#i think something like this happened to the neighbor across the street a couple of weeks ago but it was like. their Own home pipes

[yume-fanfare]

theres been some plumbing problem on my street and weve spent the past couple of days with on and off water bcs apparently the pipes have burst thrice within less than two days and i think this is burst number 4 because rn theres so much water coming out of the street sewers that it feels like you're listening to a flowing river

[fawnpires]

AMORAL SILHOUETTES — SIMON "GHOST" RILEY.

༉‧₊˚ ┊ PART 2.

꒰ ୨୧ ꒱ synopsis: infatuations with older men were morally wrong, but never applying to him.

꒰ ୨୧ ꒱ contents: afab!reader, manhandling, breeding kink, pet-names, praise kink, oral sex (female receiving), size difference, creampies, reader is in her 20's, ghost is a single dad, touch-starved, domesticity, squirting.

You've seen him around the neighborhood before — towering in height, bulging biceps, and a skull balaclava sheltering the structure of whatever laid under, the structure of his concealed face. It was a known fact that you bear an attraction to him, but you just couldn't own up to it, feeling a little too shamed to be conscious about a little school-girl crush on a man much older than you. A man who was a hard-working, ex-military, single father who paid no attention to girls in the same line that you found yourself in — but was it hard not to steal a view glances whenever he was seen around the neighborhood whether it was for a few minutes or seconds despite his lack of ability to communicate with others, though it was obvious he chose not to be around others for a good waste of his time excluding his children.

So when he came strolling up the slope of your driveway and a gloved fist beating at your front door, you had thought you were in another one of your trances — molded daydreams of him; minor fantasies of Simon Riley in that same balaclava giving you all of his affection, kissing you, treating you as if you were his pretty wife — a life that you could never make a single complaint about.

Ghost — his more preferred name used on other's tongues — stands eerily underneath the giving-out light of your porch, with nothing but a set of dusky eyes and a whole lot of muscle beneath the puny fabric of a black v-neck. You, stand on the opposite side of the door and impassively stare, nonetheless avoiding the eye contact when he gapes at you for longer than intended.

"I'm assuming you're the daughter." he said, reserved, dull.

"Sure am, did you need something?"

He clears his throat. "Well, this might be a strange thing to ask — and a bit sudden," He brought his hands to tuck in his pockets. "But would you mind looking after my kids for a while? I'll pay you for every hour, just a couple days of the week."

His offer was the last thing on the brink of your mind when he happened to show up, asking you for a favor — being in his house, where he lived, with his presence ghosting around. It sounded creepy. A bit stalker-ish to think of it like that — but you played it off as an innocent favor he asks of his neighbor, just a few hours of your day taken off to go kid-watching for the man who you admired the most.

"A couple days of the week?" You repeat his words back to him.

"I'm certain."

"I mean, sure, I'll take the offer, but when do you want me to start?"

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow evening is fine, around six."

You bit your lip. "Got it. Have a good-night, Mr. Riley."

"Knew I could rely on you, thanks, doll."

A single wave was managed. No verbal good-bye, just a wave from the hand that was freed from the confines of his pocket — and a pet-name taken straight to the pinpoint of your heart. You watch as he turns his back and finds himself across the street to where he coincidentally had lived — watching as he outstretched his arms and embraced a young girl with no emotion that had intentionally been shown to the public. Doll. It was unknown if his label for you was something he did purposely or had just slipped from his masked lips.

Either way, it made you feel like cherished like never before, his doll.

The day in which Ghost's favor was asked of you passed by quickly into the day the favor was actually supposed to be performed, straight at six, right in the center of where the sky was going through modifications of warmth to a bitter cold. Much like him with more anxiousness residing in your chest, you were across the street and bound to his porch, a dress shrouding your figure up to the bottoms of your thighs. Dressing and dolling yourself up made you look like you were going more on a night-out rather than a baby-sitting shift. Unintentional was the word for it. Unintentional to be all formal when in the same proximity. You half-recover from your birthing nervousness and thump on the door gently.

"Mr. Riley, it's me." you blatantly said, the door still closed.

With your words blurted out the door seemed to open on command — aggressively, as if it were going to be discharged from the hinges. Rather than a giant of a man in the doorframe there stood a girl half the size of it, lightly-shaded blonde hair up in pigtails with a cherubic face, staring right up at you as she titled her head. Honestly, you weren't good with children, but kindness was fundamental as of that. You give her a forced smile pressed up into the corners of your mouth as if held at gunpoint, whispering a small greeting and a wave. How maternal of you.

From further into the house came footsteps, blaring footsteps, and the little girl was no longer stood two feet on the surface of the ground but lifted into her father's arms with a brief giggle. You weren't going to stand here and be blamed a liar if that didn't advance an adoration for him in the moment.

"Thank you so much for coming and apologies, it's my fault for letting you in late," he said. "Make yourself at home."

"Don't worry about it." you reassure.

Ghost's house was clean and neutral, but gave off a decent interior of a past lieutenant's home well. There were a few toys littered around, a locked exhibition cabinet of ex-military trinkets, piled-up envelopes, and one other silhouette of a little girl bearing similarities to the one in his arms. Nothing in his house gave off a girlish ambience, besides two daughters, but it was masculine; like an adequate, suburban variety of a old-fashioned farmhouse with rifles and deer heads on display replaced with military collections.

There was a microscopic chance of danger with a bunch of firearms and artillery gear laying around but as someone as wise as himself, of course he kept a lock on it. Chain, even, if he wanted to get that far into territory.

"Bedtime's at eight, food is already ordered, and you have the entire house to yourself past the eight-o-clock mark." Ghost said. He provided you with a spare key, his bared fingers brushing against yours as he placed it in the middle of your hand. "So you have plenty of time to, you know, relax."

"When will you be home?"

"Around ten, but wait up on me — I'll give your pay up before you leave."

"So I stay until ten?"

"Sure do."

"You can trust me, for sure."

"I know I do." he said.

His eyes trail over you for a minute longer before bending his knees and and allowing his daughter to be freed from his grasp, legs straightening up again as he pat your shoulder. "Thanks, kid, I'll see you later."

All of these nicknames were blurted from his mouth like nothing — first it was doll, now kid, and it just left you anticipated for what he would grant you next with. That though stuck to your mind like a nail screwed by a hammer, watching as he took his jacket and folded it in his arms, swearing that he gave you one last glance before he unlatched the door and shut it behind him — leaving you to bathe in the first touch he acted on you, his effortless terms of endearment, and the two resembling daughters he relied to be cared of.

Spiraling. You had to be spiraling.

Your hours spent with the children were calm. They had warmed up to you pretty fast and had dragged you nearly to every spot of their home. Up the stairs where their shared bedroom stood at the hall, a couple of bathrooms downstairs, a storage closet, the showcase of weaponry, and even Ghost's bedroom. They declared his room was some kind of secretive hideout, only being in there a limited amount of times, but urging you to take them in there along you. It was going to be difficult to get out of the pressuring so, having your own fun, you let them explore around his room — like you were a cool older sister, or mother, to them.

The title "Mother" exclaimed from one of the girls, ultimately leading into them repeatedly a series of them calling you variations of mom, mommy, mother, throughout the night instead of the name you had given them to call you. You weren't extremely irritated with it, you actually found it slightly adorable considering that they didn't even have a mother and latched onto you as some sort of female parent never obtained, nonetheless it was practically harmless and brought no harm down on you.

Baking cookies, some sort of role-playing they convinced you to star in, doing their hair in all sorts of girly ribbons and accessories almost made you feel like you were a little girl again — it had drained them out pretty easily but gave them a sense of girlhood, giving no offense to Ghost. A vision crossed your mind, eventually spearing your mind, that you were the real mother to these girls. A female figure to look up to and issue them a full family with a packed set of two parents. It had been drilled to you the other half of the the night, you kept a close eye on them as they had gotten ready for bed and prepared themselves under the covers.

With a deportation of reading a shabby bedtime story and a few ruffles to both of their heads, you finally had his home to yourself. Anything you wanted to do was accessible, easy-to-do, but with no danger of waking up the girls. Exhaustion was present, though, with all of your lone ideas to-do in mind you ended up on the couch. Your head tilted in one palm as you legs crossed under the skirt of your dress, the illuminations of late-night talk shows on television glowing your face in shades of dissimilar hues.

Staying up and waiting for Ghost to walk right through the front door was starting to become a challenge. Blaming his daughters for putting you in a state of pure fatigue was never the right thing to do, although it was easy to admit. Your eyelids were heavy with one more glance at the clock, which read a quarter to nine, meaning that this night could come to its finale and you could see that face of his — physically, up-close, like you did three hours ago.

As you were right at your breaking point into a slumber the doorknob trembling and echoing into the room where you were buzzed you awake. Stretching over the arm of the sofa and sloping your head to where the door was visible, knob had stopped with the commotion, the door silently opening a crack before blew open. To your relief and satisfaction it's the man who've you longed for the entire day, like a depressed stay-at-home housewife. His jacket is thrown on a nearby table as he could only stare at your laid figure over the couch, eyes squinting.

"Welcome home."

"Appreciate it. Are the girls upstairs?" Ghost asked with a finger pointing to the floor above.

"All knocked out."

"Jesus, what did all of you do?"

"Just a little girl-fun, that's all, baking — stuff like that." you said with a no-teeth grin.

"I could only thank you again for that," he sighs and pulls out a couple dollar bills stuffed in the jean of his pocket. "You don't have any idea how hard it is to get those two asleep."

"Really? They're like little angels, they loved me."

"I bet they did," he said while setting your pay on the coffee table. "Here, an entire hundred stack."

"Hundred?"

"You deserve it, do you not?"

"I'm only a part-time babysitter, Mr. Riley, not a full time worker."

"Yes, but you're a good girl, are you not? Going through all the trouble to make time for me and my kids — so I can assure you this is my pay for you, think of it as a prize."

"God, well, thank you." you said, processing his terms of good girl, heat rising to your face. "You really love those girls, don't you?"

"They're my pride and soul." he said while taking a seat next to your half-laid body, dipping the cushion of the couch. "I only want the best for them, that's why I chose you to look after them."

"Me, why?"

"It's difficult to explain, and a bit strange but — you've always reminded me of my past wife, kind and loved her kids, soft spot even for the people she didn't really know."

"I didn't know I could resemble someone so much." you said, mouth going dry.

Ghost laughs. "Yeah, she was quite beautiful too, like you."

"Was that a compliment?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Hell, love, you've got the looks any man you could fall for.

His hand comes to gently rest on your thigh and you look up at him through droopy eyelids, this didn't feel real. This couldn't be real, right? It couldn't be proved as false when his calloused fingers started rubbing tender circles into your skin, eyes of his own half-lidded and crinkling around with the tar-like paint staining skin. You and him were playing a dangerous game, pent-up tension right in here in his living room, a man by all means older and more mature than you've ever been — it was so easy to give into him so fast.

"You like that, huh?" he keeps his voice low and continues the strokes on your thigh. "You ever been touched like this, dollface?"

"No, sir."

"Mm. I liked the way you called me sir, honey. Come here, sit-up."

You balance yourself on twitching elbows and Ghost moves in between your thighs, his body weight heavy compared to your smaller physique as he lifts the cloth-edge of his balaclava for you, revealing a light stubble peppering the anatomy of his face and somewhat coarse lips that pressed up against yours. Your hands hoist to caress his face, kneading into his sinking cheekbones with each move to intensify the kiss. His pink muscle of a tongue forces your lips open and laps at every crevice of your mouth — your arms linking around his head, his fingers once at your thighs now under your skirt and massaging in circular motions at your fabric-clothed cunt. Small whimpers of shame leak into the kiss, evolving into moans, his massaging enhancing with every finished motion.

Ecstasy ran through your veins, pulsing with adrenaline and contentment. Your legs are fragile, trembling, alongside your cunt flourishing a moistness in its fiber confinement. The man of your daydreams no longer is just a fragment of your delusional head, but right where you've longed for him to be, taking and compelling you to be obedient for him. Only him, always him.

The ministrations on your veiled cunt withdraws and drags a moan from the depths of your throat. One of his hands instead crawl underneath your pushed-together legs and the other supports your back. You dive into his lips with a hunger once more and he manhandles you so delicately despite the tough behavior, you're drunk on the taste of Ghost as he works through the house up the stairs, through the hallway, and brings you into his room where you once stood earlier — the click of the lock confirms your status, you're safe as long as you're with him.

His hands pressing into the flesh of your body is loosened up as he lays you gently on the mattress as if you were created of porcelain — which did have some sense in it bearing in mind that you, essentially, were his doll of a girl by his own words. Defines of his eyes stream your body up and down, towering over you in height, yourself much more reduced and small. Fingers assist you with stripping your dress, leaving you in an arrangement of panties and bra complimenting every curve and bow of your figure. He curses mutely under his breath, huge palms cupping and kneading at your breasts, his knees resting on the bed.

Your whimpers are more pristine and clear to his naked ear. Looking through your languid-like eyes, a bulge is positioned right at his jeans, and his shirt had been ripped off of him — possibly during the time where your eyes had been closed to immerse in his touch.

"Such pretty tits, love." He said with a grunt. A deep guttural grunt.

"They're all for you, mister, always have been."

"Not mister, not even Ghost — Simon to you, and it's going to be Simon when I'm pounding into this tight little cunt of yours."

His words add on to the wet arousal staining your panties, swearing a second heartbeat could be felt, a throbbing and senseless feeling.

"You like this pair?" Ghost asks, nudging at your panties.

"Not important." you reply through short, cut breaths.

With your consent, he takes both of his hands, ripping the fabric in half. A gasp delivers from your open mouth — both at the cold air's impact on your exposed entrance and the material ripping apart. He has a look in his eyes that resembles a feral animal, one that is undomesticated and always in a repetitive state of hunger. Ghost backs you up to lay against his pillows to allow more space for him to climb on the mattress with you. He wastes no time with leaning himself down and hooking your bare legs in a hold around both arms, resting right at his broad shoulders. Those same eyes of hunger peer up at you with the bottom half still exposed from the bruising make-out session.

You feel a mushy lick bumping at your clit, causing your back to arch to the ceiling with a high-pitched moan, who knew such a motion could make you so submissive in a short span of time. The palm of your hand is instantly cupped around your mouth like a guard as Ghost continued his ministrations on your lips — no longer kitten licks but long, dragged out ones that had your eyes rolling into the back of your skull and struggling to muffle such sexual noises deprived from your mouth for the sake of his daughters fast-asleep down the hall.

"You taste like heaven," he grunts. "You're such an angel, making those sweet noises all for a guy like me."

"Only you, fuck, you feel so good." you whined, fisting the bedsheets at your sides.

"That's my girl."

The slant of his nose stimulates your clit while he proceeds with his longer, stroking tongue advances reaching deep inside your cunt. Your surroundings are heated with an addition of pure wetness, sweat, and mess clogging your brain up. His tongue provides you with a pleasure even your own fingers couldn't drive out of you, drool pools at a corner of your mouth while his grip on your legs hardens, strokes of his tongue becoming more aggressive — driving you quicker over an edge, your stomach in knots and oversensitivity. Your vision starts to blur out once you realize you can't control the sounds that he forces out of you, his tongue again and again savoring you as if you were his last meal on death row — he was desperate and willing to lap up your juices staining his face and your inner-thighs, Ghost was just as deprived as you were for him.

A thick sensation adjoins his tongue and nose, overwhelming sparks of emotion possessing you. The palm around your mouth is useless at this point, it lays flat and abandoned as a fist clutching at the sheets, moans chased out humiliatingly. You needed to come, come for him, for your own sake — but that was hard to think about when Ghost was mouth-fucking and finger-fucking you at the same exact time, much like some pornographic type video. A cliche one.

You were squeezing around whatever he stuck in you next — his tongue, his fingers, his tongue, or an combination, you were with no doubt tight and squeezed around any of his body parts.

"Fuck, you gonna come, sweetheart?" he asked, muffled with your clit puckered between his lips. "It's okay, come for me, just like that."

"Baby! Oh my go-"

Your back arches to an impossibly high rate when the knot in your stomach unties itself willingly, a wave of arousal gushing in streams on his face. Audible whines fall from your lips as you fall back right in contact with the plush of the bed. Sweat and the scent of sex reeks around you and Ghost, your chest rising with each hefty breath that is fished from your lungs. Your blurred vision is somewhat returned to its original shape, enough to make out Ghost — with his bare chest and your arousal at his face, tongue used to make said arousal transpire licking around at it, and his inked forearm. He was sticky and sweaty, a little tired, but obtained the right amount of stamina to be right inside you, just like he had wanted.

"Simon." you heaved out below, his fingers pressing into your hips. "Fuck me, please. I need you so bad, needed you ever since you've first moved here."

Ghost releases a low grunt and within a few seconds, he's messing with his belt — shakily unbuckling it and shrugging his pants to the floor. His boxers are no place of concealment, the prominent outline of his bulge protruding beyond the fabric, the sight provoking you to press your thighs together and rev-up that weakness present in your knees. He tugs at the waistband and slowly, painfully, lowers the border bordering item down — his cock almost immediately coming to press against his lower abs, at his lower stomach, really giving you the idea of how big he was. His balaclava is fully suited back on his face as the he leans down to give a final stream of soft kisses at your stomach through the mask, a hand pumping from the base of his cock to the tip.

"You want this, angel?" he groans with his pumps before he releases himself from his hand, positioning the tip of his cock right at the entrance of your swollen cunt as he provided a pre-fuck with only his tip. "Want my cock deep inside your pussy, pounding you into the mattress?"

"Oh god, I do, want you to fuck me as if I'm your wife, your pretty little housewife."

With one unforeseen jolt of his hips, he slams into you, your tight walls fondling him as if you were made for him. Your arms link around his torso as he moves his hips slowly, nails etching into the muscles of his back.

"Fucking hell, I can feel you squeezin' around me, love," he pants out, thrusts developing into a more faster pace. "This pussy is so good to me..."

"You're so fucking big, fuck."

Ghost jackhammers his cock into you, pressing his face into the crook of your neck, your legs squeezing around his waist. Your mouth widens with each moan and whimper he could drain you of — he pounds into you, fucking you like an animal rabid, sinking fully inside with each thrust of his hips. There's a composure and steady rhythm he keeps, allowing him to punctuate each of his plunges with his cock kissing at your cervix, his hand moving down to your clit. His thumb rolls over the bud and correlates it with how he fucks you, your nails digging at the skin of his back.

"Want to put a baby in you," he groans as his hips rock faster, nearly knocking the breath out of you, his fingers ghosting over the imprint of his cock in your lower stomach. "We'll have a perfect lil' family together, such a pretty little mother to my kids. You would let me do that, yeah?"

He's pistoning his hips in-and-out of you, your cunt naturally squeezing around him as your whines grew in pitch. His words held so much meaning — an entire family with him? Spending a lifetime with the older man you've adored from across the street? It had sounded more like paradise, anything that you've ever wished for in life. He knew he loved you so much, and you knew you loved him as equally, so much that he could imagine your cunt all full of his seed — stomach swelling with his child.

You nod as an agreement and he grunts, thrilled at the idea of you and him birthing something so intimate with each other. A family, your family, his family. It was a scheme he never thought he would be overly-obsessing, despite his disagreement with it during his time serving the army. But he dropped it, as long as he had you, and a devoted life.

"Want that so bad-" you squeal out, the sensation of a knot in your stomach on its last support heels, each of his drilling thrusts pulling you nearly to a climax. "Wanna have your baby, yours forever." Your phrase comes out slurred as the knot is broken of the last support it was on, sending you back into another session of short paradise.

"You're so beautiful. Going to breed this pussy with all my cum, honey." He sinks into you more erratic as he feels the walls of your cunt grasp abnormally tightly around him, his head going bare and distorted, the only initial thought in-tact was to keep the flow of thrusts he had fabricated — though, said flow was quickly dismembering.

His fingers of projecting veins running up his knuckles that were conveniently gripping your hips with such a pressure molded your skin into his contact easily. Your moans coming from a thrown back head against his cologne-scented pillows merged with Ghost's persistent heavier grunts — it's almost like a choir, using two valid voices, and delivering some sort of out-of-tune melody but with a hint of great profound beauty behind it.

The sensitive nipples of your breasts rub up right against his sweat-sheen chest in company with the dog tags strewn around his neck swaying in your face. He's leaning into you and has you caged in with no escape, his flow of thrusts gone, both of you desperate for a release. His muted breathing is irregular and heavy, your legs trembling and weak encircling his waist. His name is on your tongue and it leaks into the air, chanting it like your life was depending on it at the moment — depending on him. The lewd squelching of the head of his cock kissing your cervix, his noises combined with yours, the slapping of skin-on-skin — all of it was such an erotic sight to the human eye.

His head is back resting in the expanse between your head and shoulder, balaclava raised to expose the area of his lips once again, the warmth of those lips stamping sloppy, wet kisses into your neck; you squeal out as you're driven to your breaking point, a rush of arousal pressuring from your cunt and spraying onto his lower abs while he douses his cum deep into your swollen cunt. His own high-point doesn't stop him from sneaking a few more smaller thrusts for a bit, assuring all of his seed stays remains inside you.

"Fuck," he mutters, voice breaking off, his knuckles are ghosting a shade paler than white while he keeps purchase on both sides of your hips. He's stuttering over breaths as he tries to catch up with them, eyes falling to your immobile self. Your mouth is vaguely unfastened with breaths taken, eyes nearly closed, body slightly shuddering with the collisions of his cock still felt up inside of you — leaving your filled cunt fluttering around nothing.

"Too rough on you, sweetheart?" He asks, raspy.

"I think I'm okay, besides —you made my night even better."

He chuckles, a rare vision coming from a man like himself. "I'm happy to assist with that."

"Also," you imposed a dopey grin on your lips. "You should ask me for favors more often."

[briefinquiries]

Luke Alvez x Reader: Concussed

Request: do you think you could do some type of situation with luke where he has to clean a cut on your forehead or something? like that cute awkward moment 😭 (i hope this makes sense)

Word count: 2.9k

Warnings: blood mention

A/N: Plsssss I miss him sm, enjoy!!

Every single day, you fought actual, literal bad guys for a living. The worst of the worst– the kind local police needed help handling. You drew your weapon more than you could keep track of and chased unsubs down the street at least once a month. 

And yet, it was the bird feeder that did you in. 

To be fair– you figured technically, it was the ladder that you were standing on in a feeble attempt to hang the bird feeder that was the real culprit. But as you sat in the grass with a bruised ass and ego, you figured the details weren’t really that important. 

Once the initial shock from the whole ordeal wore off, you slowly started to stand up– emphasis on the slowly. Because it became inherently clear as soon as you tried to move that you’d been hit in the head harder than you initially thought. 

“Fuck,” you hissed as soon as your fingers grazed the sensitive spot on your forehead. When you pulled your hand away, you were horrified to see the thick, crimson liquid coating your fingers. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” you winced, bracing your hands on your knees while you stood the rest of the way up. 

“You try to do something nice… like feed the fucking birds, and look what happens,” you muttered to the universe. “You fall on your ass and get concussed by a goddamn bird feeder.”

A concussion would definitely help explain the absurd amount of talking you were doing to absolutely nobody. 

With what little dignity you had left (which was practically zero) you picked up the smashed bird feeder from the ground and trudged across the lawn towards the open garage door. After setting it down near the overflowing trash bin, you dragged your feet the rest of the way inside. 

You made it about two feet before you heard a knock coming from the front door.

Frowning, you wondered who the hell would be knocking at your door at 11 o’clock on a Sunday morning. Your curiosity made you forget all about your almost-certain concussion, as you slid across the kitchen towards where the knocking continued. Because you weren’t a total idiot (bird feeder to the forehead aside) you peaked through the curtains cautiously, hoping to catch a glimpse of your visitor. Everything inside of you loosened the moment you laid eyes on Luke– the newest member of your team and your neighbor only four houses down (which you’d learned from a brief conversation with him only days ago). 

He was dressed in a plain, gray T-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts, his muscular calves on full display. You watched for only a moment longer, trying to control the butterflies suddenly flying rampant through your stomach. Luke had only been a part of the team for a couple weeks, but you were already learning that he had this sort of effect on you. Something about his smile– or the way he laughed, or the way he told the funniest jokes, and always knew what to say when someone was having a tough day– or the way he so obviously cared about the people you helped and was always so empathetic… Come to think about it, you adored just about everything about Luke. 

Before he could catch you gawking over him through the window like an absolute lunatic, you snapped the blinds closed and made your way to the front door. As soon as you swung it open, you were faced with arguably the most handsome man you’d ever met. 

“Luke, hi!” you greeted happily.

But his face went from excited to horrified to angry in the blink of an eye.

“Y/N, what the hell?

His beautiful, warm eyes went dark as they swept over the length of you. And that was the moment you remembered what you currently looked like–

With all the excitement of seeing Luke, you had totally forgotten that you’d fallen off a ladder and mauled by a bird feeder only moments ago. 

His shock quickly turned to anger as he took a step forward, so that he was standing right in front of you. “Who did this?” he asked, his tone solid and protective. His hand hovered near your jaw but didn’t quite touch you. 

“What?” you shook your head, and winced as soon as you did. “No–”

“Y/N, who did this to you?” 

“No one–” you said quickly. “I mean– I did. Not on purpose–” you clarified. “I fell.”

“You fell?” he asked in disbelief, his tone softening just the slightest bit. 

You nodded. “I was trying to hang the bird feeder, but the ladder slipped on the leaves on the lawn. It was stupid–”

“Jesus,” Luke winced as his fingers ghosted along the edge of your jaw. You couldn’t help the sudden, sharp inhale through your lips the second that you felt his touch graze your skin. “I could’ve helped you with that, you know. Why didn’t you ask–”

“Because I didn’t think bird suet would be the death of me today,” you admitted feebly. You hoped the dirt and blood from your fall was at least hiding the blush creeping up your neck and cheeks.

A soft chuckle escaped Luke’s lips, but the look of concern remained. 

“That’s a pretty nasty cut,” he said. “Let me help you clean it up.”

“Oh that’s okay,” you waved him away. “You don’t have to do that–”

“Did you even notice that you had blood all over your collar?” he asked, nodding slightly. 

You look down quickly and groan as soon as you see that your beige pullover was stained in a dark shade of crimson. 

“I think you’re probably a little concussed,” he added. “At least let me make sure you’re not dealing with anything worse. I used to help the medic sometimes in the field. Plus– I brought homemade muffins.” 

Your eyes widened at the sight of the plastic container being raised in Luke’s other hand. “You brought baked goods?”

“Muffins– yes.”

A wave of emotions washed over you. You didn’t have the best dating history– there was the guy who kept you a secret from his entire family (wife that you had no idea about included), then there was the guy who would cancel all your dates to spend time playing video games with his friends. And how could you forget about the guy who would conveniently “forget” his wallet every time you went out. 

And now here you were– standing in front of a man you’d known for only a couple of weeks and he was bringing you homemade muffins. 

“I–” you stammered. “I don’t– I can’t–”

“Woah,” Luke said, taking another step forward. “Maybe you should sit down. I think you’re more concussed than we thought.”

You shook your head. “I’m not concussed. Or… I probably am. But I mean, I’m just shocked–” you admitted. “No one’s ever done something like this before.”

“You said pumpkin muffins reminded you of home– and then you said later that day that you were feeling homesick. So–” his voice trailed off. You thought you might have detected a hint of embarrassment in his tone. 

Your eyes widened even more. 

“This is making me sound way creepier than I am–” Luke stammered. “I just… I was baking anyway, and I had a can of pumpkin just lying around... I didn’t go out of my way or anything in a weird way…”

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” you said, meaning it. “Seriously, Luke. Thank you. I don’t… I don’t know how to repay you.”

“How about letting me help clean that cut up?” he asked, throwing you a cheeky grin. 

The corner of your mouth curled into a smile. “Fine,” you agreed, finally stepping back to let him inside. After closing the door, you turned to find him setting the plastic container down on the counter. 

“Where’s your first aid kit?” he asked. 

“Uh, under the sink in the bathroom,” you said, still convinced you hadn’t processed any of this yet. 

“And the bathroom is…” his voice trailed off. 

“Oh–” Luke looked so damn natural standing in your kitchen, you forgot he’d never actually been here before. “Down the hall, last door on the left.”

“Got it. Be right back.” With that, Luke was taking his uncharacteristically long strides down your hall before disappearing in the bathroom. 

For the first time since answering the door, you raised your hand and touched your temple. Wet liquid still coated your forehead, despite how much time had passed since the accident. Maybe it was a good thing you were agreeing to let Luke help. 

He was back in an instant, holding a damp washcloth and the small first aid kit you’d ordered online months ago, but hoping to never use. 

“In here,” he nodded towards the kitchen. “The lighting’s better.”

You nodded, realizing he really didn’t have to explain. You and your concussed brain would follow him just about anywhere. Your eyes really widened when he patted the counter, indicating that he wanted you to sit on it. 

You didn’t even question his logic though. Instead, you swiftly slipped onto the lip of the granite counter and waited aimlessly while Luke fished around your first aid kit for what he needed. You were level with him now, your gaze trailing down the length of his thick, muscular body. You studied the lines and curves of his skin better. You noticed every crease– every laugh line, every freckle. God, was he always this beautiful? 

Out of nowhere a smirk spread across his lips. “You’re staring.”

Blinking harshly, you tilted your head towards the ceiling, the bright light hitting your eyes and making you wince. “Fuck,” you grunted, dropping your head and squeezing your eyes shut. 

“Shit, you okay?” he asked carefully, dropping the kit to cup your cheek carefully. You felt the pressure on your neck ease as you allowed yourself to lean into his touch. 

Carefully you opened your eyes and nodded. “Yeah– just the light.”

“You’re definitely concussed,” he stated, eyes traveling from yours to the cut on your forehead. “Did you hurt anything else besides your forehead?”

“Is the gash not enough?” you asked dryly, missing the feeling of his touch the moment he moved his hand. 

Luke chuckled. “Oh, the gash is plenty. Just checking, though. Here–” you felt his touch against your face again. This time, his fingers grazed along your chin, tipping it slightly. “Can you lift just a bit for me?”

You nodded and moved your head in the direction he gestured. “'Atta girl,” he said, your stomach churning at his praise. You felt him press the washcloth to your temple gently, swiping up dried blood. As he neared the actual wound, you found yourself tensing up. But when you gripped the sleeve of his T-shirt, Luke didn’t even mention it. Instead he traced his thumb up and down your jaw soothingly and whispered reassurances. “I’m sorry, I know, I know–”

“It’s okay,” you said through gritted teeth. “It’s my own stupid fault. Too bad you didn’t show up just a few minutes earlier, you might have actually gotten to see the show.”

“So remind me again how this happened– you fell off a ladder?”

“Well, sort of,” you explained. “I was trying to hang my bird feeder– on the tall branch. But the ladder slipped on the leaves, which I’ve been meaning to rake for weeks now… and when I fell the bird feeder sort of fell too… on my head.”

You dared to steal a glance towards Luke. The second you did, you noticed him biting back a smile. 

“You can laugh,” you said defeatedly. “It’s completely ridiculous. A little stupid, too.”

“It’s not stupid,” he said, composing himself. 

“We took down a six foot unsub last week,” you reminded him. “Yet the bird feeder is what does me in.”

“Well… when you put it that way,” Luke smirked. 

“If anyone at work asks, you have to lie for me,” you pleaded. “Tell them it was something heroic.”

“I’ll tell them you saved a baby bird from a tree. Instead of letting it fall to its death, you broke the fall with your forehead.”

“That makes me sound so noble,” you laughed. 

“Get ready,” Luke warned as he dabbed some alcohol on a gauze pad. 

“Shit,” you muttered, trying to brace yourself, not even thinking as you moved to grip his bicep. 

“Squeeze as hard as you need,” he said softly. “Ready?” 

You weren’t. But you nodded anyway. 

The stinging sensation ripped through you, causing an onslaught of swear words to escape your lips. You gripped Luke’s arm desperately, your fingers digging into his skin. If you weren’t completely consumed by pain, you would’ve noticed how strong his muscles felt beneath your touch. 

“Almost done,” he murmured, dabbing a few more spots before finally setting down the gauze. “There. Breathe.”

You nodded, your eyes still snapped shut as you attempted to inhale and exhale.

“Good job,” he soothed. When you opened your eyes, your breath hitched when you noticed how close Luke’s face was to yours. 

His jaw tensed, shadows dancing across his face, and you immediately wished you could lean forward and just kiss that look of concern right off from his lips. Your eyes lingered on them for a beat too long– because you heard Luke clear his throat and tilt his head back. 

Embarrassed, you looked down at your hands folded in your lap. 

“Last step,” he said quietly, pulling a large bandaid and some antibiotic cream from the first aid kit. 

You nodded, shaking yourself out of the desire before holding your head up to give him better access to your cut. Carefully, Luke placed the cream and bandage over your cut. “There,” he murmured softly. 

His hand shifted on its own accord, fingers moving to brush loose strands of hair that had fallen into your face, before traveling down the length of your jaw, chin and neck. 

God, he really was beautiful. 

Luke smirked. “Thanks.”

“What?” you whispered. 

“I think you’re beautiful, too.”

Oh, shit. Had you really said that out loud? And was that the concussion speaking or just this intense, surreal intoxication you felt for Luke?

Involuntarily, you sucked in a breath, and then you did something you knew you wouldn’t have been brave enough to do unless you really were concussed– you leaned forward and pressed your mouth against Luke’s without a second thought. It was a soft brush at first, testing to see if he wanted to pull away. When he didn't, you slid forward on the counter and wound your arms around his neck. 

Luke’s other hand, the one that wasn’t cupping your face like he was afraid you’d break, landed on your hip. His fingers dug into your side as he pulled you closer to him. Your body fit against his like it was made for kissing him. 

Your hands found their way to the nape of his neck, where you twisted your fingers amongst his curls. He moaned in approval, and you smiled into the kiss–  into him, and it was nearly devastating when he pulled away and didn't smile back. 

And then Luke was sinking his teeth into his bottom lip and taking a step back. “You’re concussed,” he said. “I’m sorry, this can’t happen– you’re… not in the right state of mind.”

Embarrassed, you slid off from the counter and wiped your mouth with your sleeve. “I’m sorry–” you stammered. “I didn’t realize you didn’t want to–”

Before you could slip past Luke– to run or hide or whatever the hell you could think to do– he shook his head and gently placed his hand on your hip, guiding you until your back collided with the counter. “I want to,” he said clearly, lowering his forehead so that it was pressed against yours. “God knows I’ve wanted to since the day I met you.”

It took a minute for his words to find meaning in your own brain. But as soon as they did, you looked up at him hopefully, your eyes widening. “Really?”

“Fuck, yes,” he rasped, his thumb wiping a tear you hadn’t even realized was falling. “Are you kidding me? I don’t just bring pumpkin muffins to anyone… That was my attempt at making a move.”

“Instead I got clocked with a bird feeder before throwing myself at you,” you groaned. You leaned forward and rested the non-injured side of your head against Luke’s chest. 

“If I didn’t think you had a pretty severe concussion, I would more than welcome you throwing yourself at me,” Luke assured you.

You scoffed. “The concussion may have given me the courage to throw myself at you, but I’ve been wanting to do it way longer.”

You felt his chuckle vibrate beneath you. “I’ll tell you what…” he began, his hand sprawling out against your back. “You still want me after you’re not concussed, and you won’t have to throw yourself at me ever again.”

A shiver ran down your spine– your body thrilled with the idea. “Deal.”

“In the meantime, how about I hangout here? Make sure no more bird feeders fall on your head.”

You smiled against his chest, unable to contain the feelings he elicited inside of you. “I’d like that,” you admitted. 

[forthelostones]

humans can lick too ─── ⋆ (kinktober)

☄. *. ⋆ fem!reader x dom!abby x perv!ellie ☄. *. ⋆

synopsis: halloween night just turned into another day for you, until you're visited by two desperate ladies.

warnings. 18+ (mdni); threesome, perv!ellie, dom!abby, fingering, nipple play (all receiving), and strap penetration & sucking (r!rec), jealousy, breaking & entering. pet names: baby & dove.

an: this will be my last (purely) smutty post for a while, i want to focus on a different style these next couple of days! this isnt my best & its a bit silly i think but i love this urban legend and i saw someone KB list this as an option. also thanks for 200 follows, much love. (i am taking any requests!)

wc: 2.5k

most halloweens you spend it doing a bar crawl or sitting on your porch, wine in hand, passing out treats. this night was different, you weren’t going out or even entertaining the idea of halloween - it became a normal day to you. earlier this afternoon you took your pup on a walk around the neighborhood and waved to your neighbors who were setting up for tonight. 

“well, city hall sent out an email saying it was imperative that we stay vigilant tonight, y’know.” your across the street neighbor mentioned.

“that’s every year isn’t it? i thought it was typically some teens who come and ruin the fun for all the little ones.” 

“i don’t know, tonight feels different, i'm turning in before 9 tonight just in case. especially with those incidents that happened last month.” 

you took what they said with a grain of salt. you were the youngest among your neighbors and they were always shaken up by the smallest occurrences. but tonight it felt like they may have been right, you couldn’t help but feel a dark cloud follow you on your walk. almost as if someone was watching you. every crunch on the ground your body stiffened, what if something bad is supposed to happen tonight? you and pup rush home in a paranoid frenzy, triple-checking if the front door is locked. 

as soon as you unleash your baby and remove your muddy shoes, you notice how warm the house has become.  you checked the thermostat and it wasn’t set, but you still couldn’t ignore the beads of sweat forming on your forehead. you walk over to the window above the kitchen sink and make a mental note that you should close it before sunset.

 after lounging lazily on the couch you hear the beginnings of laughter and soft screaming in the street for the holiday. you decided you’d do the bowl method tonight and place a note on the front porch, take candy, please! you scroll on your phone waiting for your dinner to heat up and you receive a phone call from your on-and-off against fling, abby.  you guys have a strictly fuck only relationship — she comes and bends you over, then leave. this didn’t bother you, for the most part.

"you coming out tonight?" she questions. 

"nope, staying in." 

your ears perk up at how quiet she’s speaking, but you didn’t care, you liked hearing her voice ring so sweet in your ears. 

"i would love to see you tonight, baby.”

you hear the shuffling of what your paranoid brain assumes to be footsteps coming from your bedroom. you walk towards the steps leading upstairs and get hit with the dial tone. 

“abs? hello?” 

you grip your fingers to form a fist, attempting not to breathe too loudly. just when your foot reaches the first step, the timer on your phone blares, startling you into a silly laugh. you can't believe how spooked you felt.

hey, what happened, why’d you hang up?

sorry, idk bad service, sorry. 

can i see you tonight?

you just throw your phone on the counter as you finish your food and wash your dishes out before going to bed. you reach down to pet your sleepy pup who is also ready for bed. you both travel to your bedroom, belly full and eyes heavy, ready for your head to hit the pillow. you strip off your clothes, throwing them on the floor, not even bothering to throw your laundry in the hamper. you look at abby’s message, wondering if you should reply or not, but you just let your mind drift off. 

in the middle of the night, your neighborhood stood silently as you tussled in bed, wrapping your legs in the sheets. you reach over the edge of your bed to feel your pup. their tongue tickles your fingertips and you smile into your pillow. your heart beats violently when you realize you didn’t close the window downstairs. in a blur you run down and close it, you peer out the window to see the leaves running away in the wind, it brings you some relief. 

you flop back in your bed and stroke your pup again to help you drift away. you feel their tongue caress your palm as you try and regulate your anxious mind. but then they didn’t stop and you became worried, you lean over the edge of your mattress, heart in your belly, and you see a woman in all black. she was lying under your bed, eyes closed, tongue wrapping around your fingertips. she had today's panties laced in between fingers pressed against her nose.

you tremble as you pull your hand away slowly and her eyes shoot open, her arms wrapped in a dark hoodie come from under the frame and she pulls herself up. you blink twice in attempts to see if this was one of those dreams when you’d open your mouth to scream and it was silent. 

“happy halloween,” she mutters from her mask and from initial examination, she didn’t have any weapons.

she brings her hand to the underside of the mask and removes it completely. the familiar face stunned you as you recognized it was your next-door neighbor, ellie. she came from the nicest house on the block, freshly repaved driveway and new cars adorning it, you couldn’t think of a reason why she would want to rob you. in this moment the memories of her flash before you as you two stand toe to toe. you had visited her house a few times for dinner with joel, who had introduced you to everyone in the neighborhood. but she would sit quietly and oftentimes just stare intensely at your face. 

“ellie, dont be rude.” joel would spit, and she would scurry off to her room. 

“ellie? what’s going on?”

“i watch you sometimes, dove. i knew you would be spending this wonderful day alone. i thought i should come and treat you.” 

“treat me how?” you feel a curiousness glaze over your anxious body. 

“i see her every time,” she begins to pace. “she comes over here, fucking you in my face.” 

“what?” 

your mind went blurry. 

“the blonde one.”

“abby?” 

she says walking towards you slowly. “do you remember that one time we almost fucked?” 

her hands come around your waist. “i do, ellie, i don't understand—”

“but then you said it would be weird because we live so close and if it ever went south…” 

her lips were close to your ear, you could hear her tongue snap against her teeth, and feel the heat brush gently against your cheek. her fingertips were playing a tracing game against your lower back. you recall the passionate kiss you both shared at the local bar, her desperate longing to just touch you in a tipsy frenzy. 

“i know, el.”

the florescent haze of headlights pulls into your driveway and interrupts the scene, blasting the sounds of call me little sunshine by ghost— it was abby. ellie’s face scrunched up as the familiar red pick-up shut cut off quickly. 

“what the fuck!” she groaned. 

“ellie, it’s okay, i can talk to her.” 

angrily, ellie snatched your wrist up in her hand and dragged you to the first floor. she shoved you towards the door where abby’s fist was pounding the glass. 

“get rid of her.” 

upon opening the door you see abby scouring the leftover candy in the bowl. she smiles with a faded look behind her eyes. “hi, baby.” 

you pretend to be normal, throw in a yawn, rub your eyes and she comes to pull you into her. her hands come around your ass as she’s one foot in the door already. her lips come to your neck, another leg in the door, and you shove her slyly. 

“what you don’t want to see me or something.” 

“abigail,” you say sternly. “not tonight.” 

she scuffs, “you didn’t get my text did you?” 

“i’ve been sleeping so no i didn’t get it.” 

“well i said, don’t reply if you want me to come see you.” she giggles. 

you grip her toned arms as she walks you backward into the corridor. ellie slams the door behind you both, which causes abby to step in front of you. 

“who is this?” she asks. 

you put your hand on her chest, “this is ellie, my neighbor, we were just about to—“ 

“what?” abby mutters, she gets so defensive that she doesn’t realize she how hard she forced you away. 

“wouldn't you like to know?” ellie smirks. 

in one swift motion, abby is gripping ellie by her hoodie and nearly lifting her off the ground. that’s when you step in between the both of them and make abby release her. 

“you can both have me, how about that?” 

𓆩⟡𓆪

all three of you sat on the edge of your bed. ellie’s hand slithered up towards your swollen cunt, while abby took your other leg and spread you open. ellie was more focused on getting as close to you as possible, desperate. she brought her lips to your cheek and gently pressed it against your feverish skin. she brings her red, bursting lips to yours and crashes into you. it was better than last time like she had been practicing. abby watched her, seeing where she could fit in, and began sucking on your neck. both your hands fall on their thighs, caressing them. 

“so how you wanna do this baby?” abby asks in a whisper. 

“ellie told me she’s been waiting for this. she watches us.” 

ellie looks slightly embarrassed at the fact, but abby smiles mischievously. 

“so you know how good she fucks me?” abby says. 

ellie nods silently, which leads you to then kiss her softly, bringing your tongue past her teeth into her mouth. she moaned obnoxiously at the taste of you. you bring your hands to her shoulders and lay her on her back while abby starts undressing herself. ellie watches you under the bright moon remove her black jeans to expose her nude, lace panties. she cups your face as you see how wet she had gotten throughout the night. 

you bring your hand up her drenched pussy and she trembles, swimming in her hoodie. “you look so cute.” 

she smiles nervously as you pull away her panties to view her swollen clit. abby sits at the head of the bed, completely undressed, skin tickled by the cool air, fingers brushing gently against her nipples, watching you both intently. you look up to her as you begin to bite ellie’s hot thighs. 

“come on, don't tease. fuck her.” abby spat. 

with no hesitation, you indulge in ellie’s sweet slick. she hoists herself up on her elbows to watch you suck on her clit. you knew she had been turned on all night so no foreplay was needed. abby had worked herself up by now rubbing her clit slowly, keeping her unwavering eye contact. ellie swallowed all her moans and flexed her belly at the pleasure your tongue was bringing her. 

she brought her hand up to your head and fucked your face, sloshing all her juices on the tip of your nose and chin. abby gets up and comes around your backside. she slaps your ass, which makes you choke a little. she spreads her lips and comes to the curvature of your ass and starts rubbing her clit against you. being used by the both of them at the same time made your pussy throb. 

“fuck, im so close dove.” ellie moans.

abby plants another smack on your ass, even harder this time. you give ellie two fingers, which instantly causes her to cum in your mouth, she pushed her cunt in your mouth so hard that when she removed it, you were breathless. 

“come here.” she says, dragging you over her body to kiss her. 

she drags her tongue all around your face, tasting herself. abby is now hovering over you both, not knowing if she should be angry or turned on. you crawl over to her and she takes a firm grasp of your neck and leans down to kiss you. she bites your bottom lip which makes you wince and you feel the weight of the bed shift under you as ellie brings her mouth to your ass. 

abby then stuffs your face into her core, lifting up one leg onto the bed so you can slip your tongue inside of her. 

“yes baby.” she melted. you liked when she got like that, submissive. 

“open up for me abs.” you muttered, which was a command you said to her often. while she pulled back her clit hood, ellie brought her mouth to your pussy, which made you moan into abby’s. ellie brought two fingers to your wet hole and started pounding you so hard your ass moved in waves. 

you remove your mouth away from abby’s body and start moaning ellie’s name while looking upwards to abby. she bit her lip out of anger and walked over to your closet to get your strap. she brought your lips up to the toy and commanded you to suck. you knew she hated hearing another woman’s name come from your lips. tears bulb in your eyes from feeling the length fill your mouth. 

once she pulls away, strings of spit coax your chin and abby shoves you on your back. ellie’s fingers popped out of you just when you were so close. abby teases your pussy with her tip and brings her hand to your throat. ellie’s eyebrows knit together, jealous at abby’s dominance. she slips her hand to your clit as abby enters you. 

“say it.” abby said. 

“ellie,” you mewl, leaning over to bring her lips to yours. 

that’s when abby grunts as she presses down on you, making your pussy swallow every inch. 

“spit in my mouth ellie, let me taste you.”

ellie doesn’t hesitate to perch her lips and allow her spit to spread over your tongue, the sight alone makes abby pound harder. she brings her hand to your cheeks and makes you watch her, pulling you away from ellie. you can’t help but pull her in deeper as she slaps into your bruised cunt. ellie wraps her lips sloppily around your nipple and bites it without any warning. you yelp at the mixture of pain both women are putting you in, but it feels so good. your pussy is aching to cum as abby purposely bruises your cervix. abby wraps your legs around her waist and lays her full body weight on top of you, her hips cracking against your thighs. 

“abby! please.” you yell. 

“that’s right scream for me, c’mon.” she says in your ear, sweat dripping onto your neck. 

you twitch under the presser and come so hard that your eyes roll in the back of your head. abby and ellie don’t stop until your legs shake and you try and find the power to push them both away. you twitch at feeling the strap exit your abused hole, feeling gapped, as ellie leaned in to plant a final kiss on your lips. abby exhales and lays beside you and you turn to kiss her too, in disbelief that you’re fucked out of your mind. 

↓ if you don't know this urban legend here's the original! ↓

tw: mentions of pet death, blood, breaking, and entering, & l*nching.

Once there was a nice old lady who had a lovely little dog. One day, the old lady heard on the radio that a crazy murderer had escaped from jail and that she should lock all her doors and windows. So she locked every door and window in the house except one tiny one to let some air in. No murderer would ever get in through there! So that night she went to bed as usual. She knew everything was okay because when she put down her hand the dog licked it. But later in the night, she heard a drip, drip, drip. She put her hand down and the dog licked it. She felt that everything was okay but the dripping was annoying her, so she went downstairs to check on the tap. But the tap wasn’t dripping. So she went to bed again. She woke up again later in the night and thought the dripping sound was coming from the shower. She went into the bathroom, and there was her dog, dead, hanging in the shower, and dripping blood. Written on the mirror in blood was: ‘Humans can lick too!

[justastraymoa]

HOW DID YOU LOSE MY CAT?

I was in a complete state of panic and three thousand miles from home, unable to do anything to help the situation at hand.

"How did you lose Cheese?” I wheezed into the phone trying to calm my breathing and thoughts enough to focus on the problem at hand.

Its really my fault. I made the mistake of trusting a neighbor to watch my precious baby boy while I was on a week long work trip. The trip was mandatory and last minute so I had no choice.

I just moved a couple months ago and with the new job and settling into the new apartment I hadn’t had time to really get to know the neighborhood or the neighbors. Still, the middle aged man across the way seemed nice enough the few times we chatted and he agreed to go feed Cheese twice a day.

He didn’t give updates unless I specifically asked for them, but beggers couldn’t be choosers and I had no choice but to go on this last minute trip.

"Its not my fault. He bolted when I opened the door.” Luo responded. I could practically hear the shrug over the phone.

"Well did you go after him?” I pressed. Honestly I felt like I was pulling teeth here. The man took responsibility for my cat by agreeing to take care of him for the week, the least he could do was feel bad for losing him.

There was a drawn out dismissing noise on the other end of the line. “Not really. I followed him to the stairs but he was gone by the time I got to them.”

I clenched my fist and nearly bit my tongue off. I wanted to yell and scream at the man for not caring even a little bit about my loved one! “Can you go out and look for him or put up posters or something?” I asked. Surely this was not too much of an ask. It was the bare minimum someone in this position could do!

"Ill put a bowl of food out for him, but I don’t have time to wander around town looking for a cat. Just get another one when you get back if he doesn’t show up. There are shelters full of them I am sure.”

I stood in my hotel room in angry shock. How could this asshole say that to me mere minutes after learning my pet ran off to god knows where! How heartless!

"Listen, I have to go. Ill let you know if he shows up.” The line clicked and I looked at the screen to see my own reflection staring wide eyed back at me in the black screen.

I looked around the room, thinking through my options. I was the lead in this meeting and no one else could present like I could. Even if someone could take over for me, I am the only one on this trip from my company who knows most of this information. There was no way anyone could answer any of the questions the others were sure to ask. And I was still too new at the company to risk a bad review or ask for any favors.

Bottom line. I was stuck here while my baby was out on the streets thousands of miles away doing god knows what. He could be hurt or worse! He was an all black cat and there were some sick people out there who would see that and use him for some awful purposes and do unspeakable things to him!

There was no way I was going to be able to sleep for the rest of this awful trip! And I still had to look and act presentable! Five days of not knowing what was happening to my Cheese! Why did I think this job was a good idea. I was perfectly fine where I was. In my cozy little hometown working at the local grocer on the weekends and the tiny doctors office the rest of the week.

Sure my knowledge and degree were being wasted there, and I was miserable at both jobs. But I knew everyone there and was known back. And people cared about each other there. Everyone knew Cheese and would have turned the town upside down to try and find him the moment he got out the door. Not that he ever even tried to get out with me. He is mischievous, sure, but he had never once tried to escape. But no, I got the opportunity to work my dream job in a big city hours from home and I thought it was perfect.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe Cheese would come back for dinner in a couple hours and this whole nightmare could be over.

A text message the next morning from Luo stated that the food bowl he put out had not been touched.

I went about my day as best I could. I noticed some odd stares and several of the other people asked if I was okay because I was being quieter than usual. I was honest with them as much as I could be without being annoying and whiny. They were appropriately sympathetic, but of course could not or did not offer any solutions.

As I sat at a dinner with a whole group of people I only just met for this trip my phone pinged with a new message. After a quick glance I excused myself and almost ran to the bathroom.

I quickly texted everyone I could to see if anyone was available to go pick up Cheese from his savior and cat sit for me for the rest my trip.

Parents were immediately a no. Dad got hurt trying to clean the gutters by himself and mom was stuck waiting on him and making sure that he actually rested and took his medications properly.

BFF was also a no. She was on a vacation with her new boytoy out on some beach somewhere with perfect sunsets and white sand. I’m a little jealous not gunna lie.

I wracked my brain for any other options on people. Luo was obviously a hard no. Forever. I would not trust that man to borrow a cup of sugar from now on.

At least Cheese seemed to be okay. And he found himself a friendly household. In the pictures this Bangchan sent Cheese looked happy and healthy. No visible injuries, and Bangchan said he didn’t see any either. He even has a cat loving roommate. So Cheese would be okay for a little while until I could figure out someone who could go get him.

I felt really guilty for sticking my cat on some strangers who already had gone above and beyond for both him and me. But Bangchan seemed adamant, and I knew Cheese would be okay with them.

I need to go out and get something for them. A gift or souvenir or something to show my appreciation. That’s how I would spend my evening to occupy my time and brain from the guilt and missing my boy.

Okay so me and Lino are going to get along amazing I can already tell.

First he sent me a pic of my boy without even me asking first. An actual update without having to ask for one!

Second, Bangchan was not lying. He is a cat lover through and through.

Lino:

'I have happily sacrificed half my bed for Cheese.’

A new picture of Cheese and him all cuddled together on what looked like a very large bed soon followed the message.

I laughed to myself.

Me:

'Don’t let him hog the bed too much. He likes to shove me off the side occasionally.’

My bed was a queen, and I only upgraded to that size because of Cheese. My full size was just not big enough for both of us. He liked to touch you when sleeping, and he will physically use all 4 paws to push you until you are on the very edge of the mattress.

Lino:

‘its far too late for that. I happily give it up though to be honest. And he snores! It’s the cutest thing I have ever heard in my entire life! I recorded it.’

Then a recording came through, the first time I was hearing my baby boy in days. I nearly burst into tears, as it was my eyes stung. I saved the recording and set it to my message tone so I could listen to it anytime I got a text.

Me:

'Thank you so much for sending me that you have no idea how much I miss him'

'I was so worried when he got out and my neighbor didn’t even care!

Lino:

'I understand somewhat. I have three boys at my parents house that I miss so much.'

A picture of three adorable cats followed all labeled with their names.

Me:

'Aww they are so cute!'

Bin is allergic to cats! The guilt is back full force and more! Not only did I stick my cat on some strangers for 3 days, but one of them is ALLERGIC!

I truly am an awful person. I need to go out and get more thank you gifts for them. There is no way I have enough.

Much later as I was getting ready to head to bed I got a videocall from the latest of Bangchans roommates. I answered a little leery about video calling someone I only just messaged for the first time a couple hours ago.

I tried not to react to the absolute cuteness that greeted me on the other end of the call. Not only was Cheese there, but Bin was a cutie himself. Cheese was curled up on his chest as he lounged on what looked like a couch.

“I know its strange that I am calling you when we haven’t even met.” Bin started cheeks turning a little pink. On the screen I could see him absent mindedly stroking down the length of Cheeses back over and over.

I melted inside. “its not a problem. Is something wrong? I truly am sorry you are stuck with Cheese when you are allergic. I feel really bad!”

“Actually that’s why I called. I don’t want you to feel bad. I would tell you if it was a problem, I promise. But he doesn’t seem to be triggering my allergies much.” Bin shrugged and Cheese chirped in annoyance at being jostled.

I sighed as I curled up on my bed. “If you are sure. I can still try and find someone to come get him.” I offered. It may be easier to get mom to come out if it was only for tonight and tomorrow. I was due back the day after that in early morning. I could probably convince her if I begged and pestered enough.

“No no don’t. I am enjoying him. He is a little heater! Feels good after a long workout.”

We chatted with no real conversation for a good half hour more, which kinda shocked me. I wasn’t one to be super sociable. And I didn’t even really know this person. He was just sweet and really easy to talk to.

Hyune, the fourth roommate, made me realize that I hadn’t told anyone my name. It didn’t even occur to me to. I was so focused on Cheese and that whole situation. Even if he asked for it in kind of a rude way. Who asks for a name without giving one first??

AND HE WAS A DOG PERSON!

My poor Cheese is stuck with a dog person! The horror! Its downright wrong! Im a bad pet parent!

Still, it felt really good to be so easily folded into their conversations and bantering like they did. And they don’t seem to mind when I banter back with them. It feels like it used to when I lived in my hometown. Friendly.

I was going to be home tomorrow. Finally sleeping in my own bed with my baby in my arms!

And I could shower in my own shower and cook actual food on a stove and not have to go out for every meal!

I missed home. I missed Cheese.

There were tears, though I didn’t point them out to either Lino or Bin. I just politely ignored their sniffles and quick swiped across their cheeks.

It warmed my heart to know that they liked Cheese so much. He was the best cat ever, so im not shocked. But it makes me feel better since they watched him for me for several days.

I didn’t stay at the Bangchan apartment long. I was exhausted from the flight and week long travel, and I think the boys could see that as well so they didn’t push.

I gave them the several bags of gifts. Everything from keychains to food. Anything I could find that I thought suited the situation.

Hyune and Bin snatched the bags and moved a few feet away to look at everything in excitement. Lino was still standing beside me, petting Cheese who was in my arms. His eyes were still wet and he sniffled occasionally.

“You really didn’t have to get us anything. We enjoyed Cheeses company. It will feel a little lonely here without him to be honest.” Bangchan stated side eyeing his two roommates.

I shook my head with a smile. “It was the very least I could do. I was out of my mind with worry when he was missing and then you took him in for days when I couldn’t find anyone. Trust me, this isn’t even close to enough to show how thankful I am.”

Bangchan smiled sweetly. “Well thank you, im sure we will love everything. As you can see they are already very excited.”

I headed home soon after that. Giving Cheese the lecture of his fuzzy life as I drove. For his part, he listened quietly, but didn’t seem at all fazed.

A/N: okay so since the texts were originally by themselves they don't match up perfectly but bear with me here.

I don't know if anyone will really enjoy this but I wanted to get more detailed my own self so I am writing for me mostly. Self indulgence.

Love you all and thank you for even trying to read. Sorry for errors, I'm hooman 🤷🏻‍♀️

And thank you in advance for any reblogs, notes, comments, tags, replies, and/or anything else. Let's have fun with this together 🩷💙💜

Masterlist

[flamingpudding]

Danny, the 'twig' Bouncer #2

A/N: My original Idea was that Danny worked at some random neutral Bar. Buuuut the Reblogs were inspiring, so I think I will add to this whenever I get some ideas. Also now our sweet super dense Ghost boy is working in the Iceberg Lounge as Bouncer. But just a warning, I know like zero cannon names of people that work there aside from who owns it in the dc comics. Sooo yea... sorry if i get something wrong here. It's just that titbit would make Danny's obliviousness a whole lot more funny....

Exactly 30 days later, one month, Danny stepped back into the bar through the front doors. He would have gone in through the back door but that entrance was currently blocked by a van. Probably some drink delivery's for the bar. Probably. They did look busy enough that Danny didn't want to squeeze past them just to get in. Last guy who disrupted their work got fired on the spot. Or at least Danny hadn't seen the guy ever again. He still needed the job to sedate his obsession. So he took the front door.

Man his weird promotion must have been gossiped about. People kept staring at him wide eyed, though he noticed a couple of his coworkers appear to be relieved to see him again. He just gave them a smile before going to the back rooms. Though he couldn't help but glance at the red helmet guy. He had been hanging around the entrance to Danny's underground home and seemed to appear every time Danny had left his home to get some groceries, some materials for his pet projects or some sort of fresh air. He had caught the guy laying our traps and he also had offered him a better payed job. Danny had declined though.

He needed to lay low. And he didn't think working for someone with a recognisable red helmet was laying low. Besides his underground-neighbours, Waylon and Grundy, said the guys name was Red Hood, and that he was a known Crime Lord apparently. Which only added to the fact that working for Red Helmet dude was not going to help handle his obsession. A shame, he did seem like a nice guy to hang out with, ignoring the weird feeling Danny was getting around him. But yeah, working for that guy surely wasn't laying low.

"Danny you're back, alive." He blink at Tailor, one of the other bouncers a good head or two taller than him and just hummed in greeting, resisting to make an insider pun. Not like he could tell the guy that he was actually half dead, then he remembered a hole in a wall he saw on his way to work. Originally he was going to ask Steve, the barkeeper and gossip source of the bar, but Tailor was just as good of a source.

"Hey Tailor, what happened to the wall across the street?" He asked as he took off his shirt to change it for his working shirt.

"You don't know? Red Hood cut the wall with the Jokers imprint out and is keeping it as a trophy, or that's what I heard."

"The Joker's imprint?" Danny tilted his head confused, it sounded like someone threw the guy with immunity against a wall hard enough to leave a human shaped imprint. Huh, Danny wondered, I hope I didn't inspire someone to do that with my stunt a month ago. From what he remembered his boss telling him, messing with the guy that called himself Joker was a very bad idea and could result in permanent death for normal human beings.

His thoughts must have been shown on his face because Tailor just laughed, shaking his head as he patted Danny's shoulder and left the backrooms first. Leaving the ghost boy to mull over it and also wonder why Red Hood would even want to keep a piece of wall as a trophy.

He was still thinking about it as he leaned against the wall in his usual Spot when Red Hood approach him.

"So, you thought about the job offer? I can include one of my safe houses as an apartment for you." The modulated voice resounded and Danny frowned, that was a tempting offer but...

"No thanks. Thanks to my promotion vacation, I finally had time to fix my kitchen area and the air filtration my neighbor as been nagging me about for weeks."

"You live in the sewers." Even through the voice modulation Danny caught the unimpressed, deadpan, are-you-serious tone and barked out a laugh in response.

"It's rent free, I got my own space mostly fixed up and I got two neighbors with similar intents of staying out of sight that only asked me to help fix their spaces up too. All that's missing is finally finding a clean water source I can pull from to finish my bathroom and washing area."

"What the fuck? Why the sewers if I can offer you a fucking safe house?" Danny grinned, living underground was nice, no one was there to disturb him. There was no real address to track him back to and a lot of quick escapes routes should certain people show up. He had build his own little underground apartment which had nearly all utilities a normal apartment had. Plus he got two very nice neighbors, that had been grumpy in the beginning, but eventually warmed up to him. Now they even occasionally spared with him, so he gets fights where he didn't have to hold his strength back, it was great!

"If I don't find a clean water source, I will just put building a water filtration system on my pet project list right after fixing our TV system so me and my neighbours can stream and i can show them what a real horror movie night really is about." He shrugged, turning his eyes away from Red Hood who's voice modulator sounded sort of strangled or like the man was muttering something inaudible and watched a couple of drunks stumbling around the club with narrowed eyes.

"Triple. I will pay you triple if you work for me."

Danny side-eyed the man before pushing off the wall. The drunks were starting to cause a problematic ruckus, and Steve had signaled him to get them out. "Sorry man, still not interested."

He pushed up some imaginary sleeves before letting a friendly buisness smile spread across his face as the crowd started to cheer the moment they noticed Danny approaching the drunks. "Okay buddies! Time to get out, peace is an option!"

Red Hood watched how one of the drunks swung at the 'twig' bouncer before getting flipped and carried with one hand by the neck like a cat. Danny now sporting a feral grin as he stared at the other drunks that looked torn between attempting to fight him and fleeing.

The crime lord continued watching the display of strength and breath taking feral grin for a while longer before a distinctive "Fuck." Came through his voice modulator.

[onlyseokmins]

Thinking abt neighbor!mingyu who mows the grass w/ no shirt on and also jogs unnecessarily shirtless around the neighborhood. You're sure he's not doing it on purpose. No way was he deliberately doing stretches and flexing outside your fence. Absolutely mere coincidence when you peek outside and he just so happens to wink at you, tongue playfully jutting out between his brilliantly white canines.

It kinda pisses you off. Two can play at that game and it's not long before you're taking back the trash cans during his morning run. No bra on so your nipples poke adorably through your loose tank to match his that heave at the visual.

Accidentally dropping the lids once a week, giving him a view down your shirt and something very nice to think about later as you stumble and apologize, batting your eyelashes for disrupting his run. Pretty soon he just gets used to helping your silly clumsy self, also seizing the opportunity to know you a little bit better while subconsciously feeling your soft skin when he hands you back the dropped item. Continuing conversation over your fence that he leans against with a bicep thrown over and a sparkle in his eyes.

On warmer days, you spray the hose absentmindedly. Washing away dirt, watering the plants... It doesn't really matter what it is because you're obviously dousing yourself by total accident. Drenching your shirt with cold water that has your shrieking and Mingyu running over to see what's wrong.

He also gets to see the prettiest lace underneath your now see-through white shirt and maybe he's a lil boob obsessed but then he does something even worse! Gives you his shirt out of consideration! Now you have to watch him traipse around, tiddies and broad shoulders - lean and mean muscle, rippling and shining in the sunlight while he fusses w/ the hose that you broke intentionally.

Smh.

The games go on and on, the two of you heathens exposing as much skin allowed before the elderly couple across the street could report you for public indecency.

Still, do clothes even matter when mingyu fucks you real nice and hard from below while you bounce pathetically on his thick cock? He's suckling on your tits he loves sm, eyes bright and a woofish grin when he bites down on your nipple a little too hard.

"Guess I won't have to worry about running shirtless in the neighborhood anymore. Especially not when I can get plenty of exercise like this with you."

[spidermans-l-o-v-e-r]

I Spy

Pairing: Eddie Diaz x Reader

Word count: 1.6k

Notes: Hey Rhys… can you do me a favor and just work on Orange Blossoms WHICH IS DUE TODAY RIGHT NOW can you just do that for me thanks buddy

You roll over in bed, sighing as you scroll through your notifications to see if anything interesting happened overnight. You lay there for a bit watching a few TikToks before climbing out of bed 

After washing up and getting your breakfast started you head for the front door with a little skip in your step, you crack open the door and peek out, no one needs to see you unnecessarily in your Hello Kitty pajamas 

A single red rose lays on your doormat and you smile widely, picking it up and smelling the sweet flower. You turn on your heel, adding it to the ever-growing collection. Every time you’re about to throw the older rose out a new one is on your doorstep with the same note 

“Not nearly as beautiful as you are” 

You can tell they’re from someone’s own garden too and that makes it just a little more special, especially since you think it’s from your cute neighbor, Elliot, down the street. He’d had wonderfully large rose bushes since you’d moved there, it wouldn’t be noticeable should a fresh one be cut every week or so. 

Either way, it’s super romantic 

This had been going on for a few months, maybe around four or so, and had started a few days after you’d moved in. You’d hinted to Elliot before that you’d like his roses and he was very proud of them and had even sent you home with a little bouquet as he taught you how he cared for them and pruned them. 

You didn’t really know many other people in the neighborhood, one was a banker maybe? a firefighter to your right and a nice older couple a few doors down who you’d had breakfast with on more than one occasion. You head back into the kitchen and carefully set aside the dying rose to dry with the others and put this one in the vase with new water. 

You finish that up quickly and go to stand at the stove, watching through the large window to the right. You’re about to turn back when you notice movement in the window across from yours. You look up and your neighbor is standing there doing something in his own little bubble. Your cheeks flush and you look down quickly, maybe you should learn to close those shades, your mother was always telling you to. You look back up again and let out a breath, he’s not there… thank god that would have been-

You flinch as he reappears in his window, staring right at you. He smiles sweetly though, giving you an awkward wave and miming that he’d accidentally dropped his spatula, you giggle and wave back before turning back to focusing on your breakfast. Maybe you’d invite him over sometime. 

You finish up with breakfast and go running back to your bedroom, admittedly you took a little longer eating than you should have, but getting dressed quickly enough should buy you some time…

“Wait no- shit-“ You open your walk-in closet, it’s not too big but a good enough size. You’d completely forgotten to steam the skirt you needed for today. You knew you should have done it Saturday night but you were too busy binging Murder She Wrote. Maybe you were lucky enough to have done it Sunday and you just forgot. 

You go to turn on the steamer and rush to grab your skirt, but there it is. Perfectly pressed and ready to go. You squeal and grab it from the silk hanger 

“Oh thank god me!!!” You spin around excitedly before running back out to finish changing. 

You’re struggling on your heel as you leave your house and get into your car, you take a little deep breath and turn the key, nothing like breaking the speed limit to get you to work on time. 

Nothing happens. 

“Of all the days to have car trouble” you grumble as you try to get it started again, but you just keep listening to the engine flooding over and over. Eventually, you quit and let your head fall against the headrest. You squeeze your eyes shut and hold your forehead. Maybe the older couple wouldn’t mind giving you a ride to work?… that meeting for today was really-

You’re startled by a knock at the window, you open your door and a man bends down to the height of your window 

“Hi, I’m Eddie. I live next door?” He points to his house and offers you his hand “We saw each other this morning?”

He’s even more gorgeous in person. 

“Y/N… you’re the firefighter right?” You shake his hand and his cheeks flush a little 

“Yup, that’s me… I noticed you were having a little car trouble. I can check it out when I get home if you’d like, but for now, I’m offering a ride? My shift doesn’t start for another hour or two… I would gladly take you anywhere you needed to go” 

“Would you really?? Oh, that sounds great!” You get out of your car, take your purse and lunch bag, and locking it up 

“I have no idea what’s going on with it, I just had it serviced a couple weeks ago and everything seemed fine…”

“Eh cars just do what they want” he holds his hand out, offering to take your bags and you smile

“I’ve got it! It’s just to your driveway” you chuckle, but he eases both your purse and your lunch bag from you

“Oh, my mom would kill me if I didn’t take your bags like a gentleman. You stop in front of the large truck and he opens the door for you before taking your hand and helping you in. He hands you your bags and shuts the door for you too 

“Damn, he is a gentleman” you mumble as he comes around and gets in the driver's seat. He messes around on his phone for a second before he starts driving

“You think you’ll need a ride home? I’d hate for you to have to take an Uber or something…” 

“I can’t ask you for a ride home too Eddie! Besides, I think we get off at different times”

“Actually today’s your lucky day” he chuckles “Well sort of, I’ve got a doctor's appointment this afternoon, so it’s a half day for me. I can definitely come to pick you up after work”

“Really? I feel like I’m already asking so much of you” You chuckle awkwardly and he looks over at you, a kind smile on his face

“Oh, this is no trouble at all! In fact, I was also going to offer to look at your car for you while you were at work… I know a thing or two maybe I can save you some money”

“You’d do that? But we hardly know each other! In fact, this is the most we’ve ever talked” 

“I’m a firefighter Y/N, it’s in my nature to want to help people. Just bonus points that it’s someone as pretty as you” 

Y-you really don’t have to do that” Your cheeks flush deeply as you search through your purse for your keys and hand them over to him 

“Hey let’s just say it’s a neighbor helping a neighbor out you know? I can ask Mr. Darcy to help me too, that old man definitely knows his cars” 

“Yeah, he does… well only if it’s not an inconvenience for you two, I would really appreciate it. Thank you”

“Ahh don’t thank me yet” he chuckles “I don’t know if I can fix it. Here-“ he unlocks his phone and hands it to you

“Give me your number so I can know when to pick you up” 

“I feel like that’s what you were really after” You wriggle your eyebrows and he smirks and winks at you 

“Maybe it was…” 

You make small talk for the rest of the way, getting to know each other a little. He hasn’t been at the firehouse long but he loves them like family. He learns a few things about you, just little things really, your favorite color, your favorite food, hilariously where you keep your spare key and he jokes about his too that he also keeps in the planter next to his front door as well and that you both definitely need to change that immediately 

As you pull up to the front of your work, Eddie gets out and opens your door for you 

“Hey so, my Captain, Bobby? He’s having a cookout at his place this weekend and… I know it’s kinda sudden and it’s not like a date or anything! But would you maybe wanna come? I swear the food is gonna be amazing”

You light up at the invitation, good food? Better company… really really attractive company? Sign you up 

“I’d love to! We can get to know each other better and I can meet your friends! And seriously again thank you for the ride and offering to look at my car. I’ll see you after I get off?”

“I’ll be here! Have a nice day”

You’re a little starstruck after he kisses your hand goodbye and gets back in his truck to leave, you blush lightly as he waves and drives off. You wave until he makes the turn out of the parking lot to go back to look at your car presumably 

You get inside and set your stuff down at your desk, you’ve arrived in time, safe and sound for your meeting. You’re just putting your lunch bag in the fridge when you stop for a moment, staring out the break room window 

How did he know where you worked? 

[moralesmilesanhourlibrary]

how long

summary: on a particularly hectic day, you find out Miles' secret by chance, years too late. originally posted: Nov. 30, 2019 a/n: I was still getting used to writing conflict here; It's a bit choppy, but I'm actually kinda proud of this one! You go 9th grade me! Note that Miles and the reader insert are adults at this point. Made some slight edits to like three words

Y/N slammed the door behind her and collapsed onto the couch, frustrated and exhausted. She'd probably treated hundreds of patients that day alone-or that's what it felt like. Miles would be back anytime now, judging by the footage on the news. 

Why didn't he tell her?

Y/N's phone buzzed.

'On my way,' the text message read. Y/N swallowed the growing lump in her throat.

She knew it was Miles the moment he spoke.

Some big green thing--folks called him Goblin--was wreaking havoc on the city like no one had ever seen. Spider-Man's silhouette became a blur as he swung from building to building and back, occasionally sprinting through the streets.

Y/N WAS on her lunch break, but not for long. Patients seemed to be streaming in, either from falling debris or various car accidents. Frankly, Y/N didn't feel particularly strongly about Spider-Man--she just wished he'd be a little more fucking careful.

Y/N's chest heaved as she ran back toward the hospital, shoes pounding on the pavement. Unfortunately, Spider-Man was swinging around in that same direction. A dark figure zipped past Y/N's shoulder, nearly knocking her down. 

When she spun around to identify the blur, the masked hero was still chasing after Goblin, yelling, "Sorry, ma'am!" as he left. Sucking in a breath, Y/N continued her trip back to the hospital, but felt like something was amiss. That voice. It was far too familiar.

It came to her after the battle had ended.

The Goblin fellow was webbed up, surrounded by wailing cop cars and news vans. Spider-Man had stopped to take a selfie with a couple of regular folks, then began retreating from the gathering crowd as Y/N looked on. He had a peculiar bounce in his stride that she'd recognize anywhere if she could put a finger on where she'd seen it before.

"We miss you over in Crown Heights, Spider-Man!"

"Miss me? I still live here!"

The epiphany came crashing down like hail. The cadence in his voice was unmistakable. Y/N's heart was in her throat as she started briskly back to her apartment, expecting answers.

Y/N jumped at the knock on the door. The elaborate rhythm of the knocking confirmed that it was Miles. Trying her hardest to maintain her composure, she opened the door.

As Miles stood in front of her, Y/N took a good look at him.

He was wearing the same grey sweatshirt and blue shirt he had on when he saw her off to work, but something was different. Miles had had the audacity to try and hide the suit beneath his clothes. 

Hesitantly, Miles asked, "Something wrong, Y/N? You've been standing there for a minute." In that moment, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

Through clenched teeth so the neighbors wouldn't hear, she said, "Get in here."

Bewildered, Miles sat down on the table, while Y/N returned to her spot on the couch. She didn't look at Miles, frowning at the television screen. Trying to figure out what to say. Miles spoke up.

"What happened-?"

"You would know."

Okay, something was definitely wrong. Miles frantically racked his brain for signs: something he said that morning? Difficult work day? Nothing came up in his mind.

Y/N stalked over to the table where Miles sat. A humorless grin spread across her face, she asked, "What's that under your sweatshirt?" Miles' heartbeat picked up.

"A… shirt?" He prayed to God she hadn't found out.

"Do you think I'm stupid, Morales?"

A pit formed in Miles' Stomach.

Y/N was yelling now. "I can see the suit!"

Miles sighed, cradling his forehead in the palm of his hand. "Well, now you know." Y/N clearly wasn't satisfied.

"I don't know a damn thing, apparently!" Her voice softened to a whimper as tears welled up in her eyes.

"How long have you been wearing that mask, Miles?"

"Everyday-"

"Since when?"

Miles looked away. "8th grade." There was a long pause as his words hung in the air.

"Every day since we were thirteen."

[musings-of-a-rose]

I Never Stopped Loving You

I Never Stopped Loving You

Pairing: Joel Miller x OFC “Catie”

Word Count: 7700+

Rating: Mature - 18+ ONLY!

Warnings: Just like ao3, “creator chooses not to use warnings.” If you click Keep Reading, that means you agree that you’re the age to handle mature themes. Also by clicking Keep Reading, you understand warnings may not be complete in order to avoid spoilers for the story. 

Notes:  @theewokingdead is such an enabler and I love her for it! This is 100% her idea (I’ll post it at the end). I’m just doing the words!

And yes, this is my first OFC character! 

**If you want to be added to the taglist, join here or let me know!

Main Masterlist

Joel Miller Masterlist

I Never Stopped Loving You Part 2>>

September 26th, 2013

2 pink lines.

2 little pink lines that will change the entire course of my life from here on out. Not just my life, but his life too.

Joel.

It’s not like we just started dating. It’s been a couple of years, but we hadn’t really brought up the idea of adding another child alongside his Sarah. And yet, here I am, staring down in disbelief at these 2 little pink lines, memories of the night that caused this from a couple weeks ago flashing before my eyes briefly before my brain starts to spiral.

Would he be happy? Mad? Leave me? Feel obligated to marry me? How will Sarah feel?

Before I can spiral more, my phone springs to life, it’s ring loud in my tiny bathroom as it vibrates across the counter. I knew from the ring it was him, but what I didn’t expect was Joel to sound so tired and frustrated.

“Hey baby.”

“Hey, sweetheart.”

“Is that contractor being a dick again?”

He chuckles, low and deep. “How’d you guess?”

“He’s been giving you shit for weeks. I don’t know how you deal with it.”

“Because I need the money. But I’m starting to think it may not be worth it to keep my mouth shut.”

He launches into a story about his day from hell, how the contractor is making everything take 10 times as long as it should. When he finishes, he takes a deep sigh before speaking again.

“You able to check on Sarah?”

“Yeah. She’s doing fine. Ordered a pizza. Sorry I couldn’t hang with her.”

“It’s alright. You feelin’ any better, sweetheart?”

I could tell him now, tell him that my secret suspicion of my nausea over the last several days has been confirmed, but I don’t want to tell him like this. Not over the phone, not when he’s exhausted and frustrated. I’ll tell him when I see him next.

“A little.”

A beep sounds and Joel pauses. “That’s Tommy. I’ll call him back later.”

“No, no. It’s ok, answer it. Just go home and get some sleep.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. See you tomorrow?”

“Definitely, sweetheart. Feel better.”

I feel guilty for not telling him right away, but the timing just isn’t right. Besides, this gives me some time to wrap my own head around it and figure out exactly how to tell him.

—----

Waiting was not a great idea.

I had fallen asleep at some point, but I was woken up by…is that screaming? Something is happening outside and it doesn’t sound good. 

Creeping up to the window, I pull the curtains back just enough to peek outside. People are moving about the street, but something isn’t right. They’re all running from Mr. Stevens, my neighbor from several houses down. He’s running after them, but it’s not normal. No…not human. He leaps forward, jumping onto the nearest person and…shit!

I run back to my nightstand and grab my phone. The first few times I try to get a call out, it’s a busy signal. Whether the lines are cut or busy is beyond me, but I have to keep trying. My fingers tremble as I use speed dial to try to get Joel. The phone slips from my hand and clatters to the floor.

“Shit!”

I bend down and pick it up, hitting the green call button and miraculously, the call goes through. My breathing speeds up, I feel like my heart is about to pound out of my chest. I’ve never needed a call to go through more than now-

“Catie?”

“Joel?”

“Thank God. Listen, somethin’ is happening. Something with the people-”

“I know. I saw the neighbor-”

“Stay away from them-.....not right-....Sarah and I-.....”

“Joel?” The line keeps breaking up, static cutting out more than half of whatever he was trying to tell me.

“....just stay put….no lights….there soon…”

“I- ok. I’ll stay here.”

“Love you, sweethea-”

The phone cuts off and the connection dies with it. I pull the phone away from my ear and look down at the screen. My phone still has battery but over the service bars is an X. Guess they either cut the service or something happened at a tower. Either way, it’s not good. 

I stay there a moment longer until more screams and glass breaking from across the street somewhere bring me harshly back to reality. I click my lamp off and head into my closet, finding the new hiking backpack I’d bought a couple weeks ago with Joel, who planned to take Sarah and I hiking soon. Be smart, Catie. It’s just like camping. What do I need realistically?

I’m no stranger to traveling, so I roll all my clothes, putting on a 3rd pair of jeans and a shirt, making sure to pack and wear thicker socks that will last longer. I also toss in a bar of soap, my waterproof matches and firestarter, some salves I had just finished making last week, and some other random items. The pack isn’t too heavy, which I’m grateful for. I grab one of Joel’s flannels and throw it on over my clothes before hoisting the backpack over one shoulder. 

Quietly, I creep downstairs, ears straining to hear anything out of place. I hear nothing - well, nothing aside from the ominous noises from outside. I’m so glad that I have curtains all around my house, never wanting people to see in, especially at night. I fill my canteen with water and grab a bunch of high protein, portable snacks, tossing them in my bag and strapping the water to the side. I make up another canteen to add to the other side to balance the weight. Plus, having extra water wasn’t a bad thing. Right?

I kept my phone on me in case Joel managed to get through again. I pull it out to see if anything had changed, but nothing. It’s been at least 20 minutes since I spoke to him, but even if he had left his home right at that moment, it would still be another 5 or so minutes before he’d get here. And I’m sure he’s running into obstacles outside. 

When it hits the hour mark, I become officially worried. 

I know he told me to stay put, but the screams outside are lessening, which can only mean one thing. I’m not waiting around for it to be my turn.

Grabbing a pen, I scribble a quick note telling Joel to meet me at the cabin, my parent’s cabin that they had given me to use with Joel and Sarah. It’s out in the middle of nowhere but it’s self sustainable and the perfect place to hideout from…whatever is happening. 

I leave the note in a conspicuous place, hoping that he’ll be able to see it. I check the knives I stored in my boot and one in a leg strap on my thigh. Initially a gag gift from my brother when I started hiking more, I learned how to use them a little, just in case. Otherwise, I have my bow-my bow!

Quickly, I head into my office closet and grab my bow and quiver of arrows, making sure I have the proper attachments for attaching them to my backpack. I pick up my keys, fingers trembling and I nearly drop them. 

Then my sliding door crashes open, glass shattering everywhere, inhuman noises coming from whatever fell through it.

I don’t even bother to look, throwing open the front door and slamming it behind me, eyes scanning the yard for any threats. Thank God I have a keyless entry, the car unlocking for me and I throw my bag and bow in as I slide in the seat of my suv, slamming the door shut behind me. I fumble with the keys, trying to jam them in the ignition when I hear my front door slam against the ground. I manage to jam the key in and the engine turns over. I backup quickly out of my driveway and peel off down the street as Mr. Stevens comes out of my house, moving towards my car but quickly giving up as I drive away. 

I make it about 10 blocks when I see her. My neighborhood friend Lucia, running for her life from…something who used to be a someone. No hesitation, I turn my suv, slamming into the something and sending it flying. Lucia turns and sees me, eyes wide with fear as she runs towards me as I beckon her to get in. She throws open the passenger door and screams at me to go before she even closes it behind her. I do, speeding off down the road and somehow managing to get out of the nieghborhood without road blocks or hitting anything else.

For now, I’m ignoring what I see and focusing on getting us out. 

Lucia says nothing, eyes scanning the road and looking behind us to make sure everything is clear. By the grace of a higher power, we manage to make it to the back highway that will eventually bring us to my parent’s cabin. Or my cabin now, I guess. 

“Luce, are you ok?”

Lucia is breathing heavy but she nods, turning her head towards me as she starts to relax slightly. “Thank you for stopping. I..I wouldn’t have made it otherwise.”

“I’m just glad I could help.”

A few moments of silence pass between us before I speak again.

“Are you hurt or..or bit? I don’t..I don’t know what-”

“No. I don’t know how but no.”

“What are they?”

Lucia takes a shaking breath and I can hear her trying to hold back tears. “I..I don’t know. They aren’t…they were people but now?”

“Yeah that’s pretty much all I saw too…oh is there anywhere I need to go or drive by for you?”

She looks away from me quickly. “I uh…no.”

“Where’s your brother?”

She was quiet for a moment. “He left on his business trip a day ago.”

Right. Japan or something.

I reach over and squeeze her hand, feeling us both shaking. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

More silence.

“What about Joel? And Sarah?”

“I uh…I was waiting for them but… I left a note telling them where to meet me.”

“Oh. I’m sure they’re fine.”

We drive for a little bit longer, Lucia messing with the radio to try and find anything that was playing. It was all just static. I take the exit I need and clear my throat.

“I’m pregnant.”

Lucia’s head snaps towards me. “You’re what?”

I let out a sarcastic laugh. “Great timing, huh?”

“Does Joel know?”

A sob jumps out of my throat, one I didn’t know I had. “No. I..he had a hard day at work and I figured I’d tell him tomorrow…”

“Oh, Cat. It’s ok. He…he’ll find you for sure. I know it. Buuut…until then, you have me! Wait, did you pick me up just because I’m a midwife?” I can hear the smile in her words, but she’s still not 100% certain.

“I picked you up because you needed help. And you didn’t look injured.” She laughs at my admission. 

“I love your honesty, Cat.”

We chat about the pregnancy the entire way, only quieting when we reach the long, hidden drive to my cabin. We do a quick perimeter check, inside and out. Nothing and no one. The closest neighbors we have are literally miles away. We have more chances of seeing a bear than another person. 

Lucia helps me unload the few things I have in the car and heads inside. We take a quick stock of all pantry items and I’m thankful that Sarah and I did so much canning the last time we were here. She had gotten slightly obsessed with the idea and was looking forward to eating it when they were ready. Water wouldn’t be an issue either as we have our own private well, no need for electricity. Which is good because that doesn’t work without the generator and we are not turning that on. It’s too noisy and would attract trouble.

Lucia and I have a low key dinner of beef sticks and some dried vegetables, chatting with each other to try and lighten the dark cloud that has crept over the world. She heads off to one of the bedrooms and I head off to mine, the one I share with Joel. Once I’m finally able to collapse in the bed, I allow myself a moment to cry, worrying about Joel and Sarah and the baby that’s currently growing inside of me. I still have hope they’ll make their way here. I have to or I’ll crumble into bits and float away on the wind.

—----

20 years later…

Lucia and I stayed in the cabin for nearly 10 years. She helped me safely bring my daughter Penelope, or “Poppy”, earthside. We raised her in the cabin, teaching her everything she needed to know about survival and life, despite her young age. This is how life is now. She’s still allowed to have kid time of course, which is why there are murals painted on nearly every corner of the cabin. 

About 10 years in, Lucia, who had never given up on finding someone or a transmission on either the radio or the ham radio, finally found one talking about a settlement in Jackson, Wyoming. It would take us nearly a month to get there, let alone the danger we’d be in. The suv would never make it, having given out years ago, but luckily we had managed to make a small farm for us and that included a few horses and a couple that could pull a wagon or 2. After gathering up all the information we could on Jackson, we determined it must be a real place and put it to a vote with all of us. After the winter snows melted, we left for Jackson, packing up our entire lives, or what we could anyway, and plotting out the safest route possible. It would take us about a month, especially with the detours we were taking, but they were necessary to avoid the areas that would most likely have bandits. Or worse.

The last thing I did before I closed the door was to write a letter to Joel and Sarah, telling them where we were going. Even 10 years later, I had not given up on them.

—----

A month later, we arrived in Jackson, a few more scrapes and bruises to our name, but luckily, we hadn’t run into too much trouble.

Lucia got work right away, considering her background as an official midwife. I was hired to help with the gardening because of my immensely green thumb and knowledge of herbs, and Poppy was allowed to help with the livestock we brought, after school was done for the day. Poppy was beside herself with the idea of going to actual school, even though she knew most of what they were teaching anyway. 

We all settled nicely, Lucia falling in love with a nice man on the other side of town, eventually moving in with him and starting a family of their own. Poppy made a ton of friends, finally allowed the freedom to be a kid for more than a couple of hours. 

As for me? 

I never really dated anyone, my heart given to Joel a long time ago. I know the likelihood of seeing him again is extremely slim, but I still have a tiny sliver of hope that he’s around. And maybe he’s heard about Jackson and will head this way. Which didn’t impact my decision to come here. Nope. Not at all. 

But the biggest surprise that Jackson held for us was Tommy, Joel’s brother. He was married to Maria, the woman who started this community with her father, and lived on the farm where they kept the horses. Poppy and he got along right away, her begging for more stories about her dad and he would pretend to be annoyed but would give in every single time. She continued this ritual as she grew, eventually bringing her boyfriends with her, searching for Tommy’s approval, just like a father.

One beautiful fall day, I’m walking through the market, trading for new produce and supplies when I hear some people gossiping over lemonade at the small eatery in town. I tend to ignore gossip, never having been one for it, until the phrase “Tommy Miller’s brother” reaches my ear. I freeze, listening intently on their words, but I’m only able to make out that he was here in town. 

Joel was here. In Jackson.  Joel. 

I turn, marching towards the small group of people that were doing the gossiping when I heart the alert - bandits were attempting to attack the dam. Growling out in frustration, I turn to run towards that side of town, slinging the rifle from around my back once I assumed my nearly hidden position on the wall. We make quick work of the bandits, especially since we are heavily fortified and secured. That doesn’t stop them from trying, though. 

Once the attack is over, I search the throngs of people for Tommy, just spotting him getting on his horse and heading home. Cursing, I turn, heading towards Tommy’s house on foot, my mind now completely on Joel since the bandit attack was over. Was he still in town? Does he know I’m here? Does he know he has a daughter?

I arrive at the farm and immediately head for the barn, knowing Tommy would still be tending to his horse. Sure enough, he had just finished putting her away, locking the gate behind him.

“Tommy!”

He sighs and doesn’t look at me right away. Which tells me he knows exactly why I’m here.

“Hey, Catie.”

“Is he here?” I’m standing just a couple feet from him, arms crossed and my foot tapping slightly with nerves.

“Who?”

“Fuck you, Tommy. You know who.”

“I-”

“Tell me the truth.”

He meets my gaze for a moment before nodding. “He was.”

He was here. Joel was here, in Jackson, alive and I didn’t- wait. Did he say was?

I swallow hard, willing my tears to just wait until I’m by myself. “Is he ok?”

“Yeah. Well, I mean as much ok as we all are.”

I let out a breath of relief. He was ok. Probably a little worse for wear but he was ok.

“Did…did you tell him I’m here?”

Tommy studies me for several moments, his dark eyes bouncing between mine, as if he’s debating with himself. “I…did.”

He knows I’m here. Joel knows I’m here, alive and well and he just-

Oh. 

Of course. It’s been nearly 20 years and it would be ridiculous to think the man still loved me after all this time. He didn’t even know I was still alive. He’d never even met his daughter. If he no longer cared about me, fine. But why wouldn’t he want to meet his daughter? Unless…

“Did you tell him about Poppy?”

Tommy’s entire stance is apologetic and I know his reply before his lips even part. “No.”

“What the fuck, Tommy?”

He puts his hands up in a calming manner. “It shouldn’t come from me.”

“Fuck you, Tommy! He doesn’t even know he has another daughter. He deserves to know-”

“You’re right, he does. But not from me-”

“I can’t fucking believe this. It’s been 20 years, Tommy. 20 years and he didn’t even stop to say hi? Maybe if you’d have told him about Poppy, he’d at least stayed long enough to see her.”

I poke him in the chest as hard as I can. “It’s your fault he left!”

Tommy grabs my wrist and pulls me closer, his voice lowering to just above a whisper. “He had other things to take care of.”

“What could be more important than family?”

“All of humanity.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“He had a girl with him. Maybe…14? 15?”

My heart sinks. Did he have another daughter after the clickers came? As if he could read my mind, Tommy shakes his head.

“Not his. Her name is Ellie and she’s….special.”

“That’s disgusting, Tommy.”

He gives me a look. “She was bit.”

“Bit? And you let her into Jackson?”

“And she hadn’t turned.”

I could feel my eyes grow wide. Bit? Without turning? That’s impossible.

“How do you -”

“Saw the bite myself. I’ve seen enough of ‘em to know what they look like. It’s legit.”

“Fuck,” I whisper. This is huge. Definitely bigger than me.

“Yeah… anyway, he was takin’ Ellie to the Fireflies because they can supposedly make a cure out of her blood. Or that’s the hope anyway.”

“A cure?”

“Yup. This whole mess could be put behind us.”

This…this is life changing. World changing. My 20 year long devotion to a man I was deeply in love with paled in comparison to a cure for the clickers. Tommy told me Joel still had a long way to go, but if anyone could make it, he could. 

“ ‘m sorry, Cat. I wish he could’ve stayed to say hi.”

“Did…did he say anything about me?” I hate how needy I sound.

“Honestly, we didn’t really talk about you other than me mentioning you were here. The focus was Ellie.”

I nod. The focus was on the right thing.

“Do you think he’ll come back?”

He rubs the back of his neck. “I doubt it. It’s a long trek and pretty dangerous. He’d be smart to just stay put, especially to take care of Ellie.”

I left the barn and headed straight home. Poppy was out with her boyfriend so I had the whole place to myself. Which gave me plenty of alone time to cry and, for the first time in 20 years, try to move on from the dream I had about starting a little family with a man I never stopped loving.

—----

Spring in Jackson is always beautiful. The colors come alive, blooming from every surface they can for miles in greeting the season change. It’s also the perfect time to start planting certain crops so they’ll be ready when it comes harvest season. 

I’ve finished planting in the community garden, dirt crusted under my fingernails despite my scrubbing at the garden sink. I’ll be able to use a brush at home, but for now, I smile at the grime on my clothes. It means Jackson will have food and enough to last through winter. 

Taking off my apron, I toss it into the laundry basket to be cleaned and head towards the home I share with Poppy. She doesn’t spend as much time there these days, but I can hardly blame her. She is 20 and in a pretty serious relationship. I would not be surprised if the boy popped the question any day now. 

I turn onto Main Street and Mrs. NoseyPants stops me. I know it’s not her real name but it fits her better.

“Catie! How are the crops going? Jackson going to survive?”

“Mmhhmm. We should be great.” I try to step around her, but she blocks my path.

“How’s that daughter of yours? Still getting on with the Miller boy?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I hope he makes an honest woman of her before something happens.”

“Something happens?”

She looks around, as if she expects anyone to actually give a fuck about what we’re saying. “Yes. Like an out of wedlock child.”

I plaster on a fake smile. “Oh yeah. That would be terrible, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t like your tone, Catie.”

I open my mouth to offer some sarcastic retort about not really giving a rat’s ass what she thought of my tone, but my gaze moves over her shoulder and the crowd parts just enough for me to see him.

Joel. 

Unmistakably him, despite what the last 20 years has put on his shoulders. His back is to me, but his head is turned to the side, looking at all of the houses and buildings that line Main Street. Fuck he’s still handsome.

“Are you listening to me, Catie?”

I blink but don’t take my eyes off Joel, afraid he’d disappear if I did. “Full offense Mrs. Bennett, but I don’t have time to listen to your outdated and hateful words. Have a nice day.”

I know her jaw has dropped as I scoot around her, and I know I’ll probably pay for that later, but I couldn’t care less. My eyes are fixed on him as he walks slowly, eyes still moving from house to to house, taking it all in. I’m only several feet away before someone literally walks into him, dropping the giant stack of boxes they had been carrying.

“I am so sorry sir!”

The young man stoops to try and gather up the boxes and Joel turns to face him, bending to help him gather them up and reassemble them in his arms. “Don’t worry about it.”

The boy nods and takes off. Joel’s eyes follow him, making sure he doesn’t drop them again when his gaze meets mine. Those dark eyes move right into recognition and shock, blowing wide as it finally sets in who he’s looking at. 

I hesitate only a moment before I move towards him, nearly running and shoving a few people out of my way. And suddenly, I’m standing in front of him, all 5’11 and broad shouldered, just as he had been 20 years ago. More lines adorn his face, and several scars, his hair is speckled and streaked with greys, but somehow it makes him all the more attractive. My breath catches in my throat and I find myself speechless in front of the man I would’ve given anything to speak to for 20 years.

“Catie?” He chokes out my name, eyes scanning mine as if he was waiting for me to say he was mistaken. That I wasn’t who he thought I was.

A quick sob escapes me as I nod frantically. “It’s me.”

His hand, large and warm just as it always has been, comes up to cup my face, his thumb tracing my cheek, as if touching me was proving to him that I was real. And then he pulls me into his chest, hugging on to me tight, like I would disappear from his grip if he didn’t. I hug him back, crying into his broad chest, unable to believe that I was finally, finally, holding onto him. 

He pushes me back slightly, only to look at my face. “You’re…you’re alive.”

I chuckle through my tears. “And so are you. I thought Tommy told you I was here?”

He nods, his dark eyes still on my face. “I thought he was makin’ shit up to try and keep me here.”

“Well that does sound like Tommy.”

Joel chuckles deeply and it sends a jolt through my body. God how I missed that sound. 

“He told me you lived down this way.”

I cock my head to the side. “Were..were you looking for me?”

Pink blooms across his cheeks as if he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “I had to see if he was full of shit.”

“Fair point.”

We stand there, in the middle of the street just staring at each other for several minutes before I blink back to reality.

“Are you hungry? I was heading home to make something to eat and shower. I…if you want to join me?”

His eyes darken briefly and I realize too late what I said. 

“I’d love to. But…”

He’s struggling with words.

“..but… what?”

He clears his throat, looking away from me for the first time. “Wouldn’t your uh…husband or boy friend or whatever be upset?”

Smiling up at him, I shake my head. “I don’t have either of those.”

His shoulder seem to slacken in relief. “Oh. ‘m sorry.”

“I’m not.”

The corners of his mouth tick upwards in a small grin and I feel like my insides are melting through my skin. How can this man still get me going after 20 years?

“Lead the way.”

I gesture down the street in the direction we’d have to go to get to my place. We don’t say much, Joel still taking in Jackson but always having one eye on me. I know we’re about to have a difficult conversation. How will he feel about Poppy? About how our life turned out? Or his? Tommy had told me about Sarah when I first came to Jackson. The hardness behind his eyes shows that he’s still dealing with the grief and I imagine he always will. It’s no easy thing to lose a child. 

We arrive at my house and I unlock the door, heading inside and flipping on a light.

“You have power?” He asks.

“Mmhmm. Tommy was able to hook up a generator of sorts to the power grid. It’s heavily guarded and taken care of so no one has messed with it. He’s been talking about trying to use water or wind energy, but we need someone who knows that.”

I kick off my boots and Joel copies me, setting his down next to mine. 

“Poppy? You home?” I call out, not wanting her to walk in the middle of whatever was about to take place. When I receive no reply after a few calls of her name, I shrug my shoulders in a ‘guess she’s not home’ way.

“Who’s Poppy?”

“You thirsty?” I head towards the kitchen and Joel follows, watching as I take out a pitcher of lemonade. “I also have beer. It’s…not the greatest but it’s something.”

“You make the best lemonade. I’ve been dreaming of it for years.”

I smile, turning to grab 2 glasses and putting some ice in each of them before adding the lemonade. I hand Joel his glass and his fingers briefly brush against mine. They’re rougher than before but not by much, and the jolt this light touch sends through is just as strong as it was 20 years ago.

I head back to the living area and sit on the couch, taking a sip while I motion for him to sit as well. He does, taking his own sip and I catch a nearly imperceivable moan at the back of his throat when he tastes the lemonade. I quickly shove my legs together, hoping he doesn’t notice. I try to cover by setting my glass on the coffee table and he copies me, wiping his hand on his jeans as he settles back, his body slightly shifted towards mine. 

“Is Poppy your uh…girlfriend?”

I laugh this time, not at the idea of me having a girlfriend but at the look on his face while saying it. “No. No she’s-” time to tell him what you should have all those years ago “- my daughter.”

Joel nods, his eyes looking down at his hands and his shoulder slump slightly as if sad. “You- you said you didn’t have anyone.”

“I don’t.”

A knowing look passes over his eyes. “Oh. ‘m sorry for your loss.”

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. “My loss? No, Joel. Poppy is 20.”

“20…what?”

“20 years old.”

It’s his turn to look confused, as if math was passing over his vision. “She’s…20?”

“Yes.”

“So…that…that would mean when…you…” He shifts nervously in his spot on the couch, another swipe of his palms across his jean clad legs.

“Is…is she…”

“Do you remember that night? You had called me, telling me about that pain in the ass contractor you had to work with?”

Joel nods, his eyes glazed over in memory. “Yeah. I called to check on you because you couldn’t stop throwing…up…” His eyes snap to mine, and to my surprise, they were full of hope.

“I told myself it wasn’t the right time to tell you. But how the fuck would I have known that the world would end?” I chuckle nervously, fumbling as I reach got my glass to try and cover my nerves.

He lets out a puff of air. “So I have a daughter?”

My face feels warm under his intense gaze. “Yes.”

He lets out a half sob half laugh of joy, tears welling in his eyes before he tries to wipe them away with the back of his hand. “All these years I had a kid and I didn’t know. I didn’t know, Catie. I-” Another half sob half laugh escapes him and he takes a moment to compose himself, his body not used to such displays of emotion. Not anymore.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that night?”

Why didn’t I? “You sounded so stressed and worried and I didn’t want to add onto that. I was going to tell you the next time I saw you but…” but indeed. 

“How long had you known?”

“That day. I had suspected for a couple of days but I had to wait until I was sure I had missed my period to test and I didn’t want to tell you and be wrong.”

“You should’ve told me, sweetheart. We could’ve done the test together.”

I chuckle darkly. “Yeah I probably should’ve done that.”

“Tommy never told me.”

“What?”

“When I was here before. He told me you were here but not that I…that I have…why the fuck wouldn’t he tell me?” Joel pushes himself up from the couch in anger, pacing back and forth across the hardwood floor. “He should’ve told me!”

“Joel, he did what he thought was right.”

He looks at me, anger flashing in his eyes. “He had no right to keep that from me. If I had known, I would’ve-”

“Not brought Ellie to the Fireflies for a chance to save humanity?”

He stops pacing, turning towards me with shock on his face. “He told you about Ellie?”

I nod, sighing. “He did.”

“And he didn’t tell me I had-have a fucking daughter? And that she was here?”

“In all fairness to Tommy, he only told me after I got pissed he didn’t mention her to you.”

Joel scoffs. “What an asshole.”

“I…I thought maybe if you knew, you would’ve…maybe you would’ve at least stayed to meet her.”

Anger leaves his body and he sits next to me on the couch, hesitantly placing his hand on my thigh. “I definitely would’ve. When he told me you were here…I was intent on seeing you. Or seeing if he was pulling shit out of his ass. But he reminded me how important my cause was and since it was time sensitive, I couldn’t.”

“You couldn’t at least have simply said hi?”

“Sweetheart, there is no ‘simply’ between us. If I’d have seen you, I wouldn’t have been able to leave.”

Tears fall from my eyes and I wipe at them furiously. “Did it work out at least?”

“Did what work out?”

“Ellie. And the Fireflies.”

Joel grows quiet for several moments. “Turns out they didn’t need her after all. Found others and couldn’t use the blood.”

He’s lying. I know he’s lying but now’s not the time to press him for more information.

“She come here with you?”

Joel nods. “I wasn’t just gonna leave her there.”

“No, no. I think that’s great. There’s a good community here. I’m sure she’ll fit right in.”

“She was already makin’ friends the moment we walked in the gate.”

A long pause passes between us, but it’s not uncomfortable. It’s a processing silence, both of us trying to categorize and file the information we both learned from the other. When I look at him, I can tell he’s far off, thinking and brooding on things, which isn’t always a good thing.

“I wish you’d have told me that night.”

Ah.

“It wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“It would’ve changed everything! I would’ve grabbed Sarah and headed straight over to your place, bringing you…I don’t know, ginger ale and crackers? Whatever you wanted. We’d have stayed with you, started our family. Sarah so wanted a sibling. Especially a sister. Shit, she’d be so happy right now if she were….”

His voice tapers off but I know what he was going to say.

If she were alive.

I place my hand on his and squeeze it. “Tommy told me. I know nothing I say can make up for it, but I am so sorry Joel. I miss her terribly. I can’t imagine how it is for you.”

His mouth sets in a line, his jaw clenching, hand squeezing a little tighter on my thigh as if he’s trying to prevent himself from losing it. 

“Maybe if I had known you were pregnant, and we came over, she’d still be alive.”

“Oh, Joel, no. You can’t think like that-”

“I failed her.”

He spoke so quietly I almost didn’t hear him. The guilt in his words, however, was loud enough to hear from space. I bring my other hand to the side of his face, cupping his cheek, his patchy greyish stubble poking at my fingers, and gently turn his face upwards to mine. 

“You are a great man, Joel. And a hell of a father. There is no way that Sarah would ever think that you failed her in any way. She loved you so much and idolized you.”

The tears come this time, unable to hold them back any longer. I pull him to me and hug him, cradling the back of his head as he cries into my shoulder, mourning the loss of his daughter anew as he attempts to put aside the intense load of guilt he’s carried around for the last 2 decades. We stay like this for a while, my own tears mixing with his, as the light from the setting sun streaks through the curtains. 

Eventually, Joel pulls back, wiping at his face with the back of his hand before he finally looks at me, his beautiful eyes puffy from tears. I’m sure mine don’t look any better.

“Sorry about that.”

“Sorry for what? Being human?”

He smiles and the room lights up with it. “You were always so good at that.”

“At what?”

“Letting me feel things. And makin’ me feel like I wasn’t a complete fuck up.”

“That’s because you aren’t.”

He scoffs, smirking at me in disbelief. “I’ve had to do some shady shit to survive, sweetheart.”

“Who hasn’t?”

“You got me there. I’m still a fuck up though. Don’t know how you didn’t see it.”

“Hhmm…” I put my finger to my chin in mock thinking. “It’s probably because I’m in love with you then.”

Joel cocks his head slightly to the side, questioning my statement. I’m not sure why, as my love for him is no secret to me. 

“In love? Not was in love?”

Oh.

“I-”

The front door opens and Poppy walks in. I nearly jump out of my skin, having been completely absorbed in our conversation. Or was it more of a confession?

“Hey Mom! I’m only home to grab some clothes. Then I’m heading to Lyra’s. There’s this new girl in town, Ellie? She’s only 15 but she’s pretty cool. Oh.” Poppy had walked into the living room, her eyes, exactly like her father’s, shifting from me to Joel. I stand and Joel copies me, staying put while I walk around the couch towards Poppy.

“Mom..I didn’t know you had company. You never have company.” She thinks she’s speaking quietly but it’s not quiet enough. 

“Poppy-”

“I mean, I think it’s great, but….but…” Her eyes fully take in Joel, landing on his face as she stares, her eyes slowly widening in realization. She had only seen him in the photos I was able to share with her, a few printed ones and then some on the cell phone I had refused to toss away, carting it across the country along with a charger in hopes of finding power to charge it. 

“Dad?” Poppy whispers in disbelief.

Joel looks nervous, his weight shifting from foot to foot. This man has faced countless clickers, bandits, and worse, but meeting his 20 year old daughter is the thing that does him in?

God I love this man.

His hand comes up and does a little wave as he stares back at her, clearing his throat. “Hi. I’m uh… I’m Joel.”

“Dad!” Poppy drops her bag and runs, launching herself over the couch and straight into his arms, wrapping herself around him as she cries. It takes Joel a moment to recover from the intense reaction, but he wraps his arms around her and holds her, hugging her just as tight. Tears obstruct my vision and I blink quickly, trying to wipe them away so I don’t miss a moment of this meeting. 

Her feet back on the floor, Poppy pulls back, her eyes raking over Joel’s face. “Was I too much?”

Joel laughs, smiling down at his daughter. “Not enough.”

She laughs and he brings his hand to her face, wiping away her tears. “I’m sorry, Poppy.”

“For what?”

“I didn’t…I didn’t know-”

She waves her hand. “Mom told me everything. You never knew I existed and then the world went to shit. It’s ok. You’re here now and that’s what matters! Wait - you are staying right?”

Joel’s eyes shift from Poppy’s to mine and I look back at him waiting for an answer myself. I want him to stay, desperately need him to stay, but I understand if he wants to leave. I never asked if he had someone waiting for him somewhere.

“I don’t wanna step on you or your mom’s toes-”

Poppy blows a raspberry. “Step away! I know mom is thrilled you’re here. And I want to get to know my dad….dad… I can finally say that! ‘Hey, this is my dad!’ ‘Have you met my dad?’ I just…I can’t believe you’re here and not….not here.”

Clever way of saying dead.

“Me too, Poppy.”

“Mom, I know I said I would meet my friends, but-” she glances back at me and then smiles, giving me a knowing wink “-but I..will be going…to meet up with…Benny. Yeah, he’s uh probably waiting. For me. So I’ll just…grab my things and leave you two…alone…”

She is so not slick, but I love her so much. 

She gives me another wink before fully turning to Joel. “We can hangout and talk more?”

“I look forward to it.”

She squeals and gives him one more hug before bounding across the hall to her room and reemerging only a handful of minutes later with a backpack. 

“Poppy?”

“Mom?”

“Stay for dinner at least. Then you can meet up with your friends.”

“Ugh, mom. You’re smothering me.” She has a smile while she says it, casually tossing her bag down before sitting next to Joel. 

I make dinner while they talk, Poppy telling him about her life and asking him a zillion questions about his. He seems to be able to talk about Sarah now, at least a little before Poppy tactfully changes the topic. They talk throughout dinner, laughing and joking, sounds I never thought I’d hear together. Eventually, Poppy leaves to hang out with her friends, excited to tell them about her dad. As soon as the door closes, Joel turns to me.

“Who’s Benny?”

Protective dad mode activated I see. Smiling, I tell him about Benny and how he’s a good guy and about he and Poppy. He seems more relaxed after but still in protective dad mode.

“I’ll have to meet him.”

“I’m sure you won’t have the choice not to.”

Dishes cleaned up, I offer Joel a glass of whiskey and he takes it, tasting a sip before setting it down on the coffee table as he relaxes back into the couch again.

“You and Ellie have a place to stay?”

“Yeah. Tommy and Maria gave us a house. Actually, it’s not too far from here I don’t think.”

“That’s great. I’m sure Ellie will be happy to have a more permanent place to live.”

“And her own room that she can slam the door to.”

We chat for a few minutes about parenting teenage daughters and the challenges it can bring. He takes another sip of his whiskey after telling me a bit about Ellie, or what he learned about her on their long trek anyway. It’s quiet between us again, but this time, I’m warmed by the whiskey and given a slight bit of confidence.

“In love.”

“What?” Joel asks, setting his glass down.

“From before. In love. Not was.”

He turns to me fully, his eyes raking across my face trying to detect a lie and finding none. 

“It’s been 20 years, sweetheart. I don’t expect anythin’-”

“It’s always been you, Joel.”

His large hand cups the back of my head and pulls me to him, his lips crashing against mine and it’s like no time has passed, my lips immediately parting for him like they were created for just this purpose. His other hand comes up to cradle the other side of my head as my fingers cling to his shirt, trying to find purchase on literally anything. I feel like I’m falling but in the most glorious way possible. While I never gave up hope that he was alive, having him here, now, 20 years later, how we both defied odds to just end up in the same community, after the world had been torn apart…

He pulls back, his nose brushing against mine. “I never stopped loving you either, sweetheart.”

My hands slide up his chest and around his neck, gripping the curls at the back of his neck and feeling him groan as he slips his tongue in my mouth again, kissing me harder than before. I feel his fingers gently brush against the exposed skin at my hips, his hands having settled there and I can’t help the moan that escapes me. Joel’s touch has always sent electricity through me, but not having had it for 20 years is a whole new level. 

“I don’t mean to be presumptuous, sweetheart, but-”

“My bedroom is down the hall, second door on the right.”

He smiles against my lips, chuckling darkly. “We have a lot of lost time to make up for.”

—----

>>I Never Stopped Living You Part 2>>

❤If you enjoy the fic, please consider giving me a warm beverage! (It is not required in any way!)

Original Idea from @theewokingdead:

"I have had this idea for a long-lost love refound fic with Joel Miller swimming around in my head for a while, but I don't think I'll ever get in the headspace to write it. So enjoy what I wish I could write and hope someone will steal. Warning: mention of pregnancy in the beginning.

Imagine it's September 26, 2013. You've been dating Joel for a while and, oops, you're pregnant. You're a flurry of emotions and have no idea how or when you're going to tell him. He calls you late that night, on his way home from a hellish day at the jobsite, telling you about the prick of a contractor he's been dealing with and can't risk losing his job. When he asks if you've checked in on Sarah you tell him that she's fine and you're sorry you were feeling too ill to stay with her today. When he inquires further about your illness, you opt not to say anything, not like this, not when he's had a shit day, and instead feign that everything is okay and you'll be fine. The call is interrupted by Tommy, and you insist Joel answer his call. He offers to call you back, but you tell him to go home and get some rest, that you'll hopefully see him tomorrow.

Of course, several hours later, all hell breaks loose. You manage to get a call through to Joel, telling you to stay put, that he'll come for you, then you lose connection. Joel never finds you, but you never lose hope.

Two decades later, you're living in Jackson, having crossed paths with Tommy a year earlier when he returned to Texas, where you never strayed far from. You overhear the talk - that Tommy Miller's brother is in town - but bandits attack before you can find the source of the rumor. Later, you find Tommy as he puts a horse away in the stable, and you question if it's true, that Joel is here, and he reluctantly tells you he was. You ask if he told Joel that you're here and he says that he did. Your heart sinks - of course he wouldn't still love you after all these years, but why wouldn't he at least want to see you before he left? You ask if he told Joel about your daughter - his daughter - and Tommy says no, that it shouldn't come from his mouth. You're furious, thinking maybe Joel would've stayed in town if he had known that he has a daughter. You let Tommy have it, and eventually he tells you why Joel was in town and why he left, about Ellie and the hope to find a cure. Finally, you come to your senses, realizing there are far more important matters, and try to move on from dreaming about having a little family with a man you never stopped loving.

Months later, you're walking around town when you run into Joel. There are a million different ways the reunion could go. How would you tell him about your shared daughter? How would he feel? Would he be pissed at Tommy for knowing and not telling him when he first came to Jackson? Would he be angry you didn't tell him that night when he called, before the Outbreak? Would he have done anything differently that night had he known - things that could've changed the trajectory of his entire life? Would he wonder if it would have kept you guys together as a family? Would he wonder if it would have even kept Sarah from suffering the fate she suffered? Would he blame you for it? I just imagine it would be one big emotional reunion. How would it end? I don't know. I just love a good re-found love fic - be it happy or sad. I love angst. I love an emotional Joel. It could be fun. But I'll never get around to writing it so let's just pretend I did 😭"

General Taglist:

@frankie-catfish-morales @chaoticgeminate @janebby @astoryisaloveaffair @balekanemohafe @greeneyedblondie44 @hoeforthefictional @marvelousmermaid @Hauntedmama @giuliarogers-blog @icanbeyourjedi @diaryofkali @sunnshineeexoxo @livingmydreams13 @adventures-of-a-noodle @sara-alonso @theewokingdead @punkerthanpascal @giggly-otter @f0rever15elf @phandoz @dirtytissuebox @jadore-andor @gallowsjoker @lovesbiggerthanpride @sarahmilesbendrix @booksarekindaneat @mrsudontknowme @swol-bear @charlispersonallyhell @xoxabs88xox @amneris21 @gooddaykate @alindeluce @avengers-fixation @paintballkid711 @harriedandharassed   @ladykatakuri @marrianena  @practicalghost @withakindheartx @batdarkladyvampir @justanotherkpopstanlol   @mermaidxatxheart @alexxavicry @ichigodjarin 

[1d1195]

Neighbors Extra IV - Merry Christmas

Read Neighbors here

I wanted to write something for the holidays and they seemed like a worthy couple to do so. I will get back to Dolcezza over the next few days and I'm sorry my posting schedule is off now. I will get that back on track too.

Warnings: fluff, cuteness, Christmassy nonsense (maybe a little angst if you read it the right way)

This isn't super proofread. I'm not sure how my timeline is matching up with the rest of the story but this is their first Xmas together as a couple. Probably before the other Extras I've written but I'm not sure time is really relevant.

~3.1k words

Surely everyone in her life showered Rory with presents. He hoped that her family spoiled her just as much.

But he had a sneaking suspicion that wasn’t the case.

“I hope Santa gets everything on my list,” Rory giggled. Harry watched as the wonderful woman helped Rory write out his list. She wrote out each item carefully, committing it to memory. He signed his name in his large six-year-old print. Once the list was decorated with stickers and glitter (and an extra drawing of the North Pole was slipped in the envelope), she stole a picture of it for her own use and memories. The three of them headed to the store to put the envelope in the North Pole mailbox and get some shopping done.

Harry smiled lazily. This was better than any Christmas he could imagine with his little family—and it had hardly started. He gazed longingly at the love of his life as she meandered down the aisles getting presents for her family, Harry’s family, coworkers, and anyone else she could think of before she would have to find a time to get all those items on Rory’s list. “Think y’ve been pretty good, lad,” Harry smiled. “Don’t you?”

He nodded. “I’ve eaten all my vegetables this year. Even the gross ones,” he wrinkled his nose distastefully. It was the same way she did it which made his heart flutter at the sight. Rory was so much like his mum it hurt in the best way.

Harry chuckled. “Mummy and I appreciate that. S’good for you,” he reminded him.

“Can you help me get Mumma a present?” Rory whispered. He wasn’t very good at it. She turned a bit toward the sound of his little voice ever so slightly. A smirk on her face that Harry didn’t miss. He ignored her attention so he could focus on Rory’s inquiry with hope that maybe the pair of them could surprise her.

As usual, she was very smart and did a lot of her Christmas shopping early in the season—almost as soon as the decorations for Halloween came down, she was out at the store buying gifts.

“Course, lad. What do y’want t’get her?”

“A racecar. So she can play with me,” he explained. It wasn’t a question in Rory’s mind. It was the most obvious choice of gift.

Harry chuckled. “I see. Do y’think Mummy has asked Santa for something else we could get her? Something a little more girly?”

By now she had rounded the corner to the next aisle. Harry and Rory had veered off to look at the racecars. “Mumma doesn’t get presents from Santa,” he shrugged heading to the section of toys that he deemed worthy of Mummy.

Harry frowned at how readily that came from Rory. “Oh? She on the naughty list?” He joked. But he would tease her about that later when they fell asleep. Right as they fell asleep.

Rory giggled. “Mumma isn’t naughty, Harry,” he rolled his eyes.

No. She wasn’t. She was the furthest thing from it. She was perfect. An angel. It was...the best thing that had ever happened to Harry—moving in across the street from someone so lovely. “Then how come she doesn’t get any gifts from Santa?” He was joking of course. Surely there would be a little white lie of how Santa left them at the North Pole or there was a promise of next year there would be double the amount for Mumma.

But he hadn’t anticipated Rory’s response. “Mumma said that she called Santa when I was born. She doesn’t want presents so I can have more. Mumma says that even his magic sleigh has a weight limit.”

Harry thought his heart might break. This was the third Christmas that Rory probably understood. His developmental psychology classes told him that age four is usually when kids start to get the gist of what Christmas is like for them. That meant for the time that they knew one another, she hadn’t gotten Christmas gifts from “Santa.”

It shouldn’t have been such a surprise to him. What else was she supposed to say to Rory? There wasn’t anyone to balance the gifts out so that she had something to open while Rory got new toys and clothes. Harry tried to think of what he got her over the last couple years. It wasn’t anything special because he couldn’t remember.

She was selfless, of course. Especially for Rory. It honestly made him fall more in love with her. Made him want to cry something awful as well. Harry wondered if she minded. Surely everyone in her life showered Rory with presents. He hoped that her family spoiled her just as much.

But he had a sneaking suspicion that wasn’t the case.

“Boys, are we ready to go get some hot chocolate and start decorating?” She called.

Rory quickly handed over the racecar he wanted to get her and pushed it behind Harry’s legs where he could reach to hide it from Mumma. The pair of them smiled like they had just stolen a cookie from the kitchen after she said no. She smirked and met Harry’s gaze with a twinkle in her eyes, herself. “Yes, Mumma,” Rory said hurried to her side. He turned and put a finger to his lips toward Harry. So, he would keep the present a secret. He winked at the little one and caught her gaze once more so he could wink at her too. With a shake of her head, she turned her attention forward toward the checkout.

*

Don’t forget to invite Gemma and your Mum, please.

Harry smiled at his message as he and Gemma walked the aisles of the beauty store. Harry wanted to get her everything her heart desired and more, but wanted to make sure it was right—that required reinforcements.

“Does she use a face roller?”

“A what?”

“Jesus Christ, Harry,” she sighed in exasperation. She threw one in the basket.

“I don’t know, Gem. I don’t think she has a skincare routine. She’s usually making sure Rory gets a bath and goes t’bed.”

Gemma didn’t like that response. “Then we’re going to get her a spa day too after this,” she explained. “And you need to make sure she takes some time to herself every night,” she said knowingly. Harry nodded. He didn’t care about how many stores they were going to. He wanted this to be the Christmas of her dreams and more. He would get her anything and everything. Cost wasn’t a problem. And he was going to make sure she spent an hour to herself every night for the rest of their lives. “Does she ever complain of dry skin? Or that she looks oily?”

“No...” he shrugged again. Maybe he wasn’t paying as close attention as he thought he was to her self-care.

“Does she ever do anything for herself, Harry? Or do you just let her do everything?”

“Gemma. She is a selfless person. S’impossible t’do anything for her,” he resented the idea that he wasn’t doing a good job as her boyfriend. But Gemma wasn’t wrong. It sounded like he was doing a bad job.

“Okay, okay, you’re right,” she nodded in agreement. “Mum is getting her all sorts of clothes for us to split up and give to her,” she tossed three different serums into the little basket. “She wears makeup, right?”

Harry never thought she needed it, but he couldn’t help but be hypnotized by the way she glided the various liquids and powders over her face each morning. She did it quickly—with a six-year-old everything had to be done quickly. But it was like watching an artist as she put stuff on her face and turned even more beautiful than she was without it.

“Yes,” he said confidently feeling like he finally was contributing to this whole escapade.

“Does her stuff look old? Has she ever said anything about getting new makeup?”

He thought about all the brushes and tubes she used each morning. Harry thought all of them looked on the older side. “What’s the one y’dot on y’face? Under y’eyes?”

“Concealer.”

“She said they discontinued the brand, so she keeps putting water in hers.”

“Jesus Christ, that’s sad,” Gemma remarked. “Alright, I’ll get her the kind I liked. She can always return it. Give me your phone.”

Harry handed it over immediately. Gemma examined the picture of the pair of them in his background. A selfie from the symphony. Harry felt himself warm at the sight of her even on his own screen that he looked at no less than thirty times a day. While Gemma did her best to match her skin tone, Harry simply admired how pretty she looked and how even just her picture made him feel an overwhelming amount of love for his little life.

“It’s hard to tell in pictures, but she’s tanner than I am; lucky bitch,” Gemma grumbled. Harry smirked.

“Do you want anything for Christmas?” He asked his sister.

Gemma snorted. “She’s already way ahead of you, Harry,” Gemma smiled. “You’re about a month too late.”

He chuckled shyly. “Sorry, Gem.”

“It’s okay. It’s... really nice you have someone so thoughtful. As thoughtful as you. Maybe even more so just because she does it so early. But... I wouldn’t want you to be with someone less thoughtful. So it’s nice.” Harry agreed fully and smiled even brighter knowing that his sister loved his choice in love as much as he did. “Alright. We’re meeting Mum for lunch and then we are going to the home goods store for stuff she might need around the house... what are you doing about her stocking?”

“Doesn’t some of this stuff go in there?”

“Yeah... but like... you could get her jewelry or something.”

Harry nodded. “Okay... I’ll do that on my own.”

“Harry,” Gemma smiled at her little brother—even though he was a good seven inches taller. “You’re doing great. This is...” she sighed happily. “She’s going to love it.”

Harry felt a sense of pride wash over him even though his cheeks warmed at the praise. He really hoped she would.

*

“Harry?” She whispered in the middle of the night. They had spent an hour setting up Rory’s new roller coaster track after she finished wrapping a few last-minute gifts and pulling the presents from various hiding places—the shed in the backyard, the back of her car, and of course across the street at Harry’s house that had hardly seen anything else Christmas related since he spent all his time with her and Rory.

“Jus’ getting some water, kitten. Go back t’sleep,” he leaned down to kiss her forehead. She didn’t need to be told twice. Her light snores started almost instantly, which boded well for Harry. All her presents were in the back of his car. The transfer had been done late in the day by Gemma while the three of them went to the Christmas Eve fair put on by the local high school. They drank more hot chocolate than Rory could dream about. She worried the sugar would keep him up and prevent them from putting the presents under the tree.

Harry found Rory at the top of the stairs. A ribbon and sign across the way telling Rory not to go down without Mumma and Harry. He was asleep on the floor. A pillow from his room and covered with the blanket she and Rory made one rainy afternoon in November. She helped cut all the little ends while he did his best to tie them together.

Harry smirked and lifted Rory from the floor to bring him back to his bed. “Harry?” Rory murmured.

“Hmm?” He hummed.

“Did Santa come?” He yawned.

“Santa won’t come if y’aren’t in y’bed, lad,” he reminded him.

“I wanted to ask him to give Mumma some of my presents,” he muttered sleepily.

Harry felt his heart warm. “I’ll go write him a note,” he placed Rory on his little mattress, tucked him in, kissed his forehead, and ruffled his hair. “Don’t get out of bed, till morning, Rory. Or Santa won’t come,” he reminded him.

But Rory was already asleep.

*

“Mumma!” Rory’s little voice gasped. Harry’s eyes fluttered open to meet her sleeping figure. Her lips parted as she breathed. Harry reached out and put a hand on her face.

“Hey, beautiful,” Harry whispered and inched forward to place a kiss on her forehead. “S’time t’get up,” he murmured. “Merry Christmas,” he leaned closer to kiss the shell of her ear as he spoke softly to her. Meanwhile, Harry could hear Rory bouncing up and down the little hallway between their rooms and the stairs chanting that it was Christmas and Santa came.

Her lashes fluttered as she woke up, meeting Harry’s beautiful green eyes. “Harry, Santa came!”

He winked at her as she rubbed her eye tiredly. “Yeah, lad?” He smiled at the excitement. “Y’didn’t go down, did you?”

“No way, Jose!”

Harry chuckled. “D’you want t’come give Mummy a Christmas hug?” He asked.

There was a shift in weight on the bed as Rory’s little body flung himself in between the pair of them. “Merry Christmas Mumma,” he giggled and snuggled up to her. She smiled, burying her face in his hair, and squeezing him to her.

“Merry Christmas, love bug,” she sighed sleepily but very content.

“Can we go downstairs?” He was trying to wriggle free.

“I have to brush my teeth and we’ll go right down,” she promised and threw the covers back. “Maybe you should give Harry a Christmas tickle,” she suggested as she left the bed and Rory took her word and tickled Harry well enough to make him squirm and giggle himself.

“You’ll pay for that,” he kissed the side of her face as she exited the bathroom so Harry could brush his teeth too.

Rory was now bouncing with excitement, and she smiled sitting back on the bed while they waited for Harry. “What do you think Santa brought you?” She asked.

“I hope he brought me the roller coaster,” he crossed his fingers on both hands to show her and she mimicked the gesture while Harry returned as quickly as possible.

“Alrighty, I think we can go down now,” she smiled.

Harry grinned and followed behind the two of them. Rory was squealing and laughing as he reached the bottom of the stairs before they did. He hurried to the rollercoaster set and sent the little cart flying down the track while she tilted her head at the pile of presents that seemed to increase in size by at least a half.

“Did you get him more?” She muttered under her breath.

“Mumma!” Rory shouted. “Harry wrote Santa a note for me last night! Santa brought you some presents this year.”

She seemed to freeze in place and Harry put a hand on her lower back. “C’mon, kitten. S’Christmas,” he kissed the top of her head and nudged her toward the sofa so she could sit.

“H-he did, huh?” She looked overwhelmed at the pile of neatly wrapped presents with her name on them. Most were labeled from Santa. A few from Harry and one from Rory—the racecar of course.

“We start with the stockings,” Rory explained to Harry grabbing the one with an H on it and handing it to him. It was filled with little trinkets and items that she painstakingly tied with ribbons and candies that he would undoubtedly end up sharing with Rory until their stomachs hurt.

“Oh...I had a chat with Santa last night,” he recalled sitting beside the poor thing that was struggling to make sense of all the items under their overly decorated tree. “Santa agreed that I could do Mummy’s stocking from now on,” he told Rory.

“Mumma, Harry knows Santa too!” The poor thing was having a meltdown on the inside of her mind. It was clear on her face as she tried to factor in the price of all the presents that were tied nicely with bows and ribbons. Rory handed off her stocking as well and was lucky she didn’t drop it immediately. Lucky that Harry was sitting right beside her to hold it while he placed his beside him. Rory sat himself on the floor with the stocking between his legs. “Can I start?”

She was mute it seemed as she examined all the little items poking out of the top of the oversize sock. “Go ahead, lad,” Harry encouraged and squeezed her thigh. “You too, kitten,” he murmured into her ear.

“You...” she whispered breathlessly, cleared her throat and Harry saw the well of tears filling her eyes. “Santa brought me a lot of stuff,” she murmured while Rory oohed and ahhed over the little things filling his stocking.

“He told me that y’never have t’sacrifice Christmas on behalf of Rory anymore. That was really nice of you t’do it the last few years. But...he wants you t’get whatever y’ever want,” he cupped her cheek while Rory ripped open his bag of M&Ms spilling tens of them across the floor with a little scattering that she ignored because Harry was gazing at her like she was the most special thing on the planet.

Harry really, truly believed she was.

“Yeah?” She smiled, but her eyes were so watery it made him melt.

“Very much so,” he leaned forward and swept his lips across hers briefly so as not to get Rory’s attention to their yucky kissing. “Merry Christmas, m’love.”

“Merry Christmas, Harry,” she leaned toward him, resting against his chest. His arm draped over her while they watched Rory stuff a mouthful of M&Ms between his lips. They continued watching him open each and every present that was selflessly ticked off his list.

“This is the best Christmas ever,” Rory smiled excitedly.

“I think so too, love bug,” she giggled at him.

“Absolutely,” Harry agreed.

“How about a picture, Rory?” She asked grabbing her phone out of the pocket of her leggings. “C’mere,” she handed her phone to Harry and opened her arms for Rory to hop into her embrace. Rory situated himself half on her lap and half on Harry’s. She squeezed closer to Harry while he hold the phone out for a selfie. Rory held his little jar of slime out for the picture and Harry grinned into the camera as she rested her hand on Harry’s leg around Rory’s little body as best she could. “Alright one more,” Harry smirked and leaned toward her to steal a kiss that caused Rory’s face to wrinkle in distaste forever savoring the perfect moment on film.

A Christmas for the history books, for certain.

At least their history books.

--

general taglist: @justlemmeadoreyou @daydreamingofmatilda @sunshinemoonsposts @youdontcaredoyou @tiredinwinter @loving-hazz @likeapplejuicenpeach @straightontilmornin @freedomfireflies @littlenatilda @kathb59 @babegoals @angel-upon @lilfreakjez @mleestiles @ameliaalvarez06 @canyonmoondreams @summertime-pills @daphnesutton @l4rrysh0use @perfectywrong @foreverxholland @lolyouallsuck @buckybarnessimpp @stylesfever @harrysxcarolina @haarrrys @lovrave @st-ev-ie @pandeebearstyles @toosarcastic03 @luvonstyles @tenaciousperfectionunknown

neighbors taglist: @claimingharrystigertattoo @mopeymousey @vmpellie

[wol-fica]

-𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 & 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟-

summary - you and jenna get into an argument about the fact that jenna is putting her work before you.

warnings - swearing, angst, happy ending cause i’m to sappy to break them up over anything except death

——————

Jenna messed up, she knows she did. She made the choice to put her job before her relationship which is why she is in the predicament right now.

Shouting had occurred and a glass on water was smashed, now she is slumped over on the couch with her head in her hands while you took refuge in the guest bedroom.

Jenna sighed, cursing herself out for being such an idiot. How could she let this happen? How could she be such an ass to you, her own girlfriend? Her thoughts invaded her brain so much that she decided to leave and go for a late night stroll.

Stepping out of the apartment, as quietly as she could, Jenna made her way down the hallway to the elevator which she took to the ground floor. After a swift greeting to the receptionist and waving to her neighbor, she exited the building to proceed on her stress-walk.

The sidewalk was lit with the soft glow of the street lamps as she walked, her head leaned down in sorrow. There were some people out, but not one bothered her for pictures or autographs; maybe it was because she looked upset, or no one recognized her as she was kind of hiding her face with her hair.

After about an hour of walking around her apartment building, she finally took a moment to rest on a bench outside of the complex. There, she let her mind take over and let her thoughts finally seep in, remembering what had happened an hour and a half ago.

a little while ago….

“I don’t understand you sometimes,” You said as you washed dishes in the sink while your girlfriend typed away on her laptop.

“Can we not do this now.” Jenna replied, still furiously focused on her computer screen.

“Do what Jenna? Talk? Like normal couples do when they have issues?” You said, waving a sponge around.

“Issues..? We don’t have issues Y/N.”

You slammed a pot down, making her jump slightly as her eyes snapped to you in annoyance.

“Yes, we do, but you are so damn invested in your job that you completely ignore your own relationship half the time.” You snarled, throwing the sponge back into the sink as you stormed past Jenna.

“I’m invested in my job because it’s my job.” She shot back, now standing up to face you, “I have responsibilities you know.”

“Am I not one? Is your girlfriend not a responsibility to you?!”

“Not when she is incredibly annoying!” Jenna scoffed as she crossed her arms angrily, “Why can’t you just shut up and leave me alone?!”

Your face was blank, eyes wide as you stared at Jenna with disbelief. You wanted to cry, to yell, to say something snarky back at her, but your shock at her words left you silent. Slowly, you closed your open mouth and trudged away to the guest room, slamming the door behind you.

back to present…

“Jenna?”

Jenna’s eyes snapped open, looking up to see you teary eyed and wrapped up in her hoodie as you looked down at her with concern and worry.

“Jenna, come inside.” You said, holding out your shaky hand.

She hesitated to take it, but eventually caved in as the chill of the wind over took her stubbornness. You helped her up, gently pulling her back to the building and leading her back to your room.

The silence was loud, deafening even. While you were calm, Jenna was internally freaking out. Were you about to kick her out with her stuff? Did you plan something for her to embarrass herself with when she would return? What were you thinking about her?

“Honey, please sit down.”

Jenna realized she was now back in your shared apartment, standing awkwardly in the kitchen while you waited for her to sit across from you at the island. Gingerly, she sat down, fidgeting with her hands as a means to keep herself calm.

“I’m not mad.” You said, trying to get her to look at you.

“Why aren’t you.” She asked, her head still down.

You sighed, glancing around for a moment before leaning down to gently grasp her chin.

“Because I now understand how stressed you are.” You replied, caressing her cheek, “You are overworked and tired, and we haven’t had any time with each other for the past two months.”

Jenna’s lip trembled, her eyes slowly filling with tears as you exposed her current state. She felt embarrassed, overwhelmingly embarrassed.

“We haven’t spoken or enjoyed each other as couple’s should, and that is ruining both of us.”

She let out a sob, leaning into your palm as you broke down her walls that have been built up over time. Instinctively needing your touch, she lurched forward into your arms in which you wrapped around her protectively while she cried.

“It’s okay to be vulnerable with me, you know I won’t ever judge you for it.” You whispered, hugging her close to you.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry!” Jenna cried into your shoulder, shaking in your lap.

“I know, and I forgive you.” You mumbled into her hair, placing a kiss there as tears clouded your own eyes.

You both embraced, crying together as a way of cathartic means. The rest of the night was spent side by side where cuddles and kisses were exchanged while Jenna made sure you knew she loved you through thick and thin.

————

[ahhnini]

annihilate - rafe cameron x spider!reader (spider-verse!au)

synopsis - rafe is your boyfriend, but what happens when you find out he's an anomaly in your universe?

warnings - angst, established relationship, violence, implied sex, implied character death, manipulation

(let me know if I am missing any warnings)

word count - 2.5k

moodboard 𓆇🕸️𓆸

a/n - rewatched the spiderverse movies and felt inspired! this is a mix of the sonyverse and the mcu!!

“goodnight, love you,” you tell rafe before hanging up the call. you strip down your zip-up and sweatpants, revealing your spider suit underneath. opening your window, you shoot a web onto a neighboring building, swinging, beginning your nightly duties.

It has been a tame night so far, you would say. helping a little girl get home safely, stopping a couple of robberies, and giving some pre-teens a lesson about fire safety. miguel hadn’t called you in for any missions, so you’d just been swinging around in your universe.

you ordered a slice of pizza (fully in your spider suit) and ate it on the rooftop of a building. no one, not even your boyfriend rafe cameron knew you were the spider vigilante of the night.

you’ve gotten extremely close with rafe over the school year, him being a transfer from north carolina, and you’ve helped him become accustomed to the hustle and bustle of new york city.

so naturally, you two fell for each other

you wanted to tell him about your secret badly, why you would be away from school for a couple of days, and why you would always abruptly hang up on him at night.

at the same time, you knew you couldn’t. telling one person would be the equivalent of telling the entire world.

“we should go get ice cream after school,” you hear his voice, he sets down his lunch tray right next to you. “we should, huh? we haven’t gone on dates in a while.” he smiles at you, grabbing your hand and rubbing your thumb. you appreciated the little touches he gave you throughout the day. “we should have a date at least once a week, yeah? we can explore the city, find different stuff to do,” rafe digs into his food, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

“yeah, yeah, let’s do that,” you smile at him, biting into your sandwich.

after school, you two took the subway, walking around the block until you found an ice cream parlor. you both ordered, rafe ordering a single chocolate scoop while you ordered vanilla with sprinkles. “wanna hang at my place?” you offered, licking the ice cream beginning to drip down the cone.

you didn’t miss the way his eyes flickered.

“uh—yeah, would love to. is your aunt may home?” he asks, looking down at the floor. “yeah, she is,” rafe groans. “I don’t think she likes me,” he pouts and you giggle. “she does! she just takes a bit to warm up to.” you smile at him.

suddenly, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and your breathing quickens. something’s wrong. rafe notices, “are you okay?”

“y-yeah…um, I just remembered I left my homework in my locker, you can head to my place—”

“are you sure? you look like you’ve seen a ghost—”

“‘m fine! i’m fine! just, just go!” you shove him aside, running in the opposite direction. you turn back, seeing rafe scratch his head, staring at you.

please don’t follow me. please don’t follow me.

you run towards an alley, quickly putting your backpack on the floor and opening it up. you take out your spider suit and put it on, feeling the material hug your body. you shove your school clothes in your backpack and swing towards whatever is making your senses flare up.

you see it. an anomaly, terrorizing the streets of new york. you see the familiar green uniform, the green goblin. a variant of it. it wasn’t your green goblin, but rather, another universe’s. people flee the streets, hiding in nearby shops.

your attack on the green goblin was a surprise to them. you kicked them right across the stomach and began webbing their torso to restrict movement. thankfully, it worked, you dragged them to a secluded area so you could portal them back to their universe. you tapped on your watch, letting your boss, miguel, know that you’d gotten the job done.

you were so tired. you haven’t fought an actual villain in such a long time. out of all the universes, why’d you have to be in the one that was so boring? after you sent the anomaly back to its universe, you went back to the alley where you’d left your backpack…where someone had stolen it. along with your ice cream. shit. you can’t be in two places at once, right?

rafe still couldn’t be at your apartment after the incident, you thought. it was all over the news, footage of your battle playing out. mr. and mrs. cameron would’ve called him home by then.

they didn’t.

you snuck into your bedroom, quietly opening the window, webbing your way inside, careful to not make any noise. when you made it to the middle of your room, you sighed in relief.

but then you turned around.

rafe stared at you, wide-eyed and mouth agape. he shook his head as if he was dreaming. “what the hell are you still doing here?!” you whisper-shouted. “your aunt may talked to my parents! they wanted me to go home as soon as they heard what was going on but she talked to my parents, convinced them that I had to stay here ‘cus she ‘didn’t want anything to happen to me’” he makes finger quotes in the air, eyes still gawking at you. “I can’t believe you’re the spider-hero I see on youtube. does may know?” his voice suddenly grew. you quickly hushed him, “no! she doesn’t! keep it down!”

you quickly dig through your drawer, finding random clothes. you begin to strip down in front of rafe, not caring that he’s currently seeing you in your intimates. quickly putting on a shirt and shorts, you shove your spider suit inside your closet, along with your watch.

“please, don’t tell anyone about this rafe!” you begged, putting your hands together. “I won’t promise.” “good”

may burst inside, looking disheveled. she immediately runs up to you, checking to see if you're hurt. “no call, no texts, what were you thinking?!”

you bite your lip, immediately coming up with an excuse, “I know, i’m sorry, I got back on campus when it first started happening and everyone there got put on lockdown. and you know how our school blocks phone signals—”

you felt so guilty. may was the only person in your family left and you were lying to her. she pulled back, relief etched on her face. “it’s okay, thank god you’re safe. where’s your backpack?!”

“uh I…lost it…” you reply sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck. may sighs. you hear sizzling coming from the kitchen and gasping, she immediately runs off. you turn back to rafe, his things already packed. “i’m heading off for the night, i’ll see you tomorrow,” he pulls you in for a hug, craning down to whisper in your ear, “your secret is safe with me.” he gives a polite goodbye to aunt may before exiting your apartment.

“c’mon, we’re going out to eat. i burnt the lasagna.” may chuckles as she fans the pan, your little home smelling like burnt food.

the next day, you’re at rafe’s house. he’s asking you all these questions about your superpowers, and you can’t help but giggle in response to some of them.

“do you lay spider eggs?”

“ew, no, that’s never happened before.”

“how far can you shoot your webs?”

“i’m not sure”

“can I see your suit?”

you chuckle as you reveal your spider suit in your bag. during dinner, aunt may have told you she’s had enough of buying you backpacks, so she gave you one of her old canvas bags to use for school.

your watch rings, and you see miguel’s face pop up. rafe’s eyes widen and you chuckle nervously. “that’s uh, my boss…excuse me for a moment.” quickly exiting his room, you make your way to the nearby restroom to answer the call.

“there’s been a reported anomaly in your universe, I need you to hop on it. he’s from universe 664, and he’s highly dangerous. I can’t believe we just found him. we’ve been looking for him for months.” miguel rambles.

“who is it?” you ask, ears perking up.

"we have his file with a picture on it for reference, it should’ve already been sent to you. when you capture him send him right to hq so we could eliminate him.”

“okay, thanks miguel. i’ll get to it asap.” you see him nod at the other end of the call before hanging up. you sigh before pressing a couple of buttons on your watch to bring up the file.

you couldn’t believe your eyes. the anomaly was…rafe?

you reentered his room, silent.

“you okay?”

no.

how were you supposed to do this?

“yeah, duty calls, i’ll talk to you tomorrow,” you say quietly.

this can’t be right. why was your web fluid…watery? you swear you perfected this batch of web fluid, you even tested it out in your locker during lunch. you kept shooting your webs, hoping it’s just the chemical compound of the new formula and it’ll somehow, become sticker when it clings to the building. your optimism was shattered when your canisters became lighter.

you’ve been pacing around your complex rooftop for the past two hours, thinking about rafe. capturing him and sending him back to his universe would’ve been easier as you still could visit him. you couldn’t get the words miguel said out of your mind.

send him to hq so we can eliminate him.

eliminate him.

you shake your head, laying down on the concrete ledge, looking up to the stars, hoping tomorrow you'll wake up and this mission will just be a dream.

the pressure weighed heavy. you couldn't concentrate, your boyfriend noticed. he furrowed his eyebrows as he kissed you all over your body, rough hands gripping your sides. you shoved him aside, letting out a puff of air. rafe turned his body towards you, gently moving the hair that fell on your face. he calls your name, "hey, talk to me." shaking your head, you turn away, facing your bedroom window. he wraps his arm around your torso, pulling you close to him. he inhales a sharp breath, softly speaking, "i'll be here when you're ready to talk, 'kay?" nodding your head, you stare out into the concrete jungle, closing your eyes.

he knows. he knows that the spider society assigned him as your mission. he knows they'd never make you kill him yourself, so they're gonna make you send him to the society so the other spiders could kill him. how considerate.

rafe felt bad, real bad when he bugged your suit. while you were taking your call with miguel a couple of days ago, he broke into your bag and tweaked your web shooters, causing the formula to become less sticky. it was sick, but he had to do everything in his power to delay you from your mission.

of course, he knew who you worked for. miguel o’hara. that name left a bitter taste on his tongue. they do have history after all. how can a man like him not pay the repercussions of destroying an entire universe, and be looked up by so many others, while he’s villainized? it’s just not fair.

in his universe, he was spider-man. he was a hero. that all changed when you came into his life. he fell for you, hard.

then you fell for him. literally.

when your body was flung off the clock tower, his mind raced a million miles per hour. you were gone. the love of his life. he spiraled, falling into obsession with the fact that you were gone because of him.

deep in his grief, he began wondering the “what-ifs.” using his scientific knowledge, he created technology that brought a hologram of you back to him.

but it wasn’t enough.

he needed to physically hold you, he needed someone with true emotions, not just a ghost of you.

then he discovered the multiverse.

universes where you’re alive, where you’re with him.

he became jealous.

he traveled through different universes, coming in contact with all the different lives you were living.

they weren’t good enough. they weren’t you.

he was relentless, finding every universe you were in, not giving a damn about the consequences. that's when he stumbled upon your universe.

and it was like you never left.

taking the life and identity of your universe's rafe cameron was a simple task for him. he had the same family, the same friends, and the same personality. it was a complete parallel of his own.

he gently rubbed your back while you slept. how could the society do this to you? you told him you haven't been getting that much sleep, so being the good boyfriend that he is, he put you to sleep using his signature method. poor thing, there's so much weight on your shoulders right now.

“miguel, stop calling me!” you exclaimed. you were hiding in one of the restroom stalls, unexpectedly running out of the classroom in the middle of a lecture.

he sharply glares at you through the screen, “you need to hurry on this mission, he’s starting to cause problems in your universe,” he sighs before saying your name, “people are starting to disappear, cities are starting to collapse.”

your eyes widen.

“layla told us if you don’t bring him to headquarters by tonight, your entire universe will collapse,” he replies, abruptly hanging up the call.

your breathing quickens, chest rising up and down. you clutch your shirt, trying to calm yourself.

you storm out of the building, heading towards who knows where.

after long hours of pondering and anxiety building up, you approach the cameron house, getting ready to ambush rafe. seeing him take a nap from his window, you stopped in your tracks.

was this worth it?

killing your boyfriend for the sake of the universe sounded like the unique ultimatum. but what would happen if…you didn't send him to miguel? yeah, your universe would meet its end but…you get to be with rafe. besides, letting the society kill rafe would become an endless cycle. you'd look for him in every universe, ultimately destroying them as well. then you'd become the anomaly, and then you'd have a target on your back.

they'll kill you too.

but at least you'll be with rafe, right?

climbing the rooftop and propping the window open, you sneak inside, tiptoeing to his bed, you hold your watch out, preparing to send him through a portal.

you turn over to his nightstand, seeing his lamp glitch with vibrant colors.

tears brim in your eyes as you put the watch down, and gently wake up rafe.

"hey…" you softly say, gently shaking his shoulder. he turns around, smiling.

"why do you have your watch on?" he mumbles, pulling you closer to him.

you don't respond, instead laying down on the bed, facing him. he smiles and tucks your hair behind your ears. "did you miss me?"

"yeah"

this is the last time you'll be seeing him, anyway.

looking at the wall behind him, colors start phasing in and out.

rafe buries his head in your neck, relishing your scent. you pull away, taking one last glance at him.

it felt like nothing. the world you grew up in was quickly disappearing, but the world you've known to love was still in front of you. you hold rafe's face, pulling him for a kiss as you both disappear into nothingness.

divider credits - sseuda on tumblr

[mothbart]

12 days of kolowv: day 7

my baby @theapocryphaofantares's birthday is in seven (!!!) days, and because i love him with all my heart he gets a small microfic every day until he gets his big present on his actual birthday.

prompt: scorch | bartylily | words: 2,312 | explicit

The bludgeoning, bright sun is too much for Barty. He’s overheating, his hair is sticking to his face, and he wants nothing more than to dunk himself in a pool of ice water—maybe drown himself, too, while he’s at it.

It’s the annual neighborhood block party, something that Barty absolutely loathes. He doesn’t care about seeing his neighbors, let alone socializing with them. White plastic tables are littered with red, solo cups, and multicolored plastic chairs are scattered along the street. Aggravating, repetitive pop songs are being played from the large speaker that sits in the Vance’s yard, and the culmination of that along with roars of laughter and yelling makes his head want to explode. He’s tried going back inside the house multiple times, but each time his dad catches him, and an empty threat is thrown at him. So he’s sitting here in an old camping chair outside his yard, slinking down in his chair, miserable.

He’s staring at all of the people who are hanging out in the middle of the street, and he just doesn’t understand the appeal of pretending to like these people just so they can have an excuse to get publicly drunk. He’s itching for a cigarette, and the pack in his pocket is practically teasing him at this point. He looks around to try and find his dad, and when he does, he sees that he’s standing in a circle with a couple of other adults, chattering away. As he gets up from the uncomfortable, ripped-up camping chair, he feels his other pockets to make sure that he has his lighter with him, too. He makes his way through the crowd, trying to get out of the way of the running children with water guns and moms holding trays of lemonade.

However, he doesn’t do a very good job of being careful because he bumps into someone.

And that someone just so happens to be his neighbor, Lily Evans.

“Barty?” She asks, looking up and smiling at him. “What are you doing here?”

Barty takes a good look at the girl in front of him, and it takes everything in him not to start fucking drooling when he sees that Lily is wearing a tight, yellow sundress. Freckles sprinkled across her sun-kissed skin and her long, red hair is pulled into a high ponytail, and Barty wants to trace his fingers along her skin and tangle them in her hair.

“What are you doing here?” Barty asks her, not really wanting to answer her question.

“I’m back for the summer,” she says. “You know, summer break and all of that.”

“How’s college?” He asks, and he feels silly doing small talk but he doesn’t know what else to do. His brain is short-circuiting and it’s almost like he forgot how to form words and questions. There is only one person who has ever made him feel this way, and of course it’s Lily fucking Evans.

He never forgot the night when he gave Lily her first kiss on her sixteenth birthday, and if he’s going to be honest, he still thinks about it almost daily. They never really saw each other after that. Sure, they saw each other in the hallways here and there, but it was back to how it was—Lily ignoring him and Barty pretending that Lily Evans never existed despite him constantly thinking about her. Lily had given James another chance after he left her hanging that night, and Barty wanted to tell her that she deserved better than that.

But it’s not like he was able to give her anything better than what James offered.

“College is good,” she replies. “Is college good for you?”

“Yeah,” Barty says. He looks around, trying to find any excuse to get out of there. The more that he’s standing in front of Lily, the more he keeps thinking about her soft lips and the way that she tasted like strawberry lip gloss and it’s something that he wouldn’t mind tasting again. “Anyway, I’m going to go—”

“Where are you going?” She asks.

“I was going to go for a smoke—”

“Come with me,” Lily says, grabbing Barty’s hand. “You can help me make more lemonade.”

Before Barty can decline, Lily’s already dragging him to her house. He doesn’t miss the way that Lily’s dad glares at Barty when they walk past him in the yard, but he doesn’t give two fucks. He remembers that Lily told him a couple of years ago that her parents warned her that Barty was a bad influence, and ever since then, he couldn’t care less about what her dad thinks.

When they walk inside the house, it looks exactly like how it did when they were kids. The foyer is full of carefully placed family photos, tacky floral print wallpaper, and shoes neatly lined up on the shoe rack. Lily kicks off her sandals and doesn’t bother placing them with the others, so Barty follows what she does and takes off his shoes.

The music can still be heard from outside, and when Barty walks further into the house, it’s a little more quiet. Lily is standing in the kitchen, and she looks so beautiful here. There’s something with the way that her bare feet patter along the hardwood laminate floors while she’s grabbing the glass pitcher that makes Barty want to see her like this all the time.

“Petunia is supposed to be on lemonade duty, but somehow I got stuck with it,” Lily explains while she’s grabbing a bag of lemons. “Did you see her new boyfriend?”

“I haven’t seen her at all,” Barty answers. He walks over to where Lily is, stands right next to her, and leans against the counter. He’s watching her intently as she pulls out the cutting board from the dishwasher and places a few lemons on them. “How’d they meet?”

“They’re in some club together in college,” Lily replies, shrugging. “He’s okay. His name is Vernon.”

Barty snorts. “What kind of name is Vernon?”

“Same could be said for Bartemius,” Lily teases.

“Whatever,” Barty mutters. Lily lets out a giggle and starts to cut the lemons, she’s just cutting them in half and placing them carelessly on the counter—some of them hit the cutting board, and some kind of fall right near it. Lily is humming to herself as she’s focusing.

“Can you go grab the pitcher and fill it with water?” She asks, turning her head towards him. “I meant to do that earlier but spaced it.”

Barty nods his head, taking the pitcher that’s still full of ice and fills it up to the brim with water from the sink. When he carefully tries to walk closer to Lily to bring her the pitcher, she must not realize that he’s standing right behind her.

Because she walks straight back into him, and water backsplashes on Barty and some gets on the back of Lily’s dress. It takes everything in Barty not to drop the glass that’s in his hands, but his shirt is soaking wet and the crotch of his pants is wet, too.

Lily quickly turns around, looking at him in horror as she sees that his shirt is sticking to his skin.

“Barty, I’m so sorry!” She says loudly, grabbing the rag that was hanging from the oven. She frantically starts to dab the rag on his torso, as if that was going to do anything. “Shit, I didn’t realize that you were right behind me—”

“Lily, it’s fine,” he says, his voice calm. “I can just run home and get changed.”

“No, no, I think I have some clothes that might fit you,” she says, still dabbing the towel on him. She’s so close to him, and his heart is pounding. He grabs her hand, stopping her from trying to dry something that more than a rag will do. “Okay, yeah, sorry, just follow me upstairs.”

She tosses the towel on the counter and starts to make her way down the hallway and up the stairs, Barty following right behind her while also trying to minimize much movement considering everything that he’s wearing is fucking wet and cold.

When he said that he wanted to dunk himself in a pool of ice water, he didn’t mean it. He’d rather get burned from the sun than have cold water on his skin like this. Lily walks into the bedroom that’s on the left at the end of the hallway, and when she opens the door, her room looks different.

It seems like it’s the only place in the house that changed since Barty was here when he was a kid. Her pink walls were now white. The posters of popular boy bands were long gone, replaced by multiple cork bulletin boards that are covered of photos of Lily and her friends. Her bright pink, twin-sized bed was replaced by a queen bed with regular white sheets; her room just didn’t feel like Lily anymore.

She must have sensed that because after Barty walked inside, she shut the door behind him.

“My parents slowly are re-doing my room,” she explains. “Feels weird, huh?”

“Yeah,” Barty murmurs, walking up to one of the bulletin boards. He looks at the photos and it’s just Lily with some people he doesn’t even recognize. Some were people they’ve known since high school, but the others? They must be from college.

His attention gets drawn to Lily when she starts going through her closet and pulls out an over-sized t-shirt and a pair of old gym shorts. She hands them over to him, and he takes them with a confused look.

“Where the fuck did these shorts come from?” He asks, holding them up to show her.

“They’re from high school for gym class, see?” She points at the logo at the bottom left of them. “Anyway, I’ll turn around.”

“No need,” Barty says, as he tosses the dry clothes on the edge of her bed. Lily doesn’t move. In fact, she stares at him as he strips off his soaked shirt and tosses it on the floor. He can feel her eyes gazing at his chest, and he smirks. “Hey, Lily, eyes up here.”

She snaps back into reality and blinks a few times, looking at him. Her face starts to turn pink, and she bites her lip.

“Sorry,” she says. She takes a couple of steps forward, and Barty sucks in his breath when Lily starts to softly trace the tattoos that are on his chest. “These are new.”

Barty doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t know what to really say to her—so instead, he allows her to touch him, caressing her fingers along the black lines that are embedded on his skin.

He’s not sure what happens.

Because the next thing he knows, Lily is looking up at him like he’s a constellation in the sky—in awe and amazement and admiration. She goes on her tippy toes and her lips are ghosting over his and he’s having a hard time remembering to breathe.

“Can I?” She whispers, her eyes fluttering closed.

He doesn’t say anything, because he’s already beaten her to it. His lips are on hers, and it’s like everything has fallen right into place. Her lips still taste like the strawberry lip gloss from the first time they kissed, and it’s moments like these where he’s thanking whatever fucking deity exists that he gets to have another chance to kiss Lily.

It goes from soft, tender kisses to desperation and eagerness. It’s more frantic, and Lily shivers under his touch when he slides the straps of her dress off her shoulders. He kisses along her jawline, peppering them down her neck and to her shoulder. She tilts her neck, giving him more room to work with and he wants to leave a mark—wants Lily to have something to remind her of him.

But he doesn’t.

Instead, he brings his lips back onto hers, and she starts walking him towards the bed, their lips never leaving each other. She pushes him down on the bed, and before he can sit up, Lily is already straddling his lap.

He runs his hands up her thighs, and she gasps against his mouth and he takes that opportunity to slide his tongue over her teeth. Lily is sweet and tart and everything in between.

They take their time unraveling each other, finding ways to make each other gasp and beg and whimper. It’s roaming hands, flicking tongues, quivering thighs, sticky sheets, and Barty feels on fucking cloud nine. Lily’s soft moans and panting on repeat in his ear as she tells him to move faster, stay right there, keep going.

It’s pure ecstasy, the way that Lily’s tight around him, and the way that their movements are messy and urgent. It’s the way that Lily comes, the way that she shudders and the way that she says his name like she’s worshipping and praising him.

Lily Evans makes him feel on fire—with every touch, she’s burning him and creating her own mark on him—visible or not. His skin feels like it’s littered with scorch marks and when he tucks some of her fallen hair out of her face, he can’t help but want more.

[cyberphuck]

The other day the neighbors called the city on me again for having an overgrown lawn. I explained to City Guy that I was disabled and broke, and he gave me two weeks to "work on it" (I asked him, too, if there were programs to help me take care of the stuff they wanted me to take care of, and he said no). I traded a bag of dog food to a guy to mow my lawn, and he just... did not come back lol so today I went out with some very rusty loppers to try to cut back some of the bigger stuff.

We have a few milk thistles-- I tackled like three or four biggish ones-- but the majority of the overgrowth in the front yard is one massive creeper vine. There weren't any of what I as a Californian would call weeds besides the thistles-- not even dandelions. At least the creeper vine is green, doesn't have spines, doesn't harbor any kind of bugs, and is soft and moist enough not to be a fire hazard. (I'm not entirely sure what the creeper vine is. It's not virginia creeper, poison ivy, kudzu, wintercreeper, mile-a-minute, or honeysuckle. It's green, will grow up, through, and over anything and likes when you run it over repeatedly with your car, soft and cool with no stickers or hooks, and explodes with bitty white flowers in the mid to late fall. I like it.) I was out there sweating and shaking, taking frequent breaks because of my knees and back, doing my best to cut down the biggest growths. A car pulled up to the neighbor's house and the man himself got out. I straightened up, lowering the loppers, and stared fixedly at him (sweaty, sunburned, covered in leaves) as he walked into his house. He didn't even turn his head to make eye contact with me. A little while later, an older lady came out with a lawnmower and mowed their already-pristine lawn. I watched her. She also didn't look at me. Neither of them said anything like, "hey, noticed you doing yard work and crying, need a hand since the mower's already out?" To be clear, they have never spoken to me, even once, since they've moved in. Sometimes their mail gets delivered to my house by accident, and I'll walk it over and put it in their letterbox. A couple of times there were big manila envelopes that looked time-sensitive so I knocked, trying to make sure they got it and not wanting to bend it to fit it into the letterbox. TV was on but no one came to the door. I'm the one who ran across the street to help grandma out of the tub, remember, the one who buys lemonade and candy from the local kids, the one with a separate bowl for toys on Halloween, the one who chases down the neighbor's dog in the middle of the night and puts him back in the yard so nothing happens to him, the one who brings my dogs in when they start barking so they're not bothering people. I'm the one who brings a slice of birthday cake to share with the cranky old man across the street, who stopped to help a bleeding woman at walmart, who saw someone riding their bike on the side of the freeway (?!) and pulled over to put his bike in the back of my car and give him a ride home. I don't do that kind of stuff with an expectation of some kind of payment. And god knows I don't even like some of my neighbors-- I don't really like anybody, if it comes down to it. But we've all got to live on the same street, and I think it's important to be on at least nodding terms with your immediate neighbors in case something happens, you know? You don't have to bring over lemon squares every Sunday, but it'd be nice to have someone let you know if your house is on fire, or know that if there's an accident and you need help, you can bang on someone's door. Just come and talk to me about it once, okay? Once. Find out what's going on. Maybe there's a super simple fix. Maybe there's something we can trade. Maybe we find out you can't help at all. Maybe I'll tell you to shove it up your ass, but at least you tried before you got the fucking city involved.

Unfortunately for you, I'm not a 'turn the other cheek' sort of person. The cuttings from the insane, fast-growing, impossible to kill vine can go under your porch.

[guiraguira]

Hi, I hope you're having an amazing day, dear <3 Stay hydrated too! ^^

If you can do it, I would like some platonic MTC hcs with a f!s/o that is older than them (she's like 40-45y) and have a 'mother-son type' relationship with them!

I have this sweet and caring neighbor that is always worrying about me, my brother, pretty much everyone else, haha. Her husband died when they were a young couple, so she couldn't have kids. Because of that, she brings this warm and motherly feeling to everyone <3

I just thought that it would be very cute and wholesome to see our 'Yokohama badboys' melting with this kind of attention, haha.

Like mom ✨

Hello honey!❤️❤️ I hope you are well too! I promise to hydrate 🤭

Ohhh! There is a lot of potential here! I'm going to do some small individual ones and then a group one! But I think this could have more parts.

I am very sorry for your neighbor, there are really people that life does not smile at but they look for a way to bring warmth anyway. The kind of people you have to protect at any cost ❤️

Warnings: none!

Mad trigger crew x fem reader!

Samatoki

° If you find him walking down the street and he's around! the sidewalk across the street and you wave to him to let him know that you're going to cross, he doesn't know how to react, are you really going to cross just to talk to him? He prepares himself mentally for whatever you're going to say to him, fearing it's something bad, but when you only ask about his day and invite him to come by your store for coffee, his back involuntarily hunches as if his heart weighed heavily on his chest.

° The next time something similar happens, he freezes on the spot again, but then he develops a sixth sense to cross before you, obviously respecting the traffic rules. Never again in his life will he cross a green light in front of you, he still remembers how you got scared thinking he would have an accident.

° When he makes his rounds he makes sure to get to your store alone, he is very embarrassed when you wait for him with some sweet as a thank you for being so attentive and he doesn't want anyone else to know about it. "Toki, are you always alone? You can come more often if you want, you know there's a place reserved for good guys in my store" you said, ruffling his hair "I'm not a boy, and I'm not alone" he averts his gaze and accommodates his hair as best he can, he doesn't want them to see this part of him either.

° if it's a bit cold you can't allow him to walk like that "Samatoki! It's a bit windy today, you can't just walk like that!" You button up his shirt to cover his torso "s/o, that's fine… I'm not cold" maybe he is a bit cold, but he won't admit it "You're freezing! Don't think that because you're young you won't leave to get sick" you rub his arms up and down to give him some warmth without listening to his complaints.

Jyuto

° You have no consideration for him, cheekily greeting him when he is with his patrol partner, asking if he already had lunch because of what time of day it was and if he answers "no" he is forced to accept any snack you offer them, since obviously he is not you will give something not only to Jyuto but to his partner as well.

° When you find him first thing in the morning you can't help but adjust his hair "s/o, I can do it myself" but despite that he bends over for you to do it "I know, I know…oh, your glasses are a little dirty" and you take them off to clean them "I can do that too" but he keeps waiting for you to finish "I know that too… but it was only for a second" you say putting his glasses back on and looking if there's anything more than you can do for him. You have no idea the effect he has on his day, he is deeply touched by your kindness and maybe he will treat everyone a little better.

° Every time news of an arrest in Yokohama comes out, you ask him if he participated and if he's okay if he did. Most of the time he would rather lie to you if he was involved because he doesn't want to worry you, but he also doesn't want to lie to you and seem like he never does anything. So he simply says that he's fine, even if he's hurt a little.

° He still remembers with shame the time that to celebrate his birthday you brought a cake to his workplace and far from making fun of him, a part of the police department began to sing him happy birthday. Despite this, he was very moved by the gesture, he had not celebrated it for years.

Rio

° If the forecast says it's going to rain, your first reaction is to think of him sleeping in his camp, hoping he won't get wet "You can come if you want, what will you do if the water passes through your tent?" No matter how much you offer him to sleep in your bridge or even prepare a more comfortable bed for him, he refuses "I'm used to the rain, it's okay" he tries to convince you that nothing will happen to him, although more than once you were so insistent that you managed to let the rain pass in your house.

° You usually tell him the offers that are in the market, in case he needs something for his exotic food. He will cook something for you in gratitude, he knows that your palate is more delicate, so try very carefully to prepare something that you like, it may end up having a horrible taste, but he put all his heart into that dish "it really is a flavor different Rio, is very tasty" the satisfied smile on his face is adorned with a slight blush if you ask him for another dish.

° It is difficult for him to go against you, you always speak to him in a tone that leaves no room for doubt, but without being authoritative, so if you tell him to stay still while you clean a couple of superficial wounds, he will do it without hesitation and also I'll thank you with a bit of shame when you're done.

° You constantly compliment how strong he is, so he offers to do whatever strength you need to do. If you clap for him after he helps you he usually does those bodybuilding poses just to make you laugh.

Generals

° When you discover that they are a rap group, you tell them that you will go see them in their next battle to support them but none of the three want you there, they know that they use bad words and that they behave differently than they always do with you. If you accidentally listen to one of his songs they will do everything possible to make you forget that you did it, mainly Jyuto he knows the phrases he says.

° During the holidays you usually give them things to match, last Christmas they were hand-knitted blue scarves. Rio is the most sensitive with your gifts, he will wear it with pride until the weather allows it, he doesn't want it to get ruined so he tries to wash it more carefully. Jyuto and Samatoki are more embarrassing, they will use them very little but they keep them with love.

° Occasionally they stop by your home just to check that you're okay, sometimes they don't agree and all three end up arriving at the same time. "Did you guys come to see me? Ohhhhh how cute they are!" Embracing them to the same time, they invent a thousand excuses to make it seem like it was something casual. "So they won't pass?" They automatically walk through your door and sit around your table, guilt would consume them if they said no.

° It happens infrequently but they are so comfortable with you that sometimes they fall asleep without realizing it and wake up warm with a blanket over their body. It also happens in your store, which is why there is a blanket always available. In the event that it is hot, they wake up knowing that there is an ice cream waiting for them.

° If they are helping you with a task, you call them "son" without realizing it, the first time it happened was with Jyuto and he was so disconcerted that he was slow to react, at some point he thought if he should call you mom in that case. Samatoki wasn't so lucky, he blushed up to his ears but carried on as if it were a matter of course. Rio is just happy that you call him that.

° If either of them has a slightly different face you know right away "Honey, did something happen?" And that question is all they need to open up to you. Sometimes they just want you to listen to them for a while, after each talk you usually ruffle their hair and place a kiss on the crown of their heads, as if it were a ritual to scare away their problems.

° When you celebrate their small achievements you really touch their hearts, they want to be better people just to see you smile. They don't care at all that you treat them like children, they finally found something that brings them peace.

° They do not know if they are the only ones you take care of in this way, but they enjoy every attention you give them, so they use every opportunity they have to return the love with actions, they can be small gifts, do the shopping for you, bring you something candy or help in your store. This all escalates on your birthday when they practically greet you with breakfast in bed and if you don't put a brake on them they are able to see you through until bedtime.