#i use the term professional loosely ofc

[to-be-named-by-angel]

Think i’ve posted about this before but just in case I want to make sure everyone knows that i’m a professional at fixing stuffies/plushies etc that have been torn! I’ve fixed many for my youngest sibling over the years so I know my stuff!

And just to reassure anyone feeling guilty about their plushie getting torn, i just want to say that i promise your plushies are okay!! Think about it! You’ve loved them soo much that they’re bursting with even more love! So they just need a little help getting back together that’s all! I promise if you’ve ever damaged one of your plushies they’ve not been upset with you! They still love you! And it doesn’t hurt them!!

[bandgie]

what would stray kids' "we shouldn’t be doing this" sex situation be??

MDNI 18+ | step/incest themes (individual warnings), age gap, oral (f!), fem!reader, I prolly missed some tbh

chan! (tw: step)

something about him screams step-dad. you're not home too much cuz you're already older by the time your mom remarries, but whenever you do swing by, your step dad is more than eager to cook, to clean, to show that he's a good husband...for your mom ofc. but the air thickens and you both start growing more bold. you come more often, making sure to bend lower enough for chan to catch a sight of your panties. he never makes a move though, not until the inevitable divorce papers are served. then he's a little more receptive to your advances, but ofc, he has some morals left

"Wait! I know your mom and I are getting a divorce, but that doesn't mean-" Chan shuts up real quick at the feel of your hand lowering, cupping his bugle and kissing his neck. "Shh, weren't you trying so hard to be my daddy before? You can be that now."

minho! (tw: age gap)

dad's best friend. older, hotter, flirty. he honestly has little to no shame when it comes to teasing you. if anything, it's you telling him that you can't do this, that it's wrong, but gosh it just feels so good. your friends tell you about the sexual experience older men have and it only tempts you more to give into Minho's advances. the furthest you've gone is light touching, his gentle kisses to your bare shoulder when you get out of the pool. but honestly, he's just so charming, it's only a matter of time before you're under him

If you don't get his cock soon, you think you'll cum just from his fingers. Minho's got two digits fucking into you, his thumb swirling your clit while he lavishes your nipple with his tongue. You whine, throwing your head back and arching upwards. "Minho! Minho, my dad-" but a harsh bite on your swollen bud makes you yelp. Minho briefly picks up his head, "You're dad's downstairs. You should be quiet before he hears us."

changbin!

he's your ex. you come across him at one the parties your university throws and you swore to yourself that you'd never get involved with frat boys again, but he just looks so good. big arms crossing his chest, black jeans on his thick thighs (and thick cock) with a red solo cup in his hand. you keep reminding yourself that he's not worth it. it would be so stereotypical to hook up in a someone's house you don't know, but once he sees you it's pretty much settled.

"Come on, you know you miss it," his words are like butter, and truthfully you do miss it. You miss how his thick fingers wrapped around your neck, how his fat cock stretched your pussy. But still, you're prideful, "As if. I shouldn't even doing this shit with you." Rather than his little smirk disappearing, it widens. "Who are you tryna convince? Me or you?"

hyunjin!

you're his art teacher. he's super talented, super dedicated to his craft and you constantly praise him for it. as true as that is, you also love seeing his smile and dimples. you have yet to admit that you find your student attractive, but you can at least acknowledge that he makes your job a little bit better. it's when he comes in for your office hours that you finally have to come to terms with your true emotions. you think you can keep professional, but hyunjin's set on letting you know how he feels.

"Hyunjin...you know we can't," but your words fall on deaf ears. Hyunjin pushes a loose strand from your face, cupping your cheek in the process. "Why not? Is there something wrong with me?" He sounds so desperate, so sincere. You have to swallow your desires but you can't push his hand away. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong with you." He leans past you, brushing his plump lips over the shell of your ear. "Then let me touch you one time. Let me show you how much you mean to me just once."

han! (tw:incest)

icky brother for sure. older brother to be specific. you always thought it was normal for siblings to be as close as you are, to kiss when either of you are stressed, to go on outings that usually end in more kissing on the ride back home. but, of course, you realize that his affection is twisted, and you cut off contact with him and the rest of your family. even then...it's really hard to move on, especially when he shows up to your master's graduation.

"I said I never want to see you again." You try to sound strong, but your voice shakes. He's crying too, as if he isn't the reason you guys can't have a normal relationship. More tears fall, more apologies are spoken, but you can't say no when he begs for those little kisses that always make you guys feel better. You can't say no when you finally give your body to your brother like a good little sister.

felix!

brother's best-friends trope. you grew up besides him and you've always had a little thing for him, but he hardly noticed. you guys age, and you've totally given up on your little crush. but when felix is invited to an overnight cabin with your family, it's hard to ignore that reignited flame in your stomach. ignoring him is probably your best plan, but felix is just too friendly to really understand that you don't want to talk to him. you decide you should show him exactly why you should stay away

Felix's eyes are wide, filled with uncertainty, fear, but he can't help the excitement that bubbles in his stomach when you rip your shirt off. "I- I don't think this is a good idea! Your family's upstairs and your brother will kill me." You can practically see his heart jumping from his chest. To calm him, you crawl on the bed to where he is and place a gentle, but firm kiss to his lips. He whines, shaking as he cups your face in his small hands. "And if you don't fuck me," you pull away to look into his eyes. "I'll kill you."

seungmin!

he's your boss, and you're his secretary. since you're pretty much forced to be with him at all times, you know how he handles his anger when the company isn't doing as well as he wants. It usually involves drinking and working overtime, but this particular night has him restless. since your a great worker, you stay overtime with him, helping on what you can and making sure his coffee is always filled. but when the lack of sleep starts to get to his head, he starts acting a little...weird.

Mr. Kim hasn't dismissed you yet. If anything, he beckons you closer with a finger. You obey, following his every instruction until you're bent over his desk, skirt lifted up with your panties to the side as his warm tongue licks up your pussy. "The cameras," you moan out. "We'll get caught. Mr. Kim, you'll get fired." But he doesn't care. He's so stressed, too tired that he needs something to keep him awake. You can't help but feel pity, so you lay pliant on the desk while he laps your cunt.

jeongin!

he's an idol helping out the trainees. he's super professional, a great dancer, and an amazing teacher. really supportive and gives helpful feedback. it's super dumb, but totally expected for a trainee to fall for their instructor, or in this case, an idol. you know better of course, his image matters a lot. you don't want to risk anything for him. but it's hard to not feel anything when he stays extra hours with you to get a routine down. both of you are tired, both of you are exhausted. neither of you are thinking clearly when jeongin grabs your hips as a means to help your posture, but it leads to something totally different

The practice room is filled with wet slapping and messy kisses. Jeongin eyes are hooded, a darkness covering him as he looks down at you. Your breasts bounce at the force of his thrusts and you grab them for support. "Jeongin. Innie, the sun's gonna come up. Your leader-" But he covers your mouth with his large palm. He's chasing his high, coxing an intense orgasm that he can't bother to care about your worries. "Just shut up and let me finish."

my fav's seungmins tbh (and maybe hannie :p)

[goldfades]

could you write some Caitlin hc?

𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒 ─ CC²²

─ warnings | fluff, mention of arguing/VERY SLIGHT ANGST, best friends to lovers, just a bunch of yap... sorry in advance <3

─ taglist | @xocherishxo @iienstein @yazmunson @euphternal @hello-nah817 @wanderlusturous @plushkhiii @ilovepaigebueckerss @ajcuteee @vi0lentb3rry @paigeszn @brynsreads @delicateray and here's a link to my taglist if anyone would like to join!!

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

i feel like caitlin just gives off childhood best friends to lovers + high school sweethearts, like you guys knew each your entire lives and were like super duper close

and then one day it kinda just like hit caitlin like SHE IS **IN LOVE** WITH YOU

she's definitely the first one to "catch feelings"

i use that term VERY loosely because both of you guys were idiots and didn't realize you'd loved each other the first time you met

but she's the first one to realize it

which i feel like would cause a slight rift between you two because up until that point, it was "platonic"

she just wouldn't know how to go about her feelings and it would just stress her out, so she just began to distance herself

and in the years you've known her SHE'S NEVER DONE THAT TO YOU, so obviously you notice

and you try and talk to her about it but she reassures you and tells you it's nothing, that she's just stressed about school

which you don't buy so you just keep bugging her about it, cause she's ur best friend ur not about to lose her!!

eventually you give up after realizing that maybe she just doesn't wanna be friends with you anymore, and after you didn't show up to her game, caitlin knew she FUCKED UP

so after the game, she goes to your house and tells you that she messed up

and you both go up to your room and talk about it, she's SO emotional and just stressed out but she pours everything out to you

and you're confused at first, caitlin likes YOU????

and when you hug her and tell her it's alright, that you liked her back, baby was taken aback cause she's like WHAT

she expected you to just be okay with it obviously but she never expected you to tell her you LIKED HER BACK????

it's just so cutesy rom-com-y and just... ADORABLE and sweet

RELATIONSHIP

queen of cuddles, oh my lord this woman is always on top of you

she doesn't really process her size sometimes cause she'll just lay on top of you and she forgets that she's literally 6ft with a bunch of muscles

you've almost died multiple times

she's super duper touchy all the 24/7 EXCEPT AT GAMES

pda is cute and all but not at games because she has to keep up an appearance and being overly touchy with your girlfriend at a game isn't exactly a great image

but she'll do it anywhere else!!!!!! but of course not too much cause again, the whole image thing

she loves taking pictures and videos to everything, her entire camera roll is just you and her atp

like vlogs GALORE to send to her family and stuff, because they adore you and her relationship!!!!

and obvs the team but they get rly sick and tired quicklu

"caitlin we get it u have an amazing healthy relationship" *attachment: 8 photos of you guys giving a thumbs down with frowns* "did we rly need 8 photos?" "yes!!!!!!!!"

and she vlogs everything, like every moment with you, she's got recorded

but those are usually very sacred to her, she doesn't show them to anyone and she hearts them so that she can look at them anytime she misses u :(

she loves showing you off on her instagram stories!!! but she gives everyone crumbs, like your back with her jersey and a cutesy little heart and you two holding hands

she has posts of you guys from high school still on instagram but she doesn't really post you a lot just because she wants to be professional

but whenever she can, SHE DOESSSS (like that whole 1yr post but with u.......)

you're at every single one of her important games!!!!! since yall have been together for so long, you guys make time for each other (ofc), she'll fly you out, pay for your hotels and everything

you're her number one supporter and fan!!!! oh my gosh

because she can't respond to weird comments, YOU def can

especially the ones that are like "i can def beat her in a 1v1" and it's just some random man

"most mens players at college level couldn't even beat her, i guarantee a random guy on tiktok could🤗" "you're 5'7, think again 💀"

caitlin just laughs at the comments but you will never let anyone shit talk your girlfriend????

she finds your protectiveness so endearing like it makes her fall more in love w you (if that's even possible?"

rom-com nights are like the ideal date night - caitlin cooks the food and you pick the movie, you guys cuddling on the couch as you eat and watch the movie is like every free saturday/sunday for yall

caitlin hates being away from you, she just wishes you could be with her 24/7

if she's away from you, expect 10000+ messages from her and 10 minute snapchat vlogs of her just at the gym while she speaks into the speakers quietly as if she's being followed (shes just dramatic)

some of the vlogs are just her in the hotel room very bored, trying to think of something to talk to u about and ITS SO CUTE

"so uh... i heard that squirrels can't burp. isn't that weird and like.... kinda sad? imagine living your whole life without being able to burp, i think i would die. speaking of that, i tried making your mom's cupcakes the other day, but i accidentally used salt instead of sugar! and that's exactly why i stick to cooking, baking is too damn hard. oh shit, kate is calling me, i gotta go but uh i hope you're having a great day. i miss you like crazy and can't wait until we're together again. i love you!"

yeah she's a yapper

she loves when you do her hair because i feel like she's more of a outfit person

so she would like if you braided her hair or like curled it or something, it makes her feel good and like pretty

the one time she curled her hair without you, she burned her arm and she swore she'd never again🫠

↳ make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated !

↳ thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[spectrum-core]

1 14 23 + the black haired dude you draw a lot

Longass rant ahead because I Am So Normal About This Dude He's Like A Brother To Me

Short answer: he's very hot

Long answer: honestly as it always happens i joked so hard about this guy that without realizing he had become my favorite character from ruina. There's also that I just, tend to resonate a lot w characters who are just Some Guy and he happens to have the feeling of being a secondary character even in the singular cutscene where he shows up (before dying a death that's so pointless and absurd it almost comes off as comical, pour one for my mans 😔✊), there's also the fact that he has this cold and emotionless and professional exterior but his dialogue lines, specially during gameplay segments (as opposed to in cutscenes), show that he actually has a very emotional/caring inner self and he's just suppressing that side of him, either because he feels like he needs to act cold and professional to be taken seriously or just to cope with the nature of the universe he lives in and his job and it's like Yeah Maybe That Hits A Bit Too Close Home, to add to it ruina has this feature akin to like a bestiary (?) of sorts where you can read little blurbs of text implied to have been something each defeated enemy character said/thought at some point of their lives, and ofc Mr. Irrelevant McBackgroundCharacter here has a worldbuilding exposition (as do most of my favorite characters in the game let's be real 😔) but it has this specific cynical tone of him trying to rationalize why things are the way they are while still questioning them/thinking it doesn't fully make sense and it's like you go little guy! keep pondering the concepts of power and freedom and if they're even possible to achieve in your universe without losing your sense of self and therefore not gaining them because the person who achieved them is no longer yourself!

Conclusion this guy was probably engineered in a lab to be appealing to me in particular and I love him so much and he makes me feel way too many things for a guy with like 10 dialogue lines and a worldbuilding exposition.

Some sort of like... industrial/military-esque... goth style? Some sort of mostly practical but still stylish kinda thing, loose fabric that allows for movement, mostly grey, black and cold desaturated tones, straight cuts, lots of pockets when needing to carry lots of stuff (not too many bags as the straps can limit mobility if you carry too many of them + having a bag hanging around gets annoying at times), materials made to last long (and probably some patched up/manually repaired stuff just for that sweet extra durability), probably also with some emphasis on layered clothes as to be prepared for a varied weather (<- delusional, proyecting) and so on, while still keeping it stylish and wearing accesories if/when possible (but not too many of them, after the main focus would be practicality i think), and belts, lots of belts, stereotypical jrpg protagonist levels of belts here, also this guy 100% wears eyeliner to me, just look at his sprite.

idk I don't know about fashion terms so i just described the vibe of how I imagine he usually dresses like.

Out of official artwork, this one, 100%, it gives me the vibe of a guy trying too hard to look edgy and badass and reverting to be absolutely silly without realizing, absolute cringefail loser behavior (affectionate)

Out of fanart... there's like 3 people who make fanart of him me included so I may as well focus on my stuff, it's these 3: first one bc while I still wasn't used to his dessign it manages to convey such a Vibe (him showing the emotional/caring side I mentioned in 1), I don't feel like he's the kind of guy to smile a lot, if ever, so I feel like when he actually smiles it's something extra special for the people around him and I think I managed to convey that in the picture, the second one because the stylization goes hard + I managed to get juuuuust the right amount of spikiness on his hair (very important) and also I like how I made his eyes in there, and third is just what I feel has been my best take on his dessign in general, specially facial features, that is how I Imagine He Looks Like.

[keanureevesisbae]

Episode 2: The Fibonacci Spiral

Sergeant Hank Voight x Abigail Barlowe (asian ofc)

Summary: A serial killer is terrorizing Chicago and one math class back in the past, causes Abigail to help to solve the case

Warnings: mentions of serial killers and death (no cause of death is mentioned), canon typical violence.

Wordcount: 2.8k

Masterlist // fearless masterlist // season 1 masterlist

The city of Chicago has a serial killer on the loose. It is keeping everyone on edge. It’s been five days and five different households have been the victim of this serial killer. The media already made up a name for the perpetrator and called him ‘The Night Killer’, which only added more unnecessary fuel to the already ongoing fire. 

I was hoping I wouldn’t the patrolling officer to discover the household that was terrorized, but unfortunately I was. While Forensics are already in the house, I can now see Intelligence pulling up at the scene. Johnston has been eerily silent and to be fair, it’s sickening to the stomach. I still am trying to comprehend what I just saw.

When I see detective Olinsky and sergeant Voight make their way over to me, I kinda have this wave of disappointment wash over me. I wish I would be in Intelligence right now. It’s been three weeks since I helped them out and the rush and the satisfaction I felt there, I have yet to find here at Patrol. 

‘It’s the same?’ Voight asks as he approaches us. 

‘It is,’ Johnston confirms. 

‘It ain’t pretty,’ I add to it.

Voight looks over at me. ‘Kids?’

‘Yeah, two. A ten year old boy and a four year old girl.’ It sickens me to even say it out loud. I saw the bodies and it’s so devastating. It brings back memories and not the good kind. 

Voight must notice I’m taking this a bit more personal than other cases, because he places his hand on my upper arm for a quick second, giving it a squeeze, before he says: ‘We’ve got this from here.’

I try to maintain a professional facade, by nodding at the sergeant, but uneasiness that comes with cases like this must be written all over my face. 

‘Everything alright?’ Johnston asks. ‘With…’ Knowing he’s on dangerous territory here, he says: ‘…you know?’

Pretending I’m okay is always better then baring out my soul now. So I say: ‘I’m fine. Let’s just go, okay? See what we can do.’

He nods, respecting my decision not to talk about it. ‘Okay, little one. Let’s go.’

✧*̥˚🔎🔎🔎 *̥˚✧

Frederick and Ruth Callahan were the parents of Archie and Rebecca Callahan. It must’ve been terrible to witness, because autopsy shows the kids died before their parents, meaning they have witnessed their kids suffer. 

And that really makes me wanna throw up. 

‘Hi sergeant,’ I say, as Johnston and I walk into the station again.

‘Sergeant Platt, what can we do to help?’ Johnston asks, placing his elbow on the counter.

It’s clear she has a lot on her plate now, but still finds time to place two boxes filled files in front of us. ‘This needs to go upstairs.’

‘What is it?’ 

‘Case files,’ she says. ‘The other districts made copies and brought them over. Intelligence needs them.’

‘We’ll take them straight away,’ Johnston says, handing me one box, before grabbing the other one.

‘I’ll buzz you up.’

You know shit is serious when Platt buzzes you up without a snarky comment. Together with Johnston, we walk upstairs, to see the entire Intelligence team sharing their own insights with the team. We place the boxes on a semi empty desk and I hear things being shared. The victims are chosen ad random. No link between them whatsoever.

And then my eyes land on the board.

Five crime scenes, but the way they are located… With a little bit of fantasy, it can appear like a spiral. Not just any spiral, a different and unusual one. I’m opening every drawer in my memory, because this looks so familiar.

I know what this is.

‘Can I use this computer?’ I ask, pointing at the empty desk of Atwater.

Voight nods. 

I slide behind it and start searching online. I’ve seen this before, but where and when? 

After googling the most brief term on the planet (spiral math), I finally manage to find that something I was looking for. With a little bit of magic, I transfer it to photoshop and start to play a little bit with the software, knowing damn well I am no where near a professional, but my mediocre—okay, just plain awful basic skills—are enough to create what I want.

‘Patrol girlie, what you doing?’ Atwater asks me as he is approaching me—therefore his own desk—but I shush him.

After a bit of heinous photoshopping, I print it all out and place the pictures I created on the board. ‘I think I’ve got it. I think it has something to do with Fibonacci.’

‘Fibo what?’ Ruzek asks.

‘Fibonacci,’ I repeat, as if that explains it all. ‘I don’t remember much of the math college classes I took, but there was this one class that spoke about spirals and then specifically logarithmic spirals with a certain growth factor: the golden ratio. You have different types, but what we’re now looking at is Fibonacci. A logarithmic spiral, just constructed a bit different. So, Wikipedia told me that this specific spiral starts with a rectangle partitioned into two squares. In each step, the square length of the rectangle’s longest side is added to it. All in all: infinity.’

‘Yeah?’ Voight asks. ‘So?’

‘Look at the spiral over the map of Chicago. The spiral goes over each crime scene. Meaning if this is right, we might know where he is going to attack next. We basically have these these houses,’ I explain, going over the line that remains untouched when it comes to the crime scenes, ‘that could be targeted next.’

‘It makes sense,’ Jay says. ‘The victims had nothing in common and we’ve concluded many times now they are picked ad random. This might be random to the rest of the world, but for the killer, who has the same M.O. every single time, it makes perfect sense.’

‘What’s your guess for the next target?’ Antonio asks me.

‘Not too sure,’ I continue. ‘I haven’t checked each residence on the line yet, however… I suspect it has something to do with the Fibonacci sequence.’

‘And what is that?’ Atwater asks.

‘It’s 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, et cetera.’ Realizing that does not explain it at all, I add: ‘Basically it’s: zero plus one equals one. One plus one equals two. One plus two equals three. Two plus three equals five, and so on and so on. Some number in the Fibonacci sequence, probably far along the line, will give us something. I’ve got a website where you can put in a number and you’ll find out if it’s in the Fibonacci sequence or not.’

I’m nearly out of breath by the time I’m finished with my explanation. 

‘You heard the lady,’ Voight says, ‘come back with something useful. Johnston, you busy?’

‘No sir,’ my partner says. 

‘Stay and help out. We can use all the hands we have.’

He nods. ‘Sure thing, sarge.’

Voight looks over at me and nods. ‘Good work, officer Barlowe,’ he says.

Before I can gleam with pride, Jay asks: ‘Okay nerd, how are we gonna do this?’

✧*̥˚🔎🔎🔎 *̥˚✧

There were two houses whose house numbers matched one in the Fibonacci sequence. One house had three students living in it, the other had a couple. 

To not stir anyone and create a media frenzy on top of the already fabricated mess. We have circled both houses with tons of plain clothed officers. Out of Intelligence, Atwater, Ruzek, Halstead and Olinsky have covered the bachelor pad of the students as that place has more exits to cover. Together with sergeant Voight and Johnston, I cover the other house. There is no wiring in the place. The inhabitants of the houses don’t even know we’ve circled their places. That we have eyes on the place, on every entrance.

As we’re waiting, my mind drifts off to this morning’s crime scene. Poor Rebecca Callahan. It’s sad for the entire family, truly, however seeing little Rebecca in her pajamas, her teddy bear still in her hands makes me wanna hurl. To curl myself up in a ball and scream.

‘Barlowe, head in the game?’ sergeant Voight asks, dragging me from my thoughts.

‘I have,’ I say, though that is a tremendous lie. I had my head everywhere but the game. Realizing he’ll poke right through my lie, I turn to the side and add: ‘I will.’

His eyes meet mine and he nods, but it appears he doesn’t believe me. 

‘Sir, I will have my head in the game from now on,’ I say. ‘I promise.’

‘Then don’t doze off.’

From the corner of my eyes, I see Johnston hiding his amusement. Well, he can stick that ‘Abigail, he has taken a liking of you’-comment up his ass, because the sergeant is totally telling me off.

‘I won’t,’ I say. ‘On top of my game.’

Time goes by so slowly. It’s ten at night and we’ve been here since eight. For me it feels like eternity. I have never been good at waiting. I failed many of my stake outs on the first try, solely because I am impatient, easily distracted when staring into nothing, waiting for something. 

‘What if I got it wrong?’ I ask. ‘What if this isn’t right?’

‘You’ve given us the most useful information about this case,’ Voight says. ‘If you got it wrong, at least you tried.’

‘Sarge, you ever encountered someone like this?’ Johnston asks. ‘A serial killer?’

‘Serial killers?’ Voight says. ‘Yes. Someone like this. No, never.’

‘We once chased a guy down the streets,’ I say. ‘Think it was within my first year. He shot my first partner and I just went on a rampage, desperate to find him. But he was quick and I lost him. Later, I accidentally caught him with Johnston, my newly assigned partner. Went for a drug bust, ended up finding him and the lives he took. It was the first crime Johnston and I semi solved together.’

Voight nods. ‘It never gets easier,’ he notes, ‘but eventually you’ll grow thick skin.’

Minutes go by, turning into an hour. ‘Got eyes on someone,’ Voight says. 

We all sit straighter and we see a man. His back is straight as a ruler and he’s so pale, he nearly lights up in the darkness of the night. He has a little suitcase in his hand and with a certain expertise and confidence, he manages to open the window of the basement.

He did that a little too easy in my opinion.

‘We already got him for breaking and entering,’ I note. ‘We’re going in?’

‘Let’s wait one minute, but be ready.’

This is by far the slowest minute of my damn life. He finally gives us the go ahead and Johnston and I make our way out of the vehicle. Because I’m the tiniest, I am the only one who can fit through the window the our man got through. If I open the one next to it, Johnston and the sergeant can come with me. 

After I cleared the basement from outside and inside, I squeeze myself through the opening and open the window. I guide them inside and we make our way through the house. Johnston and I thoroughly checking every room. But then I hear a deafening scream coming from the master bedroom.

I avert my eyes to Voight, who nods at both me and Johnston. My broad partner kicks in the door, screaming: ‘Chicago PD, hands in the air!’

The man in the bed is severely bleeding, however I do think I can still see him breathing. The killer drags the woman by her hair and pulls her up. Her screams are painful and it hurts to see her so terrified.

‘Let her go,’ Voight says.

I swallow hard, realizing this man has a plan. And letting her go, isn’t going to happen. We don’t have a clear shot already, but if we get him to focus on one person, he might turn. He might lower his guard and be less focused.

It’s always worth a try.

‘Hey,’ I say, putting my gun away. ‘Look, I am not going to shoot you, okay? Just… Let’s have a chat.’

It appears he is surprised by that fact. ‘About?’

Okay, he is not appalled by the idea, which is good.

‘The murders you committed,’ I say. ‘No matter what the papers or these guys say, I am absolutely fascinated by the precision.’

He frowns, however his ego is boosted a little, he can’t hide that.

‘I mean, it took us quite some time, but we figured it out. No wait, I figured it out,’ I say. ‘Fibonacci, right?’

He nods. ‘Yes, Fibonacci.’ He takes me in from top to bottom. ‘What’s your name?’

‘I’m officer Abigail Barlowe, but you can call me Abigail. What’s yours?’

‘Wesley.’

Good, I know his name. That’s one step. Besides, it’s better than The Night Killer, which I’m sure is only adding to his ego. ‘I am not an expert on it, but I feel like you are,’ I continue on. 

As I’m talking to him, as I’m keep giving him compliments, I can tell he’s slacking and he isn’t quite aware of me closing in on him and giving the two cops I’m with more space.

‘Can you tell me about it?’ I ask. 

He shakes his head. ‘No,’ he says, ‘because you’re not interested. You’re trying to get me to confess.’

‘I don’t really need your confession. We got you for breaking and entering already and you’re holding a woman at gunpoint,’ I dryly note. ‘If you talk, we can help you.’

The switch of the personality of this man is frightening. ‘I’m a dead man already,’ he says and he wants to point his gun at me, but before he can do that, a loud shot is cleared, red blood splatters fly through the air and the woman nearly launches herself in my arms. ‘It’s okay,’ I say, ‘you’re safe.’

Chicago is safe from the Night Killer. 

✧*̥˚🔎🔎🔎 *̥˚✧

I have gotten quite good over the years, to push my personal business aside and not let it interfere with my work. Sure, sometimes cases remind me of my own past, but what I’m feeling now different.

After the Night Killer—a.k.a. Wesley Henderson—is dead by a shot cleared from sergeant Voight’s gun, I felt a mix of relief and jealousy wash over me. Chicago was no longer terrorized by this man, which is good news. The closure for everyone who deserves it, is also good news.

But I feel so jealous.

I look into Voight’s office and I decide to make my way over. I knock on the door. ‘Knock knock,’ I say. ‘Can I come in?’

He looks up from his work, before he nods and holds out his hand, non verbally telling me I could take a seat. ‘What’s up?’ he asks.

‘I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘I kinda went off script back there.’

Voight doesn’t seem like he is appreciative of my apology. ‘You saved their lives by stalling. You did well. I don’t need an apology for that.’

I lean back in the seat. ‘Thank you.’

He sits up straighter, placing his underarms on the desk. ‘You know,’ he says, ‘you’ve shown me time and time again you’re a great cop. The CPD should be grateful you’re one of them.’

I feel my face heating up, but thanks to my soft brown skin it doesn’t show. ‘Thank you, sir. That truly means a lot.’

‘I’ve heard you have aspirations of joining Intelligence.’

I bet that was Johnston. Don’t know if I’m going to be thankful for him blabber mouthing or not. ‘I have indeed expressed those wishes,’ I carefully say. 

‘Why do you think you’d fit in Intelligence?’

I realize this is my shot and I do not want to fuck it up. But then I realize I don’t know what to say. ‘Well,’ I say, ‘I love to protect and to serve, but I personally feel like patrolling isn’t what I want to do all my life, especially when I am of the belief I have a lot more to offer.’

Sergeant Voight nods. ‘Well, I share that belief,’ he says, ‘because you’ve got a lot to offer. So, that’s why I want to make an offer. If you want, you can join Intelligence.’

Thank you, Tyrell Johnston for running off your mouth. ‘Excuse me?’ I ask. ‘You want me to join intelligence?’

‘The spot is yours if you want.’

That is probably the greatest news I’ve heard today. I let out a laugh of unbelief. ‘I’ll that it!’

He nods, when something that resembles a smirk appears on his face. ‘Then I will see you tomorrow, officer Barlowe.’

‘See you tomorrow, sergeant. I will not let you down and keep my head in the game.’

‘Atta girl,’ he says, now officially smirking. ‘Now go home and rest. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.’

✧*̥˚🔎🔎🔎 *̥˚✧

Chicago PD taglist: @acdassenza // @wanniiieeee

[sassyhobbits]

....tinder au??🥺 not to rush u ofc! but i’m having a rough time in school right now and an update would really make my week better🤍

you sent this ask at just the right time! i just finished it up! sorry for the lack of writing. school is also giving me a rough time rn as well! but!!! we will persevere!!!

also im a little buzzed so i hope this is coherent

pt 1 // pt 2 // pt 3

~~~

Rowan didn’t really enjoy dressing up, could go his entire life without attending another large, social gathering. And yet… he had let Aelin convince him to take her to a wedding.

He had forced himself into his nicest suit because Aelin told him to. He sensed that this was something he didn’t want to argue with her about, so he did it with minimal complaint. He figured that it wouldn’t be that bad in the grand scheme of things, and the open bar was certainly a perk.

Not to mention, Aedion would be there well. In fact, Rowan was on his way to his coworkers apartment where he would meet up with the rest of them before heading to the wedding. Apparently, Aedion got roped in as well. His and Aelin’s family were old friends with the groom’s family.

Rowan checked his watch as he climbed the stairs, ensuring he wasn’t late lest he give Aelin a reason to be cross with him. It seemed he was making good time.

Rowan knocked politely, the door swinging open quickly and revealing a surprisingly well-dressed Aedion, who was nursing a bottle of beer.

“Hey man,” he said, clasping forearms with Rowan. “How’re you doing? You want a beer?”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

Rowan stepped into the apartment, lingering in the living room as Aedion slipped into the kitchen. The room was decorated simply, but it was clean. His eyes caught on a few old photographs, picturing what must have been a young Aedion and Aelin together, smiling smiles too large for their little faces.

Aedion reappeared, handing him the beer.

“I can’t believe Aelin conned you into this,” Aedion commented, leaning against the back of the couch. “But, I gotta say, I’m glad you’re coming.”

“Is the company there gonna be that bad?”

“Yes. But I also know Aelin’s doing this to piss off her ex. And I was never a big fan of him. I think it’s going to be funny.” Aedion finished off his beer, glancing at the clock mounted on the wall with a sigh. “Those girls are gonna make us late. Lys! Are you nearly done?”

“You can’t rush perfection!” Lysandra’s voice called from upstairs.  

Aedion shook his head fondly with a playful chuckle, clearly used to waiting on the girls.

They chatted casually until Rowan was finished with his beer. It was then that a door opened from upstairs, followed by feminine laughter and the clicking of heels.

Lysandra descended first, looking perfectly elegant in an emerald slip dress that brought out the green in her eyes. She tossed her raven hair over her shoulder as she caught Aedion’s eye, sending him a bright and loving smile.

Rowan barely heard the two of them complimenting one another, all thoughts flying from his head at the sight of the woman walking down the stairs.

Aelin looked stunning, though Rowan knew stunning wasn’t really strong enough of a word to describe her in this instance.

She wore a golden silk dress that hit just above the knee. The conservativeness of the length was offset by the way it hugged each and every curve, as if it had been sewn on to her body specifically. Thin straps held it over her shoulders, leaving her toned arms bare. Aelin’s hair had been straightened and left hanging freely in a gleaming sheet down her back. It was then that Rowan realized how rarely he got to see her with her hair down. When Aelin was working or working out, it was always tossed up in a bun or a ponytail. It suited her. She wore a necklace, and it wasn’t until she got closer that Rowan was able to see that the pendant was a golden sword. It was strangely fitting.

She was slipping something into her clutch, barely even noticing Rowan until she nearly walked through him. Her eyes snapped up, the stunning turquoise color brought out by her eyeshadow look. Her gaze traveled from his feet to the top of his head, assessing and nothing more.

“You clean up better than I expected,” Aelin said simply.

Rowan wished he had something witty up his sleeve, but seeing Aelin in that dress had left his mind in shambles. He was only able to grind out a curt, “Thanks.”

She held his gaze for a moment longer, leaving Rowan to wonder what was going through her head. Before he had much more time to ponder it, she swept away, grabbing a jacket by the door.

“So, is everyone ready?” she asked.

“In case you didn’t notice,” Aedion drawled. “We were all waiting for you two.”

Aelin ignored the tiny quip, smoothing down the sides of her dress. “Well then, let's get going. We have a wedding to attend.”

…

The ride to the venue was uneventful. Aelin sat in the back besides Rowan while Aedion drove them all. The car was filled with friendly chatter back and forth, pop music droning on in the background.

Aelin tried to stop herself from sending sly glances towards Rowan. He looked good tonight. Really good. Rowan was hot on a day to day basis, something that not even his drab PT uniform could hide. But tonight, all cleaned up and dressed in something nice, Rowan was unfairly handsome.

Her only solace was knowing that he was checking her out too. Aelin knew she looked amazing tonight. Part of it was for herself, and she wasn’t ashamed to admit that part of it was to gain Rowan’s attention. She had been successful in that endeavor.

Aelin wasn’t stupid. She knew Rowan found her attractive just as Rowan knew she found him attractive. They had been ready to go out and probably bang until they realized that they were coworkers. Aelin had agreed to keep it professional, but she would be lying if she said that she didn’t want something more with him.

Soon enough, Aedion was parking the car outside the venue. They filed out, Aelin smoothing and straightening her dress, a sort of heaviness in her gut as she looked towards where the ceremony would be held. Although she was excited to see Dorian, and happy that he had found love, she was less than excited about seeing Chaol again.

The scent of pine and snow surrounded her just as Rowan came up to her side.

“You ready?” Aelin asked him, to which he gave a stiff nod. “Good. Don’t embarrass me.”

Rowan scowled, but held out his arm for her regardless. Aelin took it, stepping close to his side, trying to ignore how nice the warmth of his body felt against her own.

It was time to get this over with.

…

The ceremony was simple yet beautiful. Any idiot could see how in love Dorian and Sorscha were with one another. Aelin had only met the bride on a few occasions, but she liked her. Sorscha looked stunning in a flowy gown that made her brown skin glow.

Aelin pointedly ignored Chaol even though he stood right by Dorian the entire time. Instead, she looked at the maid of honor, Yrene, who her ex was now dating. Through talking to Dorian, Aelin had learned that Chaol and Yrene had met through Sorscha. Apparently, the two women worked at the same hospital and were close friends.

Yrene was a beautiful woman with kind eyes. Aelin knew in her gut that she would like her once they got to talking. Perhaps they would find time to chat through the night.

The ceremony ended with a sweet kiss and the happy couple going off to take some photographs. For the guests, it was time to cocktail.

Rowan, at least, was playing the part of a boyfriend well. Without complaint, surprisingly. He held her hand as they went towards where cocktail hour was being held, a steady presence. He even chatted with her, asking her questions about how she knew Dorian. When she whispered snide comments about other guests, he even laughed a few times. It was… nice, she supposed. She was having a good time with him.

Lysandra and Aedion were swept up by Dorian’s parents, leaving Aelin and Rowan by themselves.

The more they drank, the more comfortable they became. It was easier to laugh, easier to forget why they had put distance between them to begin with. They had been pretty good at avoiding conversation with others to begin with, but Aelin knew it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths with someone.

“So what do we say if someone asks how we met?” Rowan asked as they grabbed another drink from the bar.

“We tell them the truth,” Aelin deadpanned. “Sexting on tinder.”

Rowan choked on his whiskey. “We cannot say that.”

“Fine. We can be boring and say we met at work.”

Rowan laughed, and Aelin realized how much she loved the sound. She liked how it softened his normally stony face, made him appear younger, lighter. She could get used to seeing him like this.

They turned from the bar, taking a few steps into the crowd, only to come face to face with the reason Aelin had dragged Rowan along to begin with.

“Aelin,” Chaol Westfall greeted, offering a shaking and awkward smile. “Hi.”

The smile that had been painted on Aelin’s face faltered slightly. She had been enjoying her time with Rowan so much she had forgotten why she had wanted him by her side to begin with.

“Chaol,” Aelin said, smiling tightly. “It’s good to see you again.”

Yrene was on his arm, looking stunning in a deep purple dress, curly hair loose and voluminous. Her honey eyes were bright and kind as she smiled at Aelin.

“You too,” Chaol said, before motioning towards the woman beside him. “This is Yrene. My girlfriend.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Yrene greeted, reaching out and shaking her hand. “I love your dress.”

“Oh, thank you! I’ve been looking at your shoes all night.” Aelin put a hand on Rowan’s shoulder, pressing herself to his side. “This is Rowan.”

Aelin watched carefully as they all shook hands and greeted one another, carefully studying facial expressions and body language. She had wondered if this would be awkward and tense but… it was normal.

Aelin and Chaol had ended on terrible terms, treating one another like actual shit. She remembered the insults thrown, the glares when they happened to be in the same room. But maybe… maybe they had gotten better. Maybe some time and distance had eased away the worst of the anger and toxicity. She didn’t look at Chaol and feel bad anymore she felt… nothing.

But she could tell that Chaol had Yrene and he cared very much about her.

And Aelin had…

Well, she didn’t really have anyone but…

She looked to Rowan, and for once didn’t try to avoid the longing that swelled in her chest. She wished she had him.

…

Aelin sat down at her table, sipping at a glass of champagne and watching the people on the dancefloor sway slowly to the soft music playing.

The rest of the evening had gone by smoothly. Aelin enjoyed the time she spent with her friends, getting to see Dorian again even though she couldn’t steal much of his time. All and all, it had been fun.

The night was winding down, people filtering out slowly, but there were still those who lingered for a few more dances. Dorian danced with his new wife, both looking at one another with so much love Aelin could feel it from where she sat. Lysandra smiled and laughed and Aedion twirled her around. Chaol held Yrene to his chest as they swayed slowly, lost in their own world.

Aelin sighed and rested her chin on her palm, watching them all move.

There was the sound of footfalls coming her way, stealing her attention from the dance floor. She looked up and found Rowan standing before her, looking to where her gaze was just focused but glancing back at her with a raised brow.

“Do you want to dance?”

Aelin blinked in surprise, sure she had heard him incorrectly. Rowan didn’t seem like the type of man who enjoyed dancing but… the offer hung there.

“You don’t have to,” Aelin said softly. “You did your part.”

“I can tell you want to dance. So, let’s dance. It’s almost time to go anyway.”

Aelin hesitated a beat, studying Rowan’s expression carefully. She didn’t want him to do anything he was uncomfortable with, yet his face showed nothing but sincerity. Rowan held out a hand towards her, brow raised as if to say Well? Are you coming?

A hesitant smile found its way onto Aelin’s face, but she accepted his hand, letting him guide her to her feet. Rowan led her to the center of the dance floor, placing a polite hand on her hip, the other clutching her own. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Aelin could have sworn time stopped. Maybe she had imagined it, but she was almost sure she saw a flash of the same longing she felt in his eyes.

They began to sway slowly to the music. It was a little awkward at first, but as time passed and the notes rang out, the tension lessened. They moved closer and closer to one another, until to a stranger they might have actually appeared to be a regular couple. It felt more natural than Aelin expected it to.

As the songs played, they kept sending one another shy smiles. Aelin wasn’t sure at what point she rested her head against Rowan’s chest as they danced, but she never wanted that moment to end.

It was a shame that the reception was inching to a close, that the night of being close to Rowan would end. It was a shame that, come the morning, they would go back to being strangers once more.

But, for tonight, Aelin was content to pretend.

[balenciagastones]

hi im kinda new to this can you pls explain to me why everybody hates lauryn? all i know is she wants kyle to be a dad and he isn't

here we go! putting this under the cut so i don’t flood people’s dash who don’t care <3

okay so bit of backstory first cos im gonna try and do this in chronological order, she is chloe goodman’s sister and she used to go out with marcus rashford’s brother, apart from that she was pretty much a nobody. i also dk how much you know about kyle but basically he’s been with annie for agessss and they have 3 sons together. at the start of 2020 it came out that lauryn was pregnant with a mystery england footballer’s baby and it was kept a secret who it was for ages and just said that they were in a whirlwind romance and the baby was a miracle because she has endometriosis and pos meaning she would struggle to conceive naturally. it was outed cos of pap photos that have been said were staged by her, pretty much the whole of this has been staged by her tbh but it was later announced that the baby daddy was kyle walker and all hell broke loose tbh.

all throughout her pregnancy and a bit after the baby was born she wouldn’t reveal the gender but constantly baited it and hyped it up and drew a lot of attention to the baby’s gender (a little bit of backstory to this is that annie obviously has 3 boys as we said before but she always always wanted a girl and has always been v public with that fact, she also had a miscarriage which wasn’t talked about until after the baby was born but hindsight makes this whole gender situation worse but back to the story). her sister was also pregnant at the same time as her and was public saying she was having a girl so lauryn used to post stories with girls’ baby clothes and pink things in basically to just bait she was having a girl when she knew all along it was a boy, there’s literally no reason for this apart from her wanting to spite annie and imply that she was having a girl baby with the man she loved to hurt her for no reason.

cut forward to when the baby is born and she starts to promote these bracelets which have different ones for different situations, so she has one for anxiety, one for sleep, one for fertility (you can see where this is going) and there’s a few points with these scam bracelets. first off she came out and said she was wearing one at the time she slept with kyle so this baby perhaps wasn’t so much an accident on her part as she was manifesting fertility and that she’d become pregnant basically, take from that what you will but it was clearly her intention to fall pregnant with his baby when she knew he was with another woman long term and had 3 little boys with her. and the second part to it is just what an absolute scam those bracelets are, they’re not cheap and they target vulnerable groups of people and profit off their struggles which is obviously so immoral and disgusting when a fuckin bead bracelet clearly can’t make you fertile or make you sleep better or any of this shit, it’s taking advantage of people in desperate need and taking money from vulnerable people, it’s awful.

so now the baby is born and she’s said it’s a boy but hasn’t announced the name and allegedly didn’t pick the name until he was 4 months old or something, but she decides that they need a name to call him so decide to say his name is junior. now you can immediately see the issue with this, she’s been banging on for the whole of her pregnancy that she’s a single mother and he’s not involved blah blah blah then calls him junior, which ofc people asked if the name was kyle junior and she as much as said it was and started referring to him as junior until she posted a video of the baby holding a necklace that said KW. obviously calling your baby junior implies that they have the dad’s name and are the jr version of the dad so when she posted the KW necklace alongside a caption that said ‘for those asking why it doesn’t say JW, KW are his true initials’ ofc everybody assumed his name was kyle walker junior, and she let this go on for 6 MONTHS. she wore this necklace that says KW everywhere it’s lit in all of her instagram photos, it literally came across as a trophy just shouting that she got knocked up by kyle walker and just using it as a constant reminder to anyone and everyone that her baby was half famous footballer kyle walkers regardless of whether he was involved or not, baring in mind in the same breath she’s continuing to go on about how she’s a single mother and doing it all on her own. her saying she’s doing it all on her own is a load of shit too because her family helps her constantly and she always has someone looking after him with her and she lives in a big fancy house so she’s putting across she’s struggling and a single mother out on her own but that’s not the truth.

she also kept giving questionable parenting advice out on her story and endorsing products and methods that weren’t the most effective and weren’t recommended, even a blanket method that im sure was said to be harmful and she’s promoted many products that she shouldn’t have just in the name of money and fame and clout, she isn’t qualified to be giving out parenting advice to the scale she is and i understand she’s gotten experience but she talks like she’s a professional and holds q&as giving advice she’s not qualified to give and considering she promotes half dodgy products, it’s not the best situation. two more random things before we’re caught up to what’s happened today, she put the baby in a city jersey then the next week put him in a liverpool jersey just to spite kyle LMAO and they all went on holiday to dubai and im pretty sure paparazzi isnt allowed in dubai that’s why all the celebs go there but she was papped there so she must’ve set that up too lmaoooooo. but now we’re at today.

basically it started by kyle posting a picture of his own personal football boots that he played in for the final match of the season im sure, and he had printed on the names and dates of birth of all 3 kids he had with annie, and as you can quite imagine, lauryn wasn’t very happy with this. so she went straight on her stories preaching how horrific it was that he didn’t include kairo’s name on his boots and he’s done nothing but he cute and innocent and kyle was ‘bullying’ his own son which is obvs the wrong word to use but she’s daft and has been throwing around the word bullying, and talking about how she won’t let their son be left out, baring in mind she constantly says how she’s a single mother and prides herself on that she doesn’t have him involved and that he’s a horrible person etc etc. so all of her little minions who love her started replying to her story saying he was disgusting blah blah blah and decided as a collective with her encouragement to spam his page with kairo’s name and demand justice for kairo or something so after he got a few comments he turned the comments off from the post about the boots so they went to his first post before the boots which was a memorial post for the victims of the manchester arena attack. fully grown women commenting on a memorial post for such a tragic event demanding to know where kairos name was or spamming his name letter by letter, first off it’s just batshit crazy but second off how disrespectful?? from lauryn as well to encourage it and think of nobody but herself and want the attention because realistically it wasn’t gonna achieve anything but slightly irk him that he had to turn the comments off.

she’s also been encouraging people to email puma themselves and demand to know why they did it as if they had any input on what kyle had on his personal boots, puma probably had no idea about any of this and certainly didn’t do it on purpose to cause a storm so there’s no reason for them to be complaining to puma. she posted a list of what she wanted to happen including kyles post to be removed, the boots to be pulled (i don’t think she realises they were just personal boots for kyle and not a product for the general public to buy), a public apology to kairo and a public statement to be put out, none of which would solve the greater situation or help the situation that’s already been caused.

she posted saying kyle was bullying the baby and mentally abusing him which is disgusting to be throwing around when that’s not the case at all cos in reality kyles just trying to mend his relationships with annie and his family while keeping lauryn and the baby out of it like she keeps going on about, but then when it comes down to it she uses his surname, posts about it 24/7, wants his name on his boots, uses him for clout, walks around with a KW necklace on etc etc etc. most recently she’s created a petition to get pumas attention to do all of what i listed before and i think about 600 people have signed it so far.

i think that’s all although im sure anons will chip in if ive missed anything, that’s if anybody’s actually read this far �� so yes, more than you bargained for probably anon! story time with han! xx

[ihopethisendswell]

My Computer Is Terrible So I'm Stating My Story Ideas Here Part 9: This is gonna be very f-ing vague but it has Lore Keeper Sonia in it and that all that matters.......and my oc x Leon ship I guess.

Okay okay okay

Swsh Fantasy/Medieval/Royalty Au

You love it. I love it. Will I write about it? Eh. Will I gush about it? Absolutely.

So so so

Some random things that I'm thinking about.

I'm going full ramble here prepare yourself.

Lore. Keeper. Sonia. My. Beloved.

Let her have an active role dammit

For what idk but it'll be something!

Also King Leon cause duh

With Raihan as his number 1 knight. The only one who can at least match him in battle

Also his bff( along with Sonia)

Being a young king Leon had less time to interact with those he cares about

Like Hop

Also Prince Hop My Beloved

So like

The plot is very vague but like

The basic idea is that there's a threat of a dragon or something similar to the sort

And ofc King Leon and his best knight will go to the threat themselves since soldiers they sent has note returned so better go themselves to not loose anymore men

So as they prepare to leave Sonia comes along and is like " I'm coming with you I know about these Legends of the Land that might help you" and Leon is like " No it's do dangerous" and they fight about while Raihan is in the background like " oh damn" before Leon uses his status as a king and orders Sonia to not interfere which really blows a whole into their already stained friendship

It also causes Raihan to question if his relationship with Leon is that they're actually friends or it's just of a king and his knight ( only professional)

Leon in all of this is feeling very bad but Rose is like " you did what you had to do" and tries to encourage Leon about his abilities/ status/ relationships.

Rose is Leon's counselor/ Duke/ idfc but he's there

Change in perspective: it's hops turn

His whole thing is that when he was really young he used to be bff's with this girl( Naomi) but the problem is that no has seen her AND one day she just disappeared like that one guy in the meme so no one believes him when he says that she exist

So up until now he was taught to believe that he was imagining things and that this girl didn't really exist until he started having weird dreams about someone calling him to fulfill some prophecy of sword and shield or whatever and each time this person mentions Naomi, his childhood friend

And in his dreams it's said that they have to go to the place Leon and Raihan are going to fulfill the prophecy

So now Hop's like " well dang I guess I have to fulfill this prophecy but there's no way that Lee would let me go with him-" ( cause he overheard Lee's and Sonia's fight) " so who can I ask?"

Piers that's who!!!

Idk if he's gonna be a duke or part of a gang of thieves not how tf does hop know about him but he does and we're gonna role with it

THIS IS GETTING ODDLY SPECIFIC FIR SOMETHING THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE F-ING VAGUE

Also Marnie tags along too because of course she does

They somehow tag Bede along who was going to stop them but they forced him to come anyway

BACK TO LEON

A day before they leave Raihan is like " we should head to the market for extra supplies " and Leon's like " yeah sure" so they head to the market

While they're there Leon bumps into a stranger with black clock with neon blue highlights aka Alexis!!!!

And Alexis drops a few things most notable a compass of sort but before Leon can say anything Alexis just snatches it out of Leon's hands and walks off without a word

And Leon's like " rude" but honestly doesn't think of it

So the next day they're actually leaving for real and after a long while on the road Raihan thinks that some snuck on their carriage only to find out it was just Sonia because she's a bad bitch like that

And Leon obviously makes a fuss because she went against his orders but she's like " I know more about * insert place* more than the two of you combined!" ( Well not really, and Raihan is fairly knowledgeable about Legends and history and and stuff but I need a reason for Sonia to be there okay)

They fight for a bit before Raihan gets in between the two and is like " we're too far to go back now and she might be a big help so stop fighting" and they stop for the time being.

Que travel sequence with both parties having shenanigans

Leon and Sonia fighting

Hop and Bede fighting

Marnie honestly vibing

Piers being tired of everything and rethinking his life choices

Raihan honesty having to be the middle man before snapping himself and now all three of them are not on good terms ( oh you thought it was just gonna be Alexis x Leon angst? Ha! The games gave me both to much and to little content to work with. Suffer)

Another perspective change but it's Alexis this time!!!!!

In the game canon he had a relatively light scar on his right eye. Well now it's worse :)

In this Au he was cursed by a certain green haired man( Ghetsis) (I'm going to dread tagging this aren't I ), who was an evil warlock and king( or Alexis' Homeland and by force I must add)that Alexis defeated cause he was once a hero

Bascically he's cursed to have the appearance and abilities to a half-dragon

So for the most part he looks human with a few things akin to Zekrom minus the tail.

To be specific his arms and legs are both seemingly chard black, with slightly visible lightning marks. they glow blue when he's using magic/ his powers. His eyes ( well eye) is like Zekrom's

While that sounds cool, his new abilities give Alexis a lot of pain, as his body isn't suited for it

And because big that he can't really control his new powers so he's not only hurting himself but also those around him.

As much as I want to go the route of he runs away from his family and friends to look for a cure and protect them this guy Formerly had no clue how magic worked he just used it, so he had to ask those around him who did to help him

Which involves the dragon that everyone is looking for as it is said to sap energy of any kind, which would reverse his curse.

This dragon is called Eternatus

The problem is that this same dragon is known to to use it's energy to cause destruction around it and Alexis is like yeah no, and goes off to find another way with Elliot and N since both Cheren and Bianca have they're own duties and N knows about the curse being Ghetsis' son

The compass is magic and it's away for each of them to tell where the other is and use for communication

It's also used to detect magic!

So yeah this compass is very important

Along they're travels the twins have this very strange dream regarding Naomi but they notice that A) she's wearing a necklace that was once owned by their uncle before he moved away to start a family.

So they rightfully assume that this girl is their cousin

The second thing they notice is that Eternatus is literally right behind her and is causing her A LOT of pain.

Bascically she's begging them to come save her because she's gonna die if they don't

If your wondering why she didn't contact Hop it's because she assumed that Hop had forgotten about her so she thought it would be pointless. Not the spirits/ the wolves though!

So know the twins have no choice but to go find Eternatus and rescue Naomi because why wouldn't they she's in trouble and they're cousin !!!!

So they tell N the gist and make they're way to the kingdom that Leon rules and Alexis bumps into Leon yada yada yada you get it

And after that they leave for Eternatus.

I have a lot more ideas but this is getting waaaaay to long so I'm just gonna make a part 2/ part 10.

Seriously this is very fun to think about as I love the fantasy genre.

TDLR: This is awfully specific for something that's supposed to be very vague. Also Lore Keeper Sonia my Beloved ( I know I didn't talk about her much but just know I love her dearly)

If anyone have any ideas or just want to brainstorm with me, feel free to tell me!

[darkorderaf]

shake off your flesh pt. I

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done any fic writing but AEW has me feeling a way. This is the first part of a two-parter I’m doing. Part 2 will be up soon!

Pairing: Evil Uno x OFC (could probably be read as reader insert!!)

Rating: T...for now. :)

Warnings: None yet. :)

Word Count: 4,019

(I don’t own the gif, credit to kennyhoemega!)

It had been an accident. A product of pure frustration and lack of sleep. Between the heat and mishaps, injuries had become more prevalent over the weeks spent at Daily’s Place. She wasn’t even the head doctor, let alone a doctor in the first place, but she was an experienced EMT and that was enough for them. She had finally gotten a chance to sit down after a long day when it had happened.

Or, rather, they happened. Alex Reynolds and John Silver.

“Hey, doc.”

Any other day and she wouldn’t have minded their antics. Hell, she might have even welcomed them. This time however, she rubbed at the bridge of her nose and didn’t turn around. Her feet were sore, her arms were sore. Places she didn’t know she could be sore were just that. It didn’t feel right to complain. She didn’t get in the ring day after day. A drink sounded nice. Maybe if she closed her eyes and counted back from ten, they would go away. She opted to give it a shot.

“Hey, doooooc.”

“You know I’m not a doctor,” she said with a slight frown. “But yes, John? How can I help you?”

She could hear the two men snicker to themselves before they got it together, quietly slapping at one another. Alex spoke up.

“We need a…a signature! From everyone on the medical staff,” he said enthusiastically. “And that’s you. You’re on the medical staff and we just need you to sign it. Soooo, can you sign this?”

She dropped her head into her hands and hunched over in her seat. That was all? She fumbled for the pen in the front pocket of her lilac cardigan and swore as she dropped it. A soul deep sigh left her as she went to bend down and grab it, only for John Silver to meet her halfway. He took her hand in between his and gave her the pen. There was a wide smile on his face and even as agitated as she was, she couldn’t help but return it with a small one of her own.

The Dark Order were...strange at times, she thought, but they had never been malicious to her. In fact, they had been nothing but appreciative to her every time she checked them over. Even Anna Jay and the typically silent Ten. But what surprised her the most out of all of them had been Evil Uno. He took the time to talk with her, ask about her day, or what she thought of things. He had such a presence, a gravitas to him, that her eyes went to him as soon as he entered a room. Even as he did simple things such as wrap his wrists or straighten the paperwork in her office, even after she told him there was no need. The last time she had seen him, they had talked so long that it wasn’t until the Young Bucks collectively cleared their throats that she realized a couple of hours had passed. Uno had held her eyes as he left, much to the confusion of a freshly bruised Matt and Nick Jackson. The look in them had stayed with her well into the night and the cold shower she took in the morning.

It was foolish to think there was anything else to it. It was best to keep things professional as always. She was good at that. He was simply being polite, she told herself. Polite as a cult member could be. No, it wasn't fair to think of them in simple terms like that. Even with a mask and the painted darkness that surrounded them, she could tell he had kind eyes. They were such a stark contrast to what she had seen him do in the ring that it momentarily stunned her the first time she had seen him, chest and hands bloodied as she tended to him.

Alex Reynolds slapping a piece of paper and a container of Kool-Aid powder on her desk snapped her out of her thoughts. She clicked her pen with a sigh. Right. She was supposed to be doing something.

“Fine,” she said as she bent over and found the line that had a purple X next to it. The other signatures seemed strange, she could have sworn one line said Ronald McDonald and another Count Chocula, but she didn’t scrutinize it further. After she signed it, she slid it back over to them with a raised brow. Alex and John stared at each other in disbelief before bursting into loud cheers, high-fiving and chest-bumping one another. A hand went to one cocked hip before she spoke up again. “Is that all? Are you two even actually hurt or are you just jerking me around? It’s been a really long day, okay? Jesus, it’s almost midnight.”

She eyed the watch face on her wrist.

“Oh shit, Mr. Lee is gonna be so happy with us!” John said as he slapped Alex’s chest. “We fucking did it! We finally fucking got someone and it’s you! Oh, this is a good day! I knew my cereal being all oh’s meant something! I told you!”

Alex paused in disbelief.

“Seriously? Those were Cheeri--Oh fuck it, we got someone! Mr. Brodie is going to be fucking thrilled!”

Her brow furrowed as she rubbed at her eyes. She pulled the paper back over and looked at the paragraph. The paragraph that read ‘I will happily join a really cool group of people known as The Dark Order, no take backs’ over and over again. She looked at them. Blinked slowly.

“Does...does this mean that Count Chocula is a member of the Dark Order too? Wow, what a prospect.”

----

The hallways seemed eerily empty as they walked through Daily’s Place. She expected to run into Cutler or Britt, Swole even, but there was no one in sight. She could hear loud voices at the end of the hallway and as the trio came closer to the door, they boomed in her ears. The light at the end seemed to flicker each time Brodie Lee spoke. Reynolds and Silver went in first after they told her to wait outside. They wanted to do a grand reveal and she just wanted to go to sleep. Slowly, she slid down the wall and sat cross legged.

“Mr. Lee! Mr. Lee! We got someone! We really did this time!”

“Is it the Young Bucks?”

“Um, no sir, it’s not.”

“Oh, fuckin’ really? Is it Jungle Boy Jack Perry?”

“N-No, it’s not him either.”

“Not even the fuckin’ dinosaur? Hangman? We almost fuckin’ had him. The fuck happened there?”

They must have shaken their heads silently because the next shouted words snapped her out of her half sleep. She wrapped her arms loosely around herself and leaned back against the wall. Her eyes threatened to slip shut.

“Then why the FUCK should I care?”

“We got a doctor!”

She shook her head. That woke her up.

“Damn it, I’m not a doctor…”

Her eyes shifted from the door to the far end of the hallway. The light over her head stayed steady but the one at the other end flickered. The one above Uno who stood and stared at her in equal measure. The lights sputtered overhead as Uno approached her swiftly. He knelt down in front of her and offered her his hand. His eyes searched her face. The conversation continued behind the door but she wasn’t listening.

“What are you doing here?” He asked softly, a strain to his voice. The dark around his eyes was smudged and his chest heaved. “Did something happen?”

She huffed out a tired laugh and shook her head. He helped her up from her seat and tilted his head as she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, something sure did happen,” she started. “John Silver and Alex Reynolds stopped by my office. I guess they’re more convin--”

The door opened. John Silver went to take her hand to pull her up and into the room but Uno cut him off. Came to stand between the two with his head tilted down. Her smaller hand was still engulfed in his large warm one.

“The fuck are you doing, Silver?”

Uno was taller than the both of them and in his ring gear, he was an intimidating figure. And yet, she wasn't scared of him. She peered around him and dropped her hand from his. The shorter man caught the motion and tried to cover his surprise. It was a shitty attempt, really, but he recovered quickly. He gestured for her to go inside frantically.

“Come on, come on! He wants to meet you!”

She moved around Uno and met his eyes with a shrug. His brow furrowed and he followed behind her. Mr. Brodie Lee waited through the door’s threshold. Along with the rest of the Dark Order. Anna Jay shifted from her perch and crossed one leg over the other. The medic rubbed at her arms as she stood across from the significantly taller man whose dark eyes fixed her where she stood. Uno’s fingertips brushed along her arm as he moved past her to stand slightly behind and to the right of Mr. Lee. If she didn’t know any better, she thought Uno seemed wary. For good reason. Brodie Lee had a fearsome reputation. One she couldn't give two fucks about with the amount of sleep she was running on.

“Holy fucking shit,” Mr. Lee said as he shook his head. He swung around to look at Reynolds and Silver who collectively blanched. “How...in the sweet fuck...did you manage to pull this off? You got her? Isn’t she the one Uno won’t shut the fuck up about? Fuck. I think Ten even said something.”

It was hard to tell Uno’s expression behind the mask but by the way he stiffened, the way red seemed to creep up his exposed neck, she knew there was some truth to what Brodie Lee said.

“Yes, sir. That’s her.”

Her breath caught and she awkwardly shifted on her feet. Brodie’s attention went back to her and he took one long stride to stand in front of her. Tired eyes lifted to look up at him and before she could stop it, a yawn began to slip out. She slid a hand over her mouth to cover it. Brodie blinked at her and started to smile at her. There was a distinct feeling that she should have been unnerved and perhaps a part of her was. The rest of her was just tired and she glanced over to the plush seating with longing.

“You’re one of us now,” Brodie said as he placed a large hand on her small shoulder. It brought her attention back to him. With his other hand, he jabbed a thumb over at Silver and Reynolds. “Those two fucking idiots got you to sign off on it. And I gotta say, I’m pretty pleased. Hell of a lot more pleased than I thought I would be. There’s an equivalent exchange here, you know. We take care of you and you take care of us. That’s how it works around here. I mean, fuck, you’re already wearing our colors. And you make ‘em look damn good. Doesn’t she?”

Her cheeks warmed as the group gave varying responses of approval.

“They kind of just slid it across the table and I didn’t read it very well. I haven’t slept much over the last day or so and I’m so, so tired,” she admitted with a slight frown. She had seen people balk in the presence of The Exalted One. Exhaustion loosened her tongue. She blinked slowly and covered another yawn. The disappointment that rang through the room was profound. Even Anna’s normally stony expression wavered. Ten’s folded arms loosened some. Uno’s fingers tapped against his thigh nervously. She offered the room a weak smile. “But I, uh, do know that I’d rather be here than with the Inner Circle. So that’s something. I’m supposed to be neutral in all..." She paused as she made a wide gesture. "This.”

She waited a beat. Then slowly raised her hand in the signature Dark Order claw. Or at least she thought it was a claw. They had never been clear about that. Her brows knit together the longer she considered it.

Brodie squeezed her shoulder and then released her with a smirk. As he started talking again, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and brought her over to the rest of them. Uno’s eyes shifted from her to Brodie and she could have sworn they seemed darker. Brodie let go of her and went to the two recruitment specialists.

“Good work you two. Good damn work,” Brodie said as he stood before Reynolds and Silver, the former trying his best to not make eye contact. “No papers for you tonight. Get the fuck out of here. It’s late and our newest member here is tired.”

As each member went out, she offered a smile and a small greeting. She wasn’t sure where exactly her new membership in the Dark Order would take her but everyone seemed happy with their newest addition. Anna stood in front of her and looked at her for a long time before she finally smiled. A true one. She had hardly registered that the young woman had squeezed her hand until she was gone. Uno had hung back from the rest of the group, idly moving glasses around on the bar top as he watched everyone go. Stu eyed him for a minute before he took his leave.

Finally, they were alone. The lights in the room seemed to dim as he approached her. Her stomach tightened. The question on her mind poured out fast.

“You really talk about me?”

“I do,” he admitted as he came to stand in front of her. A finger lifted her chin slightly so that her eyes would meet his. “Why wouldn’t I? Most people here don’t give us the time of day. But then there you are. Unbothered. Giving me the time of day. Your day, really. Even some of your nights if we lose track of time.”

Uno's voice caressed her like something warm and alive, dark even, and it stirred a heat low in her belly. Or maybe she was just that tired. She thought back to that time in her office. Before the Young Bucks had interrupted. The lights were nearly out and darkness crept in at the edges. His voice was heavy, breathy, when it broke through the quiet.

“I wanted it to be me.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked up at him blearily and as a chill crawled up her arms, she leaned forward. Leaned into him. Where the room was cold, he was warm. His hands came down to loosely grip her forearms gently. His rough hands slid across the fabric of her cardigan and for a moment, she wished it was her skin he was touching. She shivered as one hand played with a strand of her hair. She looked at him through slow blinks until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. It was hard to make out his answer as he lifted her up bridal style and pulled her into him. His voice was in her ear, clearer this time.

“You’re so tired. This place doesn’t let you rest, does it? Cody and the rest of them.” He murmured. They were walking somewhere but she couldn’t tell. Not with the way her arms were wrapped around his neck and her face burrowed into the heat of the vest he wore. She was stuck between wakefulness and rest. Her body was tired but with the way her body pressed against his, sleep was impossible. Wherever they were, it was dark. “You can rest around me. No one will bother you, you know? Not while I’m around.”

He set her down and she realized she was back in her office. He hadn’t even turned the light on but he had found it with no trouble. The cot wasn’t ideal but there was no way they could make it to her hotel room. Not at this hour and not without getting stopped. The cot wasn’t the most comfortable but as he put a sheet around her, it was close enough to heaven. She felt him start to go. Her hand searched for his and when she found it, she gave his large fingers a squeeze.

“You staying?”

His laugh filled the room and then his voice was in her ear, dark and alive and warm. He soothed her without even touching her.

“With you?” He said with a teasing tongue. His hand squeezed hers and then let her go. She heard him settle into the couch but when he talked, he still sounded near. A light laugh followed. “Of course.”

----

She woke up well into the next day and true to Uno’s word, she had gone completely unbothered. He was gone when she woke up and she found that she hated the empty spot where he had been. She didn’t see him again until his tag team match that following week. The only member she had seen had been Anna with a sore wrist. The younger woman thanked her and assured her that she was still with them. They were just biding their time. For what, the medic didn’t have a clue. Colt Cabana was just as in the dark as she was. She just had to trust and the idea of that was enough to make her mouth dry. If she saw him at all, it was only in passing. And she found it wasn’t enough.

There was no exhaustion to blame when her mind went to him quickly and without effort. She swore at herself under her breath as she tied her cardigan loosely around her hips.

She stood by where she usually did, slightly distanced from an always enthusiastic Billy and Austin Gunn. Uno and Stu were always aggressive in their matches. It was why she always looked forward to them in particular. Yet even still, there was a newfound intensity. Even as Uno strutted around the ring and taunted Jungle Boy, he moved and shouted like a man possessed.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was about to happen as the pair nailed the Fatality. Instead of leaving the ring, they lingered over a beaten Marko Stunt and Jungle Boy. As the Dark Order theme played, the rest emerged. Save for Brodie Lee himself. A mic was passed over to Uno. The theme was cut off.

“You hear that? That’s the sound of pain. Inescapable, destructive pain,” he said as he leered down at the two men. “But I have something to tell you two. Something to tell all of you. You don’t have to be like this. You can join us. Be more than what you are. And I promise you that through this pain, you can find deliverance. You can find order.”

He continued as he circled their limp bodies.

“Make your choice. Join us and kill your pain. We have just the brompton cocktail to ease your suffering.”

His gaze shot over to her and she froze. His chest heaved.

Uno went through the ropes closest to where she stood and reached out to her, fingers slightly curled. Murmurs erupted throughout the crowd. She was a nobody. Just a face on the side of the ring that came in whenever necessary. Nothing more, nothing less. She thought she had been satisfied with that. For a time, she supposed she had been. But as Uno looked at her, she knew that she was anything but.

She was ravenous and hadn’t known it.

The murmuring ringside stared at her as she crossed over the barrier. Her heart pounded in her chest and her skin felt electric. Her fingertips sparked against his and when she wrapped his hand with hers first, the crowd was stunned to silence. Those at the commentary table struggled to make sense of what they were witnessing. Uno led her up the stairs and parted the ropes for her to join the rest of the Dark Order. His dark gaze returned to Jungle Boy and Marko.

“Or you can choke on it.”

Jungle Boy blinked rapidly as if he too was trying to make sense of it. She had tended to him once before and they had been kind to one another. He had made her laugh before. But she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes clung to Uno as he gestured to Ten. He handed Uno something and it wasn’t until he was close behind her, the heat of him a contrast to the kiss of cold metal, that she understood what it was.

The Dark Order’s emblem dangled from her neck. In the Florida heat, it stuck to her damp skin. His fingertips kissed the back of her neck and then in an instant, he was by her side. The other members flanked her and as their music played, they raised their hands in tandem. She joined them.

“Who are we?”

Uno looked at her as his lips parted.

“We are one!”

----

She couldn’t stop fiddling with the necklace as the evening minutes ticked by. It was strange to be seen. Not just by Uno. That had never been strange. But by everyone else. She had always been a pit stop for wrestlers on their way to and from the ring. Now though, they looked at her. Really looked at her. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since they had left the stage in an electric shuffle of excitement.

Oddly, Uno had been silent after. Had left without so much as a word to her. As if the barest touch of his fingers against her neck hadn’t kindled the heat that licked up her spine. Her eyes followed his back until he was gone and after, she thought of him as she went to her office. Wrestlers and company members alike murmured as she practically floated past. She flipped the lightswitch on and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of Mr. Lee in her chair. A hand flew to her chest.

“Jesus Christ, Mr. Brodie.”

For an absolute giant of a man, he didn’t move like one. She hadn’t even heard him get up.

“Not quite,” he said with a smile. “Not quite at all. The order looked good out there tonight, didn’t we?”

The pad of her thumb skimmed along the metal of her new necklace. His eyes briefly flickered down to look at it before he raised a brow at her.

“He wants you, you know,” he said with all the finesse of a blunt weapon. She should have expected as much. “It’s not unheard of. Uno wanting. He’s not obvious as fuck about it but he's ambitious. Always has been. But it’s different with you.”

Immediately, she bristled. She respected Mr. Brodie but she didn’t respect the way he spoke to her. Let alone what he alluded to. Even as he said it, she doubted. The corner of his mouth twitched as though he sensed it.

“That’s not any of your business, Mr. Brodie,” she said carefully. Her adrenaline thrummed under her skin, in her temples. “I expect you to respect that. Respect me. And him.”

She wasn’t blind to the way that Mr. Brodie went after his own organization’s members when his mood turned. Papercuts were more troublesome than people thought and she had seen Alex Reynolds sheepish more than once. Mr. Brodie shifted where he stood. Untouched by her words. Why wouldn’t he be anything but?

“It is,” he said. “I look out for my people. You want him too, don’t you?" He waved his hand just as she was about to speak. Her tongue felt heavy as lead. "You don’t have to say it. I already know. I’m good at knowing these things.”

Her face flushed red in spite of herself. He stood up from his seat and adjusted his tie before he went to the door. She stepped out of the way and glanced up at him. Her heart skipped. It had been an accident, her agreement to join the Dark Order. But for a moment, she feared being apart from it. Mr. Brodie pulled at his beard as he looked down at her.

“Ease up,” he said with a shake of his head. He took her hand and slipped a folded piece of paper into her palm. His laugh shook her out of her frigid stance. “You’ve only been with us a fucking week and I’m already tired of him making eyes at you. Fuck knows how long its gone on before that but a man can imagine. Go to him.”

The door opened and closed in the span of a single breath. She fell back against the door. The night had been an absolute goddamned whirlwind and it didn’t seem ready at all to let up. Her breath hardly had time to catch up with the thunder of her heart.

She unfolded the paper.

A room number.

One not that far from her own.

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: Catching Feelings 10/10 (Keanu x OFC)

Summary: AU in which Keanu is down on his luck after he comes to Hollywood trying to be an actor. To earn some money, he joins this app for escorts and meets Steph, a rising star who hires him to try to forget her ex. Neither of them is expecting to fall in love and all the problems it brings. Previous Chapters ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9)

Author’s notes: This is it, folks. The last chapter. This fic has been such an amazing experience for me and I’m so proud of it. I look back at it and I know I’d like to work a bit in a few points, but I think overall, it turned out pretty good. I want to thank everyone who stayed until the end. I hope you guys enjoy this last chapter and maybe I’ll get back to it for a few outtakes and how the future looks like for Steph and Ke.

Wordcount: 4455

Warnings: fluff. so. much. fluff. Also very soft sex. 

Keanu’s cheeks hurt from grinning so wide as they stepped out of the stage. It had been a great set. The energy high, the crowd receptive. Some of them even knew a few lyrics, singing along with Brett. It was amazing and once again he gave a silent prayer to the universe that they could finally do this professionally. Well, to the universe and Steph. He had to admit if she hadn’t sent Mike their way, Dogstar would probably still be struggling.

Once again, his chest ached at the thought of her. She had been in his mind the entire day and the dull pain was pulsing on and off with every beat of his heart, reminding him of what he lost. Some days were easier to push thoughts of Steph aside, but between his conversation with Kim and playing Honesty Anyway, Keanu was missing her more than usual.

Needing a moment for himself, he waved at Brett and Robert and headed to the alley in back of the club so he could smoke a cigarette before joining his friends for a celebratory beer. The last thing he expected to see in that cold autumn night, in his hometown of all places, was Steph.

At first, Keanu thought he might be imagining her. His heart longing for her and making his mind see things, but her name still escaped his lips as he watched her standing there, her back to him. He knew it was real by the way she tensed at his voice, but his confirmation came when Steph finally turned and looked at him.

It always hit him like a punch how gorgeous she was. Keanu had always heard the expression breathtakingly beautiful, but he never really experienced it. That feel of air being sucked out your lungs at the sight of someone. Not until he met Steph.

He took an unconscious step forward needing to see her better, closer. To feel her warm skin and smell her scent and taste her lips again, but Keanu froze. He couldn’t. Not after everything that happened. Not with the way they hurt each other.

“I didn’t know you were performing tonight,” she whispered, fidgeting with the CD in her hands, looking anywhere but him. “We came here to celebrate the wrap up for the movie. I had no idea…”

“You were shooting here in Toronto?” Keanu asked and she nodded. What were the odds? It almost felt like fate. If one believed in that sort of thing.

Time trickled by as they stood there. The silence stretching between them, heavy with all the things left unsaid last time they shared the same space and Keanu raked his brain for something to say, but his voice was suddenly caught in his throat, overwhelmed by the sight of her.

“I should…” Steph gestured to the club. “People are probably wondering where I am.”

“Yeah.” Keanu nodded, struggling against the lump in his throat. “Same with Rob and Brett.”

“It was good to see you, Keanu,” she whispered, taking a step back. “You guys were really great.”

“Wait!” He called out before Steph could go too far and she turned to look at him again. “Can we talk? Please?”

He saw Steph hesitate, glancing back before looking at him. Keanu could see the doubt in her expression but also hope. Maybe. He wished it was hope. Like he felt it too. Keanu truly regretted how they left things back in Paris and he thought about reaching out countless times, but with the entire press circus, he thought it would be for the best to leave it be. However, she was here now, and the media had finally forgotten about them. Maybe it was time. Maybe there could be a way… If Steph was willing.

“Ok,” she agreed. “I’ll just grab my coat and let my people know I’m leaving.”

Keanu just nodded in reply, watching as she disappeared back in the club before he dug out his phone and texted Rob and Brett, finally lighting up the cigarette he had been planning to. This time the goal was the calm his nerves. She was here. Steph was here of all places.

Sooner than he expected, Steph re-emerged, dark coat wrapped around her shape, hair pulled back in a ponytail, a few strands had remained stubbornly loose sticking to her neck and Keanu had to fight the urge to push them aside and kiss her nape as he guided the way to a burger joint a couple of streets over.

The diner was an after-party kind of place, food greasy, furniture even greasier. He hadn’t been there in ages but his usual booth was free and Keanu slid across the familiar red vinyl seat letting the warm environment of the dinner surround him and soothe his nerves.

They placed their order and just sat there in awkward silence while it was getting made. Keanu drummed his fingers nervously, wondering why this was so hard when talking to Steph used to be as easy as breathing to him. She was one of the few people that knew almost everything there was to know about him. Including the bits, Keanu could never bring himself to tell Kim.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed out, at last making Steph look up startled. “About Paris. I didn’t understand what it would cost you…”

“Keanu, no,” she shook her head reaching across the table to take his hand. “I was the jerk. I should be the one apologizing. What I did in that restaurant, that was…”

“As bad as me ditching you half-drunk in a nightclub while your ex harassed you?” Keanu interrupted an awkward, sad smile in his lips.

He had come to terms that yes, what Steph did was terrible, but he wasn’t a saint either. Jealousy was an ugly look on both of them.

“I guess,” she huffed, not exactly a laugh. More like a realization. “I forgot about that.”

“I didn’t,” Keanu sighed, grabbing a napkin and twisting between the fingers of his free hand. “And I never even apologized for it. I’m sorry. For everything.”

“Me too,” Steph said and there was so much in those two words.

Time seemed to stand still while they sat there, gaze locked together, fingers entwined with each other. It felt like they were sharing an entire conversation without saying anything. Baring their hearts for one another with just one look that spoke of regret and guilt, but also longing and affection.

 The moment was broken when the waitress brought over their order: burgers, fries, and milkshakes for both, but it was alright. In those precious seconds in which they just looked at each other, that deep understanding they once shared returned and they knew they would be alright. There was a lot to figure out, but they both knew they would figure out as they went.

They stayed in the diner until closing time, talking and laughing like they used to do before everything turned to shit. It was perfect and it felt like no time had passed at all between them. Keanu wanted to kick himself for wasting so much time, for holding onto something that would never make him happy only due to his pride.

Keanu shared a uber with Steph back to her hotel even if it was a detour from his mother’s house, where he was staying. He just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her, but as they stood on the steps that led to the reception area, he had no other excuse.

“Well, goodnight,” he said, hands in his pockets, head ducked, hair covering his eyes.

“‘Night, Ke,” Steph whispered, her lips brushing the corner of his, her small hand resting on his arm as she raised herself on her toes to kiss him. “I’m staying until Sunday, maybe we can get coffee or something?”

“I can’t…” he sighed with a wince. “We’re heading for Vancouver in the morning. Another gig.”

“Oh.” She looked disappointed, but proud at the same time as she met his eyes. “Then maybe we can meet when you’re back in LA.”

“Which won’t be for another month,” Keanu replied sheepishly. “So, I could maybe call you in the meanwhile. Like we used to do?”

“Yeah.” Steph grinned wide and nodded. “That sounds good.”

---

Keanu was exhausted, but happy. They had finished their tour very successfully. Most of their gigs had been packed and their CD sales had been great. Mike said they were heading the right way and after a couple of weeks of downtime, he expected Dogstar to be back in business, working on some new songs for a second record.

During the month he had been traveling around Canada and US playing, Keanu had kept in touch with Steph. They were hesitant at first, walking in eggshells and trying to avoid any tricky topics that might set off an argument until Keanu got sick of it. He wanted them to go back to how they were and he said so one night after one too many celebratory beers while they were facetiming.

“We can’t, Ke,” Steph sighed, a shadow of pain crossing over her expression. “But I hope we can find a way to make things different. Better.”

“Yeah,” he breathed out, tapping on his bottle. “Ok, rule number one: no bottling up. If we don’t feel good about something, we tell the other.”

“And the other has to actually listen before reacting,” Steph pointed out, a smile sneaking into her lips. “Also, we’re obviously not good at sharing so…”

“Yeah. Definitely,” Keanu nodded before she could even finish. “What you wanna do about the press?”

“Fuck them!” Steph declared, tone forceful and with a harsh edge. “I’m done living my life on their terms.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” she paused, bottom lip between her teeth. “You? And your band? Because it might affect them.”

“They’re fine with it,” Keanu assured with a little laugh. “Rob actually said he was happy the kicked puppy look was finally out of my face.” Steph chuckled too at that. “And I’m fine with it. If you really want this.”

“I do,” she assured, with a smile and he saw her glancing at something off the frame, before looking back at the screen. “Only three more weeks.”

“And time flies,” Keanu added, smiling too.

It did fly at first. Especially when Keanu was entertained with the band and the shows, but as the day of returning to Los Angeles got closer, this eagerness to see Steph in flesh and bone seemed to turn every minute in an hour. Every hour in a day.

He was unfocused and distracted, always lost in thoughts about what it would be like to see her again. At times, Brett and Rob had to call his name several times before Keanu could break away from his daydreaming to actually focus on the matter at hand. They both took it in stride, knowing very well how it felt to be in love like that and happy that their friend was finally getting back to his normal self.

Finally, he was home and anxiety consumed him as Keanu got ready to go see her. Steph assured that she was fine with waiting until morning, knowing that he would be landing so late at night, but Keanu wanted to head straight from the airport if that was ok. He couldn’t wait to see her. Not anymore. Not when they were in the same city once again, only minutes away from each other.

He packed put his bass case and duffle on the back of the taxi, twisting the hem of his shirt under his fingers as the car made its way through the sinuous roads of Hollywood Hills towards Steph’s house, the familiar landmarks making his heart beat faster at each turn until the cab finally stopped in front of her place.

Keanu was shaking when he got out of the car, duffle in one hand, bass on the other. Much like the first time he had been here, a slow drizzle was falling, filling the air with the scent of wet earth. He knew he should get out of the rain; his case wasn’t waterproof and he couldn’t risk damaging his bass.

It was only a couple of steps towards the intercom, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, his feet seemed stuck to the concrete sidewalk. What if he ruined this again? What if they couldn’t make it work?

Keanu jumped startled when the gate buzzed and swung open without prompt. When it registered in his mind, he couldn’t help but smile. Steph must have been watching the cameras or the window and saw him arriving. That was enough to make him take a step forward, still anxious, still afraid, but at least he knew he wasn’t the only one.

“Hi,” she greeted as soon as she pulled the door open, sounding as breathless as Keanu felt and his smile widened when he saw Steph was wearing his t-shirt. The one he had long left behind in her house.

“Hey.” It was the only thing that Keanu could manage. God, he missed her.

They stood awkwardly by the door, watching one another. Eyes mirroring each other awed of being physically together again until Steph let out a short chuckle and stepped aside so Keanu could actually walk in.

A lot had changed in her place since the last time he had been there. The walls featured a different color and there were no longer movie posters from her previous works hanging around. Instead, beautiful photographs from the landscapes and skylines hung in their place and he took a moment to admire them, recognizing one as the view from Hollywood Hills from that spot Keanu had taken her when they went for a motorcycle ride.

“What do you think?” Steph asked, standing a couple of steps behind him and Keanu glanced at her.

“Beautiful. Did you take them?” A blush spread through her cheeks as she nodded.

“I had a lot of time off these last few months,” she replied with a shrug. “I thought a new hobby was in order.” She led the way to the sitting room, gesturing for him to leave his things wherever it was convenient. “Did you eat? I think I have some leftover lasagna Vincent made last night…”

Steph trailed off when Keanu’s arm came around her waist, preventing her from making her into the kitchen, bringing her into his arms instead.

“Hi,” he said, resting his forehead against hers and Steph grinned.

“Hey.”

Their lips finally met for that much needed, much-yearned kiss and Keanu sighed in contentment at the taste of her; the feel of her in his arms. He didn’t know when it happened and couldn’t believe how he didn’t notice before, but Steph tasted and felt like home to him.

For how long, Keanu didn’t know, but it explained why he had felt adrift for the last few months, even when coming back to his home town and his mother’s house, Keanu hadn’t felt that same comfort, the belonging that he felt right now.

“I missed you so much,” Steph sighed against his mouth, her hands threading through his hair. “I thought about you every single day.”

“Me too,” he said, his hands coming under her shirt, desperate to feel the warmth and softness of her skin. “Gosh! Why were we such idiots?”

“I don’t know,” she chuckled, shoving at his jacket, making Keanu let go of her only long enough so she could push it off him, before returning to her back. “But I’m not letting you go again.”

“Good,” he smiled, nipping at her lower lip, making her giggle. “Because I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

With a grin, Keanu hoisted her Steph up, her legs coming around his waist as she grinned too and let him take her to the master bedroom, laying her gently on the bed, before standing up again and kicking his shoes and socks.

“How do you want me, ma’am?” he asked, kneeling in front of her and Steph paused, her eyes shining with warmth and love.

“Come’re, babe,” she called, offering him a hand and guiding Keanu until he was lying on top of her, between her legs, his clothed erection pressing against her hip as their lips met once more.

The kiss slow, soft, exploring. Their hands roaming each other’s bodies, touching and peeling off layers of clothing until they were naked together, chests pressed against one another as they moved in sync. Lips found those familiar spots that made the other moan, their breath catching in their throats, their bodies growing hotter, slick with sweat, sliding against each other.

Keanu reached between them, finding her entrance with his fingers, rubbing and teasing, making Steph arch up, her fingers digging on his back. He smiled against her neck as he toyed with her clit, the look of ecstasy in her face making the burning need in the base of his spine grow, his cock hard, heavy and leaking against her thigh as she rolled her hips against the two fingers he pushed inside her.

He moaned at the way of her walls quivered around his digits, tight and wet and how Keanu missed this. The feel of her cunt welcoming him in, gripping at him like it was trying to keep him there forever.

“Fuck me, Ke,” Steph gasped, pulling at his hair so he could look at her. “I need you inside me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Keanu panted, a smile drawing on his lips as he replaced his fingers with his cock, pushing into her welcoming heat slowly, grunting and gasping at the perfect tightness around him. Steph’s own moans making the need inside him grow as they slotted together, his cock completely sheathed inside her, his sticky forehead resting against hers as they caught their breath and adjusted to the overwhelming feeling of being united again.

“I missed this,” she said, a wide smile in her lips as Steph brushed some strands of hair away from his face. “No one makes me feel like this.”

“I know what you mean,” he gasped, adjusting her legs around his waist. “Guess we were just made for each other.”

“Yeah,” Steph agreed, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “Now move, babe.”

There it was again, the command in her voice. That tone that seemed to ignite something deep inside Keanu, stroking the heat of pleasure and with a smirk, he pulled back until only his tip remained, before slamming into her, making Steph cry out and curse, her heels digging on his lower back.

“Fuck yes! Just like that, Ke,” she exclaimed, raising her hips to meet his as they found their rhythm, their bodies reacquainted with each other.

Sooner than Keanu liked, he felt the telltale coil in the pit of his spine ready to snap. Steph was shaking and quivering, her walls squeezing him tight. She was close too.

“I’m gonna…” he warned, speeding up his thrusts, desperately seeking his release. She just nodded, shifting her body underneath him until they were rooting against each other, mouths locked into a gasping kiss, sharing breath and moans.

“Come in me, babe,” she whispered, making him snap.

Keanu grunted and groaned her name as he kept thrusting through his orgasm until Steph was squeezing and pulsing around him, her head thrown back in a wordless cry as she came moments after him.

They laid there together, resting against each other until Keanu grew soft inside her and tried to pull away but Steph just tightened her hold around him, making him stay still. For such a tiny woman, she was surprisingly strong.

“We’re making a mess on the bed,” he chuckled, rubbing his nose against hers.

“We can change the duvet later.” Steph smiled at him. “I just want to stay here, with you for a little longer.”

“Ok,” Keanu relented, meeting her lips for a sweet kiss. “You know, you never let me be on top before.”

“Really?” she frowned at him, obviously thinking back on their previous encounters. “I should let you do it more often. It’s nice to just relax and take it.” Keanu chuckled against her cheek and Steph giggled too.

“Can we stay like this forever?” he asked, meeting her soft gaze.

“I told you, babe,” Steph started, caressing his cheek. “I’m not letting you go again.”

“Good,” Keanu smiled, settling against her chest so they could drift off to sleep wrapped in each other’s arms.

---

Steph wrung her hands together on her lap, her eyes darting over to her phone every couple of seconds as if she stared at it long enough, it would make it ring. Like she could mentally will Keanu’s flight to arrive when it was delayed due to a storm in Seattle.

“Stop doing that,” Jean chided coming into the room. “You’re gonna ruin your nails. He’ll be here.”

“I know, I know,” she sighed, settling her hands on her lap and trying to look at her friend and agent without turning her head and disturbing the stylish working on her hair. “I just worried. What if he doesn’t make it?”

“Then he won’t walk the red carpet with you,” he said with a gentle smile. “But we always knew that was a possibility, honey. He will be there for the movie and afterparty though. You know it.”

She did. Of course, she did. Keanu had assured her that if Steph wanted him to accompany her to the movie’s premiere, even if the fact would stir up the rumor mill again, he would do it and fuck the media. Jean and Steph even talked to Katheryn about it and she couldn’t care less.

The movie had done wonderfully in Cannes, which had been the first showing of it. Both Katheryn and Steph were showered with compliments for their work so the director was pretty confident that having some gossip about Steph and her boyfriend wouldn’t damage the movie’s success. And if it did, well, Katheryn didn’t want those judgmental people anywhere near her work. Steph only wished she had Katheryn’s confidence.

Despite telling Keanu she didn’t give a fuck about what the press would say about them, as soon as the first paparazzi pictures hit the tabloids, she felt it like a punch. The mean comments and jokes. Photographers hounding both of them for information, but they managed to push through it and after a couple of weeks, things died down.

Especially when news of Kevin’s divorce, only a month after his wedding, hit the news and gossip turned to him. It wasn’t surprising that he cheated on her, but it wasn’t often that the cheated spouse released the photos of the betrayal just so she could have the legal grounds to wipe out his bank account since she didn’t sign a prenup.

Steph didn’t want to be petty, but when Jean called her to deliver the news, she couldn’t help the small chuckle from escaping her lips. Karma truly was a bitch. That had been six months ago and while Kevin got what was coming for him, Steph was enjoying her best life and couldn’t be happier despite the first wave of insecurity.

After the first month, Keanu just moved into her place already, since he was barely seeing the inside of his own apartment. With the money he was saving by not paying rent, they converted her basement into a soundproof studio so he, Rob and Brett could work on their new album. Steph’s garage now held not only her Audi, but Keanu’s Norton and the prototype of a motorcycle Keanu and Gard were working on, trying to get it into the market so they could make Arch grow.

Her house was suddenly filled with people like never before in her life and Steph didn’t know she loved it this much. She loved sitting at a corner, watching Dogstar play. Taking pictures every now and then, since it was her newest passion ever since she took a break from acting.

She loved acting and she would always love it, but after everything that happened, Steph wanted to make sure she was picking the right roles not only moneywise but because they had an actual message to deliver, much like Katheryn’s movie. Fortunately, she had plenty of savings and slowly as few ad companies were coming back, asking to work with Steph again.  

After that mess of a year, it was nice to see things getting into place.

It was nice to be completely happy, be in peace with her career, her romantic life and have friends. They were even thinking about getting a pet together, maybe a rescue dog, though Steph had always been more of a cat person herself. They even had an appointment the Monday morning after the weekend premiere.

If Keanu made it back in time that is. Dogstar had flown over to Seattle to shoot their first music video and since the three of them loved grunge, it would only be fitting that they shot at the birthplace of that music genre.

“All done,” the stylish announced, bringing Steph back from her musings and she looked at the mirror, smiling at the simple, yet elegant side bun in her hair. It fit perfectly with her light makeup and knee-length black dress.

“Thank you so much,” Steph said, walking into the closet to put her dress on while Jean showed the woman out. She was still debating over which shoes to wear when she heard the door again. “Think I should go for the stilettos? I mean, they murder my feet but they’re so pretty…”

“They are,” the deep voice startled her, and Steph turned around quickly to look at Keanu, standing there in a tailored suit, hair neatly combed, looking so perfect. “Especially when you’re only wearing them and your lingerie.”

“Oh my God! You made it!” she all but shrieked, jumping on his waiting arms as Keanu chuckled against her ear.

“Watch the suit. If I get one wrinkle on it, Jean’s gonna murder me,” Keanu commented, putting her down. “You look beautiful.”

“You always say that,” Steph smiled, standing on her toes to meet his lips.

“That’s because you’re always beautiful.”

“You two stop being cute and get your ass in gear,” Jean called from the door. “Car is waiting.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Steph joked, grabbing her shoes and her purse and following Keanu outside.

“Are you ready to do this?” he asked, getting the door for her.

“With you?” Steph asked, pausing in front of him, a huge smile gracing her lips. “Always.”

XXX The end XXX

Permanent Tag List (give me a shout if you want to added or removed)

@toomanystoriessolittletime​ @meetmeinthematinee​ @theolsdalova​ @beyond-antares​ @cumberbatchbaps​ @sgt-morgan​ @futuristic-imbecile​ @a-really-bi-girl​ @fanficsrusz​ @poisonedjoinery​ @soarocks​ @penwieldingdreamer​​ @partypoison00​ @hnryycvll​ @alwaydreamingofu​ @nonsensicalobsessions​ @howtoruin-someones-perfect-day​ @krazycags01​

Tag List for Catching Feelings (give me a shout if you want to be added or removed)

@baphometwolf666​ @thesadvampire​

[tryingtimi]

Honestly, lol! The crazy weather is to blame, I tell you. Thank you for the well wishes, though❤️ And thank you for indulging my questions and being interested!❤️ (this got long so I'll leave here a cut)

Omg, that just sounds so good!! Why has it stopped? It sounds amazing! We should bring it back.

The competition will be in Hungarian, so I should write it that way, but... idk how will I manage that lol. I'm so used to write in English these days (and also read in English all the time) that I have no idea how to form an actual sentence on my main language sometimes. Let alone write in it. But I will get some detective books in Hungarian from the library soon, and I'll try to get myself back into writing in it. Or I'll just end up writing it in English first and then translate to Hungarian lmao.

Anyway, the plot. Oh, hehe, it's a funny thing because we just figured it out this afternoon with my partner (all-time sidekick in making my stories work), but! The plot mostly will revolve around the banning of weapons since it's a very big change in the society. It will show the shift, how the professionals like detectives, police officers etc. needed to get rid of their weapons, but the criminals still have them. In fact, some people became criminals because they possessed weapons. (Weapon is a loose term here, becuse it's everything that can harm people, so not just guns and stuff.) Thaddeus' dad, who I couldn't find a name yet, will need to find these bunch who do arms trades secretly and face them without any help of a harmful object; ergo he got only his brain to win this fight. There will be also some innovation, like programming the robots and androids (since IQRUS has a sci-fi/ cyberpunk world) to disarm people immediately when they witness a scene where someone wants to hurt another person. And this innovation will be still under development through the novella, so it will cause some fun mess there. But yeah, kinda this is what I got yet.

Well, the snippets. There's one Metalsea snippet with Avelyn and Syon and their sister bonding moment which I was inspired some months ago but couldn't finish yet. The other one is a fight scene (never wrote one so this is challenging) with Syon and Drehana. I try to explore the bonds and dynamics between my female characters, you see. And the last one is a goery, full of eldritch horror cult scene in IQRUS, which I got inspired by one of Nectar's tunesday posts. I intend to write that to her, but it's a scene I didn't plan to make it canon since it's something I wanted to leave it a mystery. But I got too motivated to write it and had some clear visions after that song in that post. It's hard to make it as eerie and chilling as I want to haha.

Ah, the sci-fi AU sounds so cool 👀 What will it be about? 👀 (also what is Whumptober? lol I'm so not up to date with these)

Ooo, I hope it will work out then, or you can do Tears of Iron in NaNo even. Well, my experience was actually that I did it kinda alone lol, because I wasn't a part of any community then. But the fact that I had a wordcount I needed to reach everyday or at least try to, really helped me. And, since the sprints with Jaq, I can see that if I would have some other people share their progress with me, it would be even more inspiring, for me personally.

Awww, congrats on 17K!!! ❤️❤️ I can totally understand it tho lol. It's sososo exciting when you get to the middle finally! I hope you can find people who can give you honest and respectful thoughts about it! (I'm always up for it too ofc, if you need)

Plans | October, November

Hey, I got sick which means I have some time, so I decided to make a little list of my writing plans for the upcoming months. It's very much needed. Mostly to me, but I'll share it here anyway to keep myself motivated to check it out sometimes lol. I also just want to share some things because I neglected tumblr for a while (still getting used to the new workplace, trying to build a scedule and some personal issues).

Anyway.

In October

Through these two months, I will focus on a novella in the world of IQRUS, since I've found a competition I want to submit a piece to and it's due date is December 21th. It's gonna be a detective story of the time, when hurtful objects and especially weapons got freshly banned from society. Thaddeus' dad will be the main character, a detective (shocking, I know) and I also want to put Dane and Adran's parents into it too. Even if just some side characters who Thaddeus' dad says hi to once. I'm so excited to start this honestly. But to be more specific, my plans are:

Oct 1. – Oct 15. Planning and fleshing the idea out.

Oct 16. – Oct 31. Plotting and Outlining.

In November

This year I want to participate in NaNo again, with this piece, because the last time I did it, it was more than a helpful thing. So, I might will leave updates here of my progress if you guys wouldn't mind it. I love sharing stuff, it keeps me inspired for some reason, so if you guys will do NaNo or just want to share your (any) progress with me, please always do! I love seeing how you lovely souls are going with everything!

That said, I will take breaks and work on other things as I know myself, so the prompts you dears sent me will help me lot, thank you! ❤️ Plus, if you want to know anything about this novella, feel free to ask about it, in a random ask, in DMs or in Blorbo, WBW etc. Every kind of interest is welcome!

Also, if my doctor will tell me I need to take the whole week off (i doubt it and i hope not, but who knows), then I might will catch up with asks and maybe finish my unfinished snippets I started working on. There's three in the making, two from Metalsea and one from IQRUS.

That's it for now from my side. How about yours, loves? Any plans for the rest of the year? Would love to know, so feel free to share! ❤️

[avengerofyourheart]

You are My Heaven: Epilogue (Steve Rogers fic)

Characters: reader, Steve, Sam, Natasha, Sharon Carter, Maria Hill(mentioned), OFC Lily, OMC Liam. 

Summary: Falling for a good man, who happened to be her training partner, was unavoidable. How much time and distance does it take to heal a broken heart? (Mentions events from CACW, including a direct quote)

Warnings: bit of fluff, some angst. Mention of heartbreak. 

Word Count: 3.3k

Song Inspiration: A Drop in the Ocean by Ron Pope

Tags are at the bottom

A/N: Here we have it! The wrap up for this unexpected multi-part fic. It’s been healing for me to write this and I’m grateful for the kind words and shared stories I’ve received. I appreciate every single message. Also, I did write The Truth Behind You are My Heaven, which is my personal story if you’re interested. Any feedback is appreciated. I love you all!!

<<<Part Two   Epilogue(end)

Masterlist

______________________________________________________

One Year Later

Stepping into your London flat, you pulled the key from the lock and placed your purse on the side table. You kicked off your high heels and spread your toes, feeling relief at last after a long day. Carrying your shoes in one hand and work bag in the other, you walked down the hall to your bedroom and changed into comfortable lounge clothes. Venturing into the bathroom to toss your clothes in the hamper, you discovering a pair of men’s boxers on the floor. Letting out an amused sigh, you simply picked them up and walked the two feet to the hamper before tossing them in.

You had the flat to yourself tonight, which was unusual, so you decided to unwind with a glass of wine and catch up on tv shows you had recorded but never found the time to watch. As it grew later, you found yourself yawning and giving into the temptation of your soft, comfy bed. You rinsed out your glass and turned out all the lights except your bedside lamp. Plugging in your phone, the screen illuminated a new email notification from work, which wasn’t unusual. Timezones meant nothing in your line of work so you opened it just in case, planning on dealing with whatever it was in the morning.

Reading the subject line, your stomach dropped. 

The body of the email explained further and you brought a hand up to your mouth, taking in the news. You sat down on your bed, feeling the shock set in. In truth, you had known for quite some time that this day would come but…not so soon. Professionalism taking over, you inhaled a deep breath before replying to the email and drafting a statement to be sent out in the morning. You contacted your colleagues and all others who had security clearance. Pressing send on the last email, you set your phone aside before letting your head fall into your hands.

Your next thought surprised you: He should know. Straightening your spine, you considered the prospect of following that thought. Was it your place to tell him? Pushing aside your professionally-fueled need to go through proper channels, you followed your gut and pulled out your work computer. You found the proper file and clicked the name you had fixated on for much too long in the past. Highlighting his phone number, you hesitated a moment before punching it into your international mobile phone and opening a new text message.

You checked the time. It would be early evening there. What could you say? There’s no good preface for news like this. You kept it simple and typed out two lines, knowing he would understand.

She’s gone. In her sleep.

You pressed send, plugged in your phone, and crawled into bed. Tomorrow was going to be rough.

__________

After leaving New York, you thought it best to give yourself some space from Steve. Other than the entire Atlantic Ocean’s width, of course. You were given a new, international mobile phone mostly for work, but also personal use. As you considered what information and contacts you needed to transfer from your old phone, your thumb hovered over Steve’s number with a pause. It was a small thing, but at first even seeing his name while scrolling through for a different contact’s name sent a pang to your fragile heart. In the end, you decided not to keep his number.

You felt guilty after the fact and regretted recycling the old phone, but this was the 21st Century. It wasn’t as if there were no other forms of contact with him, should you need or desire it. You loosely kept in touch with most of the Avengers, but you all had lives to lead and jobs to do. Time passed and soon most of your contact with the group of superheroes was made through Maria. It was just easier that way.

London was incredible. After the initial culture shock and jet lag wore off, you started to see the wonderment and beauty of your new city. Your new job was a lot to take on at first, but as you came to know your co-workers and their strengths, it was easier to delegate the work and carry less yourself. On the rare chance that you were given an actual weekend free, you played the tourist and saw different landmarks throughout the city. You toured the Tower of London, rode on the ferris wheel-like London Eye at sunset, watched the changing of the guards outside Buckingham Palace, and sought out Abbey Road so you could see the famous crossing in person. You even scrawled your favorite Beatles lyric on the low wall outside Abbey Road Recording Studios, reading some of the other messages left by fans as well.

It was all so surreal to be living in a foreign country at first. Even though the spoken language was obviously English, there were still odd phrases and strong accents that would catch you off guard. You picked things up quickly, though, and soon you found yourself talking like a local, sans the accent, of course. Work and getting settled kept you busy for the first few weeks, but soon you started to feel a bit lonely. You knew it took time to make friends and how important it was to have a life outside of work. Initially meeting people was a challenge, though.

You tried to be friendly with your neighbors but never really clicked with any of them. The bar scene wasn’t really your thing and those sort of interactions were the last thing on your mind for a while. Any time a man approached you, your heart lurched and you held back for fear of blurting the details of your recent heartbreak.

Oddly enough, you eventually made your first friend on the Tube. You started to see some of the same people each morning on your ride to work and one day a girl you had noticed saw the book you were reading, then making a comment. That sparked a conversation and soon you looked forward to your morning meet-ups with one trying to save a seat for the other.

You two met for drinks the next week and bonded easily. Lily was gorgeous and funny with a cutting wit. She worked as a consultant for a marketing firm that consisted of mostly men. You both relished at finally having a female friend to spend time with, finding release in shared laughter and inside jokes. You complemented each other well with a lot of similarities, but enough differences to make your friendship interesting. Evenings were sometimes spent out on the town and other times you stayed in with a bottle of wine and trashy television or a high-brow foreign film, depending on your shared mood.

Lily had a long-term boyfriend so her attention was split, but she always made time for you. A few months into your friendship, she breached the subject you generally skirted around when it was mentioned.

“I need you to remain calm,” Lily spoke, grasping your hands in hers upon the pub table, immediately making you feel not calm at all. “I invited someone tonight for you to meet. A colleague of Paul’s.”

Panic flared in your veins, your eyes wide. “You what?”

“I know, I know. You said you’re not ready and if you truly don’t want to meet him, I will respect that, but he is a great guy and I think you should give him a chance. Please? For me?” Lily used her doe eyes on you, sticking her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.

Lily knew about Steve and what you had been through. It was difficult for you to even describe your situation. A break-up is easy to explain, but you never actually dated. Reducing your experience to a “crush” seemed inaccurate and demeaning. Your heart had solely belonged to him, even if he didn’t know it. It was love, even if it wasn’t shared. So if you really had to say anything about the subject of a most-recent relationship, you simply said you got your heart broken, which was absolutely true and just enough information not to elicit more questions.

His name was Liam. You resigned yourself to at least a conversation. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? Upon first meeting, you noticed that he was handsome, dark hair cut short on the sides and a bit longer on top with a pair of warm chocolate brown eyes that somehow put you at ease immediately. He had olive skin, an easy smile and a strong jaw with just a hint of a 5 o’clock shadow at this time of night. He clasped your hand in his, firm but gentle, and you each took a seat.

Conversation flowed well and for the first time in a long while, you found yourself feeling relaxed around a man. After that first night, he asked for your phone number and you kept in touch. He invited you to dinner or drinks about once a week and although you knew you were holding back some, you still couldn’t deny there was a spark. Liam made it rather plain that he was interested in you romantically. You reciprocated his feelings, but confessed that it may take some time for you to fully invest in a relationship. He understood and took it slow, continuing to take you out and staying in contact through text and the occasional call.

One day at work, an email came through about an Avengers mission in Europe. You opened it and as you began to read Captain Rogers’ account of how the mission had gone, you had a sudden realization: you hadn’t thought about Steve at all for a few days. Maybe even a week. A text came through from Liam and it put an instant smile on your face. That was when you knew: the healing had begun.

__________

Two days after sending the text to Steve, you found yourself seated in a gorgeous Cathedral, sun shining through stunning stained-glass windows. A children’s choir sang as the casket draped with the British flag was carried down the aisle. You knew Steve would be there and was assigned as one of the pallbearers but the sight of him still caused a pinprick to your heart. The tiniest of memories oozed out of the corner of your heart where he had long resided. Even with time and moving on, you knew he would always have a place there. Reaching to the side, you grasped a hand of the man who sat beside you. You watched Steve take a seat by Sam near the front of the church as the preacher stood up. He gave his remarks and then introduced the next speaker, whom you recognized.

Your eyes welled with tears as Sharon told stories of her Aunt Peggy and the strong, kind, amazing woman she was. You knew about Sharon’s family ties to the former Director of Shield but kept it to yourself. She had her reasons for keeping that secret. You’d had the honor of meeting Peggy in the past before her mind began to slip and you remained close with the Carter family. Chills raised upon your skin as Sharon quoted the great woman you were all there to honor. It was especially appropriate, considering the current circumstances.

“Compromise where you can. And where you can’t, don’t. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right, even if the whole world is telling you to move. It is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say, no. You move,” she concluded, her voice full of conviction and respect for her beloved aunt.

After she stepped down, a few more family members spoked and the service concluded as the congregation filed outside. You found yourself in the foyer, gazing into the chapel where Steve and Natasha were talking. You knew there was a tension there, given all that was happening with the Accords, but still she came. Steve’s shoulders were slumped as if they carried the weight of the world upon them. Even from a distance, you could see that this was not the same man you had known a year ago. So much had happened and he felt responsible for it all, even though it was not his actions alone that caused it. New York. Washington, D.C. Sokovia. Lagos. Each of them a burden he carried, which, even with his Super Serum strength, you feared would one day not be enough.

Natasha gave him a hug and walked down the aisle as you headed the opposite direction. She spotted you, eyes wide in surprised.

“Y/N. Wow. It’s been so long,” she spoke, the redhead gathering you in an embrace.

“It has. I’m sorry about that,” you apologized.

“Oh, I understand. Listen, I have a plane to catch but after Vienna, we should catch up,” she said, eyeing the man beside you who still held your hand.

“Absolutely,” you agreed, waving her goodbye.

As you approached Steve, he had his eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked up at the sound of footsteps and held your gaze. Shock was evident in his emotionally exhausted features.

“Y/N. It’s, um…wow, it’s good to see you,” he stepped forward, allowing a small smile for you.

“Hi, Steve. I’m so sorry for your loss. We will all miss her,” you offered condolences, feeling unshed tears threatening to fall.

“Thank you. Peggy was…she was one of a kind,” he added with a nod.

You smiled in agreement, then feeling that introductions were in order. “Steve, this is Liam, my boyfriend. Liam, this is Captain Steve Rogers.”

The brunet stepped forward and offered a hand while looking a little star-struck. “Captain Rogers…it’s an honor to meet you, sir.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Liam. And please, call me Steve.”

“Okay. Steve,” Liam grinned, knowing that this was going to be one of the fortunate times that he wasn’t going to regret meeting his hero. Steve really was as kind and honorable as everyone thought. You knew that for a fact.

“Liam, would you mind giving Y/N and I a moment?” Steve asked, much to your surprise.

“Of course,” Liam replied, then turning to you. “I’ll meet you outside,” he said, to which you nodded.

You watched him retreat down the aisle and then turned to Steve.

There was a beat of silence before Steve spoke. “He seems nice.”

“He is, yeah,” you replied, still waiting.

Steve exhaled, then asked, “You sent the text, didn’t you?”

“I…yes,” you confessed.

“I thought so. I didn’t recognize the international number and thought the only one who would let me know personally is you. Thank you for that,” he said sincerely, placing a hand on your arm.

You let out a small smile, “You’re welcome. You deserved to know. I’m just sorry the only contact we’ve had had to be like…this.” You waved a hand indicating to the chapel around you.

“Me, too. Speaking of which, I had another question…” he began, then continuing as you nodded permission. “After you left there were…rumors. Some said that I might have been part of the reason why you left and I just wanted to apologize if I did or said anything…”

You shook your head vigorously, placing a hand on his massive shoulder. “No, Steve. You did nothing wrong, I promise. Um…” You paused, deciding whether or not to confess but decided this was the best time and place to do so. “I did have…feelings for you. And when I overheard that you didn’t feel the same, I was hurt. But that wasn’t your fault, I promise. You’ve always been very straightforward and honest with me. I appreciate that so much. London was the right move for me, no doubt. I just…I needed time. I’m sorry if it resulted in shutting you out.”

“I understand. I thought…I really hope we can still be friends? I feel like I keep losing people and the Avengers and I don’t know…” his voice cracked as you saw a flicker of the vulnerability in this strong, incredible man.

You pulled him into a hug and held him for a few minutes, knowing that finally you could truly be there for him, unselfishly. He needed you and you wanted to be there. “Of course you still have me as a friend. I’m here for you.”

He pulled back with a sniffle. “Thank you,” he uttered, then gathering his composure before speaking. “So, uh…how’s London treating you?”

“London is wonderful,” you smiled. “Work is stressful at times, but the city is gorgeous and I’ve met some wonderful people. It’s starting to feel like home.”

He matched your smile, “I’m really happy for you. And I’m glad you found Liam. I hope he treats you right.”

“Things are really good so far. And thank you. What about you? Anyone special?”

“Um…” Steve’s eyes flickered unconsciously to something behind you and you turned to follow his gaze. Sharon Carter stood by the side door talking with Sam. “Not really.”

You gave a knowing smile. “Sharon is lovely. I’ve known her for quite some time. The situation may be…unique. But I know for certain that Peggy wished for you to find happiness and live the life you’ve always wanted. You deserve that. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate and never would think to put yourself first, but just…think about it. You owe it to yourself to try.”

Steve gave you a teary smile and pulled you in for another grateful hug. “I’m so glad to have you back. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Steve,” you replied, pulling away. “We’ll talk soon. Okay?”

He nodded, then stepping back. You headed down the aisle toward the exit, taking one last glance at the man who still held a small piece of your heart. Seeing him today helped your feelings come full circle. Walking through the cathedral doors, you saw Liam waiting. He pulled you into his side and pressed a kiss to your temple.

“Everything okay with Steve?” he inquired as he helped you slip into your jacket he had been holding.

“I think so. Thank you for coming with me today,” you grasped your boyfriend’s hand.

“Of course. I’m always here for you,” he assured you, offering his arm as you walked toward his parked car down the block.

He opened the passenger’s side door for you and then stepped around the car. You stood for a moment, taking in all that had transpired today. While your heart still ached for the Carter family and for the great loss of such a wonderful woman, for you it was as if she had urged you to be courageous and seek the closure you so desperately needed. Even your desire that Steve might find his own happiness was genuine and you felt like Peggy would approve. She always wanted the best for Steve.

You slid into the car and fastened your seatbelt as the buildings began to slip past. Stealing a glance at the handsome man with his hands on the wheel, you felt nothing but peace. As difficult as the past year and a half had been, it brought you to this moment. Things changed, time passed, love was lost and gained, home was lost and found…each step was necessary. It was easy to wish for a different path at times, but as you looked back, it was clear that you were right where you belonged.

_____________________________________________________

Well, there you have it. I really hope you liked this last part and the closure it provided. I appreciate all your love and support. Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line to let me know your thoughts. Also, yes I did do all those things in London and it was incredible. I can’t believe it either. I was actually wearing my “London England” sweatshirt when I wrote most of this. How’s that for meta? ;)

Permanent Tag List is CLOSED

Permanent Tags: 

@ek823 @you-didnt-see-that-cuming  @yellowtheremarvelfan  @sarcastic15overlord @mirkwood---princess  @stovehairington  @msshadowboxer  @reniescarlett  @wellfuckbuck  @coffeeismylife28  @lilasiannerd  @bunchofandoms   @sarahpanda65 @ria132love @canumoveyourseatup-no  @whatshernamemaria  @crazyliraz  @filthylolita  @tempestinatea-cup  @pixierox101   @jcb2k16 @jaderz-mega-yikes   @gatorgal94 @prettylatxna @abovethesmokestacks @missmotherhen  @snakesgoethe  @feelmyroarrrr  @buckysmetallicstump @dontstopwiththelyin @mytasterpeculiar  @writingruna @imaginingbucky @bovaria  @thisisthelilith @buckyywiththegoodhair @rogersxbarnesx @hellomissmabel  @bionic-buckyb @buckysberrie @marvel-lucy @marvelingatthewonder @you-and-bucky @sebseyesandbuckysthighs @hymnofthevalkyries @kinqshley @beccaanne814-blog @marvel-ash @sebbytrash @serzhantjamesbuchananbarnes   @officialcaptain-marvel  @themcuhasruinedme @mizzzpink @vaisabu  @winterboobaer  @idontknow-canyou  @mylittlefandomfanfictions  @bemystucky  @hotmessofafangirl  @priettierthanyou  @avengermama  @hymnofthevalkyries @mrs--healy  @black-eyed-bucky  @supersoldier-wifey  @gold-liess  @thebabewiththepwr  @indominusregina  @lostinspace33  @lillian-paige  @brittanymcsharry  @pixierox101  @dustycelt @tragicalchemist  @palaiasaurus64  @mycapt-ohcapt  @chrisevans-imagines @ryverpenrad  @timeladylaurel @with-a-hint-of-pesto-aioli @maybe-mikala  @bellenuit45  @mrshopkirk  @ilovebeingjoyful  @soulful-ofevans @finhabastos  @queen-merc @theawesomeclairfury  @4theluvofall  @seeyainanotherlifebrotha  @jaybird6232 @johnmurphys-sass  @anxuanpham  @anitavalija  @katbird787  @tori-medusa-belongs-to-bucky  @readingtoescape  @lbouvet  @cojootromuelle  @smginger1131