#i keep saying i’ll figure it out but i had this exact conversation with a friend almost a year ago | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

brightlight-dazzlingeyes · 16 days ago

Note

omg girl pretty please was perfect, need a part two with more spice

here it is, with a lot more spice, so be warned! 🔞

pretty please | pablo gavi [part 2]

🧁 synopsis: Pablo and you decide to turn your friendly casual hook-ups into a "no-strings-attached" arrangement – it sounds like the perfect plan: easy, fun, and uncomplicated. If only he weren’t so annoyingly impossible. tags: friends with benefits, banter, dirty talking, smut. (written in 2nd person but no mention of yn) (around 3k words)

you can read the first part here

Your friends are spilling out of cars, shouting directions, arguing about who almost missed the turn, and debating who owes who gas money. You climb out of the backseat of your friend’s car, smoothing down your dress as you walk toward the restaurant.

Pablo is leaning against the wall near the door, arms crossed like he’s trying to blend in. But the second you step out, his eyes lock on you, and he starts making a beeline straight for you.

“Hey, what’s with the dress?” he asks, his voice sharp enough to cut through the parking lot noise.

You blink at him, playing dumb. “What about it?”

He stops just short of crowding you, his eyes dragging over the vintage Versace. His expression gives away nothing, but you can tell he’s trying not to combust. He knows exactly what you’re doing, but you also try to keep your expression neutral, as if you’re completely oblivious to how short, how tight, and how ridiculous this dress is.

You borrowed it from your mom without asking. She would absolutely kill you if she knew, but as long as there aren’t any pictures, you figure you’re safe.

“You know exactly what about it.”

“No, I don’t.” You tilt your head, feigning innocence. “You have something against fashion, Pablito?”

His jaw tightens, and you swear he mutters something under his breath. You’re having too much fun to care.

“Seriously, though,” you continue, twirling the hem of the dress between your fingers. “You don’t think it’s cute?”

“Cute?” He scoffs, looking around to make sure none of your friends are within earshot. “It’s... distracting.”

None of your friends know what the two of you do behind closed doors. To everyone else, you’re just two close friends, which makes it even funnier when they try to set you up.

It’s become a running joke between you and Gavi, the two of you playing along just enough to make them think they’re onto something.

You can’t help but grin. “Distracting for who?”

“For me,” he hisses, glaring at you like it’s your fault.

“Oh, well, I didn’t realize I had to run my wardrobe choices by you.” You shrug, pretending to think. “Maybe next time I’ll wear something really distracting.”

“Don’t even –”

“Come on, Pablito,” you cut him off, grabbing his wrist and tugging him toward the entrance. “People are waiting, and you’re being weird. Let’s go.”

His steps falter, but he follows, muttering as he lets you pull him along. “I’m not being weird.”

“Relax,” you say, turning to flash him a grin. “If it’s really bothering you, maybe you should sit on the other side of the table.”

He stops walking, staring at you like you’ve just personally challenged him to a duel. “Not a chance.”

“Suit yourself,” you sing, swinging open the restaurant door. Behind you, you hear him mutter something unintelligible – probably about how impossible you are – but he’s already following you in, like he always does.

part 2

Your group takes up the long table near the back and dinner starts out fine. Pablo, for reasons only he knows, has stationed himself at the far end of the table, so far away from you it feels intentional.

You figure it probably is.

It’s almost impressive, the way he’s managed to talk and gesture like everything’s normal, all while sneaking glances at you every few seconds. You know because you’ve been doing the exact same thing – watching him out of the corner of your eye as he fidgets with his glass, rubs the back of his neck, and very clearly struggles to keep his attention on the conversation in front of him.

You’re not trying to make things harder for him. Well... not exactly. Teasing him is fun, and you didn’t realize that was part of the deal when you started this whole “friends with benefits” arrangement. Apparently, it is, and it’s working better than you could’ve imagined.

The dress helps, of course.

By the time your friends start debating dessert orders, you notice Pablo’s grip on his fork is a little too tight. His jaw keeps ticking, and his eyes haven’t left you in what feels like minutes.

Then, out of nowhere, he blurts, “Oh, we need to go.”

The entire table falls silent, everyone looking at him in confusion.

“What?” one of your friends asks.

Pablo’s eyes are glued to you, panic flickering in them like he didn’t think this through. “We have that... thing,” he says, gulping hard. “With your brother.”

You nearly choke on your drink. His eyebrows are doing that wild thing they do when he’s embarrassed, and it takes everything in you not to burst out laughing on the spot.

“Right,” you say smoothly, nodding. “Thanks for reminding me, Pablito.” You grab your bag, standing up with practiced calm. “Sorry, guys, we’re leaving. Can’t be late.”

Your friends barely react. You and Pablo leaving early isn’t exactly unusual – you’ve been practically glued at the hip since you met.

You pay your share of the check, wave goodbye, and make it all the way to his car before the composure you’ve been holding onto snaps.

As soon as the doors shut, you burst out laughing.

“With my brother?” you wheeze, clutching your stomach. “That’s the best you could come up with?”

Pablo glares at you, his ears turning pink. “Don’t.” His voice is low, trying for roughness, but it only makes you laugh harder.

“Oh my God, you looked like you were going to pass out.”

“I said don’t.” He leans back in his seat, covering his face with his hands, but you can see the faintest hint of a grin breaking through. “I can’t believe you did that.”

You blink at him, “Did what?”

He scoffs before turning to glare at you. “You spent the entire dinner giving me that look.”

“What look?” you ask, trying not to grin.

His jaw tightens, and for a second, he looks like he regrets saying anything. But then he mutters, “The look you have when you want to... you know.”

You burst out laughing, loud and uncontrollable as his ears turn pink.

“You’re insane!” you manage between laughs. “That’s totally a projection. You were the one who kept looking over at me.”

“Whatever,” he snaps, looking back at the road as he starts the car. “I’m taking you to mine.”

You’re still grinning, leaning your head back against the seat. “And what are we doing at your place, Pablo?”

He looks at you out of the corner of his eye, and the smirk creeping onto his face says it all. “I don’t know,” he says casually, his tone a perfect imitation of innocence. “Play video games, maybe. That’s what we do, right?”

“Right,” you say, biting your lip to hold back another laugh.

He’s not saying what he really wants, but he doesn’t have to. And the way his hand taps restlessly on the steering wheel tells you he’s not going to hold out much longer.

part 3

His bedroom door clicks shut behind you, and before you can even process what’s happening, Pablo is dropping to his knees.

“What are you doing?” you blurt out, genuinely taken aback.

He doesn’t answer right away, his hands already gliding down the sides of your thighs. His head tilts up briefly and you can see the faint flush creeping over his face. It’s not shame, it’s desire.

You’re tempted to say something snarky, to keep up the teasing game you started at dinner, but the way he looks at you – half-lidded, feverish – makes the words catch in your throat.

When his lips press against the curve of your leg, just above your knee, you feel your breath hitch. He trails soft kisses down, his touch so careful it sends shivers up your spine.

“Pablo,” you say again, but this time it comes out quieter.

Still, he doesn’t respond, his hands sliding down to your ankles. When he finally reaches your feet, he pauses, looking up at you as if asking for permission – or maybe just enjoying the way you’re completely at his mercy.

“You’re so dramatic,” you mutter, trying to sound unaffected.

He smirks, the flush deepening on his cheeks as he carefully slides one of your heels off, then the other. “And you’re a brat,” he says, like it’s a compliment.

You’d almost feel bad for teasing him earlier. Almost.

But the way he’s looking at you now? Yeah, you don’t feel sorry at all.

Gavi stands up and you raise an eyebrow at him when he takes you completely by surprise. Before you can react, he hooks an arm around your waist and manhandles you up like you weigh nothing.

“Pablo!” you yelp, your legs kicking lightly in protest as he hauls you toward the bed.

“What?” he says, laughing as he effortlessly shifts you in his arms.

“Put me down!” you demand, though the smile on your face betrays your annoyance.

“Okay,” he says, plopping you unceremoniously onto the mattress. You bounce once and he doesn’t follow immediately. Instead, he steps back, his dark eyes scanning over you. His head tilts slightly, his brow furrowing.

“You’re… hot,” he says finally.

You blink up at him, “You’re only noticing now?”

He moves closer, his hands skimming over the fabric of your dress. His fingers linger at the hem, then drift to the exposed skin of your thighs, your shoulders, the back of your neck – everywhere the dress doesn’t cover.

“No, I’m serious,” he says, his voice lower now, his focus entirely on you.

Before you can respond, his hands slide up to cup your face, holding you firmly, like he needs you to hear him. His thumbs brush against your cheekbones.

“You look really fucking hot right now,” he says, and there’s nothing teasing about the way he says it.

You open your mouth to reply, but the words won’t come. You’re too distracted by the way he’s looking at you. So you don’t even think about it – you just grab his shirt and pull him down, kissing him hard. The kind of kiss that friends definitely shouldn’t be sharing. It’s reckless, fueled by everything he’s made you feel tonight, by all the times he’s told you not to overthink this, not to complicate things.

But this? This is the definition of complicated, and you don’t care.

At first, he freezes, like the force of your kiss has stunned him. Then his hands tighten on your face, and he kisses you back even harder.

His lips move against yours with a kind of desperation that makes your head spin, and his fingers slide into your hair, anchoring you to him.

When he finally breaks the kiss, his hands are still cradling your face, his thumbs brushing over your cheeks like he can’t quite let go. His gaze drops, taking in every inch of you, and when he looks back up, there’s a determined gleam in his eyes.

“I’m not even taking the dress off,” he says, his voice low and sure as he starts unbuttoning his shirt.

You giggle, shaking your head at him. “We can’t! My mom would kill me if I screwed up this dress.”

But Gavi just shakes his head, completely unfazed. “I’ll buy her another one.”

His shirt is off now, tossed somewhere behind him, and you’re caught between laughing at his confidence and being completely swept up in it.

“Oh, really?”

“Really,” he replies, his tone leaving no room for argument. His hands find your waist again, pulling you closer as he leans in, his breath warm against your skin.

You shake your head again, but this time it’s less about disbelief and more about the fact that you’re already giving in.

He slides your lacy underwear off with deliberate care, and when he notices they match the color of your dress, he pauses for a beat, his eyes lingering. The corner of his mouth twitches before he does something you don’t expect – he places them right next to your face, on the pillow you’re lying on, his grip on them firm.

You laugh, the sound bubbling out. “You’re so weird.”

His lips twitch into a smirk, but he doesn’t let it slide. “Stop calling me weird,” he mutters, biting your ear in retaliation before trailing down to your neck.

You shiver under his attention, but then he pulls back to focus on his next task – taking off his pants with a kind of urgency that’s kind of endearing. When he’s finally stripped nude, he stands in front of you, hands on his hips like he’s waiting for a round of applause.

“Tell me I’m hot,” he demands.

You shake your head, biting back another laugh. “What? No way.”

“Why not?” he asks, feigning offense as he moves closer. “Come on, say it.”

He leans in, peppering kisses across your cheek and jaw, his persistence both ridiculous and charming.

“You think your annoying best friend is hot, don’t you?” he whispers into your ear, his tone dropping just enough to make your pulse race. “And you want to sleep with me, don’t you?”

“Stop projecting your feelings onto me,” you argue, but your voice is breathy, already undone by his proximity. Your words would be more effective if you weren’t already moaning under his touch, two of his fingers going in and out inside of you, the softest sounds escaping you as his lips find yours again.

The room is filled with your unsteady breaths and the sounds you can’t quite keep contained, each one louder than the last. But then, out of nowhere, Gavi stills completely, his movements halting. He grabs your chin, tilting your face toward his. His expression is serious, annoyingly composed.

“I’m not letting you finish until you tell me I’m hot,” he says, like this is a perfectly reasonable demand to make at a time like this.

You glare at him, every nerve in your body screaming at the unfairness of it all. But it’s too late for you – you’ve already given up.

“You’re hot, okay?” you snap, your voice desperate and unfiltered. “You’re the hottest guy I’ve ever been with, so please, please just fuck me.”

For a second, he looks almost touched. And then, to your complete horror, he has the audacity to laugh.

“Jesus! Calm down, I’ll do it,” he says, his grin breaking through his mock seriousness.

You see red, slapping his hand away from your chin in pure frustration. “You’re insufferable,” you mutter, but before you can say more, he’s fingering you again, his hands steady and assured, and everything else fades away.

His hands and lips and teeth start exploring every inch of you with a passion that feels almost primal. He’s relentless, his mouth all over your skin, lingering on the parts of you he knows will make your breath hitch. The delicate fabric of your dress shifts under his hands, pushed and pulled as he reveals more of you, your breasts, your cunt, as he eats you out with a feral hunger.

You cum twice, his name falling from your lips. By the time he finally lifts his head from between your legs, his smile is smug, proud.

“I’ll give you what you asked for now,” he says, “What you begged me for.”

“Shut up,” you snap, your voice unsteady.

He laughs, brushing a strand of damp hair from your face. “You’re so mean to me,” he murmurs, shifting you gently to your side. His voice softens further as he positions himself behind you. “I always give you what you want, don’t I?”

You roll your eyes, your tone sharp even as your breath hitches. “Hurry up with the condom.”

“Do you want to put it on?”

“Yes…” you mutter, your fingers brushing against his as you take it from him.

When he finally enters you, it’s consciously slow, his lips pressing softly to your shoulder, shushing you as your breathing grows uneven again. “It’s okay,” he whispers, his voice soothing as his pace quickens, the rhythm you find together is absolutely perfect.

As you sense him nearing his peak, you lean back slightly, your voice quiet but sure. “Cum in my mouth.”

Pablo groans loudly, a mix of gritted words spilling out. “Fuck, fuck.” He pulls away quickly, his breathing ragged. “That’s what you wanted all night, wasn’t it?” He’s breathless, his words edged with laughter. “You wanted to taste, wanted to – fuck, to eat my cum, fuck – nasty girl.”

He’s hasty and shaky now, completely lost in pleasure as his member fits perfectly in your mouth. He closes his eyes, moaning loudly as he finishes. In his hurry, he becomes careless, and a few drops land on your face, his eyes widen. Then, without missing a beat, he leans in to clean it off, his tongue brushing over your skin with an exaggerated gentleness that makes you giggle.

“What are you doing?” you laugh, but he shushes you, his focus entirely on his task.

“Fixing my mess,” he mutters, his lips trailing up to yours. He kisses you fiercely, sucking your tongue. It’s messy and uncoordinated, full of laughter and half-mumbled complaints.

When he finally pulls back, his eyes rake over you, and he groans dramatically. “Mierda, I’m hard again.”

You laugh, pushing at his chest. “You’re too horny!”

“Me?” he scoffs, grabbing your wrists and pinning you down effortlessly. “You came three times, and I didn’t hear you complaining then.”

You roll your eyes, already teasing him with your touch, one hand on his erect member, caressing him. “I’m tired now,” you say, your voice playful even as you keep up your antics.

“Tired?” he repeats, “No, no way. Give me another one.”

You stretch out lazily on the bed, making yourself comfortable. “Fine,” you say with a grin. “But I’m not doing any work this time. You’re on top.”

Gavi groans again, rolling his eyes. But the smile on his face says he’s more than ready to oblige.

#football fanfic #football fic #pablo gavi #pablo gavi fanfic #pablo gavi x you #pablo gavi x reader #gavi x reader #gavi imagine #gavi x you #football x reader #brightlightwrites

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chukys-mouthguard · 7 months ago

Text

kinda tempting pt 4

part 3

4.6k words

genre: angst, with a drop of fluff

featuring: mat barzal x female reader x matthew rempe

note: to the anon who predicted the exact plot of part 4…was it that predictable? Hahaha 🫣🙈

To say you were stressed was an understatement. On top of trying to plan a destination wedding for this summer, you were also stressing over not just the Rangers but the Islanders fighting for a playoff spot.

Despite having worked through playoff hockey before, this year seemed much harder on you. The longer hours, stricter deadlines, on top of just hoping and praying your boyfriend fiance managed to make the playoffs, or else he’d be off enjoying summer early while you might still be working. Which wouldn’t be ideal if you’re trying to get married this summer.

Though you’d be lying if you said you hadn’t once thought about postponing the wedding, or even possibly eloping. The idea of trying to plan a destination wedding in another country was actually making you insane. Mat was dead set on Italy for your wedding, but with how crazy busy you both had been, there was very little planning taking place. Trying to convince Mat to postpone seemed like an even bigger challenge at this point, one you were afraid to even attempt.

There really wasn’t any rush to get married in your eyes, but you understood Mat just wanted to call you his wife. To not be engaged for long, because what’s the fun in that. Which is why you’d figured to just elope, then later down the line you could have a wedding. But this summer seemed too soon, and you were sick trying to juggle it all.

“Mat, what is all of this?”

Walking into your kitchen you found Mat standing proud with a counter covered in various snacks and goodies.

“Well, you said you haven’t been feeling well. And I figured I could try my best to help! So, I got you chicken soup because who can say no to that. Some cookies from the bakery down the street, since I wasn’t sure if maybe it was your period. And, to be honest this last bit I stole from tik tok when I searched gifts for girls. And everyone said you can’t go wrong with a throw blanket and some fuzzy socks.” He shrugged as he held up the two items, making you giggle as you kissed his cheek.

“Well thank you babe, I thought it was my period, but that still hasn’t started yet this month. Though I will still gladly accept these delicious looking cookies. I really appreciate all this.”

Taking a seat at the counter, you watched as Mat heated up the soup for you before sliding it to you with a spoon.

“Do you think maybe you should lay low today? I mean, with the schedule getting crazier for you, and I’m sure the wedding planning is also not helping. I just don’t want you to burn out or anything.”

Nodding your head as you heard his concerns you sipped your soup. “Well, I might swing by one of those like Minute Clinics at the drugstore. Just to maybe see if I need anything stronger than over the counter meds. I don’t think it’s anything serious, I have my suspicions. But at least I’ll have some answers after doing that.”

He simply nodded, not wanting to tell you what to do or how to take care of yourself. Though he couldn’t help but feel like you were downplaying things, or potentially keeping something from him. Not to mention how guilty he felt for bailing on the wedding planning with the Isles trying to make the playoffs. But if something serious was going on, he wanted to know. Though you would hopefully have your answer today, you weren’t sure how you’d feel when you go it.

It had been a few days since you’d gone to the doctor to figure out what was going on, and while you got your answer, it was the one you weren’t hoping for despite expecting it.

Mat had asked how it went, to which you simply responded that it was nothing serious. Hoping to drop the conversation until you found a way to tell him the real answer. Needing a few days to think it through.

As you drove to Madison Square Garden for yet another Rangers home game, you knew your news needed to be shared with Matthew sooner rather than later. Though you two hadn’t spoken since he found out you’d said yes to Mat, and despite him sending the congratulatory text that he did, you were sure he still wasn’t too thrilled about it all. This news definitely not going to make things any better.

After you’d gotten settled in at the rink, having a bit of down time, you shot a text to Matthew. To your surprise you didn’t appear to be blocked anymore. Maybe he’d gotten over his anger towards you, either way, you were thankful for it.

“Can we talk?”

You stared at the screen, waiting to see that he’d read the message, then waiting for the bubble to appear and signal that he was typing a response.

“The usual spot, I’ll be there in 5.”

Those 5 minutes of waiting felt like 50. You had no clue how you were going to tell Matthew your news, figuring it was maybe best to start with small talk and gauge his mood.

A soft smile on your face as he walked up to you, a more stern look on his. He offered a hug to you, feeling it was only right after the argument you two had. He never meant to say the things he did, no matter if they were his true feelings or not.

“So? What’s up?”

Playing with the hem of your jacket you started down the hall, Matthew instinctually following at your side.

“Mat read me the text you sent him the other day, that was really nice of you. Thanks.”

“You called me out here for that?” His tone was a mix of annoyance and sarcasm, making you question even more if this was a good idea or not. But you knew it was best for him to hear things from you this time, not his teammates, social media, or anyone else.

“No, I didn’t. Um, I wanted you to hear this from me. Especially after last time. But, I went to the doctor the other day because I haven’t been feeling well. I thought it was stress with the season gearing up for playoffs possibly. For Mat and for the Rangers. Not to mention trying to plan a wedding in Italy for the summer. But, it’s definitely not just stress.”

A look of concern washing over him as he looked down at you, unsure of where this was going. Nervously cracking his knuckles as he waited for you to continue.

“I, god I haven’t even told Mat and I can’t believe I’m telling you first. But, I’m, I’m pregnant.”

Matthew scoffed, a slight chuckle following as he bit his cheek, his demeanor completely changing as he shook his head.

“Wow, that’s…why the fuck do I need to know this? You just wanted to rub more shit in my face or what? You had me scared that something was really wrong y/n! Did you just tell me to get another half hearted congratulations from me?”

He tried to walk away, not caring to hear anything further, his heart hurting all over again knowing that now you truly were out of his reach for good. But you stopped him, grabbing his hand as you pulled him back to look at you. Tears in your eyes as you tried to explain.

“What!”

Matthew’s voice echoing through the hall as he stared at you, his expression quickly changing from cold to soft as he could see right through you. Seeing the nervousness in your eyes as you tried to pull yourself together.

“You, you don’t know if it’s his, do you?”

As you looked to the floor, that told him all he needed to know. Wrapping you in a hug, he didn’t know what to say. His own emotions running wild at the thought that you were pregnant with his child. But he tried not to get his hopes up, on the off chance it wasn’t his. Plus you were technically still engaged and planning to marry Mat as far as he was concerned.

“Well, you have to tell him. Regardless if it’s mine or his, he needs to know.”

“Oh like that’s easy? To tell the man I’m supposed to be marrying this summer that I’m pregnant, but don’t get your hopes up cause it might not be yours.” You sniffled as you wiped away the few tears that had fallen, letting out a sigh as you didn’t feel relieved at all. Feeling even worse now that you’d told Matthew the news.

“But if the baby isn’t his, he has a right to know. Shit I have a right to know if it’s mine!”

You quickly threw your hand up, covering his mouth in an attempt to quiet him. Not wanting anyone to possibly overhear your conversation.

“Sorry, but, I’m not okay with you pretending like I’m not a part of this now. You want to just not tell him? And then what? Especially if this baby is mine y/n, I’m not okay with you living life like everything is normal just to save your fucking relationship. Think back to how you felt that night. How he made you feel. I get you think it was wrong, yeah you technically cheated on him. But to sweep this under the rug, just because you don’t want to ruin what you two have worked on and fixed. That’s not the solution.”

You knew Matthew was right, but you couldn’t fathom what this news would do to Mat. He’d worked so hard to be a better man, and this is how you repay him? You needed to tell him, of course you did. But you didn’t know how you could do it in a way that wouldn’t risk losing your relationship with him.

“Look, I get it. You’re not wrong, but unfortunately this is not your decision or your news to share. Just, please, let me figure out how to tell him and what I’m gonna say.”

Matthew knew you were right, and it was your decision to make, he couldn’t help but feel like you were going to try your best to hide this from Mat, possibly play it off that the baby was his if it actually wasn’t. He’d try his best to trust you’d do the right thing, needing not to stress and focus on the game he was about to play.

As he left to get dressed, you immediately pulled out your phone, sending a text to Mat. Hoping he wouldn’t see it until after his game, not wanting to worry him or stress him out.

“Can you come over tonight? I have something to tell you.”

Pacing the floor of your apartment, you knew Mat would walk through the door at any moment. Your text had scared him to death, immediately assuming you lied to him about your trip to the doctor being nothing serious. He told you he’d cut his post game media time short to be able to get to you, knowing traffic would have already make his drive a lengthy one.

Finally you heard the key turning in the deadbolt, your heart practically sinking to your stomach and you felt like you were going to puke and pee your pants all at once.

“Baby, I didn’t expect you to be up waiting. Come here.”

He dropped his bag and ran to you, arms wrapping around you as he pulled close. Pressing a kiss to your lips before he took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for whatever the conversation was set to be.

“Are, are you okay? I’ve been a nervous wreck. Please tell me you’re okay!”

You softly chuckled, trying to hold back the tears you could already feel welling in your eyes.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

He looked at you concerned as he took your hands in his, thumbs brushing over your skin as he tried to search your eyes for a sign, but nothing could prepare him for the words you were about to say.

“Mat, I’m pregnant.”

Mat’s eyes grew wide as his jaw slightly dropped, hands leaving yours to grab at his hair. In complete shock he didn’t know what to say or do, settling on questioning whether or not you were lying, to which you told him no you were not.

“Baby! This is amazing!”

Spinning you around the living room before he kissed you, tears now in his eyes as he was overcome with emotion. His reaction only hurting your heart as the idea of possibly telling him the baby wasn’t his still very present in your mind.

“Is this why you wanted to postpone the wedding? Because of the baby?”

His hands now resting on your stomach as he smiled down at them, you unsure of what to say as you were still processing the news yourself.

“Um, kind of.”

He could hear uncertainty in your voice. Tucking some hair behind your ear, he left a hand to caress your cheek.

“Everything okay? You don’t seem excited.”

Resting your hand on his you flashed him a smile, nodding your head to convince him you were fine.

“Of course, it’s just, a lot to take in you know?”

“I completely understand babe, it’s definitely some big news that’s for sure.”

He pulled you in for one last hug, before picking you up once again as he couldn’t contain his excitement. Screaming in excitement as he peppered you with kisses.

“Ahh, I just can’t believe I’m gonna be a dad!”

“You’re kidding me. You haven’t told him yet?”

Matthew shook his head as he paced the hallway outside the locker room.

The Rangers were set to play the Islanders, one of the last games before the playoffs, and the last thing you needed was both Matthew and Mat under one roof.

“I told him, just not, everything. I mean, you should’ve seen how fucking excited he got at the idea of him being a dad. How was I supposed to crush him in that moment?”

“Yeah and what about me?”

It wasn’t that you didn’t think about Matthew’s feelings in all of this, you just tried your best to convince yourself that things weren’t going to come to you having to tell Mat about anything that happened behind his back.

“You think I haven’t been excited thinking that baby could be mine?”

His voice now more of a whisper, not needing anyone around to overhear and word to spread. You could see in his eyes that he was hurt, torn, confused. And you knew you had to set the record straight, not just to him, but to Mat as well. Though you weren’t ready for the repercussions that would come with that.

“I, I know you have. I can imagine you losing sleep, your mind running rampant with so many thoughts. And you’re not wrong for that. Trust me, I’ve been going crazy trying to figure out how the hell I’m going to deal with the job of telling one of you the bad news.”

He took your hand, trying to calm himself as he didn’t mean to be angry with you. Trying to imagine what you must be going through with all of this, he felt bad for raising his voice and pressuring you to say or do anything.

“You really don’t have any idea? I mean, you can’t let things go on much longer without knowing. It’s only going to make it that much harder.”

Looking to the floor you took a deep breath, realizing that what you were about to say, would change everything. Your relationship, your future, everything would surely change now. But you had no choice, Matthew was right. It would only be harder the longer you waited.

“That’s just it, I do know. And that is what’s making this so much fucking harder. I just can’t bring myself to say it and hurt someone like that.”

Matthew immediately knew from your words, but while he understood you being afraid to admit you’d cheated. He couldn’t understand you being ashamed of it when Mat pushed you to it. The way you were made to feel, you were sure your relationship was over. And while sure, he’s worked on himself to step up and be a better man to you, it didn’t change everything he’d done before to push you to the point that you’d decided to sleep with someone else. To go to someone else for the things he wasn’t giving you.

“Well, then maybe you don’t have to tell him. Look, I really gotta head in and start getting ready. But, we can talk after okay?”

Matthew gave you a quick hug before heading off to the locker room. Leaving you to gather yourself and get ready for the game. Hoping it would be a good distraction, even if only for a few hours.

Warmups had started, and you were in better spirits. The guys goofing off for the camera putting a smile on your face easily.

You watched as Matthew skated over to Mat while he stretched by the red line, wishing you could have been a fly on the wall for whatever they said. Mat instantly having an angered look on his face, shaking his head as he began spitting words back at Matthew. He flashed a cocky grin as he stared down at Mat, shrugging his shoulders as you could see him mouth the words “we can go no problem.”

His statement making Mat rise to his feet, now staring at Matthew blocking your view to know what had been said next. Soon enough, their teammates coming over to separate them and tell them to save it for the game. Matthew skating around a bit as he caught your eye, simply smirking over at you, letting you know that he had definitely stirred up some trouble.

From the drop of the puck, tensions were high. Despite Matthew not getting many shifts, any time he was out there it seemed like the Islanders had his number. Taking cheap shots along the boards, getting in his face after the whistles.

As Matthew stepped onto the ice your eyes flew to Mat, who was screaming at his teammate to change, the look in his eyes one that you’d rarely seen. And you knew he was going right after Matthew. His skates hitting the ice and his path already determined, heading straight towards him before slamming him into the boards just a few feet away from where you stood. Mat standing over him as he taunted him, begging him to get up and fight him.

The crowd erupting as Matthew stood up, throwing his gloves to the ice, the two boys now ready to trade shots. You knew this was a stupid move for Mat, he wasn’t a fighter. And Matthew was surely going to beat his ass.

They exchanged blows, the fight seemed to last forever as they both were bloody. Matthew landing the final punch as they fell to the ice, Mat not letting go and continuing to throw blows as it took two of the referees to pull him off.

As they skated to the box their bickering continued, screaming at one another from opposite sides as they sat their respective five minutes each.

The game continued on in a similar fashion, multiple fights and player ejections, all to end in a thrilling shoutout where the Rangers took home the win. You’d gotten access to the locker room to film the awarding of the post game accolades, noticing Matthew in the corner, his hands resting under ice bags, a black eye already forming on his face.

Shaking your head you were in shock, that two grown men had just beat the shit out of each other, most likely over you because what else would they have fought over. Though you couldn’t be sure, not having any clue what Matthew said on the ice to get Mat fired up the way he did. As you left the locker room, you were shocked to find Mat heading your way. Not yet showered, clearly having just wrapped up his media availability, his expression not happy to see you.

“What the fuck is going on?”

Looking at him confused you tried pulling him to the side, not needing him to make a scene with everyone around.

“Babe, what are you talking about?”

“Don’t fucking babe me!”

His shout causing you to jump, Mat clearly angry though you were still unsure why.

“That fucking kid comes up to me during warmups. Pretends to congratulate me on the baby, then asks me if I know for sure that it’s mine? What the fuck is he talking about?”

A look of shock washing over you as you couldn’t believe Matthew had done that. Whether or not he was right, he had no reason to do that. It was your news to tell.

The shouting had earned some looks of concern from Rangers staff, soon enough a few players had poked their heads out of the locker room. Matthew eventually emerged, Mat immediately turning his attention to him.

“Oh just fucking perfect, yeah come on over and try to save the day Rempe. Haven’t you caused enough issues?”

“Everything okay y/n?”

“Why would you do that? Tell him he needs to be sure the baby is actually his?”

Matthew laughed as he bit his lip, shaking his head as he looked at you. His somewhat cocky attitude not one that you appreciated in this moment. “Really? Y/n, come on. You said it yourself you couldn’t bring yourself to hurt him like that. I tried starting the conversation, so it’s time to just tell him.”

Glaring at Matthew, you couldn’t bear to look at Mat. Tears welling in your eyes as you could feel your world crumbling around you.

“Y/n, tell me what?”

You shook your head as you tried your best to hold it together, Matthew wrapping an arm around your shoulder to comfort you as he looked at Mat, his words coming out stern but apologetic.

“It’s, it’s not your baby Mat.”

Immediately you interjected, feeling the need to try and salvage some type of conversation. “Mat, please, let me explain. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, I didn’t know he was going to say that stuff to you on the ice. Please just-“

“You’re fucking kidding me. Rempe? Of all people, you fucked him? When?”

Shaking Matthew’s arm from your shoulder you tried to pull Mat aside to explain, but he didn’t want to hear a word you had to say. Doing his best to not make too much of a scene with everyone around.

“This is why you wanted to postpone the wedding, you knew. Didn’t you?”

“No! I didn’t know! Please, just let me explain!”

Your hands moved to caress his face to get him to look at you, but he took a step back.

“Just tell me the truth. Is the baby mine, or his?”

Taking a deep breath, you knew that your answer was going to change everything the moment it left your lips. But it had to happen, he deserved that much.

Sliding your engagement ring from your finger, knowing there wasn’t going to be a wedding after you gave him his answer, you placed it in his hand.

“I’m so sorry. I’m really fucking sorry.”

Mat looked at the ring, shaking his head as he glanced from you to Matthew. A smirk coming across his lips, though you knew it wasn’t a happy one.

“I hope it was fucking worth it. See how this works out when he’s out of the league in two years.”

Mat walked away as you fell to the floor, sobbing as you felt the weight of the world crash onto you. Matthew trying to pick you up and comfort you as best he could, but you quickly pushed him away.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you do that? If you care about me you’ve got a weird fucking way of showing it pulling a stunt like that. I told you to let me handle it!”

Matthew looked at you confused, “He needed to know! You said it yourself, you couldn’t bring yourself to say it and hurt him.”

“And so you decided to do that for me? That wasn’t for you to do! I don’t care if it’s your baby or not, that wasn’t your decision to make!”

Matthew didn’t bother arguing, letting you take out your frustrations on him before you hurried past him. Hoping none of the other guys were listening to what had all just transpired. Gathering your things and heading to your car, needing to go home and take the night to try and wrap your head around what just happened.

As you got back to your apartment you couldn't help but pack up some of Mat’s things he’d kept at your place. Figuring it was best to get that out of the way now as you were still coming down from the emotions of things officially ending.

Putting the last of his things in a box, you carried it to your front door. A few soft knocks catching you off guard as you checked the time.

Opening the door you revealed Matthew standing there, duffle bag in hand as he smiled down at you.

“I’m sorry, can I come in?”

Stepping aside, you reluctantly let him in. Despite your frustrations, he was going to be the father of your child. You couldn’t shut him out completely. As he set his bag down, he wrapped you in a hug as he kissed your head.

“You’re right. It wasn’t my place to do any of that, and I’m sorry that I fucked everything up for you. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now. I’m sure you want to punch me in the face. But, I’m not going to leave you to deal with this alone. The breakup and the baby. I’m gonna be here. Whether we end up together, or simply co-parent. I’m not going to walk out on you or leave to deal with this by yourself.”

Smiling up at him you nodded, accepting his apology as you were simply too tired to be bothered with being frustrated or angry at him. Appreciating his willingness to be there for you, for the baby. You knew you were going to need his support through the process. Not even wanting to think about the field day the Rangers organization were going to have with this situation.

Heading down the hall and back to your room, you climbed into bed, desperately needing sleep. Matthew followed behind, leaning against the doorframe as he watched you get comfortable. Your eyes catching his with a chuckle.

“What?”

“Just figured I’d make sure you get to sleep okay.”

“Or you could come to bed too, I don’t really want to be alone after everything that went down tonight.”

Pulling back the covers you scooted to the other side of the bed, making space for Matthew as he joined you. The two of you facing one another as he could see you were drained.

“Matt, if I’m being honest, I’m scared.”

Your eyes fixated on your fingers as you played with the sheets, not trying to get worked up again.

“I know, but I told you, I’m not going anywhere. I’m gonna be here for you and our baby.”

#mat barzal blurb #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal angst #mat barzal fic #mat barzal imagine #matthew rempe fic #matt rempe angst #matt rempe blurb #matt rempe fic #matt rempe imagine #matt rempe fluff #nhl fics #nhl imagine #nhl fanfiction #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl blurb #matt rempe

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jrob64 · 21 days ago

Text

Exacting His Revenge - Chapter 4

Now a complete story!

Here we are, finally at the end of this story. When I started posting it in October for @kmomof4 's birthday, I had no idea I would be posting until Christmas!

Thank you and Merry Christmas to my wonderful beta and friend @hookedmom !

Story Summary: When Hook sees an opportunity to finally get his revenge on Rumplestiltskin, he seizes it, putting him in the company of Emma Swan. A season 2 canon divergent story.

Rating: M (for smut in this chapter, requested by the birthday girl)

Words (chapter 4): 11,928

Posted on Tumblr: Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 and also on Ao3 & ffn

Story under the cut.

*********

Hook awoke slowly the next morning, not wishing to leave the dream world in which he was holding Emma Swan. She left the office soon after she locked him back in the cell last night, but he was pleased to see she seemed a bit lighter and less like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

He pushed himself into a sitting position, then swung his legs over the side of the cot. Yawning and rubbing his hand down his face to try to wipe away the sleep, he failed to notice David sitting at the desk. When his vision cleared, he met the other man’s gaze, surprised to see it wasn’t laced with anger and dislike. While he wouldn’t term the look one of friendship, at least it was less hostile.

“Good morning, Dave,” Hook said. “Have you been watching me sleep?”

“Not by choice. It’s just my turn to keep an eye on you.”

“I was alone all night and yet I’m here. Do you really still think I’ll try to escape?”

David got up and crossed the floor to stand in front of the cell, rubbing his hands together brusquely. “What did you say to Emma last night?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“When I left here, I could tell she was very upset but refused to talk to me. Whatever you said to her seemed to calm her down, because when she got back to the loft, she was able to tell us what happened with Henry. She said you helped her realize that he will get over it.”

“I just reassured her that she’s a good mother. Henry is a good lad. After he’s had some time to think about it, he’ll see that she had his best interest at heart by avoiding the truth.”

David eyed him skeptically. “How could you possibly know that? You haven’t even met Henry, have you?”

“Not formally, but in the weeks after I arrived in Storybrooke, I observed the two of them together. Additionally, Emma talked about him during our time together on my ship. He sounds like a bright boy.”

“He is. I know Emma feels a tremendous amount of guilt about giving him up for adoption; but ever since he found her, the two of them have been very close. Getting back to the subject though, what truth was she avoiding with Henry? She still hasn’t told Snow and me the whole story about what happened with Neal.”

“Might I suggest you sit down and have that conversation with her soon?”

He was taking a chance, giving Emma’s father advice like that. He figured it wouldn’t go over very well, since David made it quite clear the evening before that he thought of him as nothing more than a pirate.

So Hook was quite surprised when the other man nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I’m sure if we did, it would help us understand the situation better.”

“Your daughter is a tough lass, but she’s had to handle a lot on her own. I’m sure she would welcome support from her parents.”

“Breakfast is served!” Ruby announced, prancing into the station with a large brown bag in her hand.

David let Hook out to use the restroom, while Ruby set up breakfast. When Hook was locked back in his cell, David grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair. “I gotta go, Ruby. I’ll eat breakfast later.” With that, he sprinted out the door.

Ruby gaped as she watched him go. Then she slowly turned toward Hook. “What flew up his skirt?”

*********

By late morning, Hook was seriously considering breaking his promise of not escaping. Once Ruby left, he was alone for hours, endlessly pacing and wondering what was going on with Emma.

When he finally heard the door open, he strained to see who was coming in. Relief flooded him upon seeing golden hair and red leather.

Emma entered and tossed her keys on the desk, then looked at him. As he was trying to read her guarded expression, a grin suddenly spread across her face.

“You were right,” she said simply.

“Of course I was,” he cheeked. “But what was I right about?”

“Henry. He called this morning to say he forgave me and wanted to meet Neal. The three of us had breakfast together and now the two of them are at the park, getting to know each other.”

“That’s excellent news, Swan.”

“It happened soon after David came home and asked me about my history with Neal. I guess you suggested it to him?”

“Aye. I thought it would be beneficial to all involved, except perhaps Baelfire. Did you tell him?”

“Yeah. I sat down with my parents and told them everything.”

“How did they take it?”

“Dad was upset, but Mom was downright irate. Dad had to stop her from going to the boarding house. She wanted to punch Neal in the face.”

Hook laughed. “You must get your fierceness from your mother.”

She smiled again. “They had calmed down by the time Henry called, and didn’t protest about him wanting to meet his dad.”

“I’m very happy things worked out so well.”

“Me, too,” she sighed. “Now, if I can just get it through Neal’s head that he and I have no future together, everything will be great.”

“Still pushing for that, is he?”

“He mentioned something about being a family a couple of times. When Henry left the booth to use the bathroom, I told Neal to stop putting ideas in the kid’s head because it’s never gonna happen.”

“How did he respond to that?”

“He started to protest, but I told him if he keeps it up, I’ll limit his time with Henry. Then he promised he wouldn’t bring it up again.”

“And you trust him to keep that promise?”

“Not really, but I told Henry to let me know if he keeps talking about it. I just don’t want my kid to be set up for disappointment.”

“I don’t blame you for that,” Hook said.

Emma walked closer to the cell. “I wanted to thank you again, Killian, for being there for me last night. You were a good listener, which was exactly what I needed.”

“Well, I couldn’t help being a captive audience,” he teased.

“Ha-ha,” she said flatly, rolling her eyes.

He chuckled. “I’m glad I could help, Swan.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you that we saw Belle in the diner today. She asked how long you were going to be locked up. When I told her a month, she was actually fine with that. I was pretty surprised, but once she walked away, Neal told me that after they left the cemetery, he filled her in on the details of his mother’s death.”

Hook’s brows knit together in a scowl. “How did she react to that bit of news?”

“Neal said she was angry and hurt that Gold lied to her. It all happened before she met him, of course, but she was still shocked that he was capable of doing such a thing to the mother of his own child.”

Hook studied the toes of his boots, before speaking quietly. “It’s too bad she was misled by that bloody demon.”

“Yeah, I think on top of everything else, she feels foolish for trusting him. Anyway, she doesn’t seem to harbor any ill feelings toward you.”

He looked at her incredulously. “Not even for shooting her?”

“I told you, she’s very sweet. Apparently, she’s very forgiving, too.”

He thought about that for a few moments, staring into space until Emma asked, “Is something wrong? You look a million miles away.”

His eyes snapped back to her face. “I was, um…I was just thinking that it feels quite nice to be forgiven. It feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”

She smiled and reached into the cell to squeeze his bicep. “I better get some work done. Is there anything I can get you?”

“A book or two to while away the hours would be much appreciated. I’ve already counted all of the cracks in the walls and ceiling of this bloody cell. If I don’t have something to occupy my mind soon, I think I might go mad.”

“I can arrange that. Do you want anything in particular?”

“I trust your judgment, Swan. Whatever you choose will be fine.”

“What about a bodice ripper love story?” she smirked.

He grabbed the bars with his hand and hook and leaned in as close as he could possibly get to her. “Are you intending to put ideas into my head, Love?”

Color immediately flooded her cheeks. “I’ll pick up a couple of mysteries for you.”

As she turned and walked away, he grinned. He found it quite entertaining to fluster Emma Swan.

*********

Every day of the next month followed a familiar routine. Either Emma or David were in the office throughout the day, leaving Hook alone overnight. Ruby dropped off food for him three times a day, and he was allowed out of the cell to use the bathroom, when necessary. Three times a week, he was taken to Granny’s boarding house to shower. After the first week, they didn’t even handcuff him for the walk across town.

Emma provided Hook with a steady supply of reading material from the library. One day, he was taken by surprise when Belle stopped at the station with two books clutched to her chest.

“Emma was checking these out when she got called away for an emergency,” she explained nervously. “I told her I would bring them to you.”

Hook slowly rose from the cot and approached the bars. “That was very kind of you, Lass.”

She moved closer, but didn’t offer the books to him. “I, um, I was hoping to talk to you, anyway.”

Hook waited, giving her an opportunity to collect her thoughts.

“Neal…Baelfire, he…he told me what Rumple did to Milah. How he…killed her. I know he was the Dark One, but I never thought him capable of such a thing. I mean, crushing the heart of his own son’s mother.”

“Aye,” Hook said quietly. “He did it right in front of me.”

“I should be angry at you for killing the man I loved, but after hearing that, I’m not sure I ever really knew him. What you did wasn’t right, but I…I’m not going to hold it against you.”

“I’m not sorry for finally getting my revenge on the crocodile, but I would like to apologize for shooting you. It was very bad form,” he said sincerely. “How are you feeling, by the way?”

Her fingers reached up to rub at her shoulder subconsciously. “I’m recovering nicely. Dr. Whale says I won’t have any lasting damage.”

“That’s good to hear. I truly am sorry.”

“Thank you.”

“Once I’m released, I would like to make it up to you somehow, if you’ll allow me.”

“Actually, since my injury, it’s been difficult for me to shelve the books that go on the upper shelves. Would you mind helping with that?”

“I would happily do that for you. It’s the least I can do.”

They stood in awkward silence for a few moments, until Belle seemed to remember her purpose for being there. Holding the books out to him, she said, “I helped Emma choose these for you. I must say, you have very good taste in books. You read them so quickly, too.”

He took them from her hands, checking the titles on the spines. “Well, I have very little else to do in here. Being on the ship for months on end helped me develop quite a love for reading. I got into the habit of…acquiring books at the many ports I visited.”

“Acquiring as in stealing?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Pirate, Love,” he quipped. “If you are interested in seeing my collection of books, they’re on my ship. You’re welcome to peruse them at your leisure.”

“I appreciate the offer,” Belle said, “but I’m sure you’ll understand if I don’t want to go aboard your ship, after what happened there.”

“Aye,” he said simply, nodding his head. “I hope you won’t harbor ill feelings toward me, but I understand if you do.”

Belle clasped her hands in front of herself. “I was thinking…since you have to be locked up for another two weeks, perhaps I could come by and we could discuss books together.”

Hook looked up in surprise. “You want to visit me, after all I’ve done?”

She shrugged slightly. “What’s done can’t be undone. I believe one way to overcome bitterness with someone is to get to know them better.”

“That’s quite noble of you, Lass. I would enjoy having someone with whom to discuss literature.”

Belle smiled. “How about if I stop by after I close the library tomorrow? Do you think you’ll be finished reading The Swiss Family Robinson by then?”

He flipped through the pages of the book. “I’ll be finished. Dave was kind enough to provide me with a lamp so I can read after both he and Emma leave at the end of the work day. I usually read until late at night.”

“Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I look forward to it. Thank you again, Lass - for everything.”

With one last smile, she turned and left the station.

Soon after the door closed, Emma came bursting into the room. “Everything alright, Killian?”

Ever since he asked her to call him by his given name, she stopped calling him Hook altogether. Hearing his given name, he realized it had been centuries since he heard anyone use it. The last person he could remember was…Milah. Now, every time his name passed Emma’s lips, his heart swelled.

“Aye, Love. Why do you ask?”

“I just saw Belle leaving. Did the two of you talk?”

“We did.”

“How did that go?”

“You were right about her - she’s very forgiving. She said Bae told her what Rumplestiltskin did to Milah, and she understood why I wanted my revenge, even though she didn’t agree with my methods. I apologized for shooting her and told her once I am released, I will help with replacing the books on the upper shelves of the library until her arm is completely healed. She accepted both my apology and my offer, then, believe it or not, she proposed stopping by here from time to time to discuss books we’ve both read. As a matter of fact, she’s coming in tomorrow after the library closes.”

“Wow,” Emma remarked. “That’s…unbelievable.”

Hook nodded in agreement. There were several beats of silence, until he said, “Belle said you were called away to an emergency.”

“Yeah. Two of the dwarves were driving over to the mine and Tom sneezed loudly enough to wake a squirrel that was apparently sleeping behind the seat of Leroy’s truck. It started running berserk, which caused Leroy to run off the road into Peter’s pumpkin patch. When I got there, Peter and Leroy were at each other’s throat, while Sneezy was still trying to get the squirrel out of the truck. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt and there was no damage to the truck. All it took was for me to threaten Leroy with jail time if he didn’t pay for the pumpkins he smashed. I don’t think he was interested in being your cellmate.”

Hook laughed as she finished explaining.

“Laugh all you want, buddy. You weren’t the one who had to separate Grumpy and Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater. I swear, my life is so bizarre.”

*********

The next day, Hook was waiting for Belle to arrive, when Henry ran into the station, shouting, “Mom! Mom!”

“She’s out at the moment, lad,” Hook responded.

“Oh,” Henry said, looking crestfallen.

“I’m sure she’ll be back soon. Doesn’t she usually meet you after school?”

“Sometimes. My dad was supposed to pick me up today, but he wasn’t there. That’s why Grandma brought me here to find my mom. I have something really exciting to tell her.”

“Well, I know I’m not your mother, but if you would like to share, I would be amenable to hearing it. Unless you want your mother to be the first to hear it, which is quite understandable.”

Henry studied him for a few seconds. “You talk funny.”

Hook couldn’t help chuckling. “Aye, I suppose it does sound funny to your young, modern ears.”

“Did you really kill Mr. Gold?”

Hook scratched behind his ear. “Aye. Did your mother tell you about that?”

“No, and neither did my other mom. I heard some of the kids talking about it at school. He was my grandfather, you know.”

“I’m aware. I suppose you are angry at me.”

Henry shrugged. “Not really. He wasn’t very nice to anybody, except Belle. He was the beast from Beauty and the Beast, you know. She’s the beauty, of course.”

“That makes sense.”

“You believe me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“It took my mom a while to believe me when she first came to Storybrooke. She didn’t think fairytale characters actually exist.”

“Well, coming from the land without magic the way she did, I’m sure it was quite unbelievable,” Hook chuckled.

Henry scrutinized him. “Where’s your hook?”

“Alas,” Hook said, raising his left arm slightly, “your mother insisted on taking it from me for fear I would use it to escape.”

“Would you?”

“Of course,” Hook grinned. “I am a pirate, after all.”

“Yep, Captain Hook!” Henry said excitedly. “Have you actually been to Neverland?”

“Aye, spent many a year there.”

“Did you meet Peter Pan?”

“I have,” Hook grimaced. “He’s a bloody demon.”

Henry looked astonished. “He is? But in the movie, Captain Hook is the villain and Peter Pan is the good guy.”

Hook scoffed. “I can assure you, that isn’t true.”

“Why? What did he do that was so…”

“Henry?” Emma called, striding quickly into the station. “What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Mom!” Henry said, rushing over to her. “I came here to find you. Guess what? I got an A+ on my geography test! I even got the extra credit question right!”

“That’s great, kid!” Emma said, wrapping him up in a hug. “I’m very proud of you!”

“I”m the only one in the class that got them all right. Thanks for helping me study.”

“You’re welcome. Now, back to my original question. Why are you here? I thought you were going to be with your dad after school.”

Henry shrugged. “I waited for a while, but he didn’t show up, so I had Grandma bring me here to tell you my news.”

“Seriously?” Emma asked, pulling her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. “Let me see if he sent a message.” She unlocked the device and swiped the screen, her expression changing from concern to anger. “Nothing. I’m going to call him to find out what’s going on. Stay here.”

She went into the inner office and shut the door. Hook and Henry watched her become increasingly animated as she carried on a conversation they couldn’t hear.

“She looks mad, doesn’t she?” Henry asked.

“Aye, that she does,” Hook agreed.

“I don’t think she likes my dad very much. That’s why she lied to me about him dying.”

“She had good intentions, lad. She didn’t want you thinking badly about him when she thought you would never have a chance to meet him.”

“I know. I was really mad at her for a while, but I get it now.”

“I’m very happy you forgave her. She was quite distraught knowing how angry you were about it.”

Emma ended the conversation and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. “I’m sorry, kid. It looks like you’re gonna have to go hang out at the mayor’s office for an hour or so until my shift is over. Regina knows you’re coming.”

“Is my dad okay? Did something happen to him?”

“He’s fine, he just…something came up. He said to tell you he’s sorry and he’ll see you another day.”

Henry’s face fell. “Oh, okay. I won’t get to tell him about my good grade, then.”

“You can tell him the next time you see him,” Emma soothed.

“Yeah, I guess,” he mumbled.

“Come on. I’ll walk with you,” she said, slinging her arm over his shoulders.

Hook watched them go, silently seething at Bae. He was handed a golden opportunity to get to know his son, but evidently wasn’t putting much effort into it. This was Storybrooke - how could something come up that was more important than collecting his son from school?

Hook was still ruminating on that, when Belle’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Hook? Are you okay?”

He mentally shook himself and forced a smile onto his face. “Aye, lass. I’m looking forward to our discussion.”

*********

Belle was on her way out when Emma returned to the station. They exchanged pleasantries, but the smile quickly slipped from her face as she dropped down in her chair.

“Alright there, Swan?” Hook asked.

“I’m fine. Neal is an ass.”

“What was his excuse for not spending time with his boy, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“He met someone and was getting ready to go on a date.”

“He met someone? In Storybrooke?” Hook asked with undisguised surprise.

“That’s what I said. Apparently, she’s one of Cinderella’s stepsisters.”

“I heard those two are a bit dense.”

Emma scoffed. “They would have to be, to go out with Neal. That doesn’t say much about me though, does it?”

“Don’t be hard on yourself, Love. You were young, impressionable and alone. I have a feeling he took advantage of that.”

“You’re probably right, but that doesn’t make me feel any better. Now he’s making excuses to not see Henry. Hurting me is one thing, but hurting my kid is inexcusable. If he keeps it up, I’m gonna tell him to go back to New York and stay there.”

She stood up and began pacing in front of his cell. After a couple of passes, he reached through the bars to lightly grasp her arm. “Calm down, Swan. You handled the situation and Henry will be okay. Perhaps this will be the only time Bae lets his son down.”

“I wish I could believe that. Unfortunately, he tried to back out on seeing Henry a couple of other times, but I insisted that he keep his promise. A father shouldn’t have to be forced to see his own son.”

“Too right, Love.”

“This is one reason, among many, why I don’t want him around Henry. He’s unreliable and only cares about himself.”

“How does Henry feel about his father?” Hook inquired.

“He seems to like spending time with Neal, but I think the novelty of meeting his dad is wearing off a bit. He’s not as excited to be with him as he was when they first met.”

“I’m sure the boy senses his father isn’t fully committed to him. It’s probably putting a strain on their relationship.”

Emma nodded in agreement. Wrapping her hands around the bars, she looked at him for a few moments before saying, “You made a good impression on him. He talked about you the entire walk over to Regina’s office.”

“He’s a bright lad. I enjoyed my conversation with him.”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “He’s a good kid, which is amazing, considering what he’s been through.”

“What has he been through?”

“Being given away the day he was born, then being adopted by Regina. She sent him to therapy and tried to make him think he was crazy when he got the storybook and started figuring things out. Once he found me, he had to learn how to deal with two mothers, and now a father who he thought was dead. It’s a lot for a kid his age.”

“He inherited your toughness, lass. You haven’t had an easy life, either.”

She smiled slightly, then sighed. “I better get out on patrol. Thanks for letting me vent. Again. Having you behind bars is convenient when I need a captive audience.”

“I would be there for you even if I weren’t in this cell, Swan.”

Her smile grew. “Thank you, Killian.”

*********

“Ready to go to Granny’s for a shower, Hook?” David asked once they were finished eating the breakfast Ruby delivered.

“Aye, mate,” Hook answered, standing up and stretching.

David unlocked the cell and swung the door open. “Can I ask you a question?”

“I’m sure you are quite capable of asking one,” Hook teased.

“You know what I mean,” David said, rolling his eyes. “Why have you decided not to escape? You’ve had several opportunities.”

Hook waited until they were out of the station and walking toward the boarding house before he answered. “I have my reasons for staying.”

“The dinner you intend to have with Emma?”

“Aye, that’s one reason. Another is the fact I have nowhere else to go. Now that I’ve gotten my revenge, I’m at a loss as to what to do next. This town is as good a place as any to stay, until I decide.”

David was getting ready to respond, when Happy walked past. “Good morning, Sheriff! Good morning, Hook! Great day, isn’t it?” he asked with a huge smile.

Both men greeted him in return, then walked on. They encountered a half dozen more people before they reached the boarding house, all of them calling out a greeting to both the sheriff and the pirate.

“It seems you’ve been accepted as part of Storybrooke, Hook,” David observed. “Everyone says hello when you walk down the street, you have a book club with Belle, Henry thinks you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, Ruby flirts with you ridiculously when she brings your meals, Granny includes extra goodies in those meals, and Emma…well, she seems to have found a confidant in you.”

Hook digested this assessment, pleased to know Emma’s father noticed the bond they had and didn’t seem to be upset about it. “What about you, Dave?”

“What about me?”

“I’m winning you over, I can feel it,” Hook quipped.

“I, uh, I guess you have grown on me a bit.”

“Well, I tend to have that effect on people.”

They arrived at the boarding house and walked down the hall to the room where Hook always took his shower. “I’m going to get some coffee while I wait. Would you like some?” David asked.

“Of course,” Hook said. “You know my order, mate.”

He entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Leaning back against it, he smiled. Perhaps he truly had found a place to belong.

*********

“Today is the day,” Emma announced when she entered the station the morning of Hook’s release.

“Aye, Love,” Hook responded with a grin. He rose from the cot, stretching his arms over his head. “As much as I have enjoyed your hospitality, I am more than ready to regain my freedom.”

She opened a desk drawer, grabbed the keys and held them up. After taking a couple of steps toward the cell, she suddenly stopped and pivoted to go back to the desk.

“Forget something, lass?”

She pulled out another drawer and shuffled through it. “Thought you might want these back,” she said, holding up his oversized hairpin and hook.

Hook hadn’t worn his brace since he’d been locked up. He rummaged under the mattress where he kept it, slipped off his shirt, then slid the straps over his shoulders. When he turned, still attaching the cuff over his stump, he caught Emma ogling him.

“See something you like?”

“Huh?” she asked, her eyes still focused on his exposed chest. “Oh, uh, no. I just haven’t seen…I mean…” Her face was rapidly filling with color.

He chuckled as he began to put his shirt back on. “Why, Swan, have I rendered you speechless?”

Her eyes finally met his, which were sparkling with amusement. “I just wasn’t expecting to see you half-naked,” she admitted.

She unlocked the cell door and swung it open. After accepting the hairpin from her, he expertly used it to button up half of the shirt, then slipped it into his pocket, smirking as he saw her eyes lingering on his chest again.

“My hook, if you please,” he said, holding out his hand. She handed it to him and watched him lock it into place. “Might I have my coat, also?”

“Yeah, it’s in the closet. Come on.” She turned and led the way toward the front of the station.

He stepped out of the cell and breathed deeply. He may have been let in and out of his cell numerous times since Regina pronounced his sentence, but knowing that this time, he wouldn’t be returning to the small, dank cell felt exceptionally good.

Emma came back into the room, carrying his long, leather duster. “This thing weighs a ton. How the hell do you wear it all the time?”

He took it from her and pulled it on, the weight and creak of the leather a welcome friend to him. “I’ve gotten used to it through the centuries.”

“What are you, like a million years old?”

“More like two hundred.”

They walked out the door, almost bumping into David as he was about to enter. “Ah, that’s right. You’re leaving us today, huh Hook?”

“Aye, mate. I can stop in from time to time to play cards again, if you like.”

Emma looked between them. “You guys played cards with each other?”

David shrugged. “What else was there to do all those hours we were stuck in here together? Hook is a decent poker player. Have you ever seen him shuffle the cards one-handed?”

Emma’s eyes shifted to Hook. “No I haven’t. You’ll have to show me sometime.”

He took a step into her space. “There are numerous things I would like to show you, Swan.”

David cleared his throat. “Don’t make me punch you again.”

Hook chuckled and offered his hand. “It was a pleasure being your prisoner, Dave.”

David grinned as he gave it a firm shake. “I hope you don’t make a habit of it.” Then he went through the door into the station.

“Come on, Killian,” Emma said. “I’ll treat you to breakfast at Granny’s to celebrate your freedom.”

“That’s very kind of you, as long as you’re not considering it to be the meal we agreed upon.”

“You said it was going to be dinner on your ship. Oh, by the way, I’ve been stopping by the harbor every few days to make sure it’s okay.”

“She,” Hook corrected.

“Excuse me?”

“You should refer to my ship as ‘she’, not ‘it’.”

“You make it sound like a woman. It’s just a ship.”

He whirled around and stopped in front of her. “She’s not just a ship; she’s my home. We’ve been through more together than you can even imagine.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any disrespect,” Emma apologized.

“It’s quite alright,” he said, turning to resume walking. “Thank you for checking on the old girl.”

They arrived at the diner, where they were greeted by Granny, Ruby and a few patrons, including Leroy, who even offered them a hint of a smile.

As they took a seat in one of the empty booths, Ruby approached with the coffee pot and asked, “Same as usual, Hook?”

“Aye, Love,” he answered, flipping the coffee cup upright on the saucer.

“What about you, Sheriff?” Ruby asked as she filled Hook’s cup.

“Pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon,” Emma said, turning over her own cup.

“Same order as Hook’s. You two have similar tastes,” Ruby remarked.

After she walked away, Emma tilted her head and looked at him curiously. He took a slow sip of his coffee, swallowed, then asked, “Something on your mind, Swan?”

“You really have been accepted by the people in this town.”

He sat back in the booth, his fingers fiddling with the spoon laying in front of him. “Is that so surprising?”

“Well, you were in jail for shooting Belle.”

“She’s fully recovered and has forgiven me. Lately, she’s been mentioning a man named Will Scarlett quite frequently.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen them around town together. She seems to have moved on from Gold.” Emma took a drink of her coffee before adding, “You, um, you also killed a couple of people.”

“Both of whom were villains who would have killed me first, if given the chance. I believe the townspeople understand that.”

“There must be different rules for people from the Enchanted Forest. In the land without magic, you can’t get away with murder, unless it’s clearly self defense.”

“You think I should have been incarcerated longer?”

“I’m not saying that. In all honesty, the world is a better place without Cora and Gold. I’m just a little surprised that everyone is willing to overlook your crimes to make you one of their own. Even my dad seems to be your…mate,” she said, attempting to imitate his accent.

He shrugged. “It’s nice to know people are willing to give me a chance, but as I’ve said before, there’s only one person whose opinion matters to me.”

Ruby arrived with their meal, interrupting their conversation. Once she walked away, Emma picked up a slice of bacon and raised it to her mouth. Before taking a bite, she quietly said, “I, um, I hope you decide to stay in town.”

Hook froze with a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth, a slow smile spreading across his face. As the two of them continued eating their breakfast in companionable silence, he felt a spark of hope that perhaps he was beginning to win Emma Swan’s heart.

*********

As soon as he got back to his ship later that morning, he began planning the dinner he and Emma would share. He wanted everything to be as perfect as possible, and he knew he would need help.

Over the next two days, he visited many shops in town and once he procured everything he required, he made a trip to the sheriff’s station. Striding into the familiar confines, he saw Emma standing at the file cabinet with her back to him.

Quietly walking up behind her, he leaned in and asked, “Did you miss me, Swan?”

She jumped. “Oh my gosh! You scared me!”

“Sorry, Love. I didn’t intend to take you by surprise.”

“It’s okay,” she said, closing the drawer and turning to face him. “What are you doing here? I thought you would want to stay away from this place.”

“I came to invite you to dinner tonight.”

“Tonight? That’s kind of short notice. How do you know I don’t have something to do tonight?”

“I talked to your parents and they said they weren’t aware that you had any plans. Your mother volunteered to take care of Henry for the evening, and David is willing to finish your shift, so you’ll have time to get ready.”

“So, my mom and dad are okay with me having this dinner with you?”

“Aye, so it seems. I told you we were getting along,” he smirked. “What do you say, Love? Will you join me for dinner on my ship?”

“Well, it seems like you have everything covered, so…sure.”

“Excellent! I will be at your door promptly at six o’clock.”

“You don’t have to pick me up. I can drive over to the docks…”

“Nonsense,” Hook said firmly, cutting her off. “A gentleman would never allow a lady to transport herself to their date.”

“Wait - you’re considering this a date?” Emma asked.

He was confused. “That was our agreement, was it not?”

“You just said dinner. You never used the term ‘date’.”

His heart sank a little. “Does that change things?”

To his surprise, she took a step forward and rubbed her hand down his arm. “No, it’s fine. I’ll still have dinner with you. How should I dress for this…date?”

“It promises to be a clear night with a chill in the air. Since we’ll be dining on the deck, I would advise you to dress warmly.”

“Got it. I guess I’ll see you at six o’clock then.”

He gave her a crooked grin, then turned to leave the station. He still had a lot of preparation left for his date with the fair Lady Swan.

*********

Hook straightened the left cuff on his new, leather jacket, which had a convenient zipper allowing it to fit over his brace. He had thought about handing her one of the dozen red roses from the arrangement he purchased as soon as she opened the door, but he didn’t want to overwhelm her with such a romantic gesture.

After taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he raised his hook to rap on the door. He only had to wait a few moments until Emma swung it open. He was very glad he had taken that deep breath, because gazing at the vision before him, he was having trouble breathing at all.

She was dressed in form fitting, black jeans, knee-high black boots with a heel, and a dark blue, hip-length coat, embellished with colorful flower appliqués running from shoulder to shoulder. Her thick, blonde hair draped loosely over her shoulders, creating a lovely contrast against the inky color of the coat.

The somewhat nervous smile on her face disappeared as she surveyed him, her eyes growing wide and her jaw dropping. He was sure she had been expecting him to wear his usual pirate attire, so seeing him in modern clothes had to be a shock.

“Swan,” he breathed, “you look…stunning.”

“You…look…”

“I know,” he smirked.

She smiled genuinely and called over her shoulder, “I’m leaving!”

“Oh, wait!” He heard Emma’s mother call. Then she came bouncing into the room with a strange contraption in her hands. She stood in front of Hook and Emma, held it up and pushed a button. It made an odd whirring sound, then a thick square of paper came out of a slot in the front.

“Pictures? Really?” Emma sighed. “Why are you making a big deal out of this?”

Mary Margaret waved the square around in the air. “It’s the first of your dates I’ve ever gotten to witness,” she explained. “I want to commemorate it.”

Just then, Henry came bounding down the stairs two at a time. “Hey, Hook!” he greeted, then pulled up short. “What happened to your pirate clothes?”

“Now that I’m living in the modern world, I decided I should dress to fit into it,” Hook responded, looking down at his new outfit.

“Oh,” Henry said, clearly disappointed. “So you’re not a pirate anymore?”

Hook chuckled. “I’ll always be a pirate, lad.”

“Mom says she’s having dinner with you on your ship.”

“That’s right.”

“When can I see your ship?”

“You’re welcome aboard anytime, as long as it’s alright with your mother.”

Henry turned to Emma. “Can I, Mom?” he asked excitedly.

Emma shot Hook a quick look before answering, “As long as you listen to Hook and do what he tells you. And as long as it’s okay with Regina.”

Henry’s face fell. “She probably won’t let me. I don’t think she likes Hook very much.”

“Henry!” Emma and Mary Margaret exclaimed at the same time.

Hook just chuckled. “She probably doesn’t, but to be fair, she’s not fond of most people.”

“That’s true,” Henry said, nodding his head.

“We better get going,” Emma said. After giving Henry a hug, she pulled on some black gloves. “Ready, Killian?”

“Aye, Love,” he said, opening the door for her. “Goodbye, lad. Goodbye, milady. Have a good evening.” Mary Margaret took another picture, causing Emma to roll her eyes.

Hook followed Emma into the hallway, closing the door behind himself. As they were descending the stairs, David came through the outside door. “Leaving already?” he asked. “I was hoping to be home by the time Hook arrived.”

“Don’t worry, Mom took pictures,” Emma assured him.

David eyed Hook. “I want her home by midnight.”

“Oh, for crying out loud!” Emma exploded. “I don’t need a curfew. I’m not a teenager!”

“You’re still my little girl and he’s still a pirate.”

“He’s also your card playing buddy, and I can take care of myself,” Emma snapped. “Come on, Killian. Let’s go before he decides I should wear a chastity belt.”

“Now that you mention it…” David began.

Emma grabbed Hook’s hand and forcibly pulled him out the door.

Once they were out on the sidewalk, she looked up and down the street. “Did you walk here?”

“I don’t have any other mode of transportation. It’s a lovely evening, but if you prefer to drive…”

“Walking is fine with me.”

He offered his elbow, she threaded her arm through it, and they started off down the sidewalk. As they passed various shops, they peered through the windows, commenting on the contents. When they walked past Gold’s Pawn Shop, with a ‘closed permanently’ sign on the door, Hook remarked, “Belle told me she plans to open the shop to the public soon, so everyone can claim what is rightfully theirs.”

“That’s nice of her,” Emma commented.

They continued on in silence for several steps, until Hook quietly said, “She told me he still has my…my hand in a jar in the back of the shop.”

Emma snapped her head around to look at him. “You’re kidding! That…that’s really morbid.”

“Aye,” he agreed simply.

They walked on a bit further. “Maybe…” Emma began thoughtfully.

When she didn’t continue, Hook asked, “What’s on your mind, Swan?”

“I do have magic. Maybe I could…reattach it?”

He stopped and turned to face her. “You would be willing to do that?”

“Of course. I can’t guarantee it would work, but I don’t think it would hurt to try. That is, if you trust me.”

“Of course I trust you, and I fully believe you can do it. You proved how powerful your magic is at Lake Nostos.”

“If it does work, what will everyone call you? Captain Hand?”

“Killian will do,” he said with a shake of his head.

Emma took his arm again and they resumed walking. “I’ll talk to Belle tomorrow,” she promised.

“Thank you, Love,” Hook said, past a lump in his throat. After centuries without his hand, the thought that he could soon have it back made him a bit emotional.

When they were within sight of the docks, Hook steered them down a side street. “Where are we going?” Emma asked.

“I ordered food from Tony’s and told him I would pick it up on our way. I want it to be piping hot when we eat.”

“Tony’s, huh? I’ve heard about that restaurant, but I haven’t eaten there.”

“Do you like Italian food?”

“Sure, who doesn’t? Besides, I like that it’s not Granny’s.”

He laughed. “Lady Lucas has tasty food, but I thought you deserved something different tonight.”

After picking up his order, they covered the remaining distance quickly. Emma was sniffing the air with a smile on her face. “Oh my god, that smells so good!”

They arrived at the pier and Hook gestured for her to precede him up the gangplank. She came to a stop as soon as she stepped onto the deck, taking in the sight before her.

Hook had set up a square table, flanked by two chairs. It was covered with a red tablecloth and had a huge bouquet of red roses sitting in the middle, surrounded by fine china plates, silverware, and crystal wine glasses. An ice bucket containing a bottle of wine was on one corner. Lit lanterns were scattered around the deck, each one creating a halo of soft light.

“Wow,” Emma uttered. “You really went all out.”

“Nothing but the best for you, Love.”

She gave him a grateful look, then walked over to the table, bending to smell the roses. “They’re beautiful.”

He moved to join her. “So are you, Emma,” he said sincerely.

He could tell she wasn’t sure how to respond to his sentiment, so he set the large brown bag of food down and pulled out a chair for her. Withdrawing the box containing breadsticks, he set it in front of her, then picked up a corkscrew to open the bottle of wine. While he was pouring the burgundy liquid, she opened the box, taking out a mouthwatering breadstick. Biting into it, she moaned at the taste.

They enjoyed their dinner and the easy conversation accompanying it. After consuming their plates of pasta and meatballs, he reached into the sack and pulled out one final box containing tiramisu.

“I didn’t think I could eat another bite, but I’ll make room for that,” Emma said, eyeing the dessert with undisguised eagerness.

“I’ve never tried it, but it came highly recommended,” Hook explained.

They ate the rich cake, uttering expressions of delight as they savored it.

Once the meal was finished, Hook noticed Emma beginning to shiver. “Cold, Love?” he inquired.

“Just a little chilly,” she replied, wrapping her arms around herself.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, heading toward the ladder leading below deck. He returned with a blanket and draped it over her shoulders.

“Thanks,” she said, grasping the edges and pulling it tightly around herself.

He put his hand on the small of her back and steered her toward the bow. “I’m happy it’s clear this evening,” he said, pointing at the sky with his hook. “I’ve always loved gazing at the stars, even before I became a sailor.”

“There were stars all the way back then?” she teased.

“Curses and Neverland may have given me experience, but as you can see, I’ve retained my youthful glow.”

She scoffed lightly, then turned her attention to the sky. “Is it true that sailors use the stars to navigate?”

“Among other things.”

“The only constellation I can find is the Big Dipper,” she admitted.

As Hook began pointing out the various star configurations, she leaned back against him, her head on his shoulder while she scanned the sky. Wanting to keep her there as long as possible, he began regaling her with myths related to each constellation.

When he became quiet, she breathed, “Tonight has been very nice, Killian.”

“Aye, it has.”

She turned to face him, slowly running her hands up his chest. “I like your new clothes. They suit you.”

“Thank you, Love. They may take some getting used to, after centuries of wearing my leather trousers and duster.”

“You don’t plan to stop wearing your pirate garb altogether, do you?” she asked, her fingers caressing the lapels of his jacket.

He quirked an eyebrow. “Are you saying you would miss it if I did?”

“Maybe,” she said coyly, ducking her head to look up at him through her lashes.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, putting his hand and hook on her hips to pull her a bit closer, “you say the word and I’ll wear them anytime you want.”

“Just for me?”

“Aye,” he affirmed.

“Good,” she whispered, then tugged on his lapels, bringing his lips to hers.

His surprise quickly turned to pleasure. The blanket around her shoulders slid to the deck as he ran his hand up her back to tangle in her hair. He swiped his tongue across her lips, tasting a hint of wine and garlic. She opened to him and he eagerly accepted her invitation.

Tilting his head, he deepened the kiss, drawing in quick breaths when necessary. To his great delight, she didn’t seem to be in any hurry to end it. Their tongues explored, while their hands roamed, fingers teasing any skin they encountered.

When their lips finally separated, Emma rested her forehead against his. Neither of them spoke as the heavy breaths they were taking mingled between them.

“That was…unexpected,” Hook murmured.

“Yeah, for me, too,” Emma concurred. “I wasn’t planning to do that, I just…”

“Couldn’t resist my charm?”

She took a step back and peered up into his face, her fingers still toying with the hair curling behind his ears. “Something like that.” She looked like she wanted to say more, but when she opened her mouth to do so, she seemed to have second thoughts and began to pull away from his embrace.

“Hey, talk to me,” he urged.

She sighed. “I don’t…I don’t know if I want to be in…a relationship. I’m not good at them.”

“Perhaps you simply haven’t met the right person yet.”

“And you think that person is you?”

He looked deeply into her eyes, radiating sincerity as he spoke. “I never thought I would be capable of letting go of my first love…of my Milah. To believe that I could find someone else. That is, until I met you.”

Her jaw dropped and she blinked rapidly. “Are you…are you saying that you…”

“Love you? Aye, that’s what I’m saying. You have captured my heart, Emma Swan - a heart that has been hardened for more years than I care to admit.” As she opened her mouth to speak, he added quickly, “I realize you aren’t ready to return my sentiments, but if you give me a chance, I believe I will eventually win your heart. Not through any trickery, but because you want me.”

“Killian, I…” she began. Wrapping her arms around herself, she bit her bottom lip and dropped her eyes, clearly reeling from his confession.

“Emma, I don’t want things to be awkward between us. Please don’t pull away from me.”

She raised her eyes to meet his once again. He held his breath as she studied him, then felt a thrill of hope when she leaned in to press a brief kiss to his lips. “Be patient,” she requested.

“I have all the time in the world.”

*********

After walking Emma home and enjoying another languid kiss outside her door, Hook went back to his ship and cleared away the remains of dinner, returned the table, chairs and lanterns to their rightful places and retired to his quarters.

Lying in his bunk, his mind replayed the events of the night. Dinner went as he had hoped, and the time they spent in conversation was extremely enjoyable. He hadn’t planned to admit his feelings, but her kiss took him completely by surprise and brought those feelings bubbling to the surface where he couldn’t suppress them.

If he had to pinpoint the moment when he realized he had fallen in love with her, it was when she came to the station and told him Henry’s reaction to finding out about his father. The way she trusted him when she hadn’t even wanted to tell her own parents, and released him from the cell so he could comfort her, gave him hope that he was breaking down the walls she built around her heart. Then when she used his given name, his love for her was solidified.

He hoped she wouldn’t have regrets when she thought about their evening together. He certainly didn’t. Touching his lips, he smiled, then closed his eyes and went to sleep, dreaming of the lovely Emma Swan.

*********

Hook was polishing the railings of the Jolly Roger late the next morning, when he saw Emma’s yellow contraption quickly approaching. Laying the cloth and jar of polish aside, he disembarked and met her as she was opening the door.

“Hey,” she greeted breathlessly. “I just talked to Belle. She wants me to bring you to the pawn shop right away so I can try to reattach your hand.”

His heart began to race. He had absolute faith in Emma, so he knew that after more than two hundred years, he was within minutes of having his hand restored.

Climbing into the passenger seat, he watched her maneuver the car the short distance through the streets, neither of them speaking. He was sure she was nervous about using her magic and he didn’t want to say anything to put more pressure on her.

Once she parked in front of the pawn shop, she cut the engine and looked over at him. “You want this, right? Henry might not think you’re quite as cool without your hook,” she teased.

He could tell she was trying to lighten the mood. “He can see it whenever he’s on my ship,” he chuckled.

She blew out a heavy sigh. “Alright then, let’s go,” she said, opening the car door, as he did the same.

Belle met them outside the shop, unlocked the door and led them inside. “Wait here. I’ll go in the back and get the jar,” she said.

Hook noticed Emma was anxiously wringing her hands. He went to her and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t fret, Swan. If it doesn’t work, I’ll be no worse off.”

Belle came through the thick curtain carrying a large, glass jar containing clear liquid and a human hand. Hook glanced at Emma and saw her swallow hard as she looked at it.

“Why would he keep it all of these years?” she asked.

“Probably to remind himself that he should have finished the job and killed me to get what he wanted. He cut it off to get the magic bean he thought I was holding, but when he wasn’t looking, I slipped it into my pocket. I’m sure he wasn’t happy when he discovered I tricked him.”

He stepped closer to the counter where Belle set the jar. Carefully turning it around, he got a lump in his throat remembering that fateful day when he lost so much more than his hand.

He didn’t hear Emma move to stand beside him, until she spoke quietly. “Are you alright, Killian?”

“Aye.” His voice was gruff with emotion. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Aye, Love. I just didn’t think there was a chance of ever having it back.”

“It will take powerful magic to reattach it,” Belle stated.

“Emma is bloody brilliant wielding her magic,” Hook said proudly. “She’s the only person I’ve ever seen who repelled Cora’s attempt to take her heart.”

“Rumple always said that magic isn’t an intellectual endeavor,” Belle said. “It’s emotional. You have to ask yourself, why am I doing this? Who am I protecting?”

“Like you did when you restored the waters of Lake Nostos,” Hook said. “You were thinking of how much you wanted to get back to your son and father.”

Emma pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she studied the macabre sight of the hand floating in the formaldehyde. Finally, she locked eyes with him. “Are you ready to do this?”

“I am if you are, Swan.”

She closed her eyes tightly and held her right hand over the top of the jar. Hook watched her intently as her face became a mask of grim determination. Then she slowly moved her hand in a circle three times, thrusting it toward him at the end of the final rotation.

There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she could do it, but he hadn’t known what kind of sensation to expect when his hand was back in its proper place. A tingling began at his shoulder, moving down his bicep to his elbow, then his forearm, wrist, and all the way to his…fingertips!

“You did it, Love!” he exclaimed, turning his reattached hand this way and that, while flexing his fingers.

Her eyes popped open, widening when she saw him holding up his hand in front of himself.

“Oh, Emma!” Belle exclaimed, giving a happy little clap. “How wonderful! I’m so happy for you, Hook!”

“I don’t believe you can call me that anymore, Love,” Killian said gleefully.

“No, I suppose I can’t,” Belle agreed. “What shall I call you, then?”

“My given name is Killian.”

“Killian it is,” she said, smiling brightly.

His eyes turned back to Emma, who was staring at her own hand, apparently in disbelief that it was capable of such powerful magic. Stepping forward, he captured her right hand with his left one.

She blinked rapidly before stammering, “I…I d-did it.”

“You’re a bloody marvel,” he praised. Bringing her hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Thank you, Love.”

“I, um…I need to get back to the library,” Belle cut in. “The door is locked. Please close it tightly when you leave.” Without waiting for a reply, she hurried out of the shop.

“I can’t believe I did it,” Emma said, seemingly unaware of the other woman’s departure.

“I knew you would,” Killian assured her.

She finally dragged her eyes up to meet his. “You really did have faith in me, didn’t you?”

“Aye,” he said simply. “May I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What were you thinking when you did it?”

“Honestly? I…I was thinking about how important you are to me. You helped me get back to Henry from the Enchanted Forest and protected me from Gold to bring me back from New York. You listen when I need a sounding board and offer me good advice. You…you have become my best friend and I desperately wanted to help you by giving you the thing you want the most.”

“You’re wrong about that,” he said, wrapping a strand of her golden hair around his finger.

She looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely happy to have my hand back,” he said. “But the thing I want most isn’t having it restored. I could have gone on living without it, if necessary. However, I couldn’t go on without you. You’re the most brilliant, beautiful, mesmerizing woman I have ever had the privilege of knowing.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Do you really mean that?”

“Every word.” Taking another step into her space, he murmured, “And I am bloody grateful that now I have more than one hand to hold you with, if you’ll allow me.”

In answer, she closed the remaining distance between them, pressing her damp cheek against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of caressing her with both hands.

*********

When he and Emma walked down the sidewalk together the next day, she surprised him by taking his left hand and holding it all the way to Granny’s. The fact that she didn’t seem bothered by being seen showing signs of affection toward him made his heart beat faster with hope that she was beginning to have the same feelings for him that he already expressed for her.

With Emma and Regina’s permission, Henry began spending quite a bit of time learning the basics of sailing with Killian. One Saturday afternoon, he took his ship into the open water beyond the harbor with Emma and Henry aboard, so the boy could show his mother all he had learned. Killian wasn’t sure which of the three of them was the proudest.

It didn’t take long for word to get around town that Captain Hook was now a man without a hook. Townspeople smiled broadly as they greeted him as ‘Killian’ and received a smile just as bright in return. As time passed, he became more and more comfortable, and everyone welcomed him as a fellow citizen of Storybrooke.

David no longer showed any resistance toward the pirate dating his daughter. In fact, the two men were actually becoming the best of friends. Killian was often a dinner guest at the loft, being invited by Mary Margaret the majority of the time. The conversation around the table was always lively and filled with laughter. Afterwards, the four adults and Henry played card games until it was time for the boy to go to bed. Killian thoroughly enjoyed the time with Emma and her family.

As the weeks went by, he and Emma went on several more dates. Whether it was on his ship, at a restaurant or strolling around town, Killian couldn’t get enough of spending time with the woman he loved more deeply every day.

One evening, after having dinner with Emma, Mary Margaret and David while Henry was at Regina’s, Killian retired to his ship. He had just shrugged out of his leather jacket and was removing his vest in his quarters when he heard footsteps on the deck above. Grabbing a cutlass, he started up the ladder to confront the intruder. Before he reached the top, he heard Emma softly calling his name.

Without taking time to return the weapon downstairs, he completed his ascent and emerged through the hatch. “Hello, Love,” he greeted.

Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the cutlass he was holding. “Planning on stabbing someone?”

He looked down at it, then back up at her. “A man must always be prepared when he is protecting his ship,” he explained. “What brings you here at this hour?”

She stepped forward boldly, pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt and whispered, “You,” before kissing the holy hell out of him.

The cutlass hit the deck with a clatter as he wrapped his arms around her and eagerly reciprocated. When she finally took a breath, it was to utter, “Show me your quarters, Captain.”

He blinked in surprise, then an alluring smile crossed his face. “As you wish.”

After quickly descending the ladder, he stood below it to ensure Emma’s safety as she followed him down. She glanced around the shadowy hallway, lit only by two dim lanterns hanging on the wall.

“This way, milady,” he said, taking her hand and leading her to the door he left open in his haste.

She walked into his room, once again peering around the cabin. “So, this is your home, huh?”

“Aye, for more years than I care to admit.”

“You are pretty ancient,” she teased, winding her arms around his neck. “But hopefully not too ancient for what I have in mind.”

His brows rose on their own accord, even though he had already deduced her purpose for being there. Still, he didn’t want to assume anything, so he asked, “And just what do you have in mind, Swan?”

She kissed him chastely, then murmured against his lips, “I want to make love…to the man I love.”

He pulled back to look into her eyes. “Truly?”

“Yes, truly. You won my heart, Killian…and I want to share every other part of me with you.”

He dove in for another kiss, then moved his lips down her throat as he hummed, “I love you, Emma.”

It had been many long years since he was with a woman, his mind more focused on finding the crocodile once Regina’s curse was cast. At this moment, he was glad he abstained all that time. It would make his first time with Emma all the more special.

He could feel the rising pressure against the zipper of his jeans as he continued licking and nibbling the soft skin below her ear. His hands pushed her red leather jacket off of her shoulders and she allowed her arms to slide out of it. Once it was in a heap on the floor, his hands moved to begin toying with the buttons of her blouse, while her hands went to work on his belt.

Their movements were purposeful, and soon more clothes were on the floor. Killian scanned down Emma’s body, now clad in only her bra and panties. “You are absolutely, bloody gorgeous, my love,” he rasped through a throat clogged with emotion.

“So are you,” she returned, her fingers tracing the hard lines of his bare abs. She had disposed of his shirt and belt, and unzipped his pants. Now, she pushed at the waistband, encouraging him to remove them. He accommodated her immediately, then pulled her to him for another round of passionate kisses. She gasped into his mouth when she felt his stiffening member pressing against her.

As his hands traced up her back, he encountered the band of her brassiere and froze momentarily.

“It unhooks,” she mumbled, then giggled. “You shouldn’t have any problem with hooks.”

Her giggles turned to moans when he proved her right and began squeezing her breasts as soon as they were free. Then his mouth moved to explore her nipples, first licking them, then gently tugging at them with his teeth.

It was his turn to moan when her hands slid down inside his boxers and began fondling his ass. He wrapped his arms around her and easily lifted her into his arms. As he carried her toward his bunk, her legs encircled him, her ankles crossing at the small of his back.

Gently lowering her to the mattress, he looked down at her, his breath catching when she locked eyes with him. The love he could see shining in them was unmistakeable. He removed his underwear, then slid hers down her legs. The next several highly pleasurable moments were spent exploring each other’s naked form with their hands, fingers and lips.

Killian was even more grateful to have both hands as he used them to stroke, tease and arouse the beautiful woman beneath him. She moaned as she writhed under his ministrations, widening her legs as he neared her most intimate place.

He took that as permission to slide his fingers through her sodden folds, his thumb finding her clit at the same time. “Killiannn,” she gasped.

“Tell me what you want, Love,” he requested, his breath hot against her left breast.

She didn’t answer right away and he could tell she was hesitant to voice her desires. Moving his mouth up her body, he whispered in her ear, “Don’t be afraid to tell me exactly how you want me to pleasure you, Emma.”

He felt her draw in a shaky breath. “Use your fingers to…get me ready.”

Nodding, he decided to probe a bit more. “Just my fingers?”

She hesitated again. “And…your mouth?”

“Aye, Love. I can do that.” His lips found hers as his fingers found her center, his tongue thrusting into her mouth while first one, then two fingers did the same down below. He paused his kisses to ask, “Can you take more?”

“Mmhmm,” she affirmed and was promptly filled with a third digit. He licked and kissed his way down her body, as she rode his fingers. Curling them inside her, seeking that spot, he simultaneously sucked hard on a nipple. She cried out and shuddered against him, her walls clamping tightly around his digits. He continued stroking her as he adjusted his position, then he wrapped his lips around her clit, using his tongue to toy with it.

“Oh, fuck!” she exclaimed, her thighs tightening around his head. His hands found her hips, holding her steady as he licked her slit to taste her arousal. His gaze slid up her body to see her fingers plucking at her nipples, her eyes closed and mouth open in pleasure.

The combination of what he was seeing, tasting and feeling made his cock almost painfully hard. He began to rub it against her calf and heard her mumble something. Pulling away from her a bit, he asked, “What did you say, Love?”

“I…I want you inside me.”

He didn’t need a second invitation. Quickly straddling her, he leaned down to kiss her, knowing she would taste herself on his tongue. As she let out a surprised gasp, he lined himself up and slowly began entering her.

After becoming a pirate, Killian accepted the fact that he had very little chance of getting to Heaven, but at this moment, he felt like he was there. Her sheath wrapped around him and drew him in until he was fully engulfed in her heat.

He rested his forehead on hers, their breath mingling in the small space between them. Opening his eyes, they connected with the sparkling jade of hers. “I love you,” he whispered.

Her eyes crinkled as she smiled. “I love you, too.”

Pushing up to rest on his forearms, he began moving his hips languidly, sliding almost out, then back in again. Emma wrapped her legs around him, meeting him thrust for thrust. The pace quickened and sounds of slapping skin, moans, curses and panting breaths filled the air.

Killian felt the tell-tale tingle at the base of his spine, signifying his impending orgasm. Wanting to ensure Emma reached her peak first, he reached between them and rubbed his thumb over her swollen clit. The result was instantaneous. She cried out his name, tightening her legs around him and digging her fingers into his shoulders almost painfully.

He followed her over the edge, his body shuddering with his release. Moving his hands to grip her shapely buttocks, he rolled them over so she was resting on top of him. They lay without speaking, as their breathing returned to normal and their bodies cooled.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” he asked quietly, the fingers of both hands moving lazily up and down her back. Gods, he was so happy he was able to use both hands.

“Yeah,” she answered simply.

“Your parents won’t wonder where you are?”

“I’m pretty sure they knew where I was going and the reason for it.”

“And your father didn’t want to come along and threaten to kill me?”

“Why would he want to kill his best friend?” she laughed, lifting her head to look into his face. Her fingers moved to brush some strands of hair away from his brows. He closed his eyes and sighed contentedly.

She lay her head back down on his chest. “I love you, Killian,” she murmured into his skin.

“And I, you, Emma.”

After several more minutes, they finally moved to clean themselves up and Killian donned the flannel sleep pants he’d grown fond of while he was incarcerated. Emma stealthily snagged his shirt from the floor and slipped it on, earning a nod of approval and eyebrow wag from her pirate.

They settled into bed together and soon found a comfortable position. His arms held her snugly against his side, while her fingers toyed with the charms on his silver chain. “Goodnight, Killian,” she mumbled sleepily.

“Goodnight, Love. Sweet dreams.” His lips pressed against the crown of her head repeatedly. Within minutes, he heard her breathing even out and he knew she was asleep.

He remained awake for some time, thinking about everything that happened to bring him to this moment. The woman he held in his arms bested him not once, but twice. If anyone else had done that to the fearsome Captain Hook, it would have meant their death. Instead, Emma captured his heart and made him want to be a better man - one who was worthy of her love.

For dozens of decades, he thought getting his revenge on Rumplestiltskin was all that was left for him and that once he did, his life would be complete. However, attaining that revenge was only a footnote in his story now. Circumstances he never would have imagined brought him to this place that he now called home, where he had friends and was happier than he could remember being for a very, very long time.

Most importantly, he was in love with a brave, beautiful, fierce, passionate lass who, wonder of wonders, loved him in return. He would never understand what he did to deserve that privilege.

Tightening his arms around her sleeping form, he began drifting off himself, knowing that when he awakened in the morning, the first thing he would see would be Emma Swan, her green eyes shining with love for him.

*********

Thank you all very much for reading. I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate, and a great New Year, hopefully full of lots of new CS content!

Tagging:

@qualitycoffeethings @grimmswan @cs-rylie @wyntereyez @kmomof4

@hookedmom @ultraluckycatnd @paradiselady19 @xarandomdreamx @motherkatereloyshipper

@lfh1226-linda @pawshapedheart @vampcoffeegyrl23 @tiganasummertree @bluewildcatfanatic

@eleveneitherway @elfiola @kday426 @julieenchanted-swans @gingerchangeling

@andiirivera @djlbg @jonesfandomfanatic @snowbellewells @anmylica

@booksteaandtoomuchtv @cocohook38 @ilovemesomekillianjones @zaharadessert @lyssapup27

@undercaffinatednightmare @winterbaby89 @jennjenn615 @xsajx @jackieorioncat

@teamhook @soniccat @jarienn972 @softkilly @kymbersmith-90

@apiratewhopines @hollyethecurious @laianely @resident-of-storybrooke @exhaustedpirate

@caught-in-the-filter @stahlop @veryverynotgoodwrites @darkshadow7 @fleurdepetite

@whimsicallyenchantedrose @earanemith @superchocovian @idristardis @captainswan-kellie

@beckettj @killihan-jones

#exacting his revenge #jrob64 #csff #complete story #birthday fic for krystal #season 2 canon divergent #cs smut #cs fanfiction #ouat fanfiction

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rallentando1011 · 11 months ago

Text

Somnambulant Soulmates (rise Donnie x gn reader)

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

Word Count: 2833

“Where in the actual heck did you lead me?”

“Trying to figure that out right now. How many turns have you taken?”

“You mean to the left or right?” you inquired cautiously, steps splashing in the shallow water of the sewer tunnel you currently found yourself in. You thought that since you had taken this exact same path literally yesterday you might remember the way. Well, you thought wrong, which was why you called up the man you were on your way to meet for assistance.

Donnie huffed over the phone. “Both, preferably. Why would you go traversing through a complex labyrinth of a sewer system, not knowing where you’re going, and not keeping track of where you’ve gone?”

“Uhh, misguided faith in myself?”

“Eh. Fair enough. I’ll send auxiliary support your way.”

“‘Auxiliary support?’ What is that supposed to-”

Before you could even finish your thought, not to mention get a response, the call ended.

You gaped. Either the signal cut out, which was feasible in the sewers, or he ended the call. For Donnie’s sake, he’d better have hoped it was the former.

You froze in the eerie silence and dark, breathing tersely. Your hands hung uncomfortably off your sides, shoulders drawn tight.

What were you supposed to do now?

Well, retracing your steps seemed better than continuing further into uncharted territory. Following that logic, you pivoted and meandered cautiously back from where you came.

The tunnel came upon an especially dark section, so you turned on your phone’s flashlight. Your field of vision was small, but at least you could directly in front of you. Better than nothingness..

Suddenly, a strange noise entered your ears. Some sort of mechanical whirring. It sounded vaguely in front of you, though the reverberation from the tunnels made it hard to discern.

You tensed up again.

What if it was from those goons from last night? Or, even worse, what if it was-

As the source of the odd whirring sound came into view, you paused.

“Ohhhh my goodness…” Your startled reflexes swiftly softened as you registered the little purple drone levitating before you.

A very boop-able beak was on what you assumed to be its face, with petite propellers acting as limbs. Bottom line, it was adorable.

“Woah, how’s it hanging, dude?” the drone greeted. “D told me you got a bit turned around down here, but we’ll get you to the lair real quick.”

“Woah.” You admired the tech, tilting your head at it. “So, am I talking to Donnie or an algorithm right now?”

“Neither! The name’s S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. broski!” it- he introduced himself.

“Huh. Nice to meet you, S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.,” you responded and gave your name in return. “Would you mind please showing me to Donnie?”

“No problem!” the drone floated higher excitedly before whipping around. “Follow me. We’ll be back to the lab in a jiff.”

“Thanks!”

You trailed along the polite drone in silence, weaving and wandering through dim channels until he spoke up.

“So, you and D are cool?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” You tipped your head down inquisitively.

“I don’t know what you see in him.”

You barked out a laugh at how abrupt his sass was. “Oh?”

“Yeah! He can be super overbearing sometimes- like, won’t-even-let-me-out-of-the-lair overbearing, you know? He’s gotten better about it, but he can still be way protective.”

“Surely it can’t be that bad,” you offered. The drone did not seem to agree.

“Oh, it can, bro! One time, he padlocked my propellers and I ended up in, like, a gang almost-”

As your conversation trailed off and you two moved, the area around you grew lighter and you found yourself in the empty atrium of the lair. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. guided you up to the second floor, down a dim hallway, and to a stop in front of large, metallic doors as his rant about Donnie came to a close.

“Thanks, little guy. I appreciate the help.” You smiled, and the drone tilted his head and returned the gesture.

“Of course, bro! Just let me know if you get too bored with Donnie. Us cool people can hang out and do something less bogus.”

You chuckled. “I’ll let you know.”

With a small salute, you sent him whirring off.

You turned to face the sturdy-looking doors before you. Just as you moved to rap on them, the doors opened with a heavy sound of air. You took a confused glance to the right, left, before stepping into the lab.

The room consisted mostly of metallic silver hues with tables and shelves stacked up with a plethora of technological treasures. Purple mood lights illuminated the room softly, though it was still a lot more effective than your flashlight was.

Sounds of clinging and clanging proliferated from somewhere behind a shelf. You followed them, expecting to find your companion tinkering on something - perhaps the invention he was researching at the library?

Instead, you turned the corner to see him using the titanium arms that extended from his battle shell to swipe what was probably a literal ton of empty energy drinks off of his desk and into a trash can beside it.

You interrupted his tidying up with a cough to announce your presence.

Startled, he snapped his head back to look at you, his technology not ceasing to clear the irrelevant items from his desk.

“Oh. You made it. Congratulations,” he said, though his monotonous tone did not invoke any sentiment of felicitations.

“Yeah, I made it, little thanks to you.”

“I take it S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. behaved himself?”

“He was an angel.” You put a hand over your heart and walked up to him just as a thought struck you. “By the way, how did you know where to send S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.?”

“That is unimportant right now. What matters iiiis-” he paused to gesture to his desk, “-science! Engineering, to be more specific, but we can delve into that more later.”

“Hm.” You leaned over the desk, viewing a highly detailed blueprint and sheet of notes. The thought that he probably definitely tracked your call faded as you immersed yourself in his work. “You mentioned a prototype of this yesterday?”

“I admire your tenacity, but would you not prefer to discuss the workings of the machine before seeing the results?” he queried.

“Is it not helpful to vary in learning techniques? I’m game for some visual learning.”

“Sigh, if you insist.”

Donnie turned around, delicately grabbed an object from a shelf beside him, set it down on the desk.

The metal object was spherical, for the most part, with some geometric patterns on the bottom to prop it up. It was sizable, though wieldy enough to be portable. On the side of it was an ingrained insignia you’d seen on his other tech, and beside that was an odd yet intentional divot in the side.

“About this prototype for the generator-” Donnie glanced to the side, “it’s been built, but I don’t have the juice for it yet.”

“So you don’t have the energy source for your energy source?”

He deadpanned at your teasing. “It’s a prototype for a reason.”

“Is that dent where the mystic crystal or whatever is supposed to go?”

“Yes, it is intended to be for a crystal, though I’ll take any viable source I can get. Now, shall we discuss the behind the scenes?”

You nodded.

Before crashing into his own chair, he pulled up a stool for you. Oddly considerate, but you wouldn’t complain.

From talk of sinusoidal waves, frequencies, output and input responses from certain mystic crystals, the conversation went into a plenitude of tangentially related topics, the minutiae of which he had to explain to you, but you got the majority of it. However, such conversation came at a price, for one cannot blab and/or yap for an hour consecutively without obtaining a splitting headache and requiring sustenance.

Eventually, you cleared your throat to get his attention off of the blueprints for the energy source. The turtle met your gaze curiously.

“All this ‘being a genius’ stuff has left me positively parched,” you spoke up, popping the p’s. “You have anything to drink in here? Or is the lair’s kitchen better?”

It felt kind of weird to refer to his residence as a lair, but you were trying.

“This is a laboratory; it would be reprehensible to bring food or beverage in here.”

The two of you glanced down at the miniature trash can adjacent to his desk and the cans overflowing from it.

“Your trash begs to differ.”

He clicked his tongue. “Those cans are empty now, and I don’t have more. We probably have water in the fridge.”

“How about we go somewhere instead? Go for a walk, head to a cafe, get some fresh air. I would prefer not getting lost here again.”

Donnie hummed, tapped his chin.“Not a bad idea. You’re buying, though.”

“Sure!”

He blinked. “I was joking. Of course I’m going to buy my own beverage.”

“We’ll see,” you smiled, hopping up from your seat. “Do you want to grab a coat or something? The wind chill’s bad today.”

“Forcing me out of my lab for food, insisting I prepare for the weather, if I didn’t know better I might say you care about me.” Donnie raised a playful eyebrow.

“Don’t flatter yourself. And I haven’t forced you anywhere. For legal purposes.”

“You can wait here. I’ll be back in a moment.” Donnie hopped up and exited the lab, presumably to get some warmer clothes.

As he slipped out of the room, you traced a finger over the blueprints he had gushed over so adamantly. So much time and effort and knowledge had been poured into every aspect of this project, and that, not to mention the complexity of it, was enough to gain your respect. You pulled out your phone, snapped a quick picture of the paper, not the prototype for now, and slipped it back into your pocket.

You waited for an uncomfortable moment, literally twiddling your thumbs, trying to seem casual. There was a literal trove of things to check out or explore in the room, but you did not know how much time you had.

And you couldn’t risk getting caught.

So you waited. And waited.

Okay, either Donnie ditched you or he just took forever to get ready.

Thinking back to how late he was to April’s party heavily implied the latter.

After another moment of just standing next to his desk, the sound of footsteps padding closer drew your attention up.

Lo and behold, in the doorway stood Donnie with crossed arms.

His mask and goggles remained the same, steadfast on his head, but he did put on some clothes. A snug black turtleneck and flowy lavender cargo pants had joined the ensemble, though there was still a severe lack of shoes.

“Okay, Steve Jobs.” The comment slipped out of your mouth before you could process it. It came across lightheartedly enough, though, based on Donnie’s grin.

“Don’t say that if you don’t mean it, because that’s going straight up here.” He tapped his index to his temple and started walking out of the lab. You followed after.

“I guess with all that square footage something’s bound to go up there.”

He wrinkled his nose in distaste.

You elbowed

“I’m kidding. Your brain capacity is bound to be maxed out already with all that knowledge.”

“Thanks? That- wasn’t derogatory, right?”

“What do you think?”

“That you’re patronizing me?”

“Sort of. I was mostly calling you smart, in a roundabout way.”

“Huh. So, thanks?”

“Welcome.”

You two quickly made your way out of the lair and onto the surface’s streets.

You realized just as quickly that you had no idea where you were headed to.

“Uhh, D?”

“I know. Unless you have other suggestions, I know a place nearby.”

“Oh, yeah, please lead the way. I genuinely had no idea where to go.”

“Ha,” he grinned, taking the lead down a few streets and corridors and bringing you two to a quaint coffee shop. String lights, beige bricks, sleek tables and booths, the store was modern and comely.

Of course, with it being New York City, the line was huge, but this place was concealed well enough that it at least wasn’t down the road.

While waiting in line, you didn’t talk much, instead opting to either scroll on your phones or try to figure out which kind of coffee or tea you wanted.

As you neared the register, still having no idea what you wanted, you passed the small refrigerated shelf of items.

“Oh, I’ve seen these before!” Your attention caught on some bottles of Yakult, so you selected one of the original flavors. “Never tried it though. Want to try it together?”

“Why not?” he grinned uncertainly and flashed a couple of thumbs up.

“That’s the spirit!”

You two made it to the register and ended up buying the probiotic drinks along with a couple of baked goods. Before he could make a move to pay for at least his items, you swooped in and bought them all with an innocent grin.

His glare saw through your unassuming demeanor.

You got your confections and drinks before making your way to an available booth. You took up a seat across from him and tried the new drink.

“I like it.” You nodded. It was citrusy, smooth, overall pleasant to indulge in.

“Oh. Mmmm…” he shuddered, forcing it down with a queasy smile on his face.

“Huh. You hate it,” you observed bemusedly. You relished the panic that washed over him at your comment.

“What? Nooo. This- this is very… not bad,” he faltered under your smug stare.

“It’s fine!” you reassured as you slid his Yakult toward yourself. “You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it.”

“But-” he interjected, glancing down at the accursed drink, then back up to you. “But you bought it for me. I hardly consider it amiable to discard something that someone else purchased.”

“Well, luckily for us both, it’s not going to waste.”

Before he had the opportunity to ask you to elaborate, you took a long sip of the probiotic beverage. You smiled while doing so, coming face to face with a floored turtle when you set it back down on the table.

He stared numbly at you before stammering out, “I- you- do you have any idea how many germs we just shared?”

“Oh well,” you shrugged. “Despite the atrocious things that come out of it, I think you have a fairly clean mouth. Now, how about we get you something else to drink? Something that you don’t find atrocious.”

“Fine, but I’ll be paying for it this time.”

You smiled knowingly, hand already fastened on your wallet. “We’ll see.”

The grin stayed smugly planted on your face as you made it to the front counter and slapped your payment down before he could.

“You’re just gonna have to settle with buying next time,” was your response to his scowl.

“Next time?” Donnie seemed taken aback.

You shrugged playfully. “Unless you don’t want to do this again. I’m good either way.”

“Um, no, n-next time’s on me,” he said hesitantly.

“Alright then. Do you want to tell the barista what you want?” you urged, indicating toward a visibly disinterested worker behind the counter.

“Right!” Donnie finally made it back onto this plane of reality and sprung into action, making his selection from the refrigerated section beside the counter.

“Flavorless juice?” Your jaw dropped as he slid it to the worker.

“Uh, yeah? They’ve got the good kind here. 50% less flavor…”

“Okay then…” you opted to judge him silently and let the man enjoy his juice, albeit an atrocious variety of juice.

You started walking back to the booth before a notification on your phone made you pause. Taking it out, your eyes widened.

“Oh, uh, I spent a lot longer with you than I thought I did. Um, I’ve got to go now, but I’ll catch you later?”

“Y-Yeah! Later!”

You left him standing there with a smile and a couple of finger guns before bounding off toward the exit and out of his view.

Once you left his field of vision, he looked back down at his drink. The drink you bought for him. The drink you spent additional time and money on to get for him just because he couldn’t texturally handle the other one you’d bought him.

What you mentioned earlier about doing this again sounded quite nice.

Perhaps, instead of waiting for fate or probability or whatever was at play to cause you to run into each other again, it could be a more active endeavor, something conscious.

That didn’t sound half bad to him.

(chapter artwork HERE)

Taglist~ @rottmntsimp

@envyjmoney

#FORESHADOWING HOW I LOVE YOU #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #save rottmnt #save rise of the tmnt #unpause rottmnt #rise season 3 #save rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #unpause rise of the tmnt #save rise of the turtles #unpause rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt x reader #rottmnt donatello #rise donnie x reader #rise donatello x reader #rise donnie #rise donatello #part 4

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aemondapologistfrfr · 7 months ago

Text

Dethrone - Chapter 6

Warnings: I guess like pg-13 with an intense makeout, probably a swear word somewhere Authors Note: rhaenyra deserves better, this is basically just plotting and manipulating and setting up for the story to progress, ps next chapter will have some smut bc bffr this man is too fine not to Word Count: 2.7k

⊹₊⋆☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆☁︎⋆₊ ⊹ ⊹₊⋆☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆☁︎⋆₊ ⊹ ⊹₊⋆☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆

I wake up to the sun peaking through the curtains. I stretch out and frown when I don’t feel Aemond. I see a note scribbled out and left on the table. I walk over to it and scan over it.

“My love, I’m off to train for the morning. I’ve had a dress brought up for you. Should you need anything just ask the guard or come to the yard and get me. -Aemond.”

I look around his chambers and see a dress spread across one of his chairs. It’s a soft blue dress with tons of white embroidery and gem details. I slip the dress on and walk over to his vanity to try and tame my hair.

Once I’m ready I walk to the door and place my ear to it to see if I can hear anyone outside. I’m greeted with silence so I quickly open the door and slip out. I get lost a couple of times trying to find the training yard but I’m not in a rush and I’m happy to explore and take in the architectural beauty that is the Red Keep. I finally find the main hall and doors and make my exit to search for the training yard.

When I see his silver hair flowing around him as he trains I can’t help but to smile. How could this beautiful man ever think so lowly of himself. I stand back in the crowd and admire him. When he finally turns towards me I see his face light up. He pushes the man he was fighting to the ground and walks over to me.

“Hello my love.” he coos pulling me into a hug.

“Hi.” I say shyly looking up to him.

“Did you sleep well?” he smiles down to me warmly stroking my cheek.

“Mm I did.” I hum closing my eyes.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Jace shouts pulling us out of our bubble.

“None of your business.” I say turning towards him.

“Daemon has been looking for you.” he says glaring at me and then to Aemond.

“I’m sure he has.” I bitterly laugh.

“Are you just going to spend all your time here with him?” Jace spits with disgust.

“Why don’t you go with Jace and I’ll come find you later.” Aemond says softly in my ear making turn towards him.

“I’m scared they won’t let me see you again if I leave you now.” I whisper.

“I promise you’ll see me again.” he says tenderly grabbing my hand.

“I better. Or I’ll come find you.” I say furrowing my eyebrows.

“Go on.” he says sweetly kissing my hand.

“I’m still here.” Jace says annoyed.

“Yeah I’m coming.” I roll my eyes and walk over to Jace.

We walk silently out of the training yard and I can’t feel the tension around us. My mind is racing as to what my father has told everyone. Surely he hasn’t told them the truth.

“So what the fuck happened last night??” Jace questions once were out of ear shot of the people in the yard.

“What do you mean?” I ask trying to avoid this conversation but gain information about what my father has said.

“I overheard Daemon yelling about you to my mother.” he says side eyeing me.

“And what did you hear exactly?” I pry for more information.

“I just heard something about you and Aemond and the street of silk.” he raises his eyebrow.

“That’s it?” I ask.

I wonder what Daemon has told Rheanyra. I doubt he told her about his whore. I know he wouldn’t miss an opportunity to make himself seem like the bigger person. Clearly he hasn’t told everyone the exact story if Jace is here asking me about it.

“They won’t tell us. We’ve been trying to find you all morning.” he says slowing his pace as Daemon and Rheanyra come into view.

“Well, let’s go see what I did.” I groan as we get closer to them.

Once we make our way over to them I stand there waiting for the yelling to begin. Daemons neck is slightly red around his cut. He looks at me curiously and I can’t figure out the emotion behind his eyes. Rheanyra stands at his side with her hands folded in front of her.

“Where have you been daughter?” Daemon says reaching for my hand which I quickly place behind my back avoiding his touch.

“What happened to your neck father?” the word feels like venom on my tongue as I raise my eyebrows staring at his neck.

We stare at each other waiting to see who will speak first. I see a smirk tugging on the ends of his mouth. I stand up straight and hold my ground never breaking eye contact. We stare at each other in a stand off, neither of us willing to back down.

“Your father got into a scuffle with some men in the streets looking for you last night. We should all be grateful he got away with just a cut.” Rheanyra rips through our silence making Daemon break the eye contact first.

“Gods be great. My hero.” my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Did he really paint himself as the hero? Off looking for me and just ran into some trouble. How can he just lie to Rheanyra like that? She’s never been anything but kind to me and she deserves to know.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jace asks giving me a sideways look.

“Enough.” Rheanyra says sternly stepping between us. “I have no idea what is going on with you two, but we will deal with this in private. Let’s go. Now.” she says intensely staring at me and then to Daemon.

Rheanyra brushes past Daemon and we all begin to follow her. We follow her up to her and Daemons chambers and all find places to sit in the sitting room. Daemon has an air of arrogance that enrages me that he thinks he’ll get away with betraying Rheanrya.

“The rest of you off to Jaces chambers. We would like to speak to Viktorya alone.” Rheanyra says to the other children and they all start to file out.

“So what’s the story then?” I ask raising an eyebrow lounging further back into the couch.

“There is no story to be told besides yours. I spent all night worried sick looking for you.” Daemon says his gaze burning into mine.

I sit there for a moment and think. If I think this through quickly I can use this to my advantage. I can use the truth for a more ideal time. If I cover for my father now I can use him to start a public courtship with Aemond. By having my father support us will allow others to agree and will complete the first step on our path to the throne.

“I will admit to going out and spending the night with my cousins. I’m sorry if I’ve let you guys down. I just wanted to have a care free night and I ended up falling asleep on Aemonds couch.” I say sounding apologetic and avoiding eye contact.

When I look up I catch my father’s eye and see him slightly raise his eyebrow curiously. I slightly nod my head and then turn to Rhaenyra with remorse. My sadness for Rhaenyra is genuine and I wish she was with anyone other than my pig of a father. She looks worried of the news that I spent time with her half brothers.

“Did they do anything you didn’t want or did they bring you any harm?” Rheanyra asks looking concerned more than anything.

“No. They were perfect gentlemen and took care of me all night.” I speak truthfully of Aemond at least.

“I would be lying if I said I’m not surprised.” Rhaenyra says relieved in that sense.

“We must be careful and thoughtful of our actions. We don’t need anymore court drama than necessary. No more sleepovers in others chambers and no more rumors of being spotted in flea bottom, let alone the street of silk.” Daemon says finishing up the fake parental scolding.

“Understood father. May I go to my chambers?” I ask trying to sound like a dutiful daughter and not roll my eyes.

“Of course, I’ll check on you later.” he says holding my gaze for a moment.

I quickly make it back to my chambers and shut the door behind me. I let out a huge breath. My mind is racing with the decision I just made. I feel terrible that I lied to Rhaenyra, but so did Daemon.

I glide over to my balcony seeking fresh air and jump back when I see Aemond looking on at the city. He turns around on my approach and breaks out into a smile.

“How did everything go?” he asks pulling me into a hug. He listens intently as I tell him of everything that happened. “So what is the favor you’re seeking from Daemon?” he asks pulling back to look at me curiously.

“An opportunity to start paving our way. For me and you to have a chance.” I blush looking down.

“What do you mean?” Aemond asks softly tilting my chin up with his hand.

“To have him support our courtship. If that’s what you were to want? I don’t even know if that’s what you truly want, we haven’t fully discussed it. I just put everything on the line. Maybe I’m being too pushy-“ I ramble on and he cuts me off with a fierce kiss.

He pulls me impossibly closer and all my worry and doubt melts away. He guides me back into my chambers slowly so we’re not on display on the balcony. He pulls back and we’re both breathless.

“You would lie and deceive if it means being with me?” he asks looking down at me completely blown away.

“I have and I will again if I must.” I respond cupping his jaw affectionately.

“No one has ever acted so selflessly for me before, my love.” he looks at me softly leaning into my hand.

“He’s coming to my chambers later and we will discuss the future from here. I want you to be here too if that’s okay.” I ask not wanting to sound needy.

“Of course I will be here, you’re doing this for us.” Aemond says with a gentle smile.

“Thank you for this dress. I think it’s quite beautiful and it’s one of my favorite colors. It reminds me of a clear sky.” I say playing with the skirt of my dress.

“You are absolutely breathtaking.” he hums pushing me back so he can fully admire me.

He grabs my hand and slowly spins me around and I give him a lazy smile. Being with Aemond is so calm I feel like I can truly just be. He pulls me back to him and places a quick kiss on my lips that has me chasing him for more. He chuckles and captures my lips once more. We fall back onto the couch and into a daze of kisses and mingled breaths. Time doesn’t seem to exist as we get lost in each other.

⊹₊⋆☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆☁︎⋆₊ ⊹ ⊹₊⋆☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆☁︎⋆₊ ⊹ ⊹₊⋆☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆

We spent most of the day lounging around my chambers having snacks and drinks brought to us. We discuss potential ways we can start making moves to get closer to the throne. A knock at the door has us pausing our conversation.

“Who is it?” I sit up annoyed.

“Your father wanting to check up on you.” Daemon says too sweetly through the door.

“One moment.” I call back as Aemond goes to open the door for him.

“Come in.” Aemond says opening the door just wide enough for Daemon to enter.

“Viktorya you’re more like me than either of us cares to admit.” Daemon chuckles closing the door behind him.

“You only said I couldn’t sleep in others chambers. Not that I couldn’t have guests.” I say matter of factly as I continue lounging on the couch not bothering to get up.

“My point.” Daemon says as he takes a seat in one of the chairs and props his legs up on the table. “So what is it that you want?” he looks from me to Aemond.

“I would like your support for mine and Aemonds courtship.” I state firmly. My father looks at me deep in thought. He glances between the both of us accessing and calculating. He breathes out a deep breath and looks to us, it seems he’s comes to a conclusion.

“I can giving you my blessing for the courtship and I will allow you to reside in Kings Landing.” he decides. “It’s going to take some time for me to talk to the boys and for them to process and understand. I think in the long run your relationship will prove useful.” he says the last part more to himself than us.

I quite like the idea of living in Kings Landing for while. I don’t really understand what he meant about our courtship being “useful” but I’m glad we have his support. I want to get Vaelys and my things as soon as possible so I can settle into my new life. Kings Landing will offer me a new start and more places to see.

“Aemond will fly me to Dragonstone tomorrow and we shall return before court is held at the end of the week. I expect you to have the conversations and make the announcements by the time we return or I tell Rhaenyra the truth.” I say with no room to budge.

“As you wish.” Daemon rolls his eyes and gets up to leave. “Hopefully we can make this beneficial for everyone.” he tosses over his shoulder before closing the door.

“I think that went well.” I look at Aemond as he walks over to me on the couch.

“I’m pleased to have you all to myself in Kings Landing.” he says pulling me up to him. “I get to show you all new places,” he smirks. “and pleasures.” he adds bringing his mouth to my neck.

I gasp in surprise and expose more of my neck to him. He continues his journey up to my jaw and slowly makes his way back to my lips. He walks us backwards and we descend into a chair. He lifts me so I’m straddling him and pulls back breathlessly with a blown pupil.

I slowly remove his eyepatch and discard it next to us and absentmindedly clench my thighs around him. He wraps his hand around the back of my neck and roughly pulls me into a kiss. This isn’t like the passionate, slow kisses we’ve shared before. Our teeth clash and his catch my bottom lip causing me to cry out.

He releases my lip and reclaims them once more. His other arm wraps around my waist and pulls me closer. I hear him let out a strangled grunt when I accidentally grind against him.

“Fuck Princess,” his voice is wrecked as his other hand flies to my waist to still me.

“I’m sorry,” I pant. “It just felt so good I didn’t mean-“ he cuts me off with another kiss.

“Do not apologize.” he whispers between kisses slowly detaching us making me whine. “As much as I would love for us to continue, I think we should get ready for bed.” he says walking over to my wardrobe.

Aemond grabs out a sleep dress for me and excuses himself to my bathing chamber while I change. He comes out without a shirt and wearing sleep pants. He helps me into bed and slips in next to me.

“Sleep well my love.” Aemond says pulling me to his chest and kissing my forehead.

#aemond one eye #aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen fanfiction #aemond x oc #aemond x reader #hotd aemond #prince aemond #aemond smut #hotd fanfic #hotd fic #hotd smut #hotd imagine #daemon targeryan #rhaenyra targaryen #jace velaryon

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svechnikovvv · 2 years ago

Text

when in chicago

pairing: quinn hughes x actress!fem!reader

warning: profanity

summary: chicago was a magical place sometimes

a/n: i’ve binged 11 episodes of chicago pd today, so that inspired this. also, this is just so you guys can have some sort of content out there.

masterlist: here

*in this, the character you play is, hmmm let’s say detective amelia thompson*

“okay, camera’s rolling in one… two… three!” you quickly get into character.

“jay,” you say warningly before he gives you a kiss, then pulling back.

“amelia,” he says in the same tone.

“you know what will happen if voight finds out.” he gives you another kiss

“lucky us, he won’t.” he smirks down at you

“he’s a fucking detective. he’s gonna find out.” you harshly whisper, turning your back to him and going back to making your coffee. his arms wrap around your waist and he rests his head on your shoulder.

“look, babe, i have it all under control.”

“the last time you said that to me, you lost my cat.” you then hear footsteps nearing and you & jesse quickly separate as you finish making the coffee.

“morning sarge,” you call out, getting a grunt in response. you then give jesse a pointed look and walk out the small office. the director then calls cut and you find somewhere to set down the mug. jesse walks over to you and sits down on the edge of the desk.

“what do you have planned tonight?” he asks you

“nothing, honestly.” he nods

“be ready at 6.” you raise a brow at him

“jesse, are you taking me on a date?” he shakes his head

“it’s a surprise.” you roll your eyes

“what’s the dress code?” he shrugs

“causal, but warm.” you give him a skeptical look, but are cut off by the director telling you to get in your places. the rest of filming goes by smoothly and around 5, you all call it a day.

“i’ll be at your place in an hour. that sound good to you?” you nod your head at jesse and he bids you goodbye as you both go your separate ways. your hair was wavy from the stylists on set, so you figured you’d keep it this way for whatever he had planned.

causal, but warm. what does that even mean? you rummage through your closet and grab a pair of jeans, your favorite pair to be exact. you pair them with a black v-neck and your converse. okay, so there’s casual. now, the warm part. you find a light, white jacket and add it to the outfit. giving yourself a pat on the back, you change into the outfit. 40 minutes until you have to leave.

to pass the time, you make yourself a light snack and catch up on some reading. soon, knocks echo throughout your apartment and you get up, unlocking the door and swinging it open.

“ready?” you nod and lock up your place behind you, heading out the apartment complex and to jesse’s car.

“seat warmers asap.” you rub your hands together and buckle up your seatbelt. before jesse drives away, he reaches into his backseat and grabs a bag, setting it in your lap.

“what is it?”

“just open it.” you open the bag and pull out a quinn hughes jersey. you gasped and looked at him, mouth agape. maybe you let it slip one drunken night that you had something for the canucks’ defenseman. you didn’t think anyone would remember it, though.

“they’re playing against the blachawks tonight and i thought you should have a jersey to wear to the game.”

“what do you mean wear to the game?” he then holds up two tickets to the canucks v blackhawks game and you went silent. you then reached across the console and engulfed him in a hug. he laughs and then you sit back down in your seat.

“now we should get going before our seats get cold.” you laugh at his awful joke and he pulls out of his parking spot, heading to the arena.

when you arrive, there’s already a lot of people flooding in. you and jesse navigate your seats and get comfortable.

before the first period starts, your and jesse’s face light up on the jumbotron.

“from chicago pd, please welcome jesse lee soffer & y/n l/n.” a lot of people cheer and the two of you smile and wave.

soon, the first period is underway and you see that familiar number 43 that, until now, you’ve only seen on your tv skate out onto the ice.

“there’s your man,” jesse nudges you, and you hit him playfully as he laughs.

“he probably has no clue who the hell i am.”

“he’ll know who you are after tonight.”

“what do you mean by that?”

“just that i pulled a couple strings so you could meet them after the game.” your eyes go wide and he shrugs. you squint your eyes at him.

“you want something. why else would you be kissing ass?”

“can i not be an amazing friend?”

“i’ll let it slide this once.” you two go back to watching the game and right before the first period ends, beauvillier scores a goal and you stand up and cheer. the buzzer then goes off, signaling the end of the first.

“you cheer this loud at home?” jesse asks and you nod

“a lot louder, actually.”

“i find it hard to believe that you can cheer louder than you just did.” you roll your eyes and jesse gets up

“i’m going to grab a drink. you want anything?” you shake your head and he nods as you keep yourself occupied with your phone. you feel a light tap to your shoulder and you turn around to see a little girl no older than 9 standing there shyly.

“hi, what can i do for you?” you smile at her and she looks up at the older man standing beside her that you didn’t even notice.

“she watches the show and loves detective thompson.” your heart warm at the words and you look at her.

“do you want a picture?” she nods and you turn in your seat and she comes and stands beside you.

“what’s your name?”

“amelia.” now it makes sense why she likes you so much. your character has the same name as her.

“like detective thompson,” you say and she nods.

“okay amelia, let’s smile.” the two of you smile up at the camera and her father takes a picture.

“what do you say, sweetie?”

“thank you,” she says and you nod. they then walk away and jesse’s back beside you.

“met your first fan of the night?”

“a nine year old girl named amelia.” he chuckles

“how ironic.” you nod. the two of you continue to converse and before you know it, the second period starts. the blackhawks managed to score, tying the game. the rest of the second goes by and nobody else scores. it’s down to the third period and pettersson scores for the canucks, giving them a 2-1 lead. but then someone else on the blackhawks score and the game’s tied yet again.

looks like they’re going into OT because the buzzer goes off. end of regulation.

you see that quinn is on the ice and the puck is being passed to him. now you’re on the edge of your seat. he moves it down the ice and he goes to shoot and you feel yourself holding your breath.

he makes it in.

you stand up and erupt into cheers just as he skates over and makes eye contact with you. he points at you and you point back at yourself, brows raised. he nods and tosses his stick over the glass and you catch it, looking at jesse with a shocked face.

“you look like a kid on christmas.” you nod

“i feel like one.” he laughs and you look at the stick in disbelief. jesse then stands with you and the two of you look for some kind of guard and when you find one, jesse flashes the pass he has and they let you by. you bet you look like gandalf walking around with a hockey stick.

the players start to trickle out of the locker room slowly and soon you lock eyes with quinn. his brows furrow slightly and he walks over.

“thanks for the stick, by the way.” you say and he smiles, nodding.

“you were the first person sporting a canucks jersey—mine at that—that i saw and the adrenaline rush took over, i guess.” you let out a quiet laugh

“i’m sorry, where are my manners? i’m y/n l/n and this is my costar jesse soffer.”

“costar?” he questions and you nod

“we’re from chicago pd.”

“that cop show,” it’s like pieces connect and you nod.

“my mom’s a big fan. you mind if i take a picture with you two?” your jaw slightly drops and jesse nudges you, making you break out of your trance and you nod. quinn laughs and hands his phone to elias who happens to be walking by.

“can you take a picture?” he nods and jesse stands at one side of quinn as you stand on the other. he snaps a couple photos before handing quinn his phone back and saying his goodbyes.

“i was wondering if i could get a picture too?” quinn nods

“absolutely.” you hand your phone to jesse and quinn throws his arm around your shoulders. you’re now realizing how he has some inches on you. you scoot closer to him and jesse snaps some photos before he nods and hands you back your phone.

“well, the two of us have to get going, but it was nice to meet you, quinn. thanks again for the stick.” he nods and the three of you say goodbye to one another. before you even get to round the corner to head to the exit, quinn calls your name. you turn around and walk over to him.

“yeah?”

“i was wondering if i could get your number?” he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck and you feel your heart do cartwheels. you nod and put your number in his phone and he smiles, before saying goodbye for real this time. you join jesse again and now you two head towards the exit.

“what was that about?” he asks as you’re leaving through the doors.

“i may or may not have just gotten his number.” jesse stops in his tracks and looks at you.

“for real?” you nod excitedly

“i told you you’d get your man.” you roll your eyes and set the hockey stick in the back of jesse’s car, sliding back into the passenger seat. he takes you back to your place and you tell him goodnight.

you were settled in bed when your phone pinged, lighting up your pitch-black room.

1 notification

hey, it’s quinn. mom said she can die happily now that you know she exists

you laugh at the message and shoot a text back before you turn your phone on silent, heading to sleep. when you wake up in the morning, you see another text from quinn.

good morning :) our plane boards at 12, so i was wondering if you wanted to catch some coffee before i left?

you smiled at his sweet text and told him to meet you at the cafe you and the cast went to sometimes.

when you get there, quinn’s sitting down in the back with a cup in front of him. you order your drink then make your way over to him, taking a seat in front of him.

“there you are,” he smiles.

“wouldn’t be anywhere else.” the two of you continue to talk about anything and everything and he’s such a sweet guy. you still don’t know why in the world he asked for your number, but you’re glad he did.

he checked the time on his phone and got up.

“i have to leave now, i’m sorry. but i’ll text you, okay?” you nod and he gives you a hug bye. his cologne was comforting and you just wanted to stay there forever. you order another coffee and make your way to set.

“woah, you look like a sad puppy. what happened to you?” patrick asks as you take a seat beside him.

“something tells me a certain someone had to leave.” you shoot jesse a look and he holds up his hands.

“i’m sorry, who?” patrick asks

“you know that hockey player y/n likes a lot?” patrick nods

“quinn hughes, right?” jesse nods and gives patrick a look before he prices things together.

“you’re seeing him?” he gasps out and you shrug

“i mean, we’ve been texting and we got coffee this morning before his plane boarded.” as if on cue, your phone dinged and you looked down to see quinn sent you a picture of an advertisement for chicago pd at the airport.

thinking of you

you can’t help but smile at the text and patrick rips your phone out your hand, gasping. he then hands it to jesse and jesse looks at you, smirking.

“are we playing hot potato? no. give me my phone.” you take it back from them “you two are like children.”

“but you love us,” patrick says and you give him a side-eye.

months pass and quinn and you texted everyday. somewhere around the second month of talking, he asked you to be his girlfriend. to say the least, you were over the moon. you haven’t seen him since he left chicago that one day. so to say you missed him would be an understatement.

“cut! okay everyone, take a break.” you walked off set and made your way to where the snack table was. you’d been eyeballing the plate of strawberries. you grabbed yourself a bowl and loaded it with them, your stomach growling loudly.

you then felt a tap on your shoulder and you turned around to see quinn standing there. your jaw drops and you set your strawberries down, engulfing him in a hug. he smiles and wraps his arms around you, resting his head on your shoulder.

“hey gorgeous.” you pull back from him and cup his face in your hands, scanning him over.

“how’d you even-”

“jesse helped me.” you're still in shock that he’s in front of you right now. he chuckles and leans forward, pressing a kiss to your nose.

“i’ve missed you,” he whispers and this makes you smile.

“you have no idea how much i’ve missed you.” you completely forgot that there were other people around you… like your costars who, other than patrick and jesse, had no idea you were seeing someone.

“y/n, who’s your boyfriend?”

“guys, this is quinn. quinn, these are my pains in the ass costars.” he gives them all a wave and they all say their hellos.

“how long have you two been together?”

“six months” they all gasp

“and here i was, thinking you’re like, celibate or some shit.” you all laugh and quinn laughs as well. marina then gasps

“you’re the hockey player y/n wouldn't shut up about!” oh no. quinn looks at you, an amused look on his face as you bury your head in his chest.

“quinn… quinn hughes!”

“that’s me.” everyone pieces everything together. “you said she wouldn’t shut up about me?” quinn questions, laughing, and you start to drag him to your traile, grabbing your strawberries as well.

“it was nice meeting you guys,” he waves at them. quinn takes a seat in the chair you had, pulling you to sit in his lap. you rest your head on his shoulder.

“i still can’t believe you’re here.”

“well you better believe it because i’m yours for the rest of the week.”

“but hockey?”

“it’s my bye-week. mom said as long as we facetime her once a day so she can talk to you, she won’t be mad at me for not coming to michigan to spend the week with her and dad.” you laugh and pop a strawberry in your mouth.

“you want one?” you ask him, mouth full. he nods grabs one, putting it in his mouth, humming in satisfaction at the taste.

“what did they put in those strawberries? they taste better than usual.”

“they’re always this good. i don’t know what they do to them. but they better keep it coming.”

when in chicago, you may just meet the one. or your favorite hockey player.

tags: @goldenbrokenheart @woodruff-edwards @marsthehockeywhore @samosmackie @hughesx3 @jayda12 @theywantedplayer @austinbutlerscaresme @jackhues @jackhughesily @babydollmarauders @equallyshaw @astars-things @akengii

a/n: this was so long, i got carried away. anyways, tumblr messed up so half of this is pasted from google docs so if something pasted twice or the formatting is messed up, i apologize.

#quinn hughes x reader #quinn hughes #nhl hockey #nhl #vancover canucks

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k0k1ch1111 · 5 months ago

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we know what time it is by now!

impermanent attachment quote log!

I hope everyone knows these are just things I copied for whatever reason, either funny moving sad idk

“I… might be?” Shuichi shrugged helplessly, letting his shoulders slump in defeat.

“It doesn’t make sense, though. Time loops cannot exist in real life.”

“That’s what every protagonist of a time loop says at first,” Tsumugi informed him sympathetically.

Everything was okay, and his spirits weren’t entirely crushed; only mostly.

“I… might be?” Shuichi shrugged helplessly, letting his shoulders slump in defeat. “It doesn’t make sense, though. Time loops cannot exist in real life.”“That’s what every protagonist of a time loop says at first,” Tsumugi informed him sympathetically.

Everything was okay, and his spirits weren’t entirely crushed; only mostly.

Kaito’s voice drew Shuichi back into reality, and he remembered that oh yeah, this conversation was important.

Kokichi, somebody who had intrigued him for the entire killing game, wasn’t the evil, despicable person he tried to make himself out to be

“Do you want to die?” Shuichi snapped at the boy behind him, lowering his voice to not be heard by his friends. “Knock it off, Kokichi.”

“Shuichi,” Kokichi said sweetly, slowly turning to face him. There was a pleasant smile on his face, but his words were anything but. “I am really, really mad at you right now.”You know what? Screw maintaining his composure.

“Kill me?” Kokichi echoed. “My dear Shuichi… was planning to kill me? Why is the entire Kaito Fanclub after me– what are you doing?”

Shuichi woke up feeling less rested than before.Also, he immediately threw up.

Ch4 oh when I get you ch4. /t

Kokichi was torn between figuring that oh, so he’s totally lost it and wondering what on earth happened to his favorite person in this academy.

“I’d like to see you get shot in the fucking arm!” Kaito barked at him, providing the exact opposite argument Kokichi was trying to make.

“Hey! You got shot and I got shot by your dogs. We’re matching now!” Kokichi exclaimed simply to be obnoxious. He had to cope in some way.

“But I can’t reach the one on my back,” Kokichi whined. “Unless you want me to break my arms trying to reach it?”“I’ll remove it if it’ll shut you up,” Maki offered upon her return.“You’d probably stab me in the throat or something,” Kokichi scoffed haughtily, briefly allowing his resentment towards her to shine through.

Not sure what that “time loop” business is about, though. Is Shuichi mentally ill?

“I’m building bonds by being loveable, Kaito,” Kokichi whispered back. “I’m reverse Stockholming him, so give me a bit, will ya?”

Kaito looked genuinely baffled. “He didn’t kidnap you! And I don’t think Stockholm Syndrome works like that.”“Well what do you want me to call it? Seduction?” he challenged simply to see the look on Kaito’s face. As a fun bonus, Maki’s, too. And the way Shuichi was staring at him was pretty funny, too.

“I thought it was weird when you said that,” Maki agreed simply. “But I didn’t bring it up because I thought you were delusional.”Okay, a little blunt there, but Maki wasn’t one to beat around the bush. Shuichi seemed to think this too, because although he looked wounded by her remark, he didn’t totally break down over it.

Letting him just talk about it was the best solution Kokichi could think of. Keeping everything bottled up inside wasn’t healthy (and he did not want to hear a WORD about his own habits, thank you), especially not for someone as, in the nicest way possible, sensitive as Shuichi.

But over and over again… because Maki poisoned her… her stupid arrows… Strike-9 fucking hurts, okay? It feels like your entire body hates you.

That was going to be so embarrassing to share– Kokichi Ouma! Held at gunpoint! Ugh. There might not be much damage control he could do for this one.

Kokichi automatically cringed. “She is not my beloved Junko. I would never call any woman my beloved. Also, sorry, the name doesn’t really ring a bell.”

And no, the small, reassured smile Shuichi gave him in response to this small gesture did not make his heart flutter like a stupid moth. Not the time, MOTH.

“You’re quick to trust me,” Kokichi teased.“I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you,” Kaito corrected him, looking alarmed by the mere notion. “You’re still an annoying piece of shit, and you’re still responsible for Miu and Gonta. But I don’t want to fight you if it means somebody’s gonna die.”“I’ll try to refrain from strangling you,” Maki added graciously. “At least, not until I know if you’re really the mastermind or not.”

“Well, now I just plainly feel bad…”“You would feel bad, huh?”“Wh-What does that mean?”“Ignore him. Kokichi’s just being an asshole because he knows no one is going to punch him.”

Kaito was surprised because, you know, Exisal. Kokichi was surprised because he couldn’t figure out where the fuck that thing had come from.

Kokichi was very prideful, but that wouldn’t stop him from admitting that dealing with the certified “training trio” or whatever they had going on in their stupid three-way make-out dynamic.

“Just do it!” Kaito unexpectedly shouted at him from the open doorway. “I don’t care if you’re the mastermind or not, you can’t let Shuichi kill himself. Block the damn door!”

There was no way this thing wasn’t drugged. The worst part was that he couldn’t tell if Shuichi was trying to be sneaky about it or not.

Yes, what a wonderful idea it was to antagonize the mentally unstable guy waving around a loaded firearm. What a stroke of genius on Kokichi’s part.

Oh… is that what we’re doing?” Kokichi chuckled, hoping his laughter hid how truly nervous he felt, gazing at the handcuffs. “Am I being arrested? Aww… I was hoping you’d at least take me to dinner, first…”

Third?” Kokichi gasped melodramatically. “I’m not even first? Wow, Shuichi… I thought what we had was special…”

Kokichi tried not to cringe as it carelessly clattered on the ground. She could at least try to respect one of Miu’s inventions, even if the girl herself had done little to deserve it.

He wanted Tsumugi in the ground.

Hell, he had two Electrobombs hidden in his scarf as well. Maybe he should get a sparkly purse or something– he can make it checker themed.

Fuck, fuck, fuck–

Despite how dizzy he felt, he slapped away K1-B0’s hand– or at least tried to. His aim was a tiny bit sloppy. It had its intended effect though, because K1-B0 released him.“Kokichi, are you okay?” Tsumugi asked him anxiously. “You look plainly concussed…”

“What Kokichi are you talking about?” Kokichi demanded with a glare at the robot. “What gave you the impression I cared at all?”“You…” K1-B0 helplessly trailed off, seeming to realize there was no point in arguing. “You are very confusing to me.”

“Work together with the mastermind?” Kokichi couldn’t help but scoff. “Were you dropped on your head as a baby?”

He was laying his soul bare in this thing, which meant that should anyone see this, they would know him better than he knew himself.

Yes!” he blurted out eagerly. He didn’t mean to interrupt them, but… Kokichi. “Yes, I’ll help!”

And wouldn’t you know it, Kokichi punched him in the face.

Usually that would have put off Shuichi– eyes were something he still struggled with, and people like Kokichi and Maki’s eyes– so secretive and cold– were hard to look at sometimes.

But even if his body was weak, Kaito sure wasn’t going to let that stop him. Oh no. That was like trying to stop an airplane going with your bare hands.

“Cats, Shuichi, same thing,” Kokichi waved him off. “He’s obviously three cats in a trench coat! That’s why he’s wearing that thing!”

“What? Are you enamored, Kaito? Have you fallen head over heels for me?” Kokichi immediately started teasing him. “Sooorry, my heart belongs to someone else.”

“Ew…” Kokichi cringed. “Everybody say thank you Shuichi for taking one for the team and not putting us through that! ♪”

“I remember biting someone,” Kokichi offered gleefully.“Of course you do,” Maki muttered disbelievingly.

“I’ll forgive you ‘cause the mental image of you with a gun is hilarious,” Kokichi cut in, his hands placed idly behind his head.

She was still glaring at Kokichi as if he dropped babies on their heads for fun, but it seemed like her dislike for him was outweighed by Kaito’s cheerful and powerful charm.

To be hugged by Kaede– oh, she was so warm.

“Hey, good on you, man!” Kaito praised him. “And if you try any more messed up things like that, we’ll whack you back into reality.”

“Fuck you mean, not holding any grudges!? Hell yeah I’m holding a grudge!” Miu barked, swiveling her glare towards Kokichi and Gonta. “What the hell was that supposed to be you shota cunt!?”

“You’re lucky my legs don’t work,” Miu seethed. “I’d come over there and shove my fist so far down your throat you’d be coughing up keratin for the rest of your life!”“Your fist probably tastes like cum and oil, because being a filthy whore and making things is all you seem to be good for,” Kokichi shot back defensively.

Shuichi stormed into the hangar, and guess what? He held us all at gunpoint!”Nearby, Kiyo choked on his drink.

“You know what? I’ll just ask him myself,” Kaede decided. “Honestly, Kokichi. You make everything so confusing all the time.”Kokichi only offered her a grin. “I know.”

“I’m expressing my artistic side in this notebook Ms. Mister Therapist gave me,” Kokichi told him cheerfully. “I’m what they call a flight risk in the industry.”

“Well, everything that comes out of your mouth tends to be pretty angering,” Rantaro pointed out coolly. “You’re pretty fond of provoking people, and with this kind of news, we need the opposite of that.”

“...noooo but also oh yeahhh whoopee. Joy. Right, Shuichi? Shu? Shui?” That boy sighed. “Man, you make a cool nickname for me or whatever but I can’t think of anything. What would I have said? Maybe… Shu? Shuchuu train? How’s that?”

how about I start fusing our names? How does Shukichi sound? Saiouma? Wait, that’d probably go to our child, nevermind…”

“Kaede’s going to freak, by the way,” Kokichi informed him, as if what just happened was totally normal and casual. “And Kaito owes her twenty bucks now. Hey, can we make out in front of him?”

“The first thing I did when you woke up was confess my love to you. I just kissed you and you’re asking me that? Do I need to propose to you, too? Yes, we can be boyfriends, Shuichi. You don’t even have to fight my seven evil exes!”

tipped you over the edge but everything else adds up. Dealing with that can't be easy, especially if no one remembers and especially if k*ito keeps saying dumb shit all the time. My degree in psychology and 42 years on the field tells me that this is baaad bad. (The censor made le laugh way toi hard)

And everyone who wasn't alive for the crap i pulled still doesn't like me anyway either because i'm an asshole or because everyone elses behavior is putting them off.

maki and kaito are really worried, so you should talk to them. also kokichi i guess. kaede says he's in love with you. if love is what stops you from killing yourself then you guys should smooch. that’s just what i think though.

miu- don't kill yourself again dipshit

Also please tell me if Kaede is right or not. I don't have 20 bucks to give her if she is, and you can do way better than Kokichi. Please anyone but Kokichi.

“HEY! You can’t kiss my sidekicks!”“What?” Maki demanded.“No, but I can kiss my boyfriendddd,” Kokichi sang triumphantly.“BOYFRIEND!?”

#danganronpa #danganronpa au #danganronpa v3 #shuichi saihara #kokichi ouma #saiouma #Saioma #kokichi oma #oma kokichi #ouma kokichi #omasai #oumasai #fanfiction #Ao3 #impermanent attachment

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larissa-the-scribe · 8 months ago

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Hello, since I am evil and subjected you to this ask game, I will also subject you to asks mwahahaha :))))

May I request: I'm Not Here to Make Friends >:(

*Gasps, faints* How... how dare

Anyways thanks for the ask! (from this ask game)

Info:

This is from Rifters (series 1), where Kathryn is living in a steampunk/superhero world, becoming a part of the younger-hero-training-school-place. Her stint as a superhero has made her some enemies, and her friends from that world also have enemies. One of them is trying to tear down the superhero structure from the inside out, and so, as a first step, has sent his best asset minion adopted son and secret weapon to infiltrate the hero guild place (I really need to define things) as a spy. Part of his mission is also to locate a specific hero who has no traceable identity but has been a thorn in super villain's sides ever since, uh, *checks notes* the out-of-world newcomer came in and stopped the apocalypse.

Benn (currently Eabennor) is an angsty loner teenager who is just here to DO HIS JOB and he doesn't care about anyone ever-- Especially not that Nuisance (Kathryn) who keeps following him around and trying to talk to him--he's Spying and they are his Enemies (aka this is his feral kitten era).

Snippet:

“Anything else you want to say before I slam the door in your face?” He asked—hoping his bitingly sarcastic tone and smile left her little doubt that he meant it. “What about dinner?” she asked. Eabennor stared at her, halfway between exasperated and confused. “I have no idea why you’d think I’d be interested.” Kathryn blinked. “…In eating?” “What?” “Since you just got here you have to sign up for dinner,” Kathryn explained, tilting her head. “Though I suppose you’re probably not keen on interacting with people, or not today at least.” “Oh.” “But you should still eat,” she continued, “even if you’re not interested. The food is very good here.” “Yeah, probably.” Eabennor bit back any other comments that might embarrass him further—though thankfully she seemed dumb enough to not have noticed. “Supper time is usually at 6:30,” she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, “I’ll talk to someone in the kitchen about setting aside a plate. If you go down at 7:30-ish, it should be pretty clear, at least besides the kitchen crew cleaning up. How long that takes can vary, though, so I can’t give you a solid estimate on how long they’ll be there.” “Good to know,” he said flatly, considering the viability of carrying out his threat from earlier. This whole conversation—no, this whole day—had been a complete trainwreck, and he desperately wanted to be left alone. “Exact details for the future can be figured out later, though,” she said, smiling brightly, as if looking forward to the conversation had given her a new meaning in life—obnoxiously cheery, he thought to himself—“Matthias is the first door coming into the hallway, and I’m in the hall across the way, so if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask.” “Is that all.” “One last thing,” she added, with what he could have sworn was a mischievous glint in her eye, “I hope you have a lovely rest of your day.” Maybe it was petty, but slamming the door did turn out to be quite cathartic.

#Early Days Benn is so funny to me #I love them your honor #Kathryn is living her best life and it is definitely at Benn's expense rn #asks #scribe answers #salt and light #rifters series 1 #kathryn carvalho #eabennor bethaz

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whumpywinterbun · 2 years ago

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i need you closer. 1/2

A mission went wrong, Sam is hurt, Bucky is blaming himself and spiraling. Pretty badly. Good thing his neighbor (friend) cares about him.

Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader (something something somewhat around tfatws?)

Part 2

(emotional) hurt/comfort, a little whumpy, mutual pining (idiots in love)

Warnings: panic attacks, hallucinations, self harm (without the actual intent to self harm? Bucky scratches himself bloody while hallucinating), medication

a/n: This is a part one, i’ll post the second part tomorrow or the day after. It’s a little (very) whumpy again hah also english isn’t my native language so uh feel free to tell me if i messed something up.

Bucky had enough of this week. Frankly, every week for the past months but this week was a different kind of bad. He went on a mission with Sam for a bit, which always took a toll on him, but it went sideways, he messed up, they were given wrong intel, Sam got hurt and now he’s back home waiting for Sam to get better and new information on the mission. Bucky spend the past few days visiting Sam in hospital, seeing his therapist and sitting at home, wishing he would have been the one to get hit. In that exact order. Sleep? Something he hadn’t had in days. Bucky talked to his therapist about feeling like it’s been his fault that everything went to shit, but he only got half-assed comments about “not beating himself up” and “not being able to change it now.”

The only good thing was coming back to you. His neighbor. And friend. At least he liked to think of you as a friend. Bucky liked spending time with you, talking to you, going to your favorite cafés and bookshops with you.

You.

He liked you.

And that speaks volumes.

Bucky tried to stop caring about the people around him after Steve left. He always told himself that it would keep him from feeling left alone and lonely ever again. He could be on his own, right? People rarely treated him with kindness ever since he got his own mind back and left Wakanda. Bucky was a monster to some, a murderer to others, a criminal at least and sometimes, he admitted to himself, he wished he would have never gotten out of Hydra. But then came you. Beautiful, kind, cheerful you. And he thanked the entity watching over him, or destiny, or maybe just luck, that an idiot in your apartment complex had caused water damage and you were both looking for a way to escape the mess at three am on the building’s rooftop.

A long conversation, shared cigarettes and exchanged numbers later Bucky was cursing at himself for thinking someone would want to spend time with him.

Several small meet ups, phone calls and neighbor emergencies later, he cursed himself for trusting you enough to keep you in his life.

The worst thing about this week though, was Bucky knowing you were there. Just right next to him and listening to your favorite songs and walking around and watching TV and doing your daily routine that he has heard hundreds and hundreds of times with his enhanced hearing (he swears he's not a creep) , but he couldn’t talk to you. He just couldn’t. You would ask him about the mission, something you weren’t even supposed to know of, but he trusted you too damn much and what was he supposed to say? “Oh, I messed up and now my best friends in hospital, but it’s fine.”?

So, Bucky stayed by himself, ignoring your calls and knocks and hoping you too would soon realize what a massive fuck up he was. He figured that being close to him would get you hurt at some point, so Bucky stayed away for your sake.

What he didn’t know,

or at least didn’t think of,

was that you too could hear him sometimes.

You could hear him opening and closing his apartment door. Sometimes a neighbor would greet him, and you could hear his voice greeting them back. You knew he was there; it was hard not to, and you had long figured that something must be wrong. But you didn’t want to intrude.

Bucky had sometimes mentioned things about his past. Not too much, it made him uncomfortable and you could tell he didn’t want to scare you or something, but just enough to know why you heard him scream at night, why his eyes glazed up, why he tensed up and stared into the distance. So, you let him be, in fear of pushing him away from you. He would come around eventually, you hoped. And so, you kept listening to him opening and closing the door at the same time every day, as some sign of him being okay enough to still be keeping his schedule.

What you didn’t know,

was that Bucky was spiraling.

Pretty badly.

Three Hours. That’s how much sleep Bucky had before he was violently woken up by his dreams again, his throat raw. But he couldn’t escape. He could still smell the blood, the gore, he could still hear the scream. Sam’s scream. Bucky looked around himself and couldn’t recognize where he was, it was all too blurry and dark. He could barely breathe. But what he could see, and feel, was the blood on himself, on his left arm. The blood was stuck between its plates, dulling the black and gold.

Bucky stood up and ran into what looked like a bathroom. His bathroom. Was it his? He couldn’t focus on anything but Sam’s blood clinging onto him. Everything was so blurry. He fell over something, got blood all over the floor. Why was there so much blood? He got into the bathtub and turned the water on but somehow the blood just wasn’t washing off, while the water turned darker and darker. Bucky tried to rub the blood off himself, but nothing helped, nothing could rinse, clean him from the blood he had spilled. He kept rubbing, scratching, anything to get rid of it, but nothing had helped. He looked up, realizing he had painted the walls red. Bucky cried, he screamed. His throat hurt so much but he kept screaming.

And you heard him.

You had heard Bucky scream once already that night, knowing his past was haunting him yet again. But it was when you heard something fall that you put your ear to the wall between your apartments and heard water running for a while. He was probably okay, just trying get rid of the nightmare, you thought, taking a shower seemed like a reasonable thing to do in his position and so you moved away from the wall and were on the way back to your own bed until you heard the screams. His screams.

You rushed out of your apartment, taking the set of keys to Bucky's apartment he had once left for you in case of emergencies. You still knocked on his door, asking if he’s okay through it, just in case. He had stopped screaming at this point, but the water didn’t stop. You couldn’t shake the feeling that something just wasn’t okay, that he needed you. So, you opened the door carefully.

“Bucky, It’s me.”

You had looked around the corridor of his small apartment, slowly nearing the bathroom. You could hear Bucky crying. Quiet, exhausting sobbing. That’s when you entered the bathroom. And there he was. Small, oh god he looked so small and scared, in his bathtub, the water falling on him.

Bucky was still in his underwear, his skin red from the scalding water and his exhausted hands scratching his skin. There were deep scratches all over him, blood seeping through the torn skin. “Oh god…What happened?!” You had sunk down next to the tub, reaching over and turning the water off. “The b-blood. There is so much b-blood. And i-it’s not coming off. It’s everywhere. Go! Please go! You shouldn’t be s-seeing t-this.” You were confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Sam’s blood! It’s everywhere! See!” Bucky held his arms up but there was nothing apart from torn skin that was already slowly mending. You carefully moved your hand up to touch his arm. Bucky winced, his breathing getting shakier. “Hey, it’s okay, you are okay. Come on, breathe with me. In. And out. In. And out.�� Bucky had once or twice mentioned that he hallucinated occasionally and you remembered him telling you about medication he had been prescribed to calm him down. Or at least enough to get him out of such intense phases. “I will be right back, is that okay?” Bucky swallowed, before slowly nodding. You smiled softly at him, rushing to the kitchen cabinet you knew he kept his medications in, before finding the pills he had told you about “in case he would totally freak out on you.” You took the right dosage and a glass of water with you back into the bathroom. “Here, take these.” “What's this?” Bucky’s voice was raw and quiet, you had never seen or heard him like this.

“They will help you; you told me to give them to you, remember?” You held your hand with the small, white pills out, trying to smile while you were slowly breaking apart yourself. Bucky reminded you more of a broken child than the strong, tall man you knew. He took the pills, putting them in his mouth before gulping down the glass of water. You sat there in silence with him, little, soft touches to his arm and carefully stroking his head while he slowly came down and started getting drowsy.

“I don’t deserve you…” his head was leaning against the bathtubs edge.

“Bullshit, I care about you.”

“Yeah…that’s the point y/n.”

He looked up, tears in his eyes. “You shouldn’t care about me. Everyone who ever cared about me died, left or gets hurt.” “I’m not planning on dying, leaving or getting hurt anytime soon, so you are stuck with me for a whil- “

“You will.”

You took his hand. “You know that that’s my decision, right? If I get hurt caring about you, that’s on me.”

“Sure…” “I mean it Bucky. I’m being with you right now because I choose to be here. Because I like you. You are my friend. My Bucket. Do you think I could just stop caring?”

“…Thank you.” Bucky rested his head against the tub again, closing his eyes.

“Come on let’s get you out of here, you will catch a cold.” “I can’t get sick y/n.” “Then I will, come on.” You got up, holding your arms towards Bucky to help him get out of the bathtub, before handing him a towel. “Should I get fresh underwear?” “So desperate to rummage through my underwear, doll?” He tried for a crooked little smile. “I will smack you.,” you deadpanned, trying to hide the growing smile on your face. “I don’t think I can stand for long enough without help…” Bucky’s voice dropped again. “I’ll help you walk to your bedroom. Come on.” You hooked your arm in his, leading him out of the bathroom to the bedroom Bucky admittedly rarely used and sat him down on his bed. “Where’s the underwear?” He pointed at a drawer. You threw the boxers at him and awkwardly pointed at the door. “I’ll uh… let you change.” And left the bedroom.

You walked back to Bucky's bathroom, cleaning up a little, putting back all the knocked down bottles and putting some kitchen towels on the wet floor before you could take a deep breath for the first time in what felt like hours.

You adored Bucky. So much. You wish you could somehow show him just how much, but you didn’t want to risk a friendship that meant so much to the both of you for feelings he probably didn’t reciprocate.

“Y/n?” You rushed back.

“You are not naked, are you?” You heard Bucky laugh.

“No.” You opened the door and he was already laying down under the covers, the exhaustion finally taking over.

“Do you need anything Buck? Water, I can make you some tea… I can… stay over on the couch if… you want…” your voice got quieter with every word, not sure if you were overstepping his boundaries.

“No. I mean. Yes. No, I don’t need anything but yes can you…stay over…please? And maybe stay here with me for a bit…” “Of course, Buck.” You went up to the other side of Bucky's bed, sitting down next to him. “Oh man it’s such a comfy bed, you are really wasting it Bucket.” You heard a small chuckle from the blanket burrito next to you. Bucky reached out with his right hand, taking your hand in his. You stayed like this until you were sure he fell asleep, before slowly moving your hand away and carefully getting up. “Please stay.”

“Okay Buck.” You laid down next to him, until his breathing evened out and you too, fell asleep.

#Bucky Barnes #Bucky Barnes x reader #winter soldier #reader fic #look who got her butt up to post!#my glasses broke on friday and i've just been not having it since

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bucketsofmonsters · 1 year ago

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To Kill the King - Chapter 3

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

find the full book here

“Leo can we please talk about what just happened because that was weird,” Everand pleaded with him.

“That’s Sir Leo to you, my boy.”

It didn’t feel like the most relevant thing at this exact moment, but Leo had never been great at priorities anyways. “Yes of course sir, sorry sir. I just mean, the princess deciding to save us, did that not strike you as odd? Why would she do that, what does she gain from it?”

Leo gave him a patronizing look as he said, “Now I know you’re quite young and… we’ll say inexperienced but trust me, there are many young women who…”

“No, not… sir she was staring at me the whole time.”

Leo threw back his head as he guffawed. “You always know how to make me laugh, Everand. That’s why I keep you around. Now go tend to the horses, I have to figure out where I fit in in this place.”

“But sir I don’t know where the…” Leo walked out of the room before Everand had the chance to finish his sentence. “Where the stables are, not that you care. I’ll find them myself, it’s fine.”

Everand took to wandering the castle, hoping to stumble upon the stables sooner rather than later. After what felt like an hour of aimless walking, Everand realized he was going to have to find someone to ask for help. Amidst his wandering he saw several busy people he couldn’t quite manage to grab the attention of before they blew past him. He was growing frustrated, determined to pull the attention of the next person he crossed paths with as he turned the corner and saw the same mage girl he’d seen earlier, minus the ridiculous hat. She didn’t seem to notice him, focusing instead on scribbling into a notebook she had pushed against the wall. He slowly walked backwards, not particularly wanting to interact with the girl who had been giving him a death stare earlier. As soon as he quietly left her possible line of sight, he spun around to retrace his steps as far away from her as possible. He rushed off, checking behind him, making sure she wasn’t heading this way and, as he looked behind him, he ran directly into something he was certain hadn’t been there before.

A dark-haired girl stood in front of him holding a big basket full of white cloths. She looked a little dazed but luckily didn’t seem too shaken up by Everand walking directly into her.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t looking where I was going. You alright?”

She waved his concern aside as best she could with a basket in both hands and responded, “I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” Then her head cocked to the side for a moment. “Were you not just walking the other way? I’m almost certain I saw you in passing.”

Well, that wasn’t ideal. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m very lost.”

“Oh, I can help you with that. Where are you headed?”

“Uh, the stables ideally. Someone took me and my knight’s horses there when we arrived and I’m supposed to be tending to them.”

“You and your… oh you’re Sir Leo’s squire, aren’t you!”

And there went Everand’s amicable attitude. Of course she got excited as soon as she realized he knew Leo, this is how it always went. Didn’t make it any less irritating though. “The one and only. You were showing me where the stables are?”

“Right of course, apologies. They’re not far from here.”

She gave him a quick rundown of where he needed to go and he headed off immediately, not particularly keen on continuing this conversation any longer. With a rushed, “Thank you” shouted behind him, he hurried off to his destination.

The girl’s instructions were good and he reached the stables within a few minutes. He felt his annoyance and tension leave his body as he saw Lilypad standing in a stall next to Destrier. He was glad to see they’d been taken care of and he was happier amongst the horses anyways. Leo always told him he was meant to take care of Destrier first but Leo wasn’t around and he had a soft spot for Lilypad. He walked in her stall, giving her some gentle pats along her neck. “You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had, girl.”

“Do you always talk to your horse?”

Everand nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard someone speak from directly behind him. He whirled around, only to see the young mage sitting on a bale of hay inside Lilypad’s stall, right next to the entrance.

“What are you doing here?” And how did she get here so fast? He couldn’t actually ask her that, he didn’t want her knowing he’d seen her earlier, but she’d been further away from the stables than him and he had come here immediately after seeing her in that hall.

“Looking for you, squire boy,” she said, hopping up to her feet as she did.

“My name’s Everand.”

“I’m sure it is, squire boy.”

He let out an irritated huff but decided not to press it, there were more important things to say. “Why were you looking for me?”

She tilted her head to the side and looked him up and down. He got the distinct impression she could see right into his head and wondered if that was something mages could do. “Why don’t you tell me squire. Why was I looking for you?”

He didn’t have the time nor the patience for this. “I wouldn’t have asked if I knew, mage girl.”

“It’s Mari, actually.”

“Alright, mage girl.” To Everand’s annoyance, she didn’t seem to much care what he called her, or at least not as visibly as Everand did.

“Yeah alright, well I came to find you because you are clearly up to something.”

“The only thing I’m up to is trying to take care of my horse, thank you very much.”

Mari redirected her attention to the aforementioned horse. “She’s beautiful by the way, does she have a name?”

Everand’s voice softened. “She’s called Lilypad.”

Mari laughed to herself, trying and failing to cover it up with a little cough. “Yeah alright, I guess that’s kinda cute. Does she help you commit crimes or do you do those on your own?”

Everand snapped. “For the last time, I just got here and I have no ill intent. I don’t know why you are so convinced I mean harm but I swear to you, I don’t. If you’re so set on bothering someone, go bother Leo. He’s the one who got banished, I’m just here to take care of the horses. I could not care less about you and your stupid little kingdom. You’re magic right? Shouldn’t you be able to test my intentions or read my mind or something instead of poking around in someone else’s business?”

For the first time since they’d started speaking, Mari seemed thrown. She mumbled to herself, barely loud enough for Everand to hear, “I’m not going to waste magic on a nobody like you.”

Everand threw his arms in the air. “If I’m such a nobody, why are you so intent on following me around, huh?”

Mari rolled her eyes again. “Alright, I’ll let you off easy this time, squire. Just know if you do get up to anything you will regret it.”

Everand rubbed his temples. “I’m sure I will. As long as you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful. I’m supposed to go to the squires’ quarters after this, where are they?” He hated asking her for help but he hadn’t seen anyone else in the stables and he didn’t want to have to repeat his little trip around the castle.

“Uhhh, if you go out the backdoor and to the right you’ll see a hedge pathway, it’ll spit you out right at the squires’ quarters. Anyways, just remember I’m watching you. See you around, squire boy.”

Everand muttered to himself, “Unfortunately you probably will.”

She poked her head back through the door and asked, “What was that?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, go away.”

She snorted. “I forgot you talk to your horse, carry on.”

And with that she was gone

. . .

Everand spent as long as he could with Lilypad and Destrier, but eventually he did have to part with them and find his way to his quarters. By the time he left, the sun was just beginning to set and he headed out the backdoor, looking for the hedge pathway Mari had described. He found it pretty quickly, an opening in a massive wall of bushes that led forwards, both sides surrounded by the hedges. He assumed it was some sort of garden he’d be heading through, hoping it was somewhere he was allowed to be.

He hurried inside, wanting to find his quarters before night fell. The pathway took a right and then another right, which confused him, appearing to loop back on itself. As he continued forwards he found a fork in the path. Wanting to ensure he didn’t double back on himself, he took a left. He’d assumed it would open up to a garden or more open path but the hedges continued to surround him. By the third fork in the path, Everand realized what had happened. The mage hadn’t told him how to get to the squire’s quarters, she’d led him into a maze. Despite her trick, he could find his way out easily enough. He’d only taken about five turns and he definitely remembered them but when he went to return to the fork in the path he’d just travelled through, it was gone. He followed the path back further but the only thing he could find was a single bend to the right that had not been there moments before, no fork in the path to be seen.

His breathing got heavier as he continued to move through unfamiliar territory that he would’ve sworn up and down did not exist mere minutes prior. As he travelled forwards, not only did the path seem unfamiliar but it gradually got narrower. Not liking the rapidly enclosing space he turned around but as he headed in that direction, the path only continued to get smaller and smaller as he progressed. He could feel the walls bearing in on him. He started to run, wanting to be free of the maze as quickly as possible. He wasn’t sure what was happening but he knew he had to get out so in a moment of panic he threw himself at one of the walls.

It was far easier to break through than he had anticipated and he found himself barreling through the hedge into a thankfully open pathway and slamming into something solid, or perhaps he should say someone solid, who fell to the ground with a yelp.

“God this keeps happening, I’m sorry the maze just-” And then he looked up and saw who he ran into. The princess rose slowly from the ground, brushing off her white skirt to try and get rid of the dirt the fall had left on it to mixed success. “I am so sorry, I didn’t realize.”

He went to help her stand up properly but she waved him off and gave him a smile. “You should watch where you’re going.”

“Yes princess, sorry princess.”

“That’s really not necessary. You can call me Lorelai.”

“I can’t-”

“Oh of course you can, I insist. Wait, you’re the new squire, aren’t you? I remember you! I don’t think I caught your name.”

“It’s Everand princ- uh Lorelai. My name is Everand.”

She smiled wistfully to herself. “Everand, I like that. It suits you. You look like an Everand. Well, you look like a lot of things.”

Everand knew he should stop this conversation in its tracks but he couldn’t bring himself to. Her voice was kind and her gaze soft and he just wanted to talk with her forever. “What other things do I look like princess?”

She laughed to herself as he called her princess again but she didn’t correct him. “Well, Everand, you look very angry and very tired, and I would say that you look kind.”

Kind wasn’t one he heard often. He would hazard a guess that she thought many people were kinder than they were. That’s the thing about people with soft gazes and sleepy smiles, they liked to see the best in people. “Well, I hope I don’t disappoint you princess.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you won’t. Now what are you doing all the way in here? You just got here and you’ve already decided to try and best the maze? How brave of you. It can be quite tricky.”

“No, I didn’t mean to. I asked for directions from the mage and she told me to go through here because she was trying to kill me or something, I don’t know.”

A hand flew over the princess’s mouth and it almost sounded like she was fighting back laughter. “You’ve met Mari I see. She can be like that with newcomers, terribly sorry about that. I promise you she meant no real harm, she can just be… mischievous at times. She’ll come around though, I can feel it.”

“Didn’t mean me any harm? The maze tried to eat me!”

She nodded solemnly. “She wouldn’t have known that. She doesn’t believe in the maze. Not really. But don’t worry, I do. I think it’s just not your time to be here yet, Everand. Or maybe it is your time and the maze doesn’t like what that means. Either way, I would stay out of here if I were you. Until something changes.”

He looked around at the surrounding walls nervously. “Trust me, I intend to stay far away from this place. Right now, I’m just worried about getting us out of here.”

The princess laughed again. “Oh, don’t worry about that, I can show you out.”

“But the maze-”

“Trust me, Everand, we’ll be alright. Now where were you headed? If I know where we’re going the maze will take us right there.”

“Uh, I was going to the squire’s quarters?”

She nodded and shut her eyes very tight for a few moments before spinning around and looking at the hedges around her. “Please?” Everand could’ve sworn he heard them shifting around them.

Then the princess grabbed Everand’s hand to lead him along the path and he almost fainted. He knew that of all the things he shouldn’t have been doing, holding the princess’s hand alone in a maze was pretty high on the list. But was he going to pull away from her? Not in a million years.

She led him forwards for barely any time at all, no more than thirty paces and already Everand could see a gap in the hedges that lead out to some sort of small building. He held his breath whilst they slowly approached the exit. As the princess walked through the gap, Everand found himself speeding up, not wanting to be in there for too long while the princess was outside the maze and he was not. Suddenly he was very happy they were holding hands so the maze couldn’t slam shut with him inside. As soon as he exited, he finally let himself breathe, letting out a massive sigh of relief. The princess dropped his hand and turned to him with a proud smile plastered across her face.

“I told you I’d get you out of there!”

He couldn’t help but smile back. “Yeah, you did. Thank you.”

She dropped his hand and reached up to brush a strand of hair out of his face, one that had probably fallen there when he’d accidentally slammed into her minutes ago. “No Everand, thank you for trusting me. It means more than you know.”

Before Everand got the chance to respond, or maybe just stare at her dumbstruck, the door in front of them flew open and a kid came barreling out of the door, looking like he was barely fifteen. They seemed to be starting squires off younger and younger lately. When he saw who was standing outside of the door, he came to a screeching halt, staring with wide eyes.

The princess leaned down a little so she was closer to his height. “Hello. This is Everand, our new squire. Can you take him inside and introduce him to everyone for me?”

The kid nodded, awestruck, and the princess ruffled his hair. “Thank you so much. I will be seeing you around, Everand the squire.”

For once he didn’t particularly mind being called a squire. “I look forward to it, princess.”

She gave him one last smile and then turned and walked back into the maze. Everand instinctually went to tell her not to, that it was too dangerous, but he stopped himself. She seemed like she knew what she was doing.

#to kill the king #indie author #queer literature #queer fantasy #debut novel #self publishing #lgbt fiction #fantasy books

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