at the waist with buttons going down it. And she had a layered gold necklace going down her chest where the buttons were undone. She looked both professional yet casual at the same time.

Bucky realized he had been staring when she awkwardly looked around her trying to not pay attention to his analyzing eyes.

“Hey,” she said, letting out a deep breath.

She didn’t miss how good he looked either. Even in those facebook pictures that she had found the night before, the ones she found him just as attractive, they didn’t do the real man justice. His hair was just as long as the most recent picture his mother had posted, and he looked more muscular than she ever remembered. The scrubs didn't do his build justice.

He was wearing a navy blue v-neck tight fitting t-shirt. A brown leather jacket that looked as though it was tailored specifically for him and him alone. And lastly, he had on a pair of jeans that of course, fit in him all the right places.

There was a very awkward silence as they stood there not knowing what else to say. Neither now looking at the other, but instead looking at every little inanimate object item in the office.

After what felt like eons of the most tense silence to exist, Bucky was about to speak up again, but was cut off from another person running in late.

“Oh, gosh. I’m so sorry guys,” the voice sighed, out of breath from what they presumed was running to get there on time. “Foggy was supposed to pick me up and we were going to ride together, but he got food poisoning last night, so I had to take the train last minute.”

The man had dark brown hair, a nice suit, and a pair of sunglasses on even though it was overcast today and the sun was barely peeking through the heavy clouds.

“Foggy?” Y/N asked with a tilt of her head.

Bucky turned back looking at her with the same question on his mind, but watching the small action of confusion brought him back 10 years. God, it had been so long he had almost forgotten the little mannerisms she had that he found adorable. And damn her for still having that adorable action.

“Oh, right. Franklin Nelson. My co-attorney,” he nodded. “We’ve been friends since we were in college. Friends call him Foggy.”

“Oh, I see,” Y/N nodded with a kind smile.

“Anyway, I won’t bore you with my morning chaos. I’m sure you two are ready to get this over with and go on about your day,” he smiled, and pulled a walking stick out from around him as he closed the door. One that neither had realized he had been holding until now. “You two much be James and Y/N. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Matthew Murdock.

“It’s nice to meet you Matthew,” Y/N replied sweetly.

“Yes, thank you for helping us out,” Bucky nodded, placing his hands nervously in his pockets.

“It’s my pleasure. I’m so sorry about everything that you guys are having to fix,” he said apologetically. But I’m sure you guys want to go about your day, so please, right this way,” he motioned to the door that was across from them.

Bucky and Y/N both shared an impressed look on their faces as they watched him maneuver through the office gracefully.

They followed close behind him and once they were seated in the chairs in front of the desk, Bucky began to fidget in his spot. Sure the office had been redone and really didn’t look much like it had all those years ago, but the layout was the same. And all it was doing to him was bringing back memories he hated trudging back to the surface.

He subtly looked over at Y/N and saw her sitting in perfect posture watching Matthew as if if she were to look at him and only him, then she wouldn’t have to face Bucky.

Why did he expect anything less? Of course she hated him just as much as she had all those years. She was probably dreading this meeting just as much as him. That small speck of hope that maybe they could be somewhat normal and civil upon meeting again after all this time, completely faded at that point.

“Ok, this really shouldn’t take all that much time since Foggy and I went ahead and wrote up all the things that needed signed and double checked. So we should be able to breeze through all this,” Matthew nodded, bringing up a thick file that looked as though it had tabs on the side organizing them.

Y/N looked over wondering just how he knew the difference between documents and noticed on each tab, there were bariel markings along them.

“If you don’t mind me asking, out of all places to live, why New York? It’s got to be hard getting around such a crazy busy city given.. ” Bucky asked, but didn’t finish not sure how to word it. Y/N snapped her head in his direction and smacked his arm. “Ow!” Bucky jumped, sending her raised eyebrows. “What the hell?”

“I’m assuming you’re asking because of this,” Matthew laughed casually as he pointed to his glasses. “Don’t worry. You would be surprised just how often I get asked that.”

“Yeah, it was just a question,” Bucky pouted toward Y/N while rubbing his assaulted arm. The two falling back into their old behaviors rather fast.

“I wasn’t always blind. I mean I have been for a good chunk of my life, but I’ve lived in New York my whole life as well,” Matthew went on to explain as he moved papers around. “If anything it would be harder for me to get around if I moved any place else. I know this place like the back of my hand.”

“That’s impressive,” Bucky nodded, getting comfortable in his seat.

“Eh, it’s either learn or get bumped around the sidewalk of a place full of people who don’t give a second glance to anyone who’s in their way,” Matthew shrugged. “Oh, I need to go grab something before we start.”

He maneuvered through the room leaving the door open as he went across the office. Tension filled the air as they were left alone for a second time in the past 5 minutes.

Y/N was sitting straight forward, her eyes wandering here and there around the meeting room, but careful not to go over to Bucky’s side of the room. He looked down seeing her hands were fiddling in her lap. She was tapping her thumbs together while his leg bounced up and down.

Bucky had opened his mouth to start to say something, but even he wasn’t sure what was about to come out. Lucky for him, Matthew came back in and went back to his seat.

“Sorry about that. I thought I had it all, but needed to get some pens and one last paper I left on the printer last night.”

“You’re fine,” Y/N said professionally, but kindly. “I have one quick question, if you don’t mind.” Matthew nodded her on with a soft smile. “What exactly happened to Hammer after all this chaos was discovered?”

“Oh, yes. He, uh, he will not be an issue to anyone else to put it lightly. His license was revoked and terminated and he is currently on trial for money laundering and malpractice,” he answered.

“Serves him right,” Bucky mumbled, and instead of getting a smack to the arm, Y/N nodded in agreement.

“Ok, if you two are ready, let’s begin,” Matthew smiled before grabbing the first set of papers.

The two straightened in their seats and the process began.

After a few minutes of just signing, Matthew started to make notes of updated information for the two.

“Ok, Mrs. Barnes, sorry, Y/N,” he corrected quickly. “What is your line of profession at the moment?”

“I work at Horizon Labs in L.A. It’s a company a friend and I from college started up. I’m a Sustainable-Conscious Financial Advisor for a lot of smaller businesses as well as some bigger ones we recently just became partners with,” she answered.

“Horizon Labs, huh?” Matthew said with an impressed look. Bucky turned to look at her as she lightly blushed. “I think I listened to a podcast about them. You guys help companies use recycled goods and find energy efficient technology, right?”

“We just redirect them to people who can help them get those resources. It’s practically just connecting the companies that would work great together in helping the environment,” she nodded humbly.

“That’s amazing,” Matthew smiled. “We need more people and companies like that.”

“Thank you.”

He made note of that on a computer. “I’m assuming with all that, you have to be a little too busy for a second job, right? I don’t need to make note of another?”

“Uh, actually,” she added, Bucky’s already focused eyes on her quirked at her response. “I just invested in a Woman’s shelter with another friend of mine. I haven’t really got to do much with it, but it is a second job as of lately.”

“Wait? Nat?” Bucky caught on.

“Uh, yeah,” she nodded almost shyly. Probably the second time out of this whole meeting that she actually made eye contact with him. “My company works with them in getting some of the resources and items they need for the shelter. I talked with Nat and I invested into it some to help with some with their financial advisements.”

“Wow, th-that’s,” Bucky faltered. “That sounds like you,” he said with a breathy laugh thinking about how maybe she really hadn’t changed all these years. That being one of the ‘reasons’ they had broken it off, how people change and all. But that’s a story for another time.

Y/N didn’t show a response to his words, but she did take them in.

“So you run a woman’s home and you run a well-off business that promotes eco-friendly resources for the environment?”

“Well, I don’t run the woman’s home. That’s all my friends doing. I just help where help is asked if I can,” she answered once again humbly. No sense of egotistical pride hinted in her explanations or answers.

“That’s extremely impressive Y/N,” Matthew gushed some, and Bucky noticed the smallest form of attraction come off the lawyer. He straightened at that. “I’ll make a note of it. And you Mr. Barnes. What is your occupation?”

Bucky relaxed his shoulders and focused back at the issue at hand. Trying to not get jealous of something that wasn’t even his to be jealous of.

“I’m one of the head occupational therapist at Stark Theracorp,” he answered. Now it was Y/N’s turn to look at him intrigued. “I run the geriatric occupational therapy floor and manage our equipment and employees. ”

“Two very impressive people in the work field from what I’m getting,” Matthew chuckled some as he made the notes. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have to ask about income from the both of you for the record. If you want to write it on a paper and hand it to me you can or if you are comfortable saying it outloud that works too. Either way, I’ll have Foggy add it in later to the finalized papers.”

“Wait, so we aren’t finalizing it today?” Y/N asked, somewhat shocked.

“Did Foggy not tell you?” Matthew asked. “I thought he reached out to you before this meeting.”

“I don’t believe so,” Y/N shook her head.

“Well, the reason this one is so quick is because I just need a few signatures and updated notes on you two. After that, I’ll make the altercations for the official papers and I’ll send those to you both on their own to get the final signature. You can either bring them to me here, fax them, or have them sent via mail after you signed off on them.”

“Oh, I see,” Y/N nodded. The look of defeat in her posture and facial expressions.

It hurt Bucky a little seeing her reaction to it. Did she really want to get away from him that bad? Was he that much of a nuisance in her life? I mean, yeah, they were supposed to be divorced 9 years ago, but he didn’t want it then and it still hurt seeing just how much she wanted it now.

“That’s not an issue is it? I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience,” Matthew apologized.

“No, no. It’s ok,” she said in reassurance to him. But she let out an almost bitter laugh before she spoke again. “We’ve been married for the past 9 years apparently. What’s a few more days?”

“I guess that’s true,” Matthew laughed with her.

Bucky rolled his eyes discreetly. He really hated how she was reacting with all this. It wasn’t surprising, but doesn’t mean it hurts any less seeing how badly she wanted out of the situation.

“Mr. Barnes, are you ok with that?”

“I’ll survive a few more days, I guess,” he returned just as bitterly as Y/N. The two looked at each other one more time, but this time, anger and annoyance was clear on both of their faces.

If you would like to be tagged in this series, please send an ask! It keeps things more organized for me. If you comment, I most likely will not add because I loose them:)

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Moral of the Story Taglist:

@taylormobley @ximaginx @vicmc624 @leyannrae @lonerlovescompany @jessyballet @angstysebfan @tita127 @semistablecentenarian @im-a-light-child @alyssahowden @studiesinspanish @natyvwe @rebekahdawkins@fanfictionjunkie1112 @millennial-teenybopper @scotlandasshole @aquariusbarnes @shinykoalacat

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @heyiamthatbitch @lizzymacy555 @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd @morganclaire4 @connie326 @captain-asguard @mollygetssherlockcoffee @teenagedreams-bucky @shower-me-with-roses @pham-tastical @livstilinski

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@chloe-skywalker @charmedbysarge @jbarness @bellamy-barnes @katiaw2 @aikeia @stopjustlovethemcu

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x reader series #bucky barnes reader insert #justkending #bucky barnes #reader insert #marvel reader insert #marvel au #marvel au series #marvel series #bucky barnes x y/n #moral of the story #highschool sweetheart #highschool sweetheart series #marvel bucky barnes

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psychovigilantewrites · 4 years ago

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Chapter 14 - A Different Point of View

Summary: Things that happened that you weren't aware of.

Word count: 9,163 words

A/N: Thank you for being so patient with me. I struggled with this chapter due to its nature. I had to further dive into Bruce and Dick's character that I wasn't too familiar with.2020 was a very tough year for me. I lost lots, learned lots. And I thought that the quarantine would mean I would write more. But I was wrong. Life hit me hard, and I stopped doing a lot of things I used to enjoy.Despite being virtually absent last year, you guys stuck by me anyway. Thank you. I love you all for that.Special thanks to my two beta readers. You know who you are. Here it goes.

(i recommend you guys read previous chapters to refresh coz I had to lol)

Ao3

Masterlist

The roles that people played were false- a mere necessity for their career or survival. Everyone was playing a role, whether it was of their own accord or not.

Bruce Wayne was a role- superficial, fake, yet vital to Gotham. Batman, on the other hand, was a completely different role, born out of exigence and a sense of justice.

Dick Grayson, however, genuinely enjoyed playing his role.

Nightwing felt right to him. Being a police officer felt right to him. And especially, if not ultimately, being an older brother.

He listened to the dial tone of his phone, which rung for a few seconds before you finally picked up.

“Hey,” Dick heard your voice, the usual chirp absent that day.

Dick frowned to himself. Bruce was right about you being troubled after all.

“Hey, sis!” he forced the concern out of his voice. “You busy?”

“Nah, I’m just going over some old case files. What’s up?”

Dick leaned back into his sofa. Aside from the traffic blaring outside, the silence in his apartment made it easier for him to concentrate on analysing your speech patterns.

“Can’t I call just to ask how you’re doing?” he teased, easing into the conversation.

Everyone had always told him how he was natural at talking.

“You already called last week…”

Dick smiled to himself. He could already picture your narrowed eyes regarding him with suspicion.

It was good that you were always on your feet, but it was becoming borderline unhealthy. It reminded him of Jason and how he was always so guarded .

He pushed the memory away.

“I can’t call you again?” he rolled his eyes at no one.

“Bruce put you up to this,” you accused.

That’s because he’s worried about you, kid.

If only you knew how much Bruce had changed for you. Dick was glad that you were being loved by Bruce, yet he still couldn't help but feel slightly bitter that he never got that kind of treatment from his father- not the same treatment he gave you.

But he would rather die than admit his selfish thoughts to anyone.

“Yeah,” he conceded, “He was worried about you after last night.”

“I’m fine, Dick,” you insisted.

How many times has he heard those very same words from Jason?

“Well, if you’re not, then you can talk to me,” he offered.

A short pause.

Your response would be what differentiated you from his late brother.

“Actually, yeah,” you admitted.

There it was. No matter how stupid he knew it was for even comparing the two of you, he found that he always had to remind himself not to.

“How did you deal with it? Did it affect you?”

Dick told you his own experience with gore and dead bodies, how he overcame it, how he coped. There was silence after, and he just somehow knew what you were going to ask next.

“How did, uh, he deal with it?”

Your voice came in a whisper, hesitation evidently clear.

Dick was expecting it, but his heart still sank. He knew how everyone acted when Jason was brought up in conversation- he was guilty of reacting as well. He also knew how you were smart enough to avoid that topic.

It had been years. They should all have moved on, because Dick knew that they were also hurting you.

“He came to me as well.” Dick recalled Jason’s hesitant voice over the phone, never directly saying what was wrong, just rambling about things other than what was really going on in his head.

“Then he gradually called less and less when he learned how to deal with it himself.”

The day Dick noticed it, he was happy for Jason, but a small part of him was saddened that his little brother no longer needed him.

“I’ll have to look for that cognitive therapy, then. Thank you for calling, Dick. Talking to you helped.”

Did it really? He noticed your voice had changed again. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone on about Jason like that.

“No problem, kid. Call me if you need to talk, okay?”

The familiar beep left him isolated with his thoughts, wondering if you would trail in Jason's footsteps.

When will the day come when you eventually stop calling altogether?

***

He felt indebted to his city- the city he loved. The city he hated. The city that robbed him of his childhood.

He felt indebted to his family- the family he would give up everything for, the family he couldn’t stop hurting.

And he was sorry. God, he was sorry.

Sorry for everything he’s said and done- or didn’t do. But he still couldn’t stop. Because he didn’t know how.

Yet, no matter how much he claimed to love his family, the problem with Bruce Wayne was that he always expected them to be the people he wanted them to be.

Never like himself, though. No, he would never want them to turn out like him.

“That’s an order. Stay-”

The silence that followed the click in his ear represented the first time you had ever disobeyed a direct order.

It was a little late on your side. Dick and Jason had begun to disobey him within their first six months in uniform. But you had always been obedient- which made it easier for Bruce to trust you in the field.

This first time came as an unexpected and unwelcome surprise. And Bruce was…

Disappointed.

He grit his teeth when he saw you on the ground with the warehouse burning behind you. If he had just been a few seconds late, would you be in the fire, too?

“I almost had him.”

Bruce didn’t miss the wince of pain as you got up to your feet.

He had heard those exact words before countless times from J- no.

Bruce shoved that thought away.

“He would have gotten away, and we wouldn’t have known who it was that did this,” you argued, brows drawn together in a frown, mouth downturned. Your respiratory rate was high, and you were having trouble breathing.

When did you grow so tall? So confident?

Bruce silently pointed to the active security camera he noticed the minute he arrived and saw your expression fall- only for a second.

“I still think I made the right decision,” you insisted.

“You disobeyed a direct order.” He hated his own voice. The way he spoke sounded too militant.

“I acted how I saw fit,” you continued, “You always say to follow my instincts-”

“Not if your instincts contradict my orders.” He regretted his words the moment they left his mouth. He thought he had changed. But no, Bruce was still a dictator.

“Wow. Just- wow.”

He could see the little twitches of annoyance within the disbelief on your face. He understood it completely.

You were walking away, clutching onto your side and weakly limping to your bike, adamant on not seeking his help.

He hated seeing you injured, in pain. It was his fault. If only he was faster, he could have stopped Red Hood from beating you up. If only he predicted it sooner, if only-

“I’ll be heading back now.”

He missed what you had said before that.

“Robin,” Bruce forced out, “Have Alfred check your injuries.”

He should have been there.

When you drove away, he lingered at the crime scene.

Bruce flipped a switch in his helmet, and his lense changed. Non-organic material lighted up bright white. He noticed a fractured piece of shrapnel lying on the ground, less than a centimeter long.

He picked it up and placed it into a test tube from his belt. Switching his view to normal, he saw that it was red, maybe made from fiberglass. He could only deduce that it was a piece of Red Hood’s helmet.

Despite Bruce’s frustrations at you for disobeying him, he felt a swell of pride. You probably landed a hit hard enough to crack the helmet just a little bit that you yourself probably didn’t even realise it.

He shone a UV light on it. A small portion of it glowed.

Bruce had always been numb when he played investigator so that he would remain impartial and objective. That was true justice.

But when he pocketed the evidence and sped to the Batmobile, he felt something he had never felt before.

Against all logic and rationality, he found himself dreading to uncover who the blood belonged to.

***

Bruce never drank his sorrows away. It was dangerous, too easy to develop an addiction to. He could have easily drowned in alcohol at any given chance, like when he thought of his parents, or when he thought-no, knew- he wasn’t enough.

But no, he only restricted his drinking for leisurely activities. He was disciplined. It was the reason why he was who he was.

However, in that moment, staring at the results of the DNA analysis after hours of anxious waiting, he wished he allowed himself a drink.

Not because he was distraught, not because he was in grief- but because he just didn’t know what to feel.

It wasn’t numbness. It was just plain confusion, an internal tornado of emotions whirling inside him all at once.

Footsteps.

He tapped on a button once, immediately closing the window of the test results displayed on the screen.

Composing himself, he clicked on another pending case to pretend he wasn’t on the verge of a breakdown. It’s just another role.

“Master Bruce.”

Why was he still up at this hour?

“Yes, Alfred,” he turned to meet the butler’s tired eyes- just as tired as his own.

Tired because of him.

Alfred was always up because of him. Because Bruce was a disease, constantly burdening others, dragging them down, keeping them up at night.

“I made some sandwiches. They’re light. Please do eat them,” he set the tray on the cluttered desk, simply pushing aside the numerous stacks of papers.

“Go to bed, Alfred,” he told him. Alfred was too old to be up at this hour. And whose fault is that?

“In due time,” he responded calmly, “What of the blood results, if I may ask?”

“Inconclusive,” Bruce lied.

“I see.”

Suspicion shrouded Alfred’s voice.

“How are her injuries?” Bruce asked, the pain finally creeping in, seeping into his bones.

“I commend you for asking about your daughter’s injuries after only four whole hours of staring at the screen, Master Bruce. You would definitely win father of the year.”

“I was occupied,” he sighed, “Please.”

“Her injuries are only superficial,” Alfred said, “Surface contusions at most.”

He still hurt her.

“Thank you, Alfred. Now go to bed.”

“It was only a little more than two decades ago when I was telling you the same,” he grumbled away.

Bruce made sure Alfred was gone before pulling up the results on the screen again, the glaring ‘MATCH’ sign staring angrily back at him as if it were shouting at Bruce, yelling in rage.

And Bruce understood completely. He had failed Jason Todd. He had betrayed him. And now he was back, vengeful, and full of resentment.

But that didn’t matter to Bruce.

Because despite it all, his son was alive.

In the end, that was all that mattered.

***

What did my son do to my daughter?

Bruce watched in horror as you lay unconscious on the hospital bed, hooked to the IV bag. He couldn’t stop staring at the bruises littering your neck.

Bruises that were far too small and evenly shaped to be the effect of a mere throttling.

He knew how the people close to him viewed him. He knew they thought he was strong, unforgiving, cold, emotionless. Especially when they put him side by side with Clark.

But he forced himself to be those things, because if he didn’t, he would have broken down years ago.

He was used to it. The pain. The darkness.

But this time, he felt like he was being crushed.

He felt like he was hanging on by a thread- no. A delicate strand of thin, brittle hair.

“It’s okay, doctor,” you had said, “I know what you’re going to ask me. No, my genitalia does not hurt. He didn’t do anything to me.”

He felt a wave of relief crash over him.

Jason wasn’t that far gone, then.

But as Bruce looked at your neck again, he still couldn’t help but feel nausea crawling into his core.

He still touched her.

Jim left after his questioning, and you drifted to sleep. He went over to you and looked down at your face, taking everything in.

Since when did you look so mature? When did you get so beautiful?

He couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. Even in sleep you had your eyebrows tugged down, as if you were angry that you had to go to bed. He didn’t know why he never saw that small part of you that shouted rebellion despite you almost always following his orders.

He realised that when he watched you sleep, you looked a bit like- no. Don’t ever compare the two.

He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to your forehead, trying to convey all of his feelings to you.

He was sorry. So god damned sorry for dragging you into this, for hurting you, for pulling you down to the depths with him.

Hoping you didn’t feel the teardrop that fell to your forehead, he quickly wiped it away before leaving for his press statement.

***

“Master Bruce, please!”

Another crash.

Alfred’s plea snapped him out of his blinding fury, his crushing pain.

He was standing at the hallway near the Manor entrance, glass and broken wood shattered at his feet, feeling the walls closing in and narrowing as Alfred looked at him in alarm.

“I-I’m sorry, Alfred. I-” he stammered, feeling like the small, helpless boy who watched his parents die before him.

He remembered the time when he was little, only a couple of months after the tragedy. He had done the exact same thing, taking out his anger and anguish by destroying things, triggered by something he had long forgotten about.

At that time, Alfred had held him closely in his arms as he stained the butler’s suit with his snot and tears. Again, a burden to the man who raised him.

This time, he refused the old man’s offer of comfort, walking past to descend to the cold darkness of the cave he was so familiar with.

Bruce didn’t usually drink his sorrows away, but this time, he did.

***

Dick wasn’t a good person. He was far from it.

Case in example, it was the first time he saw you after your kidnapping.

He meant to come sooner, he really did. But he was just so busy in Bludhaven, he couldn’t spare any time to rush over the moment he heard his sister was hurt. He tried to justify it in his head by thinking that you were probably handling it fine.

But he was just trying to make himself feel better.

What a great brother he was.

“So, why are you obsessing over violent crimes?” he asked, trying to keep his voice from breaking.

Desensitization was one thing when you worked in that field, but obsession was a whole other problem. And he didn’t want to see his sister walk down that path.

“A lunatic just kidnapped me a couple weeks ago, Dick, maybe this is my coping mechanism,” you huffed, giving him your signature eye roll.

A lot of things start with just a coping mechanism, kid.

Dick knew it about it all too well. The people he brought in on an almost daily basis, high as kites. The accident last week on the highway at three in the morning, two innocent lives taken because of a drunk man who had started drinking three years ago to cope with his mother’s loss.

The man downstairs in the cold cave, who was just a little boy when his parents died, now living with the trauma while going out night after night to beat up criminals, sleeping only three hours a day at most.

“I don’t want your pity, Dick,” you huffed, “I’m fine.”

Yeah, you were. And that was what worried Dick the most.

“I know you are,” he tried to smile, “Which is why I don’t think this is your coping mechanism.”

You talked to Dick about Red Hood, sharing your concerns about him. This is what made you, you. Opening up to him, offering your thoughts and feelings. It was something he never had with Bruce or Jason. The both of them were similar in that sense.

“He won’t tell me either,” Dick huffed, “It’s always been like that with him. No matter how hard I try to get closer to him, sometimes it feels like he’s getting further away.”

It was the same with Jason as well. Did everyone he cared about just end up running away from him?

“I can relate to that,” you sighed.

“But I have a feeling that he will tell you eventually,” Dick tried to comfort you, “It seems too important not to.”

Dick knew better. Bruce had always excluded information from him, whether it was important or not.

“And,” Dick hurriedly tried to change the subject, “I heard from Alfred that you’re not talking to Bruce. May I ask why?”

“So that’s why you’re here,” you eyed him suspiciously. . “I came to check up on you,” he stated, “I’m sorry I couldn’t come here right after, but my little sister did just get kidnapped.”

When are you going to stop putting your guard up around me, kid?

“I told you, I’m fine,” you insisted.

“Then you’re fine enough to tell me why you haven’t been talking to Bruce,” Dick pushed, “I won’t judge. I’ve had my fair share of cold shoulders and fights with him too. I know first hand how frustrating he can be. So come on, tell.”

He saw you hesitate for just a moment, before conceding.

“We fought,” you began, “It was when I got back from the hospital. He wouldn’t tell me who Red Hood was. And he- he called me ‘Jason’.”

Ah, fucking hell, Bruce.

“Jesus,” he whispered, “What did he say exactly?”

“‘Back down, Jason’,” your voice cracked.

Dick saw the way Bruce spiraled after Jason’s death, and he would never tell you this, but deep down he was against Bruce adopting you so soon after. He thought that Bruce was using you to fill up the hole he too felt with Jason’s absence.

You were so like him, yet so different. Still, Bruce must have been really distracted if he could slip as badly as he did.

Dick would ask later.

“Now that’s something I haven’t heard in years,” Dick chuckled humorlessly.

Jason arguing with Bruce about using excessive force. Jason sneaking out to go for patrols whenever he was grounded. Hell, even Jason stealing whiskey from the cabinet at the age of fifteen.

He could still remember it so clearly. Jason with his dark hair poking into his eyes that were full of fury, cheeks puffed up and red as he pouted angrily at Bruce for making him stay at the Manor on nights Bruce insisted on going alone.

Dick tried to shove the past away. He knew he was making you even sadder.

“Has Bruce made any attempts to reconcile?” Dick remembered the conversation he was having with you.

“Yeah, but I’m still mad at him,” you pouted.

“And you have every right to be,” Dick nodded, “But Bruce, well, you know Bruce. He keeps these things to himself, but obviously he’s still hurting.”

You have know idea how much he’s hurting, Little Wing.

You avoided Dick’s eyes, looking down at your fumbling thumbs as the room became silent.

“I’m seeing someone,” you changed the subject.

“You are?”

Interesting.

“Yeah,” you blushed, “It’s still very new, and we’re not official yet or anything. But we’re definitely testing the waters.”

“That’s great,” Dick grinned, “Who is he? Tell me the deets. Spill the tea.”

He sort of loved gossip. It wasn’t a secret.

“I met him in the library a while back,” you excitedly said, “We exchanged numbers. Started texting, meeting up from time to time. He’s really cute.”

Ah, young love. What Dick would give to be at that age again.

“I bet he is,” Dick teased.

“What’s with that face?” you laughed, “He is! He’s slightly older, and he’s got this sexy bad boy look, you know?”

“I thought you liked the nerdy types?” Dick responded. He saw a picture of you and your classmates on your Instagram. Typical prep school kids.

“I never had a type, you ass!” . “You’re right. I thought you were completely uninterested in boys,” he wondered out loud, “Is he nice, at least?”

“Yeah he is,” you smiled to yourself, “He didn’t know I was Wayne until 2 weeks ago. Before that, we were mainly texting. Now we’re meeting up more. I feel like I can be myself with him. I don’t know, there’s just something about him that makes me trust him.”

So you still have some of your walls up with me, but you trust a stranger? Who is this guy?

“I’m not going to tell him anything!” you quickly added, “I’m not stupid. I know I shouldn’t trust someone I just met. It’s not about the confidential stuff. It’s the little things like how I feel, and my problems, and just- stuff, you know?”

The thought didn’t even cross his mind. Dick trusted you enough with their secret, just as how Bruce did.

“I get it,” Dick tried to rationalise, “You don’t know what it is about the person, but you feel like the two of you just click, am I right?”

It had been like that with Barbara. It had been like that with Kory.

Now Dick was alone, and deep down he knew that they saw him as how he truly was. Selfish.

“Exactly,” you smiled, “Been with anyone like that before?”

“One or two,” he brushed it off, “People like that- whom you just click with- they’re hard to come by. You should see where this leads. Who knows, maybe he’s one of those that would stick around, huh?”

What he would give to have at least one person who would stick with him.

After he met with Gordon, Dick went to the cave to see Bruce who was, of course, facing the computers.

“I know what you’re going to say,” his father’s voice echoed without even turning to look at him.

“Then you know how much you’ve hurt her?” he crossed his arms.

Bruce did turn around to face him, and Dick suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

He knew that Bruce hardly ever slept, but this was different. He looked disheveled, his complexion pale, his eyes more bloodshot and the dark circles even more prominent.

Alfred did say how badly Bruce took the kidnapping, finding him passed out on the cave floor with an empty bottle of scotch in his hand, but he thought that Bruce would have gotten himself together by now. It was surprising to see him that way, and Dick felt… Uncomfortable.

Something was wrong, and it wasn’t just the kidnapping, nor his fight with you.

“You found out something,” Dick narrowed his eyes, “Something important. What is it?”

He caught a flash of guilt in Bruce’s eyes. “I’ll tell you some other time.”

“Bruce,” Dick groaned, “This is why you keep on hurting her.”

Hurting us.

“I’m protecting everyone.”

“You can’t use that excuse with me anymore,” he sighed, “I don’t need your protection. So tell me.”

“No.”

That was his final word, and he knew that Bruce would never budge.

“Fine,” he let out a breath, “Did you know that she’s seeing someone?”

Bruce frowned.

Which made Dick frown. Since when did Bruce miss things? What the fuck was going on with him?

“Name?”

“Dunno. Didn’t ask. And no, don’t you dare,” Dick pointed an accusatory finger at him, “Do not do a background check on him. She deserves privacy. Hell, don’t even bring it up. You have no right to go poking into her relationships.”

Dick was being defensive, but that was because he was trying to convince himself as well, which was why he didn’t ask you for a name. He knew he wouldn’t be able to resist.

“I wasn’t going to,” Bruce reassured, “She… She deserves a life. A normal life. Not this- not-”

Dick knew then he had to leave, because Bruce’s voice breaking meant he was far from okay, and he knew that Bruce hated to show his vulnerability to anyone.

“Bruce,” Dick said, this time softly, “You’re not alone, you know. I’ve been with you since the beginning, and I’m still with you now.”

And with that, Bruce turned his back towards him again, silently going back to his goddamned computers.

“He’s been that way ever since the kidnapping,” Alfred informed him when he walked up to the manor.

“I don’t think it’s just the kidnapping, Alf,” he frowned at the butler, “There’s something more to it. Did he figure out who Red Hood is?”

“Perhaps,” Alfred pursed his lips, “But he refuses to tell me.”

“That means we know him personally,” Dick theorised, “Who the hell could it be that he’s so adamant on keeping it a secret?”

“I do not know Master Dick, but it can’t be anyone good if he’s got Master Bruce drinking during the day.”

***

Bruce knew that he was wrong to call you by his dead son’s name.

But his dead son was supposed to stay dead instead of haunting him with that glaring red bat across his chest, and having that thought in his head all the time, he slipped up.

He prided himself with his contingency plans and detective skills and preparations, but no amount of time could ever prepare him for when he found out his dead son had sexually assaulted his daughter.

You seemed to have dealt with it surprisingly well, exceeding his expectations. In fact, Bruce thought it was a bit odd that you weren’t as affected by it.

And then he saw it.

He saw what he thought was the internalized anger you felt finally bursting through the seams of your tightly lidded emotions.

And he wasn’t prepared for it.

Bruce didn’t think you had it in you, or else he would never have made you Robin.

But there you were on the ground, beating a man beyond recognition.

He couldn’t dread this moment because he never saw it coming. Not from you. Never from you.

He hurriedly ripped you off the man, flinging you away with force.

Pulse was present, but weak. Flail chest. It took him only a few seconds to observe the damage you did to the man’s face. It didn’t look good.

“Stay back,” he growled at you when you came close.

He couldn’t look at you. He didn’t want to.

“I-I didn’t mean to,” he heard you whisper.

“Call an ambulance,” he ordered.

There was no other choice. He had to take the fall for you.

“NOW!” he snarled at you again. In the background, you were on the phone, but Bruce’s thoughts were elsewhere, calculating what needs to be done.

You moved-

“Leave. I’ll deal with this.” You needed to go. You couldn’t be here when the ambulance and police arrived.

“Batman-”

“I said leave,” he snapped. He couldn’t even hear your voice.

He waited for the ambulance to come before leaving, making sure they saw him escape. Making sure he would be the one the media would attack.

And while he drove back to the Cave, he decided to give his son a call.

“Bruce?”

“Dick,” he sighed. He knew he had always been unfair to his eldest, giving him so much pressure to perform, pushing him to be his best- and ultimately away. He knew that he never showed it, but he was proud of Dick. He always had been from the very beginning.

“What’s wrong?”

It wasn’t a surprise that Dick picked up immediately that something was wrong. If it wasn’t for the fact that calling him out of the blue was what gave it away, Bruce himself trained Dick.

“She- she crossed the line tonight,” he tried to explain, “Jerome Miller. She attacked him. The damage she’s done to him is irreversible. I suspect he will be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.”

“Jesus,” Dick breathed from over the line, “Why didn’t you stop her?”

“I wasn’t there,” he grit. He thought he could trust you.

But deep down Bruce knew that it was all his fault after all. Who was he to act so righteous when he was the reason your parents died?

“I don’t know if she’ll talk to me, Bruce,” Dick sighed, “Not about something like this. She’s probably beating herself up over this already.”

“As she should.”

“Bruce.”

“Please,” Bruce asked, “I’m worried. She isn’t herself and I can’t blame her for it, but the chances of her talking to you are much higher than if I were to try.”

“I’ll try,” Dick agreed.

“Report to me after.”

“Bruce, we’ve talked about this,” Dick grumbled, “I am under no obligation to report to you. I’m doing this for her. Not you.”

He was trying not to go back to the man he was before, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.

They’re your children, not your soldiers.

He had to remind himself time and time again. It was easier to be just a father to you as compared to Dick and Jason, yet even then he made slips.

“I know,” he apologised. “Thank you.”

Click.

And then Bruce was alone again.

***

Bruce watched you from the corner of his eye when you came back. He noticed that you had put more effort into dressing up when you left the house that day.

There was a slight bounce to your step and a small smile that played on your lips.

Dick was right after all. There was someone you were seeing.

But no, he couldn’t look into it. In fact, it would be hypocritical of him if he did. Dick had many girlfriends and flings, and Bruce didn’t want to know about any of them. Mainly because Dick was his first, and the thought of a boy he raised maturing and having relationships made him feel confused about parenthood.

Not that many of them lasted too long anyway.

Jason was a little different. While Dick had girls lining up after him all the time, Jason was much more subtle about the girls he liked, and that made Bruce more curious- but not enough to investigate.

He thought about when Barbara had caught Jason looking at her, making him turn red. He wondered if Jason would like you.

A tight squeeze in his chest.

He didn’t let his mind linger there.

Bruce felt obligated to protect you, which tempted him to investigate the boy you were seeing. It could be a trap, it could be someone using you for fame and money, or something even more sinister. Hell, it could be Jason himself after that stunt he pulled off.

But there was no evidence, and Bruce wanted to be a father to you this time instead of Batman the mentor. So Bruce would have to trust you on this one.

***

There was something holding Bruce back from telling everyone the truth about Jason.

And because he is who he is, Bruce knew what it was.

Guilt. He blamed himself for what had happened, and telling others about it meant owning up to his mistakes. Bruce never ran away from his fears and feelings despite what others might think. On the contrary, he held to them very strongly, using them as a motivation to fight head on.

This time, though, he felt more self destructive- the worst he had ever felt since he carried Jason’s corpse from the rubble- and so he tried to delay the inevitable.

But time was running out. He had enough time to wallow in self pity. It was time to pull himself together, and the first step began with Alfred.

The Cave was colder than usual that night, air thin and darker despite the illumination he had provided. Bruce was slumped in his usual wheeled chair, cowl resting on the desk after patrol, the weight of his suit almost crushing him in his weakened mental state.

“Alfred,” Bruce sighed, “Please, take a seat. I have something to tell you.”

“I assume this is about the identity of one criminal who has been terrorizing your daughter?” Alfred retorted, sitting down anyway.

“Yes,” Bruce nodded, “This… This won’t be easy, Alfred. I suggest you prepare for the worst.”

“And the worst being..?”

Bruce wheeled himself closer to the butler, leaning forward. “It’s Jason.”

Alfred merely blinked. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid my ears have caught up to my age. I must have misheard you, because for a moment, I thought you said that Red Hood is Jason.”

“You didn’t mishear me, Alfred. It’s him.”

Bruce saw the confusion in Alfred’s eyes, the frantic search for reason. “Our Jason? Jason Todd?”

“Yes, Alfred.”

And then, Bruce felt it. The pain he had been suffering with for weeks spreading to the man who raised him. Alfred clutched his chest with one hand, the other clenching tightly over the armrest of his chair, his breathing quickened.

“Impossible,” he whispered, “Jason died. How?”

“There was an event regarding The League and Superboy punching reality. I won’t get into details, but I suspect that was what caused the initial resurrection. The restoration, however. We know of someone who has been continuously restored time and time again.”

“Ra’s Al Ghul,” Alfred concluded, “But why? Why on Earth would he restore Jason?”

“I don’t know,” Bruce frowned, “But it is an almost perfect revenge plan. I would like to entertain the idea that he has brainwashed Jason into thinking we are the enemy, but I can’t put it past him to develop a hatred for me. I… betrayed him.”

“Master Bruce, this is not your fault,” Alfred rose to his feet, “If it is indeed Jason, we can still help. I have faith in the boy.”

“Me too, Alfred. Me too.”

Bruce didn’t miss the sob that echoed faintly through the cave when Alfred ascended back up.

***

As if in slow motion, he saw every change of emotion on Dick’s face. The way he blinked once in confusion, the surprise approaching as he widened his eyes, and then his eyebrows stitching together in a deep frown, his lips downturning and nose flaring in anger.

Bruce saw the punch coming, but he did not do anything to counter it. Gladly, he took the right hook Dick gave him, appreciating the sting that radiated from his cheekbone to his jaw.

“How long have you known?” his son shook in anger.

“Dick-”

“HOW LONG, BRUCE?!” Dick roared, fists clenched, voice echoing in the cave.

“Since the night he blew up the warehouse,” Bruce replied.

“Jesus, fuck,” Dick ran his fingers through his hair, “Jesus, Bruce. That was over a month ago.”

“I know.”

“We-” he choked on his words, “We deserved to know.”

“I know.”

“So why the fuck didn’t you say anything?!” he slammed his fists on the desk. Bruce caught a few drops of tears that fell to the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce apologised, and meant it. But he just couldn’t bring himself to say anything more.

“You’re sorry?” Dick looked at him with eyes far too cold than he knew, “He was my brother, Bruce. He told me things he never told anyone else. We shared secrets and jokes. We went to the same diner once a week to catch up. He asked for my help and I asked for his. And then he died. Just like that, because you couldn’t keep him on a leash. And now he’s back, and you knew it was him, and you’re just sorry?”

Dick’s eyes were wet and red, and filled with contempt. Bruce couldn’t blame him. He hated himself, too.

“Does she know?” he whispered, “Does she know that the man who attacked her is your son, and is my brother?”

Like always, he pushed the pain away efficiently, logically, objectively.

“Yes,” he confirmed, “I told her this afternoon.”

“And she’s not angry?”

“If she was, she did not show it,” Bruce described, “In fact, she looked… Worried.”

“Of fucking course she would be worried,” he snarled, “She’s worried that she’s going to be irrelevant to you now the dead Robin is back.”

“She’s not,” Bruce growled at that, “She’s not his replacement. She never was.”

“Does she know that, Bruce?” Dick snickered, “Did you finally get over yourself and tell her that? Because the last fucking time I spoke to her, you called her Jason.”

Bruce didn’t know how to respond to that. He was good at smiling at the cameras and making speeches and charming an audience, but he was never good with words, real words that described his true feelings to the ones he cared for the most.

“I’m sorry,” he simply said, now numb to everything throughout years and years of practice. “I promise, I will bring him back. Will you help me?”

“What can I do that you can’t?” Dick scoffed.

“You knew him, Dick,” Bruce said, “You knew him in ways I never did. I can predict his movements, but to accurately guess what his motivations are- you knew him better than I did.”

“Fine,” Dick conceded, “But I’m not forgiving you for this, Bruce. I swear, you’re going to pay for all the secrets you’ve kept from us, be it by my hand or someone else’s.”

***

“Did you know that your daughter went out last night to see a boy while we were patrolling?” Dick brought up.

He was looking at Bruce’s back, as he always was.

Bruce was on the computers, going through hours upon hours of security footage and traffic cams for Red Hood- for Jason.

It was difficult for him to put the two together. Jason had always been his little brother. Young, naive, inexperienced. And now that same person was the leader of the underground.

It was definitely difficult.

“Alfred mentioned she went out, but I didn’t know it was to meet a boy,” Bruce replied without glancing his way.

“Well, she lied to me about it at first,” Dick sank in a chair, looking at his nails. “Got pretty defensive when I brought it up. Even tried to deflect by using Jason against me.”

Dick knew you meant to hurt him with your words, and it worked.

He was definitely surprised that you would stoop that low because he always saw you as a sweet, kind girl.

People change. That’s what happens when you stick with Batman.

But Dick didn’t expect you to change so fast.

“She… used Jason against you?”

Bruce finally turned towards him, the ever constant frown a little bit deeper that moment.

“Yeah,” Dick straightened, “It was the first time she’s ever spoken to me that way.”

“What did she say exactly?”

“That I was distracting myself by using humor as a coping mechanism, and that I should come to terms with the fact that it was my brother who kidnapped and sexually assaulted her,” he repeated bitterly.

“What did you say to her that she responded that way?” Bruce asked.

“I was just making fun of her boyfriend,” Dick shrugged, “Why? Do you think she’s hiding something?”

At first, Dick thought that you were genuinely angry at the both of them because you were right- Jason did kidnap you. Jason did do those things to you. And Jason was supposed to be under both Bruce and Dick’s responsibility.

Dick didn’t blame you for it, because he would have probably been angry if the situation was reversed.

It was one of the mistakes he always made as Robin when Bruce was teaching him how to accurately deduce by reading people. Never assume that someone’s motivations would be the same as your own.

“She hid that she has… someone from me. There must be a reason why.”

“Or she knows how you are and would rather not have your nose in her business, Bruce. She did find out about that tracker you put in her necklace. How did she even react to it?”

Bruce had done the same with both Dick and Jason while they were Robin, though it didn’t come disguised as a pretty, shiny piece of metal.

On the contrary, during Dick’s Robin days, Bruce had hid it behind his third molar while he was unconscious. He only found out after a year, when he was held hostage by a mercenary who wanted to use him to lure Batman. Said mercenary had detected the tracking device and pulled it out along with the tooth.

It made him increasingly more hostile towards Batman and his never ending need for control, but at least it saved him a trip to the dentist.

From what Dick knew, Jason died with his tracker on him.

Bruce had said that it was all done in the name of safety.

But would you tell Jason the same thing now?

“I apologised and never replaced the one Red Hood damaged. I thought that would have been sufficient for her to trust me again.”

Dick let out a bark of laughter at that, but it was void of any humor. “Only you would think that not replacing her damn tracker would make her trust you. No wonder she hasn’t told you anything.”

It was probably best not to mention that you were now also sexually active.

“Do you think she’s hiding something important?” Bruce asked.

“Are you actually asking for my opinion?” Dick smirked, “No, but it’s too soon to tell, anyway. Relax, Bruce. It’s like you forgot what it was like to be young and in love.”

That was obviously a joke. Bruce grew out of his childhood the moment he saw his parents getting killed in that alley.

As for being in love, did Bruce ever allow himself that?

***

“What did you say she called herself?” Nightwing asked softly.

The poor girl was scared out of her mind to the point where Dick found it difficult to extract important information from her ramblings.

Well, that’s what happens when someone makes you kill a person.

It was difficult, so difficult, to face the fact that it was Jason behind all of that.

“I t-think, V,” the witness- Elena- stuttered. “She with him. But try to stop him.”

Behind him, he felt Batman pause. He was walking around the club and analysing evidence while listening to the conversation.

“She tried to stop him? Him as in Red Hood?” Dick frowned.

“Yes,” Elena looked down and rubbed her arms.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but,” Dick tried, “You told me they were partners.”

“Yes, but she try to stop him,” she repeated, “I don’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Dick offered a smile, “Thank you very much. You’ve been a huge help.”

“Am I going to prison?” she looked at him with big, wet eyes.

“We’ll make sure you won’t,” Dick assured, “You’ll get the best defense team in Gotham.”

“You can do that?” she asked, hope in her voice.

“It’s the least we could do,” Dick answered, a sad smile playing on his lips.

He’s our responsibility.

“Thank you,” she gave a watery laugh, “Even prison better than with him, I want to be free.”

Dick heard footsteps approaching. As he turned around, Gordon entered the crime scene, followed by his team.

“Of course you’re here first,” he sighed at Batman.

“Gordon.”

“You might have to speak to the police again, okay?” Dick told Elena who was suddenly nervous again by the presence of so many people. “I’ll make sure they know you’re innocent. Gordon is the only one you can trust, okay?”

She nodded, her gaze turning downwards.

“Gordon,” he approached the aging man. He was used to talking with Gordon in Batman’s stead, even when he was Robin, and remembered feeling proud of himself whenever he finished speaking to Gordon regarding cases without Batman having to add anything.

“Nightwing,” he blinked, “It’s been a while.”

“Desperate times calls for desperate backups,” he grinned, “Anyway, the girl. She’s a victim of Victor Ibenescu’s human trafficking trade. Romanian, only thirteen when she was kidnapped. She was forced to shoot Victor by Red Hood.”

“This Red Hood likes his poetic justice,” Gordon snickered.

“It’s still first degree murder, or at least, that’s how the law would make it seem,” Dick reminded him, “But I assure you she’s innocent. Red Hood threatened to kill and rape her if she didn’t shoot.”

That was a lie, on both his part and Elena’s. Judging by the way she averted her eyes and touched her own arm, Dick could tell that she wasn’t telling the whole truth about being threatened by Red Hood- but he also knew that he couldn’t expose her and get into more trouble.

He wanted to let out a tired sigh, but that would give him away in front of Gordon and the other officers. He still needed to maintain his air of hopefulness, and he couldn’t seem like he was troubled by his thoughts.

Time to meet Bruce back at the cave and watch the surveillance footage.

***

“He’s got a partner now,” Dick voiced out his findings, “Since when did Red Hood partner up?”

Bruce’s frown was deep as he stared at the screen.

Dick pursed his lips. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Whether this is Red Hood or Jason?” Bruce hummed, “This definitely does not seem like anything Red Hood would do. He’s always tried to separate himself from others because it furthers his authoritarian agenda. He does not get friendly with people because people are disposable to him.”

“So you think this is Jason, then?” Dick concluded, “Well, Jason never had much of a problem working with others in the past, and he made some friends. He wasn’t the type to be hostile to people.”

“He did have trust issues,” Bruce pointed out, “At the very beginning.”

“Yes, and he kept a lot of things to himself,” Dick agreed, “But he did have friends.”

“Special friends,” Bruce added, “Friends who gained his respect and trust. So the question is- who is this girl and how did she manage to gain his trust?”

“Hey, play it back again,” Dick said, “Those moves.”

Bruce played the security tape, showing the mysterious girl and Red Hood taking down Victor’s men.

“Arnis,” Bruce pointed out.

“It’s a little different.”

“She has incorporated silat in as well. Low stance,” Bruce observed. “She’s skilled, but not polished. It could be anyone.”

There was something familiar about the girl that Dick couldn’t pinpoint. Dick usually had strong intuition- a gut feeling that enabled him to know which facts to focus on during an investigation, or a strong ability to see through people.

But the problem was that it wasn’t solid proof or evidence, something Batman heavily focused on. It was a gut feeling that told him he knew who the girl was.

“Do you think it’s-” he broke off without completing his sentence. There was nothing to back his claims.

“She has no reason or motive to work with Jason,” Bruce shot the idea down, “He’s hurt her. And… She wouldn’t betray me like that.”

“She’s been keeping secrets, Bruce,” Dick reminded, hating the fact that this time it was him who was suspicious.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

Because he never would have thought that Jason was capable of torture and murder, either.

Why didn’t he come to me?

“As you clearly pointed out prior to this,” Bruce grit, “She has her reasons as to why she’s keeping secrets. And it is most probably because of me. All of you kept secrets. But this time, I’d like to let her keep hers.”

It was sweet, seeing Bruce that way.

“Is it guilt?” Dick asked.

“It’s repentance.”

Dick hated playing the bad guy.

Because he wasn’t supposed to be. He was the one people looked up to for inspiration, he was the light to Batman’s darkness, he was the smiles and charms and laughter.

He wasn’t the one who would accuse his little sister of fraternizing with the- was Jason the enemy?

Shit. Jason had messed with his senses. Dick’s head was chaotic, his emotions causing him to tense up.

Was he wrong? Was he just like Bruce? Was he jumping to conclusions just because Alfred told him you were out? Should he investigate this Carter you said you were with?

No. I’m not Bruce.

And now, you were looking at him with angry eyes, betrayed and appalled by his accusation.

*** Large.

That was the first thing that came to Dick’s mind when he saw his little brother.

The last time Dick saw him, he was much shorter, and definitely not as bulky.

And the last time Dick saw Jason, he was giving him a hug goodbye, complaining that Dick had messed up his hair.

And now, Jason was aiming a gun at him.

The gunshot didn’t hurt nearly as much as the thought that Jason had indeed shot him. Did Jason hate him that much?

You’re almost as guilty as he is, Jason’s voice echoed in his head.

“Bruce,” he gasped in the comms, “I’m down. They got away.”

“I heard a gunshot,” the deep voice in his ear spoke.

“Yeah, Jason shot my leg,” Dick winced, “Didn’t hit bone but I think it nicked my artery.”

“There are children here,” Batman said, “I was right. He’s sabotaging the Powers’. Gordon should be here soon. You control your bleeding.”

Dick nodded to himself and took a deep breath before plunging his finger into the gunshot wound to keep himself from bleeding out.

***

“...suspects that the crime lord only known as Red Hood and an unidentified female were behind the home invasion. Maria and Joseph Powers were left in a gruesome state according to reports, but their only child Carrie Powers was unharmed. The authorities are not sure what Red Hood’s motive was, but more will be elaborated during Commissioner Gordon’s public address later this afternoon...”

Dick heard you close the door.

“You didn’t come home last night,” he lowered the volume of the television.

“Uh, yeah,” you answered.

Dick looked over at you. You seemed tired, eyes swollen and red from crying, wearing an oversized t-shirt that he didn’t recognize.

“I was at-”

“Carter’s?” he finished your sentence for you.

“Yeah,” you nodded, sitting down next to him on the sofa.

Dick frowned to himself. Your arms were crossed, you were avoiding eye contact, your body was angled away from him.

“You heard about the Powers’?” he turned his gaze towards the television.

“I saw the news on the way here,” you monotoned.

You smelled like a different shampoo. It was familiar, but Dick couldn’t remember where he had smelled it before.

“So you know that-”

“Yes, Jason did it,” you said rigidly.

“Along with-”

“His partner.”

Ah, now he remembered the smell. Jason’s favorite shampoo. He used to make fun of him for choosing one that was called what it was called. He didn’t really care about it, Dick kept his hair soft and fluffy with multiple women’s hair products. He just liked to rile Jason up because he was so defensive about it.

And with that, Dick let out a long, disappointed sigh.

“Bruce is in the cave. I suggest that you think long and hard about what to tell him,” Dick offered you a soft smile, “But no matter what you choose to say, you’ll always be my sister, and I’ll always love you no matter what, okay?”

You gave him a look of shock, and then realised that he had figured it out.

“I’m sorry, Dick,” you lips trembled, your eyes started brimming with tears.

“No, kid. I’m sorry,” he replied, “Go.”

You nodded and left.

Despite being right all along, he didn’t feel any sense of achievement. Dick couldn’t help but partly blame himself. For being so absent, for being neglectful, for being a bad brother.

Dick wasn’t perfect, but like hell would he stop trying to be.

***

For years Bruce had tried to stop feeling guilty for being relieved whenever someone else takes care of a problem he couldn’t solve- especially when it involved murder.

Bruce had tried to take down the Powers for almost a decade, and everytime he got close, there was always another obstacle in the way. It was difficult to expose the rich and powerful without resorting to violence, without resorting to breaking his principles.

So Bruce was ready to stop himself from internally celebrating their deaths. This time, however, he wasn’t as pleased. Because this time, it was Jason who brutally murdered two people. Jason, who was supposed to be under his care and responsibility.

“Bruce?” he heard your timid, small voice from behind him. “I have to tell you something.”

And there it was.

Bruce turned around and looked straight at you, piercing your eyes with his own as he waited on your confession.

A minute passed.

“I’m V,” you struggled to speak, “I’ve been meeting up with Jason for a few months now. I didn’t know he was Red Hood until you told me. But when you did tell me, I chose to confront him and team up with him anyway.”

Bruce didn’t say anything.

“He- he’s not a bad person, Bruce,” you justified, “He’s just really hurt. He needs help.”

You were telling Bruce things he already knew.

“I- I fell in love with him,” you continued, “And I let my feelings cloud my judgement and betrayed your trust. At first I thought that he was onto something, that his… methods were better than yours. And I was angry that you kept secrets from me. But after last night- after what I saw- I couldn’t- I couldn’t stay.”

Bruce clenched his jaw.

He suspected it. Dick suspected it. But for your sake, the both of them chose to put their trust in you. He had tried so hard to change from his old ways. He learned his lesson with both Dick and Jason.

He didn’t want you to go through the same thing they did.

So, he chose to blindly trust you anyway, hoping that he wasn’t right.

“I’m sorry, Bruce,” you were sobbing now, “I’m so sorry. Please, say something.”

After another minute of watching you break down in front of him, Bruce finally spoke up.

“Hang up your colors. You’re no longer my Robin.”

#Red Who #Red Hood x Reader #jason todd x reader

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vemuabhi · 4 years ago

Text

ITS OKAY TO TAKE A BREAK

Stressed Reader Comfort!

Hello!!! I am so happy you requested my dear! I am so happy to write for you. Please drink water and take care of yourself. I know it’s a hard time. But don’t lose hope and don’t let stress eat you up. You are loved and you are needed.

Pairing : Sanji X Reader

Word count : 2.2K

Warnings : Not proof read, Stress, insomnia, Hurt then comfort and a very adorable Sanji

Sanji post Tagging : @ye-rin164

Assignment after assignment. Projects, seminars and exams. Forget about dates, you are not even having time to sleep properly since the last month. Still you stayed up many nights writing all the assignments. Researching stuff needed for the seminars. Memorising all the chapters from all the subjects. Praying to get good credits every time. Even sleeping for those 3 hours a day seemed so stressful because of your piled up assignments, which your teachers just dumped on you mercilessly.

Slowly because of lack of sleep and hectic works, dark circles were visible clearly under your eyes. Headaches became regular now. You weren’t able to focus on things properly. You just… tried to go along with the flow of day. Anything you ate tasted bland making you to loose appetite. All you now wanted was a day to just… rest.

Ignoring the good morning and good night messages from a certain someone made you feel guilty. But because of work, you couldn’t even catch a break. Yes… stress was building up in you.

Researching and taking print outs for the next “group” seminar made you work even harder. Yeah as you know how there is at least one person in the group who doesn’t even attempt to do work. Now you had FREAKING two of them in your 5 member’s team. Guess what happened. You three had to now share the burden of the remaining work.

‘Good thing Sanji isn’t here to see how much of a mess I am right now’, you thought sipping your caffeine. You felt lucky that you were at least getting time to take a quick shower every day.

On the other hand, Sanji knew. He knew how terrible your work was getting, making you to give him a single reply every two days, letting him know you were alive. If you didn’t give him that reply, he’d have gotten a panic attack on how you were. No regular messages, no dates, no video calls, not a single god damn normal call. He was really getting worried. But he stayed patient.

Nami and Robin chan suggested him to go and meet you, but he thought if he went, he’d be a problem to you for not letting you finish your work. His heart was earning to see you. To hug you. To make you something to eat. To just… be with you.

As days passed, you were getting more and more annoyed and you started to have breakouts for almost everything and nothing. Even the smallest things were making you cry. Like once You even cried as you saw a small puppy outside your apartment.

You hated to cry. But because of this pressure you couldn’t even control your emotions. You felt like you were losing yourself.

At Sanji’s house, he and Zoro were doing dishes but Sanji couldn’t help but to worry about you.

“Its just a gut feeling but I cant help but to worry”, Sanji sighed.

“If you feel like shit, why not just go to her place?”, asked Zoro

“Tsk, Its not that easy. What if I interrupt her?”, replied Sanji washing his hands after giving the last plate to Zoro.

The green haired man took the plate and placed it into the shelf. He sighed and said, “Look cook. It’s okay to go and check on her once a while, If you are worried. Maybe she needs you too”

Sanji never thought of that. He was always insecure and felt that he might disturb you if he met you. But this gut feeling of his was telling him to atleast go and see you.

“In 5 minutes, I’m leaving”, the blond told his roommate before going into his room. Zoro just smirked before closing the shef door.

You sat in the corner of the room. Your books were still open and you knew you were supposed to study. Then… the negative thoughts hit you. Your brain wanted to play some tricks on you. And it chose this freaking time to do that.

‘Yeah… you are not gonna get good grades even if you do this’

‘Sanji is so hardworking. He’d be so disappointed to have a person like you as his lover’

‘All your assignments are worthless, stop giving yourself enough credit’, you looked into your mirror.

Tears slid down your face. You looked terrible. With messy hair, unwashed clothes, dirty room. You wanted to tear the place down. You were so hurt and pressured.

*Ring*

Your train of thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. You wiped your tears quickly and stumbled as you made your way towards the main door. You swung open the door and your (eye colour) orbs met the all blue orbs. The golden hair smoothly covered one of his eye. His smile brightly as seeing you.

“Aish! Y/N, how many time have I told you to check before opening the do-”, He didn’t even complete his sentence and you ran into his arms, tightly embracing him, making him to take a step back.

He instantly knew something was wrong with the way to you hugged him. He wrapped his arms around your body. You started to cry as he hugged you.

“Sanji… I… I can’t… I hate this. I don’t like this”, you whimpered between your sobs. He soothingly rubbed the back of your head.

Without breaking the hug, he pulled you inside the house and locked the door. Leaning his back on the door, with still you hugging him, he pulled you even closer. He patted your back while you buried your head in the crook of his neck.

“Y/N, look at me dear”, he asked and you slowly looked at him. His expression from worry turned to one of a sad one.

“I missed you so much”, you cried even more looking at him.

“Shhh~~ Y/N, I’m here. Please don’t cry. This hardship will pass away. Don’t let the stress eat you up”, he kissed your forehead as he calmly whispered into your ear.

Actually Sanji was also so hurt because of your situation. But if he wasn’t strong, who would encourage you.

Soothing your tears away, he kissed your eyes.

“I am sorry. I look horrible”, you sniffed and damn yes, he was not happy by the way you said it.

“Don’t ever say that. You are the most amazing and hardworking person. Give yourself a bit more credit”, he shook your shoulders as he said that.

“Listen here, you are tired, but you are still very much beautiful. All you need is a good night sleep”, he said as he pulled you towards your bedroom.

The bed was a mess. Books, papers, laptop, stationary on it. You felt embarrassed as Sanji saw you in your worst state.

“Sorry Sanji for making you see this”, you said as Sanji just made his way into the room and started to quickly clean the bed.

“You are apologising way too much Y/N. If I didn’t support you now, I shouldn’t even call myself your friend let alone your boyfriend”, he said.

Within minutes, he cleared everything up. You went towards the table to continue your work, but then, you felt your wrist being grabbed.

You looked at him and he looked at you with worried eyes.

“Y/N, I never said you should now write your paper”, he said sternly. Even though his voice was deep, his eyes showed worry.

“But I should complete it”, you said but he was quick to pull you towards him. He lifted you up with grace and walked towards the bed swiftly and plopped you on it. You couldn’t even protest because of how quickly it happened.

You tried to get up but then he decided to jump on you and cuddle you. You chuckled at how he behaved like a small child. When he heard your laugh he looked up to you, his head still placed on your chest. Oh how much he wanted to hear that laugh of yours. But you yourself didn’t knew when you fell asleep. As Sanji was looking while you laughed, you almost immediately fell asleep.

He smiled at you as you slept. He woke up and went towards your desk and sat on the chair.

Looking at the assignment that you should start, he analysed what you wrote in the roughly at the side. He took your phone and placed his thumb on the finger print scanner. Yes of course, you guys are having the healthiest relationship. He went towards the pdf of the assignment due dates and found the assignment you were working on. And damn he got angry at how many assignments you were given. The one you were working on was to be submitted the day after tomorrow.

‘Damn… no wonder Y/N had to stay up most of the night for these’, he thought as he called one of the smartest people he knew. No… it wasn’t Luffy. He has the devils Luck to pass his exams.

“Hey Robin chan! This is Sanji”, he said as he looked at the assignment.

“Hi Sanji. What happened?”, she inquired

“Robin chan, I actually need some help”, he started to ask about the assignment and how to collect the required information related to it.

Robin chan understood the situation and started to explain.

“So Sanji, Don’t waste your time searching all the websites. Just go to the websites I told you and you can see almost every possible explanation required to you”

Sanji searched on the laptop as he placed the phone between his shoulder and ear. The un-lit cigarette was dangling between his lips. The habbit of having it made him focus on things even more. But he ofcourse didn’t want to light it and make you wake up from its smell. And for gods sake, it was your divine room. He would never light a cigarette here. Soon he could see the information required to your assignment.

“Oh yes! I got it Robin chan! Thanks for your help”, he thanked her and they both ended the call after the exchanging a few more casual talks.

He looked at some other sites Robin mentioned and found everything that you required for writing this assignment. He actually wanted to write for you but, he knows that you’d feel guilty if he wrote it. So he just searched it for you. Then looked at another assignment which was the next one you had to submit in 5 days from now. So, he started to search for it and found the required information. He looked at the time and noticed that, it was already 2 in the morning. He didn’t even knew how the time passed while he searched for the information.

Sanji stretched his arms and stood up. He walked towards the bad, where you were sleeping peacefully. He smiled at you before kissing your forehead. He hugged you as he slept beside you.

The next day you woke up to the aroma of the food. You woke up from the best sleep you had. It was so refreshing and you felt so much better with it. You got up from the bed and went to the kitchen, where you saw the blond cooking for you.

You hugged him from behind as he grinned at your cute behaviour. “Good morning love”, he greeted you as he placed one of his arm around your shoulder and snuggled closer to you.

“Thanks for making this baby. I am so thankful for this”, you said pecking his cheek. He smiled and continued to make the breakfast.

“Its alright. Well, Y/N, you need to eat before you start writing the assignment. You smiled looking at him. ‘I am sure lucky’, you thought. You ate breakfast and then Sanji showed you the information he collected to write the assignment. Just when you thought you couldn’t fall in love with him more, he proved you wrong.

He was beside you leaning down with the laptop before you two as he was talking about some websites Robin chan mentioned. You placed your hand on his chin and turned him towards you then pulled him in for a kiss.

“I think, I found the best boyfriend one could have. I’m so lucky”, you said as you hugged him

He blushed so hard when you said that.

“AHHH!! AND YOU ARE THE BEST GIRLFRIEND Y/N, I LOVE YOU TOO”

That day you both wrote the assignments together and finished them.

“Its okay to ask for help Y/N, I am always happy to help you”, Sanji said as he held the finished papers of the assignment.

You smiled back at him and said, “Thankyou Sanji. I… I’ll ask your help”

XOXOXOXO

So, I hope you liked this one shot. I felt so connected writing this. If you are facing a similar situation. Just remember. You need rest and you can always ask for help. Please give yourself credit and stay positive.

Like/Vote, Comment, Reblog/Share if you liked it!

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#sanji x reader #sanji #one piece sanji #sanji vinsmoke x reader #sanji vinsmoke #vinsmoke sanji #vinsmoke sanji x reader #vinsmokes #Zoro One Piece #robin one piece #one piece x reader #one piece x you #one piece x y/n #one piece #one piece fanfiction

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