#i had to rewrite this for 5 minutes straight until it looked like the words itoshi sae

[kruinka]

SAE PLEASE SAE PLEASE

im late but i tried my best to do him justice

thanku for sending an ask!

[skyfallslayer]

Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Chapter Two

-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

🎲Summary: On the night of November 6th, 1983, Stephanie Henderson decided to walk her little brother’s friend, Will, back home. However… they never arrive. Now, Dustin, Mike and Lucas, and soon the exception of the girl’s ex-best friend, Steve, must band together to find out what happened. Meanwhile, Steph and Will must fight for their survival in this nightmarish version of Hawkins, Indiana.

🎲Chapter Summary: Lucas, Mike and Dustin try to talk to the girl they found in the woods; And Hopper questions an anxious Joyce about an unsettling phone call; Steph and Will must continue to survive; And Steve’s eyes get opened in a way he never saw coming.

🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Slow burn! Byler

🎲Rating: Teen-Mature

🎲Word Count: 11,024 (Oh, my lord)

🎲Date: 5/16/24

🎲Warnings: Angst; Swearing; Implied Broken Friendship; Talks of Kidnapping; Mental Strain/Breaking Down; Implying Sex; Lying; Implied Suicide; Death/Killing; Talks of Corpses; Blood; Gun Use; Steve's 'Asshole Era. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

(And let me know if I missed anything)

🎲A/N: Jesus. This was a tough one to write and edit (Hopefully I didn't make too many mistakes). But, geez. Writing different POVs, everyone's thought was a tough one. But hopefully y'all can understand 😅. Also, I am NOT a D&D player, so some of lore just comes straight from the wiki. Hopefully that's reliable enough. Anyway, sorry for the delay. Enjoy!

|| THE NIGHT BEFORE || 

“What the fuck are you?!” Will heard her scream as the creature tried to outmatch her. The light above them grew brighter and brighter, and he squeezed his eyes shut while gripping her jacket tighter. He prayed this was just another nightmare. Maybe… Maybe he’s getting his wish when he hears the silence. Does he dare open his eyes and see the truth?

He’s scared, trembling, and it heightens when he hears the girl heaving for air. So much so he clenches his grip on the fabric tighter, the strange smelling air going through his nostrils causing him to gasp himself. When his eyes snapped open is when his coughing fit started.

He hears his name being called, and hands coming around his shoulders. He almost jerks away, afraid, until his orbs settle on the silhouette before him. 

“S-Steph?” He croaked, a sense of relief flooding his veins. “What just happened?” He could see the confusion on her face, looking around for clues. He followed her eyes, nose crinkling at the sight. “We’re still in the shed. But it’s… gross.”

She swallows. “Stay behind me.” She tells him, and guides herself through the door. They both shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. “Jesus, It’s freezing.”

Will and her looked around, the outside world seemed to be encased in a blue hue, the places around seemed to be tangled with vines and covered in something sticky. There was also a white powder that looked like snow, raining down from the dark skies above. A sky that didn’t even have moonlight like it did a few minutes ago.

“Did you hit your head when we crashed?” She asked after getting his attention away from the sky. 

He shakes his head, almost sadly. If that had both just hit their heads, would the situation have been better? He frowns, worriedly thinking away as the older girl tries to stay calm.

“Come on.” She says, gesturing to him to follow. “Let’s go inside. I want to see something.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT || 

The rain was coming down more intensely than before, followed by the grumbling of thunder and lightning. Somehow, miraculously, the boys, mostly Wheeler, managed to convince the strange girl they found in the woods to return home with them, and hid her in the basement.

“Is there a number we can call for your parents?” Mike asked, worriedly as the girl looked between the three boys, all scared and confused.

“Where’s your hair? Do you have cancer?” Dustin spitted out, genuinely curious.

“Did you run away?” Lucas asked, skeptical. 

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” Mike says, just as his friend questions a red sustain on her shirt. He slaps his hand away quickly. “Stop it! You’re freaking her out!”

“She’s freaking me out!”

“I bet she’s deaf.” Dustin suggested, before taking a quick half step and smacking his hands together. The sound makes the girl flinch, and he frowns apologetically. “Not deaf.”

“That’s enough, all right? She’s just scared and cold.” Mike said, silencing the two before running over to the laundry basket and grabbing some clothes. “Here, these are clean. Okay?”

The girl takes them, taking a second to be grateful before she starts stripping– The boys freak out, Mike running up to stop her while the other two look away. 

“See over there?” He points. “Th-That’s the bathroom. Privacy. Get it?” She nods and he shows her inside. Just when he was about to shut it behind him, she grabs it forcibly. “You don’t want it closed?”

“No.” She finally says, surprising him.

“Oh, so you can speak. Okay, well… Um, how about we just keep the door…” He slowly moves it until there’s about three inches of space. “Just like this. Is that better?”

“Yes.”

Mike smiles and leaves her be, rejoining the group who were having a conversation of their own.

“This is mental.” Dustin said, freaking out.

“At least she can talk.” Mike points out, with Lucas shaking his head, replying,

“She said ‘no’ and ‘yes’. Your three-year-old sister says more.”

“She tried to get naked.” Dustin adds.

“There’s something seriously wrong with her.” Lucas said, touching his temple. “Like, wrong in the head.”

“She just went like…” The Henderson boy makes a motion of taking off shirt (and even knocked his own hat off his head).

“I bet she escaped from Pennhurst.”

“From where?” Mike said, eyebrow raised.

“The nuthouse in Kerley County.” 

“You got a lot of family there?” Dustin teased, getting a dirty look. 

“Bite me. Seriously though, think about it. That would explain her shaved hair and why she’s so crazy.”

“Why she went like…” He does the shirt motion again. In his mind this was helping him and Lucas’ case.

“‘She’s an escapee’ is the point. She’s probably a psycho.”

“Like Michael Myers.”

“Exactly! We should’ve never brought her here.”

“So you just wanted to leave her out in that storm?” Mike asks, irritated. 

“Yes! We went out to find Will–” 

“And Phanie.” Dustin pressures. 

“And Steph – not another problem!” Lucas agrees.

“I think we should tell your mom.”

“I second that.”

Mike holds his hand up. “Who’s crazy now?” 

“How is that crazy?” Lucas scoffed.

“‘Cause, we weren’t supposed to be out tonight, remember?”

“So?”

“So if I tell my mom and she tells your mom and your mom–”

Dustin’s eyes widened. “Oh, man.”

“Our houses become Alcatraz.” Lucas frowns.

“Exactly. We’ll never find Will, or Steph.” Mike says, seeing Dustin make the shirt motion once more, silently asking the question about the girl. “All right, here’s the plan. She sleeps here tonight.”

Henderson perked up again. “You’re letting a girl–” 

“Just listen! In the morning, she sneaks around my house, goes to the front door and rings my doorbell. My mom will answer and know exactly what to do. She’ll send her back to Pennhurst or wherever she comes from. We’ll be totally in the clear. And tomorrow night, we go back out. And this time, we find Will and Stephanie.”

Lucas and Dustin share a look, until one of them finally shrugged. “I guess that works.”  

“Great. We’ll start again tomorrow. Goodnight, guys.” Mike bid them as he went off to start making the mysterious girl a place to rest.

“This is crazy, man.” Lucas said, once they had snuck back out. “What the hell is Mike even thinking?”

“I don’t know. Do you think his plan will really work?” Dustin asked, as they headed over to where their bikes were hidden.

“I’m giving it less than a fifty percent chance of success.” He sighs. “I better get home.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Hey, don’t look so sad.” He pats his curly haired friend on the back. “We’ll find them.”

“I just want my sister back. You have no idea.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

In the following morning, in the Byers house, the eldest seemingly was keeping it together, making the morning meal like he always does and hoping his worrying mother would have just a bite. 

“All right, Mom. Breakfast is ready.” Jonathan said, while placing the plate down in front of her, her thoughts being interrupted. 

“What?” His mother said, before moving some papers. “No, be careful of the poster.”

“Yeah, okay. All right–”

“I can’t eat.”

“I just need you to eat, Mom.”

“Listen, listen. The Xerox place opens in, like…” She looks down at her watch. “30 minutes–”

“Mom–”

“And I don’t want you to go alone–”

“No, I know. I told you, I got it.”

“So I’m gonna have Karen take you, ‘cause I should be here.” She gestures around, all jittery. “Claudia will meet you there, b-but if she’s not, she’ll reimburse us for the copies of Stephanie, I–”

He shakes his head with understanding. “Okay.”

“We need to make, what, 200, 300 copies?” He nods again. “How much is a copy?”

“Mom?”

“Ten cents?”

“Mom?” 

“If we– ten cents”

“Mom, Mom!” Jonathan stops her from counting the cash she had laid out, and squeezes her shoulder with her other hang to calm her. “Y-You can’t get like this, okay?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Joyce replies, taking a shaky inhale of nicotine. 

“No, it’s okay.” He reassures her softly, just before someone comes knocking on their door. The mother rushed over with her son on her tail, busting the door wide open for the exhausted police officer. 

“We’ve been waiting six hours.” 

“I know, I came as soon as I could.” Hopper replies, nearly dead on his feet.

“Six hours.”

“A little bit of trust here, all right?” He slides his hat off. “We’ve been searching all night, went all the way to Cartersville.”

“And?”

“Nothing.”

Joyce made a choking sound and looked away. “God…”

Hopper frowns, sadly. “Flo says you got a phone call?”

“Oh, yeah.” Joyce nods and shows him their phone. 

He picks it, examining the speaker part of it which was charded black. “Storm barbecued this pretty good.”

She took a step back in surprise. “The storm?”

Hopper looked at her like she had two heads. “What else?”

“You’re saying that that’s not weird?”

“No, it’s weird.”

“Can we, like, trace who made the call? Contact the–”

“No, it doesn’t work like that.” He shakes his head, and then looks at her with all seriousness. “Now, uh, you’re sure it was Will? Because Flo said you just heard some breathing.”

“No. It was him, it was Will... and h-he was scared. And then something–”

“It was probably just a prank call. It was somebody trying to scare you.”

“Who would do that?” Joyce questioned, face full of confusion and sickness.

“Well, this thing’s been on TV. It brings out all the crazies, you know. False leads, prank calls, uh–”

“No, Hopper, it was not a prank. It was him.”

“Joyce.” He begins, as she denies him again

“Come on, how about a little trust here?” She laughs dryly. “What, you think I’m– I’m making this up?”

“I’m not saying that you’re making it up.” Hopper looks at her with concern again. “All I’m saying is it’s an emotional time for you.”

“And you think I don’t know my own son’s breathing?”

“Joyce–”

“Hopper, my son’s missing. A-And not only that, someone else’s daughter is missing.” She nervously takes a puff of her cigarette. “And you know what the mess up part about that is? Stephanie didn’t have to! She didn’t have to be the sweetheart she is and take my son home. She could have just drove past him, but she didn’t! She didn’t, Hop. And now I have to live with the thought that I made someone else’s kid go missing because I. Was. Working!” 

She ends with an emotional sigh, tightening the heavy tension it the room. Jonathan worriedly looking at his mother before, locking eyes with the police chief who was trying to find the right words to say.

“You hear from, uh, Lonnie yet?” Hopper asked after the small silence.

“No.”

“It’s been long enough.” He puts his hat back on. “I’m having him checked out.”

“Oh, come on!” She sighs loudly, watching him leave. “You’re wasting your time.” Then the door shuts, and rubs her temple. “Jesus. He never listens!”

Jonathan ponders for a moment, before asking, “Mom, how likely is it that Will would actually go to Lonnie’s?”

“I…” Joyce runs a hand through her messy locks. “It’s possible, but he lives a long, long way. Especially on foot. But… I don’t– maybe he would! I…” She sighs again, overwhelmed. “However, I don’t think he would have gone with Stephanie. He’s… W-Will knows your father’s not the best man, and Will, you know, has that heart of gold.”

That got a chuckle out of both of them. “Yeah.”

“I don’t think Will would have risked Stephanie like that.” She shakes her head. “No. She’s an older kid, and older sister. As much as this sounds messed up, she would have done anything to make sure Will was safe. I know it. So… my question is…” She locks eyes with her son. “What would a girl her age think is a safe place for a young boy?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| TWO NIGHTS AGO ||

Stephanie flipped the lightswitch on in the kitchen out of curiosity, but finds herself still submerged in darkness. “Just what I thought. There’s no light.” She says with a frown.

“The flash of light we saw–” Will looks up at her. “Do you think it was a power outage?” 

“I don’t think there’s light here, I mean-” She starts walking around, rubbing her shaking hands together. “Look at this place. I don’t think we’re in Hawkins anymore.” She shivers just a smidge. “At least it’s a little warmer inside here.” Then she hears a distressful sound. “Will?”

The boy was pale, pupils blown wide and had a small tremble. “W-What do you m-mean we’re not in Hawkins anymore?” He asked, lip quivering with a slight pant. “B-But th-this looks like my house. D-Did w-we get taken somewhere else? Can we even g-go home? I–”

“Shit… Will–” She rushes over, hands coming up to his shoulders while she gets on one knee. “Will? Hey, bud, listen– hey.” She makes sure his gaze meets hers. “Don’t freak out. I know it’s scary, but we’re going to figure this out. Once we do, I’m going to get us home, I promise.”

The boy sniffles into his shoulder, fighting back tears. “You promise?”

“I promise.” She says it without realizing the fate of those words.

He swallows and extends out a certain finger. “Pinky promise?”

Her breath was nearly taken away by that certain question, taking her far back into a distant memory. But… like hell she’s going to let that memory change her judgment. She interlocks hers with his and repeats, “Pinky promise.”

That got him to crack a smile. “So, what next?” He asks, making her rack her brain for a plan.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT DAY ||

He woke up again to his cat’s crying. The young Henderson frowns, heart clenching at how Mews was wondering where his sister was at. For the urban legend of how cats had no emotions, he’s certainly not seeing it. He rubbed his eyes and wandered aimlessly around, the thought of calling sick into school was still fresh in his mind. Should he? I mean it made sense, and it wasn’t like the school won’t understand, so….

Was that a yes?

He walked through the hallway, curls in his eyes as slows in front of his sister’s bedroom. His cat locked eyes with him, sadness and confusion filled the slitted pupils. Mews meows again.

“She’s not back yet.” Dustin says, getting a chirp. “We’re trying. She’ll be back soon.” He starts walking away, hearing him make a sad sound once more. 

“Dusty-bun, I’m going to make some posters.” Claudia said, who were gathering her belongings by the door. “I left you breakfast on the stove.”

His nervous fingers gripped his t-shirt as he tried not to sound so down. “Hey, Mom?” Her eyes meet his gaze. “Is it okay if I… stay home today?”

Claudia’s face softens bittersweetly. “Of course you can, sweety. If you leave the house for whatever reason, just leave me a note where you’re going, that’s all I ask.” She gives him a kiss on his hairline, and is one foot out the door before adding, “Oh! And be back before dark. Okay? Your Mama doesn’t need to worry about another kid.”

“Can do.”

He watches her smile and closes the door, locking it. He frowns at that action, I mean they’ve never locked their door before, and now it was becoming second nature. He was even surprised she told him he could leave the house. Or… did she not expect him to leave this place in the state he’s in? Sounds like something she would do.

He sighs and heads for the kitchen to make himself a plate. He didn’t have much of an appetite, really, but he didn’t want to hurt his mother’s feelings or make her beg for him to eat – he didn’t want to call ‘pot kettle black’ since he was the one that had to convince his mourning mother to eat last night. But it was hard, his fork just picking at the food, cutting it into smaller pieces to stare at before dropping his utensil onto the plate.

Steph… His fingers dug into his pocket and pulled the gold chain out, letting it sprawl out in his palm. He stares at it intensely, thinking. Come on, Sis, give me a sign. What happened to you and Will? What caused you to go off road and run? Run with Will’s shotgun out of all things?

What had got her so scared that they needed a weapon to protect themselves? Both her and Will were the last two people that would resort in violence, so the fact that they decided to arm themselves with a weapon tells him that something sinister was up.

But what? Dustin lays the necklace down next to him, pretending that she was here to eat with him like she always does, before deciding it was time to munch on what was left on his plate.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Hopper struggles to keep his mind clear after that conversation with Joyce. His thought always going back to this particular moment:

.

““Stephanie didn’t have to! She didn’t have to be the sweetheart she is and take my son home. She could have just drove past him, but she didn’t! She didn’t, Hop. And now I have to live with the thought that I made someone else’s kid go missing because I. Was. Working!””

.

Of course the woman felt guilty about everything. I mean, your kid goes missing, who else are you going to blame other than yourself? But she also was chipping away at the idea it was her fault that that poor girl was missing too. Blames herself for working later than usual, and wasn’t the one to come across her own son on the road and pick him up. That’s a lot of guilt for someone who’s holding the family together on her own.

He listens to the volunteers shout the children’s names, hoping that they would shout back. Hopper wishes that too. He prays that one of them would yell back for help and get this nightmare over with.

“Hey!” He shouts at the two officers. “Anything?”

Callahan shakes his head. “You?”

“No, nothing but a dead phone.”

“Joyce?”

Hopper nods. “About one step from falling off the edge.”

“She’s been a few steps for a while now, hasn’t she?” Powell asked, as he’s met with a stern glare. 

“Kid’s missing, man. Show a little class.” Hopper snaps, making them avert their eyes.

“All right…”

He exhales and takes off with the rest of the group, shouting, “Come on, let’s go! We got a lot of ground to cover.” He keeps his fingers crossed that this would be it. That this would be the search that brings them home.

For their mothers' sake.

For his sake.

For every goddamn person out of here’s sake. 

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE NIGHT BEFORE ||

Stephanie shifted through the last cabinet and frowns. “Well, we can’t cook anything because there’s no electricity. But we can eat the dry goods. Unless we can figure out how to start a fire” She sighs, and wrinkles her nose. I mean, they can go a few days without eating if they didn’t want to touch the box of crackers covered in goo. But water? How were they supposed to have water if the faucet comes out with something they probably shouldn’t drink.

She rubs her temples, thinking. “I guess we’re going to have to look for some bottled stuff to drink.” She makes contact with the boy who just entered the room. “How you feeling?”

“Fine. I got a bit of a chill, but we can still grab clothes out of the closets if we need it.” Will replies, hugging his walkie talkie close.

“And the call?”

“Nothing. I mean I could hardly ever get reception over here anyway, so maybe we can try finding a different spot.”

“That wouldn’t be a bad idea." She says with a sigh. “Where’s the shotgun?”

“Oh, uh– Mom’s room.” He points behind him.

“Alright, maybe I’ll take a peek outside. If it seems clear, maybe we can try to find some reception.” 

Stephanie leaves the room with Will looking back at his walkie. He had to remain strong, hopeful. He has to get through to someone. His friends, his family, one of them has to be able–

Wait.

Was he hearing things? Was his mind playing tricks?

His eyes trail to his living room where he swears he heard someone talking. It was faint, but you can’t miss it. 

It sounds like… His chest tightens at a thought, his brown orbs blown wide as he looks at the yellow phone on the wall. It was probably hopeless, stupid even, I mean… the damn thing didn’t work when Stephanie tried to call for help when they were being chased. But that was the real world, this was… fake? Maybe it different, maybe it’s—

Oh, shit.

Maybe he’s just grasping at straws at this point and hopes it turns out okay.

His fingers latch around the phone, pulling it off the receiver and dials his home’s number, praying with all his might that this ridiculous idea would actually work. 

Come on, come on, come on, come on, com–

Oh, he felt like crying when someone picked up.

[ ‘Hello?’ ]

His mother’s voice broke through and poke him in the heart. He couldn’t breath as relief washed over him like a storm.

[ ‘Hello? Lonnie? Hopper? Who is this?’ ]

Say something, say something, say something– His lip quivers as he swallows. “M-Mom?” He can’t wait till Steph hears about this. “M-Mom, I-It’s me.” 

She can hear me right? She has to. 

[ ‘Will? Will? It’s Will!’ ]

[ ‘Mom, it’s Will?’ ]

He could cry upon hearing the second voice. “J-Jonathan? Mom? M-Me and Stephanie are tr-trap in some weird place! I-I don’t know what t-to–”

Then he was cut off by the dreadful sound of the monster. Will watched as its claws wrapped around the corner, almost like it was pulling itself into the kitchen. He doesn’t even know where it came from. He didn’t even hear it freaking come in! 

He froze on sight, his mother shouting something he couldn’t make out as the beast with no eyes looked directly at him. He wanted to scream but it was stuck in his throat. Is this how he was going to die? Die by listening to his mother’s pleas to answer her?

It shrieked and seemed to get bigger, ready to strike him down before it took a bullet to the face. The shot made it fall against the wall, and Will drops the fried phone and backs himself away. Stephanie looked half scared to death too as she cocks the shotgun again and fires one more when it stands up, sending it flying to the living room. As quickly as her buckling knees could hold her, she rushes over to Will, pulling him behind her as she aims the barrel into the direction the beast was. Shaking intensely, she carefully peeks around the corner to find that it had completely vanished like it did earlier. She gasps in shock before sliding to the ground herself, mentally drained.

“Steph!!” Will calls out with worry. He could see her eyes glassing over, her skin becoming paler as she shouts, 

“Where the fuck are we?!” 

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT DAY || 

Steve strolls into school, head in the clouds, and an aching feeling in the pit of his stomach. His sleep went to complete shit after the conversation with his girlfriend last night. He still doesn’t understand why it was affecting him so much. It’s not like him and Steph hung out anymore. So why is he losing sleep over this?

You’re not even friends anymore, Harrington. He mentally slaps himself. Get your shit together– 

“Boo!” Tommy yelled, jumping out from behind the corner, startling him.

“Jesus, Hagan.” Steve said, holding his chest while the other teen laughed.

“That was so easy.”

“So–” Carol’s arm snakes around him with a grin. “Did you tell your little girlfriend about your party?” 

“I-I… not yet.” 

“What? You didn’t tell her at her house yesterday?” 

“N-No. Never got the chance to.”

“What?!” Tommy scoffs. “Stealthy Stevie didn’t get to use his skills last night?” Him and his girlfriend laughed, but then grew quiet seeing how distant the King was being. “What the fuck’s going on with you, man?”

“Um…” Steve’s gaze gets caught onto someone else, spotting a certain person posting a certain flier up on the bulletin board. He swallows, and masks a fake smile. “You guys go ahead to class. I got to grab something out of my locker.”

“Oh, we can go with you.” Carol begins, trying to follow him but he shakes them off.

“No, no. Go ahead. I’ll meet you there.” Steve ignores the strange looks they gave him before walking away. Deciding this was the ‘only’ way, he rushes over to the oldest Byers kid, ‘accidently’ pushing his shoulder into his, knocking the papers out of his hand while he was leaving. He scoffs, while saying, “Watch where you’re going!” 

Jonathan says nothing as he bends over to collect the rest, oblivious to the other teenager sliding a paper away with his foot. Once he leaves, Steve retrieves the flier from under his shoe, reading it over.  

  HAVE YOU SEEN ME? Stephanie Henderson Age 16, 5’4” Brown Hair, Blue Eyes, 110lbs. Last seen wearing a brown work uniform, black jacket, white sneakers, and a baseball cap. Reach out to Claudia Henderson or Joyce Byers at #### or #### 

Steve stares with a distant look in his eyes, thumb brushing over her picture. Such a gentle smile for a gentle person. God… why did they have to use that picture? It was right before he–

He frowns, throwing his head back. 

Fuck… 

What the hell was he supposed to do now?

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Back at the Wheeler’s house, Mike decided to stay home, his parents totally unaware of him doing so. He showed the new girl around his place, acting a bit giggly when they finally got to his room. He was so excited to show off his action figures, and comic books, and anything else that he holds close to his heart. He didn’t even realize she was starting to wander off to where a collection of trophies were. Her brown eyes grew with fascination by them.

“Oh, these are all my science fair trophies. We got first every year.” Mike’s smile drops just a tad. “Except for last year when we got third. Mr. Clarke said it was totally political.”

Yeah, it totally was that. He expected some kind of reaction from her, except for the one where her eyes widened and she slowly pointed to the picture of Will in their fair picture together.

Mike perked up, hopeful. “You know Will? Did you see him? Last Night? On the road? Did–” He pauses. “Hang on a sec.” Maybe he’s getting his hopes up as he grabs another photo after shifting around in his drawer. It was a picture of his friends’ families at the lake, posing nicely for the camera. 

He points to the girl in the right hand corner. “This is Stephanie. She’s his sister.” He points to Dustin who’s hanging out behind her. “She supposedly gave Will a ride the night he disappeared, and we can’t find her either. Did you see her too?”

The girl studies Steph’s face, slowly the same reaction she had from seeing Will returned as she pointed again. “I–”

Her answer was cut short when they heard something from outside. Mike gets up quickly, peeking through his curtains to see his mother’s car pulling into the driveway. He pales.

“Shit.” He rushes to grab her by the hand and strings her along. “We gotta hide!”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| HOURS BEFORE ||

Of course the eldest stayed awake for most of the night, the two of them tucked away in the far corner of Will’s room, her eyes trained on the door just in case that wretched monster appeared again. She kept a good grip on the shotgun, one foot planted on the ground for a quick pop up if needed. Adrenaline was pumping in her blood, she was fighting off her exhaustion and hunger, while a tune played on her dry lips.

“♪ Here we stand

Worlds apart, hearts broken in two. Two. Two

Sleepless nights.

Losing ground, I’m reaching for you. You. You

Feeling that it’s gone

Can’t change your mind

If we can’t go on

To survive–♪”

Will stirred beside her, his head resting on her shoulder that was starting to fall asleep, but she refused to jostle the kid. God knows he needs his rest. Well… so does she, but she’ll get around to that. 

Her mind wanders back to the conversation they had last night, the one where Will admitted he spoke to his mother on the phone. Shock wasn’t the right word, especially when she examined the phone that had been burnt black, and when asking again if he heard that right, the youngest Byers swears he did. 

Is there actually a way to communicate to… well… ‘our world’, I guess. She ponders on that thought, wondering if it’s possible to do so without frying your phone to death. Not to mention Will swears he heard people talking before calling his mother. Can we only communicate to the people we ‘hear’? 

She scolds herself. This hurts my head too much.

“♪ –The tide

Love divides

Someday, love will find you

Break those chains that bind you

One night will remind you

How we touched and went our separate ways

If he ever hurts you

True love won’t desert you

You know I still love you

Though we touched and went our separate ways– ♪”

Will stirred again, this time waking up slowly with a groan. “Was it a dream…?” He whispers, his eyes opening at a snail pace.

“I wish.” Steph says, sadly.

“Did you sleep okay?” He asks, rubbing his face.

Her heart skips a beat and a lie slips out. “Uh, yeah. It was fine.”

“That’s good.”

“We shouldn’t stay here.” She says, surprising him. “We should probably move around, maybe lose that monster for a while. And you’re probably hungry too, I know my mom keeps cans and bottled water down in our basement for emergencies. That should tie us over for a little while.”

“Is it even safe to go out?” He wonders, yet intrigued. He’ll admit… he is a bit famished. 

“I don’t know. But we got to try. Right?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Whoa, whoa. Careful, careful.” Hopper says as he snags his partner by the collar. “I need you alive for the next few days, at least.”

Callahan smirked and scoffed as he gestures to the Quarry below. “Oh, hell, I could survive that.” He said, making his superior laugh. “What? George Burness made the jump. And he was drunk as a skunk. He did it on a $10 bet.”

“George is a liar. You make that jump from this height, that water turns into cement. Hits you like a ton of bricks.” Hopper smacks his hands together. “Break every damn bone in your body.”

The youngster pondered on that for a second before shaking his head. “Nah.”

[ ‘Chief, you copy?’ ] 

Hopper grabs his walkie from his belt. “Yeah, Flo, talk to me.”

[ ‘Hey, Chief, we got a call from over at Benny’s. I think you need to get there right away.’ ]

And those were words he didn’t want to hear. So he and his team rushed over there as quickly as they could, and the first they were met with was the smell of a rotting corpse. 

“Ugh, Jesus!” Callahan said, covering his nose.

“Suicide?” Powell asked, after a moment of silence. 

Hopper hummed and stared in disbelief at the man laying on the table, pistol in hand and a bullet wound straight through the temple. There’s no way this can be real.

“Missing kid, suicide.” Callahan frowns. “You must feel like a big city cop again, huh, Chief? 

“Well, I mostly dealt with strangers back then.” Hopper replies, this particular moment he almost broke down. “Benny was my friend.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| HOURS BEFORE ||

Stephanie peeked outside before gesturing to Will to follow. The two of them had backpacks on that they found lying around, going to use them to fill up with anything they could find – But the task that lay ahead was going to be hard. The task was…

Walking back through Mirkwood to the Henderson home. 

No lights, just a few bullets to spare, and their pure will to survive (Or maybe it’s the fear that’s fueling that will).

“I don’t like this.” Will mutters, only a few minutes after they left the Byers’ driveway and down a few feet on the road. “What if that thing spawns in front of us again?”

“Then we shoot it and book it again. That’s all we can do now.” Steph replies, carefully looking around. But what if he’s right? What if thing actually just spawns out of thin air? Then there’s not telling where and when not to go.

He stays silent, shaking a tad as they make it further down the road. It took a hot minute for the older girl to notice this and stop briefly, the twelve year old’s eyes confused just as she held out her hand. Without missing a beat, his clammy hand takes it, squeezing it tight. She smiles just a tad, reminding her of Dustin before they started walking again.

She felt him hang on to dear life as they strolled into the darkest part of Mirkwood, the eeriness that was silence was making their hearts race. She came to a conclusion after facing the monster last night that she had to be the strong one here. She has to act like the older sister again, and remain calm, and to keep him safe.

I made a promise. I don’t know how to fulfill it just yet, but I’m going to get him out of here. Steph casts a glance down at him, the poor boy’s face looked so cold. Does hers look like that too?

She grins after a quick thought. “Hey–” His eyes locked with hers. “What does a ‘Ranger’ do in D&D? That one sounds intriguing to me.”

His face lights up. “You actually want to play D&D?”

“Hey, you suggested it, I might as well. So, the Ranger? What’s that like? The lore?”

“Well, Rangers are warriors that explore different civilizations, and they hunt down the deadliest of monsters. They’re trained in many different combat techniques, survival skills, and even some magic.”

“Magic? I like the sound of that.”

“They mostly reside in the forest, or anything ‘nature-y’.” 

She chuckles. “I don’t like the sound of that. What else? Aren’t there like… classes… or different types?

“Oh, yeah.” He nods. “I guess it depends on what you prefer. Do you want me to tell you?”

“I’m all ears.” Steph said, making a motion. I’m just glad he’s stopped shaking.

“Well, there’s a lot. The most common ones are ‘Beast Masters’, which are accompanied with an animal companion. Then there’s ‘Hunters’, which are mainly just professional assassins that take down monsters of all sorts. Now, even though all Rangers have the capability of taking monsters down, Hunters are strictly made just to do that.”

She hums. “Interesting.”

“Then there’s ‘Gloom Stalkers’, who live mostly in dark realms, and take down the shadowy beasts roaming the territory. They’re pretty good at ambushing their opponents.” He smiles. “Personally, I find that the coolest.”

“Well, I can see why. What else? Do Rangers get weapons?” 

“Of course! The most common is a two-blade or archery.”

“Archery sounds cool.”

“See, I agree. But I know Lucas always says it’s ‘stupid’, so–”

Steph shakes her head with a sigh. “Oh, well. I guess I’ll have to prove him wrong when I play.”

“So you are going to play with us!” Will said, joyfully, like you just told him Christmas was coming early.

“If that’s how I prove Lucas wrong, then so be it. So how does one newbie play D&D?” She asked, hopefully this will keep him occupied. At least I can keep him distracted until we get there.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT ||

“Are you out of your mind?” Lucas said, as soon as Mike was done with his explanation for them being here. 

“Just listen to me.” Mike pleads.

“You are out of your mind–”

“She knows about Will and Steph.”

Dustin perks up after being the silent one here. “What do you mean she knows about them?”

Mike grabs the pictures from earlier and holds them up. “She pointed at them, at their picture. She knew they were missing. I could tell.”

“You could tell?” Lucas asked, looking between the pictures and the girl who was on the bed.

“Just think about it. Do you really think it was a coincidence that we found her on Mirkwood, the same place where they disappeared?”

Dustin nodded, agreeing. “That is weird.”

“And she said bad people are after her.” Mike said, with a frown. “I think maybe these bad people are the same ones that took Will and Steph. I think she knows what happened to them.”

“Then why doesn’t she tell us?” Lucas asked, glaring at her direction before stomping over. “Do you know where they are?” He grabs her by the shoulder. “Do you know where Will and Stephanie are?!” 

“Stop it, you’re scaring her!” Mike pulls him away, as his friend brushes him off.

“She should be scared! If you know where they are, tell us! This is nuts. We have to take her to your mom.”

“No! Eleven said telling any adult would put us in danger.”

“What kind of danger?” Dustin asked, his thoughts from earlier about his sister and Will taking a shotgun with them crossed his mind.

Lucas gives him a weird look. “Her name is Eleven?” 

“El for short.” Mike clarifies.

“Mike! What kind of danger?” Dustin pushes, his stomach turning.

“Danger danger!” The brunette makes a finger gun and points it between Henderson’s eyes before moving over towards Lucas who demises quickly.

“No, no, no!” Sinclair snaps, rushing for the door. “We’re going back to plan A. We’re telling your mom.”

He pulls open the door only for it to slam shut automatically. Not even batting an eye at that, he tries again, for it to not only to shut with more force but to even lock itself. The boys look back at the only explanation, and they see El standing on her feet with a drop of blood coming out of her nose.

“No.” She said, with a tone that told them not to push it.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Back at the station, Hopper was questioning an anxious friend of Benny’s. Earl was his name, and he was sitting in a chair, eyes full of disbelief as he lit a cigarette.

“Just doesn’t make any sense, Chief.”

“You, uh, notice anything odd about him the last few weeks?” Hopper asked, trying to keep it professional (even though this case was hurting him the most). 

Earl shakes his head. “No, we’re fixin’ to go fishing down the Etowah next Sunday. I mean, he was lookin’ forward to it. I know that.”

“He got any enemies you might know about? I mean, people who might not want him around?”

“The exes didn’t like him much. That’s for sure, but… nah.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“Yesterday. Lunch, same as always.”

“Just you and the boys?”

“Yep. Me and Henry and…” He pauses. “Well, there was this, uh, this kid. No kid did this.”

“Kid?” Hopper nearly perked up hope. “What are you talking about?”

“Yeah. At lunch, uh, there was this boy that, uh I mean, he was trying to steal food out of Benny’s kitchen. Can you imagine that?”

Hopper locked eyes with Callahan who got the silent message. “This kid what’d he look like?”

“Well, he was about yea high.” Earl raises his arm up and out. “You know, tiny like. I didn’t get a good look at him, though. He was back in the kitchen.”

“He look like this?” Callahan asked, coming back with a missing kid poster of Will. 

He takes the flier, and immediately shakes his head. “Oh, no, that’s… that’s Lonnie’s missin’ kid. No. This was a different kid. This one had really short hair. I mean, it was buzzed nearly down to the scalp.”

Hopper tries not to let his composure break, and continues to hold on to the slimmer of hope. “Yeah, well, let’s… You know, let’s forget about the haircut. I mean, if this kid had a buzz cut… could it be Lonnie’s kid?”

“Well, I-I… didn’t get a good look at him. About the right height, though. I mean, could’ve been. Yeah, that’s… Could’ve been.”

Hopper frowns, taking the poster back from him. “And, you only saw the boy right? No girl? Teenager? Dark hair?”

“No.” Earl shakes his head once more. “No. I didn’t see a girl.”

The Chief mentally sighs. This is not good.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

[ ‘A party?’ ]

Finally! Steve thought, pumping his fist. She finally sounded intrigued. He was hoping this would make up for his weird behavior at school. 

And, no, no, no, It wasn’t because of– well… ‘you know who’. Totally not because of her. Totally, totally, totally not–

[ ‘Steve?’ ]

Nancy’s voice broke through his totally not clouded mind. “Uh, yeah, sorry. Yeah, a party. Well… kind of. It’s just going to be me, Tommy H. and Carol. No parents for the whole weekend, so we wouldn’t have to worry about them coming in and ruining the mo-jo.”

Just my friends and my girlfriend. Just having fun, no worries about–

[ ‘Not much of a party with just four people.’ ]

He laughs. “Okay, I’ll admit, it’s a little sad. But you know, it’s better this way. And, you know, if you want to, you can invite Barbara. If it makes you feel more comfortable. Or not. Or you don’t have to come–”

[ ‘Steve.’ ]

“Yeah?”

[ ‘I’ll totally come. But I’m going to try to convince Barb first if that’s alright.’ ]

“Yeah, Yeah. Totally. It starts at seven.”

[ ‘Starts at seven. Got it. I’ll see you then.’ ]

He smiles. “See you then. Bye.”

[ ‘Bye.’ ] 

“Yes!” He said, once he hung up the phone. “Finally.” He feels his spirits get lifted again. “This is going to be perfect.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| HOURS BEFORE ||

“Welcome to Mi Casa.” Stephanie said, upon entering her home. Just as gross and dark as Will’s. 

“You said the basement, right?” Will asked, the thought of eating something sounded nice.

“Yep.” 

They thought navigating below “sunlight” was going to be hard, but I guess living in darkness for nearly twenty-four hours had its perks. Finding the tote where the emergency supplies were easier than they thought, their stomachs growing when they saw the cans of food. 

“Hang on second.” Steph said, disappearing back up the stairs for a sec, and then coming back with some forks and a can opener. She uses her shirt to wipe it clean the best she could before using. “Pineapple or Peaches?”

“Pineapple, please.” Will said, drooling as she placed the open can in his hands. The two of them plop down criss-cross applesauce, sighing with relief that they could finally take a rest.

“We’ll have to take what we can, but don’t make your bag too heavy in case we need to run again. Got it?” She replies, sliding over a bottle of water to him too. He nods, and takes a second to chug some liquid too.

One can was enough for now, since none of them had any clue how long they’ll be here, they’ll need to ration what they can find. Food, water, a first aid kit, some mittens and hats, an extra jacket, socks (And Will was proud to find a half box of matches laying around).

“Do we need anything else?” He asked, making her think.

She hums, and feels around her pockets. “We need more ammo. Or another gun at least.”

“Do you have any?” 

“No. I don’t.” She closes her eyes. Now where could we get more nearby? 

But the more she thought about it, the more she dreaded. She does know one place they have a gun, and hopefully still does since it’s been so long. 

She sighs. “I know… one place that has a gun. It’s far though. Really far. It’ll take us a couple hours to get there on foot. But it’s closer than going to town.” 

“If that’s what we have to do, then let’s do it.” Will said, sliding his backpack back on, ready to start their journey again. He flashes her a goofy grin. “I hope I can count this as PE for school.”

If that was a joke to cheer her up then it totally worked. 

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Now that they might have a lead, the police and its volunteers spread out in the woods behind Benny’s diner, hoping to find some good news (For Hopper’s sake he really hopes so). 

“Hey, you think Earl really saw Will?” Callahan asked, trying to keep up with his Boss’ speed. “I mean, what’s he doin’ with a shaved head? And stealing food from Benny?”

“Tell you what, when we find him, we’ll ask.” Hopper replies, with an attitude. 

“Can’t ask a corpse questions.” Powell said, getting a glare. Suddenly, one of the volunteers blew a whistle. 

“Hold up! You got something?” Hopper shouted and broke into a sprint. “Hey, what do you got?”

“Not sure.” The person said, crouching down next to a drain. “Maybe nothing. I found this. In there.”

Hopper takes a piece of fabric from his hand, before shining his flashlight through the drain, still hopeful that maybe he was lying in there, scared but safe. 

“No way a kid crawls through there.” Powell said, in denial.

“I don’t know… a scared enough one might. His brother said he was good at hiding.”

“Yeah, but, just Will?” Callahan asked, conflicted. “What happened to Stephanie? ‘Cause there ain’t no way a teenager’s going to fit through this drain pipe.”

“Maybe they separated?” Powell questioned. 

“I’m not so sure about that. Claudia said her daughter would never leave anyone behind.”

“Willingly that is.”

“Come on, you two.” Hopper said, jogging again.

This time, they decided to follow the drain pipe that led them further into the forest. Just as their knees were about to give out, they’re met with an electric fence and a keep out sign for the one and only…

.

.

.

Hawkins Lab.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“El?” Mike announces his arrival into the basement. He had just finished having dinner with his family, and even convinced his mom to let his friends stay the night. All part of his plan to figure out what was happening to his missing family.

“No adults. Just us and some meatloaf.” He continues, placing a tray down in front of the makeshift fort, letting her know to come out. Her eyes trail to him and then to the two boys falling behind. “Don’t worry. They won’t tell anyone about you. They promise. Right?”

“We never would’ve upset you if we knew you had superpowers.” Dustin said, before getting hit in the leg by Mike. “Ow!”

“What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared… earlier. That’s all.”

“We just wanted to find our friends.” Lucas admitted, feeling a tad guilty for his actions. 

“‘Friends’?” El asked, confused by that word. It was so foreign to her. What does it even mean? 

“Yeah, friends. Will? Steph?”

“What are ‘friends’?” 

Lucas gave her a weird look. “Is she serious?” Henderson shrugged. “Um, a friend–”

“Is someone that you’d do anything for.” Mike cuts in. 

“You lend them your cool stuff, like comic books and trading cards.” Dustin adds.

“And they never break a promise.”

“Especially when there’s spit.” Lucas also puts in, making sure she was getting it.

“Spit?” El said, tilting her head.

“A spit swear means–” He spits into his palm. “You never break your word.” He holds his hand out for Dustin to take and shake. “It’s a bond.”

Mike nods in agreement. “That’s super important, because friends… they tell each other things. Things that parents don’t know.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Barbara finally pulls the car over to the side after her friend insisted they stop here. She looks over at the brunette with a strange look. “What are we doing here? His house is three blocks away.”

“We can’t park in the driveway.” Nancy said, making the ginger roll her eyes.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, the neighbors might see.”

“This is so stupid.” Barb shakes her head. “I’m just gonna drop you off.”

“Calm down, Barb. Come on. You promised that you’d go.” Nancy pleaded with her ‘baby doe’ face. “You’re coming. We’re gonna have a great time.”

“He just wants to get in your pants.”

Nancy chuckles with disbelief. “No, he doesn’t.”

“Nance… seriously. He invited you to his house. His parents aren’t home. Come on, you are not this stupid.”

“Tommy H. and Carol are gonna be there.”

“Tommy and Carol have been having sex since, like, seventh grade.” Barb cringes at the thought. “It’ll probably just be, like, a big orgy.”

“Gross.”

“I’m serious!”

“All right, well…” Nancy takes her seat belt off and starts unbuttoning her sweater. “You can be, like, my guardian. All right? Make sure I don’t get drunk and do anything stupid.”

“Ugh.” Barb said, shaking her head. She watches as her friend takes her top off and starts fiddling around in her purse for another one. “Is that a new bra?”

Nancy pauses. “No.”

“So, obvious, Nancy…”

“Hey.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•° 

“What’s the weirdo doing?” Lucas asked, watching her sit at their D&D table and close her eyes. 

“El?” Mike said, as they gathered around, waiting.

When she opens her eyes, she slowly gravitates to one of the pieces and picks it up. “Will.” She replies, showing it was the Wizard piece, the one that the boy always plays as.

“Superpowers.” Dustin said, as Lucas rolled his eyes, still not convinced about this whole thing. 

“Did you see him? On Mirkwood? Do you know where he is?” Mike asks, just before she brushes the rest of the figures off the board and flips it over. She places the wizard piece on the board. “I don’t understand.”

“Hiding.” She replies, the boys looking at one another. She then places another figure down, surprising them.

“Who is that supposed to be?” Lucas asked, as Dustin perked up.

“The Ranger. Is that Stephanie?” He asked, as she nodded. “Are they hiding?” She nods again. “Together.” Another nod.

“From the bad men?” Mike asked, but she shakes her head in disappointment. “Then from who?”

And without saying another word she places another figure down.

It was a beast with two heads.

.

.

.

The Demogorgon.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| NOW ||

It took a while like she said, and luckily they had no trouble getting there, but what was troubling the young boy was that she wouldn’t tell him where they were going. Was she embarrassed by this place? Did something happen? He doesn’t know, but it’s gnawing at him.

“We’ve arrived.” She said, as they were coming up to it.

It was… a pretty big house, much bigger than his and even his friends’ houses. He wonders if this was one of the rich neighbourhoods or something like that. And sure enough… his questions would be answered when he happened to catch the name on the mailbox. 

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

Now he understands why she didn’t say anything. 

“So this is the…” Was he choosing his words correctly? “The King’s house?”

“Yep.” Stephanie said, hand on the doorknob which miraculously opened. She rolls her blue eyes. “They still keep it unlocked.” They stepped inside, still gloomy and covered in vines and goo like the last two. “Let’s go upstairs.”

Will follows behind, observing everything that seemed a bit foreign for him. “I knew they were rich but I didn’t know they were that rich.” He said after observing art piece after art piece that he knows isn’t locally made.

“Yeah, they got crazy money.” She said, and her pace seemed to quicken without her noticing. She hustles into the parents room, opening the closet to find a safe. “Shit.” She forgot about the lock. “Where did that bastard put the key?”

Stephanie starts running around the bedroom, pulling open drawers, looking through trinkets, his wife’s jewelry box too – A curse word after every failed attempt.

“Steph?” Will said, worriedly.

“Just give me a second.” She snapped, and left the room. She starts opening the drawers from the tables in the hallway, visibly getting more annoyed with each second. “For fuck sakes–”

“Stephanie!”

“What?!” She slammed it shut, rattling everything that was on. The force and her tone seemed to shock him, and even take a small step back. She grips the table, closing her eyes to calm herself. “Fuck. I just…”

And when she opens them she finds herself staring at the boy she wanted to forget about. It was a picture of him on his swim team, the frame saying: Championship 1981. She just stares at with emotions the youngest Byers couldn’t figure out what they were.

“Steph?” He asked, slowly.

“Yeah?”

“What happened to you and Steve?”

She continues to stare at the photo for another minute before pushing herself to stand. “I think he still keeps that knife in his room.” Was what she muttered before heading in the opposite direction to another room. 

Will could only wonder what really happened to them…

.

.

.

Just as the lights started to flicker.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•° 

|| PRESENT ||

Inside the most “fabulous” party of the year, Barb laid back in one of the pool chairs, listening to the terrible music that’s blasting in her ear as her best friend watches her boyfriend slice a hole into a beer can and start drinking it all in one go.

“Is that supposed to impress me?” Nancy asked, as he sat down and lit a cigarette. 

“You’re not?” Steve asked, genuinely surprised. 

“You are a cliche, you do realize that?”

“You are a cliche. What with your– your grades and your band practice.”

“I’m so not in band.”

“Okay, party girl. Why don’t you just, uh, show us how it’s done, then?” He hands her the knife and a can.

“Okay.” She says, all giggly.

“You gotta make a little hole right in–”

“I got it.”

“Yeah, she’s smart, you douche!” Tommy said, as he crushes his own can on his forehead. 

Soon, everyone was chanting “Chug” as Nancy down a whole beer in under thirty seconds. Everyone cheered and laughed, proud at the achievement. 

“Barb, you wanna try?” Nancy asked, holding the blade up.

“What? No. No, I don’t want to. Thanks.” She said, shaking her head. But after a quick back and forth badgering she finally gave in. She rips the items out of the girl’s hand, clearly upset. It wasn’t long before her judgment was clouding her mind and accidentally nicks herself. 

“Whoa, Gnarly.” Tommy said, impressed by the deep cut.

“Are you okay?” Nancy asked, worriedly.

“Yeah.” Barb said, trying to push her away. 

“Barb, you’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine. Where’s your bathroom?”

“Oh, it’s– Steve stands up, and starts taking her over to the sliding door. “It’s, uh, down past the kitchen, to the left.” He frowns. Shit of course.

But before he could say anything, Tommy had pushed Carol into the pool and then jumped in after her. Steve then shrugs, and lets a smirk play on his face as he does the same to Nancy before doing a cannonball.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| NOW ||

Steph tries to contain herself as she enters his room. It was taking a lot of strength not to just start flipping things over, and tear those stupid pendants off the wall.

Stupid fucking house. Stupid fucking room. Stupid fucking Harrington. She grits her teeth, fighting back the tears in her eyes as she desperately tries to remember where he hid the blade.

She lets out a groan. “For fuck sake’s, man! Where did you put it?!” She yells, and kicks whatever was near her. She swears something must have fallen out from it, but she doesn’t even want to look. 

God damn you, Harrington. She scolds, and rubs her face. How can he–

That’s when the light in his room flickered on and off scaring her half to death. “What the–”

“Stephanie!” Will’s voice shouted, kicking her into high gear.

“Fuck.” She mumbles, and races to find that blade.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT || 

As soon as Barb comes out of the bathroom, she immediately spots a certain someone heading up the stairs. “Nance! Nancy.” She shouts, getting her to stop. “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere. Just… upstairs. To change. I… fell in the pool.” Nancy said, feeling like she was on cloud nine. “Why don’t you go ahead and go home. I’ll just… I’ll get a ride or something.”

“Nance–”

“Barb, I’m fine.”

“This isn’t you.”

“I’m fine. Just go ahead and go home, okay?” 

And then Nancy leaves her all alone, confused and heartbroken by her friend’s actions. But despite being hurt, she couldn’t just up and leave her drunken buddy like this. So… 

She decides to wait.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Steve had found her some clothes she could change in, and he was grinning like a kid upon the thought of seeing his girlfriend in his clothes. 

I’m such a dork. He tells himself as she calls out his name. “Yeah?” There was a look in her eyes that he��s never seen before, and honestly was turned on by it.

But ‘Fuck that’, says the universe, and the home phone starts to ring.

He groans, irritated. “Hang on a second–” He proceeds to run out of the room, and shouts, “Hey! Turn the music down in case it’s my parents.”

Nancy chuckles, cheeks flush because she was ready to lose her– wait. Did something just touch her leg? She looks down to find that a box was tipped over and had opened, and wonders when that happened. Did she accidently kick it without realizing? Or was it already like that? Frankly, curiosity got the best of her as she crouched down to try to fix it. But then, her actions slowed when she saw something.

The Wheeler picks up a paper – a flier – to her surprise was the missing poster of Stephanie Henderson. 

“What?” She says, quietly, confusedly. Why was he keeping this? And that’s when she puts two and two together. She starts shifting through the small pile which was made up of photos, movie tickets, receipts from a record store, arcade tokens and– “Oh, my god.”

Suddenly, Steve comes jogging back in, relief on his face. “False alarm. It was just–”

“So who is she to you?” Nancy asked, standing up and flashing the memorabilia at him.

His face falls immediately. “Hey, that’s–”

“Is she the person that was rumored you pushed away?”

“It’s nothing.” Steve replies, trying to take the stuff away from her, but she ain’t budging.

“It’s nothing, or she’s nothing?”

“It’s– W-What? You jealous?” He asked, trying to play this thing off cool, but his girlfriend wasn’t stupid.

“I’m not jealous. I’m just curious.” Nancy replies, honestly. She takes another look at the photos in her hand before looking back at him. “I mean, if she isn’t your friend anymore, then why do you hang on to all this stuff? Or better question–”

“Nancy, stop, it’s just–”

“Why did you break it off?”

His brain short circuits again. “What?”

“I said, ‘Why did you break it off?’ I mean…” She flips through some of the photos he has, memorized. “From what I see, you two remind me of Barb and I. You two look like you were tied at the hip. So why break it off?”

“I…” Why couldn’t he fucking talk all of a sudden? “I didn’t, I–”

“So, she broke it off?” She said, eyebrow raised. 

“No. I-I broke it off, she didn’t do anything–”

“So… why did you?”

“Nancy–”

“Look, I just want to understand you. I mean, every time I think I have you figured out you throw me through a loop.” She gives him a reassuring look as she picks up the box, shuffling whatever was remaining around. “I mean, from what I see, you seem like a completely different person then. I just wonder if it’s a good thing or a bad–” 

Now it was her turn to look lost (and for Steve to lose all the color in his face). She frowns, slowly pulling out a small casing. “Is this a… bullet?”

“That’s nothing!” He manages to snag at least that away.

“Why do you have a bullet in the box?!” She asks, eyes blown wide.

He swallows. “Nancy–”

“Did you shoot her or something?”

“What?!” He scoffs. “No! Why would I shoot her?!”

“Well did she shoot you?”

“No! Nobody shot anybody, it was just–”

“Then why do you have a stray bullet cas–”

“‘CAUSE IT WAS MY FAULT!! OKAY?!” Steve snaps, startling them both (He can’t believe he just lost his cool like that). He swallows again, head spinning at the memories (Why did he fucking leave the box right there?). “I just… there was an incident and… it… shaped my decision, okay? But it didn’t involve me or her with a gun, it was… s-someone else. Someone I know. I don’t know why I’m holding onto it, I…” He sighs and grabs the box, holding it out for her to put the stuff away.

It takes her a moment to process it all, and she does put all the stuff in her hands away, but she remains silent the whole time. She’s never seen him act this way before.

It honestly concerned her.

Nancy breaks eye contact, and only reverses it when she gathers the right words. “Look, Steve, I’m sorry I intruded, I probably shouldn’t have but… I’m just trying to understand you.”

Steve shakes his head, still confused. “I-I…” He shrugs, and crosses his arms defensibly. “What’s there to understand?”

Nancy gestures to him and says, “Well, for starters, you’re an airhead and–”

“So?” He cuts in, as she holds her tongue and continues. 

“And you’re arrogant, snarky, and sweet–”

“Sweet’s fine.”

“Of course. Sweet’s fine. I love how nice you are to me, Steve.” She then frowns for him. “However, that gets overshadowed by your… insecurities.”

He pauses, now it was his turn to take in those words (What the hell did she mean by that? He’s not… no). “I don’t… I don’t have any… any–”

“Steve.” Nancy takes a step closer. “I don’t know why the kid in these pictures decided to change into the one I’m seeing before me, but if that doesn’t have to do with any insecurities, then I’m not sure why you decided to make that change willingly.”

“I… W-Willingly?” He scoffs again. “What do you mean? I never change willingly? What are you even getting at, Nance?” He hasn’t changed. He’s never changed. What is she even getting at?

But Nancy looked at him with eyes full of pity and took another step closer. “I don’t know what the reason was for you two to stop being friends, but all I know, from what I gathered, she wasn’t the one to end it.” She places Steph’s flier on his chest that he subconsciously grabbed, and said one last thing before leaving his room. And that was,

“Maybe there was a good reason for you to end it, but that’s not an excuse for you to stop being who you really are.”

And Steve’s left with an epiphany he’s not sure he can decipher. 

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| NOW || 

As soon as the lock was broken, she retrieved the gun from the safe and frantically told her companion to get down the stairs. Will and Steph’s hearts were in their ears, and it sped up when the light above the front door flickered.

“Shit–” She pulls the boy to a halt, and redirects them to the back door. “Go, go, go, go, go.” 

She throws open the sliding door, and out into the backyard, but as soon as they step foot onto the ground, the lights around the empty pool start to flicker. The two of them stopped immediately and held their breaths. They weren’t sure where the beast was at, but it was definitely nearby ready to snatch them up.

They were afraid to even breathe or twitch. What if this thing really does appear out of thin air?

They both jolted when a loud growl came from somewhere inside the pool. Wasting no time, Steph taps Will on the arm and makes a shushing gesture, then waves him to follow her. The boy understood completely, and the two of them move slowly, so carefully that there’s not way–

The both of them screamed when two human hands grabbed onto the top of the pool ladder. 

A girl’s head poked up, face battered and covered in grime, her glasses shattered and splattered with blood. The girl looked so fam–

“Nancy!!” She shouts, as something growls behind her, scaring all of them to their core. And when her eyes landed on the two of them, she desperately yelled for help just seconds before the beast’s claws wrapped around her head and pulled her back. 

Will and Steph matched the girl’s scream, and the beast roared in delight that his prey was just right in front of it. Its claws could be seen grabbing the ladder, like it was trying to crawl out and feast.

That’s when the two of them booked it. 

The guns rattled in their hands.

The tears in their eyes.

Whatever this place was, they knew…

.

.

.

This couldn’t get compared to hell itself.

(TBC)

-Taglist is Open-

@ladygrey03 @poppet05 @tooearlyforthis @lovesfics @lordzzz

@mirkwoodshewolf @sadbitchfangirl @olivewisp

@emsownuniverse @unspecifiedvisitor @smaryamsstuff @kitty49646

[look-at-the-soul]

The Runway- Part 5

Lenny Miller x reader (Cillian Murphy Anna’s movie)

A/N I walked around this chapter for so long, I wasn’t sure if it should take this direction at this stage, but rewriting it would take me a few more days and I don’t want to delay it anymore so, I hope you like this! 🥰

Series Master list

“It’s fine, really I don’t care if I don’t close this runway.” Y/N tried to resonate with Lenny, he was pacing around like a animal in a cage.

“He knew, Richardson knew what he was doing.” Lenny was fuming.

Y/N shook her head, he was always trying to confront her with Anna and this was his best chance, at the most important runway show of the season. “Lenny it’s one runway, I’m not fighting with my sister over this.”

“We’re talking about the most important show, Y/N.” He sighed frustrated. “I can’t sit and do nothing.”

“I don’t care about taking he runway at all, to be honest… this is not like we’re finding those girls remember? That’s something that really matters.”

Suddenly Lenny had a better plan, he knew Anna would be atending a meet and greet with some fans and an after party at the end of the runway.

“You know what? You’re right, let’s go.” He took his tie and the jacket of his suit and called the security team to start moving.

But she knew he wasn’t done with it, just by looking at him typing on his phone as they were driven to the venue, she knew Lenny wouldn’t let this go.

****

Make up artists, stylists, models, everyone were shocked to learn the last minute changes regarding to Anna closing the runway instead of Y/N. But she kept a professional environment and mentioned her agent would release an statement.

She didn’t know how her ex manager landed that deal or if Anna was involved at all, but honestly she didn’t care about it.

“I’m truly sorry darling.” Donatella apologized before the fashion show started.

“It’s alright.”

“This was beyond my control… but let me make it up to you, how about we finally start working on that handbags project you wanted?”

Lenny saw the way Y/N’s eyes sparkled at the proposal.

“Meet me in my villa next week, stay for the weekend and we can have a chat.”

As Y/N thanked her, the fashion designer gave her shoulders a squeeze and left to make sure the show was perfect.

She could be the one opening or closing the runway, it simply didn’t matter, Lenny realized that as the photographers went crazy when Y/N stepped ready to take over. And it didn’t matter because it was her who owned the runway, he didn’t know how to put it into words, but she could be walking with a potatoes sack and still look fabulous.

“You thought you could just take them away from me and I’d watch you? No, I got a front row ticket and Anna is filling my pockets.” Richardson whispered in a mischievous tone.

“Congratulations man.” Lenny offered him his hand. Using his skills to charm the other agent. “You won this battle. How are you celebrating?”

“Chateau… private booth, you should join me and my pals.”

Richardson offered him a card with his name on it and a pass.

“Count me in.” Lenny held the straight face until the bastard was out of his sight.

That’s when he started moving to meet Y/N backstage. “You were great. The best like always.” He tried to cheer her up.

“Thanks, I can’t wait to head home.” Deep down he knew she was disappointed, but for a different reason, she was hurt.

“I think I might have something, there’s an after party at a club, Anna’s attending and you should come.”

“I’m really tired, would you mind if I skip it?” Y/N was done with her belongings, with all of this.

Lenny shook his head. “Of course not, I’m asking the driver to take you to the hotel, see you later?” He was torn between comforting her and going to the club.

“Sure.” Y/N turned around to press her lips into Lenny’s, it was a short kiss, but it was enough for Anna to see as she opened the door without knocking, she slowly closed it before her sister and manager pulled apart.

She knocked innocently, as if she didn’t see anything. “Y/N are you there?”

Taking a step back, Y/N pretended to fix her hair in the opposite corner. “Come in.”

Anna smiled looking between the pair. “Just wanted to check if you’re coming to the party?”

“Sorry, no… I’m heading back to the hotel. Want to have some rest, I’ve a headache.” She lied making a big effort to put a smile on her face.

“That sucks, feel better sis.” Anna said without showing an ounce of actually giving a damn about Y/N.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the after party you organized?” Lenny asked looking annoyed at the model.

“Because I told you that as soon as the Fashion Week was over, you’d no longer be my agent, right now our contract is over so… officially I don’t have to tell you anything I do.” Anna gave him a defiant look.

“Anna.” Y/N called in a warning tone. “Lenny is only trying to help us.”

“Us? I think he’s been helping you more than anything.” Anna gave her sister a look up and down.

Frowning, Y/N asked her what she meant.

“Oh, I thought you might know more about that than me.” Anna clapped and she looked from Lenny to her sister once more, making a triumphant face.

As Anna left the dressing room, Lenny kept his eyes on Y/N, watching her frustration becoming more evident by the minute.

“Just ignore her, Y/N she’s trying to piss you off, like every single sister in the world.”

“You say it like you know about it.”

Lenny chuckled and the sound was enough to get Y/N’s attention. “I actually do, I’ve a sister, she’s older than me.”

Her face changed completely, it was so strange from him to open up about anything, let alone something so personal.

“You’re lying.”

But Lenny shook his head in a soft motion.

“She’s the most annoying sister ever, but I love her to death… maybe one day you could meet her?”

Y/N softened her expression, a smile started growing on her lips. “I’d love to!”

“Gimme a minute, okay?” Lenny gave her a gentle squeeze and rushed out from the dressing room.

Despite the brief smile, Lenny could see the sadness in her eyes, and it was tearing him apart. He walked past a dozen of models changing their clothes, assistants hanging the dresses, cleaning up the make up stations.

Close to the exit, there she was, the woman he had been looking for. She listened intensely at the question the reporter was making and answered immediately, praising the runway, the collection and the opportunity to close successfully one more fashion show. They laughed at something she mentioned and then her eyes landed on him.

One look and she was calling out for the night. Thanking the reporters, she walked towards Lenny.

“Mr. Miller, this way please.” She lead the way to a dressing room that was adequated as a small office.

“How can I help you?” Donatella asked, giving him her undivided attention.

“About your offer to Y/N….” Lenny crossed his arms against his chest. “She’s going through a hard time right now, I was wondering if I could ask you about the Villa , if Y/N could stay there for a few days.”

“Yes, absolutely. My assistant will give you the code to enter the property, she’ll make sure there’s everything she needs. I just have to ask you for a favor, Mr. Miller.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t leave her alone. I can tell how much she looks up to you. You really care about Y/N.” Donatella stated.

Lenny didn’t even try to hide it.

“I do, ma’am.”

“Good.”

“I’ll send over something for you too then. Ciao.”

“Ready? The driver is waiting for you.” Lenny stepped in Y/N’s dressing room.

“I don’t want to deal with the reporters tonight, I can’t.” Y/N shook her head.

“Hey just get comfortable, have some rest and I’ll try to get there as soon as I can.” Lenny caressed Y/N’s face. “I’ll take care of that and the club.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I might find something tonight.”

She felt her heart skip a beat, would it lead to something related to Anna?

Pressing his lips against hers, Lenny stepped out of her car and watched it drive away.

Lenny pretended to drink from his glass, his eyes scanning the club, looking for something out of place, instinct on alert.

This wasn’t part of the official investigation, with the amount of experience he had accumulated over the years he knew when to follow his gut at this point of his life.

“Hey man,” the bartender motioned Lenny to get closer, “you’re new around right?”

“Yeah, just stoping by to have a blast.” He tried to play it cool.

The bartender looked at his shoes and watch, no ring on his left hand.

“A couple of fellas recommended this place for its variety.”

“Yeah there’s a lot, listen we’ve some off the menu specials if you know what I mean.” He talked over the music, Lenny knew he was in the right place.

“That’s exactly what I’m looking for.” He cocked a smile.

“Right, just take a look around, let me know and head upstairs for the private rooms. Tell them Anto sent you.”

“Anto?” Lenny rubbed his chin.

“Antonio.”

“Anyone huh?”

Anto started cleaning the counter. “Yeah if they aren’t drunk enough we’ll deal with it.”

“Oh, I definitely appreciate that.” Lenny slipped a bill under his glass and patted Anto on the shoulder. “I guess there’s just premium quality?”

“That’s about right, specially tonight it’s a private event and girls come from different places. They only let in A type.”

Lenny looked at the man with a frown. “Not following.”

“A type are elite girls, international students, 10/10, tourists.”

“It’s going to be hard to pick just one.” Lenny continued with the talk, feeling disgusted.

“You can come back tomorrow, there will be different merchandise.”

Lenny leaned forward with interest.

“Should I get a VIP card then? What if I want let’s say… two for the night?”

“You look like the kind of client this club wants, I can arrange that for you. Get a bargain before they’re shipped away.”

Just as he was about to ask something else, someone caught his eye.

“What about her?” He pointed at Anna, testing the waters.

“Oh no, not her… you don’t want that kind of trouble.” Anto stated.

Swallowing, Lenny looked at his glass.

“Is she that wild?”

“You don’t know her?!” Anto was shocked. “Top model, she’s the boss’s woman, out of everybody’s league.”

“Haven’t seen her.” He lied and shook his head. So the boss is around? Lenny wondered. “Anyways let me take a look and I’ll let you know.”

From afar his eyes followed Anna, she was smiling and posing for pictures with anyone who asked her, dancing to the beat of the music and drinking.

In the opposite corner he pointed at Anto, the barman talked to someone on a radio and he was approached by a waiter almost immediately.

“The girl with the orange dress.” He whispered, she was hard to miss and he could bet his life she was underage, but wearing that kind of clothes and heavy make up, she easily passed for someone older.

Lenny wasn’t prepared for what happened then, someone tapped Anna on the shoulder, said something in her ear and minutes later she was moving from to group, smiling at everyone, after chatting for an instant with some girls, she approached the girl with the orange dress, as they were having a chat, a waiter put a few drops of something in her drink while she was distracted.

She was definitely involved, now he just needed to catch her.

But he wasn’t allowed to see more as he was guided upstairs to a private room, it was small and he could tell the bad smell was disguised with some strong scent.

“You’ve to pay in advance.” The guard informed him, Lenny didn’t back down he was trying to intimidate him.

“What if I’m not pleased with the merchandise?”

“Oh you can ask for a refund.” The guard spatted with sarcasm.

“Do you know how to have a joke?”

But before the guard could answer Lenny, the girl arrived escorted by a waiter, she could hardly stand by herself, she was holding her head, it was evident she felt dizzy.

“Do you think we could be the nexts to have her? Before they ship her overseas?” Lenny heard the waiter say. His head was pounding, he wanted to punch someone, something.

“Oh I was planning to have a little fun before they take her.” The guard replied and Lenny felt like his stomach was turning inside of him.

Of course he wouldn’t abuse this girl, he wanted to find a way to save her.

He helped her to throw up in the bin, in an attempt to get the drugs out of her system, but he didn’t have any meds or backup help.

I can’t sleep, are you still in the club?- Y/N texted him.

Yes! Come over, meet me at the back door. SOS. - He replied.

The only way out was to have some kind of incident. Something that would make them all look the other way. So he opened the door and taking the chance because no one was around, he pulled the fire alarms. As the place was filled with panic over the noise and the sprinklers started spreading water around, he was able to carry the girl outside the room.

Another waiter found him midway and was about to ask for help as Lenny was holding the girl in his arms, but he was faster and punched him right in the face, then he knocked his head against the wall to leave him unconscious.

As everything turned into chaos inside the club and people tried to leave, Lenny managed to make it to the back door, his heart was pounding, he was driven by an adrenaline rush as he heard vehicles approaching, screeching tires against the pavement, he moved quickly to hide behind a dumpster, the girl hanging from his shoulder groaned. The smell was terrible, but moving right now would be a stupid thing to do as four black SUV parked and he witnessed how Anna was escorted to the first vehicle, she was followed by a man he couldn’t recognize and then the SUV sped up to disappear in seconds.

Peeking out, Lenny then saw six girls being pushed inside. In seconds they were gone.

“Adam,” Lenny whispered on the phone, “follow a black SUV and track the vehicle number.” He asked and repeated the number.

“Boss b-” Adam started. Lenny knew he wasn’t following the plan structure, but sometimes you have to take another route.

“Just do it Adam.”

After hanging up, the screen on his phone showed and incoming call from Y/N.

“I’m close, but there’s a lot of traffic.”

“Meet me in the back of the building, you can take a turn in the next block.” He instructed as he saw her location on his phone.

“But it’s in the opposite direction.” Y/N replied.

“Doesn’t matter, I’ll wave off the ticket.”

“Marcus can you take your right?”

Lenny gasped in shock.

“Why are you with your driver Y/N?”

“Because,” Y/N groaned, she was a little but embarrassed to admit it out loud. How could she explain him that she didn’t know how to drive? It was embarrassing.

Soon Lenny was in her eyesight. But he wasn’t alone.

“He better keep his mouth shut.” Lenny gave the driver a side eye look, it was more like a warning look. “Marcus help me with the lady please.”

“What happened?” Y/N asked in shock as she saw the pale girl, Lenny’s clothes and hair were wet.

“It’s a long story.” Lenny admitted, trying to think of how much he should share with Y/N.

***

Your thoughts and feedback is all I could ask for ♥️

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[narvaldetierra]

The betrayal [1/5]

Summary: “I know who Dragonfly164 is,” Tasha suddenly said, without even knowing where she got the strength to do it, “Is Borden. He's alive”

“How could you possibly know that?” Patterson asked, a slight tremor in her voice. 

“Because Atlantic17 is me.”

Tags: Angst. Established relationship. Canon divergence. Words: 2288 A/N: Although this is seeing light just now, this was the first thing I ever write about Blindspot, and it is part of my series "rewriting our stars". This is going to be a short multichapter and I have already written the first three chapters, I just have to finish the translations. Disclaimer: This first chapter has some scenes and dialog from the show. The rest of the story will diverge more from canon but will have some context from the series. Read it too on Ao3

~ What I've done? ~

“You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep that from you.”

“How hard it was for you?!” she replied, facing her “I can still feel his hands on me when I try to fall asleep at night. Because before he beat me, shot me, and put a tracker device in me, he used to sleep in my bed.” She took a few steps closer to the brunette and mumbling so that only she would be able to hear, added, “You should know that more than anyone.”

“I was trying to protect you,” Zapata shortened the distance between them, “I thought it would be better if you never knew he was alive.”

“It tormented me that he died on his own terms! All I wanted was to put him in prison, to take back a fraction of the control he took away from me!” Both were doing their best to keep their composure, but their eyes were filled with tears. “Now not only I couldn't do it, but you've also taken away the little control I had left. You got a second chance, and you should have given to me that. But instead, you chose to work with him.”

“I had to. It is my job.”

Patterson watched Tasha in bewilderment, in complete disbelief “And I was your girlfriend” she said and her voice cracked. Those words stabbed into Tasha's chest like a sharp knife. Was. “You should have cared about me more.” 

Without anything else to say and knowing that she couldn't keep it together long enough, she walked away, leaving Tasha alone. She went straight to the nearest restroom, locked herself inside a cubicle, squatted, and then she released her feelings. Muffled sounds came from her as she sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried to make as little noise as possible, while she allowed herself to feel the panic of knowing that Nigel was alive, that he could have paid her a visit at any time, catching her by surprise and off guard. Pain lodged firmly in her chest at the thought that Zapata knew all along and had decided to hide it.

After a few minutes, she forced herself to regain her composure, she stood up, held her breath, and left the cubicle. She went to the sink, wiped her face, and drank some water. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, seeking the concentration she would need, and stepped out, keeping a serious and stoic profile.

However, seeing Borden was something she wasn't ready for. Although she kept her distance and made sure to see him only through the cameras, she was tense the whole time. Knowing that he was just a few steps away made her feel a lump in her throat. Feeling Tasha's gaze on her back every time they were in the same room didn't help either. Work had always helped her to keep her mind busy when she didn't feel able to cope with something, however, this time it was the same job she loved that was stressing her and putting her in a situation she wasn't ready to face. She needed to leave, she needed to go back to her apartment, she needed to be anywhere but there. And yet, she wouldn't leave. She didn't want the team to think she was fragile or to see her differently, she couldn't stand that and she certainly wouldn't let Nigel take anything else away from her.

At the end of the day, despite their setbacks, they had once again succeeded in eliminating the threat to their city, avoiding a terrorist attack. Looking for the last time Nigel while Zapata inform him about his destination, Patterson stood still, feeling Jane's gaze over her, full of questions and worries. 

“Just say it,” she said barely glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. She only allow her, because she was her friend.

“Uhm, what?”

“I know you know about… me and Zapata. She told me a few days ago.” Her tone of voice was serious and subdued.

“I just wanted to know how are you,” Jane said being completely honest. “It was a really rough day.” She was surprised by the way Patterson had handled all, she knew that if she had been in her place, she wouldn't have acted so peacefully.

Patterson took a deep breath, She pursed her lips, thinking of the right words to say. “Not quite good, but I will be.”

“Listen, I know she was wrong but you know Tasha, she would never do anything to–”

“Jane, really, I appreciate the intention, but I can't and don't want to talk about it now.” Her gaze was still glued to the screens, watching very carefully the two people she had once loved and who had betrayed her. “I can't believe this is happening again,” she said in a barely audible whisper.

Jane in no way justified Tasha's decision. Most of Tasha's decisions during the past couple of years generated internal conflicts for her, starting with working not only for the CIA but especially for Keaton. However, she knew her intentions had never been to hurt Patterson, nor anyone on the team. She needed to believe that, and a part of her needed to talk about it with her friend, while her logical side knew she shouldn't interfere in their relationship.

Borden's screams inside the interrogation room caught the attention of the two women.

“Are you sure you have anything you want to say to him?” Jane asked.

“I thought I would,” Patterson was surprised when uttering those words, “In my head, he's become this great mythical monster. But now that he's in front of me, all I can see is a weak broken shell of a man.”

Paperwork kept them busy for the next hours, and before call it a day, Patterson went to Tasha's desk, with a copy of the dragonfly file. She has no idea where she got the strength to see and talk to her.

“Hey… Reade still has some extra cake samples in the fridge, if you wanted–” Tasha said hoping to continue their previous talk in a more private and relaxed space.

“No,” Patterson interrupted her, “this is the only relationship I can have with you right now.”

Those words broke Tasha's heart into so many pieces that she wouldn't even have believed it could keep pumping blood. Tears came to her eyes, and almost begging for a second chance she said “I made a mistake.”

“I don't think you did” She almost didn't recognize this Patterson, she was cold and distant. “I think you are just someone who can see things objectively, without emotions getting in the way. The CIA is lucky to have you” She turned and walked away down an empty hallway.

Tasha followed her, willing not to leave things that way. “Patterson, it's not like that. Yes, I'm constantly trying to keep my emotions or relationships out of my work, but it is different with you. I can't do that with you. What I feel for you is getting in the way all the time, in every decision I make. I truly wanted to protect you and I thought I was doing it. I thought if I could keep an eye on him, he couldn't hurt you.”

“But it wasn't like that. I don't feel cared for, or safe at all.” She turned instantly to face her, making a great effort to control the volume of her voice. “You knew how much it took me to feel safe again, how much it took for me to trust in someone else. You knew about my nightmares every night.” Her teary eyes were fixed on the brunette. “You were by my side in that hospital bed when I told you that, somehow, I felt he could be still alive. You looked me in the eye and you lied to me, you convinced me that it had only been a dream.”

“I wanted to tell you, but–”

“But what? You had countless opportunities to tell me since I returned to New York, and you didn't..”

“Patterson, I–”

“No! I don't know if I can trust you or anything you say. Not right now.” And without another word she walked away, leaving Tasha behind.

She went to her lab, thinking she was ready to continue working, but it was halfway down the stairs when she began to feel the weight of the argument with Tasha. She hoped she wouldn't have to go through that, she had wished to be at home when reality hit her like that. But she couldn't control it. A sharp sensation of being short of breath came over her, she needed to scream but she didn't think she was even capable of speaking. Holding on to the railing, she slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Her breathing was halfway between a sob and hyperventilation, feeling like she was suffocating. Her hands won't stop shaking, was unable to coordinate a thought, and felt as if it would never end.

“Patterson?” 

The voice felt far away. She turned looking over her shoulder and was able to see Rich, bewildered, three steps away. 

“Patterson, what's wrong?” Seeing her, he understood the situation and, determined, hurried down two steps and sat down next to her.

Because of his presence, Patterson wanted to force herself to pretend that everything was fine, failing miserably. 

“It's ok, breathe with me, ok?” Rich insisted, and then he took a deep breath, gesturing with his hand, guiding her in the process. “Is it okay if I put my hand on your back?” he asked and only, when Patterson nodded, he made physical contact, rubbing her in a circular movement. “Come on again, breathe in and out.”

Despite Patterson's image of the former cybercriminal, Rich stayed serious the entire time, until the unbearable anguish wore off. In fact, he even appeared to be experienced in the matter.

“That's it, you are ok now,” Rich said reassuringly, “do you feel better?”

“I'm fine…” her breathing became normal as she uttered those words, “I'm fine” insisted, “I'm fine.”

“Say it one more time and I'll believe you” Rich joked, “can you stand up?” Still with one hand on her back, he offered her the other to hold and help her to stand up. “Do you want some water? Coffee? Maybe a drink or an ear? I'm a good listener.”

“I'll just… go home. It's been a long day.”

“You need me to come with you? To drive you? I don't have a car but I could ask for the agents that drive me to the safe house, to take you home first.”

“It's ok Rich,” she went down a step, then she turned around to add "and, you don't have to worry about your job, we already took care of it."

“You did? Thanks." he asked in surprise and Patterson nodded, then he added, "you can text me if you need something, anything.”

“Okay. I would appreciate it if this…”

“I don't even know what happened.”

“Thanks.”

A couple of hours later, Zapata was in a bar, drinking her third glass of whisky, fulfilling the cliché of drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Reade had texted her earlier and she told him to not come to see her. she didn't have the strength to argue with him about why she hadn't said anything about it before. Nas warned her and she thought she was prepared for it, but it didn't make it hurt any less to have fought with Patterson and not be able to talk to her best friend about it. Great was her surprise to see him at the bar, next to her. It turned out that he was a good friend and beyond the issues at work, he was there to support her. 

“You were protecting Patterson the best way you knew how. Maybe one day she'll see that” Reade said trying to cheer her up, “and you know what? Even if she doesn't, it's fine, you still got me. Everything is gonna be okay.”

“No, it's not,” replied. She looked at him silently, hesitating, but she needed her best friend, so she finally said, “because I love her… and now she hates me.”

Reade stared at her in silence, stunned at her words. 

“We...” she sighed, “I told her what I felt for her about a year ago, and apparently she felt something for me too,” she said, feeling that she owed him that explanation, “we had… this kind of ‘long distance relationship’ this last months before we got kidnaped and Jane came back.” She played with the glass in her hands, alternating glances with her friend. “Since Borden she was… She has had a hard time trusting someone else or herself, and about her decisions outside of work. So we decided to take baby steps. we wouldn't be telling anyone until she feels confident and… and now this,” she did her best to not shed the tears in her eyes, “I don't think she can trust me ever again.”

It took a few seconds for Reade to process all, “How it is possible for me to not know–? Yeah, no, that's not the point here,” he cut himself off mid-sentence, realizing how out of line his comment had been. He pondered his words for a moment before speaking again. “Look, Patterson is hurt. Give her space, let her clear her mind. She's a woman of logic. Perhaps, when she can analyze it, she will see that you only wanted to protect her.”

Tasha didn't say anything, just nodded, without believing his words. Reade invited the next round.

---

Next chapter

[squishneedsahero]

Yes

Awesomest of Them All 2.0

Part 5 of 13

Word Count: 1284

Batman x Batmom!Reader

You know what the bat family needs? Someone to pull them together and give them all the love they deserve. Who better to do that than you? An author rising to stardom in Gotham who catches the eye of a billionaire with your standoffish attitude at a huge social gathering. You are yourself and never pretend to be more or less than that. Plus you're the most stubborn person in the world, refusing to let good things go without reason.

This is a rewrite of my story Awesomest of Them All, I wanted to see how much I've improved over 3 years.

"I love you," you say snuggling into Bruce's side.

"I know," Bruce says kissing your forehead.

"Did you just-"

"Yes I did just quote Star Wars," he says running his fingers through your hair and turning back to the movie. The two of you were having a movie night because Dick was spending the night at Wally's and Alfred was on his one vacation a year. The two of you are marathoning all eight Harry Potter movies since last time you had marathoned Star Wars. The most important part of all of this being the fact that you had stolen his shirt and sweatpants to wear and the two of you hadn't eaten anything except takeout for nearly 3 days straight.

His phone buzzes, "You gonna get that? I don't mind," you say, knowing it could be important.

"It's not anyone important," he says, ignoring the text.

"Alright, if you're sure..." you trail off, a little confused as it had been going off every fifteen minutes without fail only for him to ignore it every time.

He smiles and pulls you closer to him, "I'm sure my dear."

You wake up when you feel Bruce move next to you. You had fallen asleep near the end of the seventh movie, and woke up now in time to watch the epilogue. "You awake?" Bruce whispers, and you nod wrapping your arm around him and lean your head into his shoulder. "I love you," Bruce says, leaning his head on top of yours.

"I love you too," you say as the credits begin to roll, "So now what?" You ask, rolling over to face him.

"How about a walk?" He asks, but doesn't give you much of a choice as he is already standing up with you bridal style in his arms.

"Okay," you smirk, then reach up and kiss his jaw, loving the feeling of him holding you tightly in his arms.

He takes you out to the garden where he puts you down to stand in the grass. "What are we doing?" You ask.

"We're taking a walk, like we used too when we would sneak out at all those galas," he responds gently, taking your hand as he does so.

"Alright..." you trail off, even more confused but still going with it. You hear his phone buzz again, alerting you that another 15 minutes have passed.

Eventually he stops beneath the drooping branches of  the willow tree, where he lets go of your hand and takes a step back. He reaches one hand into the pocket of his sweatpants. He pulls something out of the pocket, but its to dark for you to see what it is. You blink, and when you open your eyes again he's down on one knee looking up at you.

Your hands go to your mouth, "Bruce," you whisper.

"Y/n l/n, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Bruce asks, holding up and opening a black velvet ring box.

You nod, and make some sort of high pitched winning noise, unable to get any words out. You swallow and catch your breath, "Yes!" You practically shout, when you're finally able to speak. You lunge at him, wrapping your arms around him and knocking him back into the grass, "Yes," you say quieter,  kissing him. You pull back to look at him, and he has the biggest grin you've ever seen on his face.

"I love you (y/n)," he says kissing you, and slipping the beautiful diamond ring on your finger.

"I love you too," you say kissing him again. The both of you keep lying in the grass, making out, in your sweatpants and pajama shirts until Bruce's phone goes off again.

"I should probably get that now," he says pulling the phone out of his other pocket.

"Okay... who is it?" You ask sitting up to look at him.

"Dick," Bruce says texting Dick back.

You laugh, "of course it is, is he worried you chickened out?" You tease.

"No, just impatient as ever..." he pauses before asking, "can I see your hand, to send him a picture so he believes me?"

"Yeah," you laugh,  holding it out to him. He takes your hand in his and takes a picture with the ring showing.

Bruce sends the picture then puts his phone back in his pocket as you laugh at the small boy's antics.

"I love you," you say gently and roll over to lay on top of him.

"I love you too, thank you for not letting go when I tried too," Bruce says gently as he then pulls you into a kiss.

You laugh gently, "you're the one who's not letting that go, huh? I thought I'd be the one holding it over your head."

He smiles, "no I was an idiot back then."

"Back then? It was three months ago Bruce!" You laugh loudly and kiss him again before laying on his chest. "So, as much as I love you and love it out here... how would you feel about moving this back inside... perhaps to the bedroom?" You as quietly.

"You need only ask my love," he says sitting up and taking you in his arms with him as he does so. It's effortless for him and your heart flutters in your chest. How did you little nobody y/n l/n get so lucky?

Needless to say he easily carries you inside to your bedroom, since you had moved in within a week of him telling you his secret. He lays you down on the bed and he gets on top of you. They two of you can't get enough of one another, kissing, cuddling and loving all night long. He takes care of you and you take care of him.

That whole night and the next two days are spent together in a little staycation. There's lots of sex, more sex than normally because you are the only two in the entire manor. It's perfect.

At the end of the week the two of you find yourselves wearing pajama pants and robes, to hide all the bumps and bruises you'd given each other, to welcome Dick and Alfred home. In your four years of dating Bruce, Alfred had become like a father to you. Then there was Dick, the only 13 year old in the world you would do anything for.

Alfred is more quiet about his congratulations, welcoming you to the family and giving you one of his rare hugs. Well, his hugs weren't rare, but he usually hugged you when you were the only person around. It was a sign of affection reserved for special occasions and private moments.

Dick on the other hand is ecstatic, practically bouncing off the walls. His questions are all over the place. "I get to dress as a bear to be the ring bearer, right?" And "can I call you mom?" "Oh! Does this mean you could adopt me too?!" Alongside a million other ideas.

You can only laugh and hug him tightly as you tell him, yes, he can call you mom. It wasn't as if you had caught him almost doing so on multiple occasions and each time told him it was alright, but no it wasn't until now he felt able to call you mom. But yeah, him asking such an innocent question is what get you crying, gods above you loved your family so much.

This was your family and it was small but it was perfect. You all had each other and no one was missing, just the four of you as close as can be. Nothing in the world would make you want to let go.

[no-pucks-given]

JACOB MARKSTROM | COVER ME IN SUNSHINE

A/N: I wrote a rough part 1 and part 2 back in January (when I first started writing) and February, barely above 1K and 2K. However I loved that imagine, but it just wasn’t good enough to post here on Tumblr (in my opinion). So time for a rewrite, and I’m so glad I did. 3.5K more words, more ‘plot’, more smut, more love, more Marky. I love it. I’m happy to share this with all of you. 

Warnings: Oral (female and male receiving), unprotected sex, shower sex, (some marking + cum, you know the drill, nothing shocking though), a few swearwords, sweet and soft Marky and a water bill so high I could treat you all to dinner.

Word Count: 6.5K

Requested: Yes.

 The gentle beams of sunlight shining into the room isn’t what wakes you up this morning. It’s the prickling of Jacob’s beard between your legs, his rough hands sliding over your bare legs, his mouth leaving soft kisses on your inner thighs. That’s what wakes you up.

For a moment you’re completely confused, the sleepy haze still heavily present in your mind. You try to move your legs, gasping when Jacob’s mouth makes contact with your core. “Jacob,” you whimper, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Jacob mumbles from underneath the covers, the vibrations of his voice sending chills throughout your entire body. You grab the covers with both hands, throwing them to the end of the bed as far as you can, revealing a smirking Jacob between your legs. A naked, smirking Jacob to be precise. “Did I wake you up?” Jacob asks you innocently, his fingers brushing over your exposed skin.

“Mmhmm, you sure did,” you say, softly smiling at the man between your legs. What a fantastic way to wake up.

“I can always stop and let you go back to sleep?” Jacob whispers, a smirk playing on his lips as he dips his head down. His tongue makes contact with your core again, your hips almost bucking of the bed by the sudden contact.

“Don’t you dare, J,” you moan out, your hand finding its way into Jacob’s hair, gripping the strands tightly between your fingers. “Please, don’t stop,” you beg him, knowing the effect it will have on him. You hear his sharp intake of breath, his eyes shooting to yours. Gotcha.

“I see what you did there, baby,” Jacob groans against your core, slowly dragging his tongue through your slit. You give him an innocent smile, which turns into a quiet moan when Jacob tightens his grip on your thighs, bringing you even closer to his wicked mouth.

Jacob softly sucks your clit into his mouth, his large hands keeping you flat against the mattress. God, Jacob loves to take his time, loves to take it slow, and all you can do is squirm underneath him, hoping, begging he’ll give you more than this. His tongue swirls around your sensitive nub, excruciating slowly, but so, so good. “Please, J,” you beg, needing more, needing to feel more than this. Jacob looks at you expectantly, you feel his smirk against your core, waiting for what’s yet to come, it always comes.

“Please, Jacob. I need more. Please, can I have more?” you beg him, your eyes pleading to him to fill you, to finally give you what you need. You have absolutely no problem begging Jacob for anything, no shame at all.

“Always so politely huh, sunshine,” Jacob mutters, letting one of your legs fall to the side. He shuffles a bit, moving his large body so he can bring his hand between your legs as well. His hand joins his mouth, his long finger spreading your wetness through your slit, before pushing inside of you. You gasp at the sudden, yet welcome intrusion, clamping down on Jacob’s finger. “Is that what you wanted, baby?” Jacob ask you, moving his finger inside of you, curling it just the right way to make you slowly lose your mind.

“Yes, yes!” you tell him, not sure if it’s an actual answer to his question or an exclamation of relief and contentment.

Jacob makes a sound of approval, pushing a second digit inside of you. Your whimpers and soft moans spurring him on, bringing you closer and closer to your high. Your grip on his hair tightens even more, bringing him impossibly closer to where you need him the most. With only one arm around your thigh you have way more room to move your hips, grinding them against Jacob’s face. You can almost feel his smirk, his fingers digging into your skin. “Take it, baby. That’s it,” he praises you, encouraging you even further to make yourself feel good. This. This is all about you.

The moment your breathing starts to hitch, the moment you get even wetter Jacob knows you’re close. All it takes is a little push, a last nibble on your clit, a last hit with his fingers against that one particular spot and you’re a goner. It’s Jacob’s soft voice telling you to come for him that brings you over the edge, your orgasm thundering through your body. Your eyes rolling to the back of your head, your vision turning blurry, back arching off the mattress. Your legs tighten around Jacob’s head, keeping him firmly in place, while he does his ultimate best to prolong your orgasm.

Jacob loves to tease you, loves to watch you squirm underneath him, but he’ll always, always let you come. It’s his favourite thing in this whole world to watch you come, that blissful look on your face, those quiet moans and whimpers leaving your pretty mouth. There’s nothing he loves more, except you. Watching you shatter in front of him, all because of him, is the biggest ego booster anyone can get, watching the person you love orgasm thanks to you, because of you.

When you finally feel like you can breath again you relax your body, with shakily legs you open them up again, freeing Jacob from being smothered. You give him a weak smile, still trying to recover from the intense orgasm you just had. Jacob crawls back up your body, wiping your juices off his face with the back of his hand. He places his arm next to your head, putting most of his weight on his arm instead of your much smaller frame.

You reach around him, putting your hand on the back of his neck, pulling his face closer to your own. Jacob smiles, dipping down to take your lips with his. His tongue glides over yours, tasting yourself on his tongue makes this an even more intimate experience. It’s a pure and raw feeling, you can’t even begin to describe it. You break the kiss, smiling back at the man on top of you. “Good morning, sunshine,” Jacob smiles back at you, gently brushing your hair out of your face.

“Good morning indeed, baby,” you tell him, a soft chuckle leaving your lips. You lay there for a few minutes, simply staring at each other, enjoying the quiet Sunday morning. Jacob rolls over, taking you with him so you’re laying on top of his chest, a small squeal leaving your lips with the sudden movement. He wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer to him, his other hand finds its way into your hair, playing with the strands. You revel in the feeling of his strong arms around you, feeling so safe and secure.

You know, oh you know there’s no way you’re done, there’s no way you’ll both leave this bed and go on with your day, absolutely no way. Jacob has the exact same idea as his hand slowly moves down to the globes of your ass. Seemingly content with finishing this in bed he grabs one of your cheeks with his large, calloused hand, giving it a firm squeeze. His other hand tugs slightly on your hair, tilting your head so he can capture your lips with his again.

You absolutely want to finish what he started, you want nothing more than that, but you do have other plans than Jacob. Plans that involve him, a hot shower and you on your knees in front of him. You break the kiss, wiggling out of Jacob’s arms, who gives you a confused and almost disappointed look, a slight pout visible on his handsome face. You almost feel sorry for him, almost. “Baby?” Jacob whispers, reaching his arms out to you, eyebrows furrowed, an emotion on his face you can’t place.

“Don’t, J,” you shake your head at him, a small smile playing on your lips, surely confusing him even more. Poor guy, now you do start to feel sorry for him. You lean forward, brushing your lips over his ear. “Why don’t you head into the shower, love? I think we have some unfinished business, don’t you think?” you whisper into his ear, enjoying the way his breathing hitches.

You lean back, looking triumphantly at the astonished Jacob in front of you. He opens and closes his mouth, you’re pretty sure you can hear the wheels turning inside of his head. You want to laugh at him, at the way he looks when the realization of your words settle in. His eyes shoot from you to the shower and back to you, his face lighting up like a kid in a candy store.

You shoot him a quick wink, a small smile playing on your lips at his expression. You’re pretty sure you’ve never seen a 6’6 man jump out of bed that fast, almost tripping over the sheets. You cover your mouth with your hand, trying to contain your laughter at the sight before you. Jacob untangles his leg as fast as he possibly can, running straight towards the shower.

Barely 5 seconds later you hear the sound of the shower, the water falling on the tiles. You let out the laugh you’d been holding in and climb off the bed yourself, making your way over to the shower to give your boyfriend your own version of ‘good morning’.

You softly close the door behind you, turning your gaze onto the man standing underneath the stream of water. Your eyes rake over his naked body, focusing on the water droplets that fall onto his skin, following the sharp edges of his body until they fall down onto the tiles. It’s hypnotizing, the way he moves underneath the stream, the way his tattooed arms flex when he brushes his hands through his hair. You could watch him like this forever, never getting bored at the sight before you. What a sight.

Jacob catches you staring, gawking at him and his body. “Come here, babe,” he says, smirking at your obvious desire for him. You shake your head, trying to clear it of the lust induced haze – without much luck – before walking into Jacob’s awaiting arms. He pulls you close to him, his arms tightening around your body. His hands slide down to your ass, squeezing both of your cheeks with his large hands. You gasp by the sudden pinch, giving Jacob the perfect opportunity to claim your lips with his.

His tongue slides over your bottom lip, coaxing you to open up for him. A request you happily fulfil, granting him access to your mouth. His tongue collapses with your own, twisting and turning around the other, exploring familiar grounds. Hands wander over wet skin, gasps and moans swallowed by the sound of the never ending stream of water. At some point during your passionate make out Jacob’s hand finds its way into your hair, entangling his fingers with the strands.

Jacob tightens his grip on your hair, giving a slight tug to break off the heated kiss. You keep your eyes on him, the twinkling in his eyes promising nothing but trouble and mischief. “Are you gonna get on your knees for me, beautiful?” he whispers against your lips, giving you that signature smile, that smile that could make you do absolutely anything. You nod your head at him, your fingers trailing over his abdomen. You did promise him a ‘good morning’, right?

Jacob guides you to the ground, his hand firmly on your jaw the entire time. Your hands follow his body, sliding over every part except the part where he aches for you. You lightly dig your nails into his thighs as you settle down on the cold stone tiles. You fight to keep the smirk of your face as Jacob groans, his cock twitching right in front of you. Jacob brushes his thumb over your cheek, before moving it to your bottom lip. You look up at him, the desire and lust clearly swirling in his eyes. Slowly, excruciating slowly he pushes his thumb past your lips, coaxing you to suck it into your mouth.

“Look at you, so eager, aren’t you?” Jacob smirks, loving nothing more than filling your pretty mouth. It’s a sight for sure, a sight that would be even better if it was his cock in your mouth instead of his thumb, but he’s in no rush today. It’s his day off, something he doesn’t get a lot, something he treats as special. What better way to spend that day with you, on your knees, underneath him, in any possible position and way? Nothing, absolutely nothing beats that.

You release his thumb with a pop, waiting patiently for Jacob’s next move. You keep your eyes on him as he gives you a nod, his sign of ‘go on’. You waste no time, licking his impressive erection from bottom to top. You keep your focus on the underside of his cock, following the large vein with your tongue, stopping every time you almost reach his tip. Jacob’s sharp intakes of breath every time you get closer and closer to the tip spurs you on to prolong your teasing as long as you can, as long as Jacob lets you.

Apparently it won’t be that long, the hand still tangled in your hair yanks you backwards. Your eyes shoot to his, while you give him an innocent smile. It’s not like he wasn’t enjoying it. His hand reaches out, grabbing his throbbing erection. He wraps his fingers around his cock, bringing it closer and closer to your mouth. “Suck,” he commands you, a side you don’t see often with Jacob, a side that makes you clench your thighs together as desire rushes through your body. You love that side of him, you can only wish it would come out to play more often. Maybe this is the way to achieve that, tease him until he can’t help himself but give in to that side of him.

You open up for him, allowing him to slide his erection past your lips. You close your lips around him, softly sucking on his tip. He moans at the feeling, sending chills all over your body. Even in the middle of a shower he tastes like he always does, manly yet fresh, you fucking love it. You simply can’t get enough of him.

Grabbing the base of his cock you give him a firm squeeze, another groan falling from his lips. Your tongue swirls around his tip, softly sucking, all while keeping your eyes on Jacob. The way his abdomen flexes every time you suck harder, his eyes looking up to the ceiling every time he moans, it’s addicting. Moving your hand at the same tempo as your mouth you find a steady rhythm. You flick your wrist just the way he likes, earning yourself another symphony of moans and groans. Like music to your ears, that’s how the moans and groans that leave his lips sound like. Music.

His hand moves to the back of your head, a clear indicator it’s time to hand over your control, although you wonder if you even had it in the first place. You can’t help freezing up for a second, it isn’t Jacob’s fault at all, but no matter the crazy amount of time you’ve been together, he’s still impressive. His cock, his cock is impressive and slightly intimidating. Although.. maybe it applies to Jacob as well, 6’6 of pure muscles, tattoos and a beard? Yes, it definitely applies to both.

Jacob notices your slight change in demeanour, halting the slow movements of his hips. “You okay?” he asks, his eyes showing genuine concern. You nod, flickering your eyes downwards, before meeting his eyes again. Jacob chuckles, clearly understanding what this is all about. “Don’t worry, sunshine. I know what you can handle, but squeeze my thigh if you want me to stop, okay?” he asks you, giving you a reassuring smile.

You nod your head, but Jacob won’t continue without hearing your voice, he needs to hear the words. He slips out of your mouth for a moment, allowing you to voice your thoughts. “I’m okay, J. Just a bit intimidated,” you tell him, smiling when Jacob can’t contain his laughter. “But I’m fine, J. I trust you,” you tell him, reassuring him he’s good to go. He gives you another smile before bringing his erection back to your lips, coaxing you to open up for him again.

“Such a good girl for me, aren’t you?” he says, his voice low and raspy as he pushes further into your mouth. With his hand on the back of your head he slowly moves himself in and out of your mouth, making sure to never push you further than your limit. It takes you a few minutes to get used to him again, finally able to relax around him, taking him deeper into your mouth. “That’s it, baby. Look at you,” Jacob praises you, only spurring you on to take more, to make this even better for him and you.

His hips thrust forward, deeper into your mouth, a low string of curses leaving his lips. He uses your mouth as he pleases, while also giving you the confidence you can handle him, you can take him. You bring one of your hands back on his thigh, bracing yourself. Your other hand reaches underneath him, gently cupping his balls. You roll them between your fingers, gently giving them your full attention. You know Jacob is close, you know he’s chasing his high as his rhythm turns sloppier and sloppier. All he needs is that last push, that last push over the edge that has him tumbling into the abyss of pure euphoria.

Jacob looks down at you, cursing under his breath. There’s just something about having his girl on her knees in front of him, her lips wrapped around his cock, that drives him absolute nuts. It isn’t a sense of power, it isn’t your surrender. It’s the complete trust you have in him, it’s the love that shows in your eyes, the way you clench your thighs as he fucks your throat, as he chases his orgasm. It’s the fact you’ll do anything for him to make this a phenomenal experience, just like he tries his hardest to return that favour, to make this just as enjoyable for you. It’s teamwork.

He’s so close, so close to reaching his high, so close to just shooting his release down your throat. So close, but today he has other plans, plans that don’t involve you swallowing his seed. The moment he reaches his high, his orgasm thrashing through his body he pulls your hair, releasing himself with a pop from your mouth. His hand shoots out, grabbing his cock and aiming his release at your chest, coating you in his cum.

You would’ve laughed if you weren’t so shocked, and.. turned on. Watching Jacob orgasm is an amazing experience on its own, but watching him orgasm and mark you with his cum? That’s incredibly hot.  Hotter than you would’ve expected it to be, hotter than you would like to admit to yourself. It’s a damn good thing you’re already in the shower. “What was that, babe?” you ask him, even though you know the answer to that question already, it’s clearly written all over his face.

Jacob smirks at you, sliding his fingers through the cum on your chest. “Just staking my claim, sunshine,” he simply says, bringing his cum-covered fingers to your mouth. “Open up,” he commands you, pushing two fingers past your lips. You suck them into your mouth, licking them clean until there’s nothing left. Jacob makes a sound of approval deep in his throat when his eyes focus on your lips wrapped around his fingers, his eyes blazing a fire you’ve seen so many times before. You’re not done yet, you’re not done until Jacob tells you you’re done.

You release his fingers, looking up at the giant Swede before you. “You don’t have to do that, you know? I’m all yours, completely and utterly yours,” you tell him, smiling as his face turns into a grin. He holds out his hands for your, helping you back onto both feet again.

“I know, but I like you covered in my cum. It looks good on you,” he simply says, shrugging his shoulders like it’s the most normal thing to do. You shake your head at him, stepping back under the stream, washing away all the evidence of his ‘claim’.

You feel his eyes on you, on your body, on every inch of your skin. It almost burns, leaving a sizzling feeling behind wherever his eyes landed on. His heated stare makes you ache with lust, desire for him, only him. The predatory look in his eyes tells you he’s coming for you, he’s coming for you hard. You’re more than ready for him, more than ready to take all of him.

Within a second his lips crash on yours, his hand landing on your cheek, keeping you close to him. He backs you up against the shower wall, his knee pressing itself between your legs. You gasp into the kiss, giving Jacob the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue invading your mouth. You can’t help but roll your hips forward, grinding down on his thigh. Jacob smirks against your lips knowing you can’t help yourself, knowing you can’t control your need for release.

“I’m gonna fuck you right here against the wall, sunshine,” he breathes out against your lips. Your breath catches in your throat by his words, a quiet moan leaving your mouth when his hand moves down your throat towards your breasts. His fingers linger on your throat for just a second, a second that makes your heart hammer against your chest. Aching for him, for his fingers, for his cock, just simply for all that is Jacob.

His hand cups your breast, his fingers pinching your nipple expertly. You drop your head against the cold shower wall, moaning out at the sensation of his fingers on your sensitive nipple, your core shamelessly grinding on his thigh. Your hand reaches between your bodies, instantly finding Jacob’s semi-hard cock waiting for you.

You close your fingers around him, gently squeezing his growing erection, moving your hand just the way that riles him up, gets him on high alert. “Fuck, you make me hard so fast,” he groans, thrusting upwards into your hand. You smile triumphantly at him, the knowledge that you have this much power over him, makes you even more desperate for him.

Jacob presses his thigh harder against you, his fingers still playing with your taut bud, rolling and pinching them, switching between your left and right breast, driving you absolutely mad. “Are you gonna come for me again, sunshine? Are you gonna show me how pretty you look while getting yourself off on my thigh, huh?” Jacob whispers in your ear, spurring you on to take, take whatever you need. The bastard knows how much his words, how much his teasing turns you on.

His mouth barely leaves your skin, biting and nipping on your neck, throat, anything he can reach. He knows you’re ready for him, ready to take all of him. Hell, you’ve been ready for him all morning, he fucking knows it, but God, he loves to get you off, he loves to watch you get off.

On edge all morning it takes you way less time than expected to reach your high, your second orgasm of the day crashing through your body. Jacob’s name on your lips like it’s the only thing on your mind, and in a way it is. His hands keep your trembling body upright, his thigh still pressing against your now oversensitive core.

His eyes search yours as soon as you’ve come down from your high, a search for affirmation, consent. You reach up, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him down towards your own, crashing your lips on his. “Fuck me, J,” you mutter against his lips, the twinkle in his eyes telling you that’s exactly his plan.

You squeeze his now throbbing erection again, a breathy moan leaving Jacob’s lips. “You’re a tease,” he mutters under his breath, before grabbing the back of your thighs and hoisting you up. You squeal, not used to being this high off the ground. Jacob chuckles at your childishness, it isn’t that high up.

Your legs lock around his waist, pulling him closer towards your entrance, toward where you need him the most. He slides his cock through your folds, coating himself in your wetness. Chuckling low when you whine at him, tired of waiting, tired of not feeling him inside of you. So he gives you what you want, what you ache for. He lines himself up, before slamming all the way home. You choke on your own breath, the sheer force of Jacob’s thrust smacking the air out of your lungs. He stretches you to the absolute max, pain and pleasure going hand in hand, although pleasure has the upper hand here, it always has.

Jacob groans, trying to keep himself together. It was a bad, yet fantastic idea to slam himself deep inside of your tight pussy. The feeling of being buried deep inside of you will always feel like something extraordinary to him, it’s a mesmerizing feeling and if he could he’d stay like this forever.

“J, baby, you feel so good,” you whisper against his shoulder, bringing him back from his thoughts. He returns your praise with a low grunt of his own, slowly starting to move his hips again. Knowing it probably took some toll on him and his control you keep praising him, soft sweet nothings against his shoulder, against his lips. There isn’t much room to work with in the shower, the slippery tiles making it hard to go any faster than the slow and steady tempo Jacob keeps right now. It’s almost torturous, driving you absolutely mad. The way he fucks you, with slow and deliberate thrusts, making sure you feel every single ridge, every single vein on his cock.

Jacob loves this look on your face, the look of pure bliss, pure euphoria with every thrust he delivers inside of you. He knows he won’t last long, not after this morning, not with the way your pussy clamps down on him every time he moves inside of you. “Tell me what you need, sunshine,” he groans out, trying to keep his own orgasm at bay. You need, he needs you, to finish first. You’ll always come first, always.

“I need more, J, harder,” you moan out, your nails digging into Jacob’s shoulders. His mouth finds yours again, and only when he bites down on your bottom lip he speeds up. His hands move to your ass, squeezing each of your cheeks roughly, pushing you further into the cold wall. You can still feel his teeth in your lip, when he picks up his pace further, slamming harder and deeper inside of you. Every thrust, every movement he makes hits the right spot inside of you, it’s so fucking good.

You feel your orgasm creeping closer and closer, you can feel it crawling over your back, inside your tummy, fucking everywhere. Your vision blurs, nails digging deeper into Jacob’s shoulders, black spots appear in your already blurry vision, until you explode around him. Fireworks, fucking fireworks as your orgasm rocks through your body, like your nerve endings are on fire. His name echoes through the shower, your head falling back against his shoulder, completely spent from your third orgasm of the morning. Fuck.

There’s no way, no fucking way he can hold out any longer. Your tight pussy pulsing around him, aftershocks from your intense orgasm still rocking through your body, no fucking way he can keep this up. He thrusts into you once, twice more, before his knees buckle slightly as he reaches his own high for the second time this morning. He groans out your name as he buries himself deep, so damn deep inside of you, coating you with his release. His fingers tingle, his legs feel like jelly, his head spins. Never felt a second, fuck.. even a first orgasm like this, so intense, so intimate, so out of this world, absolutely mind-blowing.

Jacob tries his hardest to stay upright, with you still in his arms. Completely out of breath, mind still full of a post-orgasm induced haze, he puts all his weight against your body, crushing you against the shower wall. He drops his head against your shoulder, taking deep breaths, trying to calm down his racing heart. “You okay there, love?” you ask him softly, running your fingers through his wet hair.

He chuckles low, his raspy voice sending chills all over your body. “More than okay, y/n, more than okay. I just need a minute, maybe two.”

A few more minutes pass, before Jacob carefully slips out of you, making sure not to hurt you in any way. He gently puts you back on your own two feet, pulling you back underneath the hot water. Jacob raises his eyebrows at you when you suddenly start laughing, although he can’t help the smile that forms on his face by your laughter. Nothing better than seeing his girl smile or laugh. “This water bill is going to be so damn expensive, Jacob,” you giggle, pulling him closer to you.

Jacob chuckles, brushing your wet hair out of your face. “I don’t care, that was fucking amazing. You are fucking amazing,” he exclaims, softly pressing his lips on yours in a sweet, loving gesture. He reaches behind you, grabbing one of your shampoo bottles. “Can I wash your hair?” he asks you, an innocent smile plastered on his face. Suspicious, but whatever, if that’s what he wants to do, you’ll play along with it. You nod your head, before turning around so he can reach your hair.

His fingers brush gently through your hair, the smell of your favourite shampoo filling your nose. You sigh softly, this might be the best feeling in the world, something you could get used to. For a moment you think of ways to get Jacob into the shower with you every time you need to wash your hair, but quickly decide that would be a terrible idea. Not for you though, but definitely for your bank account and mother nature. Definitely shouldn’t do that, right?

Jacob’s voice brings you back from your thoughts, his fingers massaging your scalp. “Am I doing this right?” he asks you, a hint of insecurity lacing his voice. You try to answer him, but the only sounds coming from your lips is a muffled moan. “I guess I am,” Jacob chuckles, gently washing the shampoo out of your hair.

You close your eyes, enjoying his hands brushing through your hair, just enjoying his touches. It’s like he can read your mind, it’s almost scary. Just like you expected he had more up his sleeve when he asked if he could wash your hair. His hands wandering down your body, gently soaping your breasts. His soapy hands make soft circles over your breasts, cleaning them thoroughly, even though there’s no way they’re still dirty after the amount of time you spend under the shower stream. “You just needed to touch me some more, huh? you muse, shaking your head softly at him, not bothering to hide your grin.

“I need to make sure you’re completely clean, sunshine,” Jacob tells you, humour lacing his voice. Not bothered by his actions you let him clean you, from your head to your toes, no spot stays untouched. You guess he needs this right now, to make sure you’re absolutely okay, a way of aftercare, so you’re more than happy to give him this.

It takes both of you another 15 minutes to finally get out of the shower and dry off. It’s hard, so hard when you have such an attractive male running around, a naked, attractive male may you add, to keep your hands to yourself. And boy, it’s the exact same way for Jacob, who can’t keep his eyes and hands off you, imagining all the possible ways he can get you underneath or on top of him today, tomorrow and the day after that. It’s hard not touching each other, but why should you stop?

So when an arm wraps around your waist after you just pulled on some panties and hooked your bra, you lean back against the muscular chest behind you. His arm tightens around you, his hand covering your belly. You can feel he’s also still in the process of dressing himself, feeling the warmth radiating from his naked chest. You drop your head against his shoulder, enjoying his affection and attention to the fullest while you still can. You don’t even want to think about that upcoming road trip, not right now, right now all you want to think about is him, him and his warm body.

Jacob presses a soft kiss underneath your ear, snuggling his face in the crook of your neck. “I love you, y/n. I’m going to tell you that a million times more, until you’re absolutely fed up with it, but I need you to know that,” he whispers against your neck, pulling you impossibly closer to him.

You turn around, wrapping your arms around his waist, before looking up at him. “I love you too, J. So, so much, you know that, right?” you ask him softly, a small smile on your lips. His words make the butterflies in your stomach flutter at full force, you’ll never get used to hearing those words coming from his mouth, never. His words hold a certain edge though, an edge you aren’t used to hearing from him. It’s almost like he’s looking for confirmation, looking for a way to take away his insecurities, whatever they might be.

You squeal when he suddenly picks you up and drops you on the bed. For a moment he simply stares at you, his eyes raking over your body. Just as you want to tell him you aren’t having sex with him again, at least not yet, he chuckles. “I’m not trying to seduce you, sunshine.” When he finally got his fill of your body, he crawls on top of you, wiggling himself between your legs. He softly pecks your lips, before pulling back, a soft smile on his lips.

You cock your head at him, curious to know what he’s thinking right now. “Do you know why I call you ‘sunshine’?” he asks you, that same smile turning into a grin. You shake your head at him, you never thought much about that nickname, although you absolutely adore it. “I never thought I would find someone like you. Even after all this time together I’m still so,” Jacob muses over the right word for a moment, “amazed? I can’t even find the right words to describe it.” He stays silent for a few seconds after that, his eyes focused on nothing in particular. Although he doesn’t speak, his face does. The smile plastered on his face tells you a lot, the glint in his eyes tells you even more. You better pay attention to whatever he’ll tell you, you can see it’s important to him.

“You filled my life with sunshine, you still do every single day. When you give me one of those grins that make your eyes wrinkle, I feel like I’m on top of this world.” You can’t help but laugh at that, it’s no secret Jacob loves that, even though you aren’t too fond of it yourself. “You know those first sunny days? Those first warm beams of sunshine after the cold winter?” he asks you, and you nod. “That’s how you feel to me, every time you smile, every time you look at me. You feel like those first beams of sunshine, the beams that warm your skin, the beams that make you forget the cold winter you endured. That’s how you feel to me, like sunshine. You light up my world, you cover me in sunshine, you are my sunshine.”

His words tug at your heart, you had no idea your nickname went that deep, that it has that much meaning to him. What he just told you means more to you than anything ever could. You can’t help the emotions breaking free, you can’t help the tears that fall from your eyes, you can’t help how his words make you love him even more. He bared himself to you, showed his vulnerable side, showed you what you really mean to him. “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Jacob whispers, gently wiping the tears from underneath your eyes. “Talk to me, baby,” he murmurs softly as he gently kisses your cheeks, your nose, your lips, anything, until you let out a giggle.

You cup his cheek with your hand, softly smiling through your tears. “You have no idea how much you mean to me, love,” you whisper to him. “You shower me in love, affection and good times every single day. You make me feel so loved, so safe, so special. No words can describe how much I love you, Jacob, absolutely no words, but I’ll try my very best to show you exactly how much. Every day I get to spend with you is one I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

Jacob leans forward, his lips pressing onto yours, so soft, so gentle, almost like he’s afraid to break this vulnerable, real moment you’re sharing with each other. You wipe away the stray tear that falls from his eye, he might be 6’6 and playing one of the toughest sports out there, he’s still human, he still feels like any other person. He buries his hand in your hair, pressing harder against your lips, never have you felt this close to each other.

He breaks the kiss, pressing his forehead against yours, his eyes locked on you as a smile slowly grows on his face. “It’s a damn good thing I have you for the rest of my life then. We’ll cherish every day together,” he pledges.

You can’t stop your laughter as Jacob rolls over, taking you with him. You land back on top of him, staring down at the love of your life. “We’ll make every single day count, J.”

“Every single minute of every single day, sunshine.”

[soobadnoonecanstopher]

Touch it for Real, Part 5

Genre: Humor / Fluff / Eventual Smut

Warnings: OMG they were roommates / slice of life / slow burn / mutual pining / crude humor / cursing / virgin!baek / idiots to lovers / mention of feet

Characters: Baekhyun X You/Female Reader

Description: You teach Baekhyun how to date. (Basically the Get You Alone M/V)

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5, Part 6

Baekhyun was trembling. His hands were actually shaking so much each time he tried to type into the keyboard of his phone he hit the wrong letters and the typos rendered his message impossible for even the autocorrect to guess what he was trying to say.

“Just — ugh — just give me a regular keyboard for fuck’s sake,” he was grumbling to himself, “my hands wont stop shaking. I can’t. I can’t do this.”

He tossed the phone with force away from him and it landed face down on the carpet across the living room.

“No. I refuse,” he was staring over at the phone on the floor with a shell shocked aura about him, “just forget it. I’ve changed my mind. I can’t. I won’t!”

You’d given him a homework assignment an hour ago.

Ask a girl out on a date.

He’d been sitting on this sofa with his phone in his hands, writing, deleting, rewriting and deleting, again and again, into the text message conversation he had going with Mia.

It had been going pretty well with Mia actually. You’d been handing him the reins more and more and you both celebrated together with a single glass of wine the night he’d had his first actual phone conversation with her. Baekhyun was a lightweight and usually refused to drink more than a few sips of alcohol but he’d gone for the chilled bottle in the fridge and poured it into two glasses and handed one of them to you and lifted his own into the air. He did not wait for you to acknowledge his toast though. He just downed the contents of his glass with a wince on his face in a single go, slammed the empty glass down onto the counter roughly and stormed out of the kitchen toward his bedroom. You sipped your glass and counted it as a shared celebration.

His phone call lasted for 3 minutes and 32 seconds and he managed to tell one awkward joke that elicited audible laughter from the girl. You knew because you sat on the couch beside him with your ear pulled up as close to the phone as you could manage, trying to hear everything that happened. You’d let him know you were here to intervene if something went wrong but honestly you were sure he would do well on his own. And honestly, he was about to do well on his own, despite how awkward and very nervous his voice was.

They had gotten past the introductions at least twice when he briefly forgot what came after “hello” and simply said it a second time. She at least said it twice too and the awkward pause that came after that went on for too long when you held up the index card in your hand and pointed with your finger to the question you had written down.

“Uhh...so h-how...umm...how are — I mean, what are you up to?”

You couldn't make out her response, but whatever she said pulled an interested hum from the back of his throat and he made a quick witted remark that had her giggling in response.

You could definitely make out the sounds of her laughter and you could instantly see the change on his face when it happened. You saw the brightness form inside his eyes and he turned to look at you with a surprised expression as he lifted a finger to point at the phone he held in his hand.

His eyes were wide with something in between amazement and panic and he mouthed the words ‘she’s laughing’ at you and you nodded enthusiastically in response.

Unfortunately a few seconds after the joke he accidentally dropped the phone and it took a wild bounce, landing somewhere under the couch. He couldn’t find it for two whole minutes and when he finally found it, he made up some excuse about having to go because he smelled something burning.

He stared at the phone until the screen turned black and he didn’t move when you rubbed a soothing hand over his back.

“That went pretty good,” you offered. Baekhyun grunted and turned toward the kitchen for the celebratory toast.

Since that night, (you know the one) you’d intentionally taken on a more supportive teacher role in this project. You vowed to keep yourself involved as much as he needed and you swore you could keep your own selfishness from impeding his progress. The way you had been acting had been unfair and he was too good to you for him to deserve anything less than your very best.

You had made a promise to Baekhyun and then you made a promise to yourself to follow through on that promise. You would move Heaven and Earth to help him reach his goal because he deserved it and seeing him happy would be enough to get you through anything that came your way.

You were fine.

No really, you were completely fine.

He was moaning.

You sat on the couch beside him with your foot propped up on the coffee table as you carefully applied the second coat of polish to your toenails. You’d become quite the expert at applying polish to your nails during bumpy situations. Sitting next to the man who flailed and squirmed beside you on this sofa was commonplace and simply no big deal.

You could probably do this during an earthquake.

His moaning turned into much louder moaning and he threw himself back onto the arm of the couch dramatically and in protest of the unfairness of your assignment.

“Buuuug,” he whined through his nose, drawing it out like a little kid.

You’d just finished your pinky toe when his foot pushed up against your thigh.

Your aim was quick and you reached over and grabbed his foot by the heel as you pivoted in place.

“Be still,” you said calmly and you held his foot in place as you applied the bright red polish to his big toenail. You often did his toes to match your own because it made his toes look adorable and he wore socks everywhere he went anyway so he didn’t mind what you did to amuse yourself.

You moved quickly, dabbing carefully over each of his nails until they were all painted to match yours. You blew air over them to dry them, being thankful you’d invested in the 60 second polish.

“Buuu-hu-hu-hu-uuug,” he moaned harder, wiggling his hips into the fit he was throwing and closing his eyes to sell you on the absolute anguish he was in. “Bug, I just don't think I can do it. Can we do something else? I don't even know what to do on a date. What if she says no? Oh god, what if she says yes, I’m going to puke. Do you want to see me puke? Because I am going to puke.”

You tapped a hand lightly over the top of his finished foot and pointed to the other one and after a few moments he shifted, giving in to what you asked for right away.

But good lord, he was dramatic. The whining and the moaning intensified just when you thought you couldn't stand another volume increase he raised his voice into a shout and put actual words to his protests. Your ears were already ringing and you could feel your substantial patience — really, you were on a level with a Buddhist monk after two years living with this — beginning to shake.

“I mean, if I asked you to teach me how to swim would you chuck me into the ocean on the first day?”

You forced your focus down on his other foot, getting the polish smooth and perfect with each stroke. He had gone quiet after his question to you and you bit down on your lip as you carefully pondered the words he was saying. The last thing you wanted was to make him so uncomfortable he was unable to go about his daily life. You didn't need this project to become a source of heartache for the man.

You were not an unreasonable person. Perhaps this really had been too big of a step for him to take without having even practiced under the careful instruction of a teacher.

He’d waited in silence for you to answer for only a few seconds and when you didn’t; because you were thinking about it, dammit, he threw his whole head back and his mouth opened up and he wailed into the ceiling above his head at an even more annoying volume than you thought was possible. This was new and shocking. It was deafening. Surely the neighbors would think someone was being butchered in here.

The awful sounds were coming straight from his diaphragm. The man had power in those pipes and he was going to destroy your ear drums in order to get his way. It went on and on, changing from a moaning, groaning large-dog-with-a-bellyache sound into what you imagined it might sound like inside of an echo chamber trapped with a big sad whale, the biggest ones they made, who also happened to be on fire. He was giving you everything he had now. This was full volume and it was horrible.

“Alright!” You shouted over the wretched screaming, “Alright fine! For the love of God, Baekhyun!” You said for emphasis and the incredible relief of silence flooded and cleansed your ear drums that still vibrated from the after effects of all of that noise.

He lifted his head and closed up his mouth instantly and his eyes were wide as he cautiously watched and waited for what you would say next.

“Do you want me to teach you? Do you think you can practice with me so you learn how to do it before you have to do it for real, on your own? That’s what you mean right? You want more instruction before I throw your ass into the ocean?”

His lips were situated down into a fierce pout now and he nodded his head twice; a big ol’ up and down.

You were irked now. No amount of pathetic pouting on that face could pull you back from the edge. Even the slow careful nod of his head was just an obvious attempt at winning you over with cuteness. Well, it wouldn't work. If anyone was capable of annoying someone to death, it was this man right here and he came very close just now.

“New assignment,” you said with your finger raised and he pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth and pushed his top lip forward as he inflated his cheeks into round balloons. He sat up straighter and he waited for you to speak.

“Since I am a woman,” you began with your finger still raised and waving in his direction. His eyes glanced down at it, “you may ask me out on a date, for practice. And if I say yes, we will then—”

Your pointed finger was joined by your whole hand as you opened it up and you waved it through the air twice, a visual representation of cause and effect of such a situation. His eyeballs followed every movement you made, looking at the hand that moved instead of at you, the actual speaker.

His eyes popped up into yours when he registered the words you were saying; the requirements of his new assignment.

“...we will then — well, we will..”

Your words were sticking. He was listening very closely and he’d released the air trapped in his mouth and his lips now hung open as his eyes occasionally followed the waving of your hand in front of his face. It was silly how shifty his focus was when your hand moved in front of him.

“We...will…” he said and his face moved, mirroring the movements of your hand as he tried best to understand the new task you were trying so hard to assign to him, even repeating your words to help you get the next ones out.

“We will go on a date. A real one. A practice date. You will have to take me on a date, Baekhyun. You’ll just have to .. do your best at it.”

“A date? I’ll have to,” he said with a flinching, squinting blink of his eyes, “...do my best?”

“Yes, of course,” you said as you pointed your finger at him again, pulling a swift but deep gasp into your lungs to fight the dizziness you could feel building inside your head, “It’s an assignment. Like school. I will give you a grade on how well you do. If you fail, then it’s over and I’m a terrible teacher and clearly your problems are beyond my area of expertise.”

His polish was dry. This conversation needed to be over because you were weirdly agitated by the wide eyed, deer in the headlights expression stuck on his face.

“I’ll send you some study materials later. You better take this seriously, Byun Baekhyun. This is a real assignment from your real dating teacher.”

The entire situation made you anxious. The desire to flee was very strong. You needed a getaway and you needed it now. You felt a tremble inside that could only be attributed to just how freaked out he had been acting. It was rubbing off on you.

You wanted to make a quick escape but you were now fighting with the many bottles of nail polish scattered across the coffee table; you’d gone through so many of them as you decided on which color to use — they really were just numerous and just everywhere. You grasped at them, trying to grab huge handfuls at one time but your hands couldn't hold as many as you wanted and each attempt sent a bottle or two clattering noisily to the table below. It was really ruining the dramatically cool exit you were trying for.

After quite a bit of noise you felt the warmth of Baekhyun’s arm as he leaned against you and began to help you pick up the bottles; carefully placing each in it’s designated spot in your huge nail polish organizer.

It took a bit of effort for you to turn to look at him and when his fingertips carefully placed the final bottle in the case you clicked the lid closed and finally managed to face him.

His eyes were flighty. His face was flushed and when he met your eyes the smile on his lips was very tense. It looked like a grimace.

You had to be insane to be doing this. Willingly putting yourself into a situation like this with him, a situation that was for instructional purposes only, but a situation nonetheless. Your heart was racing inside of your chest and you briefly wondered if he could hear it with him sitting so close to you.

You swallowed it away, the nerves or the uncertainty or whatever it was that had taken hold of your hands and made them unstable and you turned to look into his face head on.

“Do you understand the assignment?”

Baekhyun filled his lungs with air and straightened his shoulders, pulling them back as his eyes closed up. You recognized the self calming behavior. When he turned to look at you he held a new determination in his eyes and he nodded his head and furrowed his eyebrows.

“I was always a good student,” he said, “I will do my best with this assignment. I’ll take it seriously, so I can learn from you well.”

You reached forward and patted the back of his hand lightly and offered a reassuring smile.

“Don't be too nervous, okay? Remember it’s for class so you should learn from it. Mistakes are natural and they help us grow. And you won’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I mean it.”

He swallowed and his lips flattened out into a thin line across his face. His head bobbed up and down and he hummed out a response that told you that yes, he did know what was expected of him for the sake of the lesson; for the sake of his future as an adult man who was entering the dating pool in search of the companionship of some lucky lady.

“Also remember, it’s just me. No pressure. Okay, Peanut? I’m here to help you. You could spill an entire cup of iced tea down my dress at dinner and I would still forgive you.”

“No pressure,” he repeated under his breath and when you were finally satisfied that he really understood, you stood, hefting your manicure supplies up with both hands and you stepped away from the living room to return them to your bathroom.

“Do I have a deadline?” He called after you and you turned back with your hand on the doorknob to your room, quietly amused by the seriousness you saw on his face. At the same time, proud of what a good student he was. He was a smart boy, he would do well in anything he was determined to do.

“Ask me out by tomorrow or else Ben might beat you to it.”

You figured a little sense of competition couldn't hurt. And yes, you were still actually speaking regularly with Ben. You were pleasantly surprised with how smart and how funny he turned out to be and he turned out to be a pretty good distraction for the evenings when you’d normally be bored and hanging around in Baekhyun’s room while he played some game on his PC and he’s toss you a remote for the screen that hung up on the wall above his head. You’d play music videos, or cooking videos from YouTube, or some drama or variety shows and he’d play his games and lean far back in his chair watching the screen when exciting things happened on screen.

A few times lately though, when you went into his room you’d find him watching some anime and you just knew he’d want to pay close attention so he could discuss it later with Mia. You’d much rather find someone to entertain you alone so you didn’t have to be ignored or shushed when you interrupted his anime with some stupid question about it, like who is that guy with the crazy eyes and why is he trying to kill everybody. Ben’s conversations were good enough to keep you occupied at least a little bit.

Back in your bedroom you got to work searching for materials for Baekhyun to study. Mostly using helpful YouTube videos with titles such as “how to ask a girl out”, “what to talk about on a first date” and a super helpful online book you found called The Gentleman’s Guide: How to be the Perfect Date. It was just a little outdated with the styles but the book was extensive and ran the gamut from hygiene to manners to confidence and conversation; it even had an entire section called The Art of Subtle Seduction and it made you just a little embarrassed to think of Baekhyun reading this part. He was an adult. He could handle this much. The Dos and Don'ts of a First Date section alone was worth the price you paid for the book.

You wrote up an email with your course materials and sent it off to the man.

Then you sat and waited alone in your bedroom until your level of boredom that in any other situation would be unremarkable, when combined with the built up anticipation inside of you, mixed into a perfect storm of swirling lunacy that was bouncing around inside of you; trying to break free and wreak havoc on something other than your chest walls.

You grabbed your cell phone, slipped by the 2 waiting text messages from Ben that you would absolutely get to later, and opened a new text message to Baekhyun.

‘peanut did you get my email ^^?’

You were sure he did. Of course he did. You wondered if there was anything he found lacking in the pages and pages of super helpful information you sent him. You wondered what he thought about it all and maybe if he needed some guidance or suggestions on how to proceed with the first step of his assignment. Did he need you to come over to his bedroom and watch the videos with him? Would that be too awkward?

Your phone vibrated.

‘yep’

He would ask for help if he needed it, you were certain. He would be fine. This wasn’t real anyway. It wasn’t like there was an actual deadline, not really. You enjoyed talking with Ben but it didn’t seem like he was close to asking you out yet. He had been a bit busy lately and you had been busy as well with work and with helping Baekhyun.

You’d seen from the notification preview on your phone that Ben’s last two messages were asking you something that would take a while to explain and you didn’t want to open them yet in case he’d been expecting you to reply quickly. You needed a bit more time to come up with an answer for the questions he had casually asked about your roommate. You’d tell Ben that Baekhyun was, yes, a guy. And no, it wasn’t awkward living with a man.

You’d get to all that later. Now, you were entirely too keyed up about a problem of your very own creation.

When.

But really...

When?

You could not relax. Because honestly it could happen at any moment. He could come barging into your room, plop his ass down unceremoniously on your bed and say “Hey Doll, hows about you and me go on a hot date this weekend, what about it? Nyeeahhh?” Like some sort of 1940s gangster. You could definitely see Baekhyun doing this accent. You were pretty sure he had a 40s gangster hat in his closet.

You’d decided that you wouldn't give him a hard time about how he asked you. You’d accept right away for the sake of his nerves, if he worked up the courage to ask you at all, then he was on the right track and he deserved an E for effort.

You still had trouble with the anticipation. Not knowing when was the hardest part to handle. You tried your very best to go about your day in as normal a way possible. Sure, you jumped every time you heard a sound, but other than that, it felt like any other day.

He spent the rest of the evening in his room and didn't even come out until you heard the doorbell ring. You peaked your head out of your bedroom door and waited for him to answer it but after a few minutes with no sight of him you stepped out. The doorbell rang a second time and you rushed from your room to answer it before the visitor gave up.

It could have been something important. This building had a doorman so it was usually someone who had a purpose ringing the bell.

The view through the camera monitor showed a run of the mill pizza delivery man, and you remembered that it was Baekhyun’s turn to make dinner tonight. He must have ordered you a pizza so he could hide in his room all night and not have to worry about walking around you in the kitchen and not asking you out on a date.

This was his way of avoiding you for the night.

You had to swallow down the flash of silly disappointment that popped up. You’d assumed correctly that he had already paid for the pizza and you received your cardboard box of loneliness with a polite smile for the weirdly cheerful delivery kid.

You gave a quick glance at the label in the front of the box to check for forbidden toppings just in case he’d forgotten who he was avoiding tonight and put something weird on it like corn and mayo or hot peppers.  

The label had four lines of ingredients listed, the first said ‘xtra cheese’ and each additional one after that said ‘xtra cheese.’ Nothing else, just ‘xtra cheese’ listed four times in succession.

What in the world?

You briefly considered a malfunction of the pizza shop’s label maker, but boy was this thing heavy. Did he sneeze while selecting toppings and accidentally hit the option four times?

You set the monster down on the counter and lifted the lid. It was steaming hot despite the trip in the car and up the elevators to your door and as soon as you opened it you noticed the odd appearance of the inside lid.

There was a message handwritten with black marker inside of the lid.

Your stomach leapt up into your throat as you recognized what this was. The message started with the word Bug.

You had to cover your mouth to get through this.

Bug,

I know this is really, really, really, really cheesy, but will you go out on a date with me this Saturday?

Knock thrice on my door for yes.

-Peanut

P.S. Did I beat Ben?

You had to hang your head to contain it. You wanted to scream. Giggles actually burst out of your mouth before you could stop them. You were highly amused. Actually reallly fucking impressed and goddammit you felt a genuine flutter of butterflies inside of your stomach. How was he this clever? He had always been very silly and good at thinking of the most ridiculous scenarios to get things done, but wow. When you lifted the lid once more to read his message again your mind spun with the logistics of that man in that bedroom sneakily ordering this thing from a real pizza shop that was probably a block from your home.

Did he call them and explain the situation? Did all of the employees gather around, chanting ‘More cheese! Give the man more cheese!’ As they loaded this pizza up with what looked to be a full inch of melted cheese on top? It compromised the edges of the crust and flowed over the cardboard below. It was absolutely ridiculous and nearly inedible too.

Did they giggle at the pet names you called each other as they selected the employee with the best handwriting to relay his message?

You were buzzing again. This time it was pride. He was brilliant at everything he put his mind to and this was clearly no exception. He would do so well in his life.

You left the kitchen and made your way toward his closed bedroom door. As you came close you heard a very soft thud; wooden door hitting wooden door frame. The movement was hardly noticeable but you could see a slow turn of the doorknob too. He probably thought he was sneaky.

You lifted your closed fist and quietly hit three times against his door and after exactly ten seconds you heard the squeak of his doorknob turning and his bedroom door opened up an inch.

You saw a single brown eyeball peeping at you through the opening.

“I’ll text you the details later,” he whispered and the door closed up again before you could respond.

The details came by text message a day later, just as he promised. It was a Thursday afternoon when your phone buzzed and you’d just put the final touches on your data entry work for the day, running it through a spell checker for mistakes as you always did. You’d expected to hear from Ben by now, he said he had something to go straighten out at the bank. He’d taken it well, finding out that your roommate was a man around your age, and he didn’t even ask too many prodding questions about him.

The message was from Baekhyun with the time he would ‘arrive’ to pick you up on Saturday and he gave you sparse details about what he actually had planned; just a quick note at the end that he would be wearing a suit. You figured this was a hint for you to dress up as well.

Was Baekhyun taking you some place fancy? Your curiosity was positively burning and Baekhyun had been acting super weird around you lately.

Whenever you’d come into a room he was already occupying he would make up some excuse why he had to leave it and vanish inside his room to carry on with his highly secretive behavior. Whenever you went into his room he would spin in his chair toward the door with what you were positive was a caught red handed look on his face. It was like you had just caught him watching porn, only you’d caught glimpses of his screen before he quickly hit a keyboard command to clear out the screen and you didn't see a single boob.

After the first time, you’d made it a point to barge into his room often, just to see the surprised look on his face; you did it all for that gasp of air, the frantic fingers of panic on the keyboard, and the trembling hand over his chest as he clutched his pearls. All you caught flashes of were just regular looking websites. Regular text and regular pictures. You saw some blues, you saw some greens. You definitely didn't see the incriminating black and yellow theme of everyone’s favorite adult website. There was nary a penetrative moan to be heard through his speakers. The entire thing brought you great joy. The man was acting so odd and honestly he was getting your hopes up for a fantastically mind blowing date on Saturday. You’d already picked out your dress, heels, and jewelry and had been having a very hard time tolerating the ever so tedious passage of time.

By the time Saturday rolled around you were a wreck of nerves; though you weren’t exactly sure why you were so anxious. It was probably his recent fretting and obsessive preparations that had rubbed off on you. You’d decided to take it easier on him today. He’d obviously been working very hard on this assignment once given the dangling carrot of a good grade to be awarded at the end and if there was one thing you knew about Baekhyun, it was how much he strived to achieve perfection in his academic performance. You’d provided the materials. He’d obviously been studying and go-time was quickly approaching.

You took your time getting ready, soaking in your bathtub to kill some of the dull waiting hours before he was due to pick you up. By the time you were scrubbed, rinsed, shaved, moisturized, plucked, preened, coiffed, and scented to your satisfaction, you had only a half an hour to slip up the straps on the fancy fitted cocktail dress and check your reflection in the full length mirror. It was fitted and had a deep plunging neckline. It accentuated the best parts of your figure and the high slit that landed over your upper thigh showed just enough skin to make you feel sexy.

With your heels you were ready to go; feeling about as pretty as you had in a long while. The silliest little fantasy swam through your head as you spun in front of the mirror and it brought just a little warmth to your cheeks as you allowed it to play out. The idea that he would find you so lovely, so irresistible, that even the iron willed man with his self control like a steel trap would lose himself in the slow blinks of your lashes and drown in the pools of your eyes for just one night.

When you lightly slapped a palm over your cheek, it was to ground yourself. This was fake. Everything that happened tonight would be the result of careful calculations and applications of behaviors modeled in text books that he had studied all week long. It was a date with Baekhyun, but it wouldn't really be an accurate representation of the Baekhyun that you know so well.

You knew he would follow a script. He would perform as a perfect gentleman and you would play along, knowing that when he brought you home you would get a gentle hug and a thanks for sharing your knowledge with him and you would close your bedroom door and he would return to his bedroom door and life as you know it would simply fall back into place as it should remain unchanged for however long it took for you to get back on your feet, perhaps get a place of your own not too far away from him; although this neighborhood was very expensive, you’d settle for one or two subways stops away if it meant you could visit your best friend often and see him living out the life he deserved with someone who was worthy of his love.

Tonight, you will enjoy. But you would not allow your emotions to betray your rational mind. You would enjoy it and then it would be over and Baekhyun would have the skill set to ask out Mia, or whoever else he set his mind on asking out.

Your quiet self assurance was interrupted by two soft knocks on your bedroom door and your hands were trembling as you grabbed your handbag that had your cell phone, a tube of lipstick for touch-ups and a few just in case items you were always taught to carry with you, you know, just in case.

You’d reached the door and swung it open with a beaming smile on your face.

Your date was here. Baekhyun was here. It was Peanut.

A smile that quickly transformed into what you were sure was a gaping opening in your face resembling some aquatic animal and you found yourself gazing upon, frankly, an expertly styled exquisitely handsome real life man, who was wearing Byun Baekhyun’s face and smile.

Despite seeing him standing before you with your own two eyes, your brain was having trouble reconciling the two; your harmless roommate and the man who stood before you wearing a crisp suit jacket that he filled out shockingly well, a fashionable collarless dress shirt that looked like it came from some fancy boutique from downtown, fitted dress slacks that you tried your best not to linger on for too long, and were his shoes Italian? You were pretty sure they were Italian. More than just the clothes, his hair was different. He’d gone and had something done to his hair! Lord, you saw slight waves and a deliberate styling by an expert hand with just a bit of his forehead visible. Oh he looked so lovely with this hair style.

You remembered to close your mouth, but only after the realization dawning on you that he hadn’t said anything to you as you silently admired how beautiful he looked standing in his fancy suit looking like at least a million bucks.

You knew...you knew he was an attractive man. You’d have plenty of glimpses of it again and again, freshly reminded of it during that photo shoot late that night. You’d even known he worked out and had had plenty of chances to ogle the muscles on his arms and chest when he just woke up and would wander out shirtless for a drink of water. You knew that the entire shape of this man was the kind of handsome that you had to make conscious decisions to ignore. You’d forced yourself to look away plenty of times in the past. Still, the Baekhyun who stood here today, the one who had his lips parted as he stared into your eyes now after what you were certain was a head to toe, slow as hell, full body appreciation of all of your preparations to get ready for tonight, this Baekhyun was, for lack of a better word, he was sexy as all hell.

For the first time since you began this project; these lessons in dating, you felt like you might actually be in some sort of trouble.

Baekhyun spoke at last and it was the softest whisper. He said your name. Not Bug, not stupid or dummy or stinky which he called you sometimes even though you knew, you fucking knew you always smelled amazing. You went out of your way to smell great. The sound of your name on his voice softened the shock in your face and you felt a smile pull at your lips.

And so you smiled at him and watched the slow but complete smile that manifested on his pretty face.  

“Hi,” he said with a blink of his bright eyes.

“Hi Baek,” you said. Your heart was racing.

He pivoted on his (Italian!) shoes and extended a bent elbow toward you and you slipped a hand around his arm.

He was doing so well. Each step you took through your shared home felt new. You had a hard time keeping from watching the side of his face and each glance you made was greeted with the light touch of his eyes as he met your eyes with his own.

Moments blurred. He ticked all the boxes, of course. He opened your door, closed it quietly behind you once you were inside. Even helped you with the seatbelt, much to the dismay of your racing heartbeat when he reached over to pull the red strap across you, careful to keep his hands well away from touching any of your actual body as he did it. The true devastation hit you when, all closed up inside the dark car in the silent moments before he started the engine and the intoxicating smell of him reached your nose.

This was a new smell. Baekhyun had gone to the salon, gone shopping for expensive new clothes, and was also wearing what had to be the best smelling cologne you had ever experienced in person.

“You smell really good,” you said without looking at him and your fingers fidgeted with the strap of your handbag to keep your mind working.

“So do you,” he said followed by an inhale that you were certain sounded just a little thready and he was steering the car through lanes and turns of a parking garage to exit the building.

His destination was the kind of fancy dream-like restaurant that you saw only in movies. The sun would be setting soon and you were led to a rooftop terrace with a view over the city and a single table set for two. You followed the pleasantly clean woman and lingering just behind you, Baekhyun silently fell behind one or two steps. A glance behind woke him up from whatever daze he’d fallen into and he closed the distance with two larger steps and a shy smile on his lips.

The waitstaff worked like ninjas. Glasses were refilled as if by magic and course after course of delicious food appeared before you as you watched the sunset over the horizon and when the light faded enough, the soft glow of twinkle lights illuminated the view around you.

The dinner was delicious and the scenery was breathtaking and that alone would have given him full marks for such a lovely evening out, but Byun Baekhyun was proving to be an overachiever as he started to talk to you. He was asking you open-ended questions, pulling conversation easily from you and you found yourself giggling and laughing as he joked in response or told you some funny anecdotes from his childhood that he knew you would love.

By the time dessert arrived you were pretty certain you were drunk despite half of the wine that remained back in your glass. Baekhyun, ever the stickler for vehicle safety had stuck to soft drinks and when he excused himself for the restrooms, you waited patiently under the glowing lights as you daydreamed about the genuine brightness you were certain you saw in his smiles. Had the twinkle in his eyes been just a reflection of this place? Everything about him tonight felt so real. You’d read through the same book he read through and you couldn’t recall him using a single recycled phrase or conversation point during dinner.

Maybe he was just that good of a student.

A noise startled you from behind and you jumped when a single red rose was laid on the table in front of you.

A rose. Baekhyun had brought you back a rose from somewhere; maybe he stole it from the elaborate flower arrangements you passed on the way in.

“Where did you get this?” You mused as you smelled his sweet offering and he shrugged and tugged at the top button of his shirt, undoing it and slipping slim fingers down to undo the second button as well. Your eyes watched the action and weirdly the fragrance from the rose smelled sweeter than the first time you smelled it.

“I just had it,” he said cryptically with another charming and blinding smile.  

“Ready to go? We have one more place to visit.”

The next place he took you was even more magical than the fancy restaurant. The parking lot was nearly empty and when he opened your door he was fussing around with a small bag in the backseat of his car.  He pulled out a pair of black ballet flats and you watched in awe as the man actually kneeled down on the pavement in front of you to carefully slip your heels off of your feet and slip on the comfortable shoes.  

While they did not look anywhere near as sexy as the heels did, you instantly understood the need for a change.

Baekhyun had brought you to an aquarium with what looked like miles and miles of indoor and outdoor paths to walk through with tunnels traveling through the biggest tanks of aquatic sea life you’d ever seen.

You were instantly hypnotized by the deep sea exhibits that seemed to take you for miles and miles below the surface of the ocean where the sea life grew weirder and the lighting grew darker and dimmer the further down you traveled. Here at depths difficult to wrap your brain around the fish and sea creatures have adapted to freezing waters and a bleak existence without any light at all. Many had their own light sources. The bioluminescent exhibits sparkled and twinkled like the stars in the sky out in the country. You saw entire universes all around you.

Baekhyun was as enraptured as you were and spent his time carefully reading each exhibit’s information card out loud as he stared with his mouth open in awe at the different creatures. There were hundreds of different species of fishes, beautiful ones and downright creepy ugly things from the very bottom of the oceans; endangered species too; the sleepy eyes of the sea turtles were your favorites and the impressions Baekhyun made of their swimming faces made you cackle with laughter. Bright lights illuminated meters of corals of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and you honestly felt like you’d entered another planet when you both walked into the jellyfish halls.

They glowed and flowed, bounced and danced, and moved like a dream. You found yourself hypnotized as you stared at the biggest tank full of them for long enough for Baekhyun to make three circles around waiting for you to follow him out of this room so he could go see the sharks.  

You knew the sharks were coming. You’d had a look at the map. And while you didn't necessarily dislike them, their huge sizes and razor sharp teeth always gave you the heebie-jeebies. The jellies were just so comfortable to look at and so relaxing.

It took some coaxing from Baekhyun, and maybe even a little tiny push at the back of your shoulders to get your feet to move and you lingered a bit long in the dark hallway that connects the two exhibits.

You just felt that maybe, the sharks could wait just a little bit longer to meet you.

He’d noticed right away and you opened up your eyes that you’d closed up for a little relaxing session when you felt the tips of his fingers running along the palm of your hand.

He gripped lightly at first, and then shifted your hand within his and he began walking forward in that dark hallway with you trailing behind him.

Baekhyun touched you sometimes. This was something that he did, on occasion. During a scary movie when you’d jumped too many times, or when you both walked through a crowded place and he didn't want you to wander off, he would occasionally hold your hand.  This wasn’t something new to you.

However your heart was beating hard in your chest and the warmth of his hand coupled with the firmness with which he held you felt so damn nice you were having trouble focusing on anything else except for your own shallow breathing and racing heartbeat — and his hand holding yours.

Sharks swam at a gentle languid pace. Clearly at ease and very well fed here in their homes, there didn't seem to be very much murder and feasting happening at all. Hammerheads, tiger sharks, something uglier than any other creature you had ever seen that came from The Midnight Zone of the deepest parts and with each creature that swam overhead, or beside you, or creeped up from somewhere behind you, Baekhyun would turn to face you and take two or three steps backwards as he pulled you through it, your hand held securely inside of his. He would smile at you that debilitating smile, and tilt his head and call you a scary cat or a big baby and you would laugh and roll your eyes and deny that you were even a little bit scared of anything at all.

All was going well. You were very well taken care of and felt very secure inside this tiny tunnel at the bottom fo the ocean and you’d noticed this time when Baekhyun had turned around to look at you with a bright smile that smile wavered just a touch and his eyes seemed to focus on something that was coming up from behind.

Your curiosity got the better of you and you turned to see what he saw.

Baekhyun moved quickly then, moving both of his hands up to reach for your face he pulled your head forward and moved his own face close to yours. You felt the warmth of his forehead lean against yours for a moment and you could not see around or behind you with his hands placed so carefully on the sides of your head like this.

You knew what it was. It had to be something huge and terrifying, maybe even something with fresh blood still on it’s teeth. A Great White. The giant monster from the movie Jaws that you had watched with him once not realizing just how scary it would be and you spent most of the film curled up under his arm wincing at the horrors you saw on the screen.

“Hey Peanut,” you said softly while looking up close into his eyes. He was so close you could feel the warmth of his breath on your face. His smell, that new smell of his smelled even better this close to his skin.

“Hey LoveBug,” he said with a gentle smile and you knew based on the use of this carefully reserved nickname for emergencies that it was exactly as you had feared. A Great White, chomping on the remains of the cutest crying baby penguin. The fluffiest one with its whole life ahead of it.

Baekhyun was safe though. Baekhyun was warm and he was here to protect you. You would be okay, you knew it.

“Is it gone yet?” You asked after what felt like the average time for a fish that size to swim away and you noticed something. It was a look, just a glance. Baekhyun’s eyes floated a bit and the warm breath you felt coming from him was delivered in quicker puffs through his parted lips.

When he licked his lips, you could not help it, your eyes caught the motion as his tongue ran over his bottom lip and left wetness behind and by the time you realized what you had done — where you had looked — you had already done it, your stubborn eyes had already looked and in your mind a vivid replay was happening. You felt too much. This was too much. This was supposed to be fake. Why did he have to smell so fucking good and why was he so aware of every tiny detail about you he knew when something would overwhelm you and ruin your mood, so he used his own body to shield you from it and protect you. You cautiously pulled your eyes back up only to find him blinking too fast and he was dropping his hands from your face as he took a step back and away from the stifling closeness.

You were dizzy. You felt it all over. Your heart was racing and the warmth you felt traveling through your body sent waves through you. You had to rub lightly over your forearms to smooth out the goosebumps and Baekhyun was no longer facing you, but was staring off into the literal depths of the cold black ocean and you took a while to recover enough to walk by him toward the exit of the aquarium and back into the darkened city streets you knew as the real world.

The walk back to the car was quiet and had an odd flavor about it. You both could feel the end coming. It had been a wonderful date. You’d spent hours, just the two of you talking and laughing and exploring literally new worlds you hadn’t before experienced. You felt a sudden but definite melancholy to see the fancy circles that made up the logo of his car.  

“Hey, you want to take a walk?” Baekhyun’s voice halted your steps and you turned back to see him standing with a hand in his pocket, fidgeting in hidden, likely with the key fob to his car, and a new sort of nervous flush on his cheeks that you hadn’t seen since he first showed up at your bedroom door looking like a dashing Prince Charming ready to sweep you off your feet.

“Sure,” you said, meaning every bit of it and secretly extremely thankful that this evening wasn’t over yet.

The walk was peaceful. It was a bit chilly tonight and you didn’t even resist when you felt the warmth of the coat jacket he placed over your shoulders. You thought you’d become used to the smell of him by now, but clearly you were incapable of ever getting used to his smell.

The streets were mostly empty now that the night had grown stale and you walked side by side passing various touristy shops that had long since closed up for the evening. Ahead you could see a small street side cafe that sold warm teas and coffees and Baekhyun was pulling out his wallet before you even had the chance to look at him with hopeful delight all over your face. He ordered two hot coffees and you danced and celebrated when he handed the first one to you.

It warmed you from the inside and you paid no mind to the smudges of lipstick all over the white lid of your cup. The hot drink made you happy and you could see your breath like a dragon in the chilly night air around you. Each puff made Baekhyun smile and when he’d taken a particularly big drink from his cup he pulled his head back and puffed out three perfectly formed rings of warm air into the color air above his head. The rings grew and then faded quickly but you were so excited to see his trick that you made him do it again and again until he was puffing and out of breath  and laughing too much for any more cool rings to form. This man was full of secrets. Absolutely full of them!

The night was winding on. You could feel the lateness in your limbs and you’d long since finished your drinks and dropped your paper cups into a street side trash can. Your feet, you found were protesting. It wasn’t that they ached or hurt or anything like that. You weren't even that tired. You were just having trouble with the idea of this ending and the night being over.

Everything had to end eventually. You didn't even pout at all when he pulled open your door. You just climbed in and sat down, fastening your own seatbelt this time with a sense of finality looming in your mind along with a wagging finger that quietly scolded you for letting your guard down during this date.

The drive back home was quiet. He didn't even turn on the radio and even though he drove with one hand, he held his other hand firm atop his thigh.

The small touches and stolen glances were over. The date was over. He had done very well. You were thoroughly swept off your feet and his grade would be an A+. You would go back to your room and go to sleep and tomorrow morning when you woke up you’d find him back to his usual antics and maybe, maybe you’d even get him to ask Mia out on a date.

You swallowed the dryness in your throat and the familiar landmarks outside your apartment building called you back home. Baekhyun pulled into the parking garage and you did not wait for him to round the hood of the car to reach your door, you simply opened it yourself and pushed through it.

Baekhyun did well. You had given him a task and he’d done it. He deserved all the praise and recognition for a job well done. He’d taken it seriously just as he said he would. This dark mood that had suddenly come over you could not show. You shouldn’t do this to him.

You cared for him too much to ruin this sweet evening.

You loved him too much. This quiet secret usually echoed around inside of your heart and you winced to hear it peaking it’s way up into your running thoughts.

The apartment was dark and you walked through it easily, knowing exactly where you could walk without bumping into anything and he didn’t turn on any lights as he walked closely behind you. He hadn’t said anything to you on the drive home, nor did he speak right now as he walked you back to your bedroom door where he had picked you up.

You turned to face him now. You pushed a smile up to your lips and his face was mostly in the darkness, barely lit with the city lights from the window.  

“Thank you for a lovely evening, Baekhyun. It was perfect. You were perfect. Seriously, you are amazing.”

You leaned before he did and you felt the staggered response from his limbs as he wrapped both of his arms around your shoulders for the hug.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight,” he whispered against your ear and when you pulled out of the hug, your small smile was not returned. You could see enough of his face to see that he did not smile at you now.

Your hand was on your door and you turned and stepped inside, thankful that you had left your small table lamp on. The room was warm and inviting and you closed the door behind you with a soft click that sounded exactly like clapperboard snapped to signal the end of a movie scene. You could almost hear a director somewhere yelling cut. Everybody clapped for the job well done. All the actors could now go home. It was over.

Your shoes were off. You’d pulled off the earrings and had taken off your necklace and the delicate tennis bracelet’s clasp was so tiny you had to try a few times to get it open so you could take it off.

When you reached up to slip the strap of your dress off your shoulders a tiny sound interrupted you. It was almost like a knocking, but it was so soft you had to listen carefully to hear if it repeated again.

It did not, but you could not shake that feeling that it had happened and out of genuine curiosity you walked across your bedroom and pulled your bedroom door open.

Someone was there; Baekhyun was there, standing in nearly the exact same position as he had been, wearing the same clothes. The only difference was the sight mess to his hair and the definite pink shade you saw on his face even in the dim lighting from the windows.

“Peanut?” You couldn’t imagine what this was. He was finished. The assignment was finished and he had done perfectly, you’d said so already...but, his eyes. You caught that same look that you’d seen on him many times before. It was a look of hard determination that propelled him forward when he dove into some new and difficult project he had to master. If you had to give it a name, you’d call it his passion. The passion he had inside of him to do things right. To be perfect.

“I said I would take it seriously,” he said in a well controlled voice and you shook your head, not understanding what he meant. Did he have some regrets about how the night went? Did he feel that he had somehow failed to live up to the requirements you’d set forth for him as his teacher?

“The date, I told you I would.” He wasn't clarifying anything with his words.

It was then that he moved.

His hands were up and Baekhyun took a step closer to where you stood confused and surprised at the threshold of your bedroom door. He reached for you with both hands and you felt the warmth of his palms on your cheeks at the same time as you felt the exhale from his parted lips against your mouth. It happened in a single moment. His lips connected with yours and you gasped in a surprised breath. Baekhyun kissed you. His lips were on yours and he held your face tightly between both of his hands as he did it. This was it. This was his goodnight kiss at your front door. This was the end of the date.

You could just make out the ultra up close view of him, his fluffed up hair, the smoothness of his forehead, his eyes closed up tight and dark eyelashes spread over his cheeks and it was all a big blur and so you closed your eyes and your heart raged noisily inside of your chest with the sudden need you felt for this to happen.

Your own lips parted and you felt the tilt of his head as his bottom lip pushed out slipping perfectly between your own and you could not stop it. You could not control the tightness with which your hands clung to the cotton of his dress shirt and pulled him toward you. You could not contain the way his tongue brushed lightly against your own and the way you reacted to it. The light moan that escaped from your throat and bounced around inside of his mouth. The light draw you felt on your lip as he pulled lightly and sucked on your lip as he did it. The final pull was him pulling away.

He ended the kiss with a step backward and a drop of his hands from your face.

He had kissed you and you most definitely had kissed him back. The labored breathing you struggled to contain did nothing for the dizziness.  

“Goodnight,” he said with a roughness on his voice; plus the blown out look in his eyes was telling you of many forbidden things that he was running from now. Things that even he knew were a very bad idea.

This had been fake. This was supposed to be a lesson.

You stood at your doorway and watched him disappear into his bedroom and after standing frozen in your doorway you had no choice but to return to the quiet glowing comfort of your own bedroom and close your door too.

Your hands were shaking and you felt the trembling all over you as you looked around at the place you called home. The place you loved more than anything in the world except for maybe that man who was likely facing a very similar struggle behind his own closed bedroom door.

The only difference was just how much you had to lose if you gave in.

You loved him. You knew it deep down inside of your soul. It had been buried for so long deep in the frozen depths of your ocean that you thought it would never surface and consume you, yet now you knew you’d been a fool.

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5, Part 6

Tag list: @j-pping  @blahblahblah-boo  @his-mochi-cheeks  @amyeonzing@littleflowercrown13  @baekinmylife  @insta1010  @nana-banana  @f4ncyvelvet@bbhbeth  @totallynerdstuff  @byunbabybaek @maijinki @bbyunz@theclawofaraven @kingkushdealer  @uhobob

[anonymousfiction211]

Handcuffed together Chapter 4: ‘Mission plan’

Summary: Loki and you aren’t hancuffed together anymore, but that doesn’t mean he is ready to let you go. The team has a new mission and Loki is up to his own mischievous ways. 

Word count: 1.309

Warnings: Smut and dubious consent

A/N: When I first wrote this chapter, it didn’t save correctly. So, I had to rewrite. Hope you like it. Next chapter will come next wednesday!

Mission Plan You awoke in your bed, alone. After getting dressed, making sure to avoid anything that remotely looked like red, you went to the kitchen. ‘Enjoying your freedom?’ Natasha asked you when you answered. ‘Of course I am’ you replied. If only she knew… The two of you had breakfast together. When you were almost done Tony barged in ‘Conference room, 5 minutes’ he told you. You shrugged down the rest of your breakfast and walked with Natasha to the conference room. The whole team was already sitting there when you entered, including Loki. There were two seats available, one next to Loki and one next to Steve. To your luck Natasha beat you and you had no other choice than to sit beside Loki. He shot you an amused smile.

Tony started to talk about a rescue mission. Apparently Hydra had taken several civilians and were experimenting with powers, they didn’t understand. It was your job to rescue them and get intel about their research and plans. Steve took the lead once the whole team started to make a plan. Halfway through Tony and Steve were in a heated discussion. Tony wanted to focus on the research and Steve on the civilians. The two of them gave nobody space to interject, so everyone was just listening and making up their own mind. That’s when you felt a cold hand placed on your knee. You looked at Loki, but he looked straight ahead with a boring expression on his face. His hand trailed upwards and you were mentally cursing yourself for wearing a skirt today.

You grabbed his hand to stop. He halted his movements, but didn’t remove his hand from your thigh. He leaned slightly towards you ‘I’m going to make you come, it’s your choice if you want an audience or not’ he whispered threateningly. You swallowed at his words and felt his hand slide underneath yours. His fingers trailed upwards and were now slowly stroking your sex through your underwear. It was driving you crazy. You gave him a death glare, but he didn’t even look at you. What you hated more was how your body reacted to him. A part of you were really excited to have another mind-blowing orgasm because of his fingers.

He slid your underwear aside and you felt his fingers circling on your clit. You rolled your chair more forward, hoping no one would see what Loki was doing to you underneath the table. You opened your legs to give him better access and to create more friction. You were becoming wetter by the second. That’s when you noticed a smile he shot you, he really like teasing you and knew exactly what to do to get you there. ‘What do you think, (Y/N)?’ Steve said. You looked at him and noticed that the whole team’s attention was now on you. Loki used this to slip one finger inside of you. He halted his movements, but kept his finger deep inside of you. To be honest, you were so wrapped up in your pleasure that you hadn’t been paying attention to the discussion.

‘I think she would agree with me’ Loki said. The team now turned his attention to him, and you silently thanked him for it. ‘If we wanted to hear YOUR opinion, we would have asked’ Tony said irritated. ‘Let him speak, Tony’ Steve said. ‘I think we should split up and do both’ Loki told them. You could see the gears in Steve’s head turning ‘That could be a really good idea’ he mumbled. ‘Seriously, Steve.. you can’t really think that..’ Tony started to protest. But you couldn’t follow the rest of the discussion. Loki slipped another finger inside of you and was now pumping and curling until he found that spot within you. You felt your orgasm building. Your hand found his arm and you squeezed it hard, indicating you were close. ‘Please don’t stop’ you begged him. ‘As my lady commands’ he whispered back. You were doing everything in your power to keep yourself from moaning. ‘Come for me’ he whispered to you and your body obeyed him immediately.

He pumped slowly to get you down from your high. He retracted your fingers and slid your underwear back in place. Slowly his fingers trailed from your thigh down to your knee. He squeezed your knee, making you almost jump. You felt how wet his fingers were and how they left a small trail behind. Steve clapped in his hands and your head was down on earth again. You felt a blush on your cheeks when you realized what just had happened, or rather what you let happen. ‘So, everybody agrees then?’ when nobody protested the mission was planned. ‘Good, we leave after dinner’ Steve said. With that the team got up and left the conference room. You and Loki were the last two to get up and walk towards the exit. He grabbed your arm and you turned around. ‘You have no idea what you have to do’ he said. It wasn’t a question, more a statement. That’s when you realized that you really had no idea what was expected of you.

Loki guided you back to the conference table. He sat down, pulled you into his lap and opened up a map. You squirmed a bit in his lap, but he ignored it. He started to explain the whole mission to you. To your surprise he was patient and didn’t try anything. After he was done he asked ‘You got it?’

‘Yeah, thank you’ you answered him.

‘Good. Now, you have five seconds to bend over this table and lift up your skirt’ he said while letting go of you. A part of you really wanted to do that, but if you had a mission tonight you knew that you needed to be fit. And sex with Loki could be really exhausting. ‘One’ he said. You stood up, locked your gaze with his, but didn’t move. ‘Two’ he said with an amused smile on his face. ‘You know, I really have to be fit tonight’ you began to explain. ‘Three’ he said threateningly. ‘I can’t rescue people if I can’t walk’ you shrieked and ran towards the exit. Luckily, Loki didn’t follow you. You only heard him laugh out loud when you were in the hallway.

The rest of the day you did your best to avoid Loki and get ready for tonight. The whole team had dinner together. There was an empty seat beside Loki, but you grabbed a plate and squeezed yourself between Steve and Thor. He didn’t look happy about that, but you couldn’t really care. Your mind was busy remembering everything Loki had told you about the mission. After dinner you all made your way to the helicopter on the roof. Natasha and Clint offered to fly. You strapped yourself in and Thor sat down next to you. He was really excited for a battle and started to tell you stories about battles he had thought before. You found it difficult to pay attention with Loki’s gaze from the other side upon you. You swallowed hard and that’s when Thor cocked an eyebrow. His gaze went from yours to Loki and back. He stopped talking, and just stared at Loki. They stared for a long time at each other, then Thor looked away from his and focuses his gaze on the passing skyline. When Loki looked at you, your head began to pound and you hissed slightly You have a lot to make up for, when we’re back you heard his voice say in your mind. He then broke eye contact with you, and you were trying to realize what had happened.

Steve got up and went over the mission one more time. ‘We go in, in about 15 minutes. Everybody ready?’    

[her-world-on-fire]

Public Eye {Jason Todd x Reader}

MASTERLIST

REQUEST HERE

Word Count: 2,933    

A/N: Sorry I meant to have this out weeks ago, but I ended up rewriting it entirely. <3

Request:  Hi!!!!! I just started reading all your fics and i love them so much. if  it’s not too much to ask can you write one where jason and like a  rockstar or actress meet and have a thing, but hes not sure whether it  will work out because of how much attention she gets from the media?  Thank you so much and i hope you are doing well and staying safe❤️✨

JASON ADJUSTED the buttons of his shirt once more. His hands trailed to his collar bone, he undid another button. He hated wearing dress shirts. He knew Bruce would throw a fit if he didn’t. He had to try to blend in. He always hated going to these benefits. There was always a chance he could be recognized. That was the last thing he needed. Every time someone made eye contact with him, he tensed up. His face was scarred, there was no hiding it. His hands were calloused and full of cuts and bruises. He kept his hands crossed over his chest or inside the pockets of his slacks.

Bruce had asked him to come to his office, there was nothing good about that. He knocked on the door before entering. Bruce, Tim, Dick an Damien were already there. Each of them dressed for the occasion. Tim had finally ran a comb through his hair. Dick had shaved. Even Damian looked presentable. Bruce gave Jason a short nod. “I have assignments for each of you. We have several high profile targets all in one room.” Bruce was hosting his annual gala. He was raising money for charities by auctioning off several intricate gadgets produced by Lucius Fox. Some of the richest people in Gotham were to be in attendance.

“I’m giving you each a sector. I assigned tables with consideration. Make sure your guests stay where they are supposed to. Keep an eye on any suspicious guests.” The boys all nodded and Bruce showed a map on the screen. He had the room divided into 5 quadrants. He assigned the quadrants, “Tim sent the file to your phones. Do not loose your guests. They start arriving in 5 minutes. I suggest you get down there.”

The boys exited the room. All of them looking at their phones to see their guests. All but Jason. The last thing he wanted to do was babysit rich brats for the night. He knew most of them didn’t care about the charity. They were there to show off their money. They wanted the tech. Most of them were corrupt species of shit. They were born into old money and never worked a day in their life. A silver spoon in their mouth. They made him just as sick as the criminals he fought every night.

“Holy shit, look at Jason’s table.”

“Y/N and--” Jason didn’t hear the second name. He stopped in his tracks. He pulled out his phone, he had to be sure. He looked over the table. Y/N L/N. Dick looked back at Jason. The two boys went ahead. “Do you need me to talk to Bruce-” Jason shook his head. “It’s fine.”

“Well you don’t look fine.”

Y/N was a family friend. They grew up together and were very close. That was until Jason took on the role of Robin. He became obsessed. He spent all of his time training, and he neglected his friend. Y/N had moved away to pursue a career in music. He read about his childhood friend in the papers. 

Y/N donates 5 million for displaced youth.

The lists went on and on. Y/N wanted to help and make a difference. They spoke now and again when Y/N came back home. But they had been touring for the past 2 years.

He had never gotten a chance to formally apologize. He sighed. It was going to be a long night.

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

I opened the door, and the flashes of cameras bombarded me. It was difficult to navigate. The flashes were extremely bright, trying to capture any imperfection. I kept my head forward and walked quickly inside the building. I tried to get out of the benefit. I left a generous donation and planned on staying in for the night.

Bruce insisted I attend. I caved. I still had jet lag from the trip back. I had just left Spain after wrapping up a tour. I didn’t anticipate I would be flying back home. The door man helped me in. Reporters were hollering over each other like vultures. I thanked the man and he handed me a card. Table B3. I walked down the corridor, my eyes still adjusting to the light.

The walls were covered in intricate art. Bruce always had an appreciation for the arts. I decided to admire it as I braced myself for a long night. Most just walked right by, not even giving a glance at the art before them. I took a closer look and admired the seamless blend. I noticed at the top of the stairs there was a group of men. I recognized all three. Dick Grayson, the eldest of Bruce’s adopted children. Tim Drake, the 19 year CEO and second youngest son. And Jason Todd. His eyes had been fixed somewhere else. Dick nudged him, and his eyes met mine. He stood up straight.

I looked back at the art work. We hadn’t had a formal conversation on years. We had just made passing conversations. Nothing intricate.

“Hey.” Jason called, and I looked at the bottom of the stairs where he was standing. I approached him. “Hey.” I replied.

“I didn’t know you were going to be here.” I shrugged laughing a little, “I didn’t either. I was going to stay in but Bruce insisted I come. I couldn’t say no.” He chuckled. It was definitely something he would do. Jason was sure he had his reasons. But more importantly, he knew that Jason needed to resolve a few things.

“You look great.” He pointed out. I smiled, as I felt the blood rush to my face. “You’re not so bad yourself.” Jason paused. He looked like he was in deep thought. Just as he was about to say something, Bruce’s voice came over the intercom. He requested that everyone be seated. Jason extended his elbow, and escorted me to my table.

“You’re not going to sit here?”

“I would love to, but Bruce has us working.”

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

We were 3 hours in and I was just on my last legs. My chin rested on my hand. The man at my side had been trying to talk to me. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but the jet lag was really effecting me. I didn’t have a chance to acclimate to the new time zone. The alcohol didn’t help much either.

I smiley politely, “Excuse me.” I got up from the table and walked back to the entrance. I had stayed 3 hours, that had to be enough for Bruce. I moved into the bathroom. I sighed as I leaned against the sink. The lack of sleep was starting to show. I had a hectic schedule back in Spain. Early morning shoots that lasted until late hours of the night. Publicity events and meetings with managers. I wanted nothing more than to just be in my bed for the rest of the night.

I decided I was leaving. I didn’t call my personal driver. I didn’t want to bother him. He deserved a night off. I exited the bathroom and pulled out my phone. I looked up, and saw Jason. The door opening turned his head in my direction.

“Everything alright?” He asked. I nodded, “I just needed a break from that table.” I joked, he nodded a small chuckle coming from his lips.

“These just aren’t really for me. I was just about to head out. It was nice to see you again.” I moved to the stairs. The few drinks I had were starting to take effect. Or perhaps it was the lack of sleep, but the stairs looked wobbly. “Do you have a car coming for you?” He asked, and I turned back slowly. I looked at him and nodded slowly. Judging by the look in his eyes, not very convincingly. Somehow, he knew I was lying. “I could take you.”

I shook my head, “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

He walked over and raised an eyebrow, “I don’t think you should go out by yourself tonight.”

“I’m completely fine.” I turned to walk back down the stairs, and I hovered over the next step. I could feel myself loose balance. I left a strong arm pull me back. “What was that?”

I lost track of time. When I came to I was inside a car. I inhaled deeply and looked to my left. Jason looked over. “Look who’s awake.” I ran my hands through my hair. I could feel the headache in the back of my head starting to form. “I guess this isn’t how you imagined spending your night.” I looked over and he shook his head. “Those aren’t my thing either. You gave me an out.”

It brought a smile to my lips. I looked outside of the window. I had missed it. “Every time I come back, I forget how beautiful it is.” Jason turned to me, curiosity glimmered in his eyes. “What brought you back?”

“I have a project I need to oversee.” I tried to stay away. I had lived in a few different places, but none of them ever felt like home. I always found myself longing for Gotham’s skyline. Something just kept bringing me back.

We arrived not long after. I moved to get out by myself but Jason rushed to my side of the door. He helped me out. I leaned against him and held me up. I stumbled inside. “Do you think you can make it okay?” I nodded, and once again he saw right through it. He helped me up the stairs. “I’m so tired of all these goddamn stairs.” Jason laughed, he was handling this very well. He didn’t struggle supporting me against him. His breath didn’t falter as he walked up all the steps to my bedroom.

He opened the door and helped me sit on the bed. “I swear I’m not always like this. Jet lag and alcohol, but never again.” His blue eyes glimmered with fascination. “Get some sleep.”

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

I woke up to my head pounding. I began to regret those drinks.  When I looked at my phone I saw I had a missed call from Jason. I called back and he informed me I had left a few things in his car.

I arrived at Jason’s apartment. I tried my best to be as inconspicuous as possible. I came alone, and wore dark sunglasses and a baseball cap. Jason greeted me at his doorstep. I walked in and he closed the door behind me. I hadn’t seen any press. It seemed we were in the clear.

He invited me to sit down. “How’s that headache?” I laughed, “I’m hanging in. I’m not sure if I thanked you in my drunken haze. But thank you for getting me home last night, I really appreciate it.”

“It was nothing, really.”

A silence washed over us. All the unresolved feelings that had been festering for years, rose to the surface. Jason sat up. “Listen, I want to apologize-”

“Jason, it was ages ago. You have nothing to apologize for.” He shook his head. “But I do. I just disappeared, without any explanation. I’m sorry.”

In truth it broke my heart. My best friend was gone. I didn’t know if he was okay, or even where he was. But he didn’t know any better. He had the chance to live a better life, and he took that opportunity. It would be selfish to expect him not to. “I understand, really I do.”

He was the reason why I did so much outreach work. I saw firsthand how much he struggled after loosing his parents. “Actually, would you want to help me with this project?” He knitted his eyebrows together. “Tell me about it.”

I explained my ideas to him, and he was in.

We spent the next few months trying to get through all the red tape. With Bruce’s influence, it went a lot faster. As expected, we spent a lot of time together. I thought I was being careful. Until I woke up to frantic calls from my manager.

"Jason. I am so sorry.” The voice cried out, he immediately sat up recognizing this wasn’t Bruce. He leaned his back against his bed frame and rubbed his face. “Woah, what are you talking about?” He asked, completely in the dark about whatever was going on. He heard a sigh on the other end of the line. His heart rate sped up as he waited for the news in anticipation. “The papers, they took photos of us and they’re spinning some kind of narrative.”

The blood in his face drained. His eyes opened wide and he held the bridge of his nose in frustration. He was quiet as he tried to think. He got up from his bed and took his computer. He opened up his browser and started typing.

Y/N spotted with unidentified man, sources suggest they may be together

He clicked on the article. He could see the pictures of them. One from the night they met. He held onto Y/N as they walked up inside together. He continued to scroll down. A source had claimed they were “all over each other” since the benefit. He scowled, did they have nothing better to do then micromanage every aspect of someones life?

“I can arrange an interview and clear it up-”

“You don’t have to do that, it’s not your fault.” He sighed and slammed the computer shut. “We can talk about it later.” He briefly said goodbye and then hung up.

He tried to calm the unease he felt deep down. His worst fears beginning to come true. He was always cautious. He never took photographs like the rest of the family. He tried his best not to give his name out. But he threw every bit of common sense out of the way the moment he met Y/N. He used his real name. He had gotten his picture taken. All of his own rules he had adhered to for 2 years were broken in one night. He never looked back.

He was thirteen when he died. He spent 5 years training and operating in Gotham before Bruce found him. He had changed a lot since then. His adoption wasn’t as publicized as Dick’s was. Jason’s name had hardly even been mentioned in the papers. It was going to take a lot of detective work to try and piece everything together.

Who was going to believe that he came back from the dead?

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

As soon as I opened my door I was met by Jason. I planned on sneaking away and meeting him. It would be easier to get away then to hide in my own home. The press frequented the streets, everyone hoping to make the next headline. “Please, come in. I’m so sorry-”

“Do you want this?” He asked quickly. I blinked in shock as I tried to get an answer out. I knew exactly what he was asking. He wanted to know if I had feelings for him.

Growing up I always thought we were going to be inseparable. I took it hard after he left. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why. People will come and go, that’s just the way it is. I just never expected him to go because I loved him. And I thought he loved me too.

I tried hard to push away my feelings until they finally went away. But some nights, I laid awake thinking about what could’ve been. What if I told him how I felt, would he have stayed? My biggest regret was never telling him how I felt. Now he was standing in front of me asking if I had feelings for him.

But now, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. He hated being in the spotlight. but that was my entire life. Every move I made was put on public display. I traveled a lot, and my schedule was spastic. I would be in different times zones for months at a time.

Jason looked at me pleading. His blue eyes never broke contact with mine. “You don’t want to come in?” I offered, as I looked past him to assure there were no reporters. He stayed in place. I realized he wanted to answer here and now. I sighed, and closed my eyes.

“Of course I do, Jason.” I whispered. My eyes were still closed. I was too afraid to open them. What if I had just ruined everything? Jason placed his hands on either side of my face. I slowly opened my eyes.

“I do too.” He continued, “And I’m going to stop letting other people dictate how I live my life.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.

“We’re going to figure this out. I promise.” He whispered against my lips.

“Come on, we’re giving the neighbors a show.” I said, making Jason chuckle. I took his hand and we walked inside, ready to handle whatever came next.

[writingsforanyone]

Forgotten Fling 5/7

pairing: Y/N x Brett Talbot

warnings: blood, guns

A/N: here’s part 5! the last two parts will be coming out soon, so be on the lookout! i have also decided that i’m going to go back to part 1 and rewrite a few parts of it. i realized that there’s probably a few things that i need to clarify, and that it would best be done in part one. i’ll make a note on here whenever it’s updated!

+++++++++++++

You knew tonight was a full moon. Not only a full moon, but a supermoon. You had told Brett earlier in the day that he could call you if he needed anything, or if he just needed you to be there. He didn’t like to call you on nights like these, in the rare case that he wolfed out and hurt you. You had found out you were his anchor a while ago, right around the time you found out about the supernatural in the first place. Brett was very good at keeping himself in control, but every werewolf had their slips, and it didn’t help that today was a supermoon. That meant that Brett would become stronger, angrier, and have a much harder time controlling himself. 

The sun was setting, and you were in your room watching TV. You looked out your window at the moon that was already very visible in the salmon skyline. You were torn with yourself on whether or not you should go to Brett’s. He hadn’t called or texted you, but you knew he probably wouldn’t unless it was an emergency. You decided to send a simple text and ask how he was doing. When you still hadn’t gotten a text back 30 minutes later, you were growing very worried. As you were getting up to start putting your shoes on, you got a text from Lori.

Are you busy? 

Not at all, what’s up?

It’s Brett. The supermoon is effecting him really bad and he won’t calm down. He told me not to text you but I didn’t know what else to do

Hey, don’t worry. I’m on my way

Thank you. We’re in the shed out back

You finally put your shoes on and grabbed your stuff, running out of your house and into your car. You sped to Brett’s house, where he lived with Lori, Satomi, and a few other members of Satomi’s pack. When you got there, you headed around the house to the shed that was in the backyard. Satomi had the shed specifically for this reason, in case a member of her pack had trouble on a full moon. You walked in, not bothering to knock, and were shocked at what you saw. Lori was crouched in a corner, looking scared to death, Satomi had a cut across her cheek that was in the process of healing, and in the middle of the room was Brett, halfway chained to a pole. He had broken one of his arms out of the chains, and was pulling at the other restraint on his other arm. His claws, fangs, and eyes were all out and every prominent, but he wasn’t completely wolfed out, which you took as a good sign. You hesitantly made your way to the middle of the room, calling Brett’s name. At the sound of your voice, he looked up, and growled,

“Y/N? You shouldn’t be here.”

“When do I ever listen to what you tell me what to do?” you responded lightly, knowing that talking to him normally would help him focus on you.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he growled again. 

“And I don’t want you to hurt anyone else,” you said. At that, he pulled at the restraints again, growling. You slowly walked over to Satomi and asked her quietly,

“What’s wrong with him? He’s never been this bad.”

“I can’t say. I haven’t seen him struggle this much in a long time,” she responded.

“What can I do?” you asked.

“Get him to focus on you. It will make him human,” she told you. You nodded and slowly made your way over to Brett, standing just far enough to where he couldn’t reach you.

“Brett?” you said, “Can I ask you something?”

“What?” he said, louder than you were expecting.

“Why didn’t you want me to come out here tonight?”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, not as loudly as he had been a few seconds ago.

“That’s not the reason. I know you won’t hurt me. What’s the real reason?” you said. He seemed to hesitate as he thought about his answer, which was what you wanted him to do. You wanted him to think more on his answer instead of thinking about hurting you. 

“I don’t want you to be scared of me,” he finally said, no longer growling and sounding like his normal self. You heart broke slightly at his answer, but you tried not to let it show. You walked closer to him and placed your hands on his cheeks. You brushed some of the hair that had fallen onto his eyes away as you said,

“Sweetheart, I will never be scared of you. I know that you’re doing your best to stay in control, and if you were to hurt me, it wouldn’t be on purpose. You hear me? I will never be scared of you Brett.” At your words, you saw Brett’s fangs slowly retreat, and looked down to see his claws had also gone back to normal. His eyes were still yellow, but you knew he was calming down and regaining control. You stood on your tiptoes and kissed him slowly, and he kissed back immediately. When you pulled away, you saw that his yellow eyes were gone, and his beautiful green eyes sat in their place.

“Feel better?” you asked. Brett nodded, before you heard Satomi clear her throat behind you. You had almost forgotten that the Alpha and Lori were in the room because of how quiet they had been. 

“The connection between the two of you is remarkable,” Satomi said. You felt your cheeks flush, as did Brett’s, and then Satomi motioned for you to untie the remaining restraint that held Brett’s arm. When he was free, he walked over to Satomi and placed his hand on her cheek, where he had previously scratched her.

“I’m so sorry,” he said to her. She placed her hand over his and responded,

“I healed, and you’re in control now. That’s what matters.” Brett nodded before turning around, looking for Lori. She had stood up and had made her way to stand next to you. Brett moved to give his little sister a hug, and she hugged him tight. Finally, he turned to you and wrapped his arms around your waist in a hug. You reached up and snaked your arms around his neck, holding him tight.

“Thank you,” he whispered to you. You nodded in the crook of his neck before pulling away, the four of your walking out of the shed and towards the house. You stayed the night with Brett that night, holding him until he fell asleep, not wanting to be anywhere else.

You don’t know why you had been thinking about your most recent dream all day, but the reoccurring thought hadn’t left your mind since you woke up. The school day was now over, and you were trying to get some studying done in the library before the charity game tonight, but you couldn’t bring yourself to focus on anything except last night’s dream. After your last encounter at Sinema, you didn’t know where you and Brett stood. To make matters even more complicated, you knew Brett was going to be at the school tonight, considering that Beacon Hills was playing Devenford Prep. The pack was trying to get the game canceled, because of The Beast that had been lurking around recently. No one wanted to take the risk of playing the game and putting the entire town in danger. You knew even if the game was canceled, you would probably still end up seeing Brett tonight, but you had bigger problems to worry about than that right now.

“Y/N,” you heard from behind you. You turned to see Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Liam walking into the library, heading straight for your table. 

“Hey guys. What’s the plan for tonight?” you said as they all sat down around you. 

“Well, Mason said it’s not just a transmitted frequency. It’s high powered. Like it has to be a really strong signal,” Liam said.

“And that’s causing it to shift?” Lydia asked.

“No. I don’t think it’s just that. Last night, Argent said it’s getting smarter. What if the Dread Doctors are trying to make the Beast grow faster?” Scott said.

“With frequencies?” Stiles asked, to which Scott replied with,

“No, by shifting. The frequency is just the trigger. The important part is when it shifts into the werewolf.”

“Like Peter,” Lydia said.

“Right. Yeah, when Peter was an Alpha, he got stronger every full moon. Eventually, the burns healed and he was back to normal,” Scott confirmed. That’s when you butted in and said,

“So the Dread Doctors don’t want to wait for the full moon.”

“They want the Beast to be as strong as possible, as fast as possible.”

“Because of Parrish,” Liam said.

“So if this is happening tonight, what are we gonna do?” Lydia asked.

“Uh, we’ve got one clue to go on,” Stiles started as he pulled something out of his backpack,

“This came from the hospital. Whoever’s lurking inside the Beast is wearing a size 10 of indeterminate make.” Everyone looked down at the picture of the bloody shoe print before you said,

“Indeterminate?”

“Means it’s a partial print. Basically it was all we were able to get considering all the fire, blood, and carnage.” Stiles responded.

“How many size 10s are there?” Scott asked.

“Only one with Parrish’s blood on the sole,” Stiles said.

“So are we going to try to get the game cancelled?” Liam asked. 

“No, no. we’re going to play, but we’re just going to hope really hard that it doesn’t turn into a blood-soaked massacre,” Stiles answered, albeit sarcastically.

"Okay but, aren’t we kind of missing out a chance to catch this thing? We don’t have the ‘who,’ but we have the ‘where’ and the ‘when,’” Liam asked. Everyone paused and looked around at each other. Liam made a good point, but was it worth the risk? Scott seemed to be thinking the same thing, and said,

“There’s too many people.”

“And we still don’t actually know if it’s going to happen. It just might end up being a regular lacrosse game. It’s possible, right?” you asked, Lydia nodding in agreement.

“Well, uh, it’s possible,” Stiles said.

“So we’re still getting the game canceled?” Liam asked

“We’re getting the game cancelled,” Scott said confirming his question.

The five of you got up and headed out of the library in your own separate directions. You and Liam headed for your car so you could run to your house for a little bit. Liam needed to get his lacrosse gear and you wanted to change, and on the way home, Liam asked a weird question,

“So, are you going to talk to Brett tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, are you going to talk to him? You two seemed like you were getting along better a few weeks ago.”

“I don’t know Liam. I have no idea where we stand right now, I won’t even know what to say,” you said.

“Why don’t you start with ‘Hi’?” Liam asked.

“Since when are you the one giving me advice?” you said laughing. Liam laughed with you before saying,

“I’m serious. Talk to him.”

“Maybe.”

______________

A few hours later, you pulled back into the Beacon Hills High parking lot and parked in one of the only available spots left. Almost the entire town was here, and that made you nervous for what might happen. You and Liam got out and headed towards the field, where you saw Scott and Stiles getting out of the Jeep. You jogged over to met them, and saw that they were turned around looking at something in the distance. When you looked over, you saw that they were looking at the Devenford Prep charter bus, and more specifically, the player getting off of it. Brett. All of a sudden, the stadium lights all came on one by one, lighting up the entire field as if the sun was out and shining. You also saw the news vans scattered around the field. You made your way towards the school with the boys, to the classroom where you were meeting the others. When you arrived, you saw Kira, Malia, Corey, and Mason all sitting around a lab table in the chemistry classroom. Scott immediately jumped into the plan for the night and said,

“Mason, you know your part.”

“Corey and I break into the Devenford Bus and search their shoes,” he said nodding.

“I take out the TV vans,” Malia chimed in. 

“Right before the whistle, Coach forfeits the game,” Stiles said.

“The rest of us are looking for a size 10 with a bloody sole,” you said. 

“Just out of curiosity, what if it doesn’t work? What if we have to go up against this thing? I mean I hate to bring up back memories, but Scott’s still healing from what Theo did to him” Malia asked. 

“No he’s not,” Kira said.

“She’s right,” Scott confirmed. He pulled up his jersey to reveal a completely healed torso, with no signs that he had ever even been touched.

“It happened the night we got Lydia out of Eichen House. I healed. When we were all together again; when we were a pack.”

“The Beast doesn’t have a pack,” Liam said. 

“Not like us,” Scott said, looking around at everyone at the table, 

“We can do this guys. No one dies tonight.” You all nodded in agreement before heading out of the room to the field. Malia made her way towards the news vans, Mason and Corey headed towards the Devenford bus, and the rest of you walked towards the field. As you were able to head up the bleachers to find a seat, Scott stopped you.

“I talked to Brett earlier. He said Lori can help you search the bleachers for shoes.”

“Oh okay. You were with him?” you asked.

“Yeah only for a second when they got here. Lori should be somewhere around here,” Scott said.

“I’ll find her,” you said before making your way up the bleachers. You were able to get a better view of the field, and you saw the young werewolf walking around the field towards your side of the bleachers. You made your way down and over to her, where she greeted you with a hug. The two of you made small talk and caught up as you made your way back to the bleachers. Just as you were about to sit down, Stiles came running up to you and said,

“Coach isn’t forfeiting the game.”

“What?” you and Lori said at the same time. Stiles had run off by then, leaving you and Lori confused. You heard the whistle blow and turned your attention to the field where both teams were running out, and saw Brett and Scott squat in the middle of the field. Just like that, the game started, and you and Lori were able to get away without alerting anyone’s attention. You started walking under the bleachers searching all of the shoes for even the smallest speck of blood, and after 20 minutes of searching, nothing. Knowing that there was nothing else the two of you could do for the time being, you both sat back down for the third time that night and watched the game. 

You watched Kira score a goal, taking down half of the Devenford team in her path. She was playing very rough, and you were growing worried about what was going on. A few plays later, you watched Brett tackle her, and she fell to the ground. Immediately she was back on her feet, and swung her lacrosse stick, striking Brett on the head. You gasped as you shot down the bleachers. You watched his helmet fly off his head as he fell to the ground. You knew you couldn’t go onto the field, but you watched from the sidelines as Kira was kicked out of the game, and Liam helped Brett to his feet. Kira stormed past you and Lori, and Scott stopped next the two of you. He nodded at Lori and she ran off after Kira, but as you moved to go after her, Scott stopped you. 

“Go see Brett,” he said. He knew you wanted to check on him, but you also wanted to make sure Lori didn’t get hurt. You were debating and Scott could tell, which is why he said,

“She can take care of herself. Go see him.”

You nodded before taking off towards the opposite side of the field, where the guest benches and bleachers were. You saw Brett sitting alone on one of the benches, still looking a bit disoriented. As you were walking, Brett turned towards you. You could see a smile spread across his face, which caused a smile to form on yours as well. You sat down next to him and said,

“Why do you always seem to get hurt when I’m around?”

“Maybe so I have an excuse to talk to you,” Brett responded. You laughed lightly before asking,

“How are you feeling?”

“A little hazy, but I’ll be fine,” he answered. You leaned over a little to get a better look at his forehead where he had gotten hit.

“If you weren’t a werewolf, that would leave a nasty bruise,” you said.

“I can already feel it starting to heal, I just hope I can get back in the game.”

“You’re Brett Talbot. I guarantee your back in the game in like 5 minutes,” you said to him. You hadn’t realized how close you were to his face, but Brett seemed to have noticed right away. You could have sworn you saw him glance down at your lips, but you might have been imagining things. You involuntarily glanced at his as you were having an internal conflict with yourself. Your head was screaming at you to stop, while your heart was screaming at you to go for it and kiss him. Right when you were about to go with your heart, the Devenford coach called Brett’s name. You snapped back into reality and said,

“I told you,” you whispered as you started to pull away. The two of you stood up as you said, 

“Try not to kill us out there.”

“I can’t promise anything,” Brett said with a chuckle.

“Talbot!” his coach yelled at him; he was clearly growing impatient. Brett grabbed his lacrosse stick and helmet, and started jogging over to the Coach. As you were turning around to head back to the other side of the field, Brett called your name. You turned around and he asked,

“Come see me after the game?”

You smiled and nodded, watching him jog back onto the field, playing as if nothing had ever happened. 

Throughout the rest of the game, you, and the rest of your pack, were growing more and more nervous. The Beast hadn’t shown up and Devenford was close to ending the game, and none of you had any idea what to do. You hadn’t seen Kira or Lori since they both ran off, nor had you seen Corey or Mason, or Malia. Scott had run off, Brett and Liam were getting into it, and Beacon Hills had called a timeout. Eventually, Liam had evened up the score, and the game went into overtime. You were cheering so loud for your little brother that you hadn’t even realized that the news vans had just about exploded from the feed back.  You closed your eyes and winced from the loud noise, and when you opened your eyes, you saw Liam charging at the school busses, and The Beast was flying over the busses right at him.

“NO!” you screamed out. You ran down the bleachers towards your brother, someone hot on your heels. You figured it was probably Hayden, and you realized it was when you both came to a sudden halt. The Beast threw Liam to the ground, and ran towards the bleachers. When you turned back to Liam, there he was, bleeding profusely from what seemed like every inch of his body.

“LIAM!” you and Hayden yelled, running over to him. He was struggling to breathe, and he wasn’t healing, which in turn just made you freak out even more. You saw someone running towards you in your peripheral vision, and when you saw that it was Stiles, you moved to help Liam up. 

“Liam, come on we have to get inside. Can you walk?” you asked. Liam yelped in pain before saying in a strained voice, 

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so.” Stiles went around the other side of Liam to help him stand, and Hayden led you all into the school. Everyone from the game was in the process of running into the school, so when you all found the first available classroom, you took it. After knocking off the contents of the desk, you and Stiles laid him down on top of it. Liam kept repeating ‘I’m okay’ and ‘I’m fine’ over and over again, but by the tone of his voice and the blood pooling out of his chest, it was very clear that he was not fine. You moved to peel up his jersey to look at the damage, and at the sight, Stiles gagged.

“Is it that bad?” Liam said, sounding nervous.

“No!” you and Hayden said at the same time, while Stiles went in the opposite direction and said,

“Very.”

“Okay. Okay, what do you guys usually do when this happens?” Hayden asked, not have nearly as much experience with this as the rest of you. 

“Oh, I usually pass out. And I still might do that,” Stiles answered as he started swaying.

“Stiles! Not the time!” you said, grabbing his arms and forcing him up straight.

“Okay, Okay. Scott did this with pain. He could trigger it. Pain makes you human,” Stiles said.

“He’s already in pain,” Hayden said, sounding annoyed.

“Right, okay, but maybe adding a little more could help take away the pain,” Stiles said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Just then, Liam yelled out in agony, not being able to hold it in.

“Take away the pain. Take away the pain,” you mumbled under your breath, before saying out loud,

“Hayden, you’re the only one who can take his pain away,”

“How do I do that?” Hayden said frantically. You didn’t know how to answer that. Both you and Stiles were human, and had no idea what to do in terms of taking someone’s pain.

“Y/N! Did Brett ever take away your pain? How did he do it?” Hayden said, needing an answer fast. You thought about it before saying,

“He would kiss me. He would kiss me and it took the pain away.” As soon as the words left your lips, Hayden kissed Liam, and you saw the vines in her cheeks turn black as the pain moved from Liam’s body into hers. When Liam laid back down, he seemed much more at ease than he was before, and Stiles said,

“Next time I’ll kiss him.”

“Brett,” you whispered to yourself, before it clicked in your head that you hadn’t seen Brett since you left him at the bench.

“Oh my god. Oh my god. Where’s Brett?” you said, panicking once more. 

“I’m sure he’s fine, he’s probably in one of the classrooms,” Stiles said, trying to calm you down.

“You don’t know that Stiles,” you said loudly without meaning too. Without thinking, you headed for the door and threw it open, ignoring everyone’s calls for you to stay in the room. You knew it was dangerous to leave the room, but you had to find him. Who knows where he was, or who he was with, but you knew you had to find him. You ran from classroom to classroom, looking inside each of the windows to see if you saw him. You had no idea how many doors you had looked in or hallways you had ran through when you heard a roar coming from the direction of the library. You ran in the opposite direction, down a hallway that you hadn’t checked yet. Finally, you looked into a room and saw a sea of green lacrosse jerseys, and the tall head of blonde hair that belonged to the boy you were looking for. You pulled the door open, which caused everyone in the room to turn towards you looking frightened. When Brett saw that it was you, he ran towards you, and you ran to meet him. You leapt into his arms and he caught you with ease, holding onto you like you were going to disappear into thin air.

“Oh my god, you’re okay,” you whispered into his ear.

“I’m okay. I’m right here,” he whispered back. He set you on your feet before asking,

“How did you know I was in here?”

“I didn’t. I was across the school helping Liam when I realized I didn’t know where you were and I just ran,” you said, seemingly out of breath after running across the entire high school. After saying that, you realized you should probably text Stiles and let him know you were safe. You pulled out your phone and texted him, and almost immediately got a text back, which read

Library

“We need to get to the library. That’s where the Beast is, and that’s where Scott’s going to be,” you spoke lowly, not wanting the rest of his team to hear you.

“It’s not safe. Stay in here. I’ll come back for you,” Brett said

“You’re an even bigger idiot than I thought if you think I’m staying in here,” you said, and with that, you grabbed Brett’s hand and pulled him out of the door towards the library. You saw Liam, Malia, and to your surprise, Braeden running in the same direction. You met with them in the middle, and Braeden wordlessly reached for her ankle and unstrapped her drop gun. She thrust it in your open hand. Brett squeezed you hand before letting go and running towards the doors, Liam right behind him. The second they saw the Beast, they jumped towards it, striking it in the head, before being thrown to the floor. You, Braeden, and Malia followed suit, you and Braeden aiming anywhere on the Beast’s body, and shooting. After having enough of getting shot, the Beast ran towards the floor-to-ceiling window and jumped through it, leaving everyone in the library out of breath and terrified. Malia and Liam moved to help Scott up, while Braeden stood there and said,

“You didn’t seriously think you were going to have a chance against that thing did you?”

“No,” Scott breathed out, “But I got its scent.” he finished as he ran out of the library with Liam hot on his tail. In the moments that followed, you had given Braeden back her gun, you and Brett had left the library, and the two of you were now walking towards the empty lacrosse field. Brett had left all of his belongings when he ran, and as the two of you were walking he said,

“You didn’t have to walk with me if you didn’t want to you know?”

“Aren’t you the one who asked me to come see you after the game?” you retorted back, making him chuckle. 

“Can I ask you something?” Brett said, to which you nodded, prompting him to continue.

“Why did you come looking for me?”

“I told you, I didn’t know where you were,” you said, hoping he wouldn’t push you further. Wishful thinking.

“I know that, but why did you leave?” he said. You hesitated. Should you tell him you were scared that he was hurt? That you wanted him to be safe? That you were freaking out over the thought of not knowing if he was okay?

“I just- I- I needed to know you were safe okay?” you finally threw out, slightly louder than you had anticipated. You stopped walking and closed your eyes, taking a deep breath before starting again.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.” You started fast walking towards the bench, when Brett grabbed your hand and spun you around, and said,

“Hey, hey, hey. Slow down. Why are you freaking out? You heartbeat is going like a mile a minute right now.”

You sighed, trying to gather all of your thoughts so you didn’t  say something you regretted. 

“I don’t know,” you finally said, looking up to meet Brett’s eyes for the first time since this conversation started. Brett moved his hand from yours and brought both of his hands to rest on your cheeks, before saying,

“You want to know something? Right before you came through the door of that classroom, I was searching for my phone so I could call someone, anyone, who might have known where you were. The guys kept telling me to calm down, and that you were probably okay, and then you walked through the door.”

“Why didn’t you just call me?” you asked, confused on why he wanted to call your friends, rather than just calling you.

“Someone still has my number blocked,” he said lightly, easing the mood. You let out a breathy laugh, before saying,

“Oh yeah. I wasn’t sure if I should unblock it or not”

“You should. Now come on,” Brett said, moving to grab your hand again and led you to where his bags were. You sat down on the bench while he started gathering his stuff, putting all of it in his bag. He started stripping off his lacrosse gear, leaving him in a tight workout shirt and his uniform shorts. Once he had everything tucked away in his bag, he sat down next to you. The two of you sat there in comfortable silence, until,

“Can I ask you something else?” 

“Sure,” you said, curious as to what else he wanted to know.

“Do you still hate me?” The question took you by surprise, and you contemplated with yourself before saying,

“No. I don’t think I ever hated you.”

“It sure seemed like you did that day you walked away,” he said tentatively, not wanting to start an argument.

“You had just told me I had to chose between you and my little brother. I was mad. I was mad for a long time. But I don’t think I ever actually I hated you. I don’t think I ever could,” you said. You weren’t sure why you were telling him this, but it had to come out at some point, right?

“You know, I tried to stop you from walking away. I wanted to take back everything I said, but it was too late. I tried to call you that night, but I think you had already blocked my number,” he said. You could feel him looking at you, but with the words that were falling from both of your lips, you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him just yet. You were staring off into the night sky when you said,

“Yeah, I blocked it the second I got home that day. It was easy to do in that moment since I knew I wasn’t going back to Prep, so I knew I wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences.”

“You know why I started an argument with Liam when I got off of the bus, that day last year? Because I knew that if you were anywhere around us, you would’ve come to stop it. I wanted to see you. I didn’t want to pick a fight with Liam, I just wanted to see how you would react to seeing me,” Brett let out. For some reason, this made you smile, and you said,

“It just took a lot for you to admit that didn’t it?” Brett let out a breathy laugh and said,

“Even over a year later, you still know me better than anyone else.”

“Yeah, well, there’s some things I could just never forget,” you said, standing up. You knew the Devenford Prep bus would be leaving soon, and it seemed like Brett did too. Brett stood up after you and grabbed his lacrosse bag, before he reached his hand out for yours. You looked at his outstretched hand and back up at him, before biting back a smile and lacing your fingers through his. It wasn’t a new feeling by any means, but a feeling that you hadn’t experienced in quite a while. The two of you started walking towards the parking lot in a comfortable silence, and after a few minutes, Brett spoke up again.

“You know, I never got the chance to apologize. And I mean really apologize for what I did back at Prep. I never meant to make you chose between me and Liam. I was angry and I took it out on you, and I’m so sorry.” 

That was what you had been waiting for. An apology. You knew that you and Brett were in the process of mending your friendship (or whatever it was), but the one thing you wanted was an apology from him before you forgave him. 

“Thank you. That means more than you know. I always wanted to bring it up and ask if you really meant it, but I think I was always too scared to say anything.”

“I didn’t mean it. I promise I didn’t,” Brett said. By that point, the two of you had reached your car, and you were expecting him to let go of your hand when you stopped walking, but he made no move to pull away. You turned towards him and nodded, before saying softly,

“Apology accepted.”

This brought a smile to Brett’s face, and unbeknownst to you, lifted a huge weight off of his shoulders.

“Promise me that you’ll be safe? I know that with everything going on its hard, but I need you to be okay,” Brett said, slightly pleading with you. There was the ‘promise me’ phrase again, the one that used to be so prominent between the two of you. You nodded and looked up at him, saying,

“I promise. Promise me you’ll stay safe too, and keep Lori safe.” Brett nodded, a small smile playing on his face. All of a sudden, you heard someone yelling from behind you, the sound coming from the direction of the Devenford Prep bus.

“Talbot! Stop playing grabass and let’s go!” You both turned around to see one of Brett’s teammates leaning out of the bus doors. You chuckled and shook your head, before turning back to Brett and asking, 

“They haven’t changed a bit have they?”

“Not at all,” Brett answered. He then let go of your hands and hesitantly moved to wrap his arms around your waist, hugging you. You reached up and brought your arms around his neck, pulling him in the rest of the way. You had missed Brett’s hugs; the way you felt safe in his hold, the way he would lean his head into the crook of your neck, the way he would slightly sway the two of you back and forth, the way he would barely lift you off your feet because of the height difference. Neither of you wanted to let go right away, so neither of you did. You stood there in each other’s embrace for as long as you could. It was your way of conveying all of your emotions to each other, without having to say a word. When you finally started to pull apart, Brett pressed a kiss to your forehead before pulling away completely. You felt goosebumps run down your back at the lack of body warmth. You both said your goodbyes, before you watched Brett walk over towards the bus. You weren’t quite ready to get in your car, and it seemed Brett wasn’t quite ready to get on the bus, because you saw him turn towards you one last time, as if to make sure that he hadn’t been dreaming for the last hour. He definitely wasn’t dreaming, because you were right there, smiling back at him as he climbed the steps to the bus. 

When the bus doors finally closed, you got in your car and started the engine. You still weren’t quite ready to pull off, so instead you pulled your phone out. You went to your contacts, and scrolled until you found Brett’s name. You clicked the contact name and proceeded to unblock the number, before sending a short text that read,

hi :) 

You felt content as you put your phone away and pulled out of the Beacon Hills High parking lot.  The long overdue conversation you had just had with Brett put you at ease, and had settled a lot of your worries. However, it also made some new thoughts float around in your mind. It made you wonder if you had made a mistake walking away that day, instead of talking it out. More importantly, it also made you wonder if maybe the feelings you had developed for Brett months ago weren’t as one-sided as you thought they were. Maybe he was just good at hiding them. 

[det-loki]

poison & wine pt. one

 “I know everything you don’t want me to.”

warnings: angst, cursing

pairing: detective loki x fem reader

word count: 1,378

A/N: I’ve read and reread what seems like every detective loki fic and I’ve decided it’s my turn. I’m still relatively new with writing series, but I’m very proud of this. Enjoy, feedback is greatly appreciated! (if you find a grammar mistake, let me know)

REWRITE MASTERLIST

⌽  2  3  4  5  6

You hated the rain. It was cold and wet, always sending a bone-chilling cold through you. It reminded you of too many bad memories. Hospitals, pain, and blood. Yet all it seemed to do in Conyers was rain.

You sat across from Loki while you were toying with your fried rice inside of the vacant restaurant. This was yours and Loki’s spot, always seeming to end up here at least once a week for the past five years. You grew to hate the food but it was a constant in yours and Loki’s life and you refused to mess that up. Too many memories have been made in this shitty restaurant, good and bad.

 Neither you nor David cared much for Thanksgiving and you couldn’t be bothered to cook for just the two of you. It was too depressing, so Chinese food it was. The waitress came to your table with the check and hot tea, Loki reaching for the check before you could. Not once has he ever let you pay for a meal. Even when he could barely afford socks. 

“Happy Thanksgiving, detectives.” You wondered if she was waiting on you two to leave for her to go home to relax and celebrate the holiday. You felt bad, considering you and Loki were the only ones there, like usual.

Loki mutters a ‘thanks’ into his coffee cup before continuing, “Do you have any of the fortune-cookie things?”

The waitress looks at Loki with a smirk, “My boss told me cops don’t like fortune cookies.” Classic. 

David looks down at the zodiac placemat, “What year were you born? Are you a dragon, or a snake, a horse, or a sheep?”

“I’m a monkey.” The waitress ogled David who was barely paying attention to her. You knew he would never act on her advances, he was too caught up in whatever the two of you were. Lovers, roommates, co-workers, family. He was everything to you and vice versa. 

Both you and Loki look down to read, Loki responds, “Oh, you’re a monkey. You’re very intelligent. You have the ability to influence people. Think maybe you could influence your boss to lower the check a little bit?” He was flirting. Sometimes you thought that he doesn’t even know he’s doing it. It’s how he charmed you all those years ago. Both of you young and dumb; too young to know any better or any different.

The waitress brings you out of your head, “No, I cannot. My boss is a rooster.”

Again, both you and Loki look down to inspect as the waitress walks away. Selfish and eccentric. Nice, reminds me of Captain O’Malley.

Loki looks at you with a genuine smile before asking, “What’s your zodiac? I forget.” You loved it when he smiled, he didn’t do it enough. You couldn’t really blame him though, neither did you. 

“Well, considering it’s tattooed on your hand, I feel like you should remember. I’m a horse also a cancer, whichever way you want to look at it.” He had gotten the tattoos a month after it.

Loki laughs and looks down again, “Energetic, passionate, and aspirant. I’d say that’s pretty accurate for you.”

You laugh, “Yeah, what’s yours?” You already knew the answer, it was tattooed into your skin years ago along with two other zodiac symbols next to it. Never allowing you to abandon Conyers or David. You were forever tied to it all, inked permanently.

Loki looks at you, his eyes teasing, “I’m gonna give you the same line. Considering it’s tattooed on your collarbone, I feel like you should remember.”

Before you could respond, both yours and Loki’s phones interrupt with a call. Two missing girls, fuck.

The rain is coming down in sheets as you step out of Loki’s car. You pull your raincoat tighter as you follow David to the RV that was called in surrounded by cops at the edge of the woods.

You take your radio out of your pocket, “13-40 and 13-43 engaging with the suspect. Be advised.”

You creep along with Loki towards the RV as the driver revs the engine, tail lights flashing red against you. The RV violently backs up, Loki instructing everyone to not shoot. The driver changes gears, driving forward and slamming into a tree. You advance forward, gun in hand along with a flashlight. Arriving at the door of the RV, Loki takes your flashlight, “Stay here, keep watch.”

Loki entered the vehicle while you and other officers stood by, waiting. The door opens violently, Loki throwing the suspect out. The man stumbles as Loki takes hold of his jacket, dragging him further into the woods. You followed silently, letting David handle him. He never was gentle with cases when children were involved.

Loki yelled at the man with no response, only a blank stare. David shoved him forward, falling at your feet, “What the fuck is this guy on?”

 You take his forearm and haul him to his feet, instructing an officer to take him to the station while David called out for someone to call PSP. This case was already bad. Fear, and pain already settling into your bones. 

You sat in the interrogation room while Loki had the suspect, Alex Jones, backed against a corner. The interrogation had been going on for 2 hours and nothing useful has been said and Loki was getting impatient. You could see it in the way he squinted his eyes and the tension in his shoulders. He needed a break before he exploded.

“Detective, let me try. Take a break.” Loki looks over his shoulder at you, frustrated. He knew you were right but he didn’t want to give up. With a hard sigh, he left the room. Alex visibly relaxed as Loki left.

You had your suspicions about Alex’s cognitive abilities by the way he was speaking, you wouldn’t be able to confirm until the psychologist arrived. Your best bet was to speak as if you were speaking to a child, “Alex, would you like to sit down with me?”

Alex nodded his head, slowly shuffling towards the chair sat across from you. He visibly trembled as he sat down.

“Alex, is it okay with you if I ask you some questions?”

Alex only nodded, “What were you doing today with the RV?”

Alex speaks softly, voice cracking, “Just driving.”

You sigh, “Yeah, I like drives. Was today a special day to drive?” You did not like drives, you preferred not to. David had always been the driver between the two of you. 

Alex shakes his head no. You couldn’t help but feel bad for the boy. He had no idea what was going on, however, you quickly shoved that thought down, he was a suspect in the case of two missing little girls.

“Okay Alex, I’m going to step out for a minute to give you a break, I know this is all different and scary. Let me know if you need anything.” With that, you left the room. You turned towards the interrogation viewing room door where you knew Loki already was watching your questioning.

As soon as you step foot in the room, Loki snaps at you, “What was that? You were too soft, we won’t get anywhere with that.”

You scoff. David was good at his job but he had a habit of going too far, “No, I wasn’t. You scaring him speechless isn’t going to get us anywhere either. Let me do my job the way I need to and I’ll let you do yours.”

Loki knew you were right so instead of protesting, he went to go talk to the forensics team, leaving you alone in the room with your thoughts. This case was going to be bad for the both of you, you already knew that. You needed to keep your head on straight and keep composure, if you didn’t, this case was going to consume and eat you alive. It was bound to happen, your good luck as partners was going to run out one day and you hoped this case wasn’t it. 

You walk back to your desk in hopes to find David when you look outside to see it’s still raining. Stupid fucking rain. 

Taglist: @lexie-wayland  @whew-oh-em-gee​ @winterlavenderskysworld​ @buck-this-nasty @heeyirenee 

[lilacpotter]

Lillaaaccc!!!! Your layout is soo pretty 😭😭 I love the purple so much and thr header with planets and stars fhdjsjs 🥺🥺

Imma in love 😌💕

Also.. pls post some drabble 😭😭 I miss reading your work. Pls. Short drabble would work too. I smile sooo much when I read your drabbles fjdjd 😭😭

Pls 👉🏼👈🏼

Okay bye. Love you 😌💕

Broooo!! First of all, HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY DHARAA!! omgg ❤

And thank youuuUuU. <333

 I’m so fucking sorry I’m this late but I got it finally done. And pleassseee, take this more than 8k words “drabble” as your birthday gifttt!! I’m not sure how it really is but I hope it’s gooddd aah. I had been writing and rewriting it for the past three days djhsfsf 😫😹

Here we gooo <3:- 

5 and 7

“What if I stole your crown right now?”

Those were the last words little Isak got to hear before prince Even snatched the golden crown with a mischievous grin and started running away. He chased after him, screaming in agony. He was dramatic, yes, so what? He was five and he could throw a tantrum if he wanted to. And also, don’t you dare call him little. He was big for his age and smart too.

 He sped up his pace, trying to run as fast as he could in this thorny garden with his little prince feet, his golden curls tossing here and there on his head. But Even was taller and faster than him, so he outran Isak within no time with his giraffe legs, and Isak came to a stop somewhere in the middle, panting and falling onto the grass backward with a dramatic sigh. He laid there star-fished and watched the sky instead for a while.

 It was autumn and the leaves were falling on his small face and it was warm and Even was back here in Oslo after a whole year, at the Valtersen palace. Even’s parents ruled a small country named Phitogin in the east side, and even if it wasn’t nearly as big as Norsk was, they were really close to Isak’s parents since their own childhood. So, they always paid a visit to Oslo every year during autumn and that was the only time Isak ever got to see Even and play with him and make sandcastles and blanket forts.

He squinted up his eyes at the bright sun, as if commanding it to shine a bit lesser, but of course, that wasn’t possible. He knew the sun was way bigger than earth and way hotter than the royal soup that was served to him whenever he fell sick. He wouldn’t dare mess with the sun.

He was about to put a hand over his face to shield himself instead, surrender to the great sun, when a dark shadow blocked the light above him.

“Hello, my little prince,” Even was grinning down at him mischievously, his hands behind his back.

Isak narrowed his eyes and sat up straight. “Where is my crown?” he demanded.

“Who knows?” Even shrugged, still keeping his hands behind himself. And Isak knew he was hiding the crown there.

So he pounced up and tried to grab Even by the shirt, but Even was quicker because he moved away in time.

“Give it back to me!” Isak yelled, jumping again. Even grinned wider, dodging him.

“No, little prince. You will ruin my hard work if you see it.”

“Don’t call me that,” Isak said, offended. “I am not little!”

Even smirked. “Oh yes, you are. You are very little, tiny. Look, you are even smaller than me!” And then he burst out laughing.

“I am not!!” Isak glared at him. He was not little. So he launched himself on top of Even to attack him. They both wrestled for a few minutes furiously, punching each other’s stomachs before falling to the ground on top of each other, breathing heavily.

When Isak opened his green eyes back up again Even was hovering above him, putting his crown back on his head quietly. Isak frowned and moved his hands up to touch the crown and see for himself what Even had done to it, but he didn’t let him and instead removed the crown again.

“Even, show me my crown!” Isak complained, reaching up.

“No, you will ruin it!” Even refused, shaking his head.

Isak grew more suspicious, so with narrowed eyes, he warned Even, “If you broke it or put tiny worms on top of it then I am not going to share my space blanket with you tonight.” He poked his little finger into Even’s chest to tell him how serious he was being.

Both of them knew how much Isak loved his space blanket and how much he loved sharing it with Even and the people he liked. If Isak refused to share it with anyone then it meant he didn’t like them enough.

Even, instead of being scared of Isak’s warning, grinned back at him again, all teeth and crinkles.  

“Oh no, little prince. I wouldn’t dare break it or do anything such horrendous to your precious crown!” He said, widening his eyes dramatically.

Isak squinted his eyes at him. “Really?”

Even nodded furiously before slowly bringing his hands to the front, holding Isak’s golden crown in between his palms. It was shining in the afternoon sun as usual, too bright and too lustrous, but as Isak leaned in a bit nearer he noticed designs of pretty flowers all over it. Even had doodled on his crown.

Isak took his crown gently before looking at all the doodles. There were so many colourful flowers and they were all really pretty. There was one of Isak sitting on a throne, and another one of Adolph, their pet dog, and another one of Isak and Even on the bed watching the stars above them. There were just so many of them and they made the crown look so much better!

Isak was smiling without even knowing, his heart was flying, but Even probably had noticed it because he suddenly asked, “Do you like it?”

Isak could hear the smile in his voice. So, he morphed his face back, trying to look more annoyed than pleased, and glared at Even.

“No, I hate it! You ruined my crown, Even.” He said to his face trying to sound furious.

But Even grinned at him instead. “Oh really? Then why is there a smile on your face?”

Isak widened his eyes, turning red. “What? No there isn’t!” he protested, but he couldn’t stop smiling. And soon within no time Even laughing loudly.

“Oh my god, you’re such a bad liar!” He giggled.

Isak rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed. “Shut up! I am leaving.” He said, before turning away and stomping dramatically to the castle.

“Of course you love what I did to your crown, little prince. I do too. I’ll make you more of these the next time we meet!” He heard Even shout from behind him loudly and Isak ducked his head, picked up a tiny rock, and threw it back at Even, missing him narrowly.

 7 and 9

“Ugh, why do we always have to sleep together whenever you visit me? Why can’t you sleep in your own separate room?” Isak complained loudly to the dark, sighing when he got no reply.

So, he shuffled closer and pushed Even’s chest. “Evennnnnn!” he whined when the older boy let out another soft snore and pulled Isak’s blanket much tighter around himself.

“Hmph,” Isak sighed in defeat before slumping back and resorted to just staring at the dark instead when Even finally spoke.

“Maybe it’s because they think you are too little to be sleeping on your own at night.” There was too much sarcasm in his voice and Isak turned to him in surprise and suspicion.

“You were awake?!” He screamed in offense.

Even grinned at him in the dark, his teeth shining bright. “Did you actually think I had been sleeping this whole time?!”

Isak couldn’t believe him. “Oh my god,”

“Yes, and what’s wrong with me sleeping here?” said Even, shuffling closer to Isak noisily.

“Nothing is wrong.” Isak huffed. “You just keep stealing my blanket and I get cold!”

Even shuffled much closer until he was almost hugging Isak from the side. “Oh, I’m really sorry about that, your grace. But look! Sleeping together is not really that bad because you get to cuddle me and I’m much warmer than your precious blanket.” Even said, wrapping Isak’s little body with his arms and pulling the younger boy into himself.

Isak squirmed against him, groaning. “Ugh, go away!”

“Never in a million years,” Even mumbled, shoving his face on top of Isak’s fluff of curls. They were a tangle of skinny limbs.

“ugh,”

Isak tried moving away but he was failing so hard at it. So he gave up a while later and slumped against Even’s chest, feeling his chest rise and fall back as he breathed. He felt oddly at peace a while later and drifted into sleep easily. The blanket lay forgotten by the corner of the bed.

 .

 11 and 13

“What if we sneaked into the kitchen right now?” Even suddenly said, sounding excited.

Isak groaned at him. “No way. We won’t be sneaking out to the kitchen right now in the middle of the night.”

“But we will!”

“We won’t,”

He saw Even pout at him in the dark. He had gotten a new haircut and he looked ridiculous and although it shouldn’t have bothered Isak, it did. He couldn’t get to bury his fingers into those long blonde strands of hair from now on.

“But I’m hungry,” Even mumbled. “Pleaseeee, let’s go.”

Isak shook his head. “No one is hungry at night, Even. Stop making things up.”

“I’m not!”

“Yes, you are?”

But Even wasn’t listening. He got up and already started pulling Isak up by his hands. Isak let out a loud groan before giving in and following the older boy out of the room.

It was dark outside and so they tip-toed quietly down the stairs. At one point they were almost caught when a guard heard Even’s stomach growling in hunger. They giggled to themselves and sneaked through the corridors and halls until they finally reached the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, they both started shoving as many food items as they could in their pockets. Even tried carrying half-eaten raspberry cake from the day before but he slipped and ruined it instead. Isak laughed out so loud that he was sure he had woken someone up but thank god no one stopped them.

It was chaos. But they were finally done, looking more chubbier and puffed up because of all those food stuffed in their pockets. They were giggling silently as they walked back out of the kitchen when they stopped dead as they spotted a boy of about Isak’s age staring at them in shock.

It was Magnus. He was the butler’s son.

.

 13 and 15

 “Do you think any one of them will like me?” Magnus asked, sitting beside Isak and eating large ice cream.

Isak wasn’t paying much attention to what he was saying because his eyes were trained on Even. Even had gotten much taller recently and his hair was longer and he looked even more prettier.  Shit. No, not pretty. He looked good. But Isak couldn’t help but think it was such an understatement. Even had even started getting a bit of muscle.

Isak watched him smile and beam and flirt with other girls in the castle hall. A weird kind of jealousy was stemming up in his body and he had no idea why. It was weird and new and made him feel all jittery.

“They look so pretty, don’t they?” Magnus was saying beside him.

Isak nodded absently. Yes, he is really pretty.

“I have never even talked to them, forget about touching them. Their skin looks so soft, Isak. I just want to touch them once. Isak, are you even listening?”

Magnus’s voice snapped Isak out of his thoughts and he blushed. “Uh, what?”

“The girls!” Magnus whined, nodding over to the bunch of girls who all looked way too interested in what Even had to say. Isak hated them. “Aren’t they beautiful? Why are girls so pretty?”

Isak bit his lip and nodded. “Even, uh, boys are pretty sometimes, I think.” He said slowly before he realised what he had just said and his heart sped up. Oh no.

Magnus hummed beside him, considering. “True. Even is really pretty if I’m being honest.” He stated it as a fact and Isak snapped his head up to look at him.

“What?” He couldn’t believe his ears.

“What?” Magnus laughed in confusion. “Even is pretty. That’s why girls love talking to him, isn’t it?”

Isak’s mouth was parted slightly. He just stared at Magnus for a few seconds before looking down, his cheeks flaming. “I guess so, yeah, um, Even is really pretty.”

“I told you!” Magnus hollered in joy. “I want to be pretty too. So girls would want to talk to me too. Don’t you think?”

Isak nodded again, biting his lip.

“I’m really pretty, huh?” Even’s voice came over and Isak looked up to see that he was walking over to them both. Oh, God. Had he heard what Isak had just said? It was going to be bad.

Isak flipped him off instead of saying anything and that earned him an ‘Oyy’ from a very surprised and an amused Even.

“We have already started learning this kind of things, I see.” He nodded over to Isak’s middle finger which was still sticking out in his direction.

“Magnus taught me.” Isak shrugged and then watched Magnus hug Even tightly for a moment before letting him go.

“We were just talking about how pretty you are, bro.” Magnus said, looking excited and Isak blushed again. Gosh, Magnus. Why couldn’t he just shut his mouth?

Even looked at Isak with his eyebrows raised. “Oh, really? Yeah, I did hear the prince say how pretty I am. It’s an honour for me really.” He smirked and Isak wanted to combust right then and there. “You should start calling me ‘pretty prince’ from now on then, Issy. It’s a nice name, isn’t it? Just like yours is, little prince.”

“Why are you such a dick?” Isak said, narrowing his eyes at the taller boy.

Even laughed out loud and when Isak flipped him off again, Even blew him a kiss instead went back to join the girls, this time taking a very excited Magnus along with him, leaving Isak feeling all flustered.

Gosh, why was he feeling like this recently? Isak did not like it. It was weird and just strange. He had never felt like this around Even before. And the fact that recently most of his dreams consisted only of Even touching him in weird places was also not helping things at all.  

What the hell was really happening?

 14 and 16

 “Even, are you even listening?!” Isak said tiredly for the fourth time that day, but Even still kept staring blankly in the opposite direction.

So Isak reached his hand out that held his wooden sword and poked Even in the stomach. “Asshole!”

At that finally, Even looked up at him in surprise.

“Should I tell the queen you have started swearing nowadays? Hmm?” He broke into a mischievous grin.

Isak sighed exhaustedly. “We are learning to sword fight and you keep zoning out all the time! What’s up with you? Stop thinking of your girlfriend all the time.” He said, spitting the word ‘girlfriend’ out with as much spite as he could muster. Yes, he was frustrated and annoyed and pissed right now, so what?

Even had gotten himself a girlfriend two months back. Princess Sonja of the realm of Sweden. And she was all he ever talked about. Of course, Isak had a right to be pissed.

Even rolled his eyes this time. “I am not thinking of Sonja, excuse me. I’m listening.”

“No you are not!” Isak countered back, waving his wooden sword around.

“I am! I am not thinking of her, Issy, now come on, let’s practice.”

“Yes, you are!” Isak said back, pausing his practice entirely. “You are always thinking of Sonja. You always spend your time with her, kissing her and complimenting her and telling her she looks good and I bet you wouldn’t sleep in my room anymore if your mum allowed you to sleep along with Sonja! Of course, she is always on your mind. You forgot about me. It’s as if I don’t even exist to you! And now you can’t even practice sword fighting with me because you are always only thinking of her.”

He exhaled deeply after his outburst, and he knew there were tears in his eyes, hot, burning tears. but he was keeping them at bay from falling down and making him look weak. He wasn’t weak. Even was watching him back with wide eyes, his mouth falling open slightly.  

“That’s not true.” He whispered finally, after a beat. “I didn’t forget you. I can never forget you, Is.”

His eyes were blue, blue, blue.

Isak stared into them for a few seconds before he couldn’t take it anymore and had to turn away. His heart broke a little inside. He never thought hearts could break, he had always believed that was all bullshit. But apparently, it was true.

Oh gosh, he was being super emotional again. So he wiped his tears and tried to shed off his sad feelings. He wasn’t weak.

“Doesn’t matter. I am just gonna practice and you can just keep thinking about your pretty girlfriend.” He mumbled before swinging his sword onto the big loaf of meat hanging in front of him.

He gave it a couple more shoves. Up and down. Right and left. Hard and quick. He hit the sack again and again, at various spots, from various angles, with various tricks and moves. It was hard, but he knew it was worth it. If he was going to be a king someday, then he had to be ready.

  Even kept standing beside him, and Isak hated that no matter how much he tried he couldn’t not pay attention to Even. Had he zoned out again while standing there? Thinking of Sonja?

But then Even spoke and Isak groaned, “What if we ditched dinner and went to the garden right now?”

Isak frowned deeply. “No way, I’m not coming.”

“Yes, you are.” Even smirked before walking up to him and snatching the wooden sword and throwing it to a pile on the corner.

No way. Isak was not going to agree to him this time.

.

Isak found himself laying on the green grassy ground and staring up at the orange-hued sky half an hour later. His head was on Even’s lap and Even was weaving his long fingers through his sweaty curls.

“Stop doing that. I smell gross and I’m sweaty.” Isak mumbled when Even started running his fingers all over Isak’s face. It tickled him so he laughed.

“You look so beautiful when you laugh,” Even said softly, staring down into his eyes and cupping his jaw.

“Ugh, stop,” Isak rolled his eyes, but he was blushing.

“Never, not in a million years.”

Isak smelled in the flowers’ scent and relaxed. “I can’t believe I am actually here with my head on your fucking lap of all places.” He scoffed quietly.

Even chuckled from behind him. But he was too busy to reply apparently because he was ruffling around the garden, plucking something off. Isak couldn’t see properly so he watched the sky again, at the birds and the clouds. Everything was going good.

When he felt something on his head a while later he looked up at Even, silently asking him what it was.

“I made you a flower crown,” Even said simply, resuming to arrange it on Isak’s head properly.

“But flowers are for girls. Not for boys. You should keep it on Sonja’s head instead.” Isak mumbled.

Even scoffed from above him. “There is no such rule like that. Who’s teaching you all these?” He sounded truly disappointed.

Isak shrugged, his shoulders shaking Isak’s legs beneath them. “The royal teachers? People? Isn’t it how it always is?”

Even made a small sound, disagreeing with what Isak had just said. “Flowers are for everyone, Isak. For boys, for girls, for animals, and for everyone and everything, okay? There is no such thing as only meant for girls, or only meant for boys. You can do whatever you want. Stop believing this stuff you hear, Isak. You have always loved flowers, what happened to you now?”

Isak shrugged again, his heart felt heavy. He knew he loved flowers even now. He had always loved them. But mamma had always told him to not like girly things, that he was a boy and that he was supposed to like wars and horses and rough things, not things that are soft and pretty. He wasn’t a girl.

  “Do you really think it’s okay if I like flowers?” He asked, his voice small.

Even sighed quietly above him and then he bent down slowly before kissing Isak’s forehead. Isak inhaled sharply at that.

“You are allowed to like whatever you want, okay? No one makes rules here, Is. Stop believing what others are telling you to do. You are my valiant prince and you will be a great king. A great king does not fear liking what he likes.” Even murmured to him, weaving through his curls again. “A great king is not afraid to be himself. Will you be a great king for me, Isak?”

“For you?” Isak licked his lips.

“Yes, for me.”

“Yes. I would do anything for you.” Isak admitted out loud, and he was surprised by his own boldness.

He heard Even smile when he said. “So would I,”

Isak blushed at that and ducked his gaze down, away from Even’s face. And watched the early stars.  He loved spending time like this with Even. He hadn’t done this in so long. It felt good that Isak could take his mind off Sonja for a while.

“You look really pretty in a flower crown, do you know?” Even hummed from above him.

He retreated his hand back from his hair and cupped Isak’s jaw again, tilting his head so that he could look into his eyes. “You are so pretty,” he said, making Isak blush again.

“Ugh, fuck off,”

“What? I’m not lying. You are the prettiest thing I have ever seen,” Even said, widening his eyes in honesty but he was also grinning.

Isak wanted to punch him. “Even more prettier than Sonja?” He asked instead, averting his gaze away from Even’s intense gaze. He regretted it the moment it was out of his mouth. God, Isak.  

He had no idea how long it was, but when they finally got up from there and got back to the castle, it was completely dark. The only thing that was shining were the moon, stars, and Even’s eyes.

Isak showered and got dressed in the softest pajamas before getting into his bed and reading some thick book that he had found in the library.

He wasn’t really expecting anything when Even finally climbed into his bed quietly an hour later and it was dark, pitch black. Isak pretended to be asleep, so he snored softly, and it also helped that he was turned away from Even.

Even tossed and turned around for a while, before cuddling Isak from the back. Isak tensed up a little in his hands before he melted against Even’s chest. Why was he being this tense? They did this all the time. So he leaned back and let Even cuddle him instead. It felt really good, and he felt warm and his eyes started fluttering on their own in no time. He wasn’t expecting anything even when he was just drifting into his sleep slowly, but then he heard Even softly murmur against his ear, “Even prettier than Sonja.”

It almost brought him out of his sleepy daze. Almost.

.

 16 and 18

“Shut up,”

“What do you mean, ‘shut up,’ I’m just trying to fix your bangs. You look pretty when you are grumpy, you know?”

“Shut up!”

“Alright, but don’t you think it will be a bit too much if I pulled my shirt up right here at the hall?”

“Oh my god!”

“All the girls would start swooning at me because I am so hot- ouch!”

Isak punched him in the stomach before hastily pulling his hand back and smiling at the guests. Even watched him with wide eyes by his side.

“You don’t think I’m hot?!” He whispered in outrage. Isak didn’t give him the satisfaction of a grumpy snarky reply.

They were both in costly suits, standing at one side of the hall and greeting all the guests awkwardly. It was the royal ball and somehow people from many other countries visited here to have a nice time. Although most of them called him the ‘little prince Isak,” whenever they greeted him. Fuck you, he was not little anymore.

There was also this princess Emma who seemed way too fond of Isak because she kept looking over to him every now and then before turning away shyly.

Isak wasn’t fond of her.

“I can’t believe you just punched a prince in the stomach.” Even mumbled by his side.

Isak rolled his eyes at him. “I am a prince too.”

Even reached his hand out again and started fixing Isak’s collar with a concentrated look. “Yes you are, little prince.”

“ugh, stop,” Isak groaned.

“Never,”

“Hey guys!” It was Magnus, holding a tray of drinks and serving it to everyone. He looked adorable in his outfit.

“Hey, Mags! My bro.” Even greeted cheerily before hugging Magnus tightly.

Isak smiled at them both and took a drink off the tray. Magnus looked pleased to see two people he knew after all that crowd of new, strange, rich people.

“Bros, just look at all those princesses!”  He said excitedly, leaning in and waving a hand over to the bunch of pretty girls with crowns on their forehead. They were all eyeing Isak and Even hungrily and Isak wished he could escape. But his mamma and papa were watching him, so he couldn’t do that. “They are all just eating you with their eyes. Isak, man, what are you waiting for?! Go get one of them!” Magnus hollered.

“Nah, Mags. Not yet.” Isak said, sipping his drink.

“What do you mean ‘not yet’, bro?! They all look so pretty though! Go get some, and tell me how it went.” Magnus demanded.

Before Isak could reply, Even jumped in. “Isak is waiting for the right moment to score with Princess Emma, Mags. That’s why,”

Magnus looked around and when he spotted Emma, his eyes went wide and mischievous. He wiggled his eyebrows at Isak. “Oooh. Princess Emma, Issy?”

Isak‘s jaw tightened a little but he nodded slowly. Emma caught his eyes just then and he waved back to her awkwardly. She looked pleased with that gesture while the remaining princesses were scowling at her.

“Fuck, man. She looks so into you. What are you waiting for? Go get it or she will go for me instead if you wait any longer!” Magnus yelled into his ear loudly before leaving them both to serve other guests.

Isak swallowed and looked up at Even, who was gazing back at him.

“I am gonna go get her then,” he said, fixing his shirt.

“You know you don’t have to, right?” Even said instead, helping him fix his shirt. He tucked Isak’s shirt tightly into his dark pants making him squirm under his touch.

“Yes, but I want to.” Isak lied.

“Don’t lie, Issy. Do you even like her?” Even frowned at him, keeping a hand on the small of his back.

“I’m not lying!” Isak lied. “I really like her. She is very pretty.” And then he shrugged himself off from Even’s touch and headed over to Emma.

.

 An hour later, he found himself trying to dance with princess Emma. It was tough because they were both only teens and none of them knew how to dance or where to put their hands so they kept stomping each other’s feet instead. It was awkward, to say the least. But Emma didn’t seem to mind so much, she giggled and kissed his cheek and touched his hair, so Isak smiled back at her and tried his best because both his mamma and papa were watching and they looked really happy and proud of him. He was going to be the heir to the throne, after all, it was his duty to form strong bonds with other country rulers, and what was a better way than stealing their daughter’s hearts.

So, Isak danced and flirted and got drinks for Emma wishing there was another better way.

When they both were done, Isak headed out to the corridor to breathe in a bit of air and hoping to get away from Emma for a bit, but she found him again within no time. That girl really was too much. Isak felt like she was breathing down his neck every time she got too close to him. She was way too loud and way too giggly and kept falling all over Isak and touching him everywhere she could.

   He wanted to combust right then and there. But Even appeared beside him just then like a knight in shining armour.

“You both are having a good time, I see,” he grinned at them both, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“We are! Prince Isak is really charming.” Emma giggled from where she had both her hands wrapped around Isak’s neck.

Isak blushed because for some reason he couldn’t stand Even watching him like this.

“What if I do something stupid to save your ass from princess Emma right now?” Even leaned in, whispering into Isak’s ear so quietly that only he could hear.

Isak widened his eyes at him at that, then shook his head minutely saying ‘no,’ but Even just shrugged and grinned back at Emma.

Oh god.

“Oh, he really is very charming. No doubt.” Even agreed, sipping on his drink and leaning suavely against the wall. “Girls all over the city have a massive crush on him, you know.”

Isak looked over to Even with wide eyes. But Even wasn’t looking at him, he was looking at Emma.

“Oh,” Emma said, her voice was filled with surprise. “Really?”

Even hummed. “Yes, most of those girls are even ready to jump in to marry Isak if he asks them. They are that gone for him. He really charms them all well.”

Isak was barely understanding what Even was on about. This was totally not true.

“Charms them? What do you mean?” Emma asked, sounding suspicious.

Even blinked once and averted his gaze to Isak’s once, before looking back at Emma in amusement. A smile playing on his lips.

“You haven’t heard? He charms them all so well that many of them try seducing him right then and there. He says he refuses them but I know it’s a lie. Why would he refuse them when he just flirted with all of them, right? You can only imagine what goes on between him and all the girls over the city.” Even was full-on grinning now and Isak was blushing furiously even though none of it was true. “No wonder every girl is crazy for him.”

He then leaned in and whispered into Emma’s ear, “I heard he is also dating one of them in secret.”

What the fucking fuck.

“Shut up, that’s not-“

“-oh my god, really?” Emma interrupted Isak, her eyes wide as she looked up at Isak. She looked shocked.

“Wha- no! No, of course not-“

“Look, he is lying again.” Even said, smirking.

Emma removed her hands from Isak’s neck slowly and took a step back, making space between them. Isak felt like he could finally breathe.

“I- wow- I just uh, I am sorry my prince,” she cracked a laugh that sounded more broken than anything else. “I didn’t know you had someone. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have thrown myself at you this way-“

“-Emma, just don’t believe Even. He is an idiot. I’m not seeing anyone else.” Isak tried telling her, but she wasn’t looking at him.

“What? Oh, it’s okay, my prince. I don’t really care, but uh, I have some work, I’ll just leave I guess. Have a good time with uh, your secret lover.” Her face was comical as she excused herself from them both.

He watched her retreating back with his jaw hung open.

And Even had the audacity to speak. “You are seeing someone in secret? I’m hurt, Isak.”

“You fucking asshole.” Isak hissed at Even once Emma was gone.

“I was wondering why you hadn’t said that yet,” Even hummed, smiling.

“What’d you do that for?” Isak cried.

Even just shrugged at him. “Because you looked like you need help. Besides, that poor girl is gonna get nightmares of you every time she sees any other girl in the city. And you are mine so sorry, I can’t share you with anyone else.” He winked. He fucking winked.

“That was so fucking bad, Ev. I swear to god.” Isak groaned. “Ugh, I hate you so much right now.”

“No, you don’t. I saved you from a very clingy monster dressed like a princess.”

“Fucking hell, I am not talking to you again. I really liked her.”

Even raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh really? You liked her?”

“Yes. Why? Don’t you think I can’t like girls?”  Isak said defensively, furrowing his brows.

Even only sighed at him. “No, that’s not what I meant, baby.”

“Don’t call me a baby. Then what, Even? Do you think only you are allowed to get a girlfriend but not me? That’s fucked up.” Isak spat, annoyed.

“No- fuck, I’m sorry, Isak.” Even’s eyes were wide, and he looked like he was really sorry. “I didn’t mean it that way.”  

Isak stared at him for a beat or two before turning away. “Whatever. Go fucking enjoy with your girlfriend and leave me alone.”

.

 He knew he had over-reacted as he fell on top of his king-sized bed that night. He and Even weren’t sleeping together anymore and Even had gotten his own big room. He couldn’t even get the point of making them both sleep together for all these years only to separate them now.  

He was regretting his words and his reaction right now and was thinking of just sneaking into Even’s room to apologize to him when he heard loud familiar voices from his right wall. It was Even and Sonja. They were sleeping together now?

But then he started hearing words and curses and he knew they were arguing. Even had invited Sonja over here as well last week and Isak hated watching her stroll around arm-in-arm with Even day and night as if she owned him. He hated it, and he hated everything that wasn’t Even these days.  

Another string of arguments pulled him out of his thoughts and he focused on that now. They were clearly arguing, fighting even. He had never heard Even yell like this at anyone, but Sonja’s voice was even louder. They were having issues, and Isak had no idea about what.

A few minutes after the continuous bickering, someone slammed something hard onto the ground, and then there was this loud sound of a door shutting close. Isak knew it was over and someone had stormed out.

What was happening?

Were they breaking up..?

Isak’s heart was beating quick when the door to his room slowly opened and Even entered inside, looking worn out.

“I’m sorry, Is. Can I sleep in your room for tonight? Please.”  

.

.

.

“You were right. I didn’t like Emma. I never liked her.”

.

 17 and 20

 “What if I can make it up to you?”

 “Even, I just fucking hate you, alright? Leave me alone.” Isak said, slamming the room to his door loudly. He didn’t want to hear any more of Even’s bullshit so he went straight to his bed and fell on top of it, burrowing his face into the pillow Even always slept. He inhaled the scent and felt something stirring inside him.

A weight dropped beside him and the next second someone was cuddling him from his side. Fucking Even. Of course, he followed Isak back into his room. Even literally had no sense of privacy. Not when it came to Isak at least.

“Ugh, why are you here?” Isak groaned into his pillow.

“What if I can make up to you?” Even repeated, to his ear this time. It gave Isak chills.

“How?”

This year, Even was back only for a week or so and Isak was already anticipating him leaving tomorrow when today Even had the audacity to leave the palace and spend his more than four hours flirting with the village girls and boys.

Look, Isak wasn’t being possessive, or fuck it, he had no idea, okay? But he knew he was definitely not controlling like Sonja was. Sonja and Even had broken up and Isak really knew now what that whole argument or fight was about.

But that’s not the matter right now. He wasn’t usually possessive, but look, he hated that Even just left him like that on the last day he was going to spend here in Oslo before he would be back in Bergen. He and Even were supposed to spend their whole day together but Even had ditched him in the evening to flirt with some girls and returned back at dinner and he was going to leave tomorrow morning.

Of course, Isak was pissed and annoyed. Why couldn’t Even flirt with him instead?

Fucking Even.

 “I just can,” Even replied smoothly and Isak turned to him suspiciously.

“No, you can’t. I’m really hurt right now. Nothing can mend my broken heart.” Isak said instead. “And I really, really hate you right now.”

Even rolled his eyes at him fondly before cupping Isak’s chin with his hand. Then he leaned in and slowly asked, “Have you ever kissed anyone before?”

Isak shuddered at that. They were so close. “No, of course not, Even. You would know if I kissed someone. Stop asking all the weir-”

Even shut him up with his own lips, kissing him. Isak whimpered and let out a surprised squeak before furiously trying to kiss Even back. Holy fuck, he was definitely dreaming. He was kissing Even. And nothing had ever felt so right in the universe.

Even kissed him gently and softly, he wasn’t rushing it, like he was savouring Isak’s lips, memorizing the way it moved and the way it tasted. It felt like he was trying to please Isak and it definitely was working. Isak moaned and hummed around their lips. He couldn’t believe it. He went pliant in Even’s arms and let him kiss him again and again and again until Isak could only see and feel and touch only Even, Even, and Even.

 “Did I succeed in making up to you?”

“Hell yeah,”

 .

 19 and 22

 Isak was fucked. Literally. He just realized how much he was crushing on Even and how badly he wanted him that way. The way every boy wanted the girl. And he was fucked now.

He couldn’t take his eyes off Even’s naked back as he stretched and yawned in the early morning like a cat.

Isak watched his muscles flex and his spine stretch and shoulders move from where he was still pretending to be asleep with his blanket over his head.

Even looked good. He probably was one of the most handsome men Isak had ever seen all his life. Yes, Even was a man now and it made Isak swoon over him.

Just as Even got off the bed, he caught a glimpse of his collarbone, and Isak’s mouth watered as he imagined himself licking it. Gosh.

Even had returned back to Oslo again two years later and he looked so good. He had grown way taller and had gotten way more muscles. His hair was longer and swooped back on his head. It made him look so sexy and hot and Isak couldn’t breathe every time their eyes met. Someone kill him, God.

 .

“Is it bad I want him to do every evil thing he can to me?”

He said out loud, still drooling over the new, tall and hot version of Even as he practiced his sword fighting while Magnus fed the sheep beside him in the shed. He was getting really good at it and he had even defeated and killed some of the sworn enemy’s sneaky conspirators a couple of times. This was his favorite sword and he named it ‘Illuminati,’ because it sounded cool.

He heard something clatter to the ground and turned to look at Magnus who was watching him with wide eyes. “What the fuck, bro?”

Isak nodded gravely, not even caring about the fact that he just said ‘he’ out loud instead of a ‘she’.

“Who are you even talking about?” Magnus squinted at him, looking shocked. When he looked at where Isak’s gaze was pointing to, his eyes widened.

“Fuck bro. Even?”

Isak nodded again. Even was there, riding his black horse and greeting everyone on the way with a huge beam. He looked so pretty.

“Mags, I think I like Even.” Isak couldn’t believe his own voice. How was the feeling this brave to admit that out loud? But he was also fucking tired of lying to himself. He liked Even that way and he had known it for a long time but he never let himself accept it. He couldn’t do that anymore though. He just didn’t think he could keep it in himself when Even had kissed the last time he was here. The only thing that was repeating in Isak’s head was their kiss and how good it had felt.

He had kissed many girls after that, but all of them felt wrong. He realized he didn’t like girls. He had never liked girls. It scared him, but also comforted him, made him realize why he could just never feel the same like all his other friends did.

 “Seriously, bro?!”  Magnus came over to him. He was almost as tall as Isak now.

“yes,” Isak nodded, licking his lips and aiming at the sack with his sharp steel sword. It cut it in two halves.

Magnus looked mind blown, as if he just discovered some great theory. “Fucking hell, bro. That is awesome. Shit, I think I always knew why you looked at Even that way.” He was beaming so huge Isak wanted to shut him up.

“What way?” He frowned instead.

“The way I watch the girls.” Magnus winked at him and Isak groaned, blushing furiously.

“Fuck off,”

“But bro. What about Even then? Have you told him about how you feel yet?” Magnus shuffled closer to him, lowering his voice so that no one could hear them.

Isak’s heart clenched at that and his jaw tightened. “No, Mags. He doesn’t like me that way.” He cast his gaze down and started fiddling with his fingers.

Magnus looked almost disappointed at that information. “What? But how do you know?”

“I just do.” Isak shrugged. If Even did like him, he would have told him.

“Bullshit bro. Have you ever seen the way Even looks at you? He looks at you like you are the most precious thing to him. Kid you not, I thought Even had a secret crush on you for several years after we became friends.” Magnus huffed. “He definitely fancies you, bro.”

Isak bit his lip, considering what Magnus had just said. Did Even really look at him that way? Did he really like Isak?

“We even kissed,” He admitted quietly.

A squeak. And Magnus was right in his face now. “Are you fucking kidding? You both kissed?” He yelled, making Isak flinch. A few of the guards watched them with a stone face and Isak slapped Magnus’s arm so he would shut up.

“Yes, we did. Two years back.” He said.

“Fucking hell. Who kissed first? Details, Isak. I need more details!” Magnus demanded and Isak let out a groan, slightly regretting telling Isak, but he started telling the story anyway. About him getting jealous whenever Even flirted with other girls or whenever he was with Sonja, about their kiss and how Isak couldn’t believe it was finally happening, about how they never talked about it again and Isak was too flustered to bring it up so he pretended that it never happened, about how even now Even would sneak into his room at night and slept along with Isak, about how Even would always call him pretty and it used to make Isak question his sexuality. He told him everything, every single thing. He poured his heart out. And when he was finally done, Magnus was full-on grinning now and Isak couldn’t believe he just poured his heart out to Magnus of all people.  

“And now you can’t take your eyes off him,” Magnus concluded, looking back at Even out in the vast field.

“Now I can’t take my eyes off him.” Isak agreed.

“Fucking hell, this is like a fairy tale.” Magnus mused with a smile. Isak rolled his eyes.

“This is anything but a fairytale.”

Magnus waved him off and got up, dusting his dress and he went back to the shed. As he walked in, he shouted over back to Isak, “Looking at someone like they are their universe, kissing them, and sneaking into their bed every night doesn’t seem like something a normal friend would do, Isak. You should stop thinking so hard and tell him.” He winked before disappearing inside.

Isak stared back at him for several minutes before letting out a sigh. ‘A true king is not afraid to be himself.’ Even’s words rang in his mind after all these years.

He would have to do this then, wouldn’t he?

 .

 21 and 23

 “Even, I swear to god if anyone hears and informs my parents-“

-calm down, baby. Just enjoy.”

“They are the fucking king and quee- ahh“

Even dived back in and Isak moaned so loud he panicked he alerted the guards outside. But luckily, none of them barged in. Even didn’t stop, he kept going up and down, up and down and soon Isak was panting.

 When they both were coming down from their high finally, sweaty bodies on top of each other, Isak let out a giggle.

“Fucking hell,”

Even smiled down at him, then rolled back to his side. “I can’t believe I fucked the prince in his own room. I should get paid for this.”

Isak shoved him with a laugh before Even pulled him into himself and he rested his head on his shoulder.

“Did you know I begged my mum to let me sleep with you when we were younger because I liked you a lot and wanted to watch you sleep because you looked so adorable?” Even said, suddenly.

Isak widened his eyes at that. “What the fuck, really?” Even nodded back at him and Isak couldn’t believe it.

“Wow..”

“Yeah, I used to pretend that I was scared of sleeping alone here in your castle and somehow my mum believed it and your mum agreed to let us sleep together.” He laughed. Bright and loud.

And Isak laughed along with him too. Even rubbed his hand up and down his back and they calmed their giggles down after a while. They were together exactly for a year but only got to touch each other for two weeks and a half or so. Because they both got together the year before and Even had left again a week later and only came back here now one and a half week ago. So they were trying their best to spend as much time together as they could without making it more suspicious.

It was going fine, but they knew something had to happen first. They had to come out. They couldn’t keep living in secret like this forever. Isak didn’t want it and neither did Even. Isak was ready to die if he wanted, but he wasn’t going to let their love be imprisoned this way.

“What if we get caught one day?” Even said quietly, drawing circles on Isak's back.

“Then we explain to them. Tell them we are together,”

“And what if they don’t accept us?”

Isak shuffled closer to him. “We will flip them off and elope togteher.”

“Oh yeah?” There was a smile in Even’s voice.

“Yeah,”

“To where?”

“To a place where we are safe.”

“Okay. What if they torture Magnus over here because he supported us all this time.”

Isak scowled. “Then we take him along with us. Find him a girl. Marry them both.”

Even let out a small laugh. “That sounds really nice.”

“It does.”

“I’m so glad you asked me out that day, baby.” Isak lifted his face up and smiled down at Even.

“I am glad too. Or I wouldn’t be here with you right now, naked and kissing you.”

Even grinned up at him in the darkness. “And you wouldn’t have known how good I was at fucking you.”

“oh my god, you are so dirty.” Isak groaned, palming his face. They both laughed for another few minutes before Even resorted back to stroking his back softly.

“You don’t know how badly I wanted this. Us. You.” He said quietly, and Isak shook his head at him lightly.

“Trust me, I do. Because I wanted this too.”

Even stared into his eyes at that, a fond look on his face, and Isak did the same before they kissed each other again for a while. Isak slumped back into Even’s chest contently after that and they pulled the blanket tighter around themselves. It was a miracle no one ever came to check upon them.  

 “We really owe Magnus a lot, don’t we?”

 .

 24 and 26

 They were in Bali. In fucking Bali, during the fuming hot, summer.

Isak couldn’t believe it. It had taken so long for them to arrive here. They had to spend so much time on various huge ships and here they were finally.

Relaxing on one of the finest beaches, shirtless and with lemonades resting on either side of them. Isak had his country to rule, his own palace, his personal advisor Magnus and most important of all, his lover, Prince Even. So yes, life was going great. Except for one small thing. But he wasn’t going to bring that topic up now.

Let’s talk about something else. First things first, Isak is a king now. Yes, he is a king but not Even. Because Isak’s father passed away two years back in the battle and now he was crowned the king of the Norsk. Even’s parents were safe and sound, thank you.

 The year Isak became a king, he knew he had the power to come out as a homosexual and claim Even as his lover, openly and freely, and people wouldn’t object. Wouldn’t dare to. His own mum had accepted them both so of course, none of the people really cared very much. As for Even, it’s his story to tell, but in the end, he was accepted by his parents too.

And now, here they were, in Bali. Having a vacation after a successful battle the previous year. Even was Isak’s boyfriend and Isak was Even’s. It was good. Life was good.

Except for that one small thing that was bothering Isak for the past two months.

“I love it here so much, Isak, God.” Even whined from his side, interrupting Isak’s thoughts. He stretched and Isak stared at his beautiful, long body. His lover’s body.

 His heart bloomed every time he referred to Even as a ‘lover’.

“What if we just stayed here for the rest of our lives?” Even asked, looking at Isak with a smile. He looked gorgeous in the sun. He had tanned a little in the past few days.

“Then we will.”

Even grinned wider and turned to his front before slowly making his way over to Isak with his elbows and finally stopping by his chest.

“No, because I want to see more of the world. I want to see the world with you.”

Isak stroked through his blonde hair and kissed him. “I’ll take you anywhere you want.”

Even melted in front of him and his smile turned much softer. “I love you,” he mumbled, kissing Isak’s nose and then hovering above his lips.

“I love you too,” Isak murmured back, and Even was kissing him the next moment.

They made out for a while in the sun, rolling on the beach sand like two horny starfishes until they both had to come up for air.

Even was watching him and he was feeling good. They both were feeling good and Isak thought this might be the right time to tell his lover.

“Um, baby,” He started, watching Even’s face trying to see all his reaction as he sat up straighter. “As much as I love hearing people call you my ‘lover’,” he emphasized on the last part and saw Even frowning slightly at right now. “I wonder how it would be if they called you my ‘husband.’”

He wished he could just freeze the exact moment when Even’s eyes widened and he looked so surprised it made Isak’s heart well inside his chest. But he was also very, very nervous right now.

Even wasn’t speaking anything, but his face was filled with emotions. He was red and flustered and shocked and bemused and looked surprised overall. As if he wasn’t expecting this.

But then, his upper lip quirked up and there was a hint of a smile. A smile that contained just too many emotions. And that was enough for Isak to go ahead.

He faced Even and pulled the ring out of his pocket. He opened it and held it shakily to Even.

“What if I asked you to marry me right now?”

A beat.

“I would say yes.”

[wickedsingularity]

Can’t Sleep Without You [One-shot]

Fandom: Star Trek Pairings/characters: Jim Kirk x reader (but not really), Leonard McCoy, mention of Spock Words: 2359 Warnings: Use of medication, use of possible addictive medication, insomnia, nightmares, almost graphic description of a disturbing dream

Note: A somewhat self-indulgent story that I posted a little while ago, but had panic about after a few hours and then deleted. It felt too personal, too self-indulgent, amongst other things. I planned on giving it some time, and then rewrite it so it was less personal. I did give it time, but I haven't rewritten it, just edited. And now I'm giving it another go, hoping that I don't panic this time around and telling myself so fucking what if it's self-indulgent. And hopefully people enjoy it because I do like this story.

Summary: Having suffered from insomnia for a long time, Jim is the only thing that manages to calm me enough to function when it gets bad. But Jim is off on a mission...

"You look like something the cat dragged in, Commander."

"Thanks a lot, Doctor." I glared up at Leonard McCoy as he towered over me. Even if I couldn't stand the stuff, I was now on my third cup of coffee of the day. But I was also on my fourth day of barely any sleep, and I was desperate for something to keep me alert.

"Have you had trouble sleeping again?"

I downed the last of the coffee, cringing as the bitter liquid made its way down and sat the cup down on my empty lunch tray. I closed my eyes for a moment and grit my teeth, trying not to snap at the obvious question. "Looks that way."

The doctor sat down at the other side of the table and looked at me with worry, not even phased by my annoyance. "I've seen you getting worse the last few days, Commander. Why haven't you come to see me?"

"What you gave me three days ago made me wake up after four hours with a nightmare from hell. I'm still seeing ghosts in broad daylight."

He pursed his lips. "Please stop by the medbay at 2200 hours. We'll try something else."

I sighed, knowing that there was only one thing that would help, and it was not something our Chief Medical Officer could provide no matter how good he was. But I nodded. "Yes, doc." Then I pulled myself to my feet, grabbed the tray and went to put it back in the replicator for recycling.

For as long as I could remember, I'd had some form of insomnia. It hadn't been a problem when I was younger, I had been more energetic, more durable, not to mention more careless. But as I got older it got worse. Most of the time I managed to keep it under control, but sometimes it took on a life of its own. And when it did that, there was no medication, meditation or treatment that worked better than the captain of the ship, my boyfriend.

There was just something about Jim that calmed my mind like nothing else.

Funnily enough, insomnia was what brought us together. I had been wandering around the ship one night, after several nights of little sleep. Finding myself in the briefing room, I had sat down in the chair reserved for the captain, put my feet up on the table and gazed out at the streaking stars. After a few minutes of silence, the door had slid open and Captain Kirk had walked in. We were already on friendly terms, so I hadn't bothered taking my feet off the table or giving him the chair, even when he made a joke about it being his.

He'd been having trouble sleeping too, claiming his mind was running at warp 5 after an exhausting meeting in that very briefing room earlier in the day. He'd chosen to go back there in the hopes that it would clear his head.

We sat next to each other, him in the First Officer's chair and I kept occupying his, and chatted for a while. All the while we both seemed to gravitate more and more towards each other and I got sleepier at the same time, until I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder. He had gathered me up in his arms and ordered a site to site transport, dropped me off on my bed and pulled a blanket over me, before going back to his quarters, falling asleep as well. After that, our friendship had shifted and things escalated quickly from there.

Now though, he and Spock and several admirals were trying to work out a peace treaty between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. We had dropped them off on a colony near the Neutral Zone and had then gone off to survey a newborn nebula a couple of systems over. We weren't scheduled to go back for them for another two or three days, the trip itself took a whole day. And my body was kind enough to refuse to sleep properly without Jim now, no matter how much in control of the insomnia I was.

I made it through the day somehow, with at least two more disgusting cups of coffee. Thankfully, there was more than enough to do in Engineering that I decided to not leave once my shift was over, it was better to keep working than sitting in my quarters and feeling like I had been in the middle of a warp core breach. As soon as Jim and Spock came back, Starfleet wanted us to check out an uninhabited planet that a passing cargo ship had detected held large deposits of deuterium and our long-range sensors had detected too much atmospheric disturbance for transporting, so we had to adjust the shielding on several shuttlepods. I was barely conscious when I stumbled into the medbay at 2200 hours.

"Not looking any better, I see." Bones appeared out of nowhere and would have scared the daylights out of me if I hadn't been so sluggish.

"Your bedside manners are always so lovely."

He ushered me over to a biobed and pulled a tricorder from one of his pockets.

"There's no need to scan me. We both know what's wrong. Just give me what you think I need and I'll be off." I looked at the tricorder with annoyance.

He didn't answer but started scanning me anyway, so I sat there patiently, closing my tired eyes and listening to the whirring of the device. "It's a wonder they haven't found a cure for this yet, after 200 years of research," he muttered to himself.

I looked up at him and saw him analysing the results. "You've found a cure for some pretty serious viruses on your career, why don't you find the cure for this?" I argued.

"This isn't a virus, sweetheart."

"Still, I'm sure you're brilliant enough to find a solution." Bones always said that flattery would get you nowhere with him, but I found that more often than not, he enjoyed having his ego stroked. He was that good too.

He just huffed and went over to a cabinet. I saw him pull out a vial and fill up a hypospray. "I know you have tried this before and it didn't work so well. But that was a few years ago, it might work better for you now." I nodded and obediently bared my neck to him. One touch of the cold metal to my skin and it was done. "I want you to go straight to bed now. It should work quickly and you have to be in bed when it does."

"Yes, sir."

It did not work. Or, I did sleep through the night, but the dreams had me waking up more exhausted than if I hadn't slept at all. It had been worse than last time, the irrational, weird and disgusting dreams had just come at me, one after the other. I would honestly prefer good old-fashioned nightmares over this. I called Bones as soon as I had showered away the night and he was at my door by the time I had dressed.

"Sit down," he barked, the tricorder out and a deep furrow between his brows. "What happened?"

I told him all about the night, even gave him some snippets of the nasty dreams for emphasis, each one of them still crystal clear and disturbing in my mind. The way he cringed at some of it, told me just how disturbing they had been. It wasn't normal to dream that you're pooping out severed arms, after all. *

"This is very strange," he said after he was done scanning. "Barely any light or deep sleep at all. Dream sleep almost all night. I've heard about a few phenomena that cause a person to not have any dream sleep at all, but not nothing but dream sleep. You're not getting any more of this medication, and I'm making a note in your medical file."

I sighed, trying to think about what I could do to help myself that night. But Bones had suddenly gone very quiet. I looked up at him and there was a deep furrow between his brows, his eyes gazing down at the tricorder, but it looked like he was mentally lightyears away. "What's wrong, doc?"

He didn't react right away, but then he blinked and looked down at me. "There is something we can try, but it can be highly addictive if the dosage is off by even a fraction. Call Scotty and tell him you'll be a bit late. I need to take some blood for analysing."

All through that day, I felt a bit apprehensive about what Bones was planning on giving me later. And I missed Jim so much it ached. This was the worst it had been without him and it was also the longest we had gone without each other since we got together. I missed him because of his absence, of course. But in my sleep-deprived state, it felt a million times worse. It felt like there was a gaping, bleeding hole inside me where he should be. I needed him to calm my mind, to kiss me and tell me it's okay if I can't sleep, that I'll sleep when I'm ready and he would be there with me all the while. I needed him to breathe with me. I needed to feel him. He was able to relax me enough that I could function.

After working well past my shift again and forcing down too many cups of coffee, I forced back tears of exhaustion and desperation and went to the medbay, got the mysterious hypospray and went straight to bed.

Apart from the fact that I woke up every ten to fifteen minutes, this one worked a lot better. In the morning, I felt less like I had been hit with a meteor shower and more like I had just tumbled through a thick atmosphere without a spacesuit. Bones came to check up on me in engineering after lunch and I asked if I could get a higher dosage, hoping that maybe that would finally be what helped me sleep through the night. But he refused, he had given me as much as my body could handle without becoming addicted or suffering other nasty side effects. In defeat, I told him if I couldn't have a higher dosage, I didn't want it at all. Then I started counting the hours until Jim came home, and drank all the coffee I could stomach so I wouldn't feel like a zombie.

I was just starting to doze off. It was probably just an hour or so until my alarm, but I let sleep take me. I would take anything I could get. What felt like just a minute later though, the computer spoke to me.

"The time is 0630 hours. The time is 0630 hours."

"No no no," I moaned in annoyance, screwing my eyes shut to the illumination in the room becoming stronger. But then a pair of lips landed on my cheek.

"Forgot to turn that off," someone said.

I didn't process this right away, but in the back of my head I knew that voice and knew it was important, so I forced myself to open my eyes to the way too bright room. Jim was there next to me and judging by his one barely open eye, he had just woken up too. "Hi..."

My heart was beating wildly in my chest, the room seemed to be spinning a little, my vision getting blurry, but then he smiled with his eyes closed and started to clumsily kiss my cheek and jaw and everything cleared up.

"When did you come home?" I whispered.

Jim didn't answer but kept trying to kiss me, but he was struggling, he too seemed exhausted, not able to aim. "A while. Laid down minutes ago. Tired. Want lips."

I made a happy sound and rolled around to face him. He opened his eyes a fraction, revealing the brilliant blue I loved so much. His lips landed on my nose, then my cheek before finally finding my lips. The gaping aching hole inside me seemed to vanish. I moved closer, pressing my lips and my body to his and everything inside me seemed to settle down, mind was quiet, all tension washed away. When I needed air, I pulled back just enough so I could stare into his eyes and see every little shade of blue in them. "You're home."

"The time is 0635 hours. The time is 0635 hours."

"Home and tired." His breath washed over me when he spoke and I wanted to breathe nothing but him for the rest of my life.

"Ditto. Haven't slept since you left."

"I know, Bones told me. I'm so sorry, Supernova."

"'s okay. Just missed you." My voice broke, and all the frustrations from the past week made a few tears fall. Jim snuck one of his arms around my waist and I moved even closer, burying my face into his neck, breathing in the smell of stars and nebulas and galaxies. "How were the peace talks?" I asked between lazy kisses to the soft skin on the side of his neck.

Jim didn't reply right away. Instead, he kissed my hair, breathing it in for a moment. "Exhausting. I'll tell you all about it later."

"The time is 0640 hours. The time is 0640 hours."

"Have to get up," I mumbled against his skin, but my entire body felt like lead in Jim's arms.

"Computer, turn off the alarm." A gentle beep confirmed it was now turned off. Then Jim pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. "Bones told me to tell you that he has declared you not fit for duty today and that he has ordered bed rest, and if you disobey his orders, he will not hesitate to have you strapped to a biobed with a force field."

I blinked. "But..."

"And your Captain concurs. He recommends you spend the day with him in bed and sleep." He was grinning at me. "He's been flying fancy admirals in a shuttle all night and is in need of some tender loving care from the love of his life."

I knew there were things I had to do in Engineering. It would take time and almost all the Engineering staff to get the shuttlepods ready in time for exploring the deuterium planet. But as I looked into Jim's eyes, I felt exhaustion all the way to my bone marrow, and there was no point arguing with that, or the Captain and the Chief Medical Officer. I teared up with relief and buried my face in Jim's neck again.

Jim settled down on his back and pulled me halfway on top of him. I swallowed down my emotions and rested my head on his shoulder, tangled my legs with his, and laid my arm across his stomach. Peace filled me and I barely had time to mumble love you before I was fast asleep.

Note: * Yes, I have actually dreamed that as a side effect of taking melatonin.

[wouldpollyapprove]

You Did Good

Summary: Finn partied too much and passed out at the Garrison, being left there because no one dared touch a Peaky Blinder. The next morning Y/n gets a call from the bartender to come get her boyfriend. Not wanting to get an earful from Tommy, she calls him, reading a book while she waits for him to come be Finn’s father. And when her boyfriend wakes up, Y/n can’t help but smile at the speech given by his brother, not one she expected.

Request: Finn request !! Uno In s5 when they wake Finn up in the garrison what if his girlfriend was already there reading a book or writing something? And the brothers are proud of who Finn has met xx

Requested by Anonymous

Finn Shelby x Reader

Word Count: 999 

Warnings: Alcohol, drugs, language

A/n: I’m gonna be honest, I haven’t even gotten to season 5. I’m stuck on season 3 because I’m not a fan of it. I hate what happens in the first two episodes and if I could rewrite the end of season two and the beginning of season 3, I would. Anyway, I’m loving all this Finn content b/c Finn’s a cutie. And I wanted to use a gif of the exact scene that anon is talking about but I could find one, so yeah.

Masterlist

Y/n flipped the page of her book, All Quiet on the Western Front, that she’d snagged from her mother’s house, peeking over the edge of the book at Finn, who was passed out at one of the Garrison’s booths. The opening barmaid, Margarete, woke her up earlier that morning, calling to inform her about her boyfriend that had partied too hard the night before. When Y/n arrived, she thought about waking him, taking him home, and forcing him into the shower to wash off the smell of whiskey. But he was just too cute, his hair tossed around, for her to want to disturb him. 

And Y/n also happened to be tired of the late nights he spent at the pub, drinking until he couldn’t see straight. 

The amount of times she had talked to him about it, lecturing him like he was a small child, seemed to do nothing. Finn still spent his nights at the pub, stumbling into her bed drunk.

It was extremely romantic.

Y/n knew who was to blame for his actions and she wasn’t going to let them get away with it. Her boyfriend had only ever wanted to fit in with his brothers, be just like them, and it was evident with his actions. Anything they did, he did. He wanted to drink if they were drinking, he wanted to snort god knows what if they were doing the same. Finn was the only one of them, though, that didn’t know when to stop. His brothers thought nothing of it, but Y/n knew what could happen if he didn’t learn to control himself.

So, she called Tommy, who just so happened to be at the betting shop with Arthur and John by his side.

“If you don’t knock some sense into your brother, I will,” she told the older man. 

Tommy chuckled, not believing her threat. Y/n was a gentlewoman, making people doubt her ability. “He’ll be fine, Y/n. There’s nothing to worry about.”

She sighed, “Tommy, if you don’t talk to him, I’ll eliminate the problem by burning down your fucking pub,” she sneered into the phone before hanging it up.

The door opened 20 minutes later, Tommy and his brothers following behind him. The man let out a sigh at the sight of his youngest brother. He had hoped that Finn would figure things out for himself. That Y/n would be a good enough reason for him to get his shit together, but Tommy knew what alcohol could do to someone. It made people’s minds foggy and forced them to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise. 

“I’m glad you called,” he said, turning to face Y/n, who sat at the bar. “Really.”

She nodded, “I’ve dealt with this long enough, it’s your turn now.” With that, she turned back to her book, enjoying the fact that she didn’t have to play Finn’s mother any longer.

“Why don’t you go wait outside?” Arthur suggested, shaking his head at his brother’s behavior. “We’ll send him out when we’re done.”

Closing her book, Y/n nodded and head for the door. She had no clue what they were going to do, but if it helped Finn in any way, she didn’t care.

Once out the door, Tommy walked over to the bar, beckoning for Margaret to leave the room, and grabbed a bottle of whiskey, pouring some of it into an empty class. He walked over to his sleeping brother, using the booth next to him for leverage to stand over him. Then he angled the glass over Finn’s face, dumping its contents on him.

That seemed to do a fine job at waking the young man up.

Finn shot up, shaking the liquids off his face. “What the fuck?” he shouted before he saw his brother’s standing around him.

Tommy hoped of the seat, a sour look on his face. 

“What the fuck, Tommy?” Finn looked at his older brother before going to stand up. 

He was pushed back down.

“I’m the one that should be asking that! You know why I’m here?” his brother questioned.

Finn rolled his eyes, head pounding from the many drinks he had the night before. “No, why?”

The sarcasm that leaked from his words made Tommy want to smack him, but he held himself back. “Your girlfriend called me and told me to wake your dumbasre up or she’d burn down the pub!”

Finn’s face fell, mentally kicking himself for putting her in that position. 

“You know she fucking loves you! If she didn’t, she would have just left you here, but she wants doesn’t want you to end up dead in a ditch, drunk. Y/n wants you home every night, she wants you to be apart of your life, and she wants you to have control of your fucking liquor!” his brother continued. “You can’t do that, I’ll make sure you can’t get your hands on that shit anywhere in this fucking country, do you understand me?”

His face fell into his hands. Finn was disappointed in himself for letting this happened, he knew better, he really did. He wouldn’t be surprised if Y/n wanted nothing to do with him because of this. She had told him multiple times how much it scared her when he didn’t come home at night. It made her fear that he’d been injured or dead because of his family’s business. He never wanted her to fear that. 

God, he shouldn’t have been so stupid.

Nodding, he looked his brother in the eye. “I understand.”

“You did good, Finn. Not with the drinking,” Tommy clarified. “But with Y/n, you did good. You better marry that girl, she’ll be a great addition to the family. Now, she’s waiting outside to take you home.”

A smile lite up his face as he stood up. “Oh, I will,” he told his brothers before he headed to the door. “Trust me, I will.”

*~~*~~*

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[batarella]

The Bullet: A Sequel to the Commander - Part 5 (Jason Todd x Reader)

Don’t mind me. I’m just enjoying the last three days of The Commander Week. that’s right ya filthy animals, the series ends after Part 7. Hope you all enjoy!

Also, for the trigger warning, the first scene is a flashback that includes the reader having a miscarriage so if you are in any way uncomfortable with that, you can skip over the entire italicized section.

WORDS: 8130 WARNINGS: Miscarriage, Vaginal Sex, 69 Oral Sex, Violence. Firearms

MASTERLIST

THE BULLET MASTERLIST

-----

If Y/N were to be asked what her life’s greatest regret remains to be, there would be none so than that one, fateful night, a night so embedded into the deepest crevices of her memories, one so horrifying, a destruction of everything she had built out of her lifetime of other regrets. From a life she never chose. And it wasn’t that night of the Arkham Knight Militia’s occupation, when she’d failed as its commander, destroyed months what it had come to be. It wasn’t when she’d missed when she fired the Cloudburst tank at the batmobile, almost losing her life. And it definitely wasn’t when she failed to reach out to her uncle Floyd on the last few months of his life. Because as much as she would have hoped to rewrite its histories, some of them anyway, there has never been one single regret that had haunted her close to her own death, death to her loved ones, her only loved ones.

April 10. Six months ago.

She was called in by an anonymous client. Most of the time, Y/N demanded to know her client’s identities before even considering doing the job. And she was about to do just that. Ignore the text. Ignore the calls. Go about her day. Even if it weren’t anonymous, she wouldn’t have accepted it anyway. Not right now. But this one client, without so much as another word, sent a million dollars to her account.

Before she could respond, he gave her the instructions. Where to go and who to kill. How far she must stand from the target and how she had to be alone. It was nothing out of the ordinaries that she was used to. In fact, the target seemed fairly easy to eliminate. When she asked for his identity again, the caller did not respond with a name.

Instead, he responded with a price.

Ten million dollars. To be sent to her account the minute her target is done for.

Floyd always told her never to take the chance, to never do so much as prepare for the job unless their clients pay the full price beforehand. And it had always worked out for him. Never once did he cheat, and he avoided himself from being cheated. Y/N? She never argued with that philosophy.

But ten million dollars? When she already had a million in the bank just now?

Her arsenal of weapons stared at her from her closet. Whispering. Luring her in.

Jason wouldn’t exactly approve of this. Not when it was far too shady.

So she waited for him to come home that night and told him about the deal.

He offered to do it for her. Collect the money into her account. But she insisted the client made it clear that it had to be her and her alone. And at that, Jason refused. Not even if he paid fifteen million, he said. She was in no place to take that kind of risk. Not with her. But Y/N, months out of work, out of her line of work. She hadn’t had a client like this for a while. She yearned a taste of looking out into her scope, feeling the wind through her nose and cheeks.

So that night, she did what would eventually become the greatest single regret of her life.

Y/N put on her suit, took out an AK, a sniper, and two pistols. Along with other things she might need like grenades and her grappling gun.

She knew it was risky leaving the place with Jason asleep. He’ll definitely wake up just from feeling the bed empty beside him, and he’ll find her wherever she was in Gotham an hour after she’d left. So she didn’t have much time. Hopefully, when this is all done, she can come back to the apartment unharmed and take whatever scolding Jason has in store for her without it becoming too much of a fight. In fact, it most probably will.

Y/N left their place and took her bike, stormed out into the empty streets and reached an old building she was told to wait in. This was, in all honesty, probably the most stupid thing she’s ever done. But she’s been tasked to do much worse, with much more dangerous people. It couldn’t possibly be anything she wouldn’t expect.

She got onto the rooftop, set up her sniper. Then she looked out into her scope and focused on the target her anonymous client sent her. She had no idea who it was. But she settled for the photos she was sent with to identify her target. He wasn’t too far even. And he looked just about as regular a guy as anyone she’d see walking along the streets.

The client told her to wait a while, to fire the shot at exactly ten pm. She had a few minutes.

Then she started to smell something so foul. So familiar. It surged up her nostrils and immediately, she halted her breaths and stopped herself from feeling too much of the disgusting scent. It went all the way up to her eyes. Watery. Shaking. Then it went to her tongue. She could taste it. And it was the most sickening thing she’s ever tasted. Y/N held onto the wall nearby and stopped the bile from rising up to her throat.

A thick, green cloud of smoke. It was everywhere on the rooftop she was in. And she could barely see anything there was in front of her. No sign of the floor, of the wall, of the shape of the roof. Nothing but smoke. Y/N almost toppled off her feet when the scent went up to her head, swirling around like a cyclone.

Then she saw something.

A figure made its way towards her, slowly, calmly, like it was floating on the ground. Despite the fog and the air, she could make out more of its form. A form of a twisted man, barely a man. One made of rags, covered every part of his skin. His mouth looked sewn shut, and the robes he had on looked old and decayed. He smelled exactly like the toxin around her, but amplified.

And finally. His hands. He didn’t have just fingers at all. No. He had needles. Syringes. On his knuckles.

And when she met his eyes, she’s never seen anything so ghostly and horrifying.

“It has been far too long, Commander…” Scarecrow started to walk around her in a circle.

Y/N held her breaths, both through her mouth and her nose, and shut her eyes before the tears became too painful to shed. The visions would start soon.

Instinctively, her hand went to the little bump on her stomach, at her suit that had gone just a bit too tight around the waist, and Scarecrow watched her as she did.

“Ahhh. A child…” he chuckled beneath his throaty, cruel breath. “You're not too far along. Three? Four months? Lovely of you to still accept the job.”

The horrible man leaned in so closely to her face. She was lightheaded, so dangerously near to falling to the ground in need of any whip of air there was.

Then she gasped. Just before the air went white.

“What…” she coughed. “do you want…”

“You destroyed what took me years to build, Commander. And I’m going to make sure you won't be around when I do it again. Send the Knight my congratulations.”

Then Scarecrow disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

And the smoke wouldn’t stop. The voices. The bullets. Coming to rain down on her over and over despite her body still erect, barely. Y/N crawled to the door, but it was locked. Her grappling gun was gone. She had no where else to turn to.

Floyd was there. Taunting her. She was on the floor, holding her stomach before she’d eventually puke out her guts. Her pelvis started to sting so much. And she screamed in terror, both in pain and in fear.

And there were monsters all around her. Despite something still inside her telling her to calm down, telling her that they weren’t real, the creatures started to run after her.

She pulled herself up and ran. She ran so fast she hadn’t realized her foot had met the ledge.

And she backed away, just seconds before she would have plunged to her death. Y/N grabbed on to her scalp, ran off before the indescribable monsters would reach her.

She pulled out her pistol.

The bullets. She didn’t even know where she was aiming at. At the monsters. At the air. She fired at anything she could see, anything that could have gone after her. The smoke had started to fade. And ever so slowly she started seeing the ground beneath her feet and the other buildings around her thar she had stirred awake. She kept firing. At one, terrifying looking creature from the dark coming straight for her.

The creature fell to the floor, but she didn’t stop pulling the trigger, clicking the barrel, firing at everything else.

She didn’t realize she was firing at a wall.

‘Ricochet,’ Floyd’s voice echoed. ‘A critical angle almost the same as the ricochet.’

‘Be careful not to fire directly in front of it, or else it goes straight back to you.’

She didn’t feel anything at first. She didn’t hear the bullet bounce off from the metal wall and speed right towards her, and she didn’t feel it pierce through her lower stomach, right at the bump. She didn’t feel the blood pour out of her and stain her suit, the ground. She didn’t feel it when her body fell to the ground.

But by then the toxin had fully dispersed. And from where she fell, she could see the creature she had fired at.

Jason, holding onto his stomach, was crawling towards her screaming in his own pain. There was blood everywhere. And it wasn’t just hers. It was his, coming from his chest. And he had bled so much in just so little time.

Y/N felt everything all at once, even the pain in her ears when she let out a chilling shrill of a scream. The last thing she saw was Jason, ignoring his wounds, ignoring his blood. He pulled her to his arms and cradled her until the sky went black.

-----

Y/N shot up.

Her skin was covered completely in her sweat. And her forehead was drenched as well. Her heart so rapidly beating, so much that it hurt. Y/N gasped from the bottom of her lungs in search for the air she thought she desperately needed.

She was alive. She was in their loft, the space above the level ground. On the mattress the was still just sitting on the floor without a bed frame to go with it. She clutched her stomach and there was no blood around her, not on the sheets.

Y/N sighed and covered her face before it got too cold.

“Y/N?” Jason reached out from beside her. “What’s wrong?”

The she remembered.

She turned to the clock beside her. Three am. It was that day.

She curled herself even tighter to make her body as small as she could. She couldn’t care to live through this day. Not like this.

“Hey.” Jason encased her in his large arms. “What did you dream about?”

“It’s today…” she said.

“What?”

She wiped a tear that had fell down to her shivering palms.

“The baby… He was supposed to arrive today…”

Jason watched how her face moved, or how it didn’t move, then with a parted mouth, Y/N turned to him, seeing how he let reality sink in and the memories of grief flood right back into his head.

He swallowed and pulled her to his chest.

“I miss him, too…”

“Just hold me…”

“I’m here…”

Jason let her head fall to his neck, let her arms hold him as tight as her weakening grip would allow her. Y/N felt something in her stomach, twisting, and it was so rotten and messed up that she felt sick to her stomach just feeling it.

He kissed her head.

“You want something to eat? I can get you something.”

“No, thank you. I’ll be fine…”

“Just let me know,” he held her face. “Come on.”

Jason pulled her body up to lay against the wall behind them. Leaning on their backs, Jason placed his cheek gently on the top of her head and she closed her eyes, falling into the warmth of his chest.

“It’s just another day now. Everything’s okay… We’ll be okay…”

“Alright…” she placed a light peck onto his neck. Jason let her stay there for as long as she needed. And she needed it for a long time. She kept kissing his pec, his collarbone, anywhere she could reach, and her lips were as light as a kitten’s paw, ever so slightly layering her love over any surface she could fall over.

When Jason pulled her chin up and let her lips lean against his firmer ones, she sighed at the relief, despite it being so little and subtle. It was the kind of relief that had gotten her through the days. She parted her mouth, let her lips move about and enjoy how it touched his so delicately, and when she felt his tongue, running over her teeth, she breathed in.

She could pick out every detail of how his tongue felt, how warm it was in her mouth. When his teeth started joining in with the fun, she held the back of his neck to pull him even closer. Jason was so soft like this, even when it was hard, rippling muscles that her fingers laid on. She kissed the tip of his nose, his cheek, then just after she got to kiss his neck, Jason pulled her up to his lips again.

He pulled her back down on her side on the mattress, his arms holding her around her shoulders. Y/N, with her hugging his head close, let their lips continue to enjoy each other in the darkness, at the coolness that prickled their skin where the thin blanket sheet didn’t cover them. Jason’s hand, once on her arm, had now rested on her waist ever so slightly squeezing onto her flesh.

Jason pulled away, then Y/N raised her arms so Jason could take her shirt off. No bra. His lips were all around her. On her neck, chest, tongue flicking over her nipples to make her gasp. His other hand had already reached down under her shorts to caress her ass, just staying there, squeezing, while his lips went on. He just enjoyed her body, touching it everywhere, kissing it everywhere.

Then Y/N reached downwards, over to his shorts at the bulge poking at her pelvis. She started stroking his clothed member so slowly yet it made him jolt up and sigh. She kissed his jaw, then his neck. Jason pulled away and watched her kiss her way down every pec and every ab on his chest and stomach.

She was still fairly half-asleep, and didn’t have the energy much to sit up. So Y/N just crawled down the bed, placed her legs where her head once was and laid on her side, facing Jason’s shorts. She licked her hand then pulled his hardening cock out for her to pump.

Jason didn’t make a sound at first, but she could feel his muscles tighten. When she placed her mouth on the tip, lazily dragging it against her lips, she felt Jason pull her shorts up her legs and hooked one of them under his arm.

“Oh…” she moaned with him in her mouth when Jason’s heavy tongue went over her slit. She was just starting to get wet, her juices not even reaching her ass yet. He can change that. When she felt him open her up with his fingers, going over her most sensitive parts with his tongue laid soft and relaxed, she started taking him further into her mouth while the bottom half was being pumped with her hand.

And neither of them went any faster than when they started. They enjoyed their love, enjoyed the night loving each other so gently, pleasuring each other in the most intimate way they could. She rolled her wrist around while pumping him while she started licking down his balls, and it made him moan while his tongue was sticking inside her. She closed her eyes, gently kissed the tip, savoring the taste of his pre-cum as he got so hard in her mouth, her jaw started to ache. Then she her hand went to his thigh to hold him close, gasping for a moment when he sucked too hard on her clit, then went back to submerging his cock into her mouth.

She was gonna cum first. She could feel it. Jason kept going, didn’t care if her mouth suddenly popped his cock out, only being held with her hand when his tongue traced every spot on her clit and his fingers plunged deep inside her. Y/N cried out his name, forced herself to keep going to give back, and even with his cock so deep inside her mouth, eyes watering as her whole face started to hurt, Jason curled his fingers up to her pelvis and her heavy breathing started to rapidly quicken.

She didn’t scream, even when it was such an amazing, blissful flow of release, but her moans were sweet and delicate, mouth parted and her muscles tighten around her all at the same time. She forgot about everything, every regret in her life, for that one short moment and let Jason give her that high she craved so much.

Then she went on with his cock, pulling her mouth back and forth, but Jason wanted to fuck.

She stood up on her knees, faced away from him, then straddled his hips so she could drag his long cock down her pathetically drenched slit. She rocked her hips, let his hands go up her waist and traced her sexy back, then she threw her head up high to the ceiling when he closed the distance between them. He was inside her, then he wasn’t, then he was again. She raised her hips up and down in a deathly slow pace. He was moaning, breathing so heavily. Y/N could feel him watching her move and she turned her head back to lock eyes with him.

Jason sat up, chest against her back, then kept her chin turned over to him so he could kiss her. And his hands just went to town. Every patch of her skin, her breasts bouncing, her pussy throbbing, her stomach and waist that he couldn’t stop running his hands around. The sex they had that was soft, slow, lazy, so full of their bursting love as often as it was mindlessly rough and, well, since they first tried it out, involved a lot of firearms. But it was one of those nights, like that night at the barracks when they were drenched from the rain, in her quarters, making love for what felt like the first time. These nights, it was hot, slow, and her heart felt like bursting just as much as her pussy did. Jason laid his forehead against her nose, both their eyes closed, feeling each other’s breath, feeling them touch. He held her so close and kissed her shoulder, then he thrusted up to meet her rocking hips.

“Oh…oh…” she moaned into his mouth. And when she felt him cum, the warmth of his seed also sent to the edge. Soft, ever so slow, but it made her legs shiver so much that Jason held onto her tight.

When they fell to the bed, limbs entangled, they didn’t get out until the sun was setting well into the afternoon.

-----

“Oh! Oh, god!”

With Y/N underneath him on the couch, Jason rapidly thrusted his hips into her and held on to his diminishing strength to hold himself up. He slowed down, caught his breath by slowly biting into her neck, then when his heart rate started to keep pace, he went back to bottoming himself out into her fucking tight hole.

The TV was on, and his thrusts, sloppy and wet and enjoying itself, he leaned down to her neck and Y/N turned her head to the screen with her mouth parted and cheeks dangerously red.

“Isn’t… that… Oh!” Jason snapped his hips into her. “Tim and… Barbara?...”

He didn’t stop fucking her and held onto her waist to keep grinding. He glanced at the screen and snorted. “It’s their… fuck… wedding today…”

“How nice-OH FUCK JUST LIKE THAT!”

He turned her head back to look at his face and he sat up so he could forcibly hold onto her waist and harshly thrust into her while pulling her body back and forth. Y/N let her tits bounce, back arch up, grabbed onto her own hair to relieve the overwhelming tremors.

“J-jay?” she whimpered breath getting heavier and heavier at each pounding.

“What?!”

Jason had his eyes closed, focused on how tight her pussy was and how it was clenching around him. Then he forced his eyes open so he could watch how fucking beautiful she looked when her tits moved to his liking and her body glistening under the sun.

“I-isn’t that… fuck… your butler?”

He grew annoyed and momentarily looked at the screen. “…got himself o-ordained…” he didn’t stop moving. “Alfred… officiated the ceremony-fucking hell, you're tight.”

“O-oh…” Jason stuck his thumb into her mouth.

“I just wanna fucking look at you while I cum and not them… so stop talking…” he said before leaning down and wrestling her lips down until it hurt. He was gonna cum. So close.

She looked at him with her mouth parted, breath uneven, and that sharp, insanely loud scream coming out of her lips. He came inside her and let his load fill her up so much that he could feel it leak down on the couch.

“Fuck!” he pulled out and fell to her chest. Y/N kissed his forehead, letting him lay down on her breasts so she could play with his hair, letting the high die down.

“And that’s it for the Gordon-Drake wedding. Next up we have some good news for Red Hood and Deadshot fans. Approval ratings for the two have now reached eighty percent over just the course of two weeks, Although some fans disapproved of their recent moral decisions, it does not stop how the two have grown into two of the most beloved heroes of the decade. Their lack of superpowers enables their fans to relate closely to these two vigilantes, with boys and girls from around the country wearing red helmets and hoods, as well as fake guns and white masks-“

“I don’t feel comfortable at that at all,” Y/N snorted. “Why would I want little kids dressed up as me?”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“This is Vicki Vale, and have a good day.”

Jason stuffed his face between her breasts and let it stay there for a few good minutes.

“How much worse do you think it gets when they found out we’d stopped killing?”

“They’ll find out eventually. And trust me, I don’t expect people to be happy about that. A lot of them want bad guys killed and have us do the dirty work. Makes them feel safer.”

“And that’s exactly why we do it.”

“Yeah. It does. So if they find out we’d stopped people might actually go back to hating us.”

“I’m okay with that.”

He kissed her chin.

“Hey,” she held his face. “Have you thought of a date, yet?”

Jason couldn’t bear to stop a smile and his finger brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “Two months from now?”

“Two months? Are you kidding?”

“I don’t wanna wait too long,” he kissed her again.

“That’s gonna be on a December. You sure you wanna get married in the cold?”

“I don’t really care. I just wanna marry you.”

Her heart’s warmth consuming her, Y/N took his face in her hands and leaned in.

-----

It was probably just a coincidence that it was in Jason’s old building, the one they stayed at on their first trip to Gotham. But it certainly wasn’t a surprise. With it holding up so well, it was only logical for bad guys to stay there for a hideout.

They took the front door, kicked it down with one hit of Red Hood’s foot and Deadshot held out her gun in front of her. As they turned to the first corner, at a place where broken mail boxes were supposed to be stacked against one another, three large men appeared running down the steps.

Red Hood grabbed a mail box and hauled it towards the man that was the most behind, hitting him in the head. And like dominos he fell down the stairs, started sliding down with his head repeatedly hitting the steps and taking his two friends down with him. The three of them on the ground, the one at the very bottom threw the others off his back and started to leap for Deadshot.

She grabbed his hands that were going right for her and directed him towards the wall, grabbing the back of his neck. She slammed his nose against the wood, moved his face around and made sure the sharpness of its surface scarred his face, before she turned him around and kneed his groin.

Jason took care of the other two, slamming their heads together, wrestling one down while throwing the other right over his shoulder, having them land their punches on the other’s face instead of on him. Coming out unscathed, the three were down in less than a minute.

They raced up the steps. There was no one on the second floor. No one on the third floor either. On the highest level, the one where Jason’s room was, Deadshot opened his apartment and looked around.

“Thank god, they didn’t touch your room, right?”

“Focus.”

She scoffed. “Fine.”

They heard voices from a room at the farthest side. When Jason kicked it open, another four men were inside.

They came after Y/N. Must have thought she was weaker than him. These idiots.

She pulled out her two pistols and started firing at their legs. Deadshot kept her distance, backing off at the little stampede, then Jason grabbed two of them and threw them both against the wall. On a nearby table, he flipped it over, then with his incredibly strong arms, pried the table’s leg apart with a strong crunch.

He tapped it against his palm. “Let’s play.”

Their legs must have been made of fucking clay when it just absorbed her bullets with little to no effect from them at all. And these men weren’t even that huge. Deadshot jumped against the wall, landed a kick to the face so hard he passed out on the floor, then gasped when another one’s fist so closely landed on her head before she grabbed the arm and tried with all her might to stop it from going any further. With her heel, Deadshot pushed him off of her and used Jason’s technique to stun her enemy. Using his body as leverage, she flew herself up, slammed her elbow against his head, then with quick, succeeding punched to the gut, she gained the momentum she needed to land just enough punches to incapacitate him.

The other one stood up, wiped the blood off his lip, and grabbed Deadshot’s whole body slamming it against the wall. She stopped his face from going anywhere near her, palm up against his bloodied nose. And she struggled, enough that her arms started to shake, then for the shortest spilt second she grabbed her gun and shot him in the foot.

He fell back, and she elbowed his rib until he fell to the ground, and after one last slam of her body, he was out cold.

Red Hood, on the other hand, didn’t look like he was struggling as much, using the block of wood to repeatedly hit the other two goons. A slam to the head, hard enough for their eyes to go white. He dodged from an incoming hit and slammed the wood against his stomach. He wielded it like a sword, like an extension to his limbs. Red Hood didn’t exactly hit them hard enough to gain a concussion but when he’d dodged every one of their fists, hit them with the block of wood repeatedly so until at the end, both men gave out and fell to the ground.

Deadshot finished up, kneeling in front of the bodies.

“Come on,” she told Red Hood. “You know the drill.”

She knew he was rolling his eyes when he threw his weapon to the ground and did the same as Deadshot.

Fingers holding up to their pulse points, they waited, feeling for their heartbeats, and after they’d felt just the slightest bit of movement, they turned to the next.

Everyone alive so far.

“Now,” Deadshot held her hips. “Where did they hide her?”

Red Hood turned on the x-rays on his visor and looked around.

The fucking closet. The closet he had a same one of that was too small to even fit three coats.

He ran immediately towards it and shot the lock on its hinges. It opened.

A tiny, scrawny looking three-year-old girl, curled up at the floor of the closet clutching to her knees. She was so pale, and her head was against the wall. If they hadn’t come sooner, she would have died from suffocation.

At the rush of fresh air, the girl opened her eyes and looked up at Jason. The poor thing was shivering.

“Jay-“

“I know.”

Red Hood raised his visor and pulled back his hood. She looked less scared, staring at his very human face. But she flinched when Jason tried to reach for her.

“You wanna come with us? We’ll take you back to your parents…”

She shook her head. Color was coming back up to her face.

“No. No. We’re not one of them. We’re the good guys. Y/N, take your mask off.”

Deadshot did as he said and knelt down beside Jason.

“It’s alright… We’re not gonna hurt you,” she smiled at her.

Her shivering stopped when she saw them both.

“Y/N, can you take her?”

“Sure. Come on, Samantha.” She stretched out her arms, and the girl hesitantly but eventually let Y/N carry her up, her small, tubby hands circling around her neck. She started sucking her thumb and placed her head on Y/N’s shoulder.

Y/N felt something in her burn. She put her mask back on.

Red Hood led the way. And they carried the toddler down the steps.

When they got out the front door, they didn’t know what to expect.

A crowd. And not just a small group of friends. Reporters all around them. Girls screaming at the sight of Red Hood. Men and women ogling over Deadshot.

“Red Hood!!!”

“It’s them!!!”

“Our heroes!!”

Were they followed? Did they know this whole time that a kidnapping had happened in this building and not care at all? Not even when seven thugs were inside just a few minutes ago that were strong enough to rip their heads off their bodies?

“Y/N, hurry.”

A reporter, right at the front trying to stop the crowd. Red Hood grabbed his arm and hauled him forward. As quick as she could, and as gently as she possibly can, Deadshot handed the little girl over to the man and soothed her back.

Then they fucking ran.

Down the alleys. Up the rooftops. Into the corners where they couldn’t be seen.

“What the hell was that?!” Deadshot screamed.

“Someone must have seen us go in and called all their friends. I knew we should never take the front fucking door.”

“Fucking hell. I really have to get used to this.”

Most probably, if they had their best interests at heart, they will have to get used to it.

And it didn’t just end with the mob. Every news channel on Gotham was all over them. About how all the bodies they’d left in the building were all still alive, how almost none of them were as brutally injured as they often left their enemies to be. And Jason was wrong about people turning their backs on them. Because after just a month, the whole of the east coast wouldn’t stop talking about the famous vigilante couple who were both insanely hot and good looking. Somehow, everyone knew that even with their masks on.

When they stopped killing, news stations stopped feeling that ethical pull behind them that held them back from praising the two on a biased stance. Even when the people are all over them, Gotham City News Today and all the other companies still wouldn’t acknowledge if what they did was good or bad. because at the end of the day, back then anyway, they still took lives. They still received criticism. And especially with their histories, it was no surprise that they weren’t so easily beloved by the conglomerates that only wanted the people’s graces.

And now that that’s out of the way, no longer with them breaking laws or decapitating heads or pushing people off a ten story building, they were being shown as angels, and the news stations, Vicki Vale especially praised the two ten fold and were most often compared to the likes of Batman. Red Hood, who wasn’t so much of a subject for photographs, was now challenging the likes of the ultimate hottie vigilante Nightwing. Fans fought over them, started debates, argued about who was the better hero.

And, well, as much as their personal lives didn’t change as much, nothing was the same when they went out to fight. Not anymore.

Y/N eventually got used to it.

----

Zoe liked Jason.

Her sweet little girl, who definitely wasn’t little anymore, sat across them from the table and wouldn’t stop laughing at all of Jason’s jokes. They ate at a pizza place that Zoe wanted to go to when she called them and asked if they wanted to hang out. Of course, Y/N agreed. She hadn’t seen her in a while. And it wasn’t her first time meeting Jason, either. So as the night went on, they had their most fun. They ate, asked her about school, and the look on Zoe’s face when they told her they were engaged, it was brighter than any sun that could rise.

They took her around the mall, let her go to whatever shop she wanted. Jason held Y/N’s hand the entire time. They bought her ice cream, let her play a few rounds at the arcade. It went on until the night had come to a close.

They walked down the street.

“How’s your mom, by the way, Zoe?”

Zoe held her hand. “She’s alright. We’re holding up well.”

“That’s good.”

“She told me to stay away from you, though... She thinks you’re exactly like daddy.”

Y/N and felt Jason’s hand behind her back. “Do you believe I’m good?” she asked her.

Zoe looked up at her and jumped. “Of course I do! Everyone in my school thinks your sooo awesome.”

“You don’t think we’re bad people?”

“Well… At first I thought it was bad that you kill people… but now you don’t! And it makes me so happy.”

Y/N turned to Jason.

Maybe it does have its perks.

“My mom doesn’t know about tonight. She thinks I’m out with friends. But that’s okay. I’m just glad I got to spend time with you.”

Zoe hugged her waist as they walked and Y/N placed a kiss on her head. Jason was smiling as well. All the while looking at Y/N.

As they turned towards a dark alleyway, they saw a small black car. A car they didn’t exactly recognize, but knew something was wrong about when it stopped in front of the alley where they were just about to go out of.

The black car’s door slowly peered open, then it was surrounded by police officers, cars with brightly lit sirens and motorcycles. There had to be at least five of them.

They looked back. Another three.

“Y/N…” Zoe took her hand. Jason on her side took to tightening his arm around her. Especially when she came out of the car.

The woman could never be mistaken by anyone else. Her propped up hair, clean without a strand out of place. A dark blue business suit that was posh, wrinkleless, and perfectly professional. Heels that echoed louder than any other sound on the streets.  Her head was so high up, nose in the air, so much that the air around them instantly grew thinner. It was clear, that just by her presence, everyone around her was at her feet. And she was tall. Taller than some of the cops, even. She was so much more intimidating than anyone else in the alleyway.

Amanda Waller placed her hands behind her back.

“Deadshot…”

Y/N lost her voice.

“Red Hood…”

Jason’s hand felt painful from gripping onto her shoulder so much. Zoe looked at the both of them.

“Y/N, what’s happening?”

“How did you find us?”

Waller wasn’t even scared to walk towards her. “We’ve been watching your little cousin here for some time now… Turns out you have quite the soft spot for her…”

“Get the hell out of my face, Waller.”

The woman grinned and let out a low chuckle. “You’re exactly like your uncle.”

“You think you can catch me because Floyd didn’t kill Batman with Zoe around? I’m not Floyd. I’ll kill you even if the fucking pope watches me.”

“Where are you gonna go? Up in the rooftops? We have twelve units surrounding you, Y/N. You can't get away.”

“She said,” Jason stepped in. “Get out of her face.”

“The son of a bitch. In the flesh. The Red Hood,” she eyed him up and down. “You are as handsome as they say. Maybe even more when I have both of you in the brightest orange suits.”

“Maybe if you had one in red, I might consider it.”

“Quite the talker, you are.”

“Zoe,” Y/N said over to her cousin. “Get out of here.”

“She stays.”

“Get out of here, now. Go back to the restaurant and stay there.”

“The girl stays here.”

And the moment Waller grabbed Zoe’s arm, Jason pushed Waller out of the way.

Ten guns were suddenly pointed right at him. Y/N gripped his arm from falling any further and they both froze, staring at the muzzles pointed right at their skulls.

Waller brushed off her suit.

“Don’t. Ever. Touch me.”

“If you lay a hand on that little girl again-“

“Officer Brady. Take him away-“

Y/N didn’t think it through. Not even for a second. Just that this woman was making her head boil beyond anything she could comprehend, how she was taking away everything she’d built for months for her own gain at the squad. The officers took Jason and cuffed him in front of her eyes, on his knees, looking at her with the biggest blue eyes that were doing nothing else but consoling her. She hated everything about it, hated how everything had to be stripped away from her after so much was handed over.

She never moved so fast.

Before anyone could turn, she had her wrist gun at Waller’s head.

All the officers focused their aim on her every joint. But she wasn’t scared. Instead, she screamed.

“I CAN FIRE THIS GUN FASTER THAN ANY OF YOU CAN MOVE. IF I HEAR ANY OF YOU SHOOT, YOUR BOSS DIES!”

The cops were silent, unmoving, but every pistol and sniper was on her. They were about to shoot. At any second now, she was going to die.

If not for Waller holding her hand up to stop any of the officers from firing.

She never lost her cool. Not even when at any sort of movement, Y/N fires.

Waller held her chin high.

“Let him go.”

“Or what?”

“Or I shoot you.”

Waller sneered. “Even if I die, you won't have your precious little man back,” she said that with a snarling laugh. “You’ll both be sent to prison, one way or another. And you will still be sent over to the task force under new management.”

She couldn’t do that to him. Not after everything.

He only just got out of the worst kind of prison any human being could possibly be subjected to, tortured, brought to the brink of death every single day. Belle Reve won't be any different. She couldn’t do that to him.

“Y/N, get out of here,” Jason coughed, before a cop pulled his head down.

“I’m sorry,” Waller folder her arms. “I thought you were the good guys now. I thought you don’t kill anymore, Y/N? What’s gonna happen when people find out their hero was a fraud?”

Zoe, who was shivering up against the wall, looked up at her in tears.

Y/N glanced at her and closed her eyes.

“We’ve saved the city more than any of your fucking cops had in a matter of weeks. Why arrest us now?”

“Because I don’t care about the kind of hero you are today. You have committed almost every heinous crime there is in the book before you even graduated high school. You and this man took over the city of Gotham in a military occupation. And you have killed hundreds, if not thousands of people around the world.“

Her hand started to shiver. Breathe.

“You are not a hero, Y/N. You never will be…”

Zoe was on the ground, knees to her chest. An officer came to calm her down but she refused to get out of Y/N’s side. And the look on her eyes, staring at her like all hope she had of her cousin, the role model she’s looked up to her whole life. Her hero. She was gone.

“We’re not allowed to subject you into the Task Force unless you are detained with at least five life sentences. So far, you’ve managed to clean up your acts well enough to only be charged with a few murders. That won't be enough. But your partner…”

She turned to Jason, held his chin and pulled it up so he would look up at her.

“Your partner is the perfect witness to testify against you. Unless you're married of course. Are you married?”

Waller looked at Y/N’s hands and smiled at the lack of a ring.

“I rest my case.”

“I will never talk!” Jason spat at her.

“Oh, you will. I break a few laws myself, Red Hood. And I don’t care if I have to beat the information I need out of you-“

NO.

NOT AGAIN.

NOT HIM.

To be tied, strung up to the ceiling, be beaten relentlessly with a crowbar. No. Not even if her life was on the line. Not her Jason.

She held her gun higher up to Waller’s head. “I will fucking shoot you…”

“It’s all up to you, Y/N. What do you want to do? You can kill me, go to prison. Or you won't, and still go to prison.”

Jason had his eyebrows up to his wrinkled forehead. He was telling her desperately to run. She can outrun them herself. If she tried. She can grapple up the building and outrun the cops like they so often use to.

But she wasn’t going to do that.

“I’ll make you a deal.”

“Enlighten me.”

“You don’t want me to shoot you. No matter how much you fake it. I know about the trigger on your little squad’s necks. It’s your heartbeat, isn’t it? I kill you, and every single one in Task Force X dies along with you.”

Waller lost her smile.

“I don’t care if I go to prison. Just as long as your dead, as long as there is no Suicide Squad, and I don’t get forced into your horrendous little game, I will shoot you. If you don’t let this man go…”

“And if I do?”

Y/N swallowed and heard Jason’s cries. She did everything she could to put them aside.

“Let him go. Free. Clear him of all his charges and make sure your men never go after him again.”

Breathe.

“If you do, then I’ll surrender to you right now and hand myself over-“

“Y/N, NO!”

Two officers holding Jason to the ground. She tried not to reach out to him.

“I’ll admit to all my crimes. Willingly. I’ll stand trial. I’ll do everything you ask of me. Then I’ll join the squad. I won't resist. I won't steer trouble. I’ll be exactly as Floyd had been for the team. It’ll be like he never died at all. And you’ll have me for the rest of my life. If I do, you can kill me.”

“NO!!!”

Waller didn’t look like she appreciated being cornered like this at all.

But a gun to her head, her mouth clenching with her deathly dark eyes locked onto Y/N, her eyes darted over Jason and she licked her lips.

“And how would you know we we’ll keep our little promise?”

“If I find out that he’s been hurt in ANY way at all, I will kill every single member of the squad singlehandedly, kill all the cops and guards who stand in my way, and finally, I’ll kill you-“

“And how are you gonna do that?”

“I can disarm anyone within five feet away from me and shoot ten bullets in the same second. And there are what, eight members of the squad? By the time your guards can even move, I’ll have killed them all.”

“Not even Floyd could do such a thing-“

Ten bullets. She aimed and shot them precisely at the potted plants, the bottles, and the windows that were on the walls above them. Not one of them missed.

All within exactly 96 milliseconds.

But Waller still had her hand up. The cops wouldn’t shoot Y/N. Not until Waller allows it. She must really, really want Y/N alive.

Y/N was playing the most dangerous game she ever possibly could, and she was winning.

In a way.

“I am not Floyd,” she growled at Waller.

This woman. Who lived with her pride never faltering. She was firm, tall, and kept her face from showing any sort of tremors or in any way afraid of the machine that was in front of her.

“What’s it gonna be?”

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Amanda Waller held out her hand and took Y/N’s wrist, prying it away from her direction.

“Officer Brady, I want you to clear all of the Red Hood’s charges…”

“But, Ma’am-“

“That’s an order.”

Y/N closed her eyes.

And her arm never felt so weak, never felt so tired. What went on in her ears was a low, breathy playing of a bass that mimicked the slowing heartbeats in her chest. Everything went so fuzzy after that. She couldn’t recall a thing. All that she knew was that both Jason and Zoe were crying for her, crying when she lowed her gun. Crying when the officers took Y/N’s hands and cuffed them behind her. Crying while Jason was being held up with his arm twisted behind him and crying when Zoe was taken away by the police.

Everything was done for. Her life. Her whole life. With him. A happy life she was actually looking forward to. Her future. It was all gone.

“Don’t uncuff him yet,” Waller said. “He’ll be all over her. Take him as far away from the city as possible and leave him there-“

“NO!” she screamed. “YOU CAN'T FUCKING DO THAT!”

“I am the law. I make the law. Now do your part of the deal. If it takes letting go of one criminal I don’t care about to relieve myself of your stubbornness, so be it.”

Their cuffs were being hauled over by the cops. They kept their eyes on each other, tears running down. And when they kept further and further away, they started to resist.

“Y/N!”

“JASON!”

Fighting to go towards each other, only to be dragged away to opposite ends of the alleyway, she struggled, despite her promises. She wanted to go after him. She wanted to hold him one last time. But she wasn’t given so much as a chance to say goodbye.

Jason shook himself off the cop, running towards Y/N, but he was jumped and pinned to the ground. He never stopped screaming her name.

“JASON, NO!”

“Y/N!”

“JUST LET ME SAY GOODBYE. PLEASE.”

“Don’t make me change my mind,” Waller scowled as she stepped into the car.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

-----

MASTERLIST

THE BULLET MASTERLIST

-----

everyartistwas-firstanamateur  @sarcasmismyfirstlove @damned-queen-of-gotham @idkmanicantenglish @wunderstell @birdy-bat-riya @get-loki@everyday-imfangirling @comic-nerd-dc@multifandoms916@icequeen208@offendedfishnoises@egdolan@xemiefx@arkhamtoddler@elsenthal@mythicbitchx@supremehaunter burning-alive  @lucy-roo  roseangel013bf @ loxbbg  reclusive-chicken-nuggethttp-cherriesshadowsndaisiesriver9noblezphilophobiazannoylinglyaries@knightfall05x @l-horizon11flowersgirl02

[lifeofkaze]

An Art of Balance #5

A/N: That one was tough. I have never written something with so much physical action before, and I had to rewrite a huge chunk of it until I finally felt happy with it. Describing sports is really tough, as it turns out. Also, KC belongs to the wonderful @kc-needs-coffee who lets me to a little cameo once in a while 😊 Enjoy!

 Word Count: ~ 3.100 (oops)

______________________________________________________________ 

Chapter 5: Back Home

A persistent rumour among the students was that Professor Binns had altered the clock in his classroom, back when he had been still alive. It was said, he did so to allow him to delve more minutely into every little detail of his subject he wished his students to remember.

If he hadn’t known any better, Orion could have sworn it was true.

He absentmindedly ran his quill through his fingers, trying his best to take in Professor Binns’s droning voice in what was their last class of the day. Orion glanced around the classroom. He estimated about half of the students were daydreaming about the upcoming weekend. The other half was fast asleep.

His gaze wandered out of the window. He could just make out the Quidditch pitch up ahead in the distance. The banners on top of the stands were swaying in a gentle breeze. He could feel it lightly brush his face from where he sat near the open window. It brought with it the pleasant warmth of a late summer afternoon.

Orion shuffled in his seat. He could feel his entire body brim with energy. The restlessness he felt had been bubbling under his skin for the last few days. He was itching to get back on his broomstick and to feel the wind on his face as he sped through the air.

This was what he had missed most during the summer break. When not at Hogwarts, he had no access to a broomstick, let alone people to fly with. Although Orion prided himself on always being grateful for what the universe had chosen to bestow on him, he sometimes he couldn’t help feeling envious of people like Skye. They could practise what they loved to their heart’s content, whenever or wherever they wished to.

He could feel McNully nudging him into his side. “There are only 23 minutes and 35 seconds left to his torment. 30 seconds as we speak,” he whispered.

Orion tore his gaze from the silhouette of the Quidditch pitch and turned to better face him. “Excuse me?”

McNully pointed at his now worse for wear looking quill. “You have been running your hand over this quill fourteen times in the last twenty minutes. In the last 45 minutes you have been staring out of the window seven times, with an average duration of five minutes. You have not been able to play Quidditch for 76 days in a row. And to add a personal note, tapping your foot excessively like that gives off an impatient expression and is rather annoying as well.”

Orion only now noticed his foot was indeed lightly tapping against the leg of table. He stopped.

“Sometimes I find your habit of observing your surroundings as meticulously as you do worrying, my friend.”

McNully shrugged, a carefree grin showing on his face. “What do you expect? I’m a commentator. I observe things and I comment on them. That is what I do.”

Orion had to grin at that. “It is indeed.”

He propped his head onto his hand, staring at the clock mounted above Professor Binns’s head. “I wouldn’t call it impatient, though. More like eager. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

McNully had started doodling onto his parchment, drawing tiny snitches between his notes. “Call it what you want, it doesn’t change what it is.”

Orion contemplated his words. “I agree. The appearance of the shell cannot change the core of things.”

He could see the confusion forming on McNully’s face. “I’m about 34 % sure that is what I said.”

 Only a few hours later, Orion felt himself unable to wipe the grin off his face. He stood in the middle of his beloved Quidditch pitch, the sun warming the back of his yellow robes. The unmistakable smell of grass, wood warmed by the sunlight and broom wax made him feel almost intoxicated.

Most of his team had already taken to the sky. They were getting back into the swing of things, darting around the pitch, doing turns and dives. Even down here, the joy they radiated was contagious. Everyone was wild with excitement to finally be back.

“And here is Parkin with a triple backwards flip. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a move to be watched! But what is this? Parkin is challenged to a race around the pitch by Jameson! Which Chaser can push their Comet’s limits further? There is a 92,4 % chance we are going to find out!”

He stifled a laugh. Of course McNully was here to commentate on their first friendly of the season. Orion hadn’t been the only one antsy to get back to business.

His attention shifted to the group of tense looking students stood in front of him.

Orion had carefully selected a few Hufflepuffs that were known to be skilled flyers. Every one of them had the potential to fill the vacant spot on their House’s team. He had already been thoroughly testing them, before admitting them to a practise with the other players. They had all passed his balancing test. Now it was time for them to prove themselves in action.

When he saw the reserve players arriving on the field, he mounted his broomstick.

“Now, my friends, is the time. The quest to become one of the pillars the building that is the Hufflepuff team is built upon is almost complete for one of you. For our new Beater to be revealed, we will have to see how you fare in a real match situation.”

He raised his arm, calling his teammates down to his side. “We will divide into two teams and play for a bit before switching things up. Good luck to all of you.” He inclined his head towards the contestants, some of them looking positively sick with nerves. “May this division serve to bring us unison.”

He unlocked the trunk resting at his feet and watched first the Snitch and then the Bludgers shoot up into the air. Picking up the Quaffle, he pushed himself off the ground.

“Let’s play.”

 If returning to Hogwarts had him feel like being home, tearing up and down the pitch made Orion feel like he truly belonged here. In contrast to the hectic movements unfolding around him, playing Quidditch granted him unparalleled focus, similar to nothing else. All that mattered was the moment at present, nothing before, nothing after.

He had taken himself back from the game playing out in front of him to better watch the students competing for the open position. Jason Everett, a rather loud and braggy guy, was one of the competitors he had chosen. He was sharing the dorm with Orion and McNully and Orion had never been able to form a real connection with him. To his surprise, however, he was showing great promise.

He decided to take the challenge up a bit. Putting himself on the same team as Lizzie and Skye, he wanted Everett to compete against a full set of Chasers for the second half of the match.

It wasn’t until flying with Skye and Lizzie by his side that he fully realised how much he had missed this. He felt like sheer life was running through his veins.

Although they hadn’t seen each other since the end of last year, it took them only a few manoeuvres to regain the unmatched unison the Hufflepuff team had grown reputed for. They had managed to create a bond between the three of them that didn’t require any words.

He felt this connection especially with Lizzie, allowing them to move almost as one when attacking the opposite goalposts. Throwing the Quaffle back and forth between them, it was no easy feat to stop them from scoring.

With Skye, it was different.

They had played together even longer than he and Lizzie. If there was harmony with her, it was all friction with Skye. The two of them were entertaining completely different beliefs on what Quidditch stood for and how it should be approached. As a result, they regularly clashed, on the pitch and off.

Contrary to what most people would think, the tension between them had never worn him down. Like a static charge, the constant challenge Skye Parkin posed to him acted as an energiser. Discussing strategic matters with her had never failed to give Orion new perspectives outside of his own thinking patterns.

“Here is what we all have been waiting for, my honoured spectators. Now, we are getting serious!” McNully was giving it his all in the commentary box, clearly relishing the first friendly of his not-so-secret favourite team.

“Amari and Parkin are on the hunt for the Quaffle, Jameson’s broken out of formation. If I didn’t know better, I’d say we are about to see the Parkin’s family pinching signature move! Watch this! The Chaser is flanked by Amari and Parkin. This is not looking good, ladies and gentlemen, if I were in possession of that Quaffle I would seriously be worried right now. Oh, and there we have it! Jameson makes expert use of her Comet’s impressive speed and pulls up from underneath her opponent, forcing her to either let go of the Quaffle or her broomstick. Parkin relieves her of the Quaffle, using her broom’s patented Horton-Keitch Braking Charm to drift around, racing to the other side of the pitch, Jameson overtaking her and Amari close by her side.”

Lizzie was diverging from the path he and Skye flew on, preparing to round and get behind the other team’s attacking Chasers, allowing Skye to pass the Quaffle to her at the last moment. They had used this strategy numerous times and it had seldomly failed them.

“Parkin sets herself up to score. Or is she letting Jameson have the advantage? We might never find out as Everett, hot contestant for the vacant Beater position, aims his Bludger directly at Parkin. This might get ugly!”

McNully was right. Everett had hit his Bludger straight towards them. It rushed towards Skye at a fast pace. Orion shouted a warning, but she had already seen it coming. She waited for a moment, dodging the Bludger at the last second before passing the Quaffle on to Lizzie, who made short work of the Keeper.

“And Jameson scores! That’s ten points for her team and an impressive show of flying skills from Parkin if I may add.”

Orion nodded contentedly before turning around and chasing after the Quaffle again. Lizzie and Skye both didn’t seem to have lost their fire. They were in good form.

Despite himself, he liked the potential Everett was showing. He wasn’t nearly the Beater they had lost, but he had foundations they could build upon. When Lizzie had needed to fill in for Bean a seasons ago, he and McNully had made a more than capable Beater out of her in a shorter amount of time.

His mind was taken off his thoughts when he saw a yellow flash dart past him. It was their Seeker Lucy, who had spotted the Snitch hovering just underneath the railing of the Slytherin stand. The other Seeker had seen it as well and both were racing towards it.

“Both Seekers appear to have spotted the Golden Snitch. Catching it would reward their team with additional 150 points. We’re talking the winning catch of this game here! O’Connell utilises the advanced speed of her broom, but Miller has less ground to cover! Both are nearing the Snitch at high speed, if no one slows down, we had better alert Madam Pomfrey. But no, no! O’Connell takes the absolute last out of her broomstick. She secures the Snitch and her team’s victory!”

Orion saw Lucy raise her arm in triumph, the wings of the tiny golden ball beating frantically against her palm.

Everybody was steering their brooms towards the ground, clapping Lucy on the back. Orion landed beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“That was magnificent catch, Lucy, well done.” He turned towards the other players that had gathered around them and raised his voice. “Although Lucy secured the win for her team, all of us have won today. As we were competing against each other, we were competing against ourselves. Overcoming what’s inside us makes us stronger, and lets us grow closer as one team.”

“One team!” everybody shouted what had gradually become their motto, raising their broomsticks up in the air.

Orion turned towards the contestants. “Watching you play, I have been able to gain insight to the path that lies ahead of us. I will contemplate which one of you will get the chance to balance  our team. I will let you know my conclusion when it is time.”

“And that would be when?” Everett asked impatiently.

Orion tilted his head and smiled placidly. “The time has come when the time has come. And the time is not now.”

A mix of confusion and frustration on his face, Everett left them standing and headed for the changing rooms. Orion had seen this look countless times before. New players always needed time to grow accustomed to his ways.

He was already going over the contestants’ performances in his mind when McNully rolled onto the pitch and joined his side.

“Brilliant match! The way I see it, you and Gryffindor are pretty evenly matched this season. I announced them the day before yesterday. If you keep up the form and choose a capable second Beater, that is. I calculated the odds and I would say Jason Everett has the best chance of fitting in, he is fast and has suitable strength. His aim is not the best though, 31,6 % of his Bludgers missed their mark.”

McNully’s eyes lit up. “I know just which one of my playbooks he needs. He will never miss his target again.”

Orion quickly filtered the information his friend had been spewing at him. He was right. Everett was far from ideal, but which player was when they started out fresh? They were like rough diamonds, waiting to be cut and polished until ready to shine.

“Can a Bludger really miss its target, though? Or is it the Beater that misjudges the path the Bludger is meant to be taken?” he mused.

“Whatever it is, I am glad this particular Bludger’s path was not destined to end in Skye’s face.” Lizzie and Skye were approaching them, their brooms resting on their shoulders.

Skye scoffed at her words. “As if it could have hit me. I had things under control. It takes more than that to bring a Parkin down.”

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “He is no Erika Rath, for sure, but it was good enough for a beginner, I would wager.”

Skye’s face darkened. “Don’t remind me of her. It has been such a beautiful day so far.”

“You will have to deal with her rather sooner than later. Ravenclaw is set as your first match in two months’ time. And from what I have seen so far, their Beaters are still the best Hogwarts has to offer.” McNully’s voice had a dreamy touch to it, making Lizzie chuckle.

“We all know you particularly enjoy watching the Ravenclaw Beaters,” she teased with a sweet voice. “Give KC my love, next time you see her, will you?”

“I have no idea, what you are talking about.” His face was blushing a deep scarlet. “I am merely doing my job and keeping my statistics up to date. I’d better get going now.” McNully turned his wheelchair hastily and rolled off quickly.

Orion was giving the snickering girls by his side a scolding look. “You shouldn’t taunt him like that. Our hearts’ desires are out of our power to control.”

“Calm down, Orion, it’s just a bit of fun. He can take that.”

The sun had slowly started setting, the stands casting their elongated shadows across the field. Skye rubbed her neck. “Come on, Liz, let’s get changed and head back to the castle. I’m starving.”

Lizzie hesitated, glancing at Orion for a second. “Go ahead, I’ll be with you in a second.”

Staring at her friend in wonder, Skye shrugged. “Whatever. Make it quick, I won’t wait too long.”

After Skye had left, Orion and Lizzie were alone on the pitch. He watched her staring back at the castle for a moment, the sunlight catching in her golden-brown hair. She seemingly tried to collect herself. He couldn’t deny being curious about what was on her mind.

He smiled openly. “What can I help you with, Lizzie?”

For an instant, Lizzie seemed to look for a way to word her question. She didn’t look him in the eye.

“Uhm, you are quite good at Herbology, aren’t you?” she mumbled.

He raised his eyebrows. “Being in balance with oneself brings you closer to nature. If you listen closely, the plants can tell you what they need.”

She sighed. “I take that as a ‘yes’.” She ran her fingers over the smooth handle of her broomstick, still not looking at him, her shoulders unusually tense. “Would you mind helping me studying?”

He tried to hide his surprise. “You need a tutor? Professor Sprout regularly fills me in on the academic progress of our team’s members. She never mentioned you struggling.”

“I haven’t so far,” Lizzie replied quickly. “But I had a look at the curriculum for this year. It’s really tough, and I don’t want to mess up my O.W.L.s because of a plant biting my finger off.”

It still struck him as odd, but Lizzie was his friend. He wouldn’t let her down if she sought his help. “I’ll be glad to guide you through your curriculum, as long as you desire my help.”

Finally Lizzie met his eyes, obviously relieved. “Thank you, I appreciate this a lot.” She suddenly seemed to remember something. “Can my friend Rowan come, too?”

His surprise turned into confusion. “Rowan Khanna is struggling with a subject?”

“Well, she is a perfectionist.” Lizzie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. A strand of hair had come out of her ponytail and she impatiently tucked it behind her ear. She was radiating a nervous energy Orion had never seen on her before.

“Of course, bring her. I’ll talk to Professor Sprout about using the greenhouse and let you know the details, is that alright?”

All of a sudden, Lizzie seemed much calmer. She sighed with relief, a smile forming on her face. “Brilliant. See you in the Common Room.”

With that, she spun around and quickly left. Now alone on the pitch, Orion stared after her and wondered what in Godric’s name that had been about.