#i know side characters get dropped all the time

[one-green-frog]

Hi!

Can I request a yandere platonic batfam with a willing readers like your most recent fics who is a total bookworm

Like imagine a male or gn version of belle from beauty and the beast

And they see that they’re getting a bit bored so they show them the library

Lost In Pages

Platonic yandere batfam x bookworm m!reader

The Wayne Manor had quickly become your new home, surrounded by loved ones that practically begged to take care of you. It became your new safe space, where nothing bad could happen. Not to mention that the manor was huge! It was so spacious that nearly every corner could be your little " private reading space. Book in hand an blanket wrapped around you as you flipped page after page, enjoying the story. Or well you used to.

As of late you just lost motivation, not because the book was bad, it really wasn't, but there are only so many times you cam reread it before it becomes simply too repetitive. You could always ask one of them to buy you a new book, but you didn't want to use them, doesn't matter that they are billionaires.

Your demeanor didn't get unnoticed by anyone. They always notice. And they are quick to figure out what's wrong too. Of course they saw that you were staring at the book in your lap with disinterest, heavy sigh leaving your lips.

Dick approached you, charming smile on his lip "You know that we have a library, like a huge one? Why don't we go down there?"

Oh, apparently every rich person had a private library. To say you practically stormed down there was an understatement. No one had mention this secret library before, of course you would be excited to go there.

Throwing the door open you saw heaven. Rows upon rows, farther than you could see, filled with books. And the decor! This was probably the most expensive and most beautiful library you have ever seen.

Now your days were filled with hour long reading sessions here, enjoying every single new story that came before your eyes.

And the others were happy too. They may have forgotten to show you the library before, figuring that during the tour of the manor someone mentioned it, but that's in the past now.

Dick, while not the biggest book fan, would take up some of the shorter novels you read. Something to connect to. But usually he'd just sit next to you, as you read, having you lean against him. It made him feel so close to you, so connected, that he was still a part of your routine. You too were happy to have him by your side, Dick is amazingly warm, and comfy to lean on and even while you were immersed in your book you still enjoyed the company. Dick loved being so close to you, being able to constantly have you in his arms. It made his pride grow, you were so comfortable with him that you spent you special time with him. As a big brother he strived that all of his siblings could trust him and the fact that you so openly showed it made him

Jason was probably your favorite. Just like you he'd spent hours upon hours in this library. He was part of your own little book club, where you would spend all your time discussing every book you read, what the author was implying or how certain character actions are metaphors. It was fantastic. The library brought you closer than anything else ever could, it was the place where you two could meet and no one would dare disrupt you too. Alfred hardly came by, only dropping off hot tea each time, he knew you two would be to focused on the conversation, but he still did not want to interrupt. Jason loved being able to connect with you like no other, it means that in some way he is special, he is better, that he was allowed to stay by your side, since no one else could understand you like he did.

While Tim couldn't be called a book lover, he did rea dsome sort of detective novels. For him it was always easy figuring out who the perpetrator was, but he still liked reading them since it was like a downtime for his brain. Tim would recommend you a few books he read, giving you clues, helping you figure out the killer, teaching you the ways of a detective. It was fun, sharing ideas and motives, trying to figure everything out before the book ends and Tim always seemed to know everything, like a walking search engine. You picked up quite a few "detective skills" and the books seemed to get easier to decipher. Tim loved being able to ramble about the story of the book, finally someone who would just listen. That's what makes you so special, that's why he needed you by his side.

Duke was your average guy. Someone who read classic but other than that he didn't really show an interest for books. Sitting down for hours just reading seemed to normal for him, just a bit boring in his opinion. Not that he means your hobby is boring, no, everything about you is perfect just the way it is. Duke usually laid in your bed while you walked around the room explaining a plot twist in the book your currently reading. You would excitedly talk and talk, never once stopping because you knew he was listening, just listening, taking in every word you said, and he would never try to stop you. No, this was your time and he'd make sure you enjoyed every single minute of it. He loved watching you get excited, the way your eyes lit up made his heartbeat quicken. His eyes were just totally fixated on you, the center of his world.

Then there is Damian. Even as a young boy he was well versed in many types of literature, though his favorite form was poems. He talked about different poets, different ways the poems could be interpreted, the raw emotions, the dedication they showed. Oftentimes he even wrote some poems himself, dedicated to you. Other times he would share his favorites with you. Damian enjoyed having a person to share his interests in. The way you wouldn't just brush him off. Wouldn’t just look past him. He loved that you could think for yourself, interpret the meaning of each poem, appreciate the beauty of a masterpiece. Finally spending time with someone that knew more than just the basics. Conversing for hours about how different factors changed the way a poet wrote. Damian truly appreciated that the manor was now home to such a lovingly dedicated person that appreciate all different kinds of literature.

And Bruce? He was the one that made everything happen in secret. He watched happily as his family was brought together by you, listened as conversation were held for hours with no fight. If it meant buying every book he could get his hands on, then so be it, sometimes even buying doubles just so you could keep one in your room. Money certainly wasn't an issue for him and making you happy means making the family happy. Unlike the other he would not directly engage with you, no, he would simply stand by the doorway and watch. Watch as his children, his family enjoyed their time. You gave all of them a sense of normalcy, a saving grace, someone to cling to in their dark times. He watched as something ad simply as reading could save his family.

Taglist: @lilyalone

Thank you so much for requesting!

[cometjuice]

A Collection of Will Solace Headcanons

Because Will is my favorite character, I have decided to compile a bunch of headcanons I have for him (and Nico but mostly him)

Will is an introvert forcibly turned extrovert. He still prefers to be by himself a lot of the time. When he was younger he used to be a very shy kid, not talking much and sticking to Lee's side like a leech. After his and Michael's deaths, he was forced out of his shell.

Will has been a year round camper for nearly ten years. His mom is a traveling musician and couldn't protect him properly while on the road. She sends him postcards every week.

Will is deaf/hard of hearing. He didn't learn how to speak english until he was about nine years old, being dropped off at camp at seven and a half with a sign with his name on it and his age. He was always quiet, but the Hephaestus cabin made him a pair of hearing aids. They still help him out when they break.

Will and Annabeth have known each other for a long, LONG time. They weren't really friends, but Annabeth was always nice to him. She did think he was kind of odd.

He has a morbid obsession with body parts and taxidermy. He used to ask his brothers to get him a pig heart in a jar for him to look at. Kinda freaked them out for a while...

Despite Will's usually very chill demeanor, he's INCREDIBLY neurotic when it comes to certain things. Like when he eats breakfast, how long he showers, his morning and evening routines.

Nico and Will first bond over their interests in human anatomy. The first time Nico raised a skeleton to try and scare Will off when he was being annoying, Will thought it was extremely cool and asked Nico if he could keep it in his room. Obviously he couldn't, but he did give Will a jar of wrist bones so Will could practice assembling and naming them.

Will HATES needles. He has no problem working with them and using them as tools, but if he gets stuck with one? He faints.

Will has set up a "crash pad" in the infirmary; aka, a pile of pillows on the floor under his desk where he passes out for an hour during long stints at the infirmary. No one except Kayla and Austin (and now Nico) know about it.

Will made his siblings promise that if he ever got hurt in battle and was out of commission, they would hide him in a far cot away from everyone else. He says it's so no one freaks out at him being hurt.

Will's dream is to own a vintage Chevy pick up truck. A true Texan at heart.

Will was effectively mute before he came to CHB. His mom couldn't afford to buy him hearing aids, so she only spoke in sign language to him growing up. It wasn't until he was taught by Chiron that he learned how to speak English, along with Greek.

Will prefers cats over dogs. He likes their independence (maybe also that he can lean on them emotionally a little). He wishes he could have one.

Will can hide his expressions like a PRO. He has an iron clad grip on his emotions, and only started to break down and learn to accept how to be angry and sad when he and Nico got into a fight and Nico forced him to face how dishonest he's been with himself. Since then, Will has become more open towards him. He still needs to work on becoming more open in general.

Will has plague powers (as explored in TSATS) and Nico helps him harness them. Once, he gave Nico chicken pox by accident and refused to come out of a self-imposed isolation for two weeks. It took Percy breaking down the office door to finally drag him out. That's all for now! I will have more!

[steviewashere]

Filling Static in the Dead Air

Rating: General Pairings: Robin & Steve, Steddie, Robin/Original Female Character CW: Robin and Steve Being Assholes To Each Other, Friendship Breakup Tags: Post-Canon, Angst, No Comfort, Bittersweet Ending, Unhappy Ending, Dialogue Heavy, Phone Conversations, Letters, Steve & Robin's Friendship, Time Splitting Up Friendships, Platonic Stobin, Steve Harrington Loves Robin Buckley, Robin Buckley Loves Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart Am I basing this off of experience? Maybe. Is this kinda out of character? Probably. Anyway.

☎️—————☎️ *BEEP*

“Hey, Robbie…it’s…well, it’s Steve. Um, I-I’ve been trying to catch you for a while now…seems we’re missing each other a lot these days, huh? No big deal, I’ve been busy…you’ve been busy. I get it. So. Just wanted to call and say that I…I really hope you have a good day. Think that’s all I say nowadays, but I mean it. Wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. And…and I hope that exams go over swimmingly. You’re, like, the smartest person I know—don’t tell Dustin I said that, if you…if you, um, still keep in touch with him—anyway. You’ve got this. You’re gonna do amazing, I know it. Soooo…yeah. Yeah, that’s all. If you need anything from me—or even Eddie—or um…if you just wanna talk to your favorite dingus, I’ll be here. There’s a gap in my schedule, new job on the horizon, hopefully. I’ve got the time for you, that’s all I’m saying. Yeah. I…I think that’s it? Love you, Robbie. Call me soon?”

——— Steve can admit—now that it’s been a couple of years—that when Robin said she was going to college out of state, his heart and stomach dropped out of him to the floor. It was a sort of sixth sense he’s adapted to. This aura, a curdling sick sense, that would sit dormant until the words left somebody’s mouth. “I’m leaving.” That’s all it took. 

Not the kind of leaving when a hangout was over. Not the kind of leaving when the party came to a halt. Not the kind of leaving when the day’s been run through.

No, it was the kind of leaving that meant business trips and a stale home, playdates by himself on his knees in the wood chips, and friends going over yonder from grass fields and tornado sirens.

His brain was kind enough to flip an hourglass distantly for him. Once the sand dwindled from one side, it was over. And that had been approaching a while with Robin. He always knew that it would happen in the aftermath of one of those Upside Down free-for-alls. Just…he didn’t expect it so immediately. When Vecna crumpled into himself like a paper bag, wounds scarred over, and July came rolling on in.

And then 1987 passed.

Followed by 1988.

Now, in the dead winter of 1989, during the big college winter break season, before a whole new decade rolled in, he’s not so sure about this friendship anymore. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a good one. That he didn’t laugh and spill his secrets and have weird proximity sleepovers in his basement—despite having the guest rooms upstairs. No, he loved Robin with every coiled fiber of his soul. To the moon and back. All those cliche things.

She was the only girl that ever mattered in his life nowadays. He dreamed of her. Wept over her. Celebrated with her. They chatted for hours after she lost her virginity, whisper calling while her hook-up (now girlfriend) snored in the background. Robin was the first one to hear about when he was eventually kicked out of his parents’ place, when he hauled ass to a dingy shoebox apartment near a dilapidated McDonald’s that didn’t survive Vecna. When he stirred up forgotten feelings in his chest, he laid star-spread on his bathroom floor, spooning melted ice cream past his lips, sobbing about a boy. And, eventually, when he had Eddie problems? To Robin he went.

He knows that she’s busy. Always is. Between foreign language club meetings, study sessions in her college’s library, and having brunch with the girls…Robin’s not a free bird anymore. She belonged to the college life, to sorority parties where she frenched her girlfriend in a linen closet and managed handstands over kegs. Sometimes, he’d be lucky to get a call at those parties, Robin’s syrup slurred voice and her hideous hiccups like muffled laughter over the speaker. Other times, he just had to hope she made it back to her dorm okay.

It’s partially his fault, too. Been switching rapid between jobs. Family Video to RadioShack to Circle K to Walmart. Then, after that, he fell into his couch with a pink slip in his hand. Too many tardies. Too many late nights where he fought sleep as if it were Billy Hargrove’s racist mouth, but he couldn’t call Robin those nights and he couldn’t curl into Eddie the right way. So. He misses her calls, he wipes his answering machine because it gets too full, he’s between jobs on his sorry fucking couch, and Robin’s too busy nowadays to reach out.

But he keeps trying. Boy, does he keep trying.

——— *BEEP*

“Steve…Stevie…*sniff* hey, um, I’m sorry. Keep missing you, dingus. I miss you like crazy. It’s…this place isn’t right without you. But I spent kind of a lot of money to be here. And I think I’m gonna be in debt until the day I fucking die and—*sniff*—sorry, shit. My new roommate this semester…god, can you believe it’s been a whole semester since you called me? I’ll try and get better on that, swear. Anyway. My new roommate is a colossal bitch, just capital B Bitch. Had, um, th-that nightmare about Scoops? You know the one. Where you…yeah…um…she hates that I cry in my sleep. That I—*sob*—do that, sobbing. And then I try and call you on those nights, but either you aren’t home or you’re busy doing Eddie or something or…or she yells at me for calling you. But…but I swear, Steve, I miss you, too. And if I could, I’d come bother the fuck out of you. Finals went well. January’s being January over here. Snowing like crazy. Anyway. Just called because you did, to say I’m sorry, to just…I was hoping to hear your voice. Make sure that you’re not…I’ll call you, okay? If I don’t…if I don’t, I’m sorry. My schedule’s out of my control most days. Yeah…yeah, I’m sorry.”

——— “You’re gonna burn a hole into that phone if you keep staring at it, Steve.”

He blinks, eyes dry, and looks over to Eddie. Backlit by the bright snow through the windows, hanging up his wet coat by the door, stepping out of his shoes. His cheeks are rosy, blushed by the cold. The soft smile Eddie flashes him makes his chest cave, words caught like thorns in his throat, his already pink waterlines burn fresh.

Taking his silence for what it is, Eddie shuffles through to the living room where Steve is sitting hunched on the couch, and bends down to kiss the top of Steve’s head. His left hand comes up to brush through Steve’s tangled hair, stringy and unwashed. “How long have you been out here, baby?” Eddie asks softly. “Look like a leaf that could fall any moment.”

Steve takes a shaky breath. “Robin called.”

“Oh?” Eddie takes a seat in the armchair diagonal to the couch, mismatched blues they are. “After her voicemail the other day? Or were you listening to it back?”

“No, after. It’s just…we had nothing to talk about.”

“Nothing? You guys have all this time apart, how is there nothing to talk about?”

Shrugging, Steve mumbles, “Don’t know.” He runs a tired hand over his face, through his hair, messing with the knots at the end of it. Can’t even bring himself to look Eddie in the eyes. “Chatted about her school. Her new roommate. The foreign language club she’s got. And then we got to talking about me and…and I had nothing to say. I’m in between jobs, I clean all day because I can’t just lay around and do nothing, I can’t sleep at night…told her about how our neighbors argue. Then, well, then I just talked about you.”

Eddie hums. “It’s okay, you know,” he murmurs, “if you guys can’t find stuff to talk about? That’s okay.”

“Is it? I just”—he sighs—“she’s been my best friend for years. We’ve got nothing to talk about. Like we’re just acquaintances on the bus or something. It’s dumb. It’s so stupid.”

“Honey…” Eddie coos. “Steve, what’s stupid about that? There’s nothing dumb about having a stilted conversation every once in a while.”

“It’s not just once in a while, though, Eds!” he snaps. Affronted with himself, Steve curls tighter, shoulders up to his ears. “Every time, now. When I wanna talk to her, there’s nothing. My life is so…so dull and dumb and…I feel so small compared to her now. Which isn’t fair of me to say, because she’s out there following her dreams…And…” He trails off with another shrug.

Once the room goes completely quiet, Steve pushes himself back, deep into the backrest of the couch. He puts his face in his left hand, pointed away from Eddie, and looks off. Nowhere in particular. No more words to dredge up.

“Steve?”

“I think I’m gonna write a letter. Maybe…maybe the phone’s too easy to forget.”

——— Robbie,

New thing. Letters. It’ll be easier, yeah? Just put what I wanna say out to you.

So. No new calls coming for me about my applications. Think a bunch of firings on my resume has employers turning away. Can’t even use my mom as a reference anymore, kinda lost on that end, I guess. Reached out to Hopper, though. Maybe getting a cop’s reference will look good? They’ll see me come in with Jim Hopper’s signature and number and they’ll think, “That kid must be a goody two shoes,” or something like that, and they’ll want to hire me. You think it’ll work? You know better than I do.

Watched The Apartment finally. It’s a good movie. You know, Fran kinda looks like Vickie. I found you out, Robs. You’ve got a big secret lesbian thing for redheads. Who would’ve thought? Does your current girlfriend look like Fran? I’ve been dying to meet her. I feel bad, I can’t even remember her name right now. I hope she treats you good.

Eddie treats me good. Made spaghetti last night for me, meatballs and everything. He burnt the hell out of the corn I bought, though. Ended up with just spaghetti, some beer, and a couple pieces of garlic bread. I’ll make a chef out of him one day. Though, gotta admit, I feel bad somedays. He goes out and works all day, brings home most of the money, and then also cooks sometimes. I try and keep up with him. Do some chores or something. You know, so I don’t look like a bad partner.

Anyway. There isn’t much else to say, really. Just hope you get this. Maybe you’ll take the time to answer?

Your cursive is the only cursive I can read, so. If you do write back, make it pretty for me? I like the way your letters curl.

—Steve

——— There’s been no new mail in weeks. Other than the bills and Eddie’s paychecks. He got one call from the manager of some local, newly built steak restaurant. Got the job as a new waiter, so that’ll be thrilling for him. More customer service.

He gathers the mail that comes in their little mailbox, runs back up the stairs to their apartment, and snuggles next to Eddie on the couch. An arm thrown over his shoulders. Hands passing through envelopes like he can manifest a returning letter.

“Damnit,” he eventually mutters, tossing the envelopes onto the coffee table. Steve leans back, nestled deeper into Eddie’s side, and pouts. “There’s nothing, Eds. What the hell.”

“Give her some time,” Eddie gently says—ever the reasonable one, oddly—“she’s probably still settling into her new semester. Almost a college graduate, babe, not a lot of time on her hands.”

“She could call, you know. Now she’s gonna respond and I’m gonna be too busy with work. This is bullshit.”

Eddie sighs next to him. Heavy and tired. “You’ll find the time, Steve. You always do.”

——— *BEEP*

“I got your letter, Stevie. Listen, I’ve gotta make this call quick, but I just need you to listen. I can’t write back, I’m sorry. My mind’s already scrambled with a million essays and other assignments right now, so letters aren’t really a priority for me. But I’ll call, okay? I missed you this time, but we’ll get it right eventually. I know it. Uhh…yeah. Oh! Yes, my current girlfriend, Rita, she definitely looks like Fran. You got me, dingus, I’ve got a thing for redheads. Anyway. Shoot. Sorry, I gotta go. Rita’s taking me to this new queer place in town. Gonna get drinks! It’ll be awesome. Okay, Stevie, bye. I love you, bye.”

*BEEP*

“Steve…Steeeeveee…I am very drunk right now. And sweaty. So much dancing. *hiccup* Just wanna tell you that you’re a good friend, m’kay? Rita…ooo, Rita ordered nachos. This payphone is crazy sticky. Bye, dingus!”

——— *BEEP*

“I hope you got home safe. Thanks for not answering. [silence] I can’t have you calling in the middle of the night anymore, though. Okay? I love you to pieces, Robs, but seriously. Eds and I were sleeping, we have work today. [disgruntled silence] And if you’ve got homework or whatever, then you should probably stay back at your dorm and do it, right? Instead of getting shitfaced at the bar? I—[*a large sigh*]—Eddie’s trying to tell me I shouldn’t be mad at you. That I should just give you time to reach back. But.

"This is just getting…it’s bullshit, okay? I call you and you don’t answer. You call me, I try to get back within the next day. And that’s what I did the last time you called me. And then…what? I start writing you letters, but you’re too piled up with homework to respond? Oh, but you’re not too busy to get shitfaced on a…Wednesday? A Wednesday, Robin. Wednesday? I know you’ve got class today, should you really be out…Never mind. I’m not your parents. I’m not. I’m just your good friend, Steve. Your good friend from back home who you don’t visit when you’re on break because you don’t have enough time. [silence] Promise me you’ll take some Advil and have a few glasses of water? I’d bring you a bagel or something, but…just take care of yourself, Robin. Please just take care of yourself. I have to go to work. Maybe I’ll get some big tips from boyfriends on late Valentine’s Day dates. Send you flowers or some shit. I love you, Robin. Even when you piss me the fuck off, I love you…Bye, Robs.”

——— “You don’t answer either, Steve.”

“Well good evening to you, too, Rob”—

“Don’t be a bitch. Just because I found the time to go out with my girlfriend doesn’t mean I’m fucking ignoring you like you’re…you’re my spoiled little dog.”

Steve tosses a glance over his shoulder, standing with his back to the front door just as Eddie comes through it. He shields himself, shadowing over the phone with his head lowered. “Robbie, can I call you back, please? I’m about to have dinner with”—

“Oh, so you can have dinner with Eddie? But I can’t have drinks with Rita? Fuck off, Steve. You know that’s a bunch of horseshit, right? I’m supposed to make time for you, but you can’t make time for me when I call”—

“Oh, when you finally call me back—what is it—three days later? Sorry, Robin. Guess I have some double standards that I didn’t know about! Guilty as charged!”

Over the line, he can hear her take a steady, deep breath. He imagines it, her face red with anger, and feels a sick lick of satisfaction deep in his gut. “Don’t be such a little fucking brat, Steve.”

He rolls his eyes so hard it hurts. “Like insulting me is gonna keep me on the phone with you. I’ve got chicken that’s thawed in the fridge right now and it needs to be made tonight. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna make dinner for my boyfriend and I”—

Suddenly, there’s a hand on his shoulder. He jerks in surprise, turning swiftly with the phone in his tight grip. Eddie’s behind him, furrowed eyebrows and eyes narrowed in concern. Steve throws up his free hand as if to signal, ‘What.’ Instead of a huff or an eye roll, Eddie’s soft with him. Petting his hand down his back. “I’ll make dinner,” Eddie whispers, “I want you to figure this out with Robin.”

Steve muffles the phone with his empty hand, pulling it away from his mouth. “She’s being an asshole, Eds. I don’t want to”—

“Baby, I don’t want you guys to lose each other. You two matter to one another. Figure it out…even if you have to argue, figure it out.”

With a pat to his back, Eddie steps away. Steve sighs, relenting—knowing Eddie’s reasonable and right, damnit—and brings the phone back up to his ear. “You still there, Robin?”

“Yup.”

“Listen…Robs…I-I don’t know what to say to make this better, okay? I’m gonna be honest. I don’t know what to do.” He shifts awkwardly on his feet. Eventually, though, within a matter of seconds, he decides to plop down onto the closest couch cushion. Hunched over his knees, pinching between his eyebrows. “I miss your calls, I know that. And I’m sorry, okay? Shit, I’m…I’m really fucking sorry”—his voice wavers, eyes burning despite trying to pinch the waterworks closed—“there’s no excuse. I’m not in college. I’m not, like, busy with my family or anything. I just. I’m just Steve. With his stupid minimum wage job. And I’m really fucking boring now, okay? I get busy with my shifts and I forget to answer. I try to get caught up in Eddie, trying to—shit, you can’t let him know this, okay? I’m gonna drop my voice”—and he does just that—“I get caught up trying to distract myself from…from myself. That doesn’t make sense, I know it doesn’t. And it’s not an excuse. Sometimes, Rob, sometimes”—and here come the blubbering tears…—“I just stand at the phone and wait for you to call me. Then you don’t. All I do is…all I do is work and sleep and wait.

“I miss you so fucking much, Robin. You…it’s so fucking pathetic…you’re my only, like, adult friend other than Eddie. But he’s in his own category, y’know? So. It’s just. Shit. I don’t know what I’m trying to say, Robs. I just miss you. I wait and I miss you.”

For a moment, there’s a steady stream of stilted silence. Then, quiet, Robin breaks with, “I miss you, too. But…Steve, I can’t be your only friend. And…and you’re not my only friend anymore. I know I’ve been shitty with answering the phone, responding to your letters. Things are busy. And I don’t have the time. And when I find time for myself, I’m sorry, but I don’t think of you first anymore. You have to…you have to understand that, Steve.

“Believe me, I try to reach out to you. When I have the time, when I…when I remember, I call you. You aren’t the first person that comes to mind anymore, okay? I have to be honest with you, too. I’m sorry. I can’t say that enough and I also think I’ve said it too much.

“But I’m about to graduate. Rita and I…we’re moving in together once I get my diploma”—

“Will you send me your new address? If you remember?” God, he can’t believe he just said that. He can’t believe he’s been…forgotten. “Maybe I can send you some congratulatory flowers or something?”

She takes a deep breath. Noticeably settling into something.

He sorta hates that he can picture her, shimmying into her spot. Getting comfy. Can imagine her in her dinky pajamas, the same ones she’s had since freshman year of high school. Thinks of her with her makeup freshly washed off, hair neatly brushed, relaxing in her bed. Wonders if she’s reading anything.

But he won’t ask. It doesn’t feel like that kind of conversation.

“I’ll give it to you before I graduate, okay? We’re gonna settle on an apartment before I’m done here. Um…yeah. Yeah…

“I’m sorry for being an asshole, you didn’t deserve that.”

“I’m sorry, too. You didn’t deserve it either. Just, y’know me, I get in my head.”

“Yeah,” she sighs. And it hurts, only a little—like a minor burn from the edge of a frying pan—that she didn’t reassure him. “I know I called, but I’ve gotta go. I have a test in the morning. And I’m ready for bed, so…yeah.”

“Okay…yeah…that’s��I’ve gotta help Eddie with dinner so”—

“What are we gonna do?”

“Hm?”

“…What are we gonna do? I don’t know when I’ll be able to call again. And I know you’re getting busier. I won’t have a break until, maybe, June? I don’t wanna leave you like this…but I can’t promise anything this time and”—

“I don’t know,” Steve softly interrupts. “We’ll figure it out, though, okay?”

There’s a long lull of silence. Longer than any he’s experienced with Robin. Softly, “Okay,” she says. Though, it doesn’t quite reach his ears the right way. It’s not a hopeful sound. It’s…tired and broken and weepy.

He knows that, after this, they won’t hear from each other anymore.

It’s a claw to the chest. A knife in the gut.

If he removes it, he’ll die. If he lets it linger, he’ll die. The way the word breaks in his head, her soft okay in his ear, he’d rather the knife remain. The pain, the blood, the simmering ache.

“Robin?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

A murmur, “I love you, too.”

The phone crackles between them. Those are the last words he hears before the line goes dead. “Bye,” he whispers into the plastic, to nobody on the other side. And with the receiver gripped tight in both hands, nestled between his legs, he lets the burn behind his eyes engulf.

Tears sluggishly worm down his cheeks. Hot and burning.

“Steve?” Eddie softly calls to him. “You okay?”

When he looks in the direction of his name, Eddie is sitting next to him. A hand between his shoulder blades, the other reaching for the phone. Without much thought, Steve is turning into Eddie’s chest, dropping his grip on the receiver.

In one sweeping motion, Eddie brings him in, burying him closer. “I gotcha, baby,” he whispers into Steve’s hair, “I’ve gotcha.”

“I lost her,” he sobs, “lost my best friend.”

With Robin’s words floating through his head, the soft crackle of her raspy voice, that image of her comfy in bed, he breaks. Coughing, gagging, and crying, he breaks against Eddie’s neck.

——— November, 1985

“Steve? Do you think we’re best friends in every universe?”

“Hm…if we aren’t, I’m glad we’re best friends in this one.”

They’re holding hands, sprawled on his mattress, both sweat drenched from Scoops nightmares.

“Me too,” Robin whispers, “I love being your friend.”

“I love being yours,” he matches, “we’ve got each other for life now. No way to get rid of me.”

“Like we’re ever going to be apart.”

“Yeah,” Steve laughs. “No way is that happening. We’re stuck on each other like glue.”

☎️—————☎️

[clairewritesfanfics]

But you weren't her.

Pairing: (LADS x Non-MC!Reader)

"I love you."

When he said those sweet words that were reserved for the Main Character, you pretended not to hear.

Of course you knew that he meant them, even if only a bit. You weren’t confident in your ability to attract others but you were too old to be naive. It was only natural that a lonely man would fall for the first person to give him a shred of warmth, especially since you spent so much time together. You have no doubt that his feelings were true, but for how long? From the other side of the fourth wall, it was easy to be certain about everything, that his love will withstand every storm for the great heroine. But what of you? In your world, no one can say with absolute certainty that romantic love was so pure and kind and strong. Men and women across various periods swore oaths, sang songs and wrote poetry of it since time immemorial, but did anyone actually find love everlasting? Maybe. But it was a concept too out of reach for you. 

One would have a higher chance meeting a mythological creature than finding true love. 

People back in the “real world” playfully called you bitter and resentful, without a drop of romance in your body, but they had it backwards: it was because you were a hopeless romantic that you doubted every piece of tenderness you received. Healthy, boring, so-called ideal relationships would never be enough. You didn’t want cheap affection, you yearned for the raw, all-consuming, time-withstanding love worthy of immortalization, not unlike the one the main character has with her love interests. 

So even if this world was a living breathing reality on its own without a predestined ending, you were still just an NPC. Yes, a supporting character. Nothing more. If you allow yourself to dream any more than that, you’ll get greedy and when his real beloved comes along, or if he finds out the ugly parts of you, you will be left with nothing but a broken heart. 

He called your name and you couldn't ignore him anymore.

Forcing yourself the brightest, gentlest smile possible, you turned to face him. “You shouldn't carelessly throw those words around, otherwise misunderstandings will happen.”

Before he could reply, you looked away again so he couldn't see your lips trembling. "Don’t worry, you’ll meet someone better than you could ever hope for."

That's right, someone literally tailored to his taste and who complements him in every way. Someone who wasn't you.

A/N: It involves a non-MC reader so I hope you enjoy it! I'll be exploring the concept in the future, especially with Sylus because I don't know how to do it with the others yet lol. I wasn't supposed to post this but I just needed to share it with the world.

Edit: had to change a few things to avoid confusion.

@phisen @leryg0 @capribun @sinnamon-bunn @wegottastayfocus @erisnxxi

[naughtyneganjdm]

Threads of Desire: A Christmas to Remember - Chapter 7

Summary: Arriving to work late is rough when a surprise visit from both Negan and Daryl interrupts an already hectic day for Y/N.

Characters: Negan Smith, the reader (OC), Guy (OC), Jordyn, Maggie, Daryl Dixon, etc.

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61111030/chapters/161820370

Warnings: Swearing, Angst, etc.

Notes: I am sorry it takes so long for me to update these days. Real life has been so busy, but I'm doing my best. Thanks to those that read! If you want to read the other chapters, be sure to check them out here.

Being late was never something that Y/N was. Since she took this job under Maggie four years ago, she had always been to work early. However, today she found herself waking up long after her alarm went off. Sleeping through her alarm clock was not something that she had done in a very long time. Showing up late to work was not something that was on her checklist of things to do after Guy offered her that brand new position at Vixen. Originally, she planned to be just like she was before. Dedicated to her job and hard working. So when she woke up this morning, she panicked. What she wanted to do was make a good first impression. Starting her new job off like this was the last thing she wanted. Instead, she ended up showing up to work almost two hours late.

Getting ready was rough since she was anxious as it was. Everything felt like an obstacle this morning. No doubt Maggie would be upset with her for being late. This was the first time she ever had been, but since she had been pissing Maggie off over the last few days she knew that it would be bad. And then it made her wonder if Guy would have told Maggie about her promotion. With her being late, that would be enough ammunition for Maggie to try to convince Guy to go back on his decision.

Rushing to work just made things harder. Trying to get into the doors of the building was extraordinarily complicated because she had her arms full. The fact she was able to get into the building was an accomplishment in itself. Scrambling into the building, all she could think about was how Guy had offered her this brand-new position and she had already fucked up.

“Hey!” a raspy voice called out from behind her in the empty lobby of the building. Hearing it had her jumping since she wasn’t expecting it. Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw Negan pulling himself up from the same seat he was sitting in last night. Scrambling to get to her, Negan pointed to everything that she was attempting to carry. “Let me help you with that.”

Frustration flooded her veins. Now Negan was showing up at her work in the morning waiting for her. With everything going on this morning already, dealing with Negan was not something that she was ready for. Especially since she had so much going on already.

Instead of waiting for her answer, Negan was reaching for some of the things that were in her arms and he flashed her a big smile, “Did you carry all of this here on your own?”

“Yeah,” she didn’t know how to respond, her throat going dry. What the hell could she say to Negan? Waiting for her at the end of the workday was one thing, but showing up in the morning was another. “Negan, what the hell are you doing here? You can’t keep doing this.”

“Doing what?” Negan tipped his head to the side, completely oblivious to what she was hinting. Then again, by the big cheesy smile that slowly tugged at his features, it made her wonder if he knew what he was doing and this was purposeful. “Helping you?”

“You know what I’m saying to you,” she scoffed, taking a quick look around the lobby noticing that it was completely empty except for the employee that was sitting at the front desk. Adjusting the items that she had in her arms, she was actually thankful that Negan managed to help her because she was certain she would have dropped something if he hadn’t. “Were you really just sitting there for the last two hours waiting for me?”

“Well, I wasn’t sitting there the whole time, but…kinda?” Negan bobbed his head about, his thick eyebrows bouncing up when she released a stressed sound. Turning on her heel, she started to head for the elevators knowing that she couldn’t do this right now. Especially since she was already so late. The sound of Negan following her not far behind was heard and she very much expected that. “Fuck, you really aren’t in the mood to talk, are you?”

“Not really, no,” she was blunt, huffing out when Negan ran into her from behind in his quickness to follow her as she came to a stop at the elevators.

“Fuck, sorry,” Negan apologized managing to reposition the items he took from her so he could carry them under one arm. “Listen, I didn’t think you’d run off last night. I thought you’d let me walk you home and we could talk.”

“If I let you walk me home and we talked, we’d probably just end up having sex,” she noted under her breath realizing that what they did last night in the restaurant wasn’t right as it was. Taking a look around, she was happy that no one else was there to hear her. “And that would have gotten us nowhere. You know I’m right.”

“Well…” Negan paused, a crack of a smile tugging at his tired features. Tipping his head from side to side, his Adam’s apple bounced in his throat and he sighed. “Touché.”

Silence surrounded them and she found herself condemning the elevator for always taking this long, “I just didn’t like the idea of you running off upset. And then when you didn’t show up to work on time this morning, I panicked.”

“I just slept in Negan. I haven’t slept well in days,” she reasoned with him, her chest heavy at the idea of everything that was bothering her. “You could have just texted me, showing up here is not going to do anything right now.”

“You told me last night that doing things through text was wrong,” Negan mentioned what she had said when he went to break up with Maggie through text message when she was upset with the idea of him still dating Maggie. “Ever since the day of the event, I haven’t been able to sleep much because all I think about is you.”

Dropping her head down, she tensed up at the idea and there were still a lot of things running through her mind. Why now when he had so many years previously when he could have done this?

“Are you a moron?” she hissed out eliciting a confused expression from Negan. An uncomfortable laugh escaped his lips before he let out an amused sound. “I’m serious. I’ve been fawning over you for eight years. Eight years, I’ve wanted you to be in love with me. And for eight years, nothing. I finally tell you how things are and now I can’t get you to leave me alone. So it’s a genuine question. Are you a moron because anyone with half a brain could see that I was in love with you. Did it really take me physically telling you that I felt that way for you to realize there was something here?”

“Well, when you put it like that and shit…” Negan considered her question, waving his free hand about and letting out a huff. “Then yeah, I guess I am. I’m a man. We’re not exactly the brightest. It’s a horrible excuse, but sometimes we let our smaller brain lead our decisions. Unless we’re not directly told something, we don’t always pick up on the subtle hints.”

“That’s an awful excuse,” she snorted, shaking her head in response. After a moment, she realized that there was something missing when it came to Negan. “Where is Jordyn?”

“She’s been in the office,” Negan pointed upwards, educating her on the whereabouts of his daughter. How simply he put it made it seem like it was no big deal. “She’s been with that lady that she really likes at the office. The one that’s always been nice to her.”

“I’m sure Maggie is thrilled about that,” she muttered under her breath, clutching tightly to her things when she reached to push the button of the elevator a few more times. There was no reason for it to be taking this long. Especially since no one was lined up for it. “You know, I am enjoying that I get to see you more. I’d be lying if I said otherwise, but you can’t keep showing up at my work like this. You’re going to get me fired if this keeps happening.”

“And?” Negan countered, getting a glare in response that had him throwing his free hand up in defense. “I’m just saying Y/N, if they fired you, I have that job that I offered you the other day. If you didn’t have a job, I would take care of you. So it’s not that big of a deal.”

“It’s a big deal,” she hated the idea that a job that was important to her could be blown off like that. But then again, last night she hadn’t told him about being offered the position and accepting it, so it only made sense that Negan would honestly think that way. Right now was definitely not the time for that discussion to come up. “You haven’t told me why you are here.”

“You know why,” Negan frowned, exhaling loudly when he moved beside her to rest his shoulder against the wall. “I’d like to think that you were thinking about me as much as I was thinking about you.”

“I’ve been thinking about you since the day I met you Negan,” she responded knowing that sounded really pathetic. And truthfully? It was.

“So, with last night…” Negan started, using his free hand to reach up and rub at the back of his head. “Did you uh…did you like what I did?”

“I don’t know why you’re asking me that,” she whispered, her chest aching at the thought of what he was undoubtedly bringing up. A lot of her night was spent condemning herself for letting it happen, but another part of her thoroughly enjoyed it. And that made her feel like a terrible person. “Obviously, I liked it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have…you know.”

“And you like my cock?” Negan’s eyebrow arched in curiosity, his dimples sinking in with an amused rumble falling from his throat with her face flushing over. “The size of it and everything.”

“Is this where you want me to praise you and stroke your ego?” she inquired, her eyes narrowing and by Negan’s expression, she knew that he was longing for it. “Yes Negan, you have a nice cock and you’re good with your mouth. Do you feel better now?”

A smirk tugged at his handsome features and he shrugged his shoulders before clearing his throat, “I also think you’re great with your mouth and I can’t stop thinking about being inside of you. It’s all I can think about. I can’t tell you how much I’ve jerked off in the last few days because of it.”

“Negan, this is all happening really fast and it’s happening at a very complicated time in both of our lives,” she hinted to him, having a hard time looking at him. Because hearing him say something like that had her body heating up with a fire flooding through her veins, but at the same time she knew that the timing was horrible. Right now was really not the time or place for this. “I have always loved spending time with you Negan and in different circumstances, I might really enjoy this conversation, but we’re at my work.”

“I realize that,” Negan huffed following her onto the elevator when it opened. “But there is something going on between us and I just, I don’t want you mad at me. And I really wanna work things out with us. I think the two of us can make things work.”

“Did you break up with Maggie?” she wondered causing Negan’s hopeful expression to leave him and it was replaced with tension. “Yeah, that face is a no. Which tells me you are still dating Maggie and the things that we need to talk about, we can’t.”

“I haven’t talked to Maggie yet. I went home and I told you she was doing something with her family. We didn’t even text or talk last night,” Negan declared, adjusting her items in his arms and he scoffed. “I just wanted to talk to you because I’m fucking upset that you might be angry with me.”

“I’m angry at myself,” she announced, swallowing down hard and staring out at him with an uneasy expression. “You’re still a taken man. You have been for four years. And I very much have a hard time denying you because of how I feel about you. What I’ve done? It’s unforgiveable.”

“It’s not when it’s the person you love,” Negan suggested drawing out a disgusted breath from her throat. “I don’t mean it to sound as bad as it does, but you’ve loved me for such a long time. It should have been you that I ended up with in the first place.”

“But I wasn’t,” she stated clearly what was factual, even if Negan didn’t like to hear it. “It was Maggie. And we can’t go back and change things. You made your decision. It was Maggie. Not me.”

“But now I’m picking you,” Negan insinuated, his head shaking when she looked to the floors that they were going up.

“Who said I even want you to pick me?” she snapped at Negan under her breath as someone else got onto the elevator with them. A dramatic exhale escaped Negan, his thick eyebrows furrowing with him turning toward her. “Maybe I don’t want you anymore.”

“You don’t?” he whispered and it looked like she had just kicked him in the gut. That wasn’t exactly the response she was expecting from him. Especially since he was the one that was dating someone. “But what happened in your apartment and at the bar…”

“They were mistakes,” she insisted, her chest aching at the look that Negan was giving her. “Things we shouldn’t have done. Things that were very wrong.”

“It can’t be wrong when something like that feels so right,” Negan countered and by the body language of the person on the elevator with them, she knew that they had an idea what they were talking about. “It’s not just the sexual stuff either.”

A warmth flooded into her face since they weren’t the only people on that elevator, “it’s the fact that my eyes have been opened to what was really going on. I was taken advantage of. You were treated like shit. And we were purposely kept apart by someone who just wanted to fuck with you and used me to do it.”

“This is a complicated conversation for another time,” she thought aloud noticing that the person in front of them was turning a light shade of red. Having Negan acknowledging that Maggie was using him was something she was surprised to hear, but it wasn’t something that should have been talked about around strangers that worked in the same building as her. “There is a lot to process between the both of us. I know that for sure.”

Thankfully the stranger got off the elevator. Honestly? They pretty much rushed off the elevator once they got to their floor. The moment the elevator doors closed, she felt Negan’s hand reaching out to grasp at her chin. Getting her to turn toward him, Negan’s mouth covered hers in a hungry kiss. Even if she wanted to fight him back, her arms were so full that she couldn’t. But then again? She wasn’t fighting it.

When the door opened again for the elevator, Negan was the one that tipped back leaving her breathless and realizing that it was her floor. Shakily moving out of the elevator, she had Negan following her not far behind. Leaving things like that had her body tremoring with her heart hammering inside of her chest. Negan knew what he was doing to her and he did it well. On her way to Maggie’s office, she managed to take a quick look inside of Guy’s office to see that he was inside talking to someone. When he spotted her, he stood up straight and waved.

Just tipping her head, she acknowledged him, but that didn’t seem to be enough as Guy rushed around the person he was with. A moment later she watched him hit the ground hard after his foot caught the table. Immediately she stopped which had Negan running into her from behind.

“What happened?” Negan looked toward Guy’s office watching Guy pop up from the ground that he had fallen to. Fixing his hair and then his shirt, Guy flashed the person he was with a nervous smile. Without saying anything else, Guy pointed toward the glass door and was swift to pull it open.

“I can’t help but notice that you’re late,” Guy’s dark eyes narrowed giving her a big cheesy smile when he blatantly nodded his head toward Negan as he headed over toward them. “Did you do what I said you should do?”

“Why is he nodding toward me like that?” Negan felt awkward with how obvious Guy was being in the moment. With the three of them standing there, everything was silent between them. Both Guy and Negan were staring out at her, both of them expecting answers from her. “Is this about me?”

Well this was awkward. Guy was asking her if she had sex with Negan and Negan was obviously picking up on it. Pointing to Guy first, she felt hot with his eyebrows bouncing up, “No to you,” she answered Guy who frowned and then when she pointed toward Negan he let out a nervous sound, “And yes to you.”

“I’m confused,” Negan announced, his eyes narrowing when he looked to Guy. “Were the two of you talking about me?”

“Why wouldn’t she be talking about you?” Guy responded making Negan smile and look to her with a tip of his head. Guy gave Negan a scrutinizing look with how he was gazing upon Y/N and Guy huffed when he returned his attention back to Y/N. “Why do I feel like you’re lying to me?”

“Where have you been?” Maggie snapped at Y/N when the sound of her door being open distracted all of them. This was the first time that Y/N found herself thankful that Maggie was there to interrupt something. “You’re hours late and I’m running incredibly behind.”

“Good morning to you too,” Y/N moved around Maggie, rushing into the office. Both men were following her not far behind. Setting the things down that were in her arms, Negan moved in beside her and carefully put down what he had carried for her. Turning to face Maggie, she let out a tense breath with Guy standing behind Maggie. Without Maggie noticing, Guy pointed between both Negan and Y/N. After he did, he made a circle shape with one hand and used the other hand to make a lewd gesture. From what he was doing, she knew that he was asking if she had sex with Negan again. The bad thing? Negan saw it too. With an amused expression, Negan pointed between the two of them and it seemed to excite Guy that Negan was interacting with his question. Holding his hand out, Negan wiggled it from side to side which had excitement flooding into Guy’s features. Maggie was waiting for an answer from Y/N while Guy continued to have a silent conversation with Negan now from behind Maggie. When Guy made a blowjob gesture with his hand and mouth it had her wanting to die on the spot. Instead of seemingly being offended Negan smirked and nodded his head once showing a sense of arrogance with him answering. “Stop it!”

“Stop what?” Maggie asked looking over her shoulder at Guy who immediately stopped doing what he was to act like he was brushing his fingers through his hair. With Maggie turned away, Y/N smacked at the center of Negan’s chest with the back of her hand having Negan dramatically throwing his hands up in the air. “Why are all three of you acting so weird? And Negan…? Why are you here?”

“Oh,” Negan didn’t know what to say, his face hot with amusement that Y/N was so embarrassed with what him and Guy had just done. There was a look in Y/N’s eyes that showed she was nervous with Negan’s expression becoming determined. “Actually Maggie, there is something that I need to talk to you about.”

“Not here you don’t,” she stressed to Negan, placing her hand in over the center of his chest trying to get him to leave.  

“Yeah, yes I do,” Negan didn’t seem to agree with her, fumbling with her hands to get her to stop trying to force him out. By everything that was going on, there was an obvious excitement growing inside of Guy. He was just happy to be there in that moment. Dramatically moving over toward the couch in Maggie’s room, Guy lowered down and sat at the edge. His brown eyes were locked on them. Moving around Y/N, Negan motioned Maggie to take a seat at her desk. Feeling like the world was spinning around her, Y/N headed over to the couch to take a seat next to Guy. Burying her head into her hands, she felt Guy nudge her and she gradually lifted her head up. “I think we both can agree that things have been kinda different over the last few weeks between us.”

“So you gave him a blowjob?” Guy questioned, lifting his hand just enough to hide from Maggie what he was saying while whispering. Glaring at Guy, she tried to hush him. There was color flooding into her face and she wished she was somewhere else. “Did you like it? How big is it? Did he go down on you? Was he any good?”

“Not here,” she stressed to him, her face tensing up realizing that Maggie had noticed the two of them whispering and bickering with one another. Waving her hand about Y/N acted like it was no big deal with Guy snickering. Lazily dragging himself back, Guy got comfortable on the couch and wrapped his arm around the back of it. With the other, he brushed his fingers through his dark hair and sighed.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about how the last few weeks have been different for us,” Maggie spoke louder drawing both Guy and Y/N to look at her while Negan and Maggie interacted. “I know things get very busy during the holidays both here and in our lives.”

“It’s not just that,” Negan interrupted Maggie, his hands raising trying to get a moment to speak even though it seemed like Maggie wanted to take over the conversation. “I just don’t think the two of us are really like we used to be.”

“Oh, you must be good,” Guy turned toward Y/N, whispering in her ear when he picked up on the fact that Negan was attempting to break up with Maggie. “You blow him once and he wants to dump her on the spot.”

“Knock it off,” she begged of him, pushing him slightly away from her with Guy sucking down on his bottom lip.

“I’ve been slacking, I know,” Maggie reasoned with Negan and it was obvious that she was distracted with both Guy and Y/N being there. She didn’t like it, but Y/N also knew that Maggie was irritated that Guy was so relaxed with Y/N at this point. “And you’re probably upset about tonight. You wanted me to go to that dinner with your parents and I never really gave you an answer…”

“Dinner with my parents?” Negan thought aloud. A moment later realization seemingly struck when he lifted his hand and pinched at the bridge of his nose. “Right, we’re supposed to meet my parents for dinner tonight.”

“Well, tonight I have something I have to do for work,” Maggie announced with Negan scoffing at the idea of it, dropping his hand down at his side. “But after tonight, I think we should really focus on us honey. The two of us can just spend every night after work together. Do things for Christmas like you like to do.”

“You have something to do for work?” Guy called out, crossing his legs with his expressive eyebrows bouncing up. “Really? What is it that you have to do? Because I’m unaware of any meetings going on.”

“That’s because one of our clients called me this morning to change the date,” Maggie was quick to excuse what she was saying with Guy’s face twisting in confusion. “So I’m having dinner with them tonight instead and…”

“Really?” Guy feigned being surprised placing his hand in over the center of his chest. “Which client was that? Because I should probably make sure that I make a note of it in the calendars.”

“We’ll do that later,” Maggie insisted, waving her hand about to silence Guy who gave an amused wrinkle of his nose with the way that Y/N was staring out at him. “Regardless Negan, I think we should start focusing on us more.”

“And that’s what I want to focus on for a minute,” Negan asserted, placing his hand in over the center of his chest. Stretching out his fingers, Negan cleared his throat and shook his head. “I’ve been thinking a lot about things and…”

“You know what?” Maggie interrupted him, throwing her finger up in the air to motion him to stop speaking for a second. “I know it’s early, but since it’s close to Christmas, to show you how much I look forward to spending time with you, I think I should give you one of these.”

“Maggie, come on,” Negan slurred, throwing his hand up in the air again frustrated when she headed over toward a filing cabinet that she had. When she opened the bottom drawer it had Y/N scoffing out when she realized what Maggie was going for. Presents that Y/N had previously bought for the people in Maggie’s life. Presents that Maggie had never even seen nor wrapped. After digging around, she pulled out one of the presents and pushed the door closed. Heading over to Negan, she held it out toward him and it had Negan sucking in a sharp breath of air. “What’s this?”

“A Christmas present,” Maggie pushed the wrapped present in closer toward Negan who swallowed down hard when he looked at it. “Go ahead. Open it.”

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” Negan suggested going to set it down, but Maggie instead grabbed the present. She unwrapped it herself and shoved it toward Negan who looked down at the box. Huffing out, Negan pulled open the box and his face twisted with an emotion they couldn’t read. Reaching for the pocket watch that was inside, Negan gazed upon it and let out a trembling breath when he dragged his thumb down over the front of it.

“Do you like it?” Maggie was curious drawing out an anger from Y/N who tried to keep her mouth shut. “It was made specifically for you.”

“Yeah. It’s beautiful,” Negan looked at the engraving over the front that had a compass with a butterfly at the center of it. “It’s a very thoughtful gift Maggie.”

“Yeah, wow…” Y/N stood up from the couch in beside Negan to place her hand in under his. Looking over the pocket watch, she cleared her throat. Out of the corner of her eye she could tell that it looked like Guy was having the time of his life watching them. “Where did you get this done?”

Glaring out at Y/N, Maggie looked furious. There was no way that Maggie knew where it was from because Maggie had nothing to do with it, “I just think this is such a nice design that maybe I would be willing to do one myself for someone.”

“I don’t uh…I don’t really remember the name of it,” Maggie lied, her green eyes locked on Y/N’s when Y/N gave a firm nod. “I’ll get back to you with it.”

“And of course you know the meaning behind this, right?” Y/N confirmed knowing that before Christmas she would often go through a rundown of the things that she had bought people for Maggie. What they meant to them and anything of that sort. This one? Maggie would certainly have no fucking clue what it was for.

“Y/N?” Negan breathed out, his eyes narrowing with him staring down at her with confusion. Yeah, this was petty of her and she knew that, but it was clear that Maggie picked up on the fact that Negan was going to try to break up with her. So she was using the present as a way to guilt him into not doing it. It would be one thing if it was an actual gift that Maggie got for Negan herself, but since it was one that Y/N had gotten for Negan, it really pissed her off.

“I’m just curious what the story behind it is,” she didn’t care if this made anyone feel uncomfortable because it had been too long that Maggie got away with taking advantage of things. “I’m sure you know it’s a nod to Negan’s father with the compass and the butterfly, right?”

There was a silence between them. Even Negan’s eyes were locked on Maggie waiting for her answer and it made Maggie feel on the spot, “Of course I know it’s something to do with his father. I’m the one that got it for him after all.”

A long exhale escaped Negan’s throat and he stood there for a moment longer. Lowering his stare down to the pocket watch, Negan closed the box back up and lowered it down to set it on the corner of the desk, “Negan?”

What Maggie didn’t know is that it had nothing to do with Negan’s father and everything to do with Jordyn. So her answer only proved to Negan that she didn’t have anything to do with that present and he was visibly disappointed with her.

“We really need to talk,” Negan whispered to Maggie only to be interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Looking back over his shoulder, Negan scoffed when he saw Daryl standing at the door of Maggie’s office. “What the fuck?”

“Hey,” Daryl grunted, a sense of awkwardness flooding through him at the sight of everyone standing around looking so tense. All eyes were on him and it was a different array of emotions. Negan looked frustrated. Maggie was angry. Y/N was surprised and Guy was genuinely curious. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything here.”

“Oh no,” Guy could tell that Daryl meant something to Y/N with the way she was staring out at him. And that only intrigued him more. “We’re not really going through anything too intense here. Who are you?”

“Daryl,” he said bluntly as if Guy would know who he was. Daryl’s blue eyes locked with Y/N’s and he could sense that she was uncomfortable. Pointing between him and Y/N, Daryl didn’t bother to look at Guy when he spoke. “I’m a friend of Y/N’s. I was just dropping off something for her that I thought she would like to have.”

Right now? She didn’t hate the idea of having Daryl interrupt things. It was awkward enough as it was being between Negan and Maggie. Things had gone south and Daryl offered up an escape from all of this. Moving forward, she grabbed a hold of Daryl’s arm and motioned him to follow her out in the hallway. If Negan was really going through with dumping Maggie, her nor Guy should have been in that office. It was something that should have been done alone. And after the ass she made of herself to prove that Maggie was a liar? Y/N didn’t think she should be around if Negan did indeed break up with Maggie because it would be partially her fault and enrage Maggie.

Daryl stumbled to keep up with her when she took him to the lobby area of the office. From where she was standing, she could see that Guy was straining his neck to watch her with Daryl. Occasionally he seemed to steal a quick look back at Negan and Maggie, but it seemed like Guy couldn’t decide who he wanted to pay attention to more.

“What’d I just walk into?” Daryl snickered, pointing back toward the office where Guy was still very much watching the two of them together. “Everyone looked like they were gonna shit themselves.”

“I…I don’t know,” she lied, waving her hand about trying to get Daryl to give his attention back to her instead. As of the last few days, she really hadn’t kept up with Daryl about the things going on in her life and she figured he would be upset if he knew that Negan was attempting to break up with Maggie for her. “What are you doing here? You never come here to see me at work.”

“Oh,” Daryl pointed down toward the bag that was on his arm. “I finished that painting you paid me for. I was supposed to give it to you tonight, but plans came up. I can’t hang out. So I brought it here. In case you needed it.”

“You have plans?” she repeated, amused to hear that since Daryl never seemed to be someone who had something to do. The whole time she knew Daryl, he was a loner. For the longest time she thought she was his only friend. “Since when?”

“Oh, haha,” Daryl rolled his eyes, shaking his head and brushing his hair over his shoulder. Avoiding her question about plans was odd for Daryl. Having him be vague with her was not normal for him. “I think you’ll like the painting.”

Reaching for the bag, she gave him a weak smile and stepped forward to wrap her arm loosely around him to pull him in for a hug. Uncomfortably hugging her back, Daryl didn’t seem to know what to do when she released an overwhelmed breath.

“What’s wrong?” Daryl questioned, leaning back enough to stare down at her with his blue eyes. That was the kind of relationship she had with Daryl. Now, he could realize when something was wrong by the way she was breathing. That was both a good and bad thing. “I can tell something ain’t right.”

“I’m just overwhelmed. These last few days have been intense,” she explained and it had Daryl’s face scrunching up since he expected more from her. “It’s just been a crazy time here. One thing after another keeps happening and I’m doing my best to keep up with everything. You only know a small bit of what has happened.”

“There’s more? Since I was at your apartment?” Daryl questioned, folding his arms out in front of his chest when he rocked back and forth on his feet. “What’s up? You always tell me things.”

“It’s just been…busy and I’ve been lacking sleep,” she made an excuse that she knew wasn’t a good one. This really wasn’t like her friendship with Daryl. Most of the time she told him everything, that’s how they had grown so close. “Yesterday, Guy offered me an official position. One like Maggie had when she first started working here. At the beginning of the year, I will have my own office and everything. Today he was supposed to up my pay. He had me work one-on-one with him the other day and I guess he started to see my talent.”

“Huh?” Daryl scoffed, his face scrunching up in disbelief. There was a disgust that flooded into his features and he dramatically shook his head. “You’re not that ignorant, right?”

“I’m sorry?” she didn’t know how to respond because that kind of blunt response was not what she was expecting. “I don’t…”

“You can’t believe that shit, right?” Daryl snorted, his hands dropping down at his sides when he shook his head. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Guy had pulled himself up from the couch to sit on the arm of it to watch them when he noticed the body language changing between her and Daryl. There was no hiding that Guy was snooping on them together. “I thought we both agreed that this company was bad for you.”

“Well, yeah…” she paused to consider what Daryl was saying and she cleared her throat. “It took something ridiculous to get Guy to notice me, but…”

“Did you fuck him?” Daryl interrupted her, surprising her with the venom that was added to his tone when he asked her. “That how you got your job offer?”

“No, of course not,” she responded, her throat growing dry that he would even think that she would let that happen. “We just worked together the other day and he was impressed with what I was doing. About my knowledge of things and he offered me the job.”

“What about Carol?” Daryl reminded her of the offer he had for her with leaving this company to go to a rival one where someone he used to date worked and was in charge.

“I considered it,” she reasoned with Daryl feeling guilty with the way that Daryl was gazing upon her like she had done something horribly wrong. “You know that I wanted to make it on my own Daryl. And while I appreciated you wanting to help me with Carol, I was never comfortable having you hook me up with someone that you slept with when you were younger.”

“How are you making it on your own when Vixen only hired you because he wants to fuck you?” Daryl snapped at her causing a lump to develop in her throat. This was a feeling that she wasn’t used to with Daryl. “You’ve been here for four years and you got squat. But now you are okay with getting the intro job that Maggie got when she started? Does he know that you have been doing Maggie’s job since the moment she got here?”

“No, I haven’t said anything…” she swallowed down hard with that question. Even though she was angry with Maggie, she still didn’t have the want to get Maggie completely fired. Because there was still that promise that she made to Hershel years ago to take care of Maggie. “I thought maybe this was my chance to make a name for myself.”

“And when he finally has sex with you, then what?” Daryl threw his hands up, his brow line creasing as he waited for her to answer. “You’re putting everything on the line for a guy that just wants to have sex with you. He’s pulling out all the stops. You’re a game for him. Something he can’t have so he wants it. When you finally give it to him, he is going to spit you up and throw you out.”

“And what makes you think I’ll sleep with him?” she retorted, almost offended that he wasn’t saying that like it was a possibility. No, he was stressing what he was saying like it was a fact.

“Oh come on. Look at him,” Daryl threw his hand up in the direction of Guy who was now standing at the glass panel walls watching them with his hands pushed into his pockets. When Daryl pointed at Guy, Guy looked over his shoulder to see what Daryl was pointing at, but then realized it was him that Daryl was now directing things toward. “This guy was your fucking hero growing up. You hero worship his ass. And it don’t hurt that he’s pretty too.”

Truthfully? She was offended. How was she going to respond to that?

“He also was fucking Maggie too and you seem to be drawn to men like that,” Daryl slurred, growling as the words left his lips. The expression that flooded over her features showed him that she was hurt by that comment and he dramatically shrugged. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“Ouch,” was all she mustered up, lowering her head down to look at the ground. “Obviously you don’t agree with my decision to accept the job position here.”

“No, I don’t,” Daryl answered, throwing his hand up in the direction of the office again. “I thought the idea was to get you away from Maggie. Being here? You’re going to be just as abused if not more. Does Maggie know about this?”

“Not yet,” she admitted, knowing that things would be much worse if Maggie knew the lengths that Guy had gone to get her to agree to the position he was offering her. “We both know that she wouldn’t be this calm if she knew.”

“You do remember that this guy ignored you for four years, right?” Daryl reminded her what had been going on since she started her job here. A warmth flooded into her face feeling like she was being scolded like a child from Daryl. “Guy Vixen is a piece of shit. No matter how much you looked up to him.”

“While I don’t deny that,” she started, but Daryl held his hands up to silence her, scoffing when he looked her over. What could she say to disprove that? Both her and Guy agreed the other day that he was an asshole. “I think Guy and I have an understanding with one another…”

“If you would have just let me help you from the start, you could have had a job for the last four years doing what you love. Sure, it wouldn’t be under your damn hero, but it would have been a job. Where you wouldn’t have been somebody’s slave. You might have actually been successful. Better than Maggie,” Daryl lectured her realizing that he was making her feel bad about everything, but he was just letting things go at this point. “But no, you remained loyal to every asshat in that room. Maggie cus’ of some stupid promise you made to her dad. Guy cus’ you wanted to be exactly like him. And Negan cus’ you were just so damn in love with him. And what has it gotten you?”

“Please stop,” she begged of him, looking around the office noticing that people were hearing them fighting and it made her ill at ease.

“Here, I’ll tell you. Maggie treats you like scum. She ain’t your friend. She never was. And Guy? You’ve been a nobody to him until he decided you were worth a damn cus’ you clean up well. And Negan? Would you like the list of what it’s gotten you? What will it get you?” Daryl continued on, embarrassing her even further when he rolled his eyes at her. “He’ll fuck you, more than he already has. And then when he gets the cake, he won’t need the cow. No cus’ he already has the cow. And he doesn’t want another one. You’re the person people just want to fuck Y/N.”

“What has gotten into you?” she spoke up finally with her voice broken alerting him to the fact that what he was saying was upsetting her. “You really don’t think very highly of me right now. Do you?”

“I’m just pointing out the obvious. Do you really think Guy is gonna give you what you want?” Daryl’s southern drawl dragged out allowing his frustration to shine through. “You’re putting a lot of faith into men that have treated you like shit lately.”

Even though she didn’t like what he was saying, she realized that he was right about her. She knew that she was pathetic with things, but she was actually hopeful that something good could come from this job.

“In that room are two men that have treated you like shit and have taken advantage of your hard work along with your kindness for years,” Daryl repeated what he had already pretty much said to her, pointing again toward the office, but she didn’t need to look. “Now that they both want something from you, you’re allowing it.”

“It’s not that I’m allowing it,” she tried to defend herself, taking a moment to think things over. What exactly could she say to Daryl? The longer Daryl waited for a response from her, the angrier he seemed to get with her.

“Daryl!” the sound of Jordyn’s voice called out, interrupting the two of them. Looking back over his shoulder, Daryl saw Jordyn running up to him and he turned to meet her halfway. Picking her up in his arms, Daryl brought her in closer to his chest with Jordyn wrapping her arms tightly around him to hug him. “It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too pipsqueak,” Daryl tapped at the tip of Jordyn’s nose causing her to giggle at the nickname he always called her. This was normal for the two of them. Since she had been in Jordyn’s life for so long and she was pretty much Jordyn’s adopted mother, Daryl was very much someone that Jordyn was used to. “Damn, you’ve grown at least a foot since I last saw you.”

“No I haven’t,” Jordyn dropped her head in against Daryl’s shoulder while he worked to keep her safe in his arms. “You saw me like a month ago.”

“And I swear you’ve grown that much since,” Daryl continued to play with Jordyn, his expression becoming very dramatic with the way that he was talking to her. Quickly he was able to put up a front with Jordyn hiding that he was irritated with Y/N rather fast. “You were supposed to come over and finish that painting with me.”

“We have to make time to do that,” Jordyn confessed pulling out a big smile from Daryl which was pretty rare. One of the last times that Y/N had taken Jordyn over to Daryl’s place the two of them painted together and Daryl had given Jordyn her own canvas to paint on. “You got any good stories for me?”

Hearing that from Jordyn made Y/N smile. Daryl was always telling her over the top stories that would make her laugh. A lot of the stories would be something that matched whatever painting Daryl was working on at the time. And Jordyn always got a kick out of them. Before Daryl could respond, voices were heard and they looked to see that everyone had left Maggie’s office. Slowly the group approached them and that just made everything even more uncomfortable.

“Negan and I talked about tonight,” Maggie spoke up, surprising Y/N that she didn’t seem at all upset with whatever was going on. Negan was looking down, his expression distant while Maggie waved her hand about to get Y/N’s attention. “Tonight, you are going to go with Jordyn and Negan to have dinner with his parents.”

“Guess it’s a good thing I have plans,” Daryl whispered under his breath looking to Y/N with his eyes narrowing out at her. That was meant to be a dig at her since they were originally supposed to spend time together tonight until he came here to cancel.

“Since I have that important meeting tonight,” Maggie began making Y/N furious that she was still lying about everything and telling Y/N what she was going to do with her life. “You’re better to go to that than me. I know you love Negan’s parents, so this will give you the opportunity to spend time with them.”

“Maybe I should have been asked first?” she blurt out, looking between Negan and Maggie throwing her hand up in the air. Guy was unhurriedly walking behind the two of them, his big brown eyes wide while he eavesdropped on everything. “I could have had plans for tonight.”

“I think that’s a great idea having you come,” Jordyn spoke up, her voice drawing Y/N to look back at her again. “I would love to go to dinner with you tonight.”

Of course having Jordyn say that meant that she would undoubtedly go because she wasn’t about to tell Jordyn no now that she got the idea in her head. Instead of responding, Y/N just nodded her head and it made Daryl scoff at how easily she crumbled.

“The hell are you doing here?” Maggie scowled when she realized that Daryl was there beside her. It always irritated Maggie whenever Daryl was around because they hated one another and never hid it. And more so it always pissed Maggie off that Jordyn appeared to like Daryl more than she liked Maggie.

“It’s great to see you too sk…” Daryl paused, sucking down on his bottom lip when it struck him that Jordyn was in his arms. “Maggie.”

Stepping forward, Negan pushed his hands into his pockets and was making himself known to Daryl which had Daryl smirking, “Hey there Negan. How are things doing today? Are you a little less stiff than you were the last time I saw you?”

Immediately, color flooded into Negan’s face and the lines in his forehead grew deeper knowing what Daryl was hinting at. Reaching for Jordyn who seemed confused, Y/N pulled Jordyn into her arms making sure to have a good grasp on her when she back stepped away from the group.

“I’m doing great Daryl, it’s so damn nice to see you,” Negan responded, his eyes locking with Daryl’s when he extended his hand out to place it in over Daryl’s shoulder to give it a squeeze. “Thank you for your concern about everything, but I’m doing just fine now. I’m glad to know that you couldn’t get that off your mind. I’m sure you weren’t used to seeing something so big.”

Coughing from behind them, Guy’s brown eyes were big with everyone turning to looking at him. Feigning coughing again, Guy placed his hand in over the center of his chest and winced, “Allergies. They are killer this time of year.”

“When did the two of you see each other last?” Maggie questioned trying to get Negan’s attention with Negan’s hazel eyes still heavily focused on Daryl. “And what are you talking about?”

“A while ago,” Daryl lied, his eyelashes fluttering when he looked toward Maggie who was expecting the answer from Negan. “Negan here had a muscle cramp that he just couldn’t get rid of. And he started a project that he couldn’t finish. A very disappointing one at that.”

“Oh, I could have finished it. And it would have been amazing, but then you showed up,” Negan explained and it had Y/N rolling her eyes. Guy let out another amused sound but tried to turn away from the group to hide it. “You’re pretty good at showing up unannounced.”

“And you’re pretty good at never coming on time,” Daryl responded, tipping his head toward Maggie with a huff. “Or in the right place.”

Realizing that was Daryl’s subtle way of attacking him for sleeping with Maggie, Negan’s Adam’s apple bounced in his throat and he sucked in a sharp breath of air, “Now I feel I’ve overstayed my welcome. I have some things to get done before my plans tonight.”

Moving forward, Daryl patted Negan on the stomach with the back of his hand. A scoff escaped Negan’s throat when Daryl’s eyebrows bounced up when he looked at Maggie. Yeah, he wasn’t going to say goodbye to her. Stopping beside Y/N, Daryl placed a faint kiss at her cheek before doing the same with Jordyn. “Don’t forget that painting we have to finish pipsqueak.”

“Bye Daryl,” she waved as he back stepped toward the elevators.

“It was nice to meet you Daryl,” Guy piped in from behind everyone, throwing his hand up having both Negan and Maggie look back over their shoulders at him from where he was standing between them. “He seems like a nice guy.”

“Come on honey, I think we should allow Y/N and Maggie to get to work,” Negan held his hands out for Jordyn to join him, but instead Jordyn frowned. Clinging tighter to Y/N Jordyn shook her head and Negan frowned.

“Can I stay at work with Y/N?” Jordyn asked, hooking her arms tighter around Y/N’s shoulders.

“I don’t know if Mr. Vixen here would be okay with that,” Maggie spoke up, pointing back toward Guy who shoved his hands into his pockets. “It’s really busy right now and…”

“Nonsense, she can stay if Negan is okay with it,” Guy interrupted Maggie’s thoughts, stepping forward to make his opinion known. “I actually was still in need of Y/N’s help today and I have a big table in my office. We can set her up at a place and give her something to draw if she’d like. We’ll make sure that she gets some juice and I’ll even buy her lunch.”

“Are you sure?” Negan confirmed with Guy who nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders before giving a nod. “Yeah, I guess that’s fine if Y/N is okay with it.”

“I will never turn down getting to spend time with Jordyn,” Y/N announced with Negan bobbing his head from side to side. Something in Negan’s expression showed that he was uneasy at the idea of leaving Jordyn here. Maggie had never really let her stay before like this, so it wasn’t something that Negan was used to. “I’ll call you when we’re done so you can come and get us.”

“Sounds good,” Negan stepped forward, considering kissing Y/N, but stopped and instead pressed a loving kiss against Jordyn’s temple. If anyone had half a brain, they could tell by the body language between Negan and Y/N that something was going on between them. “You be good for Y/N, okay?”

“Promise,” Jordyn gave Negan a big, cheesy smile with excitement flooding her veins at the idea of getting to stay at work with them.

“Why don’t you follow me into my office?” Guy waved them on, leaving Maggie to herself out in the hallway. Maggie hated this and Y/N knew that. Even though Maggie wasn’t terrible with Jordyn, she never really went above and beyond with her. So having Jordyn here was a discomfort for Maggie. And Maggie probably wanted to rip Y/N’s head off after the stunt she pulled with the pocket watch. Inside Guy’s office, he was already setting up a place for Jordyn while she stood with Jordyn in her arms. “Why don’t you go get your things that you were working on yesterday Y/N and I can set Jordyn up here with something.”

Carefully lowering Jordyn down to the ground, she allowed Jordyn to follow Guy who was talking in a different tone of voice while he was having a conversation with Jordyn. Being alone with Maggie was not something that Y/N was looking forward to. But what was a nice surprise was that when she headed into Maggie’s office, she found it empty. Maggie wasn’t there and that was strange. But it made it easier for her to grab her things and make a quick escape.

Heading back into Guy’s office, she smirked when she saw that Jordyn was already in a seat at the side of the desk with a drawing pad in front of her. Guy was kneeling down beside her handing her over a pencil while Y/N set up her things at the end of the table.

“Do you like dresses?” Guy asked Jordyn, who gave him a dramatic nod and a big smile. “How about this, you draw me a dress that you would like to wear and I will have it made for you. What do you think about that?”

“Really?” Jordyn seemed shocked to hear that and Guy gave her a firm nod. “You mean it?”

“I promise,” Guy swore placing his hand in over the center of his chest. “Your mom here works really hard and I think that would be a nice present for you to have.”

“My mom?” Jordyn repeated what Guy had said looking back toward Y/N with her big hazel eyes. Giving a tiny smile, Jordyn nodded. Never before had she really called Y/N her mother, but when she turned back to look at Guy she giggled. “Yeah, my mom is pretty awesome.”

“I think so too,” Guy winked, his eyes locking with Y/N’s noticing that she was getting emotional over the fact that Jordyn just called her that. He could tell that it meant something to her. Trying to avoid embarrassing her about it, he stood up from the table and moved over toward his miniature fridge that he had in his office. “Is there a juice that you like sweetheart? Apple? Orange? Grape?”

Tipping back in her chair, Jordyn’s eyes squinted getting a look at what was inside, “Can I just have some water?”

“You got it kiddo,” Guy grabbed a bottle of water and closed up the fridge. Heading back over toward Jordyn, Guy held it out and she happily accepted the bottle from him. “If you need anything, you just let me know, okay?”

“Okay,” Jordyn kicked her legs about looking back to Y/N who was staring upon the two of them with awe in her eyes. “This is awesome.”

Throughout the day, Jordyn had asked Guy if he would give them a tour around the place. Which was kind of silly since Maggie and Y/N had done it before, but Guy happily obliged taking them from place to place. Surprisingly Jordyn was very good and focused on the things that she was doing. Other than the walk they went on and the break they took for lunch, Jordyn was focused on the job that Guy had given her. Toward the end of the day, Jordyn pushed the pad of paper forward.

“Can I get your opinion on this?” Jordyn looked to Y/N who stood up from her end of the table and made her way around. Looking down at the drawing that Jordyn came up with made Y/N smile. It was very colorful and had flowers in the design, but for a child it was a pretty good drawing. “Do you think this would make a good dress?”

“I think it’s beautiful,” Y/N complimented Jordyn, pulling the pad of paper in close to give it another look over. “Would you like wearing something like this?”

“Yeah! Do you know how cool it would be to tell people the dress I’m wearing is something I designed?” Jordyn boasted drawing Guy to stand up from where he was seated to move in beside Y/N. Reaching for the pad of paper, Guy gave a weak smile and Jordyn looked back at him. “So what do you think? You think you could make me that?”

“I think we can do that,” Guy winked, heading over toward his desk to set the paper down. “Your talented just like your mother. You’ll be working here in no time.”

“No shit! You think so?” Jordyn’s reaction had both Y/N and Guy bursting out in laughter and Y/N hushed her. Most children her age didn’t talk like that so it wasn’t something people were used to. “What? I’m excited.”

“And that’s where her father’s genes shine through,” Y/N noted, knowing that the swearing definitely came from Negan. “Her father has the mouth of a sailor and her first word was probably…well…”

“It’s a bad one,” Jordyn explained to Guy very dramatically, waving her hands in the air like it was no big deal. “It starts with an f and I’m pretty sure it’s my daddy’s favorite word. We have an agreement that I can swear as long as it’s around my family. But out in public I have to hold it in. Have respect.”

“They do say people who swear are actually smarter than those who don’t,” Guy told them seemingly amused with the whole thing. “I used to always tell my mother that whenever she tried to correct me on it too as a kid.”

“I think I wanna go show Maggie,” Jordyn seemed excited to show someone else the drawing, getting up from the table. Grabbing the drawing for her, Guy held it out and she eagerly accepted it. “I’ll be right back.”

Waiting for Jordyn to leave, Y/N sighed loudly when Guy stepped in beside her, “Thank you for this.”

“For what?” Guy stammered, his dark eyes locking with hers when she turned to look at him.

“For being nice to her,” she reminded Guy, throwing her hand up toward where Jordyn had just run off to. “You didn’t have to be this nice to her. She’s going to think this is the coolest thing ever for a while. And she’ll probably tell everyone about the dress that you are going to make for her.”

“I do intend to have it made for her,” Guy promised with a bounce of his eyebrows, his English accent growing stronger. “I keep my promises.”

“Good,” she gave him a nod, leaning forward to loosely wrap her arms around Guy who seemed to not know what to do when she hugged him.

“What are you doing?” Guy grunted, holding his hands up and letting out a tense sound.

“Just give me a hug you weirdo,” she requested, amused that it took Guy a good minute before he wrapped his arms loosely around her to return the gesture. “I promise I won’t tell anyone that you were nice and you hugged me.”

“Good because I’m not going to start handing out hugs for group moral,” Guy hissed at the idea as she stepped back and away from him with an entertained expression. “I’m willing to make exceptions for you because of your kid being here, but…”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You’re a stone-cold prick, I’ll keep it in mind,” she teased him, shoving playfully at his shoulder getting Guy to stumble back and give her a tiny smile. The sound of the door being pulled open was heard and they both looked to Jordyn returning. “Did you show her?”

“She wasn’t here. She must have left, but I showed it to that lady that is always really nice to me,” Jordyn announced, returning back to Guy to hand the drawing over to him. Setting it down on top of the desk, Guy opened one of the drawers and pulled out one of his measuring tapes. “What’s that for?”

“Well, if I have to make your dress, I need to know what size to make it,” Guy educated her, having Jordyn stand a specific way so he could get her measurements. After writing them down, Guy went to get up, but he felt Jordyn jumping forward to wrap her arms around his shoulders to give him a hug as well. “Oh, wow. Your family is very hug happy.”

“Thank you Mr. Vixen,” Jordyn appreciated what Y/N’s boss was doing for her, giving Guy another big squeeze before stepping back. “You’re a pretty cool guy.”

“Well thank you,” Guy blurt out, standing up to see that Y/N was staring out at him with a small smile tugging at her lips. “You’re a pretty cool kid yourself.”

“Here, why don’t you call your daddy to let him know that we will be done soon,” Y/N reached for her phone handing it off to Jordyn who eagerly accepted her phone. “I’ll just finish up what I have here and then we can get going.”

“So,” Guy moved over toward the end of the table where Y/N was still working. Jordyn headed toward the corner of the large office to call Negan leaving the two of them to themselves. “Are you going to tell me about your Daryl friend?”

“Since when did you become my girlfriend that I gossiped with?” she tipped her head to the side causing Guy to feign being offended, dramatically placing his hand in over the center of his chest. “Daryl is just a really good friend of mine.”

“Just a friend?” Guy’s eyebrow arched in curiosity, biting down on his bottom lip and humming out. He was making it clear that he didn’t believe her. “See, it felt like there was a war going on between two alphas over you. Either that or they had sex and they were angry at one another.”

Hearing that caused Y/N to choke and then laugh, looking to make sure that Jordyn was still distracted on the phone with her father, “There wasn’t an alpha war between them,” she denied that idea, clearing her throat when she realized that Daryl did seem to be a smartass whenever he was around Negan lately. That wasn’t a lie. “Daryl just isn’t the biggest fan of Negan.”

“Because of your affection toward Negan?” Guy pushed further wanting more details, but she wasn’t about to give it to him. “What was the comment about earlier with the whole stiff thing? Did Daryl walk in on something between the two of you?”

“Guy, Jordyn is in the room,” she pointed off toward where Jordyn was on the phone talking to Negan. Guy was desperate for an answer but she wasn’t about to give him one. “We’re also not going to start talking about my sex life together.”

“Who cares if Jordyn hears? You both are her parents. I think children will eventually understand that their parents have sex in their life,” Guy suggested, waving his hand about, but still remaining silent. “Did Daryl see the two of you having sex?”

“Guy!” she huffed out, her eyes getting big when she dropped down the pen that she was using. Throwing his hands up in the air defensively, Guy acted like what he said wasn’t that big of a deal. “Listen, I haven’t…the two of us…we haven’t fully….”

“Had sex?” Guy finished for her, nodding his head about. His chiseled jawline flexed with her looking down toward the ground with color flushing into her face. “Okay, so there was something that happened between the two of you. From Negan, I know that you gave him a blowjob. But what about Daryl? Have the two of you had sex?”

By the expression that she gave him, that was all Guy needed to know that he was right about the two of them having something more than a friendship, “That one surprises me. He doesn’t look like he would be your type. Does he have a big…” Guy paused, looking toward the corner again to make sure that Jordyn was distracted. “You know?”

“I’m not doing this,” she warned him trying to go back to working on what she had to finish, but Guy stopped her from doing that. “Daryl and I have been friends for a very long time. He’s always been there for me when I needed him and vice versa.”

“Hmm…” Guy hummed, stroking his fingers against the side of his face and he huffed loudly. “So you can’t fit me in as one of your moments of being there for you before you hook up with either one of them?”

“I’m not having sex with you,” she snapped, quieter than before causing him to chuckle at the way she reacted to herself when she said that in the same room as Jordyn. “I told you why I wouldn’t do that.”

“I know you told me why, but that doesn’t mean I can’t keep trying,” Guy frowned, looking to make sure that Jordyn was still distracted while they were talking. “Clearly you are in some kind of love triangle and I’m okay with that. We can just do it once, we can be over with it and I won’t fall in love with you. I wouldn’t want to make things worse between the two men already fighting over you.”

“Gee, thanks,” she snickered at the idea provoking Guy to nod like it was actually a good thing that he offered her. It made her laugh that he was so oblivious to everything, but it was what it was. Nothing would change the way that Guy was. “I’m sure you have much hotter people falling at your feet. I’m nothing in comparison to some of the people I’ve seen hanging all over you.”

“Yeah, but they are fake,” he insisted with a loud sigh, leaning back against the table to rest on his elbow drawing out a laugh from her. “I don’t think you would ever use me to get what you want. You’re not like other people that we know.”

Hearing Jordyn start to finish up, Guy frowned and shrugged his shoulders, “The offer is always on the table. Whether you want to talk to me about your personal life or you want me to be part of your personal life. I’m just putting it out there.”

“Thanks for that,” she tapped her hand against the top of the table when Jordyn returned with her cell phone. Getting up from the table, Guy gave her a dramatic expression as he backstepped toward his desk. Reaching for Jordyn, Y/N pulled her up into her lap and wrapped her up in a big hug. “Did you get a hold of your father?”

“I did, he said he would pick us up in a few,” Jordyn informed her, giggling when Y/N peppered kisses against her cheek.

“Did you have a good day?” Y/N questioned noticing that Guy was watching her and Jordyn from where he was seated at his desk.

“It was fun,” Jordyn answered, leaning further back into Y/N’s arms. “I’ll be excited to see how my dress looks in real life.”

“I tell you what? I’ve been following Guy’s work most of my life and if he makes it for you? I promise you that it will be beautiful,” she reached up to tap at the tip of Jordyn’s nose causing Negan’s daughter to smile brightly. There seemed to be something running through Guy’s mind when he lowered his head and let out a long exhale. Instead of focusing on her boss, she gave her attention to Jordyn and wrapped her up tightly in her arms. “So I promise you, it will be amazing. Just like you.”

----

Tags: @slutlanna976​ @fuckthis-and-fuckthat @jennydehavilland @pixelb4rbie @ibelongtonegan

@smallsadjellyfish @labyrinthofheartagrams @msjamesmarch @thebeautysurrounds @hotfornegan

@redmercysugar @caprithebunny @tuttifuckinfruitty @emoryhemsworth @a-girl-interupted

@akumune @stoneyggirl2 @xsarcasticwriterx @haleygreen23 @xhannahbananax03

@sanctuaryforthelost @burningredaffair @killaweiser @dead-of-niight @ayumi-wolf

@promiscuousbarnes @lanadelnegan @peachihellcat @dilfsandmartinis

[cruel-as-sin]

the neighborhood keeps getting smaller | logan howlett

series masterlist ➸ pt 2

↳ summary: after a long journey out into the wilderness, rowan finds himself needing a ride

word count: 2.2k

song: western nights | ethel cain

pairings: old man!logan x original character

content warnings: 18+ content (MDNI), mentions of societal oppression/misdeeds, mentions of war/military, mentions of trauma, i think that’s pretty much it for this one honestly, just some good old exposition, rowan is a mysterious man, logan is… well… logan, genuinely not sure what else to tag this with, logan is a limo driver, thunderstorms (lmk if i missed anything!)

↳ a/n: i am SO EXCITED to officially be starting this series!! not much actually happens in this chapter but i hope to give some insight into rowan’s character and hints at where the story might go. i hope you all enjoy!!

══✿══╡°˖✧✿✧˖°╞══✿══

It’s raining. It’s always fucking raining.

He’s so sick of the bad weather. It’s like the universe is taunting him. Every time he thinks his life can’t get any worse, that he’s really hit rock bottom this time, some other bullshit happens.

Like the goddamn rain.

It was supposed to be a nice day out- leave it to the weather apps to fuck everything up. Now it's raining, and it's probably gonna storm, too. Fuck, he wishes she was here, damn it. He wishes any of them were here.

But they're all gone.

So Logan has nothing left to do but get back in his car and start the drive toward his next destination.

══✿══╡°˖✧✿✧˖°╞══✿══

The rain pours down in sheets around him, a downpour that leaves him soaked to the bone. He stands at the edge of the sidewalk, scanning the cars as they pass by, unaware of his plight, caring for nothing but themselves. Even if some poor soul did happen to give a damn- a rare occurrence unless he was paying them- their opinion wouldn’t remain so indifferent if they know who he was, what he was.

In one hand rests a plastic bag from the pharmacy and a similar bag from the convenience store off to the side. In the other lies a briefcase, the scratches unnoticeable through the water that’s coating it. A backpack is slung over one shoulder, weighing him down. He knows it will throw off his balance later, but his left shoulder has been giving him too much trouble lately. Another thing to add to the list of problems he can never quite seem to get rid of.

His eyes flicker toward the pavement, past the rip in his dress pants and his mud covered shoes, down to the paper floating along the side of the street. The ink is smudged, most of the text barely legible, but he can make out the words mutants and extinction, and that’s all he needs to see before he’s looking away again. With any luck, the steady rainfall will carry that paper straight into a sewer grate.

It’s been so long now, too long of this life. Still, he becomes caught up in his own mind, barely noticing a car speeding down the side of the road until it’s nearly too late. He’s been going for too long, becoming tired, distracted. Three days is pushing it out beyond civilization, but he has little choice in the matter. Information does not come to him- he goes to it.

He blinks a few drops of rain out of his eyes, taking a step back as the car drives particularly close to the curb, sending a tsunami of filthy water in his direction that he is barely able to avoid. In his younger years, he would have given them a rude gesture or thrown a particularly unkind set of insults in their direction. Now, he just takes a step forward, returning to his previous position. The crumbling overhang of the local pharmacy behind him would do little to shield him from the rain, and he hasn't bothered carrying an umbrella with him for years. The rain, the cold, the squelch of his shoes when his socks are drenched with water- it doesn't bother him. None of it does, nor has it ever. The rain makes him feel clean of who he is, the sins he's committed, the mistakes he's made. It reminds him that he is alive, reminds him of his purpose, the one thing he has left.

At first he hadn’t even been sure what town he was in; only hours after emerging fully from the wilderness did he finally come upon a sign for Horizon City. It was the bearer of the relieving discovery that he’d made it back to the edges of El Paso, the place where he’s somehow ended up spending what he always assumed would be his final days. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. He's been searching for so long, yet he refuses to give up. What would be the point, after all that, if he laid down his quest and let the world take him, as it had taken so many others?

He is, admittedly, afraid of the answer.

He doesn't check his phone, doesn't look to see where his driver might be, why it’s taking so long for the person, whose name he glanced at once and has already slipped his mind, to show up in the worst part of town. Perhaps that’s why, and he reminds himself to tip them well. He always tries to, knowing too well how hard it is to get by in this world. Money is the one thing he isn't short on, not that it does him much good anymore. Not here. The people he needs, the things he’s trying to find- none of it can be bought, no one’s loyalties turned so easily. But at the very least, he can sleep a little better at night knowing he isn't someone ordinary people will grumble about, the reason they'll go home and complain to their wives, the imbecile who makes them drive all the way to some dingy pharmacy in the middle of nowhere and tips next to nothing, the person who comes into the restaurant at two in the morning and stays for what feels like hours, then leaves without paying the bill.

Rowan Hawthorne is not that man, nor will he ever let himself become him. Even in his youth, in his worst days, he had not lost his respect for humanity. No matter how many wrongs they have done, how many evil deeds have been committed, there is a value to life that he prioritizes above all else.

Well, most else. There are exceptions, of course, as there are to every rule.

Finally, a black limousine pulls up to the curb. The door opens, and a man steps out of the drivers side, unfurling an umbrella as he goes. His hair is dark, almost black at first glance, but brown when the streetlight catches it, dotted with flecks of grey. His face, accompanied by a beard of the same color, looks strangely familiar, the crease of his brows and bags under his eyes showing the testament of time. He's older- around fifty, if Rowan had to take a guess, though those hazel eyes have the weight of far more years behind them. The buttons of his white collared shirt are misaligned, his tie seemingly done by an amateur, the wrinkles of his clothes not quite ironed out fully. His umbrella gets stuck midway through opening and he swears under his breath, struggling with it for a moment before it finally relents. He assumes, perhaps foolishly, that Rowan is the one who called for him, making his way over with a gruff, "You order a ride?"

Rowan simply nods, allowing the man to hold the umbrella over his head as he opens the door for him. The break from the rain is not unwelcome for his clothing, but remains troublesome for his soul. Still, he is not one to ignore a kindness, no matter how misguided.

This man, unlike many he meets, is a mystery he cannot unravel at first glance. Were he anyone else, Rowan would have ignored the weariness that rested on his soul and the tug at his own heart that told him he knew him, and assumed that this was just another lower-class man that didn't have his life together and drowned himself in vices to cope with it. Rowan, unfortunately, knows better than that. Those eyes hold the look of a man who has seen horrors akin to his own, and coming by that was not easy.

He speculates on the man’s origins as he sets his belongings in the car. Perhaps he’s a veteran- no, too young for that, for the scale of destruction he would have had to see to have it overtake him so fully. A criminal? A refugee? A mere troubled soul? Countless possibilities run through his mind, but none of them seem accurate.

Or maybe, maybe-

No.

Rowan sits down, paying no mind to the water that drips onto the seats as the door closes beside him. He'll have to tip extra, though given how much the man looks like he needs it, he was probably going to anyway. His right hand rests atop the handle of his briefcase, his left doing the same to the strap of his backpack.

The driver enters a moment later, shoving his umbrella into the front seat as he pulls up the navigation system. Rowan catches a glimpse of a flask in his center console and a cigar in his pocket, confirming his original suspicions but giving him no further answers.

Perhaps it would be best if he paid this stranger no mind. He has enough issues of his own to attend to.

"Where you headed?" He asks.

Rowan gives him the name of the hotel he's been staying at, an Autograph Collection hotel in the heart of the city. It's a little extravagant for his tastes, but things designed for the wealthy tend to work better and be more discreet than things designed for the poor. Rowan has learned to use this to his advantage in all aspects of his travels, such as the expensive hotel he's being taken to or the limousine he's commissioned to do it. The driver doesn't say anything more, just starts the car and pulls out onto the road.

He stares out the window, watching as the run-down buildings pass them by. Long rides like this are the only time he truly allows himself to relax, or at least aim for the closest thing to it for a man like him. To let his guard down, let his mind wander, is dangerous, especially when he is not alone; but to never allow himself that freedom would be even more treacherous. He learned that lesson the hard way. Besides, it's not like he could do anything productive at the moment. Reading makes him carsick, and listening to anything out in the open would be too risky.

So he sits, and he waits.

Ten minutes pass in this peaceful silence, Rowan's eyes resting on the street outside, when a rustling sound from the front seat draws his attention. The driver fumbles with his phone, fighting to pull it out of his pocket as he checks it at a red light. It's a decision Rowan doesn't appreciate, but he isn't one to argue about matters as trivial as this. Instead he glances back out the window, his eyes lingering on the storm clouds forming in the sky.

The driver catches his gaze in the rearview mirror, adjusting the windshield wipers to the highest setting before speaking up. “Weather’s not supposed to get any better.” He grunts, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “You want me to pull over?”

“No.”

He raises an eyebrow, this time glancing back slightly, a puzzled expression on his face. “You’re askin’ me to drive straight into a thunderstorm; you know that, right?”

Rowan keeps his gaze steadily locked on the other man as he speaks once more. “If you wanted to pull over, you wouldn’t have asked me.” His tone remains calm, leveled. “Therefore, I request that you continue to drive.”

The driver kind of scoffs in way that tells Rowan he was right about why he was asking, turning back around to look at the road. “It’s your funeral.” He grumbles under his breath, but he obliges anyway.

I’m pretty sure it would be our funeral, Rowan thinks, but he keeps those words to himself, settling back into his seat with no worries clinging to him. He has faith that the skies will not harm him.

Even as the rain starts pouring down harder and thunder booms through the air, his faith never wavers. Lightning crackles in the distance, flashing across the sky. He can hardly see anything out the window, the storm enveloping almost everything around them. Streams of profanity leave the driver’s mouth. Rowan’s not sure if he thinks he can’t hear him or if he simply doesn’t care, but either way he supposes the circumstances warrant his colorful language.

In about fifteen minutes, the worst has passed. The rain continues on with the occasional lightning and thunder, but nothing severe enough to make the driver grip the wheel quite as tightly anymore. A glance out the window reveals they’ve just passed Fort Bliss, and Rowan looks away again, keeping his eyes out the opposite window until they pull into the complex housing the group of hotels that includes his temporary residence.

“We’re here.” The driver says, moving to get out of the car, but pausing. He turns around, watching as Rowan unbuckles his seatbelt and leans forward.

He pulls out his wallet, counting out the bills. One, two, three hundred. He pauses, briefly, then adds another four- seven, a lucky number. That should suffice. He holds them out to the driver, a stack of twenties and fives.

The other man’s eyes narrow, eyeing the money warily. He says nothing, glancing between the stack of bills and the man holding them.

Rowan waits, expectantly, the rain pattering down on the windows in their silence. The driver looks back at the money, his jaw tensing slightly. Then he snatches it from his hand- gone, in the blink of an eye.

Satisfied, Rowan retracts his hand, leaning back into his seat. He tucks away his wallet, getting ahold of all his things before reaching for the handle to open the door.

“I got it.” The driver says with a huff, grabbing his umbrella and stepping out of the car, coming around to the other side. Rowan waits, allowing him to open the door and shield him with his umbrella as he takes the few steps towards the overhang of the hotel before him.

“Thank you.” Rowan says with a brief incline of his head. Then he leaves, disappearing with the last of the rain.

tags: @flowersforbucky @namikyento @thinkinonsense @sweetverine @wchswift @pidgeypidge-pidge @gewrgia-black @atleastpleasetelephone @r0ttedcherubim @cenviswasteland @logaenhowlett @th3mrskory @wlwloverwrites @rosenclaws @lostinlovingrevery @lubdubology @unlikeable-female-character

(this is the taglist for my but one out of twenty isn’t so bad (is that so bad?) series. if anyone would like to be added to or removed from this taglist, please let me know!)

[neeeooon]

Good morning, Elle. I'm here with my third request. May I request: Blue Lock men as first time fathers. Who will be in the delivery room with the wife and who will be outside the delivery room, pacing and wearing the floor down? (Characters: Chigiri, Yukimiya, Reo and Nagi)

okay yesss i know nothing about babies but i hope you enjoy!! ty for the request 🫶

when they’re first time fathers ;

husband bllk x fem!reader cw: pet names, (not descriptive but) birth !

chigiri hyoma

-> oh he ran to be in that delivery room with you after getting the call that you’re in labor

-> “i’m here! hi, how are you doing, darl—“ “I LIED. EPIDURAL NOW PLEASE.” “—😃”

-> chigiri stays pretty hands off with you since he trusts that you know what your body needs and doesn’t need, but he still glowers at anyone who gets close to you

-> when it’s finally time to push, chigiri rushes forward when you reach for him and carefully dabs at the sweat coating your brow. “you’re doing great, darling.”

-> when you didn’t immediately hear crying, you panic. “hyoma? is she okay? g-go be with her—!” and you never thought you’d be so relieved to hear something cry until your daughter finally did

-> “she’s good, y/n, she’s perfect,” he assures as the doctors hand her to him. chigiri makes a slow beeline to you, though, so you can see and have her all to yourself. “she’s okay,” you cry, and chigiri kisses your head. “you’re okay.”

yukimiya kenyu

-> he is panicking

-> yukimiya was pulled away for an important soccer meeting when you suddenly went into premature labor, and by the time he got there, the doctors wouldn’t let him in the delivery room

-> you didn’t even know he was in the hospital until you caught a glimpse of him when someone came through the door, and when he locks eyes on you, he immediately shoves his way through and falls to your side. “i’m so sorry i’m late, baby, they wouldn’t let me… i’m here now.”

-> you didn’t care. as long as he was with you, you didn’t care how long it took

-> yukimiya doesn’t leave your side until your daughters are born, and he only steps back so that the doctors can place them on your chest together

-> “they’re so tiny!” you coo at the sight of your little daughters as yukimiya sniffles at your side. “yeah… tiny and ours.”

mikage reo

-> good luck to anyone who tries to tell reo he isn’t allowed in the delivery room

-> “reo, please don’t go—“ “they’d have to sedate me, y/n. i promise you i’m not going anywhere.”

-> reo would be up pacing the room, gnawing on his fingernails, if he wasn’t glued to your side. his hands cup yours and pull them so that they rest against his lips

-> he definitely gets in that bed with you when it’s time to push. as you sitting up with your back to his chest, holding you tight between his arms as you sag against him

-> and you have a son. he’s placed in your arms with reo staring from over your shoulder. you immediately start crying when he blinks his purple eyes up at the two of you

-> “this doesn’t feel real. i feel like i’m dreaming.” “it’s very real. look at little rj~” “we are not naming him reo junior.” “rj~”

nagi seishiro

-> you made him wait outside after cursing him for having such a big head

-> later on you felt bad and asked (yelled at) the nurse to bring him back in to hold your hand as his giant baby wrecked its way through you

-> “talk to me,” you pant as nagi stared wordlessly at the hand he’s pretty sure you broke. “uh—“ “NEVER MIND, SHUT UP MY BEAUTIFUL HUSBAND.”

-> to your surprise, you feel nagi shaking as your son is born, and when you look up you can see pure panic in his eyes. “w-what if i drop him..?”

-> the nurses hand the baby to him, and nagi just stares down at the bundle in his arms. he (your son) stopped screaming the second nagi held him

-> “i like this feeling,” nagi says quietly as he approached you with your son. “i won’t mess it up, y/n.” “i know you won’t, sei.”

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Keepsafes

Fandom: Batman, DC Comics

Summary: AU where Martha and Thomas survive, and they adopt the batkids.

Chapters: 43/?

Characters: Bruce Wayne, Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Dent, Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, David Cain, Talia al Ghul, Damian Wayne, Jason Todd, Tim Drake

Relationships: Thomas Wayne/Martha Wayne/Alfred Pennyworth, BruHarvey, BruTalia

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Hurt/Comfort, Bruce Wayne is Not Batman, Angst, Alfred Pennyworth Knows All, Bruce Wayne Only Has One Child, Bruce Wayne is Not An Only Child, Bi Bruce Wayne

Chapter Forty-Three: Unspoken

With Bruce gone on his sailing trip, Dick at summer camp, the house carried a strange echo to it. The first two weeks without them took a toll on Thomas, but he tried his best to conceal his anxiety. Martha threw herself into the plans for her gala at the end of the summer and took over Cassandra’s speech therapy completely. And Alfred carried on during the day as if everything was normal. Thomas found a little piece of his childhood, though, when he took Cassandra to her first ballet lesson. He sat off to the side and watched as each of the girls shed off their outer layer of sweatpants and sweatshirts, cramming them in their duffel bags. He was glad he heeded the instructor’s warning about the studio being cold because he nearly went without a sweater because of the summer heat outside. “Dr. Wayne, it’s fancy meeting you here. Is she your daughter?” a woman asked. Thomas pushed his glasses up and corrected his posture.

“Oh, yes… Sorry, I’m a little bit nervous. It’s her first class,” Thomas replied. Cassandra looked around before turning to Thomas, and he waved at her. She waved back and turned to their instructor. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine. My daughter’s been taking lessons since she could walk. This instructor is so sweet,” she whispered, “I’m Tawny.”

“Nice to meet you, Tawny. You can call me Thomas or Tom,” Thomas replied, “It was difficult finding a class where I could sit in. She had a few setbacks in speech, so I just want to make sure her needs are met in class.” 

“Oh… She’s in speech classes. Is it some sort of stutter or—?”

“She doesn’t speak. Not yet. It’s um—. It’s complicated, but she’s so eager about everything she does. I’m so proud of her,” Thomas whispered. 

**

As the class progressed, Tawny watched in amazement as Cassandra replicated the instructor’s advanced movements. “Her older brother’s in gymnastics,” Thomas tried to explain, but Tawny almost seemed disgusted with him as if he’d lied to humiliate her. Thomas turned away from her and watched the instructor close out the class, and Cassandra returned to him. He picked her up and tapped her nose before sending her to get her dance bag. She brought it to him, and he held her sweats out as she grabbed her sweatshirt and put it on over her leotard. 

She made eye contact with him and grabbed his face. “I think you were fantastic, sweetpea. You worked so hard today,” Thomas commended her before kissing her forehead. She put her sweatpants on before taking her water bottle out of her bag. Thomas stood up and offered to take her bag, but she held her water bottle up to his face. After taking a sip, Thomas took the bottle and held her hand. “Would you do this again?” 

Cassandra nodded enthusiastically. “Okay. Okay. Your next class is Wednesday afternoon,” Thomas replied, “Now let’s go home… Daddy’s getting a little headache.” 

**

Thomas sat in his office with Cassandra as he watched the news. Cassandra sat with her back turned to the TV while she worked on her spelling. “Try spelling your big brothers’ names,” Thomas whispered. Cassandra looked up at him and nodded. 

Meanwhile, something interrupted the regularly scheduled news, diverting Thomas’ attention back to the screen. He’d been fighting what felt like a migraine all day, but suddenly he felt ill beyond words. There wasn’t any time to make it to the bathroom, so he dropped to the ground and grabbed the wastebasket. 

Cassandra stood up and looked at Thomas. She’d seen sickness before, but Thomas didn’t move like himself. Something was off. She hadn’t seen his face, but she ran off, frantically searching for an adult. She grabbed Alfred’s arm in the living room and dragged him to Thomas’ office. “Miss Cassandra!” Alfred chastised her for her impatience. 

Cassandra pointed toward Thomas’ desk with tears streaming down her face. She kept pointing and pointing, but Alfred wasn’t looking at her or the desk. She wondered why he wasn’t looking, but he shouted for Martha. He shouted her name over and over, and Cassandra kept tugging his sleeve. Desperation set in, and Cassandra pinched him. He flinched and shook his head at her. “Absolutely not, Miss Cassandra. It might not be Master Bruce’s—.”

She was in tears, hyperventilating as she shoved Alfred and returned to Thomas’ side. Thomas made a noise in an attempt to speak. He tried to write, but his right arm wouldn’t work. Cassandra banged on the desk, making noise until Martha and Alfred came to calm her. Martha noticed the vomit in the wastebasket, and she heard Thomas’ voice struggling for words. “Thomas!” Martha shouted. She called 9-1-1, and Cassandra held his left hand, keeping him calm while they waited for an ambulance. 

**

Harvey’s jaw tightened while a client’s boyfriend talked over her. “All due respect, I’m talking to her. I’m not speaking to you,” Harvey stated. 

“Listen, you—.”

“No. You listen or you can leave. I’m speaking to Miss Aiello because she’s on trial. She must speak for herself. You will not be allowed to speak on her behalf. She’s got a lot on the line here, and I don’t think you’re helping her case by speaking over her and guiding her testimony,” Harvey interrupted. He opened his notebook and looked at Miss Aiello. 

Her boyfriend slammed his hand on the desk and left the room, while Miss Aiello sat with her head bowed and shoulders raised. Harvey took a deep breath and placed his hands down on the desk. “Miss Aiello? I have to ask because it’s going to help your case. Why are you lying about where you were? I can make a hell of an argument for you either way, but we have got to trust each other. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to fuck you over. I don’t trust that your boyfriend has your best interests in mind and quite frankly I think he’s a pimp. But back to my question, Miss Aiello… Why are you lying to me?” Harvey whispered. He had a migraine. He’d been having migraines a lot lately, but he attributed it to his current position. 

It was on the opposite side of the law in his mind, and his first big case was this woman, who was doing everything to hinder her own case despite being innocent. Harvey knew she was innocent, but she was so afraid of her boyfriend that she couldn’t focus on anything but keeping him calm. Her life was on the line, but she couldn’t tell him the truth, and he wanted to know why.

She pushed her bangs back as she started to cry. “I wasn’t with Jimmy,” Miss Aiello whispered. 

“Who were you with?” Harvey asked. Miss Aiello sobbed. “I know it’s scary, but he can’t hurt you more than the system will. Please give me what I need to fight for you properly because we both know you didn’t murder anyone.” 

“I didn’t come home the night it happened. I didn’t come home because I was with this guy I’d been seeing behind Donnie’s back. I’m not—. I’m not—.”

“It doesn’t matter. You have to walk me through that night,” Harvey interrupted, “I’m not judging you. I just want the facts.” 

Miss Aiello gasped for air through her sobs until he grabbed her hand to comfort her. Someone knocked, and Harvey sighed. “Hold that thought,” Harvey whispered before opening his door a crack. “Honey, it’s not time for dinner yet—.” 

“You have to come with me,” Gilda whispered with tears in her eyes. 

Harvey stepped outside and shut the door behind himself. “My client is facing an accessory to murder charge, snookums. I can’t just walk away in the middle of the day,” Harvey whispered. Gilda opened her mouth to say something, but she looked into his eyes and nodded. 

“Can I wait outside?” Gilda asked. 

Harvey bit his lip as he smiled at her. “I appreciate seeing your pretty little face right now,” Harvey whispered as he lifted her chin. “Don’t be upset. I promise you… Twenty-five minutes. You can set your watch by me.” Harvey kissed her, and she closed her eyes, holding back tears as she kissed him back. 

“Okay,” Gilda whispered. 

Harvey disappeared into his office and sat across from his client a while longer. “Is that your girlfriend?” Miss Aiello asked. 

“Fiancée,” Harvey replied, “Miss Aiello… That night. What happened that night?” 

**

Harvey jumped in Gilda’s car, swearing and shaking. “Gilda, is Thomas okay? I just spoke to him this morning. Jesus Christ,” Harvey panicked. 

“I don’t know. Mrs. Wayne called me an hour ago, asking if I was with you. I said you were at work, so she made me promise not to worry you. I—. I asked her what was going on, and she said—. She said Mr. Wayne wasn’t feeling well, so they took him to the ER. They told me it wasn’t serious, but I—. Oh, God, Harvey. I’m so sorry,” Gilda apologized. 

“It’s not your fault. It isn’t. Thank you. I wouldn’t have been able to do my job if you hadn’t held out on telling me. I’m gonna call Martha and see if she’ll tell me what’s going on,” Harvey whispered once he caught his breath. 

He called Martha on his cell and rolled the window down. “Harvey, it’s going to be alright. They broke up the clot, but he’s got to stay in the hospital for a few more days,” Martha whispered. 

“A clot? Martha, what’s going on?” Harvey asked. 

“You haven’t watched TV at all today… Have you?” Martha questioned in reply.

“No. I—. I’ve been at work since six this morning. Are you gonna try to get in contact with Bruce?” Harvey questioned. She didn’t answer.

[nervoushottee]

AHHHHHHHH OMG OMG OMG ITS HERE ITS HERE!!!

He deepens the kiss immediately. Tongue sliding into your mouth, taking, taking, taking. 

Two sentences in and I’m already hooked.

His hold tightens on your hair and he eats at your mouth, as if he can barely control what he’s been trying to rein in. 

JAW DROPPING OMG

He thinks he wouldn’t care if you stuck your finger in it if it meant having you even closer. 

I want to applaud you for how in character your writing is Ezra (does that make sense?). Like this is such an Ezra thing to say that it makes me laugh and swoon at the same time.

The sentiment had been ripped out of his body without him even knowing, every plunge of his blade meant to protect you. A rage like he’d never felt before had taken over when the man threatened to violate you, surprising even him in its ferocity. His bicep was still sore from exertion, and looking at you now, he wants to find ten more men and do the same. 

He wants to kill everyone on this planet just to keep you safe. Just to make sure you never feel that type of fear again. 

UGHH that deep masculine protective man!!!! Like I can almost feel the this urge he has to destroy everything to protect Birdie. Like I’m in the crossfire of that protection yet at the same time I AM the one being protected. How you can make me feel that all by this paragraph I have no idea but I love itttt.

“Here?” he asks, smiling when you curl forward, resting your head against his shoulder. Your fingers dig into his shoulders, holding on. Everything that you’ve wanted the entire time you’ve been stuck here with him swirls and blends with everything you’ve ever always wanted and never got, and when he adds a third finger you look at him with hooded, pleading eyes – only to see dark victory in his own. 

Here? Someone call the doctor. I just passed the fuck out with my eyes rolled back. That four letter word will get me every time. Like UGHHHHH and also, three fingers? Omggg

You taste like you and like him, and he’s addicted, his cock firming with every lick inside your mouth. You whimper into the messy kiss, and it drives him to near madness the way he knows that if he would touch you right now, he’d find you soaked. 

Here he goes again being a FILTHY FILTHY WHORE AND I LOVE HIM FOR IT. Just hungry and drowning in this wanted pleasure. It’s so primal, so raw and so eager from both sides. The want and NEED between them both finally being satiated. As I ’m reading it to me it feels like frantic and rushed almost (in a good way! ) Maybe I was just reading to fast bcc I was so excited lol but it just felt like that rushed and hurried, quick, “I can’t believe we’re FINALLY doing this” hungry sex and I loved every minute of it like I could not stop reading.

Loved loved LOVED this chapter. Love your writing so much and I love Ezra and Birdie. I can not wait to see what Ezra has in store once his injury is healed *smirks*

On The Green: 6

Ezra x f!reader

Rating: Explicit (finally!)

A/N: This came pouring out of me and thank god for the lovely @the-scandalorian who responded to my frantic “can you read today” messages with the support and grace and filthy heart and mind she always does ❤️ thank you my lovely ❤️ enjoy!

—

He deepens the kiss immediately. 

Tongue sliding into your mouth, taking, taking, taking. 

He fists your hair in his grip, tugging on the strands with a low groan of hunger that slips from his throat and you lean into his strength, matching it with your own. Your mouths move against each other’s, your lips molding to his firmer ones, and he kisses you with experience, with greed, with desperation. His hold tightens on your hair and he eats at your mouth, as if he can barely control what he’s been trying to rein in. 

Your touch slides across his whiskered cheek and slips around the nape of his neck, your head tilting to the side with a soft, muffled moan and he tries to sit up, only to abruptly pull away with a hiss of pain. 

The sound breaks the spell, and worry floods your features. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yes,” he assures you, breathless. “Just got…carried away.”

His eyes are still on your mouth, even with his hand over the fresh wound concealed under his thermal. 

“I’m sorry,” you apologize, shifting to put some distance between your bodies. “I never should have – not when you’re like that. I –”

He cuts your rambling, cupping your cheek to keep you in place. 

“Shhh, Birdie. It’s okay.” A smile tugs at the edge of his lips. “I more than complied with your silent request. In fact,” he argues with a raise of his brow, “one could argue that I encouraged it.”

You match his small smile with a bashful one of your own. 

“Though it is true that I might not be in the best form to…reciprocate, the way I want.”

Hesitation flits across your face. “And do you? Want?”

His gaze darkens, a shadow of lust that seems to overtake the deep brown. “Very much so, Birdie. Very much.”

His admission must pool slick and warm in the cradle of your hips, given the way you press them together. He notices. He notices everything when it comes to you. You pluck your bottom lip with with your teeth, and he can see the clear need on your face - the one you’re also trying to rein in. He knows he’s too injured for it right now, but he can’t wait to see what you’ll be like when you let loose. When you act before thinking, when you take what you want. 

He’s weighing the decision of pushing through his pain to kiss you again when you lean back. 

With eyes on you, he watches as you crawl over and pluck your blanket from your cot, before crawling back over to his. He’s making room for you before you even reach him, a space you eagerly fill with your body. It’s a tight fit, and when you stretch out alongside him, your limbs naturally fold against his. He drapes his arm over your side, and you’re careful not to touch his wound. 

He thinks he wouldn’t care if you stuck your finger in it if it meant having you even closer. 

“Is this okay?” you ask, timid and soft. The warmth of your breath skims across his neck, and his eyes flutter shut. 

He hums. “More than.”

Rain starts to pelt the outside of the pod, a steady drum that fills the silence. He thinks maybe you’ve fallen asleep when you speak again. 

“That was close today,” you murmur. “Too close.”

He says nothing for once, his hand sliding a soothing path up your spine. He maps the curve of it underneath his palm, tracing your vertebrae with his fingers. For all the nights he’s dreamed about touching you just like this, it feels better than he could have ever imagined. Even if his body is strung tight, wanting so much more. 

Your hand finds his thermal and twists the worn fabric, clutching it. “I thought maybe I was going to…” You stumble on your words, and he waits, listening to the tremble in your voice. “I thought that would be it. That I would be…alone.”

He knows he should say something in comfort, but the words don’t come. Instead, actions do: a weight in his chest struggling to break free, his hands itching with the need to touch your face. His arm tightens  its hold on you. 

“I couldn’t make it if I was alone, Ez. I wouldn’t – I’d never be able to –”

Your breathing starts to hitch, and he frowns as if in pain and cradles the crown of your head, pulling you close. 

“I need you.” Your words catch on a sob. 

It hurts, the sound. It rips him apart, fracturing his hard exterior, exposing the soft core. Soft, just for you. Only for you. 

You cry and your little body shakes with it, tears wetting the collar of his thermals, the delicate wings of your shoulder blades trembling. The high of adrenaline must be crashing within you, and he presses you tighter against him, petting your hair. 

“It’s okay, Birdie,” he soothes. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”

–

After that, you fall into a deep sleep. 

Your body is boneless next to his, melting against him even more. The first time since he’s met you that he can’t sense any tension in your muscles, he takes the opportunity to close his eyes and revel in the feeling. 

It’s been so long since he’s touched anyone – even longer since he’s touched anyone like this. Your small hand has slipped beneath the back of his thermal, your face tucked into his neck and with a careful movement and a wince of pain, he shifts onto his side to see you better. 

The soft curve of your cheek in the dark, the flutter of your lashes as you dream. The slope of your nose, your lips parted only just with soft, steady breaths. He watches the thrum of your pulse beat in the dark, so delicate, your skin unblemished and soft. It calls for his mouth, but it calls deeper than that too. 

She’s mine. 

The sentiment had been ripped out of his body without him even knowing, every plunge of his blade meant to protect you. A rage like he’d never felt before had taken over when the man threatened to violate you, surprising even him in its ferocity. His bicep was still sore from exertion, and looking at you now, he wants to find ten more men and do the same. 

He wants to kill everyone on this planet just to keep you safe. Just to make sure you never feel that type of fear again. 

He guides your head back into the crook of his neck, your nose fitting just right in the well of his collarbone as if it was always meant to be there. 

A soft, sleepy sigh escapes you, and he closes his eyes. Tucking his chin against the crown of your hair, he presses you closer. 

–

You half expect him to wake you up with a kiss, and half not. You aren’t sure how this is supposed to go. 

He's still asleep when you wake up, so you slip out from beside him and take a shower. The warmth of his skin lingers in the small space, water sliding over your sore muscles. 

“I’m gonna fuck that girl raw. Right next to your dead fucking –”

The memory of yesterday twists your stomach, and you scrub harder at your skin, as if the action could remove the words from your mind. They make you feel filthy, but more than that, it’s the mental image of Ezra’s dead body that haunts you. He came out on top yesterday, but if he hadn’t? You feel the weight of a sob gathering at the base of your throat, and you hold your face under the stream of water, letting the sound push everything away. 

You don’t want to cry again. You had cried enough last night – cried in front of him, something you’d never done in front of anyone before, not even your father. Normally it wouldn’t be something you’d let anyone see, but last night…last night you couldn’t help it. The fear inside you had risen to a pitch and then crashed, too many feelings swirling within you: relief that he was alive, pride that he killed for you, shame following close on its heels. True, bone deep terror at the thought of almost dying, and later, the release of desire that had been bottled up for weeks. 

You needed to purge every one of those emotions, and tucked against his body, you felt safe enough for the first time to do it in the presence of another human being. He petted your hair and stroked your back, absorbing it all in an uncharacteristic silence aside from the gentle sounds he made with his mouth. You poured everything out and he caught it all, holding you close until you felt calm enough to stop. 

You had slept better than you had since you got here, and when you step out of the shower to find Ezra digging through the bin that held his clothing, you sense he feels the same. Certainly looks it, even for someone who had been stabbed the night before. 

“Good morning, Birdie,” he greets you, fishing through the med kit. “Did you sleep well?”

You nod, feeling shy all of a sudden. Do you go over and kiss him? Do you talk to him like it never happened? The intimacy last night was so thick it was unbearable: all consuming, quiet and warm, safe from the light of day. A liminal space where the two of you let yourselves act on impulse. Did that still apply?

“I myself was going to take a shower. Did you leave any hot water for me?”

His casual words soothe your nerves. “Yea, there should be more than enough. I wasn’t in there for long.” 

He tosses fresh bandages on the cot next to him, and you see the old ones, crusted with blood, lying next to them. He stands, and the sharp inhale of pain that he lets out has you reaching for him, forgetting all the uncertainty about how you’re supposed to act this morning around him. 

“Are you okay? Did the bandage come off?”

“I took it off,” he says, and your eyes drop to the site of the wound, hidden under his shirt. His fingers lift the material, and you wince at the raw stitches. He drops the shirt, and moves closer. “I thought it would be best to clean it. Who knows where that blade has been.”

A new worry strikes: germs, the constant dust that covers everything on this godforsaken planet. 

As always, he is quick to reassure you. 

“Hey,” he says, using his knuckle to nudge your chin up until your eyes meet his. “You’re thinking about this too hard. You did a fine job stitching me up last night, and fine job cleaning everything before that. I just want to get all the grime off.” His thumb slides over your bottom lip, his eyes tracking its movement. 

The small touch is enough to swallow your worry whole, replacing it with anticipation. He’s giving you the green light, and resting your hands on his hips, you brace yourself against the light-headedness that strikes when he starts to slide his touch down – down your chin, his hand curling around the side of your throat as his thumb traces the line of your jaw. 

“I’ll be right back.”

He leaves you standing there, a girl-shaped pool of want, a loose-limbed trembling thing that aches – but it’s nothing compared to what you feel when he gets out of the shower. 

Opening the door, he walks out in just his briefs. Your breathing hitches, your own clothing too tight on skin that aches to slide against his. 

All pretenses gone, he sits down on his cot and the water droplets that linger on his tanned shoulders catch the light when he reaches for the fresh bandages. “Can you help?” he asks, holding them out towards you. 

He leans back on his hands, thighs spread wide. There is so much of him: the streak of white more pronounced against his damp hair, his broad chest, his firm thighs. Hair that dusts along his limbs, more skin of his than you’ve ever seen. For all the ways you’d imagined a scenario like this happening, it catches you off guard how overwhelming the real thing feels. 

In a haze, you move, coming to stand between his feet. He watches as you slowly kneel between his spread thighs, and the look on his face is almost proud, if it weren’t for the stark, blatant hunger in his eyes. 

Unsure of where to start, you force yourself to focus on the task at hand. 

His stomach tenses when you smear ointment over the wound. His throat bobs with a hard swallow when you lay fresh bandages in place, smoothing them down. Carefully cutting fresh strips of tape, you try to ignore the way his tongue slides along his bottom lip as your fingers gently press them into place around the edges of the dressing. 

You perform a slow inspection to make sure it’s airtight – one that continues, even after you’re satisfied. 

Your eyes flit up to his in question, and the look he returns is as steady as you’ve ever seen it, full of silent permission. 

Splaying your fingers, the air between you feels heavy as you run an exploratory path along the curve of his hip, and up along the ridged muscles along his ribs. His body radiates heat underneath your palm, his skin smooth where it isn’t marred with numerous scars. Lighter against his flesh, they stand out: a thin slice along his ribs, a jagged, ugly looking thing on his inner thigh. When you get to the hair that collects beneath his navel, his thighs tense around your waist, but he remains otherwise still. 

Your mouth waters at the bulge at the crux of his thighs, a slowly thickening heft that forms underneath the dark fabric. Resting your hands on the top of his thighs, you shuffle your knees closer and you can hear his breath catch when you bend forward, pressing your mouth just over his bandage. 

The first sound he makes since you started rumbles out of his chest: a low, husky groan.

“C’mere,” he says, his voice rough. He pats his lap, and giving the bandage another kiss, you obey, climbing up to straddle him. 

When you’re fully seated, his hands settle lightly on your hips, and he takes his time looking. 

“Listen to me,” he murmurs, and you do, enraptured. A live wire in his hold, your body stands on the edge of a precipice. 

“This goes only as far as you want it to. You say stop, I’ll stop.”

“And if I don’t?”

The grin that spreads across his face can only be described as filthy. Filled with intent, something inside him waiting to pounce. You can see it in his eyes, hidden underneath the rich brown. Lying in wait, letting you come to him. You’re both exercising your own amount of restraint – yours is a bundle of nerves, his is a deep chasm of hunger. 

“Then I won’t,” he breathes against your lips, right before he meets them with his own. 

The press of his mouth sparks to life the unlit match inside you that was waiting for this. Your arms wind around his shoulders, his own curling around your waist. His hands press underneath your shirt, splaying over your back, so big his fingers almost touch and you can feel the thick ridge of his cock beneath you. Grinding on it, you almost sob with how good it feels after thinking about it for so long. 

You want to be filled so bad it hurts. 

He keeps kissing you: hands cupping your cheeks to hold you in place, sliding down your sides in a weighty drag, shoving themselves underneath the band of your thermals to grab handfuls of your ass. Back up again to tug your shirt off, molding to your tits to push them together with a groan. His mouth moves to kiss them instead of your lips, his whiskers dragging across the skin just above your bra, his tongue sliding along your sternum with a lick.

Pulling back, he works at the front clasp of your bra. 

“I’m afraid I can’t do everything that I’d like to,” he says, his eyes flicking down to his wound. “But I’m not totally useless.”

He tosses your bra to the floor, and your back arches when he uses his thumbs to rub the tight buds of your nipples right before he replaces the touch with his mouth. He sucks them each in turn, his tongue laving over each sensitive peak, drawing them into his mouth, and biting the plump flesh around them when he cups his hand to push more of it into his mouth. He’s rough with you as his hunger grows, guiding your willing body into position and pressing his hold against your back, his kisses move up your chest to lick at your throat, his teeth catching the skin there. He nibbles on the curve of your jaw, sucks on your earlobe and the crotch of your leggings are soaked when his lips brush along the shell of your ear. 

“I’ve waited so long, Birdie. So long.” His hand slides into the hair along your nape, and he tugs, tipping your head back until you’re looking at him. “I know you have too.”

Your pulse racing in your chest, your belly jumps when you feel his other hand skim along your bare stomach. His eyes stay on yours as his touch skims lower and lower, teasing at the waistband of your leggings. He tucks his fingers inside, a fresh pool of slick wetting your underwear when he brushes against the soft thatch of your pubic hair. 

“Is it wet for me?” he asks. 

Helpless, you nod, swallowing hard. Your fingers curl into his biceps, and his hold on your hair tightens. 

“Can I touch it?”

You nod again, and he grins, a dimple catching at his cheek. His hand slips lower, his wrist forcing your leggings down in the front. 

“The amount of time I’ve thought about doing this. About touching you here.”

Tandem groans of relief sound through the air when his fingers meet the slick wetness that waits for him, his touch sliding through your seam before he presses his fingers up, up, up, your mouth dropping open as he fills you. 

“You already feel like heaven between your thighs,” he says, the words dripping in reverence. “I wish I could taste the bliss that is your cunt.”

The filthy words ratchet you higher, the inside of your thighs straining as you grind yourself into his hand to force his fingers deeper. Like he was being quiet during your exploration only to ambush your senses when he was ready, his words are endless, dripping with intent. 

“Tell me where it hurts, Birdie. Let me soothe the ache.”

“Show me, little one. Show me how you’ve thought about me doing this.”

Your hand wraps around his wrist as you steady yourself, a frown of pleasure etched deep between your brows and you fuck yourself on his thick fingers, your hips never stopping in their roll. His thumb finds your clit, and you cry out towards the ceiling of the pod, a sound that makes him chuckle, dark sounding and pleased. 

A trembling mess on his lap, you’re helpless as he forces you higher and higher, his fingers filling and precise, sliding against a deep spot inside you that you’ve only dreamed of. Just as lethal as he is outside, just as in command as he always is, he plays your body like he’s played it a thousand times before – every stroke tipping you closer and closer to the edge. 

“Fuck,” you whimper, breathless. “Fuck.”

“Here?” he asks, smiling when you curl forward, resting your head against his shoulder. Your fingers dig into his shoulders, holding on. Everything that you’ve wanted the entire time you’ve been stuck here with him swirls and blends with everything you’ve ever always wanted and never got, and when he adds a third finger you look at him with hooded, pleading eyes – only to see dark victory in his own. 

He doesn’t have to goad you to tip you over the edge. 

It’s like a forceful shove off a cliff, your body floating through the air. Your jaw is clenched, your cunt clenching even tighter in pulses that squeeze his fingers and he watches it all with a greedy, proud expression. 

“There you go,” he talks you through it. 

“There’s my girl,” he praises, capturing your mouth in a kiss. 

–

It’s a scramble after that to get back down on the floor. 

He’s sucking on his fingers with a low, desperate groan and you’re tugging his briefs down. 

He’s watching as you take him out, hardening at the way your eyes widen. 

Your hand struggles to wrap fully around him, but you don’t hesitate a second before bending to guide him into your mouth. Your lips stretch around the thick tip of his cock, your tongue sliding along the sensitive underside, tracing the line of a vein. Sliding him deeper along your palate, his balls draw up, his cock hardening to the point of near-pain. Your hand works the thick base while you press forward to fit him along the back of your tongue, and it only takes a couple of deep throated strokes to bring him to the edge, with how long he’s been waiting. 

Wanting. 

Driving himself to madness, thinking about the taste of your cunt. 

At the thought, he sucks on his fingers again, and you raise your eyes to watch, a moan sliding out of your throat to caress the length of his cock. 

“Shit, Birdie. Shit,” he warns, hands fisting the blanket on his cot as he leans back to widen his thighs. They tremble along your shoulders, the muscles flexing under your palm where you stroke the inside of one. You find the scar you saw earlier and glide your touch over it, pressing your fingers into his flesh as you force him to the back of your throat. 

At that, he comes. 

Loud and filthy, the groan that he lets out is strained at the end as he pours over the back of your tongue. 

His fingers clench and flex, his eyes pinched shut as if he can’t bear looking as he fills your mouth with pulses of thick, pearly spend. Weeks of tension drain into your waiting mouth, enough that you can’t catch it all. 

When you pull back to swipe at a glistening thread of it that escapes your swollen mouth, there is something so innocent about the gesture that he groans again, this time a plea of his own. 

Pushing on your shoulders, he slides off the cot to drop to his knees in his haste to kiss you. 

You taste like you and like him, and he’s addicted, his cock firming with every lick inside your mouth. You whimper into the messy kiss, and it drives him to near madness the way he knows that if he would touch you right now, he’d find you soaked. 

He can’t fuck you – not with his stomach the way that it is – but he can do other things. 

So many other things. 

“I knew it,” he breathes into your mouth, guiding you onto the floor beneath him. “I knew it would be this good.”

You preen underneath him, reaching to pull him down on top of you. 

“I want more,” you beg. “Please, Ez. Please.”

The juxtaposition of how innocent you look while begging for something so filthy claws at his insides, his body reveling in the urge to teach you just how many ways he can make you feel good. 

He grins, bending down to devour you whole.

[untherapized-eddie]

the disappearance of connor and kameron is still kinda funny to me. like my girl full on moved in with buck for a bit, he delivered his own sperm donor baby and basically saved their marriage and now it’s like they never existed. i can only assume they moved to san diego and blocked buck’s number.

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

i knew it would happen but oh my god. oh my. fucking god. i couldn't imagine it would be so bad when requesting. i was thinking about the lola propaganda and emo boy lovers and the gross freak haters. i couldn't possibly imagine that he would get such a GIANT pass percentage. yes there's six more hours to go but i know it's going to get worse over the night. As the blog curator is he really now the most passed on character I'm curious

Currently Masterson is still at a higher percentage than Beast Machines Rattrap, who I believe is our current Least Fuckable character. Masterson clears the bar by a whole percent.

And with your help we can set the bar even lower. It's not too late to Get His Ass

I don't know beachcomber too well but any humanfucker bots are welcome here.

Admittedly I was thinking at least a little bit about the rescue bots when I wrote the post because I swear to Primus every one of the main cast of bots is trying to fuck humans. Not even necessarily their human partners specifically (boulder and heatwave absolutely are tho), but at some point, every one of the bots has Said or Done Some Shit in the show that reads like they're interested in getting with humans. Prowl "I've fantasized about being human before" TFA walked so the rescue bots could sprint.

(I've also just kinda had Boulder/Graham Brainrot lately, so that might be contributing lmao)

[suffarustuffaru]

i need to share my very horrible idea to combine the reinhard/julius/otto/subaru boy drama into one julius-centric fic

ok so a little while ago ive made all kinds of ottojuli and reinjuli posts and while i havent finished all my major julisuba posts Yet i am quite fond of julisuba also and i think itd be incredibly funny if you just dumped all of these ships into one story. just go ALL IN on that boy drama!!!! go big or go home amirite!!!! the worlds WORST love trapezoid youve ever seen!!!!

this post is just me rambling fic ideas bc i sadly dont have time for Every Fic Idea and also i just. i just think itd be funny putting multiple ships with the same person in them into one fic. on a serious level its like mimicking real life relationships where sometimes people come and go and you have different dynamics with each person!! on another level i just think this is also very funny so!! here we go. under the cut:

anyway so my idea for this is that you know, julius of course meets reinhard when hes ten and reinhard is eight and then it alters julius's brain chemistry. at first he's in complete awe of reinhard. and then over time the shame starts setting in. that julius isnt as strong as reinhard. and the jealousy sets in a bit too, so julius's got this chip in his shoulder trying to carry his family's legacy and trying to carry the weight of knighthood to be as perfect as possible. to be as close to reinhard as he can. they meet again in their teens and julius shows reinhard the ropes of like basic knight stuff bc reinhard just joined the knights. and of course reinjuli become friends but julius has spent his whole life quietly watching reinhard from afar and now julius still has that distance with reinhard even as theyre supposedly friends now. reinhard is a God, you know? his powers and his leash from the kingdom and his family keep him distant and the two of them are ignoring that. classic homoerotic "do i want him or want to be him" friendship where both of you are too scared to get any closer for various reasons with a Twist (reinhard's very real monster complex that keeps getting validated bc Everyone Around Him thinks hes a monster).

anyway but then julius remembers that you know, shit between reinhard and him wont work out for many reasons, like reinhards family deciding to torment julius at various points in his life (heinkel, whos julius's boss, and reid, who went from julius's childhood idol to. you know.), and also reinhard needs to have kids because hes the sword saint, and also homophobia exists in rezero. and also even if those werent all obstacles julius still has his Complexes connected to reinhard and they got that distance between them so. no go. (repression gets in the way of relationships :((( )

also quick side note is that ex 4 happens and julius reinhard ferris go to vollachia and julius interrupts a meeting with vincent vollachia himself to go "I UNDERSTOOD THAT LITERARY REFERENCE YOU JUST MADE. THATS A REALLY GOOD REFERENCE I LIKED IT A LOT" bc hes a massive nerd and ig this is slightly-more-of-a-disaster-gay julius au so julius is like ............................. vincent was kinda cool for that.

AND THEN SUBARU CRASHES INTO JULIUS'S LIFE and julius is like seeing this guy who's also got a chip in his shoulder and then he insults the knights and says the knights are all depending on their dads (nepotism) and julius is like .......the chip in my shoulder was bad enough and also youre kinda like me fr. and you are clearly a fucking misguided kid so now i have to save your ass. i cant NOT save your ass. and reinhards like "julius and subaru nooo you dont have to do this :((((" and julius cant admit atm that hes also doing this to save subarus life so julius is just like "he disrespected the knights >:(((("

but yes we all know what happened there. julius saves subarus life. julius has to slice subarus throat in that one failed loop. they become friends across several timelines. they also homoerotically share souls, you know, typical bromance things, rivals to lovers except subarus the one going YOURE MY RIVAL and julius is like he is SUCH an upstart. hes really grown on me like a fungus but thats the appeal. and julius i think sees subaru as like a kindred spirit (or at least thats how i interpret julisuba) except subaru is like way more freer than julius is. same desire to prove yourself but subarus not restraining himself constantly like julius. its sometimes to the point of recklessness and general stupidity and what have you, but his boldness and bravery and determination and heart really is admirable.........................

yeah so anyway julius falls for ANOTHER guy again, you know how it is sometimes. the heart wants what it wants and julius is cursed to always have the worst meetings with his closest friends. and of course julius gets heartbroken bc wtf i have to kill my new friend :((( noo!!!! but in the finished loop its like. oh subaru...... hes really improved himself. hes grown so much already. hes kind of. inspirational really. idk how he does it. except subarus you know got that Mystery to him the same way reinhard does (theyre traumatized and Cant Take About It Normally so they just randomly lore drop what they can) and also subarus SUPER into emilia. and julius is like .................... well. subarus taken. haha. and reinhards. taken. fuck me. fuck. and like somethings going on with subaru and rem and emilia right. fuck. and subarus got his whole toxic masculinity / gender crisis..... and he doesnt know hes Bisexual yet...... man. what a loss for julius amirite haha.

and also subarus busy after arc 3........... and julius has no idea whats happening there but that seems Real serious :(( and julius's got other things to attend to so he hopes subaru reaches out to him eventually..... or that they cross paths again since subarus in the emilia camp and julius is in ana camp (and of course reinhard is in felt camp and like that was a whole debacle bc wtf. reinhard, u do know thatd be a big deal to our mutual friend felix?). so. julius pines from afar ONCE AGAIN HAHA.

(also of course subarus still attracted to reinhard here. its um. well julisuba can bond now over pining over reinhard but thats for later also!!)

anyway of course during arc 3 julius briefly runs into some gray haired merchant twink thats being dragged around by subaru bc ana camp rescued this guy from a cave somewhere??? and this new guy and subaru made a deal or whatever so he was just helping out in the background of the fight against sloth??

and whaddya know................ julius goes to drink at a bar bc you know he probably tastes wine for fun in his free time (hes definitely Fond of wine anyway iirc) and now hes Sad over the Ones That Got Away so. bar it is. and gray haired merchant twink is there!! no way. they start talking a bit casually while drinking you know and julius's taste is Unfortunately either the graceful ones (anastasia, because julius has great taste in women) or the cringe fail ones (all the twinks - except for felix - that julius keeps having the wildest first meetings with, because julius has slightly shit taste in men) so julius is like huh this otto guys kinda funny lol. endearing in a weird way!! and -

oops they both end up being a little. they make a little bit of a move on each other. bc they were drinking and got a Bit tipsy. ottos Also not over the one that got away (subaru) (again) and hey. the finest knight truly is. Fine. objectively fine. totally. so you know. things get a little out of hand, maybe they do a bit of cringe fail flirting hidden underneath five million layers of repression and the Horrors of Being Known but ultimately they both embarrass themselves somehow (read: how far they went with each other while under the influence is up to you) and agree to Never Speak of This Again bc oopsies they were both technically each other's first time being Straightforwardly Not Straight with another man. oops. anyway julius has to go back to his camp and otto fucking bolts but he bolts right into subaru and gets his ass dragged into sanctuary drama.

julius is totally not a little bit envious about that.................... about otto getting to accompany subaru to sanctuary... but dont worry julius!! youll get to make up for it later!! bc eventually arc 5 stuff happens. and julius is Glad to see reinhard and subaru again. even with all the Baggage. and subaru is of course Weird about julius but eventually subaru reassures julius after they both confide in each other about the astrea drama (theyre honorary astreas via being dragged into the astrea family mess). and subarus reassuring to julius in a whole new way okay. subaru, whos unrestrained and incapable of being on the down low about anything, and julius, whos always holding himself back with a gazillion layers of repression, starts learning to let go a bit...

but also juliotto meet again. its terribly awkward and they both agreed to never speak of their awkward encounters again. subaru is going ??? and reinhard is clueless. otto then also goes to save reinhard and felt from heinkel trying to take felt hostage, which was also terribly awkward but reinhard and felt are grateful about it (but lbr if reinhard and otto knew each other deeper reinhard would maybe be a little. Apprehensive. around otto while otto would be sympathetic with reinhard bc hes like male emilia). but then while otto manages not to get erased by gluttony....... julius gets erased. of course. which you know results in being forgotten by reinhard in julius's THIRD first meeting ever with reinhard. and subarus the only one who remembers him of course.

then arc 6 happens :,))))) and julius of course has to confront his ideas of knighthood, his identity, his self esteem, and who he is outside of His Name. and also julius gets his ass beat by reid. his childhood idol. who reinhard KNEW was a shitty person but never ever told julius (whether this is because reinhard wanted to spare julius's hero worship or because reinhard never got the chance to tell julius is hard to say lajdsf). but julius does get to triumphantly win in the end!! grow as a person!!! learn to undo a bit of that repression and not hold himself to impossible standards all the time!! hes growing still!!! hes finally solidified his friendships with people like subaru and emilia!! hes remaking his relationship with anastasia!! hes asserted himself, hes planning on going to meet reinhard again one day and duel him!! things are looking up even if its still bittersweet that he doesnt have his name back yet!! does this mean?? perhaps?? a HAPPY ENDING?? julius can have the two men (reinhard and subaru) he admires the most in his life?????? as friends???? or as boyfriends?????? slowburn mutual pining????????????????????????????????????????

and then comes. arc 8 otto. that piece of shit.

julius is very much someone who has to grapple with the weight of the expectations that people throw at him. and also reinhard is someone who May envy julius a bit, but there's also you know, joshua and subaru with the Explicit Envy and (past) resentment because theyre placing heavy expectations on julius!! theyre pointing blame at julius!! julius is trying to find himself outside of stuff like that, especially after arc 6, but he's still got stuff to work on you know? he still has duties to fulfill!! loyalty that he has to act on bc hes gotta help subaru and co in arc 8!! and then in comes otto.

otto is also someone with expectation placed on him, but its Different. ottos mostly a nobody and when hes Not a nobody, his reputation tends to be Derogatory. hes a menace. hes a bad luck charm. hes grappling with the fact that he has to keep being left behind - post-arc 5 bc he was injured, but also repeatedly during arcs 7 and 8 because hes too physically weak to be on the same playing field as emilia or garfiel or subaru on the battlefield. he feels Useless after placing his identity on the expectation that hes Dependable and Useful.

julius is a bit more on even ground with otto now that julius is. also mostly a nobody bc his name is still gone. and also julius had to deal with having that part of his identity crushed. julius tried to be useful over and over in arc 6 only to get his ass repeatedly curb stomped by reid in the beginning. he was a nobody. he wasnt dependable anymore. and also otto is that one guy he had a Passing Fling with over having The Ones Who Got Away and julius was still vaguely hopeful about maybe being pals at least but ottos brushed him off a bit since arc 5. theyre like each others secrets you know? and now otto doesnt know that shit - julius is the only one who Knows - and otto also hates julius's fucking guts now. over SUBARU. and julius has been through this whole rodeo clown circus with arc 3 subaru so this is an absolutely terrible ride through memory lane.

and this is julius's THIRD twink that hates him for terribly unfair reasons. julius is very tired and a bit heartbroken in this au trying to pretend it doesnt bother him. on one level it doesnt. bc ottos pathetic and clearly Overcompensating for Something. on another level it kinda does bc julius had a Thing going with otto. and otto is the complete opposite of julius. like hes different from the other guys julius has liked.

julisuba is about complimentary opposites - they appear Extremely Different at first glance but theyre very similar. theyre people who try to look and act bigger than they are, people who keep reaching to be The Best, to be Perfect, because theyre overcompensating. theyre worried their entire identity is only built off of trying to be bigger than the shadow that other people in their lives (like their families) cast. but they cant reach perfection. and julius is like subaru but if subaru tried to really make himself "refined" - if he tried to stop putting his heart on his sleeve all the time. reinsuba are very similar too. theyre very refined knights who try to keep themselves in check at all times while the weight of the world is on their shoulders. they cant have a hair out of place. except julius is like the "smaller" version of reinhard. julius is less powerful. its like comparing a human and a "god" - reinhard, whos untouchable. but its a double edged sword, because julius gets to be a normal person, because half the expectation placed on him is also purely from himself, while reinhard isnt. reinhard isnt Free. hes on a leash by the kingdom and his family. julius even gets his kind of "celebrity" status stolen from him via the loss of his name. hes truly kind of Normal now - julius is like if reinhard didnt have his crazy abilities and had a little more of a chance to be free.

otto? yeah otto is. very very far from all of that. hes so obviously imperfect that most of his reputation, when its brought up, is just him being known as a mess who's caused various forms of chaos everywhere he goes. either that or hes just. There. Invisible. very very average. and otto is someone who wants a nice comfortable life, someone who wants to fit in - julius and subaru arent Exactly like that, and while reinhard also wants to be normal, ottos the one who has more of an opportunity. but he doesnt. because otto Dooms Himself by being recklessly cutthroat. otto is like if subaru was just. More of an asshole, so ottojuli would just be a rather Extreme Challenge for julius to have to deal with HAH. and normally otto is someone who repays how people treat him - a very "you treat me like this, i'll treat you the same way in turn" kind of deal, except ottos developed a vendetta against julius and its basically like if subaru never let go of his arc 3 julius vendetta.

yes so anyway. etc etc stuff probably happens but i ran out of ideas lajdlfjasdf i just think combining ALL the boy drama and recontextualizing + adding to canon would be. batshit crazy. and terribly entertaining. im so sorry julius but i want to see you crack a bit under the pressure. reinjuli as a ship is like tragic gay yearning that never goes anywhere past being friends with quiet homoerotic tension, then julisuba is. you know. extreme rivals to lovers, starts out Rough but then ends up being super super sweet and theyre Trying their best underneath the self esteem issues. and then ottojuli is. toxic yaoi at its finest (pun intended). you get Every flavor of mlm possible!!

ok so you may be asking "ok what would you even name this fic then" and to that i say that this would be called To All the Boys I've Loved Before.

anyway i really wanna write this idea someday ill inform you guys (if youre reading this and are Interested) if it ever happens :< so. in conclusion this is just julius the entire time throughout all of these events:

[maryasmorevna]

why are you, as an adult in 2024, still hung up on reylo. why are you still mocking the shippers. why do you believe yourself to be superior only because you dislike a stupid ship from a fucking space fairytale. girl (gnc) get a grip

[apheliia]

i haven't really looked at any of the natlan content that's been released you guys i am so out of the loop rn HELPKDDL

[todayisafridaynight]

We rlly don’t need another majima game 😭 please give other characters a chance he already had the spotlight in 0😔

lord if i speak on goro majima.

[loderlied]

mmm essay about sally and kid gort in the tags (cw for child abuse, mentions of suicide, animal cruelty and a murder attempt. i always hope i don’t have to say this but just in case: i don’t excuse or condone any of her or gort’s behaviour at all.) this is literally not even touching upon everything i have to say because i hit the fucking tag limit lmao. NOBODY READ IT’S BAD BRAINSTORMING I JUST NEEDED TO GET IT OUT SOMEHOW