#i need these two to stop rolling around in my head like its a laundry machine

[distant-velleity]

“You and I aren’t so different, after all.”

guys i know ive talked abt them on here Never but. i have such visions. they have such parallels. something about escapism and being unable to face reality. audhshbsbsbsbsbsgs

~

taglist (ask to be added or removed!): @thehollowwriter @theleechyskrunkly @elenauaurs @casp1an-sea @nahelenia

@skriblee-ksk @boopshoops @scint1llat3 @nyx-of-night @nemisisnemi

@sillyslipperybananapeel @beneathsakurashade @kathxrat-01 @lumdays @twistedwonderlandshenanigans

[zorosangell]

I LOVE INN!!! I love devoted pathetic men! I need to see them during the time skip tho! What if during the two year training arc (idk who or what she trains under, you can make that up) she happens to stop by the same island zoro and mihawk where stopping by on their way back to Gloom island. It’s been well over a year since they’ve seen each other, and it’s been pure torture for them both (and also the inconvenience of zoro relearning how to properly shine his own swords and fold his laundry the special way he likes it). I’d like to see your take on this!

⛥ﾟ・。 bento

synopsis: part two of inn -- you and zoro have a heartfelt reunion on the sabaody archipelago... with the help of a kindly fisherman.

cw: fluffy fluff, comfort, zoro is DOWN BAD for reader, reader's a cutie, fools pining pretty much.

a/n: i love writing zoro like this

"Hey, gramps," Zoro started, yanking open the flap and entering Isamu's Fresh Fish tent, his eye snapping over to the old man hunched in the corner. "I'm lookin' to do some fishing."

Confused, Old Man Isamu halted his movement, looking up from his basket of lures to find the infamous, three-sword wielding pirate hunter.

Roronoa Zoro.

Of course, being a lonely old man who lived on the outskirts of Sabaody Archipelago, he had no idea who he was.

I mean, why would he need to know?

But even still, he couldn't help the shiver that rolled down his spine at the sight of the moss-head's scowl, its intensity sending a slight pang of fear through the man's old heart.

"No offense, young man, but I wouldn't exactly peg you as the fishing type..."

Zoro sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Normally, you'd be right... I'm supposed to be meeting some friends on this island, but they haven't made it yet, so I'm bored out of my skull."

Scratching the side of his face, he glanced out to sea, a certain sense of homesickness plaguing his chest.

"I used to have someone to do this for me... but she's not around right now. So I need something to keep me entertained while I wait."

It felt odd offering to do the fishing himself, as he could barely even remember the last time he picked up a fishing rod.

But the feeling was nothing new, as for the last two years the swordsman had been forced to take up the tasks that you had been so insistent on doing for him.

Fishing... Laundry... Shining his swords...

Even dressing his wounds, which, although Perona did for him, still didn't feel the same as when you did it.

It wasn't long before he realized how much he took you for granted, and how subpar his domestic skills were in comparison to yours.

He bristled, annoyed with the aching throb of his heart.

God, he felt pathetic...

A measly two years apart, and all of a sudden he was a ship without a rudder.

"So, you think you can help me out or not?" he asked, snapping himself out of his thoughts.

"Sure. I'll finish getting everything we need ready and then meet you on my boat right over there," Isamu nodded with a warm smile, standing to his full height and pointing toward a small fishing boat moored to the shore. "We'll have to wait a moment, though. A young woman is supposed to be joining me."

Zoro's brow raised, intrigued.

"Young woman?" he asked, expecting some elaboration.

"Why yes! She's been fishing with me for the past two days and is just such a sweetheart!" the old man gushed. "She went into town to go grab us some lunch before we left. Said something about picking up some polishing equipment, too."

That caught the swordsman's attention.

"Polishing equipment?"

"Yeah, for swords," Isamu nodded, leaning in a little closer to the swordsman and lowering his voice. "Between you and me... I think her boyfriend's a pirate. I always catch her lookin' out at the sea, like she's waitin' for something."

He gave Zoro a pat on the back with a small chuckle, a little sorry.

"It's a shame. If I hadn't known, I would've introduced you two. Y'look like her type."

Intrigued, Zoro looked down at himself, fighting off the thunder in his chest.

'Could it be...?'

"What'd she look like?" Zoro asked, straight to the point. "About this tall? (h/l), (h/c) hair? (s/c) skin? Nice (e/c) eyes? Pretty smile?"

Quickly, he shoved his hand into his robe, hurriedly rummaging around until his fingers locked on a piece of crumbled paper.

"Like this?" he asked, hopefully, pulling out your wanted poster and holding it up for the old man to see.

He'd managed to get his hands on it when he joined Mihawk on a grocery run and found it posted up on a fruit stall.

When no one was looking, he shoved it in his pocket, and kept it with him ever since.

Sure, it was a little stalker-ish, but when it came to you he didn't really care.

"Yes! That's her!" Isamu nodded, turning to the man. "She said she's been waiting for some friends to show, too!"

Instantly, the pieces clicked, the old man suddenly realizing your relationship with the swordsman.

He was he thing you were looking out to sea for.

With a knowing smirk, he gave Zoro a slight nudge, amused.

"Oh, ho ho! You must be the fella she's been searchin' for..." he grinned, almost as a congratulations. "You're a lucky guy! She reminds me of my Emi."

With a faint roll of his eyes, Zoro sighed, trying to muffle the burn of his cheeks by turning away.

That is... until a familiar voice cut through the air.

"Hey, watch it, asshole! That bento's for the old man!" you spat, the sound of a scuffle occurring in a nearby alleyway.

'(y/n)!'

An embarrassing amount of excitement soared through his chest, a certain glimmer returning to his eye at the sound of your voice.

Springing into action, he sprinted toward the noise, quickly drawing his sword.

Whoever was on the other side of the altercation wasn't going to be standing by the end of it.

"Wait, young man!"

But Isamu was too late, as the swordsman was already at the mouth of the alley.

Bring his feet to a screeching halt, Zoro lowered himself into an offensive stance, taking a gauge of the situation as he prepped his attack.

You were standing off with a large man, who was about five times your size, huge with muscles and practically cracked out on testosterone.

An opponent like him would've sent you running for the hills two years ago.

But you stared him down with conviction, a small smirk quirking on your lips.

And without warning, you broke into a sprint, charging the man head on.

You had to calculate this just right, or you were going to get squashed like a bug.

Zoro watched with surprise as you used your running start to slide between the thug's legs, nimbly scaling his body like a tree and swirling yourself around to pull him off balance.

"The hell?!"

He tried to grab at you, but your movements were too quick and it wasn't long before you were sat right on his shoulders, your thighs locking tightly around his neck.

"Gimme back the damn bento, you bastard!"

Effortlessly, you threw around your body weight, flipping both of you over and slamming his head into the ground, creating a small crater.

But you weren't done.

With a soft grunt, and a small jerk of your legs, you twisted his neck with a sickening crack—the action sending a warm tingle through Zoro's stomach.

He'd be a liar if he said he didn't find your demonstration incredibly hot.

You pulled yourself up off the ground with a chuckle, using your foot to poke the man, who was down for the count, before snatching the lunchbox back from his grasp.

"Have a nice nap," you wished, cheekily, pulling down your eyelid and sticking out your tongue.

But, when you turned your attention to the alley's exit, your eyes landed on a certain green-haired swordsman—the star of a multitude of different daydreams you'd enjoyed throughout your two years apart.

Time seemed to slow down as your eyes met, him having been staring at you since he entered the alley.

'Gods...'

He was huge, way more muscular than what he once was, and now donned a scar on his left eye, which was permanently shut.

His chest was exposed in his robe, showing off his big pecs, and his hair was still just as green and unruly as you remembered.

Lighting up like the world's brightest Christmas tree, you let out a loud, dramatic gasp, dropping the lunchbox in shock.

"Zoro!" you cheesed, completely forgetting about the bento as you rushed toward him.

"(y/n)! You made it!" Zoro broke into a wide grin, utterly relieved to see you were okay.

Launching yourself into his arms, you tackled him to the ground, pulling him into you as he let out a few laughs at your enthusiasm.

"Ah! Look at you! Those muscles! That hair! You look great! I missed you!" you squealed, ecstatic to see your favorite guy in the flesh.

Though, in your excitement, you had failed to realize you were suffocating the swordsman with your breasts.

"Mished you, twoo!" he nodded, muffled, frantically patting your back. "But yer killin' me!"

Finally noticing, you quickly pulled back, flashing him a sheepish smile.

Relieved, he took in an aggressive gasp, before turning to you with his grin once again.

"That was a new special move, huh? I've never seen you do something like that before!" he asked, eagerly.

"You noticed, eh?" you raised a brow. "Yeah, it's a maneuver my master taught me back on Kibi, a martial arts island."

A proud smirk rose to your lips, having waited to tell him of your success for so long.

"It was hard work... and I got knocked on my ass a bunch... but the monks at my temple managed to beat some kung fu techniques into me," you cheesed, cheekily. "I might not be on par with you yet... but it's only a matter of time."

His eyes found yours, and the way you were looking at him made his chest roar.

You were making it a bit hard for him to focus.

He was already holding himself back on a thread of sanity, and now he had to deal with the fact that you looked like a goddess in human form, and smelled of cocoa butter and vanilla.

Your curves were curvier, your hips were dippier, and you now had an unspoken confidence that could bring any man to his knees.

Literally and figuratively.

You had him like a hook on a line, only he didn't want to be set free.

You found his eyes, slightly confused, as his expression morphed into one you'd never seen.

"I. Love. You." he stated, firm and breathless.

Your eyes shot wide, a sharp tinge of red burning onto your cheeks.

The floodgates were opened.

There was no going back.

Without a moment's hesitation, he pressed his lips against yours, hard, unloading well over two years worth of pining.

You sank into it almost immediately, matching his fervor as you rested your hands on his chest, grabbing him by this robe and pulling him even closer.

The two of you moved together in perfect sync, fitting like puzzle pieces, as you kept up with his rhythm.

He grasped you by the small of your back, pressing you further into him and giving your hips a little squeeze, earning a quiet squeak.

Close wasn't close enough.

He wanted you even closer than that.

He wanted you so much, every part of him in contact with you was on fire.

But, alas, you two were human, and air would need eventually.

The two of you separated with a gasp, cheeks flushed and foreheads resting on each other.

"I don't think you have any idea how long I've been waiting to do that," he smirked, catching his breath.

You smiled, sliding your hands up from his chest to his shoulders.

"I think I do," you confessed, looking up at him with those sparkling, (e/c) eyes of yours.

'Fuuuuuuck...'

He leaned in closer, about to say something else when, of course, he was interrupted.

"Hate to break up a touchin' moment, kids..." Old Man Isamu chimed with a knowing smirk, the two of you snapping your heads up with surprise. "But might I suggest the inn across the street?"

You both separated, for real this time, and stood up, you straightening out the wrinkles in your clothes as you glanced at the building.

Without warning, Zoro scooped you up and tossed you over his shoulder, forcing you to yelp in surprise as he turned around to walk across the street.

"Zoro!"

"Thanks, old man!" Zoro waved with his free-hand, unable to fight the pep in his step as his grip tightened around your thighs.

He cracked a smile, glancing at you on his shoulder with an expression Isamu could only attribute to a man in love.

"Your bento's somewhere over there, sir!" you called, limp, and horribly embarrassed as your swordsman dragged you away. "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry, dear!" Isamu assured, waving back. "You kids be safe!"

It made his day to see two young people so utterly smitten with each other, as that seemed to be slowly becoming a rarity.

You both reminded him so much of how he and Emi used to be...

Even still, he couldn't help but dreamily sigh, watching as you two entered the inn, playfully bickering like an old, married couple.

'Ah, young love...'

[satoruhour]

oh my god, i dont know if you write for this specifically (feel free to disregard if you don’t), but I’ve been thinking about satosugu x reader,,, imagine kissing the both of them!! spending a nice summer day with them!! just being able to enjoy spending time with the two of them!! I dont know if its my love for both of these characters and their relationship, but i just like thinking abt that dynamic,,,

a/n: wrote this yesterday to upload today since it was a loaded day today ❤️ enjoy. hope it’s up to standard cause i havent written fluff in a long time! / 1.3k, poly!satosugu x reader

sleep-ins were popular amongst the three of you. before you, suguru had his own routine of waking up early to brew some tea for himself, to get the laundry going . .

satoru, on his own, was a light sleeper, sitting straight up at any hint of sound due to his sorcerer duties but after moving in with geto, he’s been letting the long-haired man to do all the work.

and here came you, waltzing back into their lives (and apartment) after teaching at kyoto for just a few months until you couldn’t stand gakuganji and headed right back to your alma mater.

it wasn’t difficult to maintain the dynamic the three of you had from your school days, except maybe unspoken feelings and lingering glances until the two men were gassing each other up to ask you.

you’re not even sure how you even got roped in — old feelings, a crave for the younger days, the allure of satoru, the wonder of suguru — but now you’re stick in between both of them wanting to pee so badly.

alas, your body is trapped under gojo’s protective leg and geto’s gentler wrapped arm, but you still feel your bladder about to burst, trying one last time until your body is slammed back into bed.

“hm . . what’re you doing?” is gojo’s first raspy call out to you as he curls his calf around you even more, and you sigh, turning to him to brush his fringe from his face.

“i need to pee, satoru.”

“no.” and you roll your eyes because he’s always whiny like that and you’d usually employ suguru to do your bidding but he’s fast asleep, still. this was another thing: both you and gojo have inextricably fucked with his routine because now he’s more inclined to sleep in than drink his morning tea. he realised this one day when he was doing laundry, in the afternoon.

“’toru, pleeaasee?” you pout even if he can’t see and like a good boyfriend, he senses your features pulled into a face specifically meant to make him feel bad, and cracks his eyes open.

“oh, youuuu—” gojo scrunches up his eyes and squeezes, and then steals you from geto’s arm, trapping you with tight arms wound around your middle, “stop it with the eyes!”

you giggle, using your free hands to relax the tightness in his brows, using that opportunity to forcibly open his eyes and then you hit him again — knitted eyebrows and doe eyes, and a perfect pout that has gojo grumbling under his breath. silently, you wiggle yourself just enough to reach his face so you can place a peck on his lips and he hums.

another, his eyes say and you indulge him, sinking into his embrace and letting him guide you back to his mouth. morning breath is nothing to the both of you, grinning into the kiss when satoru loses himself and his embrace starts to loosen. the kiss still holds you captive, though, the other moaning softly when you deepen it with some tongue.

“you’re just going to leave me hangin’?” geto’s voice calls out from beside you, and gojo’s excited suguru! gives you just that sliver of time to slip away from the two as they catch up but—

“you’re not going anywhere, missus,” gojo pulls on your arm and you’re falling back into your space in the middle of the both of them, greeted with geto’s lovely laugh and his gentle gaze.

“good morning my loves,” he says, arm draped over the both of you before he leans down to give you a kiss while gojo replies with a good morning as well, also giving a peck to your temple. “what’s on the agenda today?”

“lazing in—”

“i need to pee, firstly,” you pipe up, cutting gojo off and patting his puffed out cheeks. grabbing his face, you wiggle his head just to emphasise your point, “your man here has been preventing me from going to the bathroom.”

“ahem! our man,” gojo corrects, sticking his tongue out just enough to lick your hand and you shriek in disgust while his giggles only fill the room.

“satoru, c’mon, let her go.” and again, the other only cuddles you closer to him, long, lanky limbs trapping your body. geto has a hand on yours like he’s trying his best to console you.

“but— she’s so much nicer to cuddle! did i ever tell you suguru once hit me in the face with his arm?”

and you laugh while the other only sighs and chaos erupts once he stands up and says in faux disappointment — “okay, i’m making breakfast for myself only. guess i lost two partners today.”

“hello?! i didn’t even do anything!” you shout in incredulity, words muffled once gojo slaps a hand over your mouth and laughs, watching through the bathroom mirror at how he chuckles at the both of you. you lick gojo’s hand and he moans obnoxiously.

geto did end up making the both of you some breakfast after some convincing (it was mostly gojo yelling “pleasepleaseplease” in the bathroom and interrupting brushing teeth time), but he’s got around it with a sloppy kiss given to the both of you, sat at the wooden table you commissioned — large enough to bring friends over but small enough for it to feel intimate with your two boyfriends.

“on the real agenda, we need to go for some grocery shopping,” geto suggests, reaching diagonally to you to wipe off the bits of strawberry lingering at the corner of your lips and gojo shouts a loud oh!, running from the table to grab his phone that he’s left on the bedside table. naturally, he has become so enamoured with the both of you that he doesn’t even need his phone to entertain him that much.

“i made the list like you asked, sugu,” and you’re giggling when you see his eyebrow raise, positive that on the list, there was more of what the house didn’t need than what it did.

silently, you’re helping to clear all three of your plates that had coatings of maple syrup on it, apart from gojo’s who licked his squeaky clean. a smile spreads across your face when you hear them bicker, a common occurrence.

“baby, there’s more candy than actual groceries on here.”

“but suguruuuu . .” gojo pulls this all the time and it hardly works on geto any more, so the both of them invade your cleaning escapades to argue. like the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other, satoru sucks up to your boyfriend, suguru appeals to you.

“should we listen to him?” leaning against the counter, geto rests his arm around your torso, sidling right up to your face who only gives him a small grin.

gojo follows suit. “sweetness, don’t listen to him. you know you love the sweets i buy, i’ll even buy you your favourite brand!”

here in this kitchen in the house that gojo had no problem expanding to accommodate the both of you were all that you know in this mess of a world, destined to exorcise curses for as long as you live, but it wasn’t so bad when you had the strongest duo beside you, talking over each other on whether meiji chocolate was more important than buying celery for tonight’s dinner. 

“boys.” turning off the tap, you shake off the water and turn around in their arms only to see what had escalated: geto ready to summon a curse, gojo crossing his fingers in his muryōkūsho pose, all the while keeping an arm around you like everything’s fine. and as chaotic dating the both of them were, you don’t mind putting both their hands down and calming the situation down.

with a laugh, you give one kiss to both cheeks. “let’s just buy both, okay?”

and satoru leaps to hug you, planting endless kisses on your face while suguru sighs, then smiles, defeated. “plus, we can just make ’toru pay for everything, can’t we?”

“and then make him cook tonight.” you suggest, not-so-quietly.

gojo stops, “hey!”

i didnt write the grocery shopping part since i alr rambled off about it here but maybe next time we’ll see :)

[activesplooger]

GRIPPING YOUR SHOULDERS!!! HII

OK SO

vox x reader n theyre cuddling while its raining (lets just pretend it can rain in hell) n vox says the first i love you of the relationship. very fluffy very silly maybe a tiny smidge spicy if you want but overall very fluffy

HEY POOKS YEAHHHH LES GO

<33

also i am on a plane writing this so allamaanana sorry if its a bit messy!

ALSO ITS SHORTTT SORRRRYYYY AHHHH

Rainy Day Confessions | Vox x Reader | Hazbin Hotel

__

Rain splat intermittently against the windows before pouring down into a storm. Hell rarely got rain, let alone a storm, and VoxTech was quite unprepared. Power lines were cut out and anything requiring electricity was rendered useless. You were at the penthouse trying to get ahold of Vox to see what was happening. Right on cue, Vox bursts through the door in a dripping wet suit. He scowls, “In my entire time in Hell, it hasn’t rained ONE fucking time!”.

You set your phone down and stifle a laugh at the normally neat overlord, "I take it you were unprepared?". "Underprepared is an understatement," he growls, shrugging off his soaked jacket "All of our signals are fogged up and everything is down! The only thing that managed to stay is Alastor's shitty radio show...". "Alright, alright, calm down. It's just a power outage. Maybe once the people are deprived of your technology, they'll realize how much they need it," you take the sopping jacket and toss it in the laundry room.

Vox sighs and walks to the kitchen, "Yeah, whatever, maybe.". He tears off a paper towel from the roll by the sink and dries off his screen. While you're in the laundry room, you see the bag of clothes you had bought earlier today. Giggling, you grab two sets of matching shark pajamas and skip into the kitchen. The pajamas dangle in your hands in front of Vox, "Look what I bought~". "No," he says flatly. "I thought you loved sharks?" you bring the clothes closer to him.

"I do not love sharks," he turns to the side and forces a scowl, "I just like them! And have an aquarium, and- Stop looking at me like that!". You make doe eyes at him, "Pleaassee? I know you love them!". Muttering something under his breath, he grabs the pajamas and goes to the bedroom to change.

__

You both changed into your matching pajamas. Currently, you're sitting on the couch beside the fireplace, waiting for Vox to join you. He walks out of the bedroom with a relieved expression, clad in the cutest shark pajamas. "You look cuteeee~" you tease, chuckling softly to yourself.

Vox grunts in response, settling beside you on the couch and resting his head against your chest. Your finger gently twirls around his antennae, "I'm sorry you had a bad day.". "It's fine..." he says muffled against your chest.

The two of you sit in silence for a moment, the only sound being the rough splatting of rain outside. Your breath slows down and you start to drift off to sleep. Just as you close your eyes, Vox shifts on top of you and presses his lips against your forehead. "Love you," he whispers. Your eyes shoot open, "What'd you just say?".

His body jerks up from his relaxed position, "What the fuck I thought you were asleep?!". "I-I was trying, but then-," you pause, taking a look at his expression. He looked terrified, his breath was heavy as he stared at you with apprehension. You move close to him and cradle his face, "I-I love you too.".

Vox's expression softens, his body slouching as he lets himself relax, "Oh thank G-". Before he can finish you kiss him softly, pressing your lips against his in a tender embrace. The taste of your lips fills him with greed. He quickly lays you down on the couch and gets on top of you. His tongue swipes past your lips, almost asking before entry before forcing his turquoise tongue in your mouth.

Moaning softly, you tangle your tongue with his and wrap your arms around his neck. He continues making out with you before pulling away for air. Sharp turquoise claws gently brush your hair out of your face, his eyes locked on you. He was almost looking at you as if you were something sacred, his gaze full of reverence and awe, "You're beautiful.".

A hand reaches up to cover your blushing face as you chuckle, "Stop-". "Never," he hugs you tightly and rolls off the couch with you on top of him. He lands on the sleek floor with a thud.

He chuckles quietly in your ear as you cackle. "You're an idiot," you say breathlessly as you laugh your ass off. "Oh yeah, well, you love an idiot sooo-" he teases, tangling his claws in your hair. "Fair enough," you rest your head on his chest as he gently rakes his hands through your air.

Once again, you start to doze off. The consistent movement of his chest expanding with each breath lulling you to sleep. "G'night, Vox..." you say, muffled against his chest.

"Goodnight, Doll, I love you."

[ayyy-pee]

Discord 18+ - Twitter - JJK Masterlist

Pairing: Suguru Geto x Female Reader

Summary: Who knew it only took two seconds of spooning for your fiance to want more?

Story Warning: Smut, Vaginal Sex, Creampie (don't try this at home), Fluff, Smut, Thigh Fucking, Fingering, Suguru in loooooove,

Suguru art by: Ilameys (Twitter, IG, Patreon)

AN: Just a quick lil drabble fluff smut piece idk it was stuck in my head for days and i had to get it out so hope you like it. i literally don't even know what i put here. i'm in love with Suguru with my whole heart i NEED TO MARRY HIM IMMEDIATELY

It’s been a long day. You’re sitting in bed, frantically finishing up a work email after your shower. In the bathroom, you hear the water running, your fiance finishing up his own shower before you both turn in for the night. Your tired eyes skim through the email you’ve drafted for your client to send tomorrow. Everything looks up to par so you hit save, exiting your email app and moving on to check your social media apps. Next to your bed, the door to the bathroom opens, the warm steam of your fiance’s shower filling the room.

“Fuuuuuuucking shit, I’m so tired,” he sighs as he steps into the bedroom. He wraps a small towel around the ends of his long raven hair and squeezes, trying to get every bit of water out of his tresses before lying down. He knows how much you hate him going to sleep with wet hair.

“Satoru pissed off the higher ups at work today and I spent the whole day cleaning up his mess,” he complains as he crosses the room. “So pissed I missed our dinner because of it. I’m sorry again, love.”

You plug your phone into its charger and set it on your bedside table, slipping under the covers in your bed. Your fiance makes his way to your dresser, a towel draped loosely around his waist. It hangs just right, the sexy “V” of his hips holding your attention as he vents about his day. He turns to reach into his drawer, pulling out a pair of boxer briefs and putting them on before tossing his towels into the laundry hamper.

“I’m sorry, babe,” you say, holding out your hand to beckon your fiance to bed. A small smile spreads across his lips as he watches you, eyes full of adoration and he moves towards you. The bed dips with his added weight as he climbs on. He kisses you sweetly just before he lays down. His warm arms wrap around your figure as you snuggle closer to your fiance beneath the blankets, the warmth of his body pressed against your back only adding to your coziness. It’s been a long day for you both and you’re ready to just close your eyes. 

However, it seems your fiance has other plans in mind.

“Suguru…” you murmur as he tightens his hold on you. “I thought you were tired.”

He hums behind you, burying his face in the crook of your neck, planting soft kisses along your skin. “I am, baby, but I haven’t seen you all day. I just missed you.” His voice is a whisper, husky and wanting and you know you won’t be getting any sleep any time soon. Suguru’s hand ghosts along the side of your body, until it rests on the curve of your hips. He squeezes gently as his lips graze the shell of your ear. His warm breath fans across your face and you melt, already feeling your body react to his touch.

Suguru grips your waist before rolling his hips up against your ass and you gasp softly, feeling how hard he already is when he’s barely touched you. 

“Missed you so much today. I had to stop myself from stroking my dick in the shower thinking about you,” Suguru admits. “Wanted to wait until I could get you like this.” His confession stokes a fire in your belly, your arousal already dripping into your panties.

It’s always like this. Takes absolutely nothing for you two to get started, your natural attraction to each other pulling you together like magnets the moment you’re in the same room.

“Suguru,” you sigh, reaching back to snake your fingertips into Suguru’s damp hair as he licks your pulse point, biting gently and earning a soft gasp from you. With a smirk, he rolls his hips forward again, evidence of his arousal pressing into your ass.

“Hmm?” Suguru hums, licking, biting and sucking at your neck until you’re writhing and the sounds of you panting fill the air.

“Suguru, touch me…” You can feel how hot you are through your panties, how your arousal is beginning to soak through the fabric. And Suguru can too because when his fingers slide beneath the waistband of your clothes and to your slick folds, his mouth falls open slightly.

“I’ve barely touched you. You’re soaked, baby,” he marvels. “Shit, take these off or you’re gonna ruin them.” He slips his hand out of your shorts and tugs them down your legs until they’re low enough for you to kick them off. When you’re settled again, Suguru brings his mouth to your ear and runs his tongue along the shell. “I want you so fucking bad right now, you have no idea.”

You let out a whine that quickly turns into a moan when you feel Suguru slip his hand between your legs again. Your eyes sink closed as you breathe deeply, reveling in the feeling of Suguru’s fingertips brushing against your cunt. Suguru kisses his way up your neck, the sharp edges of his teeth grazing your skin until his lips brush against your ear once more.

“Wanna make you feel good tonight, baby,” he whispers to you, his fingers deftly finding your clit and circling the nub.

“Please, ah- Suguru, yes. Make me feel good,” you whimper.

Suguru grunts behind you. “Fuck, baby,” he groans, as he grinds against you again.

You let go of your hold on Suguru’s hair, hand finding his wrist and holding tight.

“You like that, baby?” He asks, voice rough with need.

You nod, another moan rushing past your lips when Suguru rolls his hips against your ass again and again.

“Use your words, baby.”

“Yes, shit, yes, Suguru. I love it,” you mewl, your grip tightening around his wrist.

At the sound of his name on your tongue, Suguru’s fingers slide into you. You moan, back arching on reflex as your walls clench around him. Your ass presses against Suguru’s cock and he rolls his hips forward again, moaning in return. Suguru increases his pace, his finger brushing against your center. You can feel the wetness pool between your legs, spreading between your thighs as Suguru’s hand brings you closer and closer to your peak. 

Then suddenly, he stops.

Your eyes snap open as you feel Suguru pull away, your body shivering at the loss of his warmth. You hear him shuffling around behind you for a few seconds, followed by the sound of a soft thud. In the dim lighting of the room, you can’t tell what just hit the floor. 

And then Suguru is back, body pressed against you again and you know. You feel the heat of his bare skin pressing against you, the thickness and length of his hard cock, sticky with precum sitting against your ass. Your heart races in anticipation of him filling you, stretching you deliciously and then fucking you until you can’t see straight. 

But he doesn’t. 

“Lift your leg a little for me,” he commands. And you do, spreading your legs and shuddering when you hear the smack of your soaked thighs separating. “So fucking wet,” Suguru coos as he adjusts himself to lay back on his side. “Just for me.” You feel him press his cock to your core and you shiver, waiting for him to push into you. Instead, he puts a hand on your lifted leg and pushes your legs closed.

You’re confused. He just wants to put his dick between your thighs? That’s…new.

“Suguru, what are you doing?” You ask, turning to look at him. He gives you a smug grin as he peers down at you, swiping his hand over his forehead to move sweaty strands away.

“Told you I wanted to make you feel good.” He doesn’t elaborate yet, just presses closer and shifts his hips until his length sits right between your folds, hot and heavy against your clit. “I want you to fuck yourself on my cock until you cum.”

Your core throbs with excitement. You’re happy to oblige, but –

“What about you?” You question.

Suguru leans forward, pressing a kiss to your temple. “We’ll worry about me later.”

His large hand finds your hips again and he pushes you forward slowly before he pulls you back into him. Like this, you feel every ridge and vein of Suguru’s cock slide back and forth across your clit and you gasp loudly at this new sensation. It feels incredible.

“Oh–” you breathe.

“Feel good, baby?”

“Yes…so, so good.”

Suguru rolls your hips forward and back again, moaning roughly as he kisses your jaw. The feeling is otherworldly, Suguru’s length stroking your nub just right with every roll of your hips. It’s hard to breathe as your release inches closer and closer with each thrust. The room fills with your moans and Suguru keeps pushing and pulling you into hips until the sound that emits from between your legs is downright sinful. 

“You’re so wet, it’s driving me fucking insane,” he grunts, his hand coming up to grab your breast through the fabric of your shirt. He runs his thumb over the hardened bud, grinning when you gasp.

“I’m gonna…ah- gonna cum, Suguru, I’m so close.”

“Cum baby, cum on my cock. Fuck it until you cream all over it,” Suguru groans as he presses his face into the crook of your neck. He smacks your ass, earning a sharp cry from you, but the pain only adds to the delicious pleasure that shoots through your body as your release crashes over you.

Your thighs clamp down around Suguru’s cock, squeezing and trembling as your orgasm rips through you. Suguru pulls his face from your neck to watch as you lose yourself in the moment and he thinks about how damn beautiful you are when you’re all fucked out like this. So pretty when you’re a good girl and cum all over his cock when he asks you to. This is what he’s held out for. He loves to cum with you, but he loves to watch you come undone more.

Suguru loves the way your eyes close, and your mouth falls open with tiny gasps as you let the sensation wash over you. He loves the way he can feel your pussy throbbing against him as you cum. Loves the way he can feel your hole twitching, clenching around nothing, trying desperately to suck him in and –

Fuck he’s gonna cum.

The feeling shoots up his spine in a rush and it’s by sheer luck that Suguru is able to pull his hips back and push his entire length into you easily, so wet from your release. You moan loudly, the feeling of him filling you, stretching you so deliciously so intense that it rips another orgasm from you before you’ve had time to catch your breath.

And Suguru is right there with you. His mouth falls open, loud groans mixing with your cries as he bottoms out over and over, filling you with thick, hot ropes of his cum. He kisses your temple as he pumps you full, breathing sweet words to you.

“I can never get enough of you…fucking love you…can’t wait to marry you,” he grunts, pushing into you, trying to bury his cock as deep as he can. “Can’t wait to make you my wife. Can’t wait to put a ring on your finger, put a baby in you, make you mine forever.”

He moans into your hair, still fucking into you slowly, draining himself of everything he has to offer. “God, you’re so fucking tight. Greedy little cunt is sucking me in so deep. Such a good girl for me, taking all my cum. Fuck, you’re so good to me, baby.”

You can’t do anything but try to catch your breath, chest rapidly rising and falling as you come down from your release with Suguru. When you’re both able to breathe again, Suguru kisses you sweetly on your cheek as he lays back down. He wraps his arms around your form, pressing himself into your back.

“Ugh, we should shower,” you insist, feeling both your cum mixing between your thighs. It makes you shiver. “I won’t be able to sleep until I get cleaned up.”

Suguru sits up excitedly, a dumb smirk on his face. “Good. We can make a mess one more time, then.”

You laugh as your fiance climbs on top of you, settling between your legs and you can feel he’s already hard again. “Suguru…”

“Didn’t I say I could never get tired of you?” He says, brown eyes full of lust and love. And you love him, your future husband. “So yes or no?”

“Yes, always yes,” you tell him, pulling him down for a deep kiss, tongues tangling together as Suguru pushes into you one more time.

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[muddyorbsblr]

empty baskets

'one look and they'll know' collection masterlist See my full list of works here!

Placement: dating era; a few weeks after 'the warmest bed i've ever known'

Summary: Tom makes a concerning discovery on laundry day

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Warning/s: steamy moments at the end; insecure Reader; mentions of previous cheating from exes; mentions of former toxic relationships [let me know if i missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: cinnamon roll bf Tomathy hours

The sound of the front door to his house closing alerted Tom of your return, a smile stretching across his face when you called out his name.

"In the laundry room, sweetheart. I'll be with you in a minute," he answered.

"Remember to separate your lights and darks." He could practically hear the amused smile on your face as you said the words.

His heart swelled at the comfortable humorous tone that you'd taken, at the familiarity that had woven its way into your exchanges, no matter how minuscule they might have been to anyone who would have been listening. After the scare of nearly losing you just under a month ago, he knew better than to take any moment with you for granted.

Tom dropped a final black running shirt into the load and was just about to start it, when he finally noticed what had felt off about this particular chore. What he had been feeling off about the past few weeks.

None of the clothes in the wash were yours. Not a single garment.

I must have missed them, he thought to himself, going through the other basket, brows furrowing together when he found it was just as empty as the one in his hand.

You'd been staying with him for the last two weeks, and he knew that you changed clothes. That was, at least during the times when the two of you were clothed in the house.

And yet despite that, he couldn't find a single item of your clothing in this room. Which led him to believe that you were keeping them in a laundry bag. Probably where you stashed your suitcase, in the entry way coat closet.

Only thing was that your laundry bag was nowhere to be found, and your suitcase was suspiciously heavier than it was yesterday morning. "Y/N?" he called out to you, unable to help the smile on his face when you peeked your head out from the study.

"What's up?"

"Anything you need to put in the wash, sweetheart?"

The confusion worsened when you shook your head. "Nope, I'm all good." And then you gave him a smile that was so strained it filled him with a sense of dread. The same kind of dread that he felt when he came home not two weeks ago to find you curled up in a chair, mumbling words that threatened to turn his world asunder had he not stopped you.

What were you hiding?

He made his way over to you, placing his hands on your shoulders, heart thundering in his chest when he saw the avoidant look in your eyes. Like you were desperately trying to scour your mind for a way out.

Just like you were that night he showed up at your doorstep. When you blurted out how you felt about him and promptly tried to take it back, denying you said anything at all. "You don't need to hide anything from me, goddess," he said carefully, pressing a tender kiss to your lips. "I want you to know that."

"My dirty clothes are in the Four Seasons, I have a room booked there to keep my things," you blurted out, the words rushing out of you with a sheepish look on your face. "That's where I went this morning, to grab a new set of clothes and…anything else I might need."

Tom took in a deep breath, unaware that he'd been holding it while awaiting your answer. A weight was somewhat lifted from his chest, though there was still the lingering fear that somehow part of this secret was in the form of another person.

It had happened before, with previous relationships. And while he felt that fear significantly less when you were around, it still lingered…and festered into something that had the potential to be crippling if it ever turned out to be true.

Even if it was fairly early on in the relationship, he knew in the depths of his soul that this would be his last. You would be the one he spent the rest of his life loving, the one he would build his future with. And whether that future entailed marriage and children, it no longer mattered to him.

What mattered, all that mattered, was that future would have you.

"Why?" he asked, silently pleading that the answer wouldn't involve his worst fears. He couldn't take that. Not from you.

"It's for…just in case," you said, barely audible. Your eyes began to mist over as you started trembling in his hold. "For if…and when…you get tired of having me around. Then I wouldn't have to scramble for a place to stay. Because it's already there prepped and waiting for me."

Your words completely stole the air from his lungs, quite possibly even stopped his heart. Tired of you? You did this because you were bracing yourself for the day he would tire of you?

"It happened before," you spoke again, choking the words out as you visibly fought against what he had no doubt were haunting memories from relationships past. "Long before, but still…it sucked. Not having anywhere to stay for a few hours, calling friends who suddenly pretended I was nobody to them because they took my ex's side. Calling hotels that were fully booked. I just wanted to be sure."

Suddenly your actions around his home filled him with a heartbreaking clarity. It wasn't just your clothes.

Not a single item on the bathroom counter was yours. You even kept your toothbrush in a little bag. 

The meticulous way you'd place back every item in his study and pack away all your work in your tote before putting it in the entry way closet with your suitcase. He simply thought you were being tidy.

But it wasn't that simple.

Other than your very presence in his arms now, there wasn't a single trace of you to be found in this house. Everything you had here wasn't just easy to pack up in five minutes to have you out the door.

You wouldn't even need five seconds.

He couldn't think of what else to do at that moment other than pull you into a desperate kiss, weaving his fingers into your hair and holding you tight against him with his free arm. The tension that held on to his heart with a vice grip lessened somewhat when he felt your lips moving with his, your own hands grasping at the fabric of his shirt to bring him in even closer.

How could you not know that this was precisely where he wanted you? Always?

"I could never tire of you, goddess," he sighed against your lips when he broke the kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too," you answered him with the faintest sniffle. "I need you to know that none of this is on you. You did nothing to make me feel this was what I should do, this is just…leftover self preservation. I don't know how to be any other way."

Tom took your hands in his, pressing a kiss to your knuckles. "Perhaps we can find a new way together," he proposed, placing one last kiss on your ring finger. The one he wished to place a ring upon one day.

It didn't matter when.

He motioned towards the bedroom, threading his fingers between yours to lead the way. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

There was a slight guilt that pinched away at his heart, realizing that you never even so much as peeked into the closet or the dressers. Because if you had, you would have seen it sooner.

You would have seen that he'd set aside half the dresser storage, and half the closet.

He was so overtaken with the joy of finally having you with him, he failed to see the signs that you hadn't been moving as if you lived with him. You moved like a scrupulously careful guest in his home, making sure everything was exactly as it was before you arrived.

Always ready to leave at a drop of a hat.

When the light turned on in the walk-in closet, Tom could hear the air leave your lungs the moment you that half of the racks were empty. He held your hand as he opened the drawers on the empty side, showing you that they, too, had nothing inside.

"You're not a guest in my home, Y/N. I--I know that it might be too early for us, but I want more than anything for you to see this as our home. I can understand if you're not quite ready yet, but I want you to know that there's space here for you. I don't want you to have to throw away money for a hotel room that isn't even slept in."

"Money isn't an issue," you mumbled, your eyes still fixed on the space he'd freed up for you. When you eventually tore your gaze away, he could see the tears that were welling up. "It's just…I've taken care of myself for so long. It's all I know. No one I was with ever cared--"

"I care, sweetheart." He pulled you into his arms, sighing into your hair when he felt you return his embrace. "And I understand you wish to take care of yourself, but perhaps I could care for you, too?"

Your only response was to nuzzle your face against his chest, before nodding against him. "Maybe we can take care of each other."

He kissed the top of your head, leading you out the closet and reaching for his phone, already placing a call to his assistant. "I'll send for someone to retrieve your belongings from the Four Seasons and settle the bill. You don't have to unpack everything if you're not ready, but at least they'll all be here. And I know you mentioned that money isn't an issue for you, but it doesn't sit right with me knowing you're spending so much on an unused room."

A soft smile finally graced your features, and you visibly looked more relaxed as you agreed to his proposal. "Fine. But next time we stay at a hotel I'm paying."

"It's a date," he said, bringing your joint hands up to kiss the back of your hand.

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of your mouth as you sat on the floor of the closet, your carry-on splayed open beside you as you carefully placed your clothes in the open drawers that Tom freed up for you. Our home, his words replayed in your mind. The mere thought threatened to overwhelm you.

He really is trying to ruin me for everyone else but him, you thought to yourself, your mind wandering back to that note you buried deep in the vaults of your phone. You were seldom one to let your guard down anywhere other than your home, where every security measure had triple the redundancies just to make sure that vulnerabilities were minimized, if not eradicated completely.

In your line of work, the one starkly outside the path that brought you to the man you love, it wasn't just a "nice to have" to have multiple measures of security. The alternative was to be in a constant state of alertness. To always be ready to fight your way out.

You never knew there could be another way. A way where there were no backups, or backups for your backups. A way that no longer involved having a place ready for you in case you got kicked to the curb because your boyfriend decided to finally take up the offer of the office succubus.

Before you knew it, the carry-on was empty, other than your run of the mill weapons of choice for self-defense. But you decided against placing that anywhere within reach, instead zipping the compartment closed before closing and locking the luggage.

There was no need for it here.

The door to the closet opened, the sight of your boyfriend walking in wearing only a pair of grey sweatpants making you smile and bite your lip. "Well hey there," you greeted him, placing your hand in his and letting out a little giggle when he helped you to your feet before pulling you into a kiss.

"Just need a few more pieces to put in the wash, darling," he murmured against your lips. "Four, to be exact."

He worked his hands under your shirt and pulled it over your head, proceeding to work his way under the waistband of your joggers.

"Three…" You held on to his shoulders to keep upright, a teasing smirk on his face as he hooked his fingers underneath your panties. "Two…" In one smooth motion, he tugged them downwards, both garments falling to your feet, your boyfriend letting out a sinful guttural sound when you were bared to him.

Then your feet left the ground, him lifting you by the backs of your thighs and coaxing you to wrap your legs around him as he brought you back into the bedroom. He laid you down on the bed, lustful darkened blue eyes raking over your body before he reached for the waistband of his own sweats.

"One…"

A/N: Where can I order one of these cinnamon roll Tomathy-shaped boyfriends? Asking for myself--

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[javierpena-inatacvest]

Chapter 12- I Love You. I Know.

Summary: As the end of October approaches, you and Javi learn more about celebrating Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos together. After a sleepless night, and a Halloween party at the Murphy's, Javi begins to open up to you about his past.

Word Count: 15.6K (I'm sweating)

Warnings: SMUT (18+), unprotected p in v sex (don't be silly, wrap your willy), oral (m receiving), vaginal fingering, creampie, praise kink, semi-public sex (Oh the poor Murphy's...), PTSD/Anxiety around grief, loss and Javi's past, some angst/tension, mentions of drinking/being drunk (Steve is getting PLASTERED), mentions of food/eating, SO MANY STAR WARS REFERENCES, literally this chapter made me sob while I was writing it, editing it, and re-reading it, I am SO sorry

A/N: You guys. Holy shit. This chapter really had me in my feels. This chapter was def a labor of love, but I'm really happy with how it turned out!! Thank you for as always for all you kind words, you truly, truly, TRULY have no idea how much your support means to me 😭💖 Also please don't kill me after you finish reading this chapter I PROMISE *things* are happening so soon I can literally taste it, but I needed for this chapter to happen first, and you would be silly to think that *things* didn't get its own whole ass chapter and I am just as excited as you AH

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The excitement of October’s conclusion was in the air, and the joys of getting to celebrate what you hoped would be the first of many holidays with Javi was at the forefront of your mind. While the end of summer meant school was here and your carefree days were gone until next June, October meant it was time for one of your favorite holidays- Halloween. It was one of your most cherished things to celebrate as a kid, and even still as an adult. The memories of jumping into leaf piles off your swingset with your brothers, dressing up in goofy, homemade costumes to trick-or-treat (because your mom was not about to buy 4 new sets of costumes every single year), carving pumpkins, and stealing as many of your brother’s Kit Kat bars as you could without getting caught, filled your heart with a warmth and joy that you couldn’t quite describe. While the 80 degree temperatures and lack of bright reds and yellows painted across the leaves falling from their trees was much different from the Chicago Octobers you were accustomed to, it hadn’t stopped you from heading full steam into Halloween. 

“So do you have any thoughts on what we should be for Steve and Connie’s? I have no problem going out to buy stuff for costumes, but I can already hear my mom yelling at me for wasting my money on cheaply made clothes I’m gonna wear for 5 hours when I have something perfectly good in my closet.” You rolled your eyes as you shuffled through the hangers, Javi sitting on the edge of your bed folding the laundry you were working on putting away. 

The two of you had gladly accepted the invitation from Steve and Connie to spend the weekend with them in San Antonio, as the Murphy’s planned to host a Halloween party at their house for their friends and co-workers, giving you and Javi a chance to have a fun weekend out of town together. 

“Hmmmm?” He asked, looking up at you as you grabbed a few shirts, examining them for costume potential. “We’re dressing up for this thing?” 

“Yeah, that’s like, the whole point of Halloween, dummy.” You giggled, throwing a few options on the floor before making your way over to your pants. “Didn’t you dress up as a kid for Halloween?” 

Unlike yourself, Javi had spent his whole life celebrating Día de los Muertos, Halloween having nowhere near as much relevance to him as it did to you, spending the end of October and first days of November gathering with his family to spend the day making Pan de Muerto (Day of the Dead sweet bread),  watching the parades on the streets of Downtown Laredo before visiting the cemetery where his grandparents were buried, decorating their graves in cempasúchil (marigold flowers), candles and photographs with his primos (cousins). Since his mom had passed, Javi hadn’t been home to celebrate with his family, and had almost forgone the tradition completely during his time in Colombia, the pain and loss of his mother and the solemn sadness of celebrating alone leading him to try his best to forget about the holiday all together. 

“Uh, no, not, not really. Didn’t really do Halloween, isn’t really as much of a thing down here. My family always celebrated Día de Los Muertos instead.” He replied, almost embarrassed by his answer, not wanting to damper your excitement as you dug through your closet for costumes. 

Your heart sank to your stomach, feeling awful that you hadn’t even taken into consideration that Javi's traditions around this time of year were completely different from what you were used to. The two of you had never really talked about how you wanted to celebrate future holidays, and always had wanted to make sure that the important parts of your lives were celebrated equally. Javi hadn’t said anything after you had spent the past few days putting up Halloween decorations around your apartment, and now you felt like an idiot assuming he had spent his whole life celebrating just like you. 

“Oh… Shit. Javi, I’m so sorry, if you don’t wanna do costumes, we don’t have to, you just hadn’t said anything about Día de Los Muertos so I just assumed that-” 

“Baby, it’s okay.” He pushed himself up off the bed, the width of his broad palms wrapping around your hips, trying to ease the guilt he could tell was rapidly consuming you. “You’re right, I never told you about it. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything to celebrate it, and I haven’t been home for it since I’ve gotten back from Colombia. I just- I don’t really know how to feel about it, I guess. The last time I did anything for it was before my mom died. I was never able to bring myself to do anything about it while I was gone, and I guess now I just feel really shitty that was the way I decided to handle it.” It broke your heart to see the pain in his eyes, pulling yourself closer to him as you wrapped your arms around his stomach, leaning your head against his chest. It was then, the realization had hit you too- This would be your first year of holidays without Patrick. You didn’t know as much as you would have liked to about Día de Los Muertos, but you did know that it was to celebrate the lives of loved ones you’d lost, a feeling that you and Javi were both all too familiar with. 

“Listen…” You raised your head, looking up at him, arms still intertwined around his waist. “I don’t- I don’t wanna make you do anything that you’re uncomfortable with. I guess this is the first time we’ve ever really talked about this kind of stuff. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, Jav, and that means celebrating the things that are special to both of us. The things that are important to you are important to me too. I want our lives for us, for our future family, to be filled with all the things we care the most about, whether that means keeping old traditions or making our own new ones. It would mean a lot to me to get to celebrate Día de los Muertos with you, and if it’s okay, I would love to sprinkle in some Halloween too, because I’m fucking dying to carve a pumpkin.” 

You smiled up at him as his hand slid under your jaw, his thumb tracing across your cheek as he tried his best to hold back the tears welling in his eyes. It took everything in him to not ruin his plans, wanting to run into the bedroom, grab the ring out of his sock drawer and propose to you that very instant. Even after all this time, Javi still couldn't believe that he was the person you wanted to share the rest of your life with. That you wanted to intertwine your past, present, and future with his, to have a life, a family, together that the two of you could cherish forever. Never in a million years had he assumed he’d be anywhere close to where he was today, holding the world’s most beautiful, perfect woman in his arms, as she told him how she wanted nothing more than to build a family and spend the rest of her days with him. 

“Osita… I fucking love you so much, you know that?” He leaned in, his lips meeting yours in a soft and deep kiss, your heart racing as he pulled you in tighter. 

“Yeah, I mean, I guess, just a little bit…” You giggled, poking fun at him, considering not a day had passed since the first night he had said it that Javi hadn’t told you just how much he loved you. 

“Shut up, you dork.” He chuckled, making you squeal as he picked you up, playfully shaking you in his grasp before setting you back down. “I’d love nothing more, Hermosa. I don’t know how the fuck you’re supposed to carve a pumpkin or what the hell you have planned for these costumes, but I’m all in. I want it all with you, Osita. Thank you.” 

“Of course. For as much or as little as you want to do for Día de los Muertos, I’m all in too. I’m gonna be honest, I love Hallowen. Not as much as Christmas, but it’s a close second. It means you’re gonna have to trust me with a giant ass knife and cover yourself in pumpkin guts, though.”

“My trust is quickly starting to fade. Seriously though, what the hell are we supposed to dress up as?” He raised an eyebrow at you, nodding over to the pile of clothes you had pulled from your closet, now piled on the floor. 

“Don’t worry, I’ve got some ideas.” 

  The weeks leading up to the holidays had made for fun at home date nights, the both of you genuinely looking forward to learning about the traditions you had both held so dear to your hearts. Almost every night after work, you had done something to celebrate the events leading up to the day. You had shown Javi a few of your favorite Halloween movies, including It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Beetlejuice, and Ghostbusters, very adamantly insisting to him that those movies were about as scary as you were going to get, blaming your brothers for scarring you after forcing you to watch The Exorcist at the ripe age of 7 years old. In addition to the movies, you had told him about other funny Trick-Or-Treating stories from your childhood, Javi’s favorite being how your brothers, (being the ruthless idiots they were) paid one of their friends in all of their halloween candy to jump out of a bush dressed as a terrifying old lady to scare the absolute shit out of you, and making you quite literally pee your pants. In return Javi shared his favorite memories of cooking in the kitchen with his mom as she made Pan de Muertos for his family, the two of you even attempting to make it one of the nights after work, milling about the kitchen together as Javi told you about his family you had yet to meet, or had passed away long before you. 

After a lengthy hunt, you were able to find pumpkins, bringing them to Chucho’s house to carve them since you had nowhere to put them inside your apartment. You offered him the rest of your Pan de Muertos in exchange for a place to work on your pumpkins, and while he gladly accepted the bread, the three of you knew Chucho was always happy to have you and Javi over, regardless. 

“So tell me, mija,” Chucho spoke in between mouthfuls of sweet bread, rocking back and forth in his chair, “is there a meaning behind carving the pumpkins, or is it just for fun?” 

“Just for fun! Okay, it looks like we’re ready, you want me to show you how to do it, or just let you go for it?” You smiled at Javi, the two of you sitting cross legged on Chucho’s porch, pumpkins open in front of you. 

“You just scoop them out, right?” Javi questioned, looking into the pumpkin with an unsure grimace. “It seems like there's a lot in here, Osita. I have to get all of it out?” 

“Yeah, or else you can’t see the design when you carve it. C’mon you big baby, just stick your hand in there and pull the guts out!” You laughed, digging your hand into your pumpkin, scooping out hearty globs of pumpkin guts, slopping them into the bucket Chucho had set out for you. Reluctantly, Javi joined, you and Chucho both absolutely dying at Javi’s face as his hand met the squishy fibers inside his pumpkin. 

“Jesus, that feels fucking gross!” He laughed, shaking his head as he threw some of the seeds and strings into the trash next to him. 

“You need me to do it for you?” You giggled, flicking a pumpkin seed at him as he winced with the second handful he pulled out. 

“No, cabrón (asshole), I can do it.” Javi grumbled as he rolled his eyes at you, the both of you scooping hearty handfuls of goop. 

“You hear that, Chucho? Calling me an asshole because he’s too scared to pull out pumpkin guts.” You looked back at his dad, giving him a playful grin, his smile already wide from the enjoyment of watching the two of you. With your back turned to Javi, you hadn’t noticed the small handful of seeds he had collected in his hand, lining up his arm to aim right at the back of your head. “I can’t believe that- HEY!” You whipped your neck around, running your hand over the back of your neck, picking seeds and strings out of your hair, seeing Javi snicker to himself as your jaw dropped open in shock. “Did you seriously just throw pumpkin guts at me?!” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, must have been a ghost.” He shrugged, smirking to himself before digging his hand back into his pumpkin. 

“You see this?!” You looked back at Chucho, pointing your finger at Javi, pretending to be stern, although your laughter quickly escaped. “Absolutely ridiculous, I swear.” 

“Javier, that is no way to treat your future esposa! (Wife) No quiero mis nietos ser cubierto en calabaza! Me encantáran en cualquier caso, pero todavía! (I don’t want my future grandchildren covered in pumpkin! I will love them either way, but still!)” Chucho scolded with a smirk, you and Javi silently smiling to each other at the thought of one day doing this with your own children. Javi had tried to stop fighting off his dad’s comments about grandkids a while ago- Chucho knew just as well as the two of you that he would have his grandchildren soon enough. 

“Ella lo pído… (She asked for it…)” Javi muttered under his breath, shooting his gaze up at you as he felt cold goop hit the side of his cheek, wiping the pumpkin you had just thrown at him off with the back of his hand, watching you smirk silently to yourself as you continued to scoop out your pumpkin.

“Ahora… Estamos a mano. (And now… We’re even.)” 

The 3 of you chatted on the porch, the sky now painted a dark black, filled with twinkling constellations above as you finished carving your pumpkins. Yours, a cute ghost with a little smiley face, and Javi’s, what he had tried to convince you and Chucho was also a ghost, even though it looked more like he had just carved a squiggly hole in the middle of his. It took a little prodding and convincing, but as you all talked about how the Peña family had spent many a Día de los Muertos, you and Chucho were able to get Javi to agree to go visit his mom’s gravesite on the Sunday after you got back from Steve and Connie’s party. Chucho had even promised to keep his tias, tios, and primos (aunts, uncles, and cousins) completely out of the picture this year, wanting to give Javi all the time and space he needed to go see his mom for the first time since her funeral. He was reluctant at first, riddled with the guilt of leaving her unvisited all these years, but as he felt the gentle squeeze of your hand, your silent reassurance was all he needed to know that you would be by his side, every step of the way. As you said your goodbyes, Chucho hugged you just a little extra tighter than normal, as if to thank you for everything you had done for his son, and just how thankful he was to have you in his life, too. 

Even though the Murphy’s had very graciously offered to let you and Javi stay on Friday night as well as Saturday, both Steve and Connie very much understood when you had told them on the phone that the only thing that you wanted to do after coming home from the chaos of managing an elementary school Halloween party was take a very, very long nap. You and Javi had spent the night ordering pizza and watching Young Frankenstein, only lasting about 20 minutes into the movie before you were dead asleep, snoring against Javi’s chest, still dressed in If You Give A Mouse A Cookie costume from earlier today. Carrying you to bed and undressing you from your mouse ears and oversized overalls, Javi curled into bed next to you, pulling your body against his as he stared at the ceiling. Despite how hard he tried to fall asleep, he laid there, wide awake as ever, as his head raced with the tornado of thoughts brewing inside his brain. 

Javier Peña had never really considered himself to be an anxious person. For most of his life, he couldn’t be. For the sake of his job, the sake of his family after his Mom passed, Javi had survived the only way he had known how- Block it out, and ignore it. And so far, that strategy had seemed to bode for him pretty darn well. But that was before he had anyone who depended on him, cared about him, anyone who made his life worth living for. That was before he had met you. Now, Javi found himself at the crossroads of a moment he had been waiting for since the moment he had first laid eyes on you. Something that brought him absolute joy and sheer terror at the same time- Javier Peña was going to propose to you, and he was an anxious fucking mess. 

If that in itself wasn’t enough, things at the Laredo County Sheriff's Department had been an absolute shit show. Mexico was the only thing on anyone’s radar, making for long days and high tension at the office, trying to do anything to slow the spread of the cartel’s influence across the border. Day after day, report after report, it felt like the department was drowning in the endless shitty news of new death tolls, record breaking trafficking stats, and lack of control as cocaine moved across the Rio Grande at a groundbreaking pace. Even though he found himself even further removed from Mexico than he ever was in Colombia, he couldn’t help but feel that painful, searing wrench in his gut when he sat down to really think about it. 

You. 

Spending your lives together.

Having a family.

Protecting his wife and kids. 

The things he would do to keep you safe.

The terrible things he had done he had justified were keeping other people safe. 

The imagines of the things he wish he could unsee.

The pain and hurt he wished he could take back. 

The fear of what he was capable of doing. 

So with a knot in his chest from work, a ring hidden away in his sock drawer, and the beginnings of a plan to ask the woman he loved more than life itself to marry him, Javi coped with the weight of his stress the only way he knew how. He couldn’t fucking sleep. 

The thoughts played in his mind on repeat, torturing him with every loop around his brain. He tried his best to close his eyes, to empty his head for a moment of peace, but no matter how much he wished he could have willed himself to sleep, it was no use. By the time the alarm clock on his nightstand read 2:05 AM, Javi had completely given up on the idea of rest for the night, quietly making his way out of bed to go wander around the living room. It wasn’t long before you too were also awake, rolling over in your sleep to find Javi’s space in the bed cold and empty. Rubbing your eyes and propping yourself up against your pillow, you scanned around the darkness of your room as you came to, realizing that Javi was nowhere to be found.  Draping one of the blankets from your bed over you, you crept into the hallway, greeted by the soft light of one of the living room lamps painting shadows against the wall. 

“Javi, are you up?” Your voice still soft and sleepy, rubbing your hand along your face, squinting from the sudden brightness that lit up the room. 

“Osita, baby, did I wake you up? I'm so sorry. Go back to bed, okay?” Javi shot up from the couch, setting down whatever book he had been half focused on reading as he watched your bed headed figure meander into the living room. 

“No, it’s okay.” You grumbled, holding out your blanket covered arms for Javi to melt his body into yours, wrapping you in a tight hug. You pressed your head into the bare skin of his chest, snaking your hands around his waist as he planted his lips against the the top of your head, burying his nose in your tangled hair. “Baby, what’s going on? Why can’t you sleep? I’m worried about you, Jav.” 

“I’m… Yeah, I’m okay, Hermosa. Just a lot on my mind.” He sighed, his exhale still buried in your hair as he savored the smell of you, still lingering even in your sleepy state. 

His pause alone was enough to know okay wasn’t the word that you would use to describe Javi right now. His words were burdened and fatigued, making it clear that whatever was on his mind was weighing on him more heavily than he wanted to admit. 

“Are you sure? Javi, if you wanna talk about anything, you know I’m always here, right?” 

You wanted so desperately to pry. Everything in you had a feeling that whatever was keeping him up were entangled in the parts of his dark parts past, the last secrets holding up the final wall between the two of you. You knew from your brothers how hard it was to talk about the pain and suffering they had witnessed, and begging them to talk about it before they were ready only seemed to make it worse. Hell, after Patrick died, it felt like you didn’t sleep for weeks, and it had taken you months to open up about it. You knew Javi hurt, and as much as you wanted to, digging deeper into the things that plagued him in his restless nights wasn’t what he needed right now. Right now, he just needed someone to be there for him. 

“Is there anything I can do, Javi? I just wanna help.” The breath of your sympathetic whispers were hot against Javi’s skin, squeezing your arms to pull him as close to you as he could. He paused for a moment, letting out another deep breath as cradled the back of your head with his palm, running his hands through your hair. 

“Will- Will you stay up with me? Just a little bit longer?” His voice trembled as you turned your head to lock your eyes with his, the gentle nod of your head bringing him a moment of relief. 

“Of course, baby. Of course I’ll stay up with you. Do you wanna turn on the TV or put on a movie? Sometimes that helps me sleep.” You stretched your arms over your head, scrunching your face as you yawned before tugging your blanket tighter around your body. 

“Believe me, Hermosa, I know it does.” He let out a soft chuckle as he pressed a soft kiss against your forehead. 

“Oh shit, yeah that is true. I don’t even think I made it halfway through Young Frankenstein tonight, which is a crime. It’s such a good movie. I don’t even remember getting into bed.” You yawned again, this time taking one of your blanket covered fists to try and rub the sleep out of your eyes, forcing yourself to stay awake. 

“Well, if you give a mouse pizza and a movie after a long day at school, then she’ll probably need her boyfriend to carry her to bed because she’s so tired.” Now awake enough, Javi’s cute jab at your costume for school made you let out a little giggle, giving him a little shove with your blanket wrapped body. “Why don’t we turn the rest of it on, so you can finish watching?” 

“I don’t wanna fall asleep on you, Javi.” You grumbled, pouting up at him, considering he had just asked you to stay awake with him. 

“It’s okay. As long as I have you by me, I’ll be alright, I promise.” Reluctantly, you nodded in agreement, plopping yourself on the couch as Javi turned on the TV, rewinding the VHS tape to the point where you had fallen asleep earlier before joining you, draping his arm around your shoulder as you tucked in your knees and scooted closer to him. You sat for a few minutes in silence, letting the sounds of the movie fill the background. As you turned your head to look up at Javi, you could tell that even though his eyes were pointed at the screen, there was no way he was really watching the movie. Reaching up your hand, you ran your fingers across the length of his strong jaw, his stubble scratching against your palm, forcing him to look back at you. Your eyes met his, the sweet, chocolate brown looking back at you, with a confusing mix of exhaustion, guilt, want and helplessness. You brought your face closer to his, your lips now only inches apart as your whispers danced against his mouth, desperate to find something to ease his pain. 

“What do you need, Javi? Whatever you need, I’ll give it to you.” 

His tongue swept against his bottom lip, taking one last shaky breath before his words left his body with his exhale. 

“You. I need you.” 

His hands found their way to the bare skin of your thighs, his fingertips barely brushing against your flesh as he traced his way up to your torso, toying with the hem of one of his shirts that always looked so much better on you than him. Pressing his palm against the soft curves of your stomach, he tugged at the waistband of your sleep shorts, causing you to shift your body so he could slide them down your legs. Reaching over towards his lap, you grasped at his boxers, feeling him already half hard under the fabric as you rubbed your hand against him. Javi held your hips, slowly guiding you to straddle him as you kicked your shorts off your feet, leaving them in a pile on the ground. Slowly, you began to grind deeper into his lap, the feeling of him now fully hard beneath you. Gently prompting you to raise your arms over your head, Javi lifted your shirt, leaving you bare as he dropped it next to your shorts. 

“Is this okay?” Javi rasped, pressing languid kisses against your neck and collarbone as you ran your hands against the width of his broad shoulders. 

“Of course, baby.” Your reply low and horse as you began to drag the fabric of his boxers lower and lower, finally letting his cock spring free as his waistband pushed past. You brought your palm to your mouth, licking a long, wet strip across it before wrapping it around his length, thumbing over the precum already leaking from his tip. Javi tilted his head against the back of the couch as you twisted your wrist, stroking his cock, letting out a hushed moan before sitting back up to watch you. 

“You’re fucking perfect, Osita. I don’t deserve you.” He dug his fingertips into the soft flesh of your ass, his sweet, brown eyes locked on yours as you pressed against him, nibbling at his ear. 

“You deserve everything, Javi. I could give you everything in the world and it still wouldn’t be enough.” Javi grasped at your face, cupping your cheeks as he pressed his lips against yours in a deep, intense kiss, his voice shaky and lustful as his mouth parted with yours before he spoke. 

“I don’t need anything besides you, Osita. Eres mi todo. Estás todo lo que necesito. (You are my everything. You’re all I’ll ever need.) He shuttered, letting out a low groan as you continued to rub your hand along his length, Javi now reaching down to trace lazy circles around your clit before dipping his fingers inside your wet heat. His fullness made you whimper, wrapping tighter around his cock as you stroked him, now bucking your hips against his hand as his fingers curled, bumping against the spongy spot that made you lose control. “Does that feel good, sweet girl? Fuck, you’re so wet. 

“Mhmmmmm.” You gasped, rapidly nodding your head as his digits pulsed inside you, your cunt already drenched, desperate to feel the fullness of his dick, despite the thickness of his fingers. Carefully, you lifted your hips, moving yourself closer to him as you ran your fingers through the soft ends of his sleepy curls. Sitting up on your knees, Javi removed his hand as he watched you hover over him, his palms roaming to your hips as you guided his tip through your folds, collecting your arousal before lining him up with your entrance. His jaw went slack as you lowered down on to him, taking your time as you savored the stretch of every sweet inch until you had bottomed out at his base. 

“Fuckkk, baby.” He mewled, gently guiding his hands against your hips as you dragged yourself up along his length before headfully sinking back down, the tip of his cock bumping against your cervix with each movement. Javi nipped at your neck, trailing hot, wet kisses down your collarbone before stopping at your breasts, flicking this tongue along each of your pebbled nipples as you pushed deeper into his lap, whimpering at his touch. “My sweet girl, always taking me so well, like you were fucking made for me, baby. God, you’re so fucking gorgeous.” Javi pulled you in tighter, caging his chest against yours as his arms wrapped around the small of your back as he rested his face in the crook of your neck. “Fuck, I love you so much, Osita.” His words were desperate and needy against your bare skin, digging your fingers into his dark curls as you swirled your hips around his cock. 

“I love you too, Javi. More than anything.” You moaned as felt Javi shift his weight, thrusting upwards as he buried himself deep inside you. His fullness had you digging your nails into the nape of his neck, your body melting into his with each push and pull against each other. You could feel the all too familiar tingle creeping up your legs and through the base of your spine as Javi’s hand found its way to circle around your clit, already throbbing as the curled hair around his base brushed against your sensitive nerves. The lewd noises of your moans and tangled bodies drowned out the sounds of the TV behind you, practically hearing how wet you were as Javi cock slipped in and out of your heat, his pace pounding as he punched into you. You could feel your walls beginning to tighten around him, arousal pooling in your belly, Javi knowing you were close as you whimpered into the crook of his neck. “Fuck baby, don’t stop- ahhhh- please don’t stop, I’m so close.” 

“I know, baby, I know. Let go for me, Osita. Wanna feel you soak my lap before I fuck you full of me. Cum for me baby, it’s okay, I’ve got you.” Javi’s fingers rubbed faster along your clit as you rolled your hips, sinking yourself deeper onto his cock with each thrust, your vision going white as you could feel yourself come undone. 

“Javi, Javi- fuck- Javi, Jav-ahhhhhh.” You could feel yourself gush around him, crying out his name as you reached your high, your legs shaking and fingers digging into his skin, pleasure flowing through your veins. 

“That’s it, Hermosa. Fuck, baby, I’m gonna cum too, fuck myself so deep inside you. My perfect girl. Mierda- Quiero que seas mío para siempre, mi amor. Solo tú, por siempre y para siempre. (Shit- I want you to be mine forever, my love. Only you, forever and always). Fuck me, I- fuckkkk.” Javi hissed as he buried himself deep in your hilt, spilling every drop of his spend against your walls. You could feel the mixture of the both of you dripping down your thighs, soaking Javi’s lap as you slumped into his body, your heart racing as the damp curls of his hair pressed against your shoulder. You both sat there for a moment, letting your chests rise and fall together in sync as you came to. “Fuck me, Osita. I could stay like this forever, baby.”

“You and me both. Although, I feel like that would make things awfully inconvenient for the both of us.” Your soft, sleepy giggles making Javi smile as he ran his fingers though the twisted ends of your hair. Carefully, you lifted yourself up, hissing at the loss of Javi inside you. 

“Thank you, Osita.” Javi whispered, tenderly circling his thumb along your jaw as you curled up next to him. 

“For what?” 

“Just- fuck, you’re so good to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you. So, I just- thank you. Thank you for being everything I need.” Planting a gentle kiss on your forehead, Javi pulled you tighter, holding you in his arms as you leaned against him. 

“I’ll always be here for you, Javi. I promise.” 

You hoped he knew. That he knew your words were true. That when the time came for him to open up to you, letting you into the painful past that loomed above him, that you wouldn’t run. You would be right by his side, just as you were right now. 

“Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” Javi chuckled as you twisted in the passenger seat, stretching your arms over your head, scrunching your face, letting out a lengthy yawn. 

“Fuck, how long was I asleep for? How much longer do we have left? Sorry, I wasn’t planning on sleeping that long, I just wanted to take a nap for a little while we drove.” You ran your hands over your face, looking out at the bright Texas sun shining over the neat suburban neighborhood you now found yourself driving through. Javi reached over across the center console, rubbing his hand along your thigh as he chuckled to himself. 

“Baby, I knew from the moment you fell asleep you were gonna be out for the rest of the drive, it’s okay. I was just worried I was gonna have to wake you up in the Murphy’s driveway.” You grumbled as you looked over at Javi, giving him a playful swat against his arm, shaking your head, now emerging from your post nap fog. 

“Well if we weren't up fucking at 2:30 in the morning, perhaps I wouldn’t be so tired, hmmmm?” 

Javi rolled his eyes as you poked fun at how the both of you had found yourselves last night, trying to ease Javi’s sleeplessness. While your solution had worked enough to ease him back to bed, it had now left you wide awake, wondering what had been going through Javi’s head, torturing him enough to keep him up. It had also meant that the two of you had slept in much longer than you intended, leaving later than planned for Steve and Connie’s. The two of you had quickly packed your things and hit the road, stopping to grab lunch on the way before you found yourself dead asleep next to Javi for the last hour and a half of your journey to San Antonio. With only a few minutes now left in your drive, you peered out the window, admiring the houses that lined the quiet streets of the Murphy’s neighborhood. 

“This is a cute subdivision.” You smiled over at Javi, admiring the houses, charming and inviting as they were freshly decorated from Halloween. 

“Yeah, it is pretty nice.” He grinned back, wrapping his palm around your thigh, giving your leg a little squeeze. He took a deep breath, his voice now shifting in tone, becoming more shaky and nervous. “Would you uh- would you, um, wanna live in a neighborhood like this?” 

“Maybe. I don’t know, the houses are all really close together. I spent so much of my life in the city, and even at my house growing up, everything always felt so cramped. After coming here, especially after seeing your ranch, I don’t know, I would love to be somewhere with more space. But that’s a big ask, so, maybe one day if it works out, I guess.” You reached over, rubbing your hand along Javi’s arm, your soft smile meeting his tender gaze as he smirked, nodding to himself. 

“Yeah, one day.” 

Taking a last turn down one of the neighborhood streets, the two of you pulled up to the quaint two story home belonging to the Murphy’s. Turning off the ignition, Javi paused for a moment, grinning to himself as he ran the hand resting on your leg up to your face, cupping your check as his eyes roamed the length of your body, taking every inch of you in as his sweet brown eyes consumed you. “I love you, Osita.”  

“I love you too, Jav.” Both of your heads tilted, your lips gently pressing against one anothers as you traced your hand through Javi’s dark curls, pulling him closer into you. You could feel his smile against your mouth as his tongue barely swiped against your bottom lip, the two of you so lost in the moment, you hadn’t even seen Steve make his way out of the house to greet you, let alone the fact that he was now standing at the driver’s side door, hands on his hips as he watched your impromptu makeout session in Javi’s truck. 

“You two lovebirds want help bringin’ your bags in, or do I need to give you a minute?” Steve chuckled to himself as you and Javi shot up, hearts racing and faces going white hearing his distinct drawl and rapid tapping at the driver’s side window. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Javi placed one more soft kiss on your forehead before promptly turning around to flip off Steve and opening the driver’s side door. “You two are worse than a pair of horny teenagers, I swear.” You could hear Steve still snickering to himself as you exited out your side of the car, making your way over to find Javi and Steve in a tight hug, lovingly patting each other on the back. 

“Fuck off, Murph.” Javi shook his head against Steve’s embrace, pulling away to grab your two bags from the backseat. 

“Listen, I’m not the one makin’ out in my driveway.” Steve shrugged as you sheepishly emerged from your side of the truck, smiling at you as grimaced at him. 

“He started it…” You glanced over at Javi, you and Steve now both giggling as he pulled you in for a hug. 

“Of course he did, wouldn’t put anything past this old bastard. How ya doin’ sweetheart? Good to see the both of you, we’re really glad you guys could make it. 

“She’s doing great after the hour and a half nap she took on the way here.” Javi interjected, slamming the truck door behind him, slinging both of your bags over his shoulder. 

“Whatever, you meanie. In my defense, I was not planning to sleep that long, and I think Halloween exhaustion got the best of me.” You shot Javi a quick wink, trying to bite down on your lip before turning back to face Steve. 

“Listen, I don’t blame ya. I’m fuckin’ exhausted after trick-or-treating with 3 kids, let alone tryin’ to keep ‘em wrangled at school all day. I love those girls, but I don’t think I could've gotten them in my parents car fast enough when they came to pick ‘em up this morning. Here, come on in, I won’t make you stand out in the driveway all day, unless you need to make out more.” 

As you stepped into the Murphy home, you were greeted by an abundance of Halloween streamers and banners hanging in the living room and up the stairwell to the second floor, along with a few Barbie dolls and accessories scattered across the entryway, nearly stepping on one as you came through the door. You could smell the sweet scent of something baking in the kitchen as Connie came rushing through the hallway, arms outstretched to greet you and Javi. “Oh it’s so good to see you two, thank you so much for coming!” Connie squeezed you and Javi in a tight hug before she backed away, kicking one of the toys on the floor across the room. “Sorry about the Barbies, I told the girls to clean up before they left for their grandparents this morning but I think all 3 of them are still running on a sugar high from last night and that obviously didn’t happen.” 

“Thank you so much for having us! Don’t worry about it at all, I totally understand! Javi was just telling me on the way over how much he was hoping the girls had Barbies he could play with anyways!” The 3 of you laughed as Javi rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as you gave him a smirk and a little nudge. 

“Fuck, I forgot how funny she was Jav.” Steve snickered to himself, picking up one of the Barbies and tossing it across the room into one of the toy baskets along the wall. “Seriously though, we are really glad you guys could make it. Your birthday party was fun as hell, old man. Glad to be close enough to actually see each other and do stuff like this again.” 

Before Javi would respond, you all jumped, startled by the sound of the kitchen timer beeping rapidly from the other room. “Oh crap, sorry, I gotta grab the cupcakes out of the oven!” Connie grimaced apologetically, making her way back to the kitchen. 

“Do you need any help?” You asked, excited to spend more time with Connie. 

“Oh my gosh actually if you could help with frosting the cupcakes that would be amazing. I made these yesterday for Olivia and Abby’s class parties, and I had no idea it was gonna take so long and was worried I wasn’t going to have enough time for all of them before the party! Thank you!” 

“Of course!” You replied, grinning at her before following her lead to the kitchen, giving a little wave as you disappeared around the hall, looking back at Steve and Javi. “Have fun, you two.” 

Steve paused for a moment until the both of you were out of sight, waiting to forcefully slap his hand against Javi’s chest, making him groan from the unexpected pain. 

“What the fuck was that for, you jackass?” Javi winced, glaring at Steve. 

“Where the fuck’s the ring, man?! Steve hissed through gritted teeth, looking back at Javi in disappointment. “I thought you were gonna fuckin’ do it after you got back from Chicago and met her family?! I thought everything was all good with- oh shit, did something happen with the ho-” 

“Shhhhhh! You fuckin’ idiot, please, talk louder, I don’t think the people at the end of the street could hear you.” Javi looked around the corner, clenching his jaw, praying that you hadn’t heard anything from the kitchen. 

“I’m not that fuckin’ loud… Shit, what the fuck happened then?” Steve grumbled, looking over at Javi with concern. 

“Can we maybe talk about proposal plans somewhere that’s not right by the woman I’m trying to propose to?” Running his thumb over his balled fists, Javi’s eyes darted back and forth, staying on the lookout for your return. 

“Fine, fine, fine. I’ll show you where the guest room is and then you can tell me.” Steve motioned up the stairs, Javi trailing behind with both your bags draped around his shoulders

“Was I really that fuckin’ loud?” 

“…Have you heard yourself talk?” 

“So how’s everything been going at work? There definitely was a full moon sometime in the past week because things were crazy at the hospital, I’m sure they had to be equally as bad at an elementary school.” You and Connie giggled as you squeezed a dollop of orange frosting onto one of the cupcakes before taking one of the little bags to pipe on eyes and a mouth to make it look like a pumpkin. 

“Oh my god, I think it must have been on Wednesday, I had a boy cut another girl’s hair with scissors and then had to call another parent because her daughter bit another kid at recess pretending to play werewolves. I felt really bad we didn’t come last night, I was exhausted after our Halloween party, I fell asleep on poor Javi at like, 8 o’clock.” 

Although you found yourself laughing with Connie again, you couldn’t help but shake the uncomfortable feeling you had in your gut as you thought about after you had woken up in the middle of the night to find Javi wide awake and distressed. You carefully set down your spatula, taking a deep breath before glancing over at Connie, still frosting next to you. “Hey, uh, Connie? Can, um- Can I ask you something?” Connie immediately sensed the shift in your tone, putting down her cupcake. 

“Of course, honey. What’s going on?” 

“Did um, did- Did Steve ever- ever talk to you? About all the stuff that happened in Colombia? I mean like, I know you were there, but I don’t know. Sorry, I don’t know what I’m trying to ask, this is probably way too personal, I-” You could feel yourself shrinking, retracting in embarrassment at your overly intrusive question, unable to finish your thought before Connie cut you off, placing her hand on your shoulder. 

“Oh, honey…” Her eyes were filled with sympathy as they looked back at yours, letting out a sigh before she responded. “Did something happen?” You began to nod your head no, even though you could feel the words yes burning in your throat. You took another shaky breath, trying to hold back the tears now welling in your eyes as you spoke. 

“No I mean- well, yeah, I guess. Last night, I woke up and Javi wasn’t in bed. He was out in the living room and I could tell that something was bothering him. I don’t know- maybe it was nothing. I just- when my brothers came back from active duty, there were a lot of things that kind of just went unspoken. I knew it was hard for them to talk about. Charlie handled it okay, but my brother Patrick never wanted to talk to anyone about what happened, and it just- I don’t know Connie, I don’t think Javi would ever do anything stupid like he did, but- fuck- it scares me sometimes. I know Javi’s done things that he’s probably not proud of, and I get it’s part of the nature of what his job was. I don’t care. I really don’t. People do shitty things when they’re put in shitty situations. But he never talks about it. Ever. Does… Does he not trust me? I care about him so much, Con. More than anything. I get so worried about him.” 

Your tears were now streaming down your cheeks, leaving your face wet as you wiped the back of your hand across your skin to try and do some form of damage control before Connie embraced you, pulling you in for a hug, tightly wrapping her arms around you. “Oh sweetheart. Of course he trusts you. When Steve came back, he was a mess. I don’t think it really all hit him until he was finally home. I guess you’re right, it was different because I was there, but even then, there were things that happened that I didn’t know about. After begging and begging him, I finally got him to go to see someone and it really helped, but even now, there’s times where it still creeps up on him. Honey, Javi loves you so much. I didn’t think I’d ever live to see the day he was in love as he is with you. If he’s anything like Steve, he just doesn't wanna hurt you.” 

You sniffled, taking a step back to wipe your nose with your sleeve, your lip trembling as you tried to keep from crying harder than you already were. “But that’s what hurts, Connie. It hurts me to think he has to keep this from me, like I’m gonna think less of him for what he’s been through.” 

“I know. Have you talked to him about it?” Connie’s voice was gentle and sweet, rubbing her hand along your arm as she listened to what you needed to get off your chest. 

“No… I guess I should have. I never wanted to pry. I know it’s hard to talk about, I just- I wanna be there for him Connie. I don’t want him to have to do it all on his own.” You shifted your gaze to the ground, guilt washing over you. After Patrick, you couldn’t live with the idea of letting Javi try to suffer through his past alone. You loved him more than anything- and even the slightest thought of going through anything similar to what had happened to Patrick again with Javi was almost paralyzing. 

“I think the best thing you can do is to go talk to him.” Looking back up, you saw Connie smiling at you, trying to convince you that everything would be okay, even if it felt like it wasn’t. “Why don’t you go find him? Party’s starting soon anyways, you can go change into your costumes and come down wherever you’re ready. I’ll be just fine with the cupcakes, tell Steve can put himself to work frosting.” The both of you grinned as you tried to wipe your tears, nodding slowly in agreement. 

“Thanks, Connie.” You whispered into her shoulder as you pulled her in for a hug before heading up the stairs to find where Javi and Steve had gone. It didn’t take you long to find the pair, hearing their voices carry through the hallway from the slightly cracked door of the guest bedroom. You were about to knock and interrupt their conversation, stopping yourself with your fist barely touching the door as you tried to make out what they were talking about. 

“The offer was in fucking cash, too. I was trying to make it easier so I could speed up the process, but it’s been taking them so goddamn long to close on everything so I can finally go sign the fucking paperwork.” 

“That fuckin’ blows, Jav. I’m sorry. It’s not like she knows any better, though. It’ll still be a huge fuckin’ surprise, I’ll tell you that much.” 

“I know. It’s been killing me to wait this long. I just want it to be perfect, Steve. She deserves everything. Honestly, I’m kinda glad it bought me some more time. I need to find a way to get her to see it before everything’s official in case she fucking hates it.” 

“Javi. She’s not gonna hate it. Fuck it, tell her Connie and I are lookin’ for somethin’ and we wanted you two to go see it for us. I don’t know, maybe that’s too obvious. Speakin’ of which, I should probably go check to see if she needs anything before this party, I’m already in the fuckin’ dog house for forgettin’ to bring the girl’s trick-or-treatin’ bags to school, I don’t need to be in trouble for anything else.” 

What the hell were they talking about? What was Javi signing? Why was it taking so long? What the hell did it have to do with you? Wait… holy fuck. No way… Was he- 

Before you could finish your thought, you suddenly realized Steve was making his way towards the door. You quickly rapped your fist against the wood, trying to play off the fact you had been eavesdropping and make it look like you had just unassumingly made your way upstairs, not overhearing the conversation the two were just having. 

Knock, knock. 

“Hey, it’s me! Uh, Steve, Con wants to know if you can help her with the cupcakes really quick.” You pushed open the door, trying your best to smile at the suspicious pair as Steve shook his head, looking back at Javi. 

“It’s always fuckin’ somethin’. I don’t even know what I did wrong this time, I swear.” Steve held up his hands defensively, sliding his way past you in the doorway before heading downstairs, leaving you standing there awkwardly, unsure how to feel after your conversation with Connie and the one you had just overheard. 

“Hey, Osita. How’s everything goin’ down there? Sorry, we were just about to come down and- Hey, baby, you okay?” Javi stood up, concern spreading across his face from the strange scrunch in your brow as you stared at the floor. 

“Ummmm…” You froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. On the one hand, your conversation with Connie had you ready to confront Javi, to finally work up the courage to ask him about the past life he had tried his best to keep from you. But as you glanced over at him, seeing his sweet brown eyes and stupidly handsome face, remembering the discussion you had just overheard through the doorway, the other hand meant you weren’t at risk of ruining your night that the two of you had been so looking forward to, and right now, the other hand was going to have to be the one you needed to play. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good, I just- I was gonna ask you something but forgot what I was gonna say. I’m sure I’ll remember it eventually.” You smiled at Javi, neither of you completely convinced by your response. “But um, Connie said that people are gonna start getting here soon, so we can change into our costumes if you want.” A smirk slowly stretched across your cheeks as you nodded over to the black duffle bags laying on the bed. 

Javi’s grin matched yours quickly, grabbing your hips and pulling you closer against him as you giggled. “You sure we’re not gonna be the only ones dressed up?” 

“Well considering it’s a Halloween party and I literally just talked to Connie about what she and Steve are wearing downstairs, I’m gonna give it a pretty confident yes. Worst case, it just looks like you’re wearing a white shirt and vest, Mr. Solo. You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy looking nerf herder.” You raised your eyebrows, playfully poking at his chest. Javi paused, shaking his head at your quote, firing one right back at you as he bit down on his lip. 

“You just like me because I’m a scoundrel. There aren’t enough scoundrels in your life.” 

“I happen to like nice men.” 

“I am a nice man.”  

Javi cupped your face, pulling you in for a long, heavy kiss before backing away to unpack your bags, shooting you a quick wink as you rolled your eyes. Jesus, he even found a way to make Star Wars sexy. Just when you thought you couldn’t be anymore in love, Javier Peña never failed to find a way to make you realize you’d never stop falling for him. 

After putting in what felt like the 74th bobby pin into your hair after getting the last braid wrapped over your head, you gave yourself a once over in the mirror, pleasantly surprised by how well your costume had turned out. While Javi was disappointed you were adamant you were not going as Princess Leia from Return of the Jedi and showing up in front of a group of strangers at Steve and Connie’s party in her slave costume, you and Javi both agreed that Hoth Princess Leia was definitely the next best look. Staring at you with his puppy dog eyes, Javi had been adamant about waiting with you as you finished getting ready, leaning his hip against the bathroom counter, arms crossed over his chest as he watched you finish the last of your hair and makeup. 

“Okay, I think that should stay. All those years of braiding my hair for under my hockey helmet are finally coming in handy for something.” You snickered, pushing the final clip into your hair to hold it into place, giving yourself a once over in the mirror. As you looked yourself down, Javi’s eyes wandered up and down your body just as fast, practically undressing you as fast as you had put your costume on. 

“Goddamn, Osita… Fuck, you’re so hot.” 

“Me? Jesus Christ, Javi. You put Harrison Ford to shame with how fucking good you look. I like Han Solo better with a mustache anyways.” You licked your tongue against your bottom lip, running your hands along the muscles of his arms, straining against the tight henley shirt he was wearing under his vest. You were no better than Javi, practically having to force yourself to not look in his general direction while you were getting ready to prevent yourself from pouncing on him. But given the lack of chatter downstairs, and the impressive speed at which the two of you had gotten ready, you really couldn’t help yourself. Slowly, you let your hands begin to slip down his arms and across his chest, palming at the denim of his black jeans as he let out a deep groan. 

“Hermosa…” He hissed against your neck as you grasped at the bulge now growing under his pants, your other hand now making its way down to undo his belt, the clinking of the metal drowned out by Javi’s heavy panting. You began lowering your body, sliding Javi’s pants and boxers down his thighs as his cock sprang free, his tip already red and leaking with precum. You rested on your knees, face to face with his length as you wrapped your hand around him, slowly stroking him a few times. 

“This okay, Captain Solo?” You batted your lashes at him, giving him a wink before letting your spit dribble onto his cock, taking his tip into your mouth and swirling your tongue around it. Curling your fingers around his base, you began to twist your wrist, hollowing out your cheeks as you took him deeper into your mouth. 

“Oh, fuck me. Holy shit, Osita.” He moaned, tilting his head back, letting his jaw go slack as your head bobbed back and forth. He gently rested his hand along the side of your face, helping to guide you along his length as you took him deeper and deeper down your throat. “Jesus Christ, baby. Fuck, that feels so good. You look so hot, god fuckin’ dammit.” Javi’s words were labored and shaky as you started to increase your pace, wrapping your free hand around the back of his bare thigh, digging your fingertips into his leg. Feeling the pressure beginning to build in his stomach, Javi began rocking his hips, his jaw completely slack as he looked down at the sight of how well you took him in your mouth, saliva dribbling down your chin as sucked along his cock, hard and heavy on your tongue. “Fuck, Osita. I’m not gonna last much longer. Can I cum like this, baby? Fill up that- fuck- fill up that pretty little mouth of yours?”” 

You glanced up at him, nodding, your lips still wrapped around his dick, the motions of your head and wrist now becoming faster and sloppier as you watched Javi’s brow scrunch and jaw clench, a sign you knew all too well that he was moments away from coming undone. 

“Such a good fucking girl, taking me so well. Fuck, baby- shit- se sientes tan bien, estoy tan cercaaahhhhhh-” (you feel so good, I’m so closeeeee-). The hot ropes of his spend coated the back of your throat, the salty, tangy mix filling your mouth as Javi whined, giving his hips one last push as kept your lips wrapped around him, making sure that you had milked him of every last drop before releasing. Letting your spit and his release fall from the corners of your lips, you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, smirking up at Javi’s blissed out expression. “Jesus Christ, Osita. You’re too fucking good at that. Holy shit. Lemme take care of-“ 

You held up your hand to stop him as you stood up, your gesture cutting off the rest of his sentence as you helped to pull up his jeans and boxers still resting along his thighs. “I’m allowed to give my hot ass boyfriend blowjobs without anything in return. C’mon, we better get downstairs before Steve walks in on us again.” You pressed up on your tiptoes, planting a quick kiss on Javi’s lips as he reached down to buckle his belt before the two of you tried your best to fix yourself up in the mirror to avoid the inevitable shit Steve was about to give the both of you. Giving Javi a quick nod in the mirror before turning off the light and heading out the door, he gave your ass a playful smack, making you squeal in surprise, making you turn on your heels. Resting his hand on his hip, he beamed at you, biting down on his lip. 

“Fuck, I love you.” 

“I know.” 

The Murphy’s living room had begun to pool with guests as you made your way down the stairs, looking for Steve and Connie amongst the crowd. You and Javi both grabbed a beer from the cooler at the bottom of the stairwell, quickly turning around as you heard Steve’s familiar twang approaching behind you. 

“Well I’ll be damned. You got this motherfucker in a costume? He must really love you.” Steve chuckled, shaking Javi by the shoulders. “And Star Wars too?! You asshole, how many times did I try to tell you they were good fuckin’ movies?! You shoulda dressed him up like Jabba the Hut.” You and Steve cackled as Javi rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, and what the fuck are you supposed to be? A sad pirate?” Javi jabbed, poking fun at Steve’s poorly put together costume. 

“Listen, Olivia and Abby both wanted to be the Little Mermaid, so we had two Ariel’s, Con was Ursula, Madison was the yellow fish and I didn’t wanna be that annoying ass crab, so pirate it was, asshole.” Steve retorted, punching at Javi’s arm, the two of them laughing at each other like little boys. “Alright, go enjoy yourselves lovebirds, I’ll see ya in a little bit. And Javi?”

“Yeah Murph?” 

“You really gotta start checkin’ your pants, buddy.” 

Javi’s cheeks turned red, his eyes darting down to his zipper, still all the way undone from your activities upstairs, the both of you grimacing at each other, sheepishly avoiding eye contact with Steve as he disappeared into the crowd. 

It really wasn’t a surprise to Javi how many friends the Murphy’s had already managed to make in their time since moving to San Antonio. Their house was quickly crowded with all sorts of people- Steve and Connie’s co-workers, neighbors, parents of friends Olivia and Abby had made at school, regardless of where the party goers were from, everyone had collectively agreed to make adult Halloween just as fun as any kids. You and Javi were having a great time catching up with Steve and Connie, as well as meeting some of their other close friends, one of Connie’s neighbors being an elementary school teacher, giving you two plenty to commiserate about from the hellish week it had been. It didn’t take long for the party to move outside, Steve drunkenly deciding that he needed to make a bonfire, despite adamant argument that with the amount of alcohol Steve had in his system, he was going to spontaneously combust if he got close enough to a flame. Javi, sober enough to still help his friend make rational decisions, was glad that Steve was happy to let him build the bonfire. 

“The force is strong with you, Han Solo.” You giggled, Javi wrapping his arm around your shoulder, pressing a soft kiss into your forehead as the two of you stared into the flickering orange glow of the fire pit. 

“Not strong enough to extinguish Steve if he got close enough to it. Hey, I got shit all over my hands, I’m gonna go to the bathroom and wash ‘em off. You need anything while I’m inside, Princess?” You smiled as you nudged Javi at the nickname he had been adamant about using since you had put on your costume. 

“I’m good, thank you. I’m gonna go wait over on the swingset so I don’t completely reek of bonfire later.” Javi nodded as he slid his hand down your back, giving your ass a quick squeeze before making his way through the crowd, heading towards the house. Surprised no one else had capitalized on the chance to sit down, you wandered over to the wooden playset at the corner of the Murphy’s backyard, taking a seat on one of the plastic swings, kicking your feet against the grass below. 

“Hey, there she is! How goes it, Leia?” Taking a few long strides through the yard, Steve was now quickly making his way over to you, stumbling over his own feet as he somehow managed to sit himself down on the swing next to you. You tried your best not to laugh at Steve’s drunken state, but his current antics weren’t making it very easy on you. 

“I could ask the same to you. You doin’ okay there, pirate?” 

“Fuck sweetheart, I’m doin’ fuckin’ great. Where’s the asshole?” 

“Inside, I’m sure he’ll be back out soon.” You snickered at Steve watching the beer dribble down his chin from the overly confident swig he had taken. 

“Good, I don’t need ‘em right now. You were the one I was lookin’ for.” Steve pointed in your general direction, but clearly wasn’t aware enough to hit his target head on. 

“Me?” You laughed, pointing back to yourself. 

“Yes, you. You talk to him yet?”

“About?” You paused, wondering if Steve had any inkling of the conversation you were planning to have earlier, or if he was drunkenly deciding you and Javi needed to discuss something else. 

“You know about what. I talked to Connie earlier. I figured I owed it to you to come talk to you about it, too.” 

Your heart began to race, that uncomfortable feeling once again beginning to churn in your stomach as you thought about the things you and Connie had discussed earlier. “Steve, you don’t owe me anything, I-” 

“No, I do. Hold on a second.” Steve turned away, letting out a hearty burp, pouding on his chest before facing back towards you. “Sorry, I’ve been holdin’ that in for like 10 minutes, I needed to let it out. Anyways… What was I sayin’? Oh shit, yeah, the grumpy bastard. Listen, sweetheart. I know it’s gonna fuckin’ suck,  but you gotta be the one to bring it up and talk to him about it. If I know anything about that motherfucker, it’s that he will bottle things up for way too fuckin’ long until someone gets it out of him. He’s a good guy. He says he’s not, but he is. Saved my ass more times than I can count. That job made us do some fucked up shit neither of us are fuckin’ proud of. But that doesn’t mean he gets to keep it from you. I swear to God, that asshole is so fuckin’ in love with you, it makes me sick. You make him so happy. He just doesn’t wanna fuck up the best thing that’s ever happened to him.” 

You weren’t sure if it was the right thing to do, but in that moment, all you could manage was to reach over to the swing next to you, pulling Steve in for a hug as you tried to keep your tears from staining his shirt. “Thanks, Steve.” You whispered, leaning back into your seat, using your sleeve to wipe the wetness from your cheeks. 

“I know you love him too. You deserve to know. Don’t let him be a stubborn jackass to you, okay? I’m bein’ serious. I should be the one thankin’ you though, honey. In all the years I’ve known him, I never thought I’d see ‘em this happy. I promise I won’t get this drunk at your wedding.” Steve winked, straining to push himself up out of the swing, somehow managing to catch his balance as he stumbled into the grass. 

“You do make a very inspirational drunk, Steve.” You laughed to yourself, looking up at him with a genuine smile. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome. Alright, enough sap, I’m gonna go get another fuckin’ beer, I’ll see ya around okay?” 

“Okay, maybe a water would be good for you, too.” 

“Water’s for pussies.” 

“Water’s good for people who don’t want raging hangovers tomorrow.” 

“Pirates are always drunk, so I’ll be fuckin’ fine.” 

“Whatever you say, Steve.” 

It didn’t take long for Javi to return, easily spotting his tall, broad body making his way through the crowd, beaming at you as he walked over to the swings. You tried your best to smile back at him with the uneasy pounding in your chest quickly building, feeling your heartbeat in your throat. “Hey, Hermosa. Sorry it took so long, I ended up stopping to get another drink on the-“ 

“Do- Javi, do you trust me?” 

Your words were quiet and blunt as they rolled off your tongue, your eyes peeled on your feet kicking through the grass beneath you. 

Javi’s brow immediately scrunched in confusion, completely off put by your question and demeanor. “Do I- Baby, what are you talking about? Of course I trust you? What’s going on?” Setting down his drink, he began making his way next to you in frantic, worried strides. 

“Then why won’t you talk to me about it?” Your eyes darted from the ground up to his, his sweet brown eyes swirling with confusion at the firm tone of your voice and desperation growing across your face. 

“Talk to you about what? Hermosa, what’s going on? Is everything ok-” 

“Why won’t you talk to me about Colombia?” 

 Javi took a step back. He wasn’t sure if it was out of defense, or absolute shock from the words that had just fallen out of your mouth. He stared at you for a moment, his jaw locking as you could see how hard he swallowed, trying to bide his time as he calculated his response. 

“Osita… It’s not that simple.” 

“That’s not an answer.” 

“I don’t understand why we’re talking about this. Baby, if this is because of last night, you don’t need to worry about me, can we please just drop it?” The two of you faced each other in an unspoken standoff, Javi’s hands now resting on his hips as you crossed your arms over your chest. You had tried so hard to be patient, but in the moment, it was like all of your frustration was beginning to boil over. 

“That’s exactly why we’re talking about this, Javi. Because I fucking worry about you. All the time. I’ve tried so hard to be patient. I’ve never, ever tried to get you to talk about it because I know it’s fucking hard. But last night, you’re up at 2 A.M, wandering around the apartment, and I’m begging you to tell me what’s wrong and you won’t fucking do it. I’m not an idiot, Javi. I can’t live in this weird in between space in your life where you pretend your past doesn’t exist when I know it still fucking haunts you. Why won’t you just talk to me about it?” 

Javi could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his palms sweating as they clenched in tight fists at his sides. He tried so desperately to find an answer, something, anything he could tell you to try and justify his choices. The choices he had kept from you. The choices he couldn’t forgive himself for. “Because, I- fuck- because, goddamnit, I just- I was a terrible fucking person, okay? The things I did, they were-” 

“What? Fucked up? Painful? Shitty? Of course they fucking were, Javi. You were literally in Colombia chasing down Pablo Fucking Escobar. What did you think I thought you were doing down there? Filing away paperwork? You don’t think I know that you did things you regret? That you’ve hurt people? Made choices that hurt innocent people who didn’t deserve it? I know Javi, I fucking know. I watched my brothers come back from the same goddamn thing. I tried so hard to give them space, to let them come to terms with the fucked up things they did on their own, and you know what fucking happened? One of them’s fucking dead because of it. I can’t let it happen again. I don’t care about what you did. It doesn’t make you a bad person. But you can’t try and hide it from me and pretend like it doesn’t exist. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. But I can’t if you don’t trust me. Please trust me. Please. I love you so much, Javi. I can’t lose you.” 

Javi stood in silence, as the both of you fought the tears streaming down your cheeks. He wasn’t sure if he had just been hit in the gut with a giant sucker punch, or if the weight of the world had just been lifted off his shoulders. He truly didn’t know how to feel. He wasn’t even sure if he had heard you correctly. Did you really just tell him that you knew about the fucked up, terrible things he had done and that you didn’t care? That you still fucking loved him? All you wanted was for him to trust that you wanted to be there for him? He could feel his hands trembling and lip quivering as he tried to find the words to speak.

 “Osita… I- fuck, baby. Osita, I’m so sorry. I trust you with my fucking life. You- You don’t deserve to have to deal with with all the fucked up things I’ve done. I don’t wanna scare you away, baby. You’re the best thing that’s ever fucking happened to me and I was so terrified if you found out about the terrible person I used to be, you’d leave. It’s not fair to you, I can’t expect you to carry the weight of all the fucking things I’ve done, too. I’m so sorry.” Quietly, Javi sat down next to you on the empty swing, burying his hands in his face. Gently, you reached over, pulling his hands away, forcing him to look at you. 

“Whatever you tell me isn’t gonna scare me away. I promise. The only thing that’s gonna scare me is when you try to pretend you’re okay when you’re not. Javi… Javi, I just- I just wanna be there for you. I don’t want you to have to do it alone. I’d do anything for you. I trust you more than anyone. You’re my best friend. I just- fuck- I just want you to trust that I’ll always be there for you to. I promise.” 

And just like that, the last brick holding up the wall between you and Javier Peña collapsed. There was nothing left to run from. Nothing left to hide. After he returned home, he was a changed man. He had hated the person he had become. Maybe there was a part of him that didn’t want to be loved, because he didn’t believe that he deserved to be. But then, there was you. 

You. 

You had taken everything he had known and changed his life for the better. You had become his better half, the person he loved more than anyone in the world. You had proved he was worthy of more than just existing- you had proved to Javi that he was worth the love and happiness you had promised him from the moment you had come into his life and made it worth living for. 

“You promise?” 

“I promise. Always.” 

The way Javi grabbed you and wrapped you in his arms, grasping at the back of your shirt as he pulled you in tighter, feeling the hot breath of his silent sobs against your shoulder told you everything you needed to know. You didn’t know much, but if there was one thing you did know, it was that you loved Javier Peña more than life itself. As quickly as it had felt like your life had fallen apart, he had come into it and picked up the broken pieces to put it back together. And on an October night in San Antonio, sitting on an old wooden swing set in the Murphy’s backyard, you hoped that Javi knew that you would always be there to pick up the shattered parts of his past, too. 

You weren’t sure how many hours had passed as you sat hand in hand in the swings with Javi as you listened to anything and everything he had to say. Long after the backyard was empty, and the bonfire had faded to embers and ashes, and the only one left awake besides the two of you was Connie, trying to drag Steve back inside from the plastic lawn chair he had passed out on, you finally made your way up to bed for the best sleep the two of you had in a very, very long time. Your goodbyes to the Murphy’s had been short and sweet- Connie exhausted from the late night, and Steve barley coherent from how hungover he was, you were still both so thankful the two of you had made the journey out to see them, and the both of you, just as grateful for the sweet and supportive life long friends you knew the Murphy’s would become. Most of your drive back to Laredo was spent in a comfortable silence, the golden sunrise spilling through the windows of Javi’s truck as you cruised down the highway, Javi’s hand never leaving yours, your fingers intertwined together as his thumb gently rubbed against your soft skin and your head rested against his broad shoulder. 

“How are you feeling about seeing your mom today?” You asked, lightly squeezing his arm as you smiled up at him, now exiting off the freeway quickly approaching the cemetery where you planned to meet Chucho to celebrate Día De Los Muertos, trying your best to comfort Javi as he prepared to see his mom’s gravesite for the first time since her funeral almost a decade ago. Javi let out a quiet sigh, his grip tightening just a little tighter around your hand as he looked over at you, a surprisingly calm look flooding his face. 

“I’m actually doing okay. Better than I would have thought. I think I was always so worried that she wouldn’t be proud of me and the man I’d become after she was gone. I um- I finally think that she’d be proud of me now.” He glanced over at you, his smile soft and tender as he soaked in the reason for his pride sitting right beside him. 

You noticed Chucho’s truck as you pulled up to park along the edge of the small cemetery, Chucho excitedly waving you down as you both hopped out of the car. Walking around to Javi, you were quick to grab his hand, giving him a reassuring grip as the two of you made your way through the gravestones along the thin cobblestone path towards Chucho, already arranging the items he had collected for Lucia’s ofrenda. 

“Hola, niños.” Chucho grinned, wrapping his arms around the both of you. “I’m so glad you’re here.” 

“Thanks for letting me be a part of today, Chucho. I know… Well, I just- I’m really honored to- just, thank you.” Chucho wasted no time pulling you into your own hug, his rough and worn hands holding you by the shoulders as he looked at you with misty eyes. 

“Mija, I should be thanking you. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know if we would all be here today. Lucia’s last wish to me was that I would promise to make sure Javier was happy. Now hija, I think my sweet Lucia can rest a little easier knowing someone else has already fulfilled my promise for me.” As the two of you spoke, you hadn’t noticed as Javi had quietly stepped over to his mother’s gravestone, crouching next to it, his fingers delicately tracing along the engraved letters of her name, his other hand holding one of the marigold flowers Chucho had brought with him. The two of you watched quietly as Javi sat next to his mom, gently placing the flower on the shiny stone as he spoke. 

“Hola, mamá. Te extrañé. Siento haber tarado tanto.” (Hi mom. I missed you. I’m sorry I took so long). Javi’s voice trembled as he took a deep breath in, slowly exhaling as his hand rested on the stone, warm from the sun, shining brightly in the blue November sky. “Que estaba asustada de de verte porque estaba orgullosala de la persona en la que me había convertido. Que no quería decepcionarte. Tenía miedo mucho, mamá. Me sentí como si todo se derrumbase. solo quería olvidar. Pero entonces…” (I was scared to see you because I wasn’t proud of the person I’d become. I didn’t want to disappoint you. I was so scared, mom. I felt like I let everyone down. I just wanted to forget. But then…).  Javi turned his head, seeing you and Chucho, arm in arm, a smile growing across his face as looked back at the two people in life he loved the most. He took an extra moment to stare at you and the soft grin spread between your cheeks, basking in the comfort and warmth of the woman who had forever changed his life for the better. “Pero entonces, mamá, La conocí. Que es perfecta. Nunca supe que podías amar tanto a alguien. Ella es lo mejor que me ha pasado. La habrías amado.ella es una maestra, tambien.  A veces me pregunto qué ve en mí. No sé qué hice para merecerse. voy a pedirle que se case conmigo.Cuidaré bien de ella. Ella se merece todo lo que le pueda dar y más. Espero que estés orgulloso de mí, mamá. te echo mucho, Pero le juro a usted, al fin soy feliz. Te amo, mamá.”  (But then, mom, I met her. She is perfect. I never knew you could love someone so much. She is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You would have loved her. She’s a teacher too. Sometimes, I wonder what she sees in me. I don’t know what I did to deserve her. I’m gonna ask her to marry me. I’m gonna take such good care of her. She deserves everything I can give her and more. I hope you’re proud of me, mamá. I miss you so much, but I promise you, I’m finally happy. I love you, mom.) 

With a gentle nudge from Chucho, you softly stepped behind Javi, gently placing your hands on his shoulders before he rose up and you wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your head against his chest as he wiped away the tears welling behind his eyes. Staring down at Lucia’s gravestone, Javi ran his hand through your hair, carefully planting a kiss against your head and burying his nose in the soft waves of your hair. 

“I wish I would have had the chance to have met you, Mrs. Peña. I would have had someone else to commensurate with over all of the crazy teaching stories I’m sure the both of us have. Maria, Estelle and Linda all miss you a lot too, but I’m sure they haven’t changed a bit. Thanks for raising such a good son. I don’t know what I would do without him. I know he says that he doesn’t know what he did to deserve me, but I really think it should be the other way around. I promise I’ll look out for him.” You tried your best to smile through your soft sobs, looking up at Javi, tears streaming down his wet cheeks. It wasn’t long before Chucho had snuck up behind you, patting each of you on the back before smiling down at Lucia, too. 

“Estos dos están tan enamorados, Lucia. Tal vez más que tú y yo. Ella es una buena chica. Estoy muy contenta de que ella sea parte de nuestra familia. Finalmente tendremos a nuestros nietos, también.”  (These two are so in love, Lucia. Maybe even more than you and I. She is a great girl. I am so happy she is a part of our family. We are finally going to get our grandchildren, too). Chucho winked, nudging Javi in the side, forcing him to laugh through his tears, shaking his head at his dad’s comment. “Now, no more tears, you two. This is a happy day. Your mamá is smiling down on you, and I can almost hear here scolding me to keep you from crying anymore. C’mon, let’s decorate and eat, I even brought pozole.” 

The three of you spent the next hour decorating Lucia’s grave with bright orange and gold cempazuchitl (marigold flowers) and little Calaveras (sugar skulls) painted in bold colors and refined details, sharing and laughing about Javi’s favorite memories of his mother while snacking on the Pozole Chucho had brought to share. For the first time in a long time, Javi no longer felt guilt and grief when he thought about his mom- her memory filled him with love and joy. He wasn’t the same bitter, broken man he was when he had said his final goodbyes to his mother all those years ago. While he wished he could change the past, the reality of the present, and his future finally brought him peace, knowing he could be proud of the man he had become, thanks to you. 

As Javi helped Chucho to clean up the extra flowers and decorations he had brought, you couldn’t help yourself from reaching at the wrinkled photo you had shoved in your pocket as you had packed up to leave from the Murphy’s this morning. You carefully took it out, holding it gently in your hands as you tried to uncrinkle the edges. “You ready, Hermosa?” Javi called out, now a few steps ahead of you, making his way back towards the truck. “Hermosa?” He asked again, thinking perhaps you hadn’t heard him the first time. When he was greeted by silence again, he looked back to see you staring at the crumpled photo in your hands. 

“I um- I know that he isn’t buried here, and uh, if you don’t want me to, it’s okay- but um- is it, is it alright if I leave a couple flowers for Patrick?” You sniffed, a tear dropping down on the photo of the two of you, Patrick holding you in a headlock as you laughed with a wide, toothy grin, drowning in one of his old Blackhawks jerseys that you were so excited to wear because it belonged to him. 

“Of course, Osita. Of course it is.” Javi smiled at you softly, turning back around with the tub of leftover decorations, making his way towards you. Quietly, you walked back over to Lucia’s gravestone, carefully setting down the picture of you and Patrick next to it, putting a few marigolds over top of it so it stayed pinned in place from the warm breeze. 

“I miss you, asshole. You deserved so much better. I hope you don’t still think that I hate you. I mean, I do, but you know what I mean. Honestly, you were lucky you didn’t have to live through the Blackhawks losing in the playoffs this year, that fucking sucked. Mom and Dad and Charlie and David all miss you too. I finally went back home to see them. It still wasn’t the same without you there, but I know you don’t hurt anymore. I hope that you don’t hurt anymore. I love you, Patrick. Crack open a cold one up there for me, okay?” Trying your best to not to uncontrollably sob, you sniffled, wiping the tears running down your face as you leaned your head against Javi’s chest. He ran his hand along your back as he held you tighter, letting you take a moment to get everything out before you took a deep breath, nodding your head as if to signify to Javi and yourself that you were okay. 

“You okay, Osita? We can take all the time you need, baby.” Javi whispered, pressing a gentle kiss into your shoulder. 

“No, I’m okay. I just- I wanted to do something for him, too. Thanks, Javi. I love you.” 

“I know.” 

After several more long hugs goodbye with Chucho, you and Javi began your journey back home, marveling at the beautiful sunset, painting the sky with bright pinks and oranges and the warmth and comfort of Lucia and Patrick’s presence. You were so lost in thought staring out at the fading sky, you hadn’t even noticed that Javi had detoured from your usual route home until he had said something to you. “You okay if we make a quick pit stop on the way home, Osita?” You nodded, smiling at the golden glow covering his face. It wasn’t long until you were veering off the main road, Javi turning to make his way down a tree lined gravel pathway with a “For Sale” sign posted in front of it. 

“For sale?” You questioned, looking over at Javi before peering out your window to watch the trees lining the path pass by you as the gravel crunched under the truck’s tires.

“Yeah, uh- I was talking with Steve at the party yesterday and he- uh, one of his buddies said he was looking to get out of the city- wanted a plot of land to build on. Said he had heard good things about Laredo but didn’t have time to go check things out for himself, so I told him I would go take a look around and let Steve know what I thought.” Javi replied, trying his best to sound nonchalant as you shrugged before looking back out the window. As you reached the end of the path, the trees opened to reveal a beautiful, lush green field, the sun setting perfectly along the rolling hills of the horizon in front of you. Turning off the ignition, Javi gestured for the both of you to get out of the truck so you could go take a look around. 

“Jav… This is beautiful.” You marveld, grinning as you took in the beauty of the open space drenched in golden sunset. 

“You like it?” Javi grinned, laughing as you spun around, the gentle breeze blowing your hair in and out of your face. 

“Oh my God, yeah. Tell Steve’s friend to get on this place ASAP before I scrounge up every penny I have and sell one of my kidneys on the black market to buy it from him. There doesn’t even need to be a house, I’ll just lay in the empty field, perfectly content.” You giggled, letting out a happy sigh as you grabbed Javi’s hand, leaning your head against his arm as you admired the sun slipping away below the horizon. 

“I’ll take that as a yes then. He said he’s wanting to build a house here, do you think- do you think that he would think it’s got enough space? It’s not too far from everything? I know it’s a little farther from downtown and a longer drive to work- if uh, if he works by where we do, you don’t think that’d be a problem? For him?” Javi squeezed back, trying his best not to stumble over his words. 

“Are you kidding me? It’s literally perfect out here, Javi. Could you imagine getting to see this every night? He better put some big windows on this house so he can get all of the sunlight, oh my god, it would be so pretty. It’s not even that far from everything, and the view makes the extra drive time worth every minute. I know it’s probably a far way off, and we haven’t really talked about it, but I would love to live at a place like this someday.” 

Javi smiled to himself, looking down at you as you rested against him, soaking in every ounce of you as he shifted his arm to wrap around your waist, gently rubbing his thumb along the soft hem of your shirt before letting out a content sigh. 

“Yeah. Me too.”

Taglist: @cool-iguana @rhoorl @whyjuliaaa @bbiophiliaa @pertinentpostmortem @angelofsmalldeath-codeine @pedrobaby @fatima-marisa @beboldbebravethings @poodlebae @kittenlittle24 @3sriracha @jungchloee @perennialdoll247 @prettyinpunk85 @partyofone3413 @harriedandharassed @pedrohoe04 @theorganasolo @endlessthxxghts @blackfemalenerd

[sorapricots]

Comfort in Your Arms

Summary: Nanami has been awake for his work for three days straight without a single break, so when he finally does all he wants to do is to crawl into your arms.

Pair: Nanami Kento x Sorcerer!Reader 

Genre: Fluff 

Warning: Nanami or the plot might not really match the canon timeline in JJK since it’s been awhile since I actually watch/read JJK.

A/N: A personal request from my friend irl lol. I need this brain juice to warm up my head for writing papers in college.

W.C: 1,2k

Sometimes being a person with a double job as sorcerer and an office worker has its perks. One of them will be having a double income. But on the other hand, being a sorcerer and an office worker is like a double edged sword because it also means you have so little time to rest your body and mind.

Nanami is one of the prime examples of a person with a double job as sorcerer and office worker. Yes, he might have enough income to live a comfortable life for you and for him, but he has to trade that comfortable life with endless working hours that always drains his body to the point of exhaustion. 

Today has been marked as the third day of Nanami working in his office. He can feel fatigue start to creep slowly to his body due to lack of sleep and irregular eating habits he has for the past three days. His eyes are droopy and gloomy while his skin starts to turn pale. But all he can do is let out a soft sigh and push himself to continue doing his job a bit more as he grabs the last stack of documents that start to pile up on his desk due to him taking a two day break the day before to finish a mission that was gifted from the higher ups to him.

Your voice asking him to let you take over his mission echoing in the back of his mind as his mindless fingers start to type on the keyboard while his eyes blankly stare at the screen in front of him. He let out a grunt as he blinked the tiredness away with coming home to you in his mind.

After what feels like eternity, Nanami finally closed the last document map on his desk and put it on top of the already finished documents pile. A rough sigh rolled out from his throat as he put a towel on top of his face while he let his body relax just for a little bit. He can feel his head throbbing in pain before he pushes himself to start getting ready to come home to you.

Nanami’s movements are slow but messy as he loosen up the tie that is wrapped around his neck. His tired eyes scanned around the empty and dark office as he realized he is once again becoming the last person in the office. With another tired sigh the blonde hair man finally left the office.

The trip back home is pretty uneventful for Nanami as it’s already late. Only occasionally the man stopped to slay some small curses here and there but other than that he didn’t find anything interesting. 

.

.

.

A grunt escapes Nanami's lips as he finally returns home. His hand carefully opened the front door to which his eyes immediately landed on your weapon on the entrance that is still dirty with the remnants of the curses that you slayed that day. Nanami quickly makes mental notes to clean your weapon later once he gets enough rest. 

Excitement of meeting you buzzing through his veins as he carefully takes off his shoes and puts aside his bags. His hands skillfully peel off his clothes leaving him only in his boxer as he put the rest of his clothes in the laundry room. Quietly he walked to your shared room. His eyebrows narrowed a little bit as he realized there’s dim light emitting from your shared room through the crack from under the door. 

Nanami carefully opens the door letting it creak slowly, softly announcing his presence to you. Your eyes slowly move up from the book you read and meet his brown tired eyes. A smile flourished on your lips as you silently put a bookmark on the book you read just now.

“Welcome home.” You greeted him with a whisper as you quickly moved closer to him. Nanami gives you a silent nod as he walks towards the bathroom with you following behind.

“Go back to bed, My love. I will clean up real quick.” His voice is hoarse due to how barely he uses it. You let out a soft hum as you peek your head inside the bathroom. Your eyes stare at Nanami’s well built naked figure full of adoration.

“You don’t want to eat something?” Quietly you ask as your man steps into the shower. Nanami only shook his head softly for his answer. You let out a soft ‘okay’ before you walk back to the bed and continue to read your book while you wait for your lover to come lay down with you.

.

.

.

The shower finally stops and the room goes quiet. You heightened your hearing as your eyes are still glued to the book in your hands. And suddenly the bathroom doors slide open as Nanami’s body wash reaches your nose. Nanami stares at you quietly as you observe him. His skin is already less pale than when he just came back and there’s a glint of light in his brown eyes now. You smile softly as Nanami walks towards the bed and crawls to you.

You lift your arms mindlessly letting the man crawl into your arms and lay down on your chest as he circles his strong thick arms around your waist. A heavy sigh of relief escapes Nanami’s throat as he starts to feel his body relaxing from your body warmth. You let out a breathy chuckle as you put the bookmarks in your book and toss the book away. 

Your hands carefully caress Nanami’s bare back before you start massaging all of his muscle knots. Groans keep coming out from Nanami’s lips as your hands skillfully ease the muscle pain he has from overworking. You switch from massaging his back to rubbing it softly every once in a while.

“You really need to take it easy on your working life, dearest.” your voice is soft as he melts under your touch. He let out a hum while he snuggled his face deeper to your chest.

“It’s just because I have to take that two day mission from the higher ups.” Nanami’s voice is muffled by your skin. You rolled your eyes before you softly clicked your tongue.

“Let me help you by taking over some of your mission then. I don’t want you to tire yourself up like this.” Your voice drips with worries as your hands move to his head. Softly scratching his scalp earning a grunt from the bulky tired man.

“There’s no need to do that, my love. Just sit still and be pretty is already enough for me.” You frown as you open your mouth about to retort back when Nanami pulls you to a kiss. A hum escapes from your lips as you melt under his kiss.

“I know you are a strong sorcerer too. But I just want you to be comfortable with what you have right now. And if that means I have to work harder, I don’t mind, baby. Your comfort is my top priority.” His words are soft and full of love as he puts his forehead against yours. You let out a whine as you pull your lover to a hug. Nanami let out a chuckle while he tightened his arms around your hips.

“I love you, Kento.” you declare it with such a passion Nanami can’t help but chuckle.

“I love you too, my sweetheart.” he answered before he pulled you to a passionate kiss.

[klbwriting]

Finally Home - Jason Todd Blurbs

You Have a Bad Day, Jason Makes it Better

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Todd x GN!reader

Warnings: none

Summary: you have the worst work day and when Jason hears about it he knows just how to make it better

Notes: I'm still obsessed with how sweet these are, please if you have any ideas and want to see them written let me know! One person has asked for a Batfamily thing so I'll maybe write that one next!

               Why the universe had decided to make this the worst day of your life you didn’t know.  First was the bus ride into Old Gotham on your way to work.  A random bump and you spilled coffee down the front of the brand-new leather jacket your boyfriend had bought you.  It was hot, it rolled to your pants, and you knew you were going to feel icky all day because of it.  You arrived at work, quickly going to a bathroom to clean up the staining as much as you could, but ran out of paper towels before you could do a decent job and were left letting it dry naturally, probably making these pants permanently damaged.  Then right before you were supposed to leave for lunch your laptop gave you the blue screen of death and you called IT only to be told to come down and wait in their office and they would assist you.  That was a two hour wait and you missed lunch.  The only seeming bright point to that horrendous wait was the texts you were exchanging with Jason. 

What’s wrong sweetthing?

Everything! Got coffee on the jacket you just got me, on my pants, then I couldn’t get them cleaned up so I’ll probably have to toss them, and now I’m just waiting for them to give me a new laptop and they told me not to go anywhere and I’m starving

That is so shitty, don’t worry when you get home I’ll make it all better, love ya babe

Love you too Jaybird

               The ride home wasn’t much better, you were seated next to someone who decided they wanted to shower in their perfume, and you were having trouble breathing.  You got off the bus and in between the block between your bus stop and your apartment you stepped in something you hoped was just dog crap.  You couldn’t wait to get home and see Jason, but when you entered your shared apartment he wasn’t there.  You sighed.  Perfect, bet Bruce or Dick called needing help with something.  You understood, the protection of innocents and all, but today you were just so worn down from the day you wanted your boyfriend to be there, wrap his arms around you, and tell you everything was alright now.  You were home.  You headed to the laundry room, stripping down and putting your work clothes in the wash, scrubbing your shoes in the sink, and throwing them in the dryer before going to your bathroom to take the longest, hottest shower possible. 

               By the time you got out of the shower you were feeling a little better, dressing in comfy sweats and one of Jason’s shirts, inhaling the scent of him and letting that bring you some more comfort.  You heard something in the living room, not sure if Jason was home you did what he said.  ‘If you don’t know who’s in our place you grab one of my guns and then you find out’ he told you.  You grabbed the small gun that was under the bathroom sink and headed into the living room, held ready but finger off the trigger just like Jason taught you. 

               “Hey sweetness, its just me, but nice form,” Jason said, unloading food from a grocery bag on the kitchen table.  You let out a sigh of relief, setting the gun down on the nearby end table and going over to him.  He accepted your hug with a big one of his own, his arms finally making you feel safe and completely at home.  “Go settle on the couch, I already got your show ready to stream, I’m making your favorite for dinner and I even got us some cake for dessert, everything you like to turn this shitty day around right?”

               “You are truly a god among men Jason Todd,” you said, kissing him softly.  He chuckled and patted your rear as you turned to go to the living room.

               “Tell all my other partners that,” he teased, making you stick your tongue out at him as you got comfy and turned on your show.  You half watched, you had seen these episodes dozens of times, mostly watching Jason as he danced around the kitchen, you could hear his phone playing music he liked, volume low so not to disturb you.  You smiled as he worked, every once in awhile he would catch your eye and wink at you, maybe blow a kiss.  You know, for being a lethal killer at night he was an absolute sweetheart at home.  You settled back to watching your show, the smells of his fantastic cooking taking up the room.

               “Hey dinner’s ready, want to eat in there?” he asked.  “Or do you want to rant about your day at the table?”  You thought about it and since right now he had made you forget about all the bad shit that day you patted the couch.

               “I’ve already forgotten, did I have a bad day?” you asked.  He plated up dinner and brought it over, setting in on the coffee table and giving you another kiss.  “You’re here now, in my eyes that makes my day perfect.”

[katsu28]

🍭 this one sounds so much like steve so steve harrington with listening to music together while they both take the day to clean around the house (maybe even getting a little distracted to dance instead)

yessss omg so cute and so very steve!! thank you for requesting anna my darling ily ily <33

steve harrington x reader, 1.3k, steve does a lil dancey dance :)

With both yours and Steve’s busy schedules during the week, it was safe to say the house got a little out of sorts most of the time. Laundry piled up, the fridge had to be picked through for food past its prime, dust bunnies needed to be swept out of corners, and so much more. That’s why Saturdays—while also used as lazy days—were designated for cleaning. 

You and Steve would roll out of bed whenever one of you deemed it the right time to untangle yourselves from each other (and if Steve had his way, it would be never) and slowly make your way out to the kitchen. Steve always liked to take charge of making breakfast for the two of you, sitting you down at the counter and telling you to just sit there and look pretty.

Occasionally he’d wander away from the pan on the stove for a kiss or two. Or three or four or—yeah.  

Steve had switched on the little radio in the living room today, cranking his favorite pop station full blast so you could both hear it as you tidied up around the place on your own. And to your pleasure, he’d also brought out his slightly too small gym shorts from high school due to the pile up of laundry, only yelping in surprise a little bit when you gave him an occasional pat on the butt as you passed each other in the hallway. 

You’d just gotten done with vacuuming the entire house, casting the heavy thing aside in favor of flopping on the couch, eager for even an ounce of a break before getting started on clearing off the kitchen table. Your eyes drifted shut, a sigh heaving out heavy through your nose as you settled a bit deeper into the cushions. 

Steve ambled in right at that moment, having just finished putting all the laundry in the dryer and feeling in need of a kiss from you, spotting you all relaxed and comfy.

“Hey, hey, we don’t take breaks in this house, you slacker,” He chided jokingly, bracketing your head on the top of the sofa with his elbows. When you opened your eyes, he was nose to nose with you, looking at you upside down with the fondest of grins. “Hi. You’re pretty.” 

“I’m all gross and sweaty.” You whined, covering your face. Steve always made sure to tell you that you were pretty or compliment you in some other way, and even though you’d probably heard every variation of a cheesy compliment from him at some point in this relationship, they never failed to make you bashful. He made an indignant noise, batting your hands away from your face lightly. 

“Pretty.” He repeated firmly, sealing his statement with a quick peck to your lips. 

“You’re pretty.” You shot back, reveling in the way his cheeks instantly flushed pink. If you took a peek under the collar of his shirt, you’d most likely see the same rosy flush creeping up his neck. He shook his head, nose scrunching adorably. For someone who dished out compliments and praises like it was nobody’s business, he sure did fluster easily when you aimed one at him. 

You flipped around in your seat, kneeling on the couch as you took his face in your hands, squishing his cheeks gently. “I mean it, Stevie, you’re so pretty. Even upside down, even in those glasses—god, especially in those glasses. You’re the prettiest boy in Hawkins and I’ll shout it from the roof of town freaking hall if I have to.” 

“Okay, okay, stop it with the flattery, sweetheart, I got it,” He mumbled. His skin was hot under your fingertips, and you knew you’d successfully gotten your point across. 

“Say it.” 

“Say it?”

You nodded solemnly, giving his head a little shake. “I wanna hear you say it.” 

“I’m not gonna say it.” You pouted at him and he groaned. “Fine! I’m the prettiest boy in Hawkins.” He muttered.

“Can’t hear you, Stevie.” 

“I’m the prettiest boy in Hawkins!” 

“Damn right you are.” You smiled at him, pressing your lips against his briefly but firmly, feeling him melt into your kiss like ice cream on a hot summer day. You’d honestly spend every waking minute showering your boyfriend with compliments if it got him to relax this much. 

The first few notes of a familiar song poured from the radio that had been long since forgotten but suddenly remembered, Stevie Nicks’ I Just Called To Say I Love You filling the air and causing Steve to pull away from you. 

He wriggled out of your grip, leaving you to observe as he slid on socked feet to the middle of the room, nearly slipping on the clean floor and wiping out in the process but recovering quickly. He aimed a big grin at you. “Oh, baby—do you hear that? What’s that sound, you ask? I think…yeah, that’s definitely our song!” 

This song in particular was infinitely special to both of you for many reasons. But most importantly, it was the song that had been playing on the radio when Steve finally built up the courage to tell you he loved you for the first time in the front seat of his beemer, which at the time was a total coincidence, but such a fitting one that you both decided it would be your song for the rest of your lives together. 

“No New Year’s Day to celebrate, no chocolate covered candy hearts to give away,” Steve belted, using his fist as a pretend microphone. He pulled out all the stops singing the next few lines, waving his hand over his head like he was at a concert, swaying from side to side, even going so far as doing a little spin that ended in finger guns. You stifled your laughs behind your hand as you watched him put on a show for you, which only made him play it up even more, always happy to be the reason for that smile he loved so much. “Come on, sweetheart, join me!” 

“No, no, this is the Stevie show, I’m merely a spectator,” You giggled, shaking your head at his attempts to bring you to your feet. “Show me those Harrington moves, baby!” 

“I just called to say, I love you,” He crooned, holding an imaginary phone up to his ear. His other hand extended out to you, inviting you to come sway with him and you finally gave in, letting him pull you against his chest in one fell swoop. He pressed his forehead against yours, all traces of humor replaced with nothing but love as his honey eyes gazing deep into your own eyes for the next line. “And I mean it from the bottom of my heart.” 

You brought your hands up to cup his jaw, stroking your thumbs across his cheeks tenderly as your lips curved into a soft smile, one that Steve prided himself on being the sole cause and receiver of. It was hard to believe that you’d managed to be so lucky to find the one person you loved more than anything in the world—the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with and grow old with—and it just so happened that it was your best friend. 

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” You murmured, punctuating each utterance with a kiss to one cheek, then the other, then finally his lips. Steve smiled against your mouth, fingers curling a little tighter around your waist at the amount of pure love he could feel radiating off you, as he was sure you could feel the same coming from him. 

“Kiss me like that again and I just might have to put on another show for you sometime.” He breathed, blinking owlishly at you. 

“Oh believe me, I will.” You nodded, planting your hands on his shoulders. “But first, we gotta clean out the fridge.” 

“And here I thought we were having a moment,” He sighed, shoulders slumping rather dramatically. “Guess expired deli meats are more important than poor old Stevie.” 

You rolled your eyes playfully, looping your arm through his. “C’mon, drama queen. Poor old Stevie’s gotta sniff some questionable leftovers.” 

“Consider the moment now ruined.”

[witch-oftheflowers]

Lil Johnny

AN:Baby two! Enjoy this story of a growing family! It'll be a long one but please enjoy!

Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Ximena Riley

(Canon x OC!)

MasterList

The cottage was quiet. Soft breathing echo within its walls, soft kicking of feet in their beds as they adjusted. The sheets moving around as the people stirred.

Eight years had pass since Anna was born.

Eight years together in a loving relationship, with its ups and downs. Been married for six.

It's been a year since Ximena fully returned home. Two years overseas and away from her own family. But she did good, she did fantastic on her mission even. Just coming home to the blonde pair she loved

This moring was like many others they've been enjoying.

Ximena woke up first, around sun rise. Her hair has grown a lot since she returned. No longer the shoulder length she was forced to have. It was mid back, her curls returned as she didn't have to touch the poor thing. It suffered to much heat damage in the two years gone-

Her feet touched the floor as she shuffle to the restroom. She brushed her hair and styled it up into a poofy ponytail. Her bangs brushed against her cheeks as she was calm. She was home.

She moisturized her face with her creams, making sure she's been taking care of herself lately. Physically and mentally, she's been taking care of her aging skin.

Unbeknownst to her, Simon was waking up. His brown eyes scanning around as he remembered he was in his bed. In his home, and his wife-

"Ximena?" He called out as he sat up from his spot. He's been having a small fear his wife wouldn't be home. She would vanish again and his brain softly ran with thoughts-

"Si amor?" She called out as she was brushing her teeth. Her brown eyes flickered with love as she noticed his face painted with worry.

"Hey I'm right here..." She said as she walked over. She quickly sat on his as she grabbed his hands. Keeping the brush in her mouth as she ran her hands together over his. Softly tracing circles on his palm and up his forearm. He felt a shiver up his spine as he bent down and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I know you're here...But got a funny feeling you'll vanish again love.." he spoke as his eyes met hers. Hers widen a bit as she felt so bad for him.

"Simon I'm so sorry... Mi amorsito. Mi sol!"(My love. My sun!)she coe the words a bit as she held his face closer to hers. He stared at her a bit as he savor her warmth against his. Softly his breathing and mind rolled to a stop, his worrying was put to rest for now.

"No no you're alright love..it's just a bit crazy. I have been wondering one thin'" he said as he looked her over. His large hands cupped her cheeks as he ran his thumps over her squishy cheeks. She pucker her lips as they shared a silly kiss.

Her giggles filled the room quietly as she smiled. Simon joined her a bit as they savor the morning light together. Way before Anna had to get up for school-

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

As the day went on, Anna finally was off to school. Grabbing her bike helmet as Simon grabbed his own.

"Mama! I'ma take her on the bike" he shouted out as he pulled on his warm leather jacket. Anna was thrilled, as her frilly skirt moved as she let a soft squeal out

"Papas bike! Papas bike!" She said cheer a bit.

Ximena blinked in the kitchen as she enter their living and saw the pair in the hallway by the door. A smile to her lips as she enjoyed the sight.

"Alright you drive safe ok? Anna hold onto papa tight too." She waved them off as she enjoyed their bonding moments,even if it was on a motorcycle.

As the morning ran on and their day. Doing mundane task, fixing up the house a bit. Cleaning around and doing their laundry. Even got to go outside with their pup, Luna which was Ximena's military dog she got tasked with. Well the pup was two now but she'll always be a puppy in their head!

In the garden the two with the pup running around. Ximena was picking fresh vegetables as she needed some for dinner.

"Simon" she called to him as he was watering half the garden beds.

"Hm?" He hum out as he noticed her staring at him. He blinked a bit as he spoke up

"What's wrong?"

"Can we have another child?" She asked bluntly. He stared at her as the hose continued to spray.The wind ran through his short blonde locks. He blinked a few times as he processed his wife's request.

"Are you sure bout tha'? Do you think we need anothe'?" He returned to spraying as he stopped a bit after. He was confused a bit as he heard her steps coming over. Swiftly she made him face her as she spoke up.

"I've been thinking... That maybe we should expand our family. Anna had asked about a possible sibling even..." She said as she softly shift on her feet. Looking down as her curls swayed against her back a bit. Her eyes shook a tad as she anxiously waited for his response.

"Love..." He started as he ponder the idea. Another child would be fun, he adored his wife a lot when she was pregnant with Anna, he didn't mind the sleepless night, he enjoyed seeing her with babies like his wife's nephews and nieces too. God she looked so pretty with a baby- Blood hell.

"Alright that does sound like a great idea... We're more stable. We have a large house too... I think you made it big because you wanted more im guessing.." he teased her as he began to spray the next garden beds. He even playfully sprayed her lightly as she let a laugh out.

"Aye Simon!" She giggled as she swat his arm lightly. He smiled down to her as he brought her in for a tight embrace. Giving her a peck to her head as he smiled

"Alright we'll try..." He whispered to her lovingly.

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

A few months would pass since they had that conversation. And many, many, many nights of being together.

Ximena waited in the medbay on base. One of the nurses she knew helped her do a quick test, since she wasn't feeling the best during her usual training.

Her hair was in a tight bun, she sat on the cot. Her legs pressed tight together, she was a bit nervous. But at least her husband was on base this time.

The cheery nurse came back as she rolled over towards her in her small stool.

"Ximi, Ximi, I got your results." Bethany said, the sweet nurse coed the words.

Her hands placed the paper on Ximena's, turning it over as she began to read the results.

Positive Pregnancy

Her eyes shined a bit as she had a permanent grin to her face

"You're kidding?" She softly said as the ginger nurse nods her head.

"I'm happy for you Xi... Now go find that hunk of a man." She swat her knee, as Ximena let a soft laugh out. Pulling the nurse in for a tight hug as she smiled at her.

"Thank you Thank You-"

After she pulled away, Ximena was left to her search.

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

As she speed walked around, her brown orbs scanning around as she didn't find him. His usual spots were a dud, the rookies nor the task force had seen him. She even asked Price if he's seen the giant of the man.

How can not one soul seen him?

She eventually made her way towards the offices. As she passed hers, she noticed it was open. Glancing in she noticed the said man she's been looking for.

Ghost was putting a small vase on her desk. It was litter with carnations, hints of greenery, along with a few roses. The colors were soft pink with soft lavender.

He stepped back as he was gonna leave. But his brown eyes softly widen at seeing her coming in.

"I thought you would be there for a while more..." His gravely voice calmly said.

She shook her head, her bangs swaying around as she walked to her desk. She lifted the vase as she smiled to the small thing.

"It's so pretty... And no. I just got tested is all." She stated as she gave his mask covered face a kiss.

"Tested?"

"I'm positive..." She said as she met his gaze. Softly he pressed his large hand against her cheek.

"You're kiddin' love?" His voice was a lot softer, trying to deam it a possible joke?

"Why would I?" She had a soft sweet smile. Her lips curled up in joy as she melted into his large palm.

Ghost looked to the door shut. Pondering for a second, he softly pressed a kiss to her forehead. Pulling her in for a tight embrace as he felt a small weight off his shoulders.

"That's... So exciting news love.. mi sol.." (my sun) he spoke softly as he pulled back. Gazing into her brown eyes with love.

"Good, because we have a lot of excitement to come then."

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

When it came to the baby name.

It was kinda easy. They wanted Joseph in the name. Somewhere.

Then Simon had a small question he wanted to ask his wife.

"Can I suggest a name love?" He turned to his wife. Seeing her with a round belly, washing dishes as they had dinner in the oven. Her curls were tucked behind her ear as she listened to him. "Hm?"

"What if it's a boy.. I was thinking Johnny?" He asked her. Looking back to his wife as she stopped her task.

Her brown eyes glanced back to him as she was thinking. Pondering the requests, she put the plate down in the drying rack.

"Hmmm.. Johnny Joseph Riley?" She asked him as she glanced to him. Her brown eyes scanning his reaction

Simon stopped stirring the pot, looking to the stew they were making. His eyes shook as he smiled.

"Yeah that works.. I actually.. asked Soap if he was ok with me using the name..."

His wife nodded her head as she went back to cleaning. Her mind filled as she began to think.

"Simon we don't even know it'll be a boy..." She teased him lightly, finishing up the last dish. She dried her hands off as she walked besides him. Peering into the pot as she enjoyed the meaty smell of the stew.

"Smells delicious...." She mumbled, stealing a bite for taste.

He swat her away, softly tapping her arse.

"No no no... You'll try to eat this pot on your own."

"Is that a bad thing??"

They both burst into light laughs. Enjoying the others company so much.

"Well I just think we'll hav' a boy ok?"

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

The day the little bundle was born.

Was hectic.

Ghost was on a mission with Task Force 141. Ximena was in the hospital by herself. Anna was with her grandma.

The moment that helo landed on the tarmac, a storm of ginger passed the men waiting.

Bethany was shouting for Ghost.

"Ghost! GHOST! SHE'S IN LABOR!"

Once he heard those words, he panicked. She was in labor and alone. Once Soap heard those words they sprung into action.

"Lt let's go! I'll give ye a lift!"

The pair rushed by, even Ghost thanked the nurse, as they got to his truck.

Hopping in they awaken the truck and drove off. Ghost was peeling his gear off. Didn't wanna scare civi's with his look.

Soap was turning and speeding, with reason. Thank God! Ghost had his own hospital bag, quickly changing into more acceptable clothing.

As they swung into a parking spot. Simon rushed out, "Thank' Johnny!" He yelled out as he got to the front desk.

"I'm looki' for me wife. Ximena Riley-" Simon breathlessly spoke as the receptionist started to look.

"That's fine... Mmmmm this is her room. Let the nurses in Labor and Delivery know you're her husband dearie ok? They'll let you through."

With that he was off. Rushing into the elevators as he was carried up the lift.

As he did as he was told and let in. Being lead to the room.

And once inside, he saw her holding a little bundle. Her soft voice rang in the room as she was on the bed. Her curls were in buns, pulled back. He noticed her nose scrunched up a long with that scar she's had forever now.

Walking over he didn't wanna startle her. But he admired her, seeing the love in her eyes.

And once he saw the little boy in her hands. A boy...

He had a tussle of brown curls. His mother's deep olive tan skin. And he had those chubby cheeks Simon loves from babies.

"There he is..." Simon finally said. Ximena glancing to him as she radiated a soft smile

"Our little Johnny is here..." Her voice was like heaven. Even if Simon was worn out from his mission..just the sight he got to see. It healed his tired soul so quickly

"Yeah Mama... Our lil Johnny..."

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

An: OH GOD. this took forever but I'm actually happy with how this came out. Thank you so much to those that have enjoyed and followed along so far! Also thank you for being patient with me too! I'll keep you all posted on the last one of the baby series! Can't wait for the twins eeee. Love you all and thank you!!💕✨

[wordsarelife]

—change

pairing: anthony lockwood x sister!reader

summary: you get hurt on a date and your brother notices that he has grown apart from you

warnings: mentions of injury, one yr age gap relationship (18 + 17)

notes: lucy, lockwood and george are 20 in this. reader has an age gap of 3 years

growing up you found yourself always wandering in the shadows of your older brother, he was your hero, the ideal person in your eyes and you wanted to be everything he was.

although he was only three years older than you, he grew up a faster after your parents death. he did everything possible to give you the childhood that you deserved to have.

but due to that, your relationship was strained. he thought he was protecting you by keeping you out, but instead you felt like an intruder in your own home, which felt more like Anthony's home now, who had no time to play, or to spend time, always hiding in the library, keeping you away from the things he was dealing with.

you had always hoped to one day repair the relationship you two had lost over the years, but no matter what you tried, it didn't work. so one day you just gave up.

two years later

"Lucy, have you seen my green sweater?" you called up the stairs at your best friend. she didn't answer though, you sighed and walked down to the attic, to hopefully find it in the laundry room.

your brother was training downstairs, jumping around the room and swirling his rapier through the air. you tried to move out of the way as best as you could

anthony sighed and stopped the training procedure. "how many times have I told you, not to come down here, while I'm training?"

another one of the reasons that your relationship was so strained, was that he always expected the most from you, which got tiring after awhile, especially because he was your brother and not your father.

"sorry, anti" you turned your back while you rolled your eyes and walked to the drier "I just need my sweater"

"and how many times have I told you not to call me that"

anti had been his childhood nickname, before you could pronounce his name. you preferred to call him that to this day, because first, he hated it and secondly he really approached everything that concerned you with some anti-attitude, so you thought it fit.

"sorry, dad" you replied sarcastically "won't happen again"

"don't call me that either" he sighed "have you found your sweater?"

you turned to look at him and noticed that he was waiting for you to leave, so he could turn the simulation back on.

"nope, its probably in lucy's room. see you later, anti"

"stop calling--" before he could finish his sentence, you had already made your way back up the stairs and closed the door behind you "sorry" you said to yourself "I sadly can't hear you"

"what?" you turned around to look at george, who was sitting at the kitchen table, papers flooding over the whole table

"nothing" you shook your head "have you seen my sweater?"

"which one?" george asked annoyed

"the green one? the one theo found me pretty in, remember?" you smiled, thinking about the brown haired boy that was part of quill kipps' crew and would go on a date with you later today

"theo rowland?" george repeated "why does it matter what he thinks of you?"

"i'm going out with him today" you rolled your eyes at the boy "and i wanted to wear the sweater"

"i think it's in the bathroom" george shrugged, no longer interested in continuing the conversation. you quickly thanked him, before walking out of the room and getting the sweater, that really had been in the bathroom.

after you had gotten ready, you left the house, making your way to the spot you would meet theo at.

it was later that evening, exactly ten minutes after nine, that anthony lockwood would hear loud and hectic knocking on his door. he had been sitting in the library, reading when he finally decided to open the door, the loud noise getting annoying.

"what is it?" he asked, swinging open the door. he couldn't have guessed who had been waiting in front of it.

"rowland?" lockwood asked surpised "what the hell do you want?"

"lockwood!" theo breathed a sigh of relief "something happened" theo's eyes caught lucy's who was walking down the stairs "something with y/n"

"y/n?" lockwood repeated "y/n's upstairs, what could've possibly happened?" "she isn't" lucy shook her head "she was gone the whole afternoon"

"was she now?" lockwood wondered "listen, rowland, i really don't know what you have to do with my sister, but if you don't mind, i really would love to know where she is"

"the hospital"

"the hospital?" both lockwood and lucy screeched "why didn't you say something sooner?" lockwood eagerly grabbed his coat, before he was out the door and calling for a taxi, lucy close behind him

"what the hell happened?" he turned around to look at Theo, pointing an accusing finger at the boys chest.

lucy was already climbing into the taxi. "come on, lockwood"

"if you did something to her--" he pushed theo back

"lockwood!" lucy called again

lockwood took a look in lucy's direction, deciding that he really didn't have any time to discuss anything with theo, before he looked him up and down again "i will find out if you did and now get lost!" he climbed into the taxi, that drove off after he had closed the door.

"y/n!" the relief in lucy's voice calmed lockwood down a bit.

you opened your eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light, when you looked around yourself. "hey"

"hey" lockwood said. he took a look at your arm that was in a cast

"what happened?" lucy pointed at your arm

you looked down "i fell, really hard. but theo brought me here quickly, they gave me something to sleep while they fixed it"

"good" lucy nodded, but sensed the outgoing tension from lockwood

"where have you been? why did you leave the house in the first place?"

"i will get a nurse and tell her you've woken up" lucy excused herself from the room, leaving you and lockwood to talk.

"i was on a date" you answered his question hesitantly

"what?" anthony asked loudly "with theo rowland?" he connected the dots in his head

you nodded.

he laughed bitterly, shaking his head, walking around the room. "no you're way too young for dating and theo rowland as well! this is illegal!"

"what are you even talking about?" you asked "theo is not too old for me"

"did he touch you or anything?" lockwood sat down next to you "i can call barnes"

"what? no!" you got angrier at him "he's a good guy"

"yeah" lockwood rolled his eyes "a good guy dating a fifteen year old"

you looked at him stunned. "i'm seventeen"

"huh?"

"i'm seventeen" you repeated louder "and theo is eigtheen, so everything is fine. and if i want him to touch me, i will let him. he's very respectful"

"you're not seventeen" lockwood shook his head in denial

"yes i am" you said, but softer "what year is it, anthony?"

lockwood clasped a hand over his forehead "shit" he mumbled "you're right"

"it's alright" you shrugged your shoulders

"no it's not and i'm sorry" he admitted "i've been a pretty shitty brother these past few years, i should've kept you closer and not try to shut you out."

"don't say that" you exclaimed "of course i wanted to be closer to you, but i know that you did a lot of that so that i would have a happy childhood. you didn't mean to be cruel"

"i didn't" he nodded

"it's not too late"

"yeah" he smiled. "how about when you get discharged we go out for some donuts at arif's? you can bring theo. i scared him pretty badly, but he told me you were here in the first place, so he deserves an apology" "that sounds good" you smiled

"i love you"

"i love you too, anti"

"just today, i won't say anything to that stupid nickname, but only because you're in the hospital"

"okay" you laughed

[zephyronthewind]

Welcome to the GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE music video that lives in my head! This truly lives in my head in that every time I listen to this song, this plays out in my head. Seeing as how I cannot animate or draw, I figured it could live here instead of in a note on my phone. If you wanna actually make this, please do!!!!

THE VISUALS: Mostly black and white animated video, potentially introduce color to the castle scene. Simple, thick outlines in a realistic style. Narrator is blue outline instead of black. Narrator moves around like a cartoon character, but never affects the Person or environment. Person moves realistically, and is the only one to affect the environment, but doesn't acknowledge Narrator's presence. Camera shots are mostly static with characters moving around in them. Castle scene has camera movement.

THE KEY:

-- scene change

() attached lyric

Digital alarm clock on desk

Clock rolls over

Clock blinks as alarm goes

Narrator -tiny- pops up from behind clock

(Fuck off) hand smacks alarm

--

Narrator -full size- next to bed with lump, chastizing

(Okay five) Pulling on blanket, no visible effect

(Cmon I'm not fucking around) Blanket throws itself up, person sits themselves up. Narrator is teleported to have been under the blanket with them

--

(Instrumental) Hallway, Narrator pushing and pulling Person around, no visible effect as Person walks through the hallway

---

Narrator "throws" Person into the shower, stay outside the curtain

(And this is what we do) Narrator "pulls" person out the shower

Person sniffs the clothes on the floor

(If you need to do a smell check) Narrator "pulls" clothes out of Person's hand

(I'm adding laundry) Narrator pulls out a notepad, takes note

---

(Instrumental) Narrator "pulling" person down the stairs

---

Narrator close up, examples float across the screen

(Days weeks months) a calander with more and more days x'd out

(But here's the thing) Narrator points to camera

Camera zooms out to show Narrator next to Person

(So stop making excuses)Narrator turns to talk to person

Narrator "pulls" person to the microwave

(Almost 3 pm) Narrator staring and pointing at microwave clock

---

(Instrumental) flashing around of Person cleaning different areas of a small living room. Whenever Person is teleported to a different area, sometimes the area they just cleaned stays clean, sometimes it's a little cluttered, sometimes its worse than it started. Other areas also shift during these jumps, but not too noticeably

(Good morning) Narrator is standing next to them, belting out the song instead of helping clean. Jumps with them

---

(And listen) close up on the two

(I know) camera spins, person is standing with rocks piled like a backpack, Narrator on top. Rocks are Narrator blue

(I can see) camera lifts to see a sunrise over a hill

(A pile of stones) camera spins, stones piled in front of person

(Heavy fucking brick) on fucking, impact of brick going into place in a wall

(Every moment) Narrator is next to person, gesturing about which brick next and where to go

(Ground in front of you) camera pans down to ground/blankness

(One foot in front of the other) first person perspective of looking down, feet start walking

(I think, I hope) hope impact, view lifts to see a sunrise over a hill, potentially in color

(How far you've come) camera spin to a castle half built

(So much anymore) camera pulls back to third person, Narrator has a hand on person's shoulder

---

(So) backdrop snaps to be the living room, messier than last seen, Narrator and Person still standing next to each other. If color was introduced in last scene, back to black and white

(One foot in front of the other) Person steps forward without Narrator urging

(Pick up the rock) jump to cleaning another part of the room like before. No Narrator.

(We are getting out of bed today) another jump, still no Narrator

Multiple jumps

Last chord, person is sitting in the chair, living room clean, doing a mundane task. Various items are outlined the blue of Narrator instead of black, simple items that bring joy to Person. Examples: cup of tea, stack of books, window curtains shifting gently

[mydarllinglover]

Alone || Walkers in the field

Previous

When the group got back to the Prison, Carl and Carol were stood around on Patrol.

The kid had kept his promise of keeping an eye on her dog, the Border Collie sat next to him.

Rick had stopped in the middle of the two gates, getting out with instructions for Maggie to drive it up.

Natalia got out too, being greeted by Sully excitedly jumping up at her.

"Hey, I missed you too, sweet boy." She smiled, petting her dog as he tried to lick her face.

"Where's Daryl?" Carol asked, not seeing him in the car.

"It's alright. He's alive." Rick reassured her. "We ran into his brother. They went off."

"They left?" Carol sounded surprised. "Daryl left? He's gone? Is he coming back?"

She paced away, wiping her eyes.

Natalia walked out of the fencing and towards the prison whilst the older woman continued to ask Rick questions, Carl even piping up, asking about Oscar.

When she got to the courtyard before the three, she was greeted by Hershel and Beth, who was talking to Maggie.

"You kept your promise." The teen told the Natalia, hugging her.

"I always do, that's the point." She said, although she hugged Beth back.

"Are you hurt?" Hershel asked her.

"Not even a scratch, but I could sleep for about a month." She yawned.

"Why don't you go head in, get some rest." Rick came up from behind her with Carol and Carl. "And hey, thank you for last night, and today."

"What are friends for, right?" She asked.

"I think you mean, what are family for?" Hershel corrected.

"Whatever floats your boat." She shrugged, heading for the cell block. "Hey, kid. You alright?" She asked, Carl was hot on her trail, but it didn't look like he was headed for her.

"We got people." Was all he said before walking ahead.

"Huh?" She said to herself, bringing out her handgun and picking up her pace.

She walked into the cell block, being met by four people, A man and what looked to be his son, and a man and woman both having dark skin, looking close in age. Carl was sat on top of the table.

"Kid, who are these people?" She asked. The four turned their heads to look at her.

"Found them in the tombs."

"Waiting to speak to your dad?"

"Yeah."

As if he was called on command. Rick entered the cell, followed by Hershel.

He took a look at the group before continuing to the cells.

Natalia and Carl both followed, Carl closed the door, locking the people out.

Beth was holding the baby when Rick walked up to her, taking her off the blonde, so that he could hughis daughter to him.

"She kinda has Lori's eyes. Don't you think?" Beth asked.

Eventually, everyone soon enough went about their ways to do their own thing.

"Hey, if you need anything, or something happens, I'll be in my cell, okay?" She told Rick. "With Daryl gone, I guess I'm moving up in the ranks." She teased.

"Nat, Hershel was right when he said you were family, you're important, and we all owe you a pile of thanks, for everything you've done, you're family, even if its against your will." He hugged her, it was sort of awkward, it being their first hug and all, she would much prefer if they just threw darts, but she let it slide. "Go get some sleep."

"Alright" She saluted. "Kid, you mind watching Sully for a lil bit longer? I don't wanna lock him up in the cell."

"Course" He smiled at her. "He slept in my cell last night though." He admitted. "Hope that was okay."

"That's alright, thank you for looking after him."

"Anytime, I'm your guy."

"I'll make sure to remember that" She patted the sheriffs hat on top of his head, before retreating to her cell.

As she got comfortable, she could hear Beth and Carol talking as they did the laundry, she rolled over to face the wall, blocking them out, until soon enough, she was sleeping like a rock.

It was the next day, the group was stood around the cell block as Glenn drew the prison on the floor with chalk.

Natalia had found out from Carol that Rick was being coerced by Hershel to let Tyreese and his group stay, before something had happened and he had a freak out, telling the group that they should leave.

She trusted Rick, the same way he had trusted her, but she got a nagging feeling that something was going on with him, that could potentially put him and everyone at risk.

Carol had also tried to talk to Natalia about Daryl, so had Beth, but she made excuses up for both time on why she had to leave the conversation but also mentioning that they didn't need the redneck and they could handle things.

Deep down she pondered on why that felt like a lie, but she shoved it further into the dark void of her thoughts.

"Now, you said you found Tyreese's group here?" Glenn asked Carl.

"Yeah." The young boy nodded.

"We secured this."

"He thought he came through here" Carl pointed at the map.

"Means there's another breach." Glenn sighed. "Okay, the whole front of the prison is unsecure. If walkers just strolled in, then it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men."

"Why are we even so sure he's going to attack?" Beth asked. "Maybe you scared him off."

"Nah, Beth. Not this guy." Natalia shook her head, looking down at the map. Her arms were crossed as she leaned against the wall beside Michonne, Sully sat by her legs.

"He had fish tanks full of heads. Walkers and humans. Trophies. He's coming." Michonne stated.

"We should hit him now." Glenn decided.

"What?"

"He won't be expecting it. We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head."

"We're not assassins." Carol disagreed with Glenn.

"You know where his apartment is" He said to Michonne in a hushed voice, standing up from the ground. "You and I could end this tonight."

Michonne sighed, seeming to relay what he was saying.

"I'll do it myself." Glenn assured.

Michonne nodded.

"Okay."

"He didn't know you were coming last time and look what happened." Hershel stepped in. "You were almost killed. Daryl was captured. Rick and Natalia risked their lives going back for him. And you and Maggie were almost executed."

"You can't stop me." Glenn told the old man, stepping towards him.

"Rick would never allow this."

"You really think he's in any position to make that choice?"

"Think this through clearly. T-Dog lost his life here. Lori, too. The men that were here. It isn't worth anymore killing. What are we waiting for? If he's really on his way, we should be out of here by now."

"And go where?" Glenn asked.

"We lived on the road all winter"

"Back when you had two legs and we didn't have a baby crying for walkers every four hours."

"We can't stay here." Hershel told him.

"We can't run." Glenn argued.

Maggie turned away, walking into the cells, making Glenn's face drop at this, but he didn't go after her.

"Alright. We'll stay put. We're gonna defend this place. We're making a stand. Carl, you and I will go down to the tombs. We need to find out where this breach is." Glenn explained.

"You'll need some help." Michonne said, before Natalia got the chance to offer.

"No, in case anything happens, I need you out here, both of you." He looked at Natalia, nodding at her. He then looked around the room. "Who's on watch?" He demanded. "Damn it."

Glenn walked off, seemingly fed up.

Preparations had been made around the prison, and Glenn and Carl had found walkers around the tombs and near the generator room once again.

Glenn had shortly left as Natalia and Sully were in the field, she was throwing the ball for him to play fetch with as she scoped out everything, and checked fences were in order and people were safe for the moment.

She watched Hershel hobble to the bottom of the field on crutches, trying to break through to Rick, who had been wandering around on the other side, looking for something, for the entirety of the day.

For a moment, as they talked, she had thought that Hershel had seemed to get through to him, but then Rick shook his head, turning away from the prison and walking back to the trees.

She took a step back, putting all her frustration into throwing the ball wide, Sully leaping for it as soon as it left her fingers.

She wasn't the only one watching, Michonne was by the bus, the place she had spent the night before, and Carol and Axel were talking in the courtyard, Beth and Carl stood by them.

She heard a shot ring past, she followed the sound as it whizzed.

Blood shot out of Axels head as he dropped to the ground, right beside Carol.

She looked back, her head turning as quick as the bullet had gone past her.

The man with the bandaged eye was stood outside the gate, lowering the gun he had just shot.

Then repeated gunfire ran out.

A searing pain shot through her left arm, twisting her whole body around from the cause of injury, blood splattering, she looked down in horror to find she had been caught in the fire.

"Nat!" The voice of Michonne called out, she wasn't too far away from her. "Nat, come here!"

She looked around, she felt like she could hardly hear, as though a bubble was over her head, making everything fuzzy.

She was close enough that the woman could reach out from the bus, pulling her good arm and shielding her from any more harm.

"You got shot" Michonne hissed, looking at the blood seeping into her top, and spreading down her arm.

"I got shot." She repeated, her voice softer, sounding like a question.

"Okay, its okay. You're alright." Michonne told her. "I got shot a couple days ago, you're fine." She ripped the hem of Natalia's top, using it to tie around her arm to apply pressure. "Can you use your other arm?"

"Sully."

"What?" Michonne asked, picking up the gun that was beside her, aiming it from around the bus and firing it towards the enemies.

The shots continued for a bit more, Natalia couldn't really grasp anything.

"Sully. Where is he?!" Natalia raised her voice.

Most of the gunfire had stopped, except one, who didn't even seem to be aimed at anything as it was continuously shot into the sky.

Maggie came running out of the prison, shouting for Beth, than the gunfire started again.

"I need to get to Sully, what if he was shot?" Natalia was beginning to talk fast and hysterically.

"Hey, hey, look at me, he's over there, I can see him, he's fine, they haven't aimed anywhere near him, okay. He's alright, the bigger issue right now is you, we need to get you inside."

The sound of a roaring engine was getting louder as it seemed to be getting nearer to the prison.

A red and white ran was speeding along the road, and it didn't look like it was going to be slowing down anytime soon, that was until it smashed through the rolling fences and into the field.

It stayed in one spot, its engine still roaring on the grass as everyone waited to see what happened.

The large metal barrier that was attached to the van, acting as a door at the back, fell down, out coming walkers, stumbling onto the grass.

Over a dozen walked out, as someone dressed in riot gear jumped out the van, shooting ahead of him as he made his way to the gates. He shot at Michonne and Natalia as he passed them, making the two woman fall to the floor and roll to not get caught by the bullets.

The gunfire continued, but Natalia didn't care, her eyes were on her dog as he paced around the field, barking and snarling at the walkers as they got closer to him,

She took out her gun from her waistband with her good arm, even though it hurt the other to even move but she ignored it as she aimed fire at the walkers surrounding her dog.

Another car drove into the field, heading straight for Hershel, she ignored it when she had realised it was Glenn.

Michonne and Glenn helped the older man in the car.

Natalia was getting closer to her dog, but more walkers were coming in between her and him.

She fired until her gun clicked, shoving it back into her waistband, pulling out a knife and plunged it into the closest walker to her.

"Nat!" She heard her name being shouted but she ignored it, fighting more walkers off. "Nat!"

She could hear Sully whine and whimper as she got closer.

One walker went to leap on the dog when an arrow came souring through the air and into it's skull, creating a gap for the dog to run through.

"Nat, come on!" The voice of Rick shouted.

"I can't!" She cried out, fighting a walker off before eventually managing to drop her knife into its head, almost falling down with it.

"All this for a stupid dog?" Merle shouted as he used his metal arm to whack a walker down, Rick, Daryl and Merle had reached the field, helping fight off the walkers as more got drawn in by the gunfire and broken fence.

She continued to run, reaching Sully as he ran to her.

"Come on, lets go!" Daryl had got to them, grabbing her bad arm as she cried out in pain, that's when he realised she was bleeding his hand retracting from her, now crimson.

"She's been shot!" He called out to Rick.

"Get her back up there, now!"

"Here, come on." He told the woman, moving his hand to hold Natalia by her side as he guided her up, hitting down a walker with his crossbow.

"He's the only family I have left. He's all I have left." Natalia sobbed, holding Sully by the collar tightly as they ran, losing her ability to defend herself.

"It's alright, I got you both." The man grunted.

Rick and Merle attacked the walkers that got near enough, until they reached the gate, Carl pulling it open for the small group to fit through, shutting out the walkers in the field.

"Get her inside, now!" Hershel ordered, using his crutches to get back to C block.

Daryl continued to help her, blood was seeping onto him from her injured wound, but he didn't seem all too bothered.

He led her to their make shift infirmary, setting her on the bed as Carol and Hershel were right behind.

"I need to see the wound, check it hasn't hit an artery or severed any tendons, she could need surgery depending on it, and I haven't got all the capabilities for that."

Daryl stood back and against the wall, Sully was trying desperately to squeeze between the people to get to his owner.

"Daryl, why don't you get him some water, check him over." Carol told him.

He nodded, leading the dog away from the cell as Hershel undid the makeshift bandage that Michonne had tied to her arm.

He had done what he was told, pouring water into the bowl Natalia had been using as a water bowl, Sully graciously drank it up as Daryl examined him for bites or bullet holes.

Rick had locked Merle out of the cells as everyone stood around inside them.

Michonne was pacing back and forth, a stony expression on her face as she marched.

Daryl was confident that Sully was fine as he moved to sit down, leaning his back against the wall and catching his breath, the dog used him for comfort as the man fed into it, stroking and scratching the dogs fur.

Soon enough, Hershel and Carol left the cell, Carol grabbed a bottle of water before returning.

Everyone perked up at the older mans appearance, facing him and waiting on the news.

"Natalia seems to be very, very lucky, the bullet had managed to go straight through muscle and out the other side, if it was even a millimetre inwards, it could of shattered the bone." Hershel said. "She's got some muscle damage, which isn't too much of a problem, if she gets enough rest and lets it heal, though it will be sore and straining. The bleeding has stopped and I managed to stitch her back together again. She's a little disorientated which is completely normal right now. Carols giving her some painkillers with strict instructions to sleep. Michonne, it was fortunate that you were with her, and managed to apply pressure, if you weren't there, her situation could perhaps be a lot more severe."

"But she's going to be okay, right?" Rick asked.

"Yes, Natalia will make a full recovery, if you let her."

"She's tough." Glenn said.

"Damn straight." Daryl muttered as he looked at the floor.

It was the next day, Natalia was still in the infirmary cell as the group debated about what to do about the Governors little gift.

"We're not leaving." Rick said with an authoritive tone.

"We can't stay here." Hershel wiped his hands on a cloth.

"What if there's another sniper?" Maggie asked. "A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds.”

"We can't even go outside." Beth added.

"Not In the daylight." Carol said, stepping out of the cell, after checking on Natalia.

"Rick says we're not running, we're not running." Glenn told the group.

"No, better to live like rats." Merle commented.

"You got a better idea?" Rick asked him.

"Yeah, we should have slid out here last night and lived to fight another day. But we lost that window, didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now."

"We ain't scared of that prick." Daryl said.

"Y'all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to." Merle told the group.

"Let's put him in the other cell block." Maggie said, sounding agitated as she fiddled with the bandana around her arm.

"No. He's got a point." Daryl disagreed.

"This is all you. You started this." Maggie cussed out Merle.

"What difference whose fault it is? What do we do?" Beth asked.

"I said we should leave." Hershel backed up his own idea. "Now Axels dead and Nat's been shot. We can't just sit here."

Rick turned and walked away from him, causing the old man to stand up from the stairs.

"Get back here!" He yelled, following Rick. "You're slipping, Rick. We've all seen it. We understand why. But now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy. Now you have to own up to that. I put my family's life in your hands. So get your head clear and do something."

Natalia had been up for only a little bit, when everyone had started an argument over Merle's stay in the prison, her arm, that was bandaged and in a sling, killed, but she was so kindly given painkillers and water, just below her, which was also a relief considering the constant fighting and Judith's cries throughout the night, she had an even worse headache.

Natalia hated being in the bed at a time like this, it brought her back to the days when she was too weak to look out for herself, left to only being an observer. She wanted to be in on the backwards and forth of what to do, instead of hiding away and catching glimpses of it. But most of all, she wanted revenge, and to fight.

Getting shot was one thing, but her dog's life being almost at risk? If she struggled to sleep even under both Carol and Hershel's strict orders, she could imagine all the long, painful and slow ways that the Governor could meet his fatal demises from.

Not only had he kidnapped, beat, and done unthinkable things to her friends, he had broken into their home, brought down their barriers, shot Axel dead, cut them off from the outside world, shot her and had her dog almost tared to pieces, for what? Because they went on a rescue mission to save their friends from the unknown person who kidnapped them? It made no sense to her, her only conclusion was that he was a crazy, delusional, psychotic, mentally challenged son of a bitch.

She had a pillow over her face, blocking all noise out and living in her fantasy's.

That was until Carl came running in to the cells, alerting that something was going on outside.

Natalia jumped from the bed, luckily the painkillers had dulled the pain in her arm, and she reached for her gun, that had been reloaded for her and left at the end of the bed, with her knifes in the sheaths around her belt.

She walked out the cell as Daryl ran past, his crossbow in hand.

"Get back into bed." He told her as he carried on.

She ignored him, following everyone else.

A blonde woman, the same blonde woman from Woodbury was walking towards the courtyard, she was holding a butchered walker on a metal grabber thing.

"What the fuck?" She hissed.

Merle made sure it was clear as they advanced closer.

"Are you alone?" Rick asked the woman.

"Open the gate!" She called back.

"Are you alone?" Rick repeated.

"Rick!"

Natalia saw how Michonne had lowered her gun.

Rick tossed Daryl the keys, who unlocked the gate.

"Open it." Rick said.

The woman threw her walker away, entering the courtyard.

"Hands up!" Rick told her, which she seemed surprised by. "Hands up! Turn around, now!" He pushed her into the fence, frisking her as an walker walked towards it, making the woman scream and Rick pulled her away, pushing her to her knees as he continued to check for weapons.

Everyone had turned their weapons away from her and into the field, except for Natalia, who had her gun aimed at the woman.

"I asked if you were alone." Rick said.

"I am." He took her bag off of her, throwing it away.

"Nat, put it down." He told her, picking up the woman's weapons.

"No."

"Nat." Michonne stepped forward, lowering the gun.

"Ain't this the chick sleeping with our sworn cyclops?" Natalia asked, feeling like the only sane person here.

"Who is she?" The woman asked.

"Natalia, take it you're Andrea." She still wasn't pleased about having her here.

Rick grabbed Andrea by the arm, pulling her up as everyone headed back into the cell block.

"I told you to stay in bed." Daryl came up, beside Natalia.

"Nice to see you, too."

"Yeah, couldn't really greet you yesterday, was too busy saving ya life, yer welcome, by the way."

"I didn't ask you to. Why the hell are we letting Blondie in here"

"Used to be part of the group, long before you, play nice." He warned.

She scoffed heading into the building, Andrea was already hugging Carol.

Daryl and Natalia moved to sit on the table, her gun was still in her hand.

"After you saved me, we thought you were dead" Carol told her.

"Hershel, my god." Andrea pulled away from Carol to look at the old man. "I can't believe this. Where's Shane?" She asked, looking around the place.

Natalia didn't know who that was, and frankly she didn't care, she heard snippets of this person before, and sounded like someone she had encountered before.

"And Lori?" Andrea carried on.

"She had a girl. Lori didn't survive." Hershel replied when Rick had just looked down.

"Neither did T-Dog." Maggie added.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. "Carl. Rick I-" Rick sniffed, taking a step back, Carls facial expression hadn't changed. "You all live here?"

"Here and the cell block" Glenn answered.

"There?" She pointed. "Well, can I go in?" She headed for it.

Natalia raised her gun again, Daryl went to move and Rick stepped in front of her.

"I won't allow that."

"I'm not an enemy, Rick."

"Your boyfriend sure is." Natalia sneered.

"We had that field and courtyard, until your boyfriend tore down the fence" He copied Natalia's insult. "With a truck and shot us up. Shot Nat, here." He pointed at the brunette, her gun still raised, with a stoic expression.

"He said you fired first."

"Well. he's lying." Rick told her.

"He killed an inmate who survived here." Hershel said.

"We liked him." Daryl commented. "He was one of us."

"I didn't know anything about that. As soon as I found out, I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out."

"That was days ago." Glenn set her straight.

"I told you, I came as soon as I could."

Michonne walked closer, leaning against a metal cage, a "I told you so" look on her face.

Andrea turned around, looking at her accusingly.

"What have you told them?"

"Nothing." Michonne answered.

Natalia didn't like how this woman just strolled up into her home, after what her boyfriend done the day before and accused Michonne of causing the unsettlement towards her.

Natalia was growing very fond of Michonne.

"I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out?"

"He almost killed Michonne, and he would have killed us"

"With his finger on the trigger!" She pointed at Merle. "Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?”

"Funny how he's the one here with us and you come running over from the guy who caused all this, expecting us to throw a pity party." Natalia scoffed. "Merle was following orders, from the same guy you're still getting cosy with, he ain't anymore."

She still hated Merle, but she had a lesser liking for this woman.

The woman sighed, clearly aggravated.

"Look... I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done. But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out."

"There's nothing to work out. We're gonna kill him." Rick said. "I don't know how. Or when, but we will."

"We can settle this. There is room for Woodbury for all of you."

"You know better than that." Merle chuckled.

"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate?" Hershel asked. "Did he say that?"

"No."

"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked her.

"Because he's gearing up for war. The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack."

"I'll tell you what" Daryl started from beside Natalia. "Next time you see Philip, you tell him I'm gonna take his other eye."

"We've taken too much shit for too long." Glenn said. "He wants a war? He's got one."

"Rick?" Andrea tried. "If you don't sit down, and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town. Look at you. You've lost so much, already. You can't stand alone anymore."

"You want to make this right, get us inside." Rick told her.

"No."

"Then we got nothing to talk about."

"There are innocent people."

Rick walked away ignoring her.

"Let's take a look at those stitches and change the bandage" Hershel said to Natalia, heading towards the cells.

"Oh, goody, make sure you tell Philip I said thanks." Natalia got up from the table, fake smiling at the woman. "Cause he's such a great guy and all, I'm sure he'd love to know."

"Enough." Hershel told her.

Natalia scoffed, walking away from the group.

"Seriously, who is she? Was she in here?" Natalia could hear Andrea mutter behind her.

"Nat saved our lives, we'd probably all be dead without her." Glenn said.

"Gave us food and shelter when we were running out of places to go." Maggie added. "Just her and her dog, the dog, your boyfriend tried to kill."

Daryl subconsciously ran his hand over the piece of card in his front pocket, he hadn't taken it out since he grabbed it, but he hadn't found a chance to give it to her yet, either.

Next

[autism-purgatory]

Viscered Chapter 3: Tumblr edition

quick update, I’m not sure if I can post the google doc because the editing history and shit has my government name on it and I’m not about that, so for now I’ll leave the chapter here instead, enjoy ;) massive CW for gore though, I mean it.

Chapter 3: Sins

2002

Skrt. The screeching halt of tires snapped Julia out of her daze. Faint rumbling and muffled groans brought comfort to her weary brain. The sunlight, however, felt like a rain of hellfire rather than a heavenly embrace. A basket of laundry weighed on her lap, providing a soothing pressure. 

“Alright, looks empty from here, could be wrong though.” Mia peered through the window and into the laundromat where they were parked.

“I-I should be good. You’ve got work.” Julia showed off her taser before sliding it back in. 

Mia frowned, the split second of unease making Julia tense up. The rising anxiety was released when the car unlocked with a click.

“Just…be safe, ok?”

Julia rolled her eyes as she exited, “You already babysit adults all day, I don’t need to be one of them.”

She stood on the sidewalk as their rickety vehicle zoomed off, leaving her to her own devices. With a quick look around, she spotted only one cramped car in the parking lot. No worry grew, since it looked like a corpse of mechanics and black paint. Towels and blankets shut out any curious eyes from its interior.

The laundromat was stout, old, and…safe. Julia relished in the soft lights and rumbling washers and dryers. Her fists and breathing steadied.

Two sets of chairs split the room down the middle, further separating the walls of machinery.

Her boots squeaked on the shiny brown tiles, dampening the stimulating bliss of the room. The sound of her footsteps caught someone’s attention at the very end of the left seating. Julia froze up, averting her gaze.

A man in ripped, baggy clothes rang a bell in her head, but she still kept her distance. She ached for something, anything, to relieve her discomfort. 

He looked away from her general direction, resisting the urge to tap his foot against the floor.

The laundromat's comforting aura turned against Julia like a lullaby into a scream. The rumbling of old, soapy machinery, the buzz of the lights, and the indescribable stench instilled an instinct to escape, to rush out as soon as she could.

Every outside sound and sensation skittered across her flesh, slithering through her ears, searing into her eyes.

 Then, in the corner of her vision, a red glow reflected off a washer’s polished metal.

She turned left and the man immediately averted his eyes. The crimson light had no source, but the flash of his hooded face sparked recognition.

The screaming, crawling sensations simmered down, reverting to their more comforting context.

She let out an amalgamation of a gasp and a deep breath. All of the stress that filled her lungs fizzled out, dispersing into nothingness.

“You… helped me out a few weeks ago, right?” She muttered.

The man barely turned his head, thumping his foot quicker than ever before. His fingers curled into a fist out of her line of sight.

“M-Mhm.”

“Thanks for…that. I still owe you.”

“You don’t owe me shit. Don’t worry about it.” The man yawned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Julia frowned, scooting closer chair by chair. 

He sighed, hoping that would be a good enough indicator to back off. She continued her approach with no fear in her curious eyes.

His glances revealed hesitance bit by bit, making her raise a brow.

“I never got your name,” She said, stopping with two chairs between them. Her gentle inflection lowered his guard, even if only by a small margin.

His dark brown eyes greeted hers with a partial glare. He expected some, any sort of fear or sinister motives in her gaze but found nothing of the sort. 

Another short sigh from the man broke their momentary staredown.

“...Cole.”

She smirked, then held out her hand.

“Nice, I’m Julia.”

His slow eyes traveled from her pale palm, up her sleeve, and to her glasses.

He put his hand in hers and slowly shook it before retracting. She snickered at such a large figure being so quiet and embarrassed.

“I-Uh, I’m sorry if I scared you earlier. It's usually pretty quiet here.”

“Oh, it's fine! That’s why I came.”

Her phrasing straightened his posture, arms tensing.

“Why’s that?” He said with a subtle hiss in his throat.

“It's…hard to get anything done with so many eyes on you. Most places are just too busy for me,” She explained, taken aback by the sudden hostility.

“Huh, same.”

“Not a huge fan of crowds, either?”

“...You could say that,” Cole mumbled.

“Was that your car out there?” Julia’s shift of topic slapped him awake.

“Y-Yeah?” He braced for whatever insult might come his way.

“Cool, what kind?”

“I-I dunno. Some model from the nineties, I think?”

“Nice! Looks…cozy?” She said, then nervously laughed to veil her regret.

Cole sighed in relief, expecting a harsher jab.

The prolonged silence indicated the conversation’s sudden death. Julia took that as a sign to rummage through her bag for a book.

Cole’s eyes widened as he noted its sheer size and thickness—at least eight hundred pages. His awe grew stronger knowing most of its concepts made no sense to him.

“What, uh…whatcha reading?” A meek whisper skittered off his tongue.

“Oh, it's just for school; it might as well be light reading,” she joked, though Cole looked even more surprised.

“What do you do for college?”

“Mostly physics, what about you?” She replied.

“Me? I just uh…live nearby. Not sure what I’d even do in college if I could afford it.”

“I get it, plenty of pros and cons. I probably would’ve never chosen physics if it wasn’t already an obsession of mine.”

“Huh…cool. What got you into it?” Cole asked, immediately regretting it as Julia lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Funny you should ask!” She said, throwing her book in her bag.

Minutes of her ramblings ascended into a full hour. Cole, despite that, visibly softened with each new information she dumped into his head. He nodded along, maybe with a few “Mhm.”s and “Uh-huh.”s. Sure, not much of it made sense, but it was a nice alleviation.

Julia slowed down when she noticed his lack of foot tapping or tensing at every odd-worded phrase.

“S-Sorry, I should stop-”

“You’re not botherin’ me, keep going.”

She continued to do so as they shoved their respective armfuls of laundry into the dryers. 

“...I even got to graduate high school early!”

“You can do that?” Cole said with a raised brow.

“Mhm! Took a lot of effort, though, pretty sure they just wanted me out of their hair.”

“I get it, they can’t handle a student being smarter than them.”

Julia snickered, deflecting the compliment by shifting to a separate topic.

“What about you?”

“Oh, I uh…dropped out,” He replied, fumbling for an answer as they sat down once more.

“Really? You get this stuff better than some of my classmates!” She chuckled

“It's ‘cause you're passionate about it, makes it interesting to think about. Not all that fascinating when it's coming from some old guy who’s talked about it a million times.”

She resisted the urge to cringe as her eyes wandered to everything but his own. Fortunately, no trace of offense seemed to appear on his face.

“T-Thanks…People don’t usually pay attention for this long, let alone listen in the first place. What’re you passionate about?” She yet again dodged his praises, masking her embarrassment with another chuckle.

“I dunno, surgery stuff, I guess? I found some textbooks in a trashcan last week, helps me clear my thoughts.” He explained, shifting his shirt to hide the scar on his sternum.

“Oh, cool! My roommate’s actually a nurse, she might have some old stuff from med school I can borrow!”

“You don’t gotta do that, it's just something I read for fun.”

“It's fine, she hasn’t touched any of those books in ages. Plus, it’d be nice to have more to read once you’ve finished yours, right? I-I still have to pay you back, so what do you say?”

Cole leaned forward with a hand on his chin and mouth, contemplation brewing behind his eyes. It made him notice the dryers no longer rumbled, having turned off hours ago.

“...Fine, but you’re not paying me back, you never owed me anything in the first place.”

She sighed but nodded nonetheless.

“Sounds go-”

A sudden, droning car honk honk made them flinch, even as the sturdy walls muffled it.

She grumbled while preparing to leave, even as the noise subsided.

“That’s my ride. I should be here again next Saturday, soooo maybe I can give you them around that time?”

“I-I uh, sounds good.” He said, tapping his foot again.

“...Cool! Nice meeting you, Cole!”

“N-Nice meeting-”

The words escaped him too slowly as she rushed out to the car. A massive sigh left his lungs with an indescribable swirl of emotions. Excitement, embarrassment, and nervousness, all escaped his throat in a single puff. His rising worries spawned from all three, rather than the usual paranoia.

Julia slouched in the passenger’s seat, smirking with joy yet deflated with fatigue. The only thing keeping her sitting straight was the subtle sting of pain in her elbows and knees.

“How’d it go?” Mia questioned right before the car roared to life.

“Good! Guess who I met there?”

Her friend’s face shifted to disappointment and concern.

“Julia…”

“Relax, it was just the guy who helped me out—He’s actually pretty nice!”

“That guy? What makes you think he’s actually like that?”

“...Why do you ask?”

“He doesn’t exactly scream ‘trustworthy’—you sure he was being genuine?”

“I mean, yeah, pretty much. He listened to me talk about physics! Who else does that?” Julia said with a hint of giddiness in her voice.

“Me, I guess? Just be more cautious next time, ok?” Mia sighed with an obvious sleep-deprived fatigue.

Julia’s expression died out and she turned to her window. The subtle spark of frustration caused her to tug on her sleeve with shaky, curled fingers. The drive back only made the lively memory seem all the more distant, floating from her grasp.

2018

…

. . .

.  .  .

“NOVA!” I scream, yanking myself out of bed. The blankets and sheets tear in my grip, flinging to the other side of the room.

I slip, tossing myself to Nova’s cradle. I try to catch my footing but my skull hits the frame before I can even think straight.

A new surge of pain gets ahold of me, tightening every muscle. I stumble back against the bed, cushioned by the sides of the mattress. The severity doesn’t matter, neither does the stream of blood from my forehead.

Pain, hurt—such an empty feeling. Something else eats away at me, something that burns and boils until ashes are all that's left.

Another hoarse scream crawls up my lungs. It barely echoes among the house, leaving no trace in its years of use.

The lifeless photos stare me down like the filth I am, that I’ve always been. That’s all I am, a thing that corrodes everything it touches.

I drag myself back to his cradle, ashamed of the bloody dent I left in its wood. My fingers gently wrap around one of the bars as my legs curl up.

My gaze darts up to the bed itself. H-He has to be there. This has to be a dream. He has to be ok.

Nothing. A scrap of his warmth remains, snuffed out, gutted.

The bubbling, scorching sensation grows stronger, spreading from limb to limb like wildfire.

It spills from my eyes, flowing down scarred, bloodstained cheeks. First a trickle, then a river of pure anguish.

I want to gasp, but a wail takes its place. Stuttering breaths come and go in its wake.

My nails dig into the wood and its shards stab the tender flesh underneath. I can only stare at the light that spills through the window above, praying to whatever entity can give him back. 

P-Please, God, Lord, whatever the fuck you are, just…just give him back, give my boy back…

Nothing responds. Just the silence of a cold, dead home. Gone are the familiar smiles, the comforting laughter…

I cling to the only corpse of joy that remains in this fucking house. It rots and fills the room with its stench of grief.

“N-Nova…” I sob, choking on dried blood, snot, and tears.

I don’t know how long it lasts. Thirty minutes, three hours, it doesn’t matter. The sunlight remains stagnant, still, like some false hope. I don’t need it, I don’t deserve it.

So many old thoughts and memories flood my head, wallowing and laughing at my suffering.

“A weapon. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“You do not think, you do not protest, you obey.”

“A perfect child, as it should be.”

Those, and so many others swirl into a maelstrom of agony, talking over each other, bickering.

My hands slip from the cradle, choosing to grip the sides of my head. 

Just…Just die already! Just-

“Cole, breathe.”

The whole world freezes before my eyes. 

“What’s the fucking point anymore!?” I scream as I shut my eyes.

“Breathe,” She says again, echoing rather than repeating. Each repetition gets louder, drowning out the horde of unwanted recollections.

Just as I suck in more air through my teeth, something grazes past my shoulder.

My heart rate spikes. I waste my breath to scream and thrust my arm towards the disturbance. 

The sensation of mutating barely hits me—the splatter of warm blood does.

I pry open my gaze to see my hand through someone’s stomach. The hardened, sharp flesh tore through layers of a bulletproof vest and coarse clothes.

My eyes dart up to my target. A black cloth covers their mouth, while night vision goggles and a helmet veil the rest.

Blood pools around the face covering, followed by a violent, crunchy cough.

Something about that god-awful fucking sound makes the rage reach a boiling point. It begs to burst out of my skin and set everything alight.

My eyes widen and I shove the assailant to the bed with my arm still through their torso.

“You’re still alive,” I snarl, inches from their face.

“P-Please!” They gargle, trying to flail.

I turn my forearm, churning my fingers through their exposed guts. A scream tries to reach its climax but a choked sob interrupts it.

“You’re gonna tell me where he is, fucking rat.”

“N…Next…D-Door…” They spasm and lift their arm in the direction of Anna’s house.

I already know he’s not there, but I know it can lead me to him.

I continue to stare them down with a crimson glow. The edges of my mouth curve into a smile as I watch them writhe and attempt to flee. Their stomach squelches and they retract each time my hand brushes against their guts. God, it's titillating.

A whole minute passes before they go pale—I was getting bored with them anyway.

My fingers fuse and curve like a blade. The assassin feels it mutilate their intestines through the bed with what little consciousness they have left.

Good fucking riddance.

I tear through the side of their torso, silencing them. I shove myself off the mattress and, well, disfigured corpse.

The contorting flesh trails up my arms. Red veins accompany the thickening, muscular layers underneath. Something else grows in its wake, parting my skin to reveal their glorious horror.

Eyes.

No sunlight pierces the curtained windows of a seemingly empty home. The chirp of birds, the rustle of leaves, the sound of footsteps—none are strong enough to make their presence known to the occupants.

A pair of goggle-covered eyes peek through the shades. They dart across the fake grass and harmless joggers that pass the front porch. Paranoia arises, more to keep them focused than afraid.

They pull away, gaze shifting to their assault rifle.

A dozen other assassins wait in the house, most stationed near the windows. The clacking of a keyboard echoes near the empty fireplace while whispers trace to the kitchen.

“E-Two through five. Any disturbances?” the commanding, deep voice of E-One asks through the devices strapped to their shoulders.

“Negative.”

“E-Six, bugs?”

“All ready and functioning. EXP-25 is still dormant. No other anomalies in the area,” He says, checking the bulky device in their lap.

“Good. You, agent, um…whatever you are, any disturbances from the back?” E-One trails off, turning to a familiar face in the kitchen.

“Nothing here…yet,” Anna mumbles, tapping her finger against the smooth granite counter. Her eyes pierce through the windows in front of the sink. Pale fingers barely pull the blinds apart for better vision. She holds her breath with each moving object whether it be a rolling baseball or swaying bushes.

“When’s the transport even coming? I said we’d keep an eye on him, not babysit him. We should’ve been out of Houston hours ago.”

“We’ll take him to Phoenix once Q67 confirms the child’s out of the state.”

“If we’re alive to hear from him and haven’t run out of venom. We should take our chances and put him in the van before he loses it.”

“Denied.”

“...Are you fucking-”

“Denied. You’re out of your mind if you think defying the Head’s orders leads to anything but death. Stick to your directive and get it together before you get all of us in deep shit, understand?”

Anna’s demeanor barely shifts with an unamused expression in her eyes. She lets out another sigh and turns, resisting her snickering.

The others avert their gaze just as a grumbling E-One turns back to them

“...Now, E-Seven, any anomalies from inside the house?” They finish.

“...It's waking up,” They respond, almost in sync with E-Six.

The whole squadron’s hearts sink.

“Administer venom,” E-One mutters.

“It's off the bed, next to the cradle. It's…crying, sir.”

“Administer the venom, now.”

“...Affirmative,” E-Seven says before exiting the closet. E-Six clenches his fists as he stares at the bedroom camera.

An assassin, crouching and silent, creeps up to the wailing creature. Its choking sobs dim for a moment, pausing their pursuit.

“What’s the fucking point anymore!?” It yells.

E-Six resists the urge to sympathize, or worse, humanize it despite his aching heart.

E-Seven reveals a syringe with the required venom in their gloved hand. They stand, ready to attack—but their elbow brushes against its back.

E-Six’s gaze widens as he watches the unfurling carnage. The rest of the squadron freezes in horror at the sound of squelching flesh and desperate screams.

Anna immediately whips out a pistol from her trenchcoat, ducking to the cabinets below.

“E-Seven, do you read?” E-One whispers.

“E-Seven, do you read?”

…

. . .

.  .  .

“L̷̲̼̼͂̚o̵̻̤̐u̸̦̤͇͌̓͝d̶̟̤̅͗͊ ̶̛͇͋̒ã̴͔͔̟̊̃ń̷͈̀ď̷̪ ̶̦̬̈́̈́c̵̟͌̿ļ̶͔̾̅ẽ̷͓̗̰̅̚ą̸͍͋̐ŕ̶͚̪̝.̸̦̩̭̕”

Screeching static follows the unfamiliar voice. Everyone but E-six switches to a separate frequency.

E-One ducks with Anna, gesturing for the rest of the squadron to prepare their defense.

E-Six remains petrified, continuing to stare at the mutilated corpse on the bed as the others scurry to their positions.

The sudden stampede of combat boots and cocking guns falls into silence once everyone is in place.

Everyone but E-Six. 

A nearby squadmate grunts at him with desperate eyes. E-six’s head slowly cranes away from the monitor. A shaky breath slithers off his tongue before he speaks.

“It…It’s gone-”

Crack.

The sound subtly echoes from the fireplace, where they aim their rifles. Green lasers pierce the dark with no effort.

E-Six holds his breath as he turns to the maw of soot and shadow.

Nothing stares back, his countless prayers are answered…

For a moment.

A crunch interrupts his incoherent train of thought, then another, and another. Each one worms into his ears with every moment that passes. His legs and hands quiver, yet refuse to move. 

Three seconds, only three seconds of dread come to a close as something stares back from the dark.

Veins—eyes.

E-Six gasps. Something whips around his head and tightens. Blood drips, soaking the groaning wood below. Other appendages reach for the pouches on his belt.

The others fire with caution. Bullets zip past the mass of spindly sinew and exposed bones. Some hit, most don’t. Bits of tissue and blood coat the fireplace.

E-Six makes a choking sob as something digs through his helmet. One hand pries at the claw enrapturing his skull, the other scrambling for a combat knife. Sharp fingers brush against his scalp. their source chuckles, then yanks its prey back. E-Six finally lets out an anguished scream.

“Fuck! F-”

Another crunch. His head slams against the rough, weathered bricks. Blood drips from his broken nose. He falls limp. The tendrils instantly yank his body upwards.

One assassin extends a hand while another aims, only to be lowered by a fellow squadmate.

E-Six’s body drops as soon as he’s picked up—a puddle of blood pools from his neck.

Another hand lifts to pull his corpse but the others shake their heads.

No recovery time is given as another thud hits the ceiling.

They all aim at the expanding crack. Layers of dust rain down from its general area.

“...The attic, check the attic,” Anna whispers through her earpiece “Negative, everyone hold your ground.”

“Are you insane? We’re sitting ducks!” She hisses.

E-One shakes his head and flashes a syringe plunger on their belt. The flange barely peeks from the bulky pouch.

“They’ll keep it busy if it’s got the guts to attack,” He whispers with a hand covering his comms.

Anna’s expression softens into a subtle glare. Her attention is drawn elsewhere when another thud hits the ceiling. A roaring crash follows the rumbling, prompting the squadron to back up.

Bits of stone and wood hit the floor like hail while larger chunks dangle from the wound’s edges. 

She stands further to see what fell through, and what the other assassins were quietly gawking at.

A familiar head rolls towards its body in the fireplace. It stops at the feet of a squadmate.

He kneels while the others aim wherever they can be ambushed. His eyes widen behind his bulky night vision goggles once the stump is in view.

A flat, metallic surface pokes out through the windpipe. Mushy, tender flesh surrounds it under a layer of pale skin. Other nerves and blood vessels dangle out.

Moments pass like an eternity as they stare at the severed head, awaiting the ambush of whatever dropped it.

“E-Four, remove the foreign object,” E-One breaks the silence, peering from the side of the counter they hide behind with Anna in tow. She frowns at the command but ultimately keeps her peace.

“Sir, it could be anything-”

“Remove it.”

E-Four holds his breath and kneels. His fingers slide under the windpipe’s pale, elastic surface with a squelch.

Only three fit through, enough to curl and pull the object out. A slight tilt makes it bulge and tear through its confines, pushing out any meat in its way. 

Anna flinches and ducks the second more is revealed.

A clink follows everyone’s breakneck reactions. E-Four flings the object.

Ringing ears and a flash of light plague everyone in the room, all except for Anna and E-One. 

The affected squadron resists their groans and tries to straighten, to hide any hint of defeat.

One keeps their rifle aimed at the hole in the ceiling, now a dark blot among their blurry vision. 

As the dust settles, as they prepare for ambush once more, a light appears. It overpowers any lasers pointed at it, lurking, spiraling, snapping from above.

One assassin struggles with their shivering grip. Slick sweat coats the flesh under their gear, making it stick and peel with every subtle fidget.

Then something bumps against the barrel.

It coils around the handguard. A bullet fires just as it yanks the rifle. The light descends, then swings.

Their eyes widen before they can blink. The butt of their gun flashes before th-

Wham.

The polished metal rips through their skull, sending bits of bones, teeth, and meat against the floor. Their helmet flings with it and lands at the feet of the remaining assassins. The body thuds, their lower jaw still intact.

Blood spurts from the creature’s bullet wound, pushing the bullet fragments out of its sealing skin.

The squadron aims. It responds with a leap. Fingers hook into the ceiling, causing a cascade of dust and powdery stone.

EXP-25 lunges as bullets rip through its body. It lands on, pins, and digs its maw into an assassin’s neck.

Its teeth stab past the cloth, extending out of its gums. Its prey screams and knees its crotch. Its subtle wince convinces the left squadmate to fire.

It grabs its target by the shoulders. Bullets rip through flesh—but not of the creature’s.

Blood trickles down the back of a fellow assassin, making their comrade’s eyes widen. The corpse’s arms and legs twitch yet dangle.

Ripping velcro makes the creature’s head snap backward. Their heaving freezes at the glint of a needle.

One arm cracks, jutting in the opposite direction. Its contorting hand juts out like a blade. A hand falls with the syringe in a flash.

The assassin screams, gripping the stump and backing into the wall.

The last of the creature’s prey tries to steady their aim, yet a bulging, thumping sound overwhelms their every thought. Their lungs only let out stuttering breaths and shallow gasps. 

EXP-25 stands and slowly approaches them with silent footsteps. Its fists, then arms loosen.

It stares, unhinged jaw agape. Ripped skin stretches at the corners of its mouth.

The assassin aims at its head. They squeeze the trigger and hope, pray-

Click.

Its black eyes grow wide, exposing rings of red light.

They yank the magazine out, preparing to reload when-

A sharp sting hits their calf. 

Their eyes dart to find claws digging into the bone.

EXP-25 yanks them off their feet before they can even scream. Their head slides against the sturdy ceiling, then splats on the splintering wood floor.

Blood pools below them but a groan dims its victory. Their wheezing screams accompany their sucked-in, shattered chest.

EXP-25 opens its mouth even wider, exposing blood-stained teeth. It screams, then smashes them against the front door with all its might.

A burst of cloth, metal, flesh, and bones paints the wall and windows with red and pink. Sharpened and cracked slivers of their cervical vertebrae stick out from the pulp of the neck. The rest of their mangled body drags to the floor, leaving bits of gray matter in its already bloody wake.

EXP-25 drops what was left of them and turns to the kitchen.

Anna and E-One hold their breaths as they hide behind the cabinets.

“Ẅ̵̝̘ȟ̵̙̾ê̴̞̑…̸̲̭̓Ẅ̸̢̖́͑h̶̛̺̏-̴̧͍̈́͝W̸͚͕̏̍h̸̫̫̉́e̷̙̓͊r̴̬͈͌͝ẹ̴͘͘ ̸͇̍į̶̾̔s̴̼͎̔͠...̴̯͆̉h̵̫̼̿-̶̬̄̓h̵̹̐ͅê̵̩̭̏?̷̯͒” A gagging, rumbling voice growls. The lack of a response causes it to let out a choking, heaving noise. Anna lifts a brow, unable to tell if it was crying or laughing.

Footsteps follow, making her heart spike in pace.

She gestures to the back door, not too far from the sink. The backyard awaits beyond it. 

Despite nodding, E-One holsters their pistol in exchange for a flashbang and a syringe of snake venom.

Anna subtly shakes her head with wide eyes.

A thud follows the yank of a pin, then a hoarse grunt and a shattering window. The flashbang goes off, albeit outside the house. E-One sucks a deep breath through their teeth and unholsters their pistol.

They stand and open fire. Anna reaches for them but is quickly rejected.

“Get to Q67 and get the kid out of Houston!” They yell, sliding over the counter.

Anna aims at EXP-25 as E-One dashes to it. The crunch of an arm follows their speedy attempt, making her avert her eyes.

She bolts out the back door without a second thought while more carnage ensues.

Her eyes zoom back and forth—a gate leads back to the street, almost hidden from her line of sight.

She runs left, then pulls the intricate handle down—it replies with a clank.

“Come on, rusty piece of shit!” She groans and begins kicking it. Wood fragments and splinters fly across the nearby grass as her boot slams into its old frame.

Just as its hinges fling open, the kitchen window shatters. 

EXP-25 shrieks at the sight of her, its limbs contorting to make it walk on all fours. Its torso bends, making its ribs bulge from the top.

Its upside-down head twists to the correct angle and charges at her. Its spine protrudes from under its flesh, its skin barely shielding it.

She ducks. The stench of iron hits her face as it lunges above.

Now in her way, it leaps again. She slams the gate yet its arms and head tear through the wood like paper.

It snarls and bites at her, just out of reach.

Anna chuckles and steps on its head to boost her over the gate. She rolls, then books it for the black vehicle in front of her so-called house.

A leap of faith lands her into the car via the opened passenger window. She whips out a key from her coat and rams it into the ignition, though not after strapping on a seatbelt.

The engine stutters and moans, matching the…unsavory interior.

“Dammit, Quinn!” Her widening eyes come with a grunt.

The engine’s whisper turns into a roar, drowning out the beast’s scream as it dislodges itself.

Anna floors the acceleration just as a violent thud hits the roof.

A pair of claws slam against the windshield. Branching cracks spread, leaving only a sliver of undamaged glass.

The car’s ascending speed dies out with a sudden screech of the tires. Her foot smashes down on the brakes, hurling EXP-25 outward. Anna’s seatbelt yanks her back just before her skull hits the steering wheel.

The creature’s mangled body bounces, then slides against the concrete. The stone nicks and scrapes its flesh as a trail of blood follows in its wake.

It pools under the monster’s bulky, stretched, and broken frame. Bits of bones protrude from its elbows and knees while the light fades from its dark gaze.

Anna gasps and reels back into her seat. A dense ringing screams in her ears while a sharp pain expands across her forehead.

She pants, yet pushes forward. Her gentle foot against the acceleration makes the car speed along. EXP-25 was but a blob of unrecognizable flesh in her way.

No alleviation arrives as she runs it over, no warm wave of satisfaction as tires crunch flesh.

The drive ahead is…quiet despite the car’s cacophony of rumbles and groans. Her body loosens at the hearing of something, anything other than the memories of the gruesome skirmish and the night before.

Despite that, her bruised hands tighten on the steering wheel, making the cheap leather squeak. She shakes her head to rid herself of Col…EXP-25’s distorted face and voice.

Anna’s jaw clenches at the memory of its pleading, crying, all while choking on its own blood as its child screams.

Her blank stare shifts to the road ahead, attempting to cleanse her mind with careful focus. Quiet neighborhoods melt into noisy streets, eventually turning into dead, silent outskirts.

 The final stretch to her destination is interrupted by the radio. It vomits garbling chatter, which slowly grows more coherent.

“You. Get back there and retrieve its body. I am done doing your job for you.” A familiar voice demands, his tone lacking any warmth or eccentrities.

“So you saw what happened? Figured you wouldn’t do shit.” She wipes her eyes with blood-speckled sleeves.

“You let that fucking crybaby get out? That coward?”

“It spotted us before we could put it to sleep again. Would’ve been nice to know bullets don’t do shit against hi…it. Besides, we already have the kid.”

“In the months you were under us, you didn’t have a plan besides ‘keep an eye on it?”

“Oh, what’d you expect me to do, put it on a leash?”

Quinn responds with silence, making Anna chuckle.

“...Just get to the hospital. I’ll be waiting in the Administrator’s office,” He hisses under his breath and cuts off his transmission.

Anna quiets to a snicker as she parks in the back of an abandoned hospital. Its filthy gray walls and covered windows barely stand out among the sparse, short buildings. The sea of trees on the flat land further drowns them. She wastes no time bolting past the armored vans and barely-hinged door.

Portions of the late afternoon’s light spill into the dark ahead. The stench of old carpet stains the already dusty air, making every breath feel like a risk of life or death.

One turn to the left hall results in multiple green lasers blinding her. She immediately raises her hands with wide eyes.

“You, administrator’s office now. Q67’s waiting,” A commander not dissimilar to a now-mauled E-One says.

The dozens of accompanying assassins lower their rifles and rush past her to tend to the car.

“Have fun repairing that hunk of trash,” Anna smirks as she brushes past the hall’s tarnished doorframe.

The halls repeat themselves—endless locked doors, stray wheelchairs, and towering boxes. Creaking floodlights and flickering bulbs serve as her sole guide. Groups of assassins pass her, some bumping against her arm and cursing under their breath. Few of their words dig deep enough to catch her eye, in one ear and out the other. 

She passes by an operating room with no doors, barricaded with chairs. The flash of a cradle, lights, and wires immediately kills her mood. She filters out the beep of a heart monitor with whatever unrelated thoughts she can form.

Despite Quinn’s vague instructions, she wouldn’t need them, for her trek ends at the sight of his scowling in an open office.

A device akin to E-Six’s vaguely illuminates the dim room from the side of the dusty desk.

“...What?” Anna lifts a brow.

Quinn’s eyes, stuck in a mix of fury and emptiness, shift to the device’s monitor. She tilts her head to see a figure on the grainy screen.

Their dark red mask immediately catches her eye, its general shape resembling a motorcycle helmet. Sleek, chromatic metal stares back rather than a visor.

“Ohhh, my bad.” She shrugs and sits opposite Quinn. 

He clears his throat and smiles, hands barely grazing the desk’s grimy surface. 

“We…apologize for the inconvenience, sir. She’s rather new to B.E.D.’s practices but, I assure you the child is safe.” He says, mimicking the Head’s straight posture and clasped hands. She can’t help but giggle at the many bandages on Quinn’s ear.

His superior’s withered fingers curl, the wrinkled flesh trailing up the bony forearms tucked into his dark red suit.

The silence that follows his subtle movements makes Quinn tense. Anna’s puzzled expression intensifies.

“...He is not dead, and someone like her couldn’t have killed him in her wildest dreams.” He says with a voice buried under deep, robotic filters.

Anna furrows her brow while leaning into her chair.

“What, because I’m new? How long did it take for you to track this guy again?”

“Only because you couldn’t get off your ass an-” Quinn barks only to rescind when the Head lifts his fingers.

“Quinn, settle.”

He does so with faint fear in his eyes.

“Why’s this still my problem? I’ll be out by tomorrow anyway.”

“That is no longer the case, Anita. Your stay at B.E.D. has been extended.” The head replies, uttering her name too casually for her liking.

Her eyes dart to the blank surface of his helmet as her fists clench. 

“What was that?”

“We have…several reasons to keep you. Your incompetent, inconsistent reports and observations leave much to be desired, and we believe you have intentions that misalign with our own. We can’t have someone like you running around with that knowledge, can we, Quinn?”

“No, sir.” 

“...If we're following your logic, he’s as much of a coward as I am.”

“Quinn proved EXP-25’s status in a single day. If I recall, you sent faulty reports and fabricated leads for six months.” His words replaced Quinn’s fear with a hint of pride.

“Yeah, he succeeded after a week of driving around in that piece-of-shit car. I had a squadron cooped up in my house while you were being too much of a pussy to face Cole. When you finally grew a pair, you did it out in the open and lost your damn ear!” She stood and scowled at Quinn.

His lifeless smile fades in exchange for a brooding, bubbling anger. His dead eyes were ever present regardless of whatever rage boiled behind them.

“You do love the art of fabrication, don’t you, Anita? Possibly what we’ll need at B.E.D.”

She turns to the Head again, fists clenching.

“I will admit, you are very good at covering your tracks. You’d make up for many of Quinn’s...inadequacies.”

“T-The hell are you talking about?” Her voice slightly softens, her composure cracking with each grumbling breath.

“Well, failing Quantico? That’s a difficult secret to bury, even with a mountain of forged signature-”

“Stop—I didn’t forge shit and I’m especially not working with him. Nothing in your little contract said I gotta do anything for you except spy on Cole.”

The Head responded with a chuckle interrupted by a gravelly cough.

“Contract? Do you truly think any of that mattered?” The filters were unable to hide the venom that rolled off his tongue.

Anna tries hardening her expression, refusing to shrink at his words.

“I see no point in leaving now, with all these eyes on you. Perhaps B.E.D. will straighten you out, won’t it, Quinn?”

“Of course, si-“ Quinn nods before gunshots ripple through the halls. He flinches while his superior barely moves an inch.

“What was that-“

He freezes at Anna’s hand on the back of his head, nails digging past the blonde hairs and into his scalp. He turns only to get his skull slammed into the desk, bouncing slightly against the groaning wood.

That makes the Head finally stagger. Anna smirks at the sight of it and slams the device shut. She wastes no time dashing out of the room.

“I-I’m getting the fuck out of here, I have to,” she repeats in her head with each speedy step through the labyrinthian halls.

Tightening muscles and rushing blood only exaggerate her tense mind.

Humid sweat dampens her skin, making the sea of raised hairs fall over. Gratitude comes with the thought of EXP-25, though its ominous and ravaging nature remains.

A turn awaits in arms reach, one less step to freedom…until a body hurls into the wall.

Blood drips from the sprawling cracks in the stone, the victim’s chest fully caved in. She stops dead in her tracks and reaches for her pistol.

The gun shakes in her grip as she plants her feet in a firm stance. Skittering from beyond turns into booming footsteps accompanied by a light. It blinks and fades like a heartbeat, following heaving breaths.

She steps back, further compromising her position. Her finger tightens around the trigger as a hand slams on the wall’s corner. 

She fires, nearly falling back. EXP-25 squints its many eyes as the bullet zips through its flesh.

Its heaving turns into a raspy cackle as its limbs stretch from wall to wall, attempting to grin. The skin between its fingers split apart like the tails of a whip. Blood trickles down the exposed stringy tendons and bones.

The building scarlet puddles flow to the front of her boots, further petrifying her.

She looks up with wide eyes, expecting some signs of familiarity in its face.

It stares back, its dangling jaw twitching with rage.

She huffs and presses her pistol against the roof of its mouth, furrowing her brow like a prey animal intimidating its hunter.

A mix of a gasp and a chuckle escapes its throat right before its lower teeth ram into her arm.

She yelps and falls as the gun slides out of its mouth. The silencer hits the floor first with an echoing, defeated clunk.

Just as the creature lowers its head to devour hers, a high-pitched scream stops it like a deer in headlights.

Anna’s quivering posture dissipates while she eyes her pistol.

EXP-25 shudders and quakes with bursting, flaming rage, a noise bubbling from its lungs.

“.̶̗͊̽̂.̸̹̋̒̕.̵͈͓͝N̵͍̿  ̷͎͂O̶̲͕̣͖̽̎ V̸͈̕ Á̴̬̦͚̍̒̕!̷̲̫͊̈́͆͛” A bellowing shriek lunges from its lips. Anna shields her ears as it turns and charges down the hall from which it prowled. Her escape resumes the moment it leaves her field of vision.

She dashes through the now doorless doorframe, passing the threshold of light and darkness.

Gasoline drips from the now flipped-over car. Her eyes dart to the nearby vans, blood boiling with adrenaline, her mind fuzzy but-

As the sun hits her face, a rippling, jittering sting pierces her back. She falls over and braces for the impact by shielding her face. A repetitive clicking stops once she’s down.

The pebbles and hard earth below bombard her hands with nicks and scrapes. Loose skin begins to bleed as she tries to roll onto her back.

Every vibrating movement aches—every nerve pulses with agony even as her twitching softens.

The sun reflects off two spiraling, spindly cords. Her eyes trail to its source: an unfortunately familiar pistol and wielder.

Quinn’s corpse-like stare turns into a grin as he approaches her, pulls out the cords, and drags her to one of the vans. She kicks and flails but every movement lacks any energy for proper resistance.

Quinn chuckles at her struggling as he opens the back door and tosses her inside. Shadows enrapture the back and sides, only alleviated by the beam of light from the exit.

She pushes herself up, crawling towards him with a feral scowl. 

“Shame, I thought you were smarter than this.” He laughs and slams the door as her hand brushes against his tie.

The sudden bend of her wrist against the door makes her retreat, mistaking one direction for another. She flinches but ultimately loosens when her back finally hits a wall.

With darkness devouring everything in sight, she closes her eyes and furrows her brow, contemplating.

…

. . .

.  .  .

LIGHTS. L-LOUD. SPILLING…squelching…

My feet are planted on a soldier’s upper back. Quiet cracks and snaps make him groan as I dig my fingers into his helmet.

His spine bulges like a serpent under his flesh, each ridge and bump pulsing. His flimsy skin and broken armor barely stop it from tearing. His cries turn into shrieks as blood trickles from the back of his neck. It's hard to focus, to relish in each tearing muscle when he's screaming his lungs out.

Even he’s quieter than this, but you took him, y̴o̴u̷ ̸t̷o̷o̶k̶ ̸h̵i̸m, Ỹ̴͕̌̇̓O̶̠̳̅U̴̮̅̀ ̶̡̧̗̻̈́̃͝T̴̀̊͛͜ͅÖ̶͈́Ơ̷̩̖͐͆K̴̞̒͐̕͝ ̶̮̙̈́̀H̶̢̤̳̕I̶̙͇̋̿̑͗M̸̦͋̈͑̓.

My own scream overpowers his as I yank his head back as hard as I can.

It rips off alongside his spine with enough force, blood spurting from the spilling mush and torn tendons in his neck.

It slides out of my hand with a squishing thump as it hits the floor. That shuddering rush of pleasure never comes, only anger. They should deserve it, I should feel at peace, but my rage changes its course towards me. What…I…

What have I done?

Those words rip me apart, even as my body shrinks and mends. Mutilated faces flash before my eyes, old and new. I-I did this, I tore them all apart beyond recognition, I enjoyed their screams.

A burning sensation bubbles up in my throat once all the mutations fade away, all except for my eyes. They’ve always mocked me, reminded me of this violence from my earliest memor-

My disgust and humiliation finally spill from my mouth as I hunch over. The red glow shimmers off the shameful bile that pools below me. 

S-She’d hate-

Everything freezes when another cry echoes from a few feet away. N-Nova!

Pistol-wielding surgeons already litter the gore-splashed halls along with their guards. I refuse to look at their claw-marked corpses as I stumble, coughing and spitting up whatever’s left in my stomach.

My guilt recedes from a flame to a simmer once I start shoving all the desks and chairs blocking the room. If he’s hurt, if they laid a goddamn finger on him, I’ll…I’ll…

No, don’t slip back. H-He deserves better than some shambling fuck for a father. I can’t let him see me like this, drenched in the meat and blood of people neither of us will ever know.

One hand pries the furniture away while another wipes the viscera from my chest and face using what little’s left of my clothes. An already damp gray shirt turns brownish-red with each slide of cloth along scarred, wet skin.

I vault over the remaining wall of obstacles and rush to the cradle, which looks more like some twisted medical cage. A faint red glow radiates from it, reflecting off the glass sides.

“Nova!” I gasp, hoping, praying he’s ok.

A massive weight falls off my shoulders once I finally see him fidgeting. His eyes go from blindingly bright to barely noticeable once he sees my own glow.

He’s changed but his onesie is folded on a table alongside a row of clean medical tools. My heart spikes and I do a double-take to ensure he’s not hurt.

No scars or needles to be seen, thank fuck. Whatever devices were put on his were long removed and dangling from above. They were probably about done by the time I got here.

That doesn’t matter anymore, none of that matters. I lift and hold him against my chest out of pure instinct, craving the wave of respite that washes over me.

I kiss him on the head and whisper whatever comes to mind as his cries die down. I-I just want him to forget all about this and never see what I’ve done. Even with all this comfort, what if this stays with him? What if he spends every night of his life afraid?

All this violence, all this anger…I can’t be like this for him. I need to be calmer, stronger, so he won’t end up alone.

“My boy…” I whisper with a weak smile when he’s finally silent.

I keep him close to my chest as I step over the countless bodies. Don’t focus on them, just…just forget like you did all those years ago.

I fish a pair of keys out of a corpse lying face-down. At least I don’t gotta see his face, or whatever I did to it. They all started blurring into one once I got here, their faces, their wounds.

No time’s wasted as I step outside, bare feet scraping against the rocky excuse for a backdoor parking lot. A van’s gone, a dent in the rocks leading to its former position—must’ve been how those brats drove off. Doesn’t matter, I got my message across.

The drive back is done with caution as Nova sits in my lap, maybe to balance out all the reckless shit I did today. Jeez, they couldn’t at least bring a booster seat? So much for a top-notch task force—can’t spy on people for shit either.

It's odd, seeing Houtson’s outskirts through anything but a shitty cracked windshield. Most stuff I saw years ago has either degraded into nothing or turned completely unrecognizable. 

Nova’s awake but something’s…off. He’s not babbling or trying to grab and eat something he shouldn’t, just staring at whatever catches his eye. His sight goes to everything except me, even when I pull over every now and then to make sure he’s doing ok.

She didn’t like eye contact either, just something she wasn’t a fan of. Should he be showing signs this early?

What if I was too late? Was something done to him?

N-No, it can’t be that, none of the tools had blood and I didn’t see any scars. What is it then? I…I just need to know how to make him better and atone for all this.

God, I should’ve never booked it home after Quinn found me. I only exposed myself by mutating in public, and for what? So I could get back at some annoying brat!? Nova won’t even look at me, we’re in deeper shit than ever before and it's all because of me. 

I-I just want Nova to have a normal life, but that might never come true thanks to my bull-

Skrrt—the sound makes me flinch, startling Nova in the process. My fear is replaced by familiarity or some kind of nostalgia. It's nighttime with barely any stars in the sky.

No cop cars, no vans, no nothing. Makes sense, B.E.D. would want as few eyes on them as possible.

I still hurry out of the van and into the house with Nova in my arms. The speed I dash at makes him chuckle with excitement.

We’re met with an air of comfort, even with the kicked-in door and muddy bootprints everywhere.

Nova’s all that matters right now despite all the plans that hatch in my head, this time actually coherent. I spend the next two hours feeding and changing him, then bathing with him. I gotta be quick and put him to bed.

I groan at the sight of the assassin’s corpse rotting in my room. I keep Nova close and facing my chest as the body’s tucked under the bed.

He’s put in his damaged crib with little fussing, then falls asleep soon after like usual.

The sensation of fresh, soft clothes feels…alien. All those hours of unconsciousness or spilling guts passed like an eternity of discomfort and scorching anger. That’s behind me now, buried deep enough to help me focus on what’s next. Even if it rears its rotting head from the dirt, I’ll just stomp it back to the hell it came from.

I immediately start packing all our clothes with whatever I can store them in. The next hour is spent zipping back and forth from the closet to the car. All my clothes are crammed in trash bags, then in the front seat. I save some space in the trunk for my old suitcases full of Nova’s stuff. 

The cooler and my organs are next, I should have enough to get me at least sixty grand.

“Go to the regular spot, it's an emergency.” I text him with my burner phone and then toss it as hard as I can into the backyard.

Food is a walk in the park, so are toys and baby supplies. It's three in the morning by the time I get to the garage to salvage what I can. It was always our go-to storage room since the attic isn't big or safe enough to store shit.

I get a bag for sentimental stuff like photos and the like, even taking one of her old textbooks. There’s a box of old console games too, for the one she had in college that sounded like a jet engine when it booted up. She gave it to August after getting a better one, pretty sure that one’s still collecting dust below the TV.

I-I still need to give her ashes up, don’t I?

I sigh at the thought, distracting myself by stashing other minuscule stuff. Her ashes could get split, half for me, half for her family. They wouldn’t mind, right? Not sure they’d even notice.

That’s everything besides the fundamentals, and with three more hours to boot. Now-

I grunt and slam on the smooth floor as something flings back under my slipping foot. My hand bends back in a direction it shouldn’t, breaking my fall in the process.

“The fuck?” I mumble while snapping my wrist in place. I turn to see…a tape recorder? Don’t recall us ever having one.

I pick it up while glaring at its flimsy plastic and metal frame to see what’s inside. There’s a tape labeled “JUST IN CASE” in a faded orange highlighter.

My thumb hovers over the play button with twitching curiosity. It’d be nice to hear her voice again if that’s what’s in store. Eh, I’ve got time before sunrise, might as well listen to it.

It starts with a click, then some kind of shuffling.

“Let’s see…” Her voice petrifies me and my eyes widen. I swear to god if this makes me cry-

“So, uh…crap, how should I start this? First off, this is recorded on April thirteenth, 2017. Wait, I should probably write that on the tape gimme a sec-”

April 2017, six months before Nova was born. She sounds so vibrant, so beautiful. I could listen to this tape for hours if it can withstand being rewound all day.

“So! I thought I’d make this in case I need a reminder after Neo’s born, or if I’m too nervous to tell you myself, or…in case I’m not here anymore.”

Her words hit me like a truck—she had a hunch after all. To her, it was just harmless catastrophizing. I had those thoughts, too, but she said it’d be fine, all the doctors said she was gonna be fine.

Then why?

“I remember when you brought it up to me all those months ago—h-having kids, I mean. Nothing’s off so far now that we’re a month in, just the typical pregnancy stuff. If I keep talking about it I might punch a wall, but this is different! I was always gonna need some time to think about it, but…I get a lot of your worries, and I did some digging.”

You did what?

“So, on the off chance that maybe, somehow, Neo has the same powers as you, I have a plan. Turns out B.E.D. has a lot of abandoned sites across the country. I dug up some reports from labs in Baton Rouge and Charleston that mention working on a neutralizer. From what I’ve found, the mutations work like a virus introduced to experiments during the embryonic stage, and the white blood cells don’t recognize it as a threat. This neutralizer gets them to attack the virus somehow. It did seem like it was a work in progress, but it's our best shot.”

…I didn’t even know this shit. How’d she figure it all out without getting caught?

“I know this sounds overwhelming, having a kid is already scary for both of us, but we’ll be ok! He might not even have mutated cells and all this research could be for nothing—who knows? Just remember we’ve got this, and if it's just you, then you got this.” Her voice lowers at the end with a deep sadness I rarely heard from her.

A couple tears fall on the recorder as my grip tightens. 

Don’t go…

“If this never sees the light of day, or even if you find this before you’re supposed to-”

Please, Jules…

“-just know I love you, crash dummy.” She chuckles. I hear her hand moving to stop the recording but I pause it at the last second.

I-I can’t stop myself from letting out a choked sob. She changed her mind about naming him Neo what, a week before it happened? There’s so much I don’t remember from those days leading up to it—that I refuse to remember.

I wipe my tears and stare at the floor. Why didn’t she tell me? I just wanted us to be safe for once, so Nova wouldn’t grow up with a target on his back.

 I sniffle and slide the recorder in my pocket; there’s still a chance with a long road to get there. I-It doesn’t matter, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him safe, even if it kills me, even if it maims me beyond recognition.

I spend the last couple hours checking everything in the car, looting the assassin for their walkie-talkie, and locking every window.

His waking coos echo into the living room and I approach his cradle.

“Morning, buddy,” I whisper with a smile.

He stretches and yawns, which only melts my heart even more. I pick him up to change, bathe, and feed him for the last time in this house. We always thought the rest of our lives would be spent here, waking up in each other’s arms and raising Nova.

I might find another good house once this is all over, maybe closer to August and Abeni. Still, it’ll be a nightmare to do background checks on everyone in the neighborhood. That might not even be enough anymore…

I start the final steps by ripping out the legs of Nova’s cradle and placing it between the middle seats. It fits perfectly between them, firm and secure. 

I finally exit the house with Julia’s urn in one arm and Nova in the other. The other half of her ashes lay in a bag in the glove compartment.

My hands hesitate to open the driver’s seat door. I might never see this house again, or this city again.

I can’t be chained to this place, not for a while. Still, I find myself relishing in the urban ambiance—am I seriously gonna miss Houston?

The first stop is the alley. Sure enough, the car’s there. I waste no time jumping out of the car and rolling the whole cooler to them. My face shifts to a scowl as the driver’s window rolls down.

“You said it’s an emergency, the hell’s up with-”

“I need a new ID now. This should have about sixteen organs, enough to keep you guys satisfied for a while.”

“Sixteen!? Do we even have enough cash for that?” The passenger gasps.

The driver sighs and reaches for several blocks of cash, ten grand.

“I got a few on me, but a custom one’s gonna take a bit. I’m assuming you won’t be home?”

“The fuck do you think? Just track my license plate or some shit. Name me uh…Mason or something.”

Ah, Mason, my go-to fake name and the one person I remember fondly before I escaped, just a random thing that clings to my head after all these years. 

“Cool, I’ll let the boss know.” The driver nods.

Right, they’ve got a boss. My first guy slipped that they're based in Atlanta a couple years back, then disappeared the next week. Who knows, I might call for a favor when I pass by.

He flings a random ID at me, a pretty average white guy with scraggly dark brown hair. Good enough, I’ll just say I got in some accident to explain the scars.

I snort and watch them haul the cooler into the trunk, then drive off.

Dropping her ashes off is next, unfortunately. The drive to her family’s house doesn’t come with the same urge to burn each aspect into my brain since I’ve only been a couple times.

I park a few houses down and look down at the urn in my lap. My hands practically vibrate, slick enough to make me use both my arms. It's like my whole body is doing everything it can to keep her with me.

Just…breathe. It’ll be ok.

I check on Nova before hopping out and awkwardly placing the urn at their front door. Every step is hesitant against the sidewalk, dragging until I reach their house.

Birds chirp while leaves rustle, slightly shielding me from the rising sun. The neighborhood’s peaceful, fancy, even; maybe moving close by won’t be so bad after all. 

I’m sweating buckets once I get to the front door. I-I changed my mind, I…I don’t wanna let her go…

I turn away, only to rotate again after a moment of hesitance. 

They deserve to remember her too, not just through a dozen random belongings.

The urn slips in my hands a little, making me flinch even as it's planted firmly on the ground. 

I bolt back to the car, expecting all that safety and warmth I’ve felt for years to crumble and disperse in the wind. 

What’s left of me without her? What’s a shield without something to protect? The question stirs in my head as I enter the driver’s seat once more.

Despite all my predictions, that feeling refuses to go away, spiking at the sound of Nova’s cooing from his booster seat.

I turn to face him, both our eyes glowing. There’s this sense of relief every time he enters my sight or rests in my arms. It's not exactly like my comfort with her, but it’s not inferior. I smile at our son and my attempt to form a silly face makes him laugh. Strangely enough, my expression doesn’t fade when I avert my eyes, feeling that joy radiate like a campfire behind me.

Finally, I send a message to August.

“Hey, it isn’t safe for Nova and I to stay in Houston anymore. I can’t stay in contact but I promise I’ll be back. Julia’s ashes are at the front door. Don’t try to message me, I probably won’t see it for a while.” It reads, rushed, but the most I can muster.

I snap my phone in half, toss it out the window, and then the car starts. One last deep breath concludes my time here as I drive off.

Nova’s ok, Julia’s ok, I…think I’m ok for now? Only time will tell, right now I just gotta follow her lead so we can finally be safe, so our son can grow up with actually normal problems a kid should have.

I'll do whatever it takes to get us there, even if it kills me.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

hi! i absolutely adore your CR drabble series on AO3. could you do a drabble where either yeza takes care of veth when she's overworking herself OR they both are tired and taking care of each other? I love any sort of domestic fluff. I know you don't usually write veth/yeza, so no worries if you decide not to write this one!

The baby is crying. There's smoke coming from the oven, thick and choking. The bell over the apothecary door downstairs jingles. In the storage room, somethings tips over, crashing to the stone floor. Yeza swears. The baby cries louder. The laundry has been sitting in its dirty water for two days.

Veth stands in the middle, eyes burning and mind buzzing. She doesn't know where to begin, which emergency to address first—the baby. The baby is crying.

She moves mechanically to his crib, scoops him up and does her best to wrangle his thrashing limbs. "Hey, my little button," she coos, half-delirious in her exhaustion. "There's no need to cry." Smoke continues to billow from the sides of the closed oven door. "Okay, we're about to suffocate to death, so maybe there is a need to cry."

She needs to address the smoke situation—baking bread for the first time is not the thing to try when there are a thousand other things going on, it turns out—but she doesn't want to bring Luc any closer. She's just about to call Yeza up to come take him when her husband's voice reaches her first. "VETH, A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE."

Yes, Veth thinks. I would love some. Better to bring the baby down, anyways; smoke rises. She scurries down the stairs, still failing to quiet Luc's squalls, and she's greeted by a line at the apothecary counter, four people with baskets that will take forever for Yeza to tally up. She was always better at math than he is. She slips beside him and passes him the baby. "Let me do this. You go put out the fire."

"Fire?" Yeza squeaks, but she shoos him off. She hasn't slept in two days, but somehow she adds up every order, takes the gold, pays back the coppers and silvers, until the line is gone and the smell of smoke is no longer so threatening. She slams the register closed, and Yeza appears at the top of the stairs, sans Luc. "Are we good?"

"We're good. I short-changed that human guy, he was being a dick." She slumps against the counter. "Is Luc okay?"

"Back asleep." Yeza comes down and begins massaging Veth's shoulders. She might just pass out right here, right now. "Veth, it looks like a war zone up there."

Just like that, she's wide awake and seething. "Yeah, well, I'm trying my fucking best—"

"No, no, no." He stops, spins her around, and takes her hands in his. "That's not what I meant. What I meant was I didn't know you needed help."

She fights the urge to roll her eyes. "Of course I need help, Yez. We have a baby and a home and we need to eat and as smart as you are, you can't do basic math."

"You're right, which is why I asked you for help. Maybe you could try it sometime?"

Okay, she gets his hint. "I just...you have a lot going on. With the store and your experiments. I love your alchemy, you know that."

"I do know that. I love it, too. I just love you and Luc more."

Veth leans forward so her head is tipped down onto his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm just...not used to having people I can count on."

His hand rubs up and down her back. "I know," he murmurs in her ear. "But you've got us now, and I'm never gonna let anything happen to you and Luc."

And she believes him, because Yeza is many things, but he is not a liar. She lets him hold her behind the counter of their store, beneath the floorboards of the home they made together, and she knows herself to be safe.