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wildestdreamsblog · 1 year

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Latibule IX

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader (Mafia/Detective AU)

Summary: In which you didn’t know who he truly was- until it was too late. Or in which he found heaven in you.

Warnings: Secret Identity, Yandere behavior, Obsessiveness, Possessiveness, Manipulative behavior, Violence, Mention of death, Disability, Sexual themes, If you’re not 18+ please, PLEASE, do not interact. Be mindful of the warnings. Let me know if I miss anything.

A/N: ehehehehe enjoy, my loves! The calm before the storm 😌😌😌

Masterlist, Latibule VIII

“Agustd is alive.”

Jung Hoseok raised his brow when his suspicion was affirmed. See, he thought it was all too easy. Everything had gone so smoothly that it seemed…wrong. There was no way that he could kill him that effortlessly. The night that he trailed his brother and boss in that quaint, little province because he fed him wrong information was the fucking highlight of his life. Stabbing him felt like he finally got what he was owed. Watching him bled out managed to release some of the decade-long hatred he kept hidden in his heart.

In his mind, what he did could be considered his very own twisted justice. After all, he did kill her. Min Yoongi killed the love of his fucking life, the only woman who mattered to Hoseok. So why then shouldn’t he kill that fucking bastard?

It only felt right.

It did feel right.

Until it didn’t.

He should have known Min Yoongi was like an annoying cat with nine lives. He was Satan’s long, lost brother and even though he could send him to hell, Yoongi would only come back with a vengeance.

Hoseok slowly lowered his phone. He gripped his phone in anger and disbelief that he failed her again. But no more.

He would end this once and for all.

Hoseok stepped out of his office with a calm facade when all he wanted to do was destroy this whole room. His steps were brisk, his face emotionless. He had just turned the corner when he saw Jimin, the brother he found to be closest with. He was staring at nowhere, his back leaning against the wall and his hands shoved in his pocket in a nonchalant posture.

A stray strand of Jimin’s blonde hair fell on his forehead, and he thought he didn’t see him approach when his eyes suddenly turned to him. He should have known nothing got past his sharp eyes.

“Jiminie,” he called the younger man as he stepped near him. “Are you okay?”

For a moment, Jimin didn’t answer. He merely stared at the man with no ounce of his usual happy emotion. In its place was a somber look. “Hyung…,” he started, his tone flat, so unlike how he usually sounded. “do you wanna go to New York with me for a while?”

That was so sudden, Hoseok thought. He tilted his head before putting his hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong, Jimin? Are you okay?” He asked with worry, not used to seeing him this solemn.

“Just…go with me tonight.”

“I can’t. I have something important to do. But maybe next week?”

He looked into Hoseok’s eyes with unhidden sadness and disappointment as though he already lost someone, as though he was already mourning. Jimin chuckled humorlessly as he stood straight. He slapped his shoulder twice with warmth before walking away from him.

Yet, before he completely stepped out of the police precinct, he turned his head and offered him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Thank you for everything. God be with you, hyung.”

Jimin thought he needed it the most. After all, hell would rain on earth once Agustd resurfaced.

—-

“It’s no big deal!”

Suga threw you a glare from his position in the kitchen. He had been busy cooking since the moment he heard Jackson greeted you. Had he known it was your birthday, he would have planned better! He thought that your day should be fucking celebrated and you should be treated like the queen that you were. Instead, he was cramming his preparation and you smiling so beautifully at him didn’t help one bit.

“It is your birthday! How can it not be a big deal?”

“I don’t celebrate,” you replied nonchalantly, your eyes trained at him and the numerous dishes he had already cooked. It was just the two of you but the way he was cooking made it seemed like he was feeding three families. It was true, though. You didn’t celebrate since that tragic day. You probably didn’t want to admit to yourself how you loathed being the only one who survived.

They said it was survival’s guilt.

You thought it was just the truth. You didn’t want to survive.

“Well, we do now. From now on, we will celebrate your birthday until you turn a hundred years old, angel,” he grumbled as he was focusing on plating.

You chuckled at his ridiculousness, his lips formed into a pout. “Well, I don’t think I’ll live that long. Do you want to live that long?”

“I’ll live as long as you exist in this world.”

“You don’t mean that.”

He smirked at you, wiping his hands with the towel as he leveled you with his dark eyes. “I do, Angel. I refuse to live in this world if you don’t exist.”

And the way he said it sounded a lot like a promise, like he would see it through. The way he was looking at you, the way his dark eyes bore through your soul made your heart beat faster as though it was in danger. “Should you go before me, I will burn this whole world down and then I will follow you.”

You had always known him to be intense. You were always aware of the darkness that seemed to follow him. At the back of your mind, you were aware of the power he excluded.

You were aware. That was the thing, you knew.

But nothing could have prepared you for the true him.

Suga set up the dinner out in your garden. He spent the whole afternoon putting up lights, cooking and preparing as best as he could. He never even let you helped him and just shooed you away when you attempted. He never thought he would put so much effort on someone, yet here he was. Additionally, he never thought he would feel so much for someone. And yet, here you were, the center of his whole fucking universe. You came just in time when he thought his life was coming to an end like the angel that you were.

You stepped out of the house, your hand clutching your chest as you saw what he did. Everything was so beautiful. It was so simple, so opposite of the beauty that money could bring. No, this was the pure beauty of effort, of simplicity, of domesticity that he brought in your life. He brought so much light in your otherwise dark life, he brought so much color. You thought you were living before he came, but you were merely existing that time. He came, and you found happiness again. He came and suddenly, you were no longer alone in this world.

“Happy birthday again, my angel,” he whispered from behind you. You turned around and there he was. He had his long hair combed back neatly. He donned a white shirt and a nice slacks in exchange for his usual dark clothes. He looked so beautiful, you thought.

And the way he was smiling with his adorable gums showing melted you.

This, you thought, this was happiness.

“How come you cook so well?” You asked as you took another bite of what he cooked. He looked pleased as he watched you eat. You thought he wouldn’t answer once again like he always did. You were so used to his silence when you asked anything about him that you were surprised he answered.

“My hyung loves to cook. He thought me how to, said that all seven of us should know all the basic skills to survive.”

“Seven?” You repeated, grasping at another information he was willingly giving you.

He nodded before he put down his wine. “You met my oldest hyung. That’s Seokjin. I have five other adopted brothers.”

“I wonder what they’re like.”

He smiled at you, “You’ll meet them soon, Angel, when we go to Seoul.”

“Oh, we are?”

“Of course. You’ll love my house. Or if you don’t, we can buy our own house-“

“I’ll live there?”

He scoffed at you before pulling your hand gently to him. “As if I’ll ever leave you here. You’re stuck with me forever, Angel.”

He kissed the back of your hand before standing and walking behind you. That was when you felt the drape of chain on your neck as he fastened the necklace. “I bought this because you love the stars so much. This way, you can have it near your heart.”

You clasped the star pendant in your hand, your eyes tearing up at his words.

“Why are you crying?” He asked with slight panic as he kneeled beside you, clutching your face to his worried one. “Did you not like it? O-once we go back to Seoul, I’ll buy you more expensive ones. I’ll buy you a diamond-“

You kissed him.

Without any warning, you kissed him. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much. I love it.”

You kissed him once again, your lips moving slowly against his. And when you parted, you found him looking at you with so much tenderness as though you were the only one that mattered to him.

And to you, he was the only one you had. To you, he was your family.

“I love you, my Suga,” you admitted to him quietly, you whispered at the silence of the night. For the first time, you said what you had desperately trying to suppress. You said it so softly, so terrified that once the truth was out there that he would see you for who you were. You were terrified that he would turn away.

But he didn’t.

“You can never take that back,” he ordered as he stared at you with so much authority. He said it as though in warning, as though should you take it back, there would be consequences. “You can never stop loving me. Do you understand?”

“I-“ you planted a kiss on his forehead, “love-“ his nose, “you.” And finally, his lips.

Suga would make sure you stayed loving him. He wanted to dig himself so deep in you that there was no way you could remove him from your very core.

No. Loving him meant forever. Now that you loved him, he could no longer go back, and neither could you.

Your love sealed your future.

Suga looked at you for a moment, and then he moved. He grabbed your nape, pulling you close to him as he devoured you. His kisses were hungry, but yours were starving. You were driving him completely insane and you were threading on a dangerous line. The true Suga, both Yoongi and Agustd were already fucking crazy. With you added to the equation pushed them further to the edge. There was no going back.

He pushed his sinful tongue in your mouth. It was just a kiss, and yet you were already trembling against him. You knew his kisses had been dominant before, but heavens was this different. It was as though he wanted to own you, and you wanted to be owned just as much. He wrapped his arms around your waist as he stood up, bringing you along with him. His strong hands supporting your legs, bunching them up on his waist. As much as he was filled with lust, his possessiveness stopped him from taking you out in the open.

No, you were only for his eyes.

You were only his.

Your hands were entangled on his silky, dark locks, desperately trying to get closer to him as he lead you back to your bedroom. He managed to close the distance within seconds and gently, he dropped you in the middle of the bed, the ends of your dress bunched up to your thighs. Suga greedily looked his fill, looked at what was his. He followed your body down, plastering his front to yours.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

And without any warning, he tore your dress down. His knee was in between your thighs, spreading your legs for him. You unconsciously crossed your arms in front of you, hiding your bared breasts from his lust-filled eyes.

Suga did not like that one bit. He growled in displeasure before he pushed your wrists above your head using his one hand, while the other caressed the smooth expanse of your waist. “This is mine. You are mine. Never, ever hide from me, okay, Angel?”

He didn’t even wait for your response before he put his mouth to your breast, sucking your erect nipple with his tempting tongue. You were too defenseless from the onslaught of pleasure he was giving you. You were a mess, a whimpering mess as his hand slid down to your thighs, teasing you with his feathery touches.

You should have known your underwear was not safe with him. And just like your poor dress, he tore down your panties. He smirked at your gasped and looked at you as he brought your wet underwear to his nose.

And heavens, you smelled fucking amazing. If he was insane with lust before, he was feral now that he smelled you.

And once he tasted you?

Who knew what state he would be.

“You smell like heaven, angel,” he groaned, his eyes closed as he sniffed the little piece of cloth that used to hide what was his. He thought it was only fitting that you smelled like heaven for you were his angel.

His.

“I need to taste you,” he said absentmindedly, his brain focused on one thing: you.

Suga removed the buttons of his shirt calmly, but his eyes told a different story as he kept contact with you. He was dashing, so beautiful that even in the dark you could see him. Once he had his shirt off, he pulled your legs closer, putting them over his shoulder. Your squeak of surprise at his prompt movements didn’t deter him. His fingers slid along your core, collecting the wetness on his finger.

“Su-Suga please-“

“Shh, Angel. This is my show. This is mine. So fucking wet, Angel,” he said with his eyes focused on your pussy. You jolted in shock when you felt his tongue on you, a cry escaping from your lips. He licked a path from your entrance to your clit slowly, wanting to memorize you and how you felt.

“Fuck. You taste so divine.”

His tongue circled your clit, playing with the bundle of nerves. You were so wet that you could see your essence glistening on your chin, and yet he didn’t stop. His fingers entered you, his mouth on your clit, sucking, licking, tasting.

He never stopped.

Not when you screamed.

Not when your body buckled up.

Not when you were pushing his face on your core.

His hands secured you to him. You weren’t going anywhere.

“Oh my- fuck, baby p-please-“ you moaned, feeling your orgasm sneaking up on you. “So g-good, hngh-“

And he watched. He watched as you fell apart for him.

Only him.

From now on, it would only be him.

He was kissing your inner thigh as you came down from the high. He lifts his head when you finally stopped shaking, looking at you in adoration and with an unbridled darkness in his eyes. Now that he had you, there was this ugly emotion that pushed him to do everything so you would be safe, so you would never be hurt, never to leave him. He wanted you so fucking tied down to him that you could never leave, never breathe without him.

“Still okay? He asked softly, opposite to how his thumb was drawing circles on your clit, overstimulating you. And you couldn’t move, not with his weight on you, not with his shoulders in between your legs. You nodded, because this was the most okay you had ever been. Here, with him.

“Suga,” you whined, wanting more of what he just gave you. And he knew what you wanted. He crawled up to you, kissing you tenderly, his tongue playing with yours before he peppered kisses on your neck, on your breasts, leaving his marks for people to know you were already owned.

“What do you want, Angel?” He whispered hotly.

“You-“

“Yeah? Do you want my cock, Angel?”

“Yes!” You moaned, his lips wrapped around your nipples.

“Tell me,” he ordered.

“I want your cock, baby please!”

“Then you shall have it, my Angel.”

You heard the buckle of his belt, the exciting sound of his zipper. And then you felt his hardness. He felt so fucking big. So fucking hard.

He lifted your knees up, positioning your heels to his bared ass. He lined himself, sliding his cock in your slit, drenching it with your wetness. He parted your slick folds with his fingers, looking down at your cunt. The bulbous head of his cock slowly entered your tight heat, his eyes full of desire as you watched him watched his member entered you. He looked vicious, his dark hair framing his face, his scarred eye focused intently on you. His movements were gentle and deep- at first. When you finally adjusted to his girth, he thrusted all the way inside you. He moaned so deep, so loud that you felt your core tightened on his member.

Fuck, he sounded so masculine. “You feel so unbelievable. This fucking pussy- mine. You’re mine,” he growled as he thrusted inside you, molding your body to his.

The way he rolled his hips was heavenly, and you were close. His thrusts were precise, controlled, hard. You could feel him hardened even further. He was close, he knew it.

A better man would have pulled out.

Hell, a decent man would put on a condom.

A twisted, devious, manipulative man, on the other hand, would do everything to tie you to him. And if his seed would take root on your womb, then even better.

See, a better man would not come inside you. He definitely would not finger his cum back inside you as you fell asleep.

Alas, he wasn’t a good man that you thought him to be.

He was insatiable.

Suga was like a man possessed, you thought as you winced. The damned prick looked please as he watched you wobbled out of bed. He did make it up to you though by preparing you a hot bath and a massage.

That was an hour ago. He stepped out, remembering the promise he made little Jackson that he would bring him a slice of your birthday cake.

You had never slept as good as you did last night, safely inside his arms. You woke up earlier than him, and you just…stared at him. You wanted to engrave what he looked like in your mind. Your hands caressed his face, tracing every outline with your eyes closed. You were sure that you could recognized him even in the dark. He was your person, you thought.

Someone knocked on your front door. You smiled when you opened the door, thinking that Suga must have forgotten his key.

But it wasn’t him.

You looked at the man with confusion, “May I help you?”

He smiled.

Jung Hoseok smiled, and behind him was a gun hidden from your view.

Epilogue

#bts fic #yandere bts #bts yandere #min yoongi fic #min yoongi x you #min yoongi x y/n #min yoongi x reader #yandere min yoongi #yoongi fic #yoongi x reader #yoongi x you #bts smut #min yoongi smut

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whateverisbeautiful · 6 days

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♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#57: The Father (1.06)

gif cred: @fishalthor

There are so many qualities I love about the character of Rick Grimes. A king among men. 👑 And one of my absolute favorite things about him is that he's such a good loving father. And in this following moving scene, we get to see Rick open up to Michonne about just how he feels not getting to be a father to his kids all these years 🥺...

But first, there's that suspenseful elevator moment. 😬

Rick hurries into an elevator with the last light of the world’s leader stuffed inside a crate. 😅 And as he waits for the doors to close, a tall soldier comes walking in to stand beside him.

And then it’s very tense as the two silently wait side by side while the elevator trudges its way down several floors. Rick then looks down and notices that blood is leaking from the crate which just ramps up the suspense even more.

Meanwhile, Michonne has made it outside - and I just have to note that her face card doesn’t even decline when covered in a helmet and mask. 💯

Michonne is obviously very conflicted after what she’s just seen in the auditorium and she knows they have to do something about it and fast. So after getting outside, she makes her way back inside like...

And the Baddest Chick in the Game also grabs some bombs while she’s at it. 💣

Meanwhile, in the elevator, the blood is still leaking from the container and just when the doors open, the soldier notices. 😬 So Rick is forced to go toe to toe with him.

And the one good thing the CRM did was give Rick some improved hand-to-hand combat skills. 👌🏽 I know some people be getting on that man for often finding himself on the losing end of a fisticuffs but hey he always came out on top of those TWD fights too. 😌

gif cred: @nerd4music

But now, Rick stayed in control for most of this fight with the CRM soldier and that had me so proud of him. He’s come a long way in this area so I'm just sitting here watching like...

Rick quite savagely beats the guy's face in until he’s dead and this is definitely that feral Rick we saw often in TWD.

When the doors open, Rick looks like he’s ready to just keep taking down CRM folk, but he quickly realizes the soldier in front of him is actually his wife when Michonne says his name.

And y’all, Richonne really are certifiably crazy because the way Michonne doesn’t even react to Rick covered in blood or the bloodied body on the ground. It’s just another day at the office for them. 😅

Michonne says they can’t go home yet and asks if he knows what the CRM is planning. Rick says he got the echelon but he’s more curious how Michonne found him right now. Me personally, I’ll just chalk it up to thinking soulmates like them can always find each other because they come with innate GPS trackers lol.

Michonne informs Rick that the CRM has a whole tent of bombs outside and that they’re going to be evacuating the kids and then taking out a whole city of people. Rick replies saying, “This is happening now. We can still get home, but not yet.”

I love that Rick’s now at a point where going home stays a part of the plan no matter what. And Michonne says, “We have to stop them because we can stop them.” And of course, they both know and believe they’re capable of handling this just the two of them.

Then there’s a great little moment of levity when Michonne notices the crate and casually asks Rick if it's his.

gif cred: @nerd4music

Michonne asks, "Is this yours?" and Rick's just like “Yeah.” Since he doesn’t elaborate further about the Beale-in-a-box, Michonne asks, “What’s in it?”

gif cred: @nerd4music

And the wordless ‘it’s complicated’ look Rick gives her is comedy.🤭 Something about this exchange between them was truly giving married and I’m here for it. 😁

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

And then y’all, after being entirely too late to the party, Pearl finally starts to become suspicious that something is up with her big brother Grimes. She sees that Beale isn’t in fact in the woods like Rick says so she goes off to investigate.

Next, there's a very heartfelt scene as Rick and Michonne are alone in a room to set up their plan to stop the CRM. 🥲

Rick asks Michonne how she came up with this explosive idea and Michonne, always one to honor Nat’s memory, says, “Took some inspiration from the genius known as Nat.”

After what the CRM did to him and his friends, I know Nat is looking down from above so proud of Michonne for using his techniques to take these soldiers down. Nat still got his payback like he wanted. 😌

Also, seeing Richonne both in the red-striped CRM uniforms, I like how this episode has them in matching outfits for most of the duration. Having matched in similar clothes and colors a lot within this franchise, it just feels right for Rick and Michonne to be matching in the finale too.

As Rick packs, he tells Michonne, “You know, Beale said I could lead the CRM one day.” There's something interesting to me about how, from all the things shared in the echelon briefing, Rick brings this specific point up.

It leads to a great and underrated moment, as Michonne just has a playfully sarcastic response saying, “Guess you were right. You could do this all by yourself” before giving Rick a very communicative look that says 'the CRM is not keeping my man any longer.' And then Rick has a sweet subtle smile back at her. 🥹

The reason I feel this quick smile moment is great is because many at the CRM have tried to tell Rick what he’s supposed to do and who he’s supposed to be these last seven or so years. Telling him that he has this power and he has to use it in the ways they deem fit. But Rick never wanted any of that. As he said in season 9, he really didn’t ask anyone to follow him. He's always, from Day One of TWD, viewed himself as just a man who wants to be with his family.

And so here when Rick brings up that Beale also felt he should use his natural-born leadership to take on a position of power that he doesn’t really want to take on, there is something so refreshing to him about Michonne just knowing he doesn’t want that and so he doesn’t have to do it. And especially doesn't have to do it alone. She's always let him know they're in this together.

So I always interpret his smile reaction as Rick feeling really appreciative that for the first time in a long time someone isn’t forcing that leadership role on him.

And after enduring so much alone, I love that he knows that now that he has Michonne back, he really won’t have to take on things by himself anymore. He and Michonne get to return to reordering things together like Rick most wanted. 👌🏽

And after his wife so welcomingly frees him from those CRM leadership expectations, Rick then gives some insight into what he actually wants when he says, “We could just go.”

What Rick wants most of all is to finally make it home and just live life with his family and I feel like because that reality is now more tangible than it’s ever been, there’s likely a part of him that doesn’t want to risk this CRM plan getting in the way of them making it home.

(Side note: I've touched on it before but just had to reiterate here that, contrary to some out there's belief, a lethal fighting machine is not all Rick is and it's not how this character wants to operate if he doesn't have to. I think Rick has been shown to be someone that would be fully content living a domestic everyday life that never again requires returning to intense fight mode. Savage Rick is certainly a part of him, but all the savage stuff he's done and does is to protect the family he wants to live a peaceful normal life with. Being a husband and father is Rick's core want and driving motivator. Which is why making TOWL about Rick getting to his wife and kids rather than just a guns-a-blazing fight against bad guys was the right choice.

And when Rick got taken from his family, he didn't spend those years pursuing some new motivation to obtain power or world domination like some want him to seek. He chose to die. Without his wife and kids, he'd rather be dead. That was made quite clear. And even when Rick agreed to Okafor's mission it had so much to do with wanting to save the world for his family, even if they never knew he did that. So it makes sense that TOWL would then have to be a more contained story and focus on Rick returning to his love and to himself after losing himself so deeply because he lost his family. And I love that in finding his family, his everything, Michonne, Rick really does return to himself - both the part of him that's a resilient fighter and the part of him that's willing to be admirably vulnerable.)

Michonne looks up at him and Rick says, “This is…” and I’m sure he was going to in some way express how risky this is, but Michonne finishes the sentence saying this is “...what we have to do. What sort of world are we making for them if we walk away from something like this?” And that always just hits my heart to hear her say 'for them' because she’s talking about their babies. 😭

And then my heart gets hit even more when Rick also talks about their babies as he opens up saying, “You know…I’m mad at the time I missed. Not seeing our kids growing up.” First of all - 🥺🥺🥺.

gif cred: @nat111love

I think part of coming back alive again means also having a whole lot of suppressed feelings rise back up to the surface. So it’s meaningful for Rick to now acknowledge that part of what he feels is mad that he missed so much time with his kids.

And especially knowing it was Rick who presented the idea of him and Michonne building for the future with a baby all those years ago, and now he's had to learn that he got what he wanted but missed out on so much of that baby's early years. That has to hurt. 😞

When Rick was taken, Judith was so young too so he missed a lot of early milestones in both his kids' lives. I know he would have given anything to be there loving them and raising them during such formative years of their lives. 🥲

Being a father has always been so important to him and so you know it weighs heavily on him that he was kept from being the dad his kids needed and from getting to be by Michonne’s side, raising their son and daughter together, and enjoying all the great moments of their kids growing up. 🥺

And again, hearing Richonne say “our kids” is music to my ears every time. I think too, after hearing the echelon briefing, the last remains of the CRM’s facade just came tumbling down to Rick because in some ways Beale sounded a little paranoid and crazy rather than saying anything concrete. So that has to just make it extra hard for Rick to feel like the CRM kept him from his babies all these years because of their warped paranoid belief system.

Rick then says, “I know we can’t, but I just…I think about that time and I just want to go back.” Annnnd cue my tears. This got me, y’all. 😭

gif cred: @nat111love

The emotion he feels when he says this. 🥺 This is a father whose heart breaks over the invaluable time he’s lost with kids and that breaks my heart. 💔

It’s super moving to see Rick have this moment of vulnerability with Michonne. One of the things that has always made the character of Rick Grimes so great and compelling is that he’s willing to be emotionally vulnerable. Being in tune with what he feels contributes so much to his strength as a man and as a character.

And I like how there’s layers to him saying he just wants to go back. It’s like he longs to just go back home right now but he also longs to just go back in time and be there with his family during all the years he missed.

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

He should’ve had the chance to be with his babies. 😔 Rick deserved that. But while they unfortunately can’t go back in time, Michonne is here to help Rick shift his perspective with what she says next. 👌🏽

As Rick looks at her with tears in his eyes, Michonne instantly feels for him. I think about how in the TWD 'Scars' episode there was a scene where Michonne watches Judith and some kids play a game and she tells Aaron how she wishes Rick could see this.

gif cred: @michonnegrimes

Michonne knows how much she too wishes Rick could have been there all those years seeing their kids grow up. And it clearly moves her to now hear Rick express that same desire to have been there. 🥺

gif cred: @nat111love

Also, I was thinking about how another reason it was so fitting for Rick to have said that Michonne puts pieces back together during the proposal is because when their family experienced brokenness with the loss of Carl and Rick being taken, it was Michonne who had to hold the rest of their family together.

And it makes me so happy that now Michonne won't have to do that alone anymore because Rick is willing, ready, and eager to return to being part of their family.

I love the way Michonne looks at Rick and then drops what she's doing to go over to him and kiss him. Those were some loud and clear ‘I love you’ kisses, y’all. 💯😊 See, Michonne stays saying I love you without even having to say it.

gif cred: @nat111love

This was just the type of love and connection Rick needed at this moment. And it’s sweet how Michonne is so comforting as she keeps Rick's face in her hands and assures him, “We are back.” 🥹

It can be understandably tempting to be saddened by the past, but I think it’s really nice how Michonne reframes this to let Rick know they’re back now. And the present and future still hold a lot of opportunities for them to make it back to their family and spend lots of time with them the way they’re meant to.

gif cred: @nat111love

Rick of course resonates with Michonne saying this and then, true to them, he repeats her words from earlier back - knowing that saving people and stopping the CRM from bombing a whole city is what they do. And Michonne affirms that by saying “Yes it is.”

gif cred: @msanonships

I always love the way Rick looks at Michonne at this moment because as draining as it clearly is for him to fight all these battles, he always can get a fresh sense of strength when in her arms. And she's so tender with him as she rubs his face. 🥲

And then y’all know being a richonner means being spoiled, so this really sweet scene ends with the two passionately kissing and wrapping each other in their arms once again. Look at our lovely and crazy little lovebirds all making out in their Richonne bubble before they blow stuff up. 😊

gif cred: @msanonships

Like if I’m supposed to get over the fact that a show exists where Richonne kisses 100+ times, it’s not gonna happen. I’ll never be over it.😇

Every time they kiss it just makes me think about how these are two people who didn't know if this type of love would ever find them after what they had lost. And then not only did love find them, but the greatest and strongest love of all found them when they found each other. And it's everything Rick and Michonne deserve.

This final makeout is really sweet too because it's just so clear that Rick and Michonne both get so much comfort from each other. No matter what else is going on, they can always lock in with each other and find their center.

With this kiss, it's also clear that they're very grateful to finally be back in each other's presence after being deprived of each other for years. The sad days of being apart are over, and they cherish knowing they'll get to be by each other's side from here on out.

gif cred: @lousolversons

I’ll always love this scene for giving Rick and Michonne a genuinely touching heart-to-heart as parents and protectors and as two people who know they can always express their rawest feelings to one another.

Hearing Rick reflect as a father about how he feels having missed all this time with his kids was something I was hoping for when TOWL was announced. And I really appreciate how that was addressed in this touching scene. 👌🏽🥹❤️‍🩹

#richonne #towl #reveling in richonne #1.06 #RIR (57)#the ones who live #twd towl #michonne grimes #rick grimes #rick x michonne #twol #michonne #rick and michonne #twd: the ones who live #twd #richonnefandom

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jade-green-butterfly · 11 months

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Just watched Trolls Band Together...ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!😍😍😍(SPOILERS AHEAD, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!)

Oooh, my Harmonia...just got back from watching Trolls Band Together and my GOODNESS!!🤩✨🤩✨🤩Words cannot describe how amazed and engrossed I was into the whole movie!!💖💖💖Was it worth the seven month wait?😗TOTALLY!!😍😍😍It was absolutely fantastic, and I LOVED and enjoyed every single moment of it!!🥰

I was really getting into scenes, got quite a few laughs out of some scenes and was touched the wholesome ones~💕Branch's brothers were just as enjoyable on screen - John Dory still being my fave as he grew throughout the movie (LOVE Rhonda too!😁) Spruce/Bruce is such a lovable family man, Clay was (serious)ly awesome in his scenes and the tender moments between Floyd and Branch really got me...especially with the flashbacks...🥲 It was so great to see Grandma Rosiepuff again, though I do wish there was more feeling shown when her death was mentioned, hopefully the brothers will come to terms with it more in time...and Branch's bunker plan for them all, d'awww...~🥺So he DID build the bunker for all his family...😭 Viva was such an amazing character as well as she adorably bonded with Poppy (ooh, dear King Peppy, I know you were heartbroken at the time but c'mon...😅) and finally braved out of her comfort zone, and Tiny Diamond going through his big boy phase was real cute and funny😂Bridget and King Gristle were great too, it was lovely seeing them again along with the Bergens!😊 I had a feeling Velvet and Veneer were luring BroZone to them, they were such good villains with their goals and personalities but I am glad Floyd got through to Veneer in the end, and he saw the wrong he and his sister were doing, and came clean to everyone. And Crimp was a cutie and deserves better🫂(glad she got a hug from Poppy and stood up to Velvet and Veneer in the end😌) And it was also great to see some of the Snack Pack again too, including Prince D and especially my darling Cooper too, eeeee~!😍💗💗💗He looked so dapper!💝🥰 Speaking of Poppy, she was just as darling as ever~!😚I seriously LOVED her relationship and her undying love for Branch blossom so much here whilst supporting and fangirling for him all the way as they interacted, bless her~😊And that sweet BROPPY KISS!!🤭...🤩I was going 'YES!! FINALLY!!' under my breath, grinning from ear to ear in that moment~💙💖And that moment when I thought he was gonna pop the question during the performance during the end...hehe, maybe another time~😉But I certainly didn't expect *NSYNC to show up in their trollsonas near the end...what a twist!😮

The chase scene and perfect family harmony scene were truly epic and it really shows, it doesn't have to be perfect as long as we're altogether~💞💓All the locations of the brothers were stunning to look at, with Vacay Island and Spruce/Bruce's family, the creepy abandoned Bergen golf course with the Putt-Putt Trolls, and finally Mount Rageous - a whole lot of wonder to take in!💖Walt Dohrn, Gina Shay and the DreamWorks Animation Crew did such an fantastic job on everything!✨🌟✨And that huge BroZone hug...again, d'aaaaww~!😭

As for the songs...I'll be downloading the rest of the album now because they were all wonderful to listen to!🎧🎶Real boyband and 90's nostalgia~✨I know they're gonna be stick in my head for a long time, hehe!😆I have so many faves, especially all versions of 'Better Place'~😚

A greatly HUGE thank-you in a million to everyone Trolls for such a fantastic movie, which I wonderfully enjoyed all the way through, from start to finish!🌟👏👏👏🌟AAAHH!!💓💗💓I JUST LOVED IT ALL!! 😍🤩😍I give it a solid 9.5 out of 10!!😊👍✨Totally made my weekend~!🫶🥰

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ofmermaidstories · 8 months

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Ouch :( the bakugo letting you go tags were only kind of a happy ending :(

But very beautifully written so I forgive

okay. 🥺 but i mean!!! in my defence, willow was asking a really hard question LOL. like!!! if you’re being treated well, and happy? if someone really cared for you, why would they ruin that? 🥺 even if Katsuki truly thought he was a better fit for you, he’s getting a Grade A course in Character Development ground into his selfish ass in the manga atm. 💀 there is no way he’s gonna come out the other side of that and not like—be actively wary of hurting people he cares about, in the future.

i don’t even think he’d like, beat himself up over it tbh. i think once he saw that you were happy—truly happy—that would be it. he missed his chance, that’s on him, he’s not gonna begrudge you a life with the kind of man who walks in the rain to drop off your lunch. i think he’d go to the wedding, make some half-assed rude remark that you laugh over, even though it’s not that funny, because you’re so buoyed by the day. and i think he’d sit with his friends and drink all the toasts and roll his eyes at whatever jokes kirishima has and maybe when he goes home that night to a silent apartment maybe he has a moment where he stands there, at his sink, and tells himself tough shit and—that’s it. 💀 he just powers on, goes about his daily life. saves the city, follows deku, fights with shouto.

and you come back from your honeymoon and you’re still so happy, talking with some of the older office staff about how much of a pity it is that in the middle of all the chaos it’s so hard to enjoy the wedding for the party it was, but yes, the honeymoon was so nice because you stayed at some little cabin—

and katsuki just walks past it with a grunt of acknowledgment that you brush off, fondly. and nothing much changes! (except you belong with someone else now, and you’re happier for it)

maybe a few months later denki asks about this mystery crush of his that katsuki had, that kiri let slip one time—and he shrugs and just says shit happens and then denki and mineta make rude jokes about him being a virgin forever. 💀 and he just holds his drink and tells them both to shut up before he blows their dicks off and then that makes them laugh even more, obvi.

(don’t worry. i think katsuki has plenty of time to meet you 2.0 😌 new you. 😌 better you. 😌 different you. 😌😌 one hundred happy endings, remember??? we always get ‘em eventually 😌🫶🏽📚)

#ofmermaidstories-asks #prompts and drabbles and other things

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biteofcherry · 1 year

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Eva, I am sorry to inform you that this guy:

Is not amused by your bratty behavior, not at all, honey, and he thinks that maybe he needs to find something better to do with that smart mouth of yours. 👀

Bratty? Me? 😇 I think Andy's been too stressed with work and in fear of him suffering a heart attack I simply did my best to defuse the tension and make him relax. Like a good, loving girl that I am 😌

Charm and defuse

Andy Barber x female reader

summary: You thought it was a great idea to pick your husband from office after watching him work so hard for the past few weeks. Andy was so tense, coming back home late each night. So really, surprising him should make him feel a little better, right? Well...

warnings: established relationship; Dom/sub undertones; possessive Andy Barber; smut-t-y bits ahead;

You feel a little bad.

Mostly embarrassed. And giggly.

There's a champagne hiccup, too.

And feeling bad, yes. The bad part is important. Especially when Andy's face clouds with that stormy look, muscle in his jaw ticking as he stares you down.

He shouldn't be staring you down, you think. You're his cute, beloved wife and you came here to make him happy. You almost frown at him, but remember that Andy's hand gets heavier when you frown at him.

Well, sometimes you do it on purpose, because the sting of his slap can feel amazing.

Something tells you now wouldn't be the right time to aggravate him further. You're in enough trouble as it is. Not your fault, truly, but better not point that out.

Pity that your mouth doesn't cooperate with the tiny non-drunk particle in your otherwise tipsy brain.

"Don't glare. It's your fault." You blurt. And frown. Oops.

Andy arches a single eyebrow as he takes a step forward. He moves quietly, yet each step feels like it thunders along with your heartbeat. Which stopped for a few seconds when Andy came into his office.

Your plan was to come to Andy's office in the evening, so you could surprise him after his last meeting and perhaps be a little naughty on his big, polished desk.

Which is why you came in nothing but lingerie under your cobalt blue coat and with a bottle of champagne - some expensive sparkle that Andy kept in the small wine cellar at your house.

But Andy's meeting was running late. Really late. To the point of you getting bored out of your mind.

So you opened the bottle. A few sips wouldn't harm anyone and you'd be more relaxed to make a sexy pose on Andy's office couch to welcome him when he returned.

Half a bottle later he did return.

And you were spread on his couch in nothing but lingerie and jewelry, sucking a finger into your mouth when Andy walked in.

With three other man right at his back...

You're not sure if he was more pissed that those men saw you like that, or that you cursed and giggled and waved your fingers at them.

He barked out something harsh to them and closed the door to his office (more like slammed them). Andy's eyes never leave your form, even as you stumble from your sprawled-like-a-whore position to a more lady like.

"Explain, please," Andy slowly takes off his suit jacket, "how is it my fault that my wife flashed a body that belongs to me to other men and downed half of the bottle of Krug that I saved for our wedding anniversary?"

He drapes his jacket over the back of a guest chair and starts rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. Which makes your brain sidetrack and your thighs clench.

"Maybe if you weren't so busy with a boring meeting, you'd get to your wife sooner and do something about all this!" You gesture at yourself and pout.

"Oh, I'm about to do something about all this." Andy's voice is a snap of leather, sending shivers down your spine at the though of that potential outcome.

"Okay!" You jump up, swaying slightly as the bubbles fizzle in your head again.

You hook your thumbs under the waistband of your panties, about to tug them down your legs, when Andy's fingers clench around your wrists and pull your hands away.

"You're not getting the part you like, honey," his breath is a hit, cruel tease against the shell of your ear.

"Not until I've had my fill."

He twists your arms behind your back and binds them with his tie. Then he's pushing on your shoulder, forcing you to kneel down. Sliding a foot between your knees, he kicks them wider apart.

Keeps his shoe dipped right under your clothed pussy, too.

"You downed that champagne so eagerly and spread yourself like a cute little slut-" Andy tilts your chin up with one hand, unfastening his pants with the other- "You will swallow me as eagerly and rub yourself on my shoe like a good girl."

When you don't react, too mesmerized with the sight of his beautiful, thick cock springing free, Andy squeezes your chin.

"Won't you?" He asks, holding your gaze.

"Yes, Sir." You wet your lips and grin. "I like the taste of you more than champagne, anyway."

Andy snorts, but eases his grip on your chin and instead cups your cheek as he guides his cock between your parted lips.

"Prove it, brat," he challenges, holding the back of your head as he pushes himself down your throat.

When you start rocking your hips against his foot while tonguing the underside of his dick, Andy groans in relieved bliss.

Lord knows your presence is always what he needs for his day to be better, even when you're being mouthy or getting into trouble. He loved your surprise visit and if it wasn't for the unexpected witnesses, he'd take your giggly, tipsy ass for a ride on his desk - just like he knows you've been dreaming.

But other men saw the treasure that you were and since Andy can't punch them and gouge their eyes out, he has to take it out on you.

Besides, it wouldn't do good if he didn't punish you for being careless.

Sensing your rhythm increasing, Andy stills with his cock halfway in your mouth and taps his shoe against your inner thigh. You gaze up at him, swallowing a hum around his length.

"You don't get to cum." He commands and your pupils widen.

Your whine resonates along Andy's cock, but you slow the motion of your hips. You're not particularly happy with this punishment, but you guess you'd be even less happy with the repercussions for your disobedience.

Then again...

"Don't even think about it," Andy pats your cheek. "Disobey and you won't be cumming for a month."

"Be good," he caresses you with the back of his hand and pushes deeper into your throat, "and I'll reward you for being my good girl."

"My good." He starts fucking your face harder. "Thoughtful. Frisky. Wife. Oh fuck baby! That's it! Keep going. Keep-"

It takes all remnants of your will power not to orgasm when Andy does. It's fucking hard to do, because the grip on your head and the twitching of his cock on your tongue is a great turn on.

Maybe Andy's conditioned your body to react this way to the mere taste of him, but you have to lift your hips completely up from his shoe, because the slightest pressure would undoubtedly tip you over the edge.

Andy pulls out when he's still spurting, smearing last splashes on your chin and cheeks. Then thrusts into your mouth again.

Long minutes later Andy lifts you up on your feet. He unties your hands and helps you into your coat. Your body is still buzzing with need, panties sticking to your slick folds.

He doesn't clean your face and holds your hand in his as he marches you out of his office into his car.

#stargazingfangirl18 #Siri #Andy Barber x reader #Andy Barber x female reader #Andy Barber x you #Andy Barber imagine #charm and defuse

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squintyeyedjoel · 6 months

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Through Your Eyes | Part 2 - More than Meets the Eye (Joel x Reader)

A/N: IT’S FINALLY FUCKING HERE!!!! I’m so sorry it took so long! I’ve been sitting on this for almost a year and it’s just been evolving and marinating and improving, and I hope it lives up to the hype. It’s time for it to be set free. ✨ This is truly a hybrid of game and show Joel. I see them both, hence both gifs.

I do not own The Last of Us or it’s characters. Sadly. But I carry them in my heart. Does that count for something? My soul says yes.

Warnings: Oooo, this one’s a doozy. So many things. (Let me know if I miss anything.) 😮‍💨 Some original characters, mentions of an elderly family member passing, lots of canon violence and swearing, (this one is a big one. Like a lot. There’s a hefty amount of swearing.) mention of attempted sexual assault (not to reader) without detail, graphic description of injury (not to reader) and blood, attempted abduction? Reader is a badass and sports a black eye and bloody knuckles with pride. Panic attack? But Joel scares it away. 😌 We round it all out with obscene amounts of fluff and humor between it all, sweet moments, and just soft things. It’s me. I can’t not. No use of Y/N.

Word count: 11,928

Thank you to @fordo-kixed-rex for reading over this five bazillion times for me and fangirling over it when I was having my down moments. You’re a real one.

Previous | Series Masterlist | Masterlist | Next

Xxx

You rocked in the saddle of your horse as she slowly followed behind the first few people in the group.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Over.

And over.

Some quicker footfalls to your left made you turn your head, seeing Joel atop his horse come alongside you before slowing his steed back to the slow crawl the rest had fallen into.

“You okay?” He mumbled. “Look like you’re about to fall asleep.”

“Don’t tempt me,” you groused, turning back to face forward with a yawn.

He huffed out a laugh before shaking his head at you almost imperceptibly, nudging his horse to go a little faster toward the front of the group.

Watching him with narrowed brows, you saw everyone else make sure to steer clear of him, giving him a wide berth and a clear path to the front. Tommy’s words from that first day rang in your head.

“You saw a side of Joel right out the gate some wait a lifetime to miss.”

Joel whistled loudly, gathering everyone’s attention, as the whole party came to a stop. “Alright! Listen up!” Some grumbles began to go around, but stopped with one crook of his brow. “That’s an awful lot of yappin’ for people suppose t’be listenin’.”

If a pin had dropped in the grass underfoot, it would have echoed in the vast forest around you. Even nature seemed to heed his warning, only a few stray birds chirping somewhere in the distance brave enough to break the silence. A lone frog echoed in a nearby creek bed. A few bugs buzzed by, trying to ease the tension, and it seemed to work, because finally Joel went on after staring at everybody.

“We need to pick up the pace. This isn’t a leisurely walk to the park and back. We have a goal we need to get to, and back, and we got one week to do it.”

“Who made you the boss?” Some poor brave soul asked from behind you. A young man, maybe in his mid twenties from how he sounded. You didn’t dare turn to look at him, not wanting to move your eyes from Joel, because if looks could kill…. Joel would currently be facing a serious charge for the way he was glowering at the faceless voice behind you.

“Common sense.” A few small laughs went around the group, the corner of Joel’s mouth twitching up just slightly when he saw you shake your head with a smirk. “This was my run- our run,” he pointed to you then back to himself before retaking the reins to his horse, “and the council thought it best you all tag along to bring the most back we could. Now I don’t mind-”

“Yes, you do,” another voice behind you said, female, almost teasingly, making another round of soft laughter go around.

“Fine. I mind. A lot. But we’re here now. So, since you’re tagging along on our run, what we say goes. Agreed?” When no one protested, he gestured you up to the front with a tilt of his head, going on while you nudged your horse forward.

“Now, we need to move faster. Any bandits or infected we pass by would pick us off like flies at this pace. The cart will be the slowest, I want the four of you to stay with the cart at all times and watch all four sides.” He pointed to four individuals who nodded, moving toward the cart pulled by a single horse and rider.

“The three of you pull up the rear.” More pointing and nodding. “The rest of you, in the middle. Keep your eyes open. Everyone keep at a steady pace, we camp at sundown wherever that is. Don’t push your horses too far.” He began to turn his own mount to move forward. “Not their fault we’re a bunch of dumbasses.”

“I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard him say at once,” you heard someone mutter behind you, making you smile.

“At once? Try ever,” another retorted.

Joel looked over at you. “What? Why you grinnin’?”

“They respect you.”

He scoffed. “That so hard to believe?”

“It’s a side of you I’ve not seen before. I’m used to bad puns and screwdrivers, not….” You made a swooping gesture to the group behind you, “that.”

He shook his head once, tisking at you. “Shows what you know. I’m actually partly in charge of security around Jackson.”

Your eyes widened as you turned as much as your saddle would allow to look at him, the leather creaking against the movement. “Really?”

He nodded once in confirmation, a proud smile starting up his face. “Only a part time type’f thing, and it’s purely on a trial basis right now, but…. Yeah.” He grinned brightly at you. “The jokin’ and woodworkin’ are just for fun.” The smile turned somewhat dopey and lopsided.

“There’s more to you than meets the eye, Joel Miller.” He rolled his eyes at you, the grin melting into a scoff and his signature sour expression with impressive speed. Though his eyes still shone brightly, giving away his true amusement. “And I’m gonna try to see it all.”

Shaking his head at you again, Joel looked back forward, nudging his horse to go a bit faster and pull ahead of you. “Nah. Not that deep, darlin’.”

Urging your mount forward, you maneuvered to your right, and fell in beside him with a grin. “That’s what you think.”

Joel tilted his head down and to the side toward you as he spoke for emphasis, keeping his eyes forward. “That’s what I know.” He cut his gaze to you briefly after a moment to try and drive his point home before straightening back up in his saddle, his eyes going studiously back to the wide expanse of land ahead.

Your grin melted into a smirk, seemingly a new permanent fixture since moving to Jackson. Or more specifically, since moving in with Joel and Ellie. That thought made the side of your mouth tick even higher. “We’ll see.”

Xxx

In the chaos of starting up a new life in Jackson, you’d overlooked one little detail. While you could repair and paint just about anything on your own, you were shit at stitching any stuffed toys back together Joel happened on during runs. It was possible, but it was slow going, and to be honest, looked a bit like field dressings for a battle wound instead of repairs.

You’d thrown the last attempt of an old wrinkled teddy bear at Joel when he’d called it Sargent Cuddles, Ellie only adding to the confirmation when she asked if you could make an eyepatch for the bear instead to cover the deep scar you’d given it by way of cross stitches.

Halfway through that first week, you’d walked into the town’s seamstress with the best smelling cinnamon loaf the bakery had to offer, fresh and steaming, under your arm. When the girl behind the counter stopped what she was doing, setting down the socks she was darning while her nose went high in the air like a bloodhound as she took a deep sniff with her eyes glassed over, you grinned.

Target acquired.

“Can I help you?” Her voice was soft and kind, and her smile as she rose to her feet from the chair helped settle any trepidation you felt about reaching out.

People hadn’t always been kind about your hobby, for one reason or another, hence why you came with bribes at the ready. But you had a feeling this time would be different. You smirked as she nonchalantly eyed the loaf under your arm.

“Hi! Yeah! I’m the one who restores the toys? I opened up in the old bookstore down the street?” You introduced yourself, and recognition went off behind her eyes at the sound of your name.

“Oh! Joel’s girl!”

Your breath caught in your chest as your head gave a little shake of confusion at the declaration. “What?”

She chuckled somewhat nervously. “No! No, not like that, I mean…. His neighbor. His new lodger. The one in the attic.” She was talking a mile a minute. “Not his ‘his’ girl….” She slapped a palm to her forehead, cradling her head in her hand as she rocked it back and forth before pulling back just enough to look at you conspiratorially. “But can you imagine?”

After a moment of silence where you both simply stared at each other, soft laughter took over, melting the tension between you.

“Let me start over,” she huffed, lowering her hand from her face to extend it to you in greeting. “I’m Jane. Nice to meet you.”

As you shook her hand, you couldn’t help but smile at her antics. “Likewise.”

Jane turned her attention back down to the socks she had abandoned when you came in, fiddling with them absently before she looked back up at you, a soft tint of embarrassment staining her cheeks. “So, what brings you here?”

“Oh! Right.” Setting the loaf on the counter, you shrugged the backpack off your shoulder and set it down beside the bread, fishing out the few stuffed animals Joel had brought back that needed the most help. “I was hoping we could work out a deal. I can do some basic stitching, but even then, Joel and Ellie have compared my work to that of a field medic more than anything.”

Jane snickered at the comment as she took one of the worn stuffed animals, turning it over in her hands and analyzing it as you continued.

“People trade me all sorts of goods for these, like this loaf.” You gestured to it with a bob of your head, then placed your hand on the still steaming bread. “The baker’s son has a birthday coming up, and she wanted something special. Joel and Tommy don’t always bring back stuffed animals so it wouldn’t be constant work, but I was hoping when they do, I could bring them here, and we could work out some sort of trade system for the repairs-”

“No need,” Jane said, smiling down at the stuffed tiger in her hands. You arched a brow at her, waiting for her to go on, and she finally tore her gaze away from the toy and up to you. “I had one just like this as a kid. Loved it to bits. It looked like it had been through the wars before I lost it, patches everywhere and stuffing missing so it was lumpy…. I learned to sew on that thing.” Jane looked back at the toy again fondly. “I’ll help you. All I ask is that I get to keep this one, and maybe one every few runs if they happen to stumble on any others like I used to have. I…. I had a collection.”

When she brought her gaze back up to meet yours, her eyes were misty. “It was small, but it was everything to me. Got a new one every year when I was little from my grandparents. Stopped when I hit that certain age where adults deem you too old for those things. Which was fine.” She sniffed, a tear falling silently down her cheek. “Then my grandpa he…. He started having memory issues.” She took a deep, shaky breath, smiling sadly at the toy. “Regressed a certain amount of years…. Just so happened to be when I was a certain age, still, in his mind, and he got me a stuffed toy every year for my birthday, until….”

You reached out, placing your hand over hers. “Keep whatever you want. You don’t even have to do repairs to keep them.” She began to protest, swiping at her tears with the back of the hand still holding the tiger when you squeezed her other hand gently. “The whole reason I’m doing this in the first place is to help bring some joy back into the world. And I want you to be happy, you deserve to be happy, without me lording something over you like demanding a trade in exchange-”

Jane flipped her hand in your grip, squeezing you like you had her. “And doing this will make me happy.” You studied her for a long moment. “Do you know how boring it is to darn a sock?” You snorted a laugh, and she smiled. “Everybody in this damn town needs to take better care of their socks, I swear…. I’m up to my eyeballs in them. Nothing would make me happier than to work on something that would be giving back more to the community than dumb stinky, holey, wool.”

With a nod, you gave her hand still in your grip one firm shake, a grin crawling up your face. “It’s a deal. I’ll try to tackle the easy ones and send the few in need of more love your way. But!” You let go of her hand and held up a finger, wagging it like you were lecturing a petulant child. “I’m also dropping some of these goods by, too.” Patting the bread on the counter before softly pushing it closer toward her, you laughed at her show stopping grin and good-natured roll of her eyes in response.

“Fine,” she mumbled around the smile, the sound anything but angry. “If you insist.”

A few days later, you’d dropped a few stuffed animals off to her that Joel had stumbled on during patrol, Ellie tagging along with you. She had opted to stay outside the shop while you went in though, leaning against the doorframe by the front window, taking in the sights and sounds of the city street.

“Not a fan of needles,” she mumbled, glancing into the shop as you opened the door to go in.

“This isn’t that kind of needle.”

“I said what I said.”

You didn’t press her on it, just nodded and mumbled an ‘okay’ before disappearing into the shop.

“Hey!” Jane greeted you, pushing aside her current project immediately to make room for the box you were carrying. “Oh, these are cute!” She picked one up in each hand, lifting them up to look at them better before trading them out for another and repeating the process until each patient had been analyzed. “They’ll be easy.” She turned to you with a smile. “I’ll be done by this weekend.”

“No rush!” You assured her as she set the box behind the counter. “If you’re not done until then, you’ll have to leave them with Tommy, though. I’m going out of town with Joel on a run, it’ll take a few days, maybe a week max. We leave tomorrow. Though, no, actually, you can just leave them with Ellie, what am I saying-”

“You’re doing what?” She interrupted you.

Focusing back on her face, you tried to get back on topic. “What? Oh, yeah! We’re going back to where I lived right before Jackson to get the stores of paints and stuff I had. Bucket loads of it, no pun intended.” You turned to look at Ellie over your shoulder. “She’s rubbing off on me in more ways than one, I guess….”

“Is it just you and Joel?”

Her question caught you off guard, pulling your gaze back to her with knit brows. “It was going to be, but the council decided it was a ‘waste of resources’, so we have to take a little group with us. Why?”

“I’m coming with you.” No hesitation, just straight to the point.

Your eyes went wide. “What? Why?”

“You said you lived about a week north, right? Near the university?”

“Yeah. Because of the university, there were storage units nearby, used to be climate controlled before everything, now they’re just enclosed spaces with extra security to keep clickers n’ shit out. I lived in one, worked in another, and stored in a third. Got pretty good at picking locks, too.” You smirked.

Her eyes were wide and serious. “The ones by the north end of campus?”

Your expression went flat. “Don’t tell me….”

“I lived in an abandoned place on the south end of campus.” She had started to grin like a Cheshire Cat. “We probably were within spittin’ distance of each other and didn’t even know it.”

A laugh barked out of your chest, several more tumbling out after it until you were bent over her counter on your elbows, wheezing. Pushing up to rest on your forearms you met her gaze again, amusement on both your faces. “No fucking way.”

“I left a sewing machine behind. It was there when I moved in, and I hope it’s still there and still works, heaven knows, but…. The buildings by the school had power when the Fireflies were there. I’d use it when I could, and I was able to do so much more work. Now that I’m here I could actually make use of it with all that I have on my plate, and the dam giving us electricity….” She sighed dreamily. “I’m going. That’s final.”

Before you could respond, the bell over the door jingled, making you stand up straight and turn to look at the newcomer.

“Everything okay?” Ellie’s voice was soft as she poked her head in, causing you to do a double take. “I heard raised voices.”

You nodded once. “Yeah. Yeah, we’re all good. Just excited. Turns out we lived right by each other before moving here.”

“Oh shit! No way!” She stood up straight with a wide grin, stepping fully into the shop and letting the door close behind her.

“Language,” you scowled.

“Sorry, Miss Fanny,” she looked sheepish, spinning on her heel dramatically before exiting the shop.

You turned back to Jane who looked on amused. “She thinks she’s funny because I use a fanny pack.” Plopping onto a tall stool that sat in front of the counter, you stared at your friend.

Jane let out a low ‘ah’ as if she now understood everything.

Knitting your brows before arching one, you leaned on one elbow on the counter. “What?”

“Why is she outside?” She asked as she fiddled with some projects behind the counter.

“Said she ‘wasn’t a fan of needles’,” you mumbled, air quoting her words as you turned to look back at Ellie through the window. “Whatever that means.”

Jane hummed in understanding, drawing your eyes back to her. “Tommy got really drunk at the bar one night after I first got here. Saying all kinds of shit. People kept walking off because he wouldn’t shut up, so I opted to walk him home to Maria. It wasn’t far, and he’s a good guy. Anyway, on the way to his house, he starts mutterin’ about his brother and his new kid, how they just got back from some failed medical something or other with the Fireflies, most of it was unintelligible.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at Ellie. You followed her gaze, finding the teen walking back and forth in the shade in front of the building, scuffing her heels as she went, and kicking rocks.

“Then, he got real sad, and said somethin’ about how he’d sent them to the university right after seein’ him for the first time in months. It was to get info on where to go for the medical procedure, I guess. Anyway.” She took a deep breath. “Apparently they got ambushed there, and Joel got stabbed real bad, almost didn’t make it. That girl out there had to care for him for weeks, drag him somewhere safe, stitch him up….”

Your breath caught in your chest as she paused for emphasis, unable to tear your eyes from Ellie as emotion swelled in your gut for your fellow housemates, but especially the tiny redhead on the other side of the glass.

“Tommy was real broken up about it. Said Joel almost died, and he felt like it was his fault. Ellie had to hunt, and somehow got Joel medicine.”

You turned to face Jane again. “How?”

“Those details weren’t real clear.” She shrugged. “Like I said, he was plastered. Maybe this whole story is some drunken imagining, but the way he sounded compared to all the shit he said in the bar?” Her face melted into something between sadness and understanding. “I’m inclined to believe him.”

She took a hesitant breath, but stopped before letting it out slowly, then closed her eyes for a moment. After another shallow breath, she opened them to focus on you, and tried again, her voice even softer still.

“We’d made it to his house by this point. Maria had come out and was helping me to get him inside, up the porch steps…. And he just broke down halfway up. Sat down, broke down, and started sobbing. Made it even harder to understand.” She rolled her eyes and you chuckled softly. “He said something about the medicine came at too high a cost. That Ellie paid…. Would be paying….” Jane swallowed roughly, looking to the girl through the window with something akin to admiration, then back at you. “He said it changed her.”

“Changed?” You could only whisper.

“Broke her. He said whatever happened was enough to take a spitfire, and make her an ember.” You both looked back at the teen one last time. “She’s improved a lot. I’ve seen her grow, come out of her shell just since I’ve been here, but…. It’s her eyes. They’re haunted. Whatever happened out there…. It didn’t stay out there. And it ain’t leavin’ anytime soon.”

“That explains a lot. About both of them,” you mused quietly.

“Joel I don’t know much about. He’s just the town grump.”

Despite the dark turn the conversation had taken, you burst out laughing, seeing Ellie turn toward the window at the sound with a grin.

“Everyone keeps telling me that, even him, but I just don’t see it!”

Jane’s face turned up in amusement softly. “Well, maybe you’re just one of the lucky ones like Ellie, and he likes you.”

“I think he tolerates me.” You looked across your shoulder at her, getting back to your feet from the stool you’d been perched on and faced her fully. “I live in his house. It’d be awkward if we hated each other.”

“True,” she grinned smugly.

“What?”

“You’ll figure it out.”

Xxx

Jane came riding up beside you, smiling wider than the canyon you’d passed a few miles back.

“I’m gonna regret askin’ but what in the hell has you happier than a butterfly on a daisy?”

“That’s not a real saying,” Jane mumbled, looking at you through skeptical, knit brows.

“Doesn’t mean it’s not applicable,” you countered, your own brows arched high in challenge.

With a roll of her eyes and a sigh, Jane circled back to the topic at hand. “We’re out in the open!” She whispered, excitement lacing her tone. “I love Jackson, don’t get me wrong, but it’s so nice to be able to breathe.”

A smirk made its way up your face. “I know what you mean. Problem is you trade security for a great wide unknown. The possibilities of things that can go wrong out here are much scarier than anything in Jackson.”

She pulled a face. “Nothin’s gonna go wrong when we have a man like Joel leading us. He knows what he’s doing.”

“Most of the time,” you mumbled. “The rest he’s just wingin’ it.”

“Heard that,” Joel grumbled as he passed by your other side, pulling in front of you from the back of the group where he was making rounds. “You’re one to talk.” He looked over his shoulder at you, face stoic as ever, but his eyes showed his amusement.

“I know things,” you shot back, head tilted back to look down your nose at him. “Lots of stuff.”

“Oh, I see,” his tone was condescending, but playful. “Stuff.”

“And things.”

“Oh, we mustn't forget the things….”

“Yeah, okay.” You looked to the side with an unamused grin. “Fuck you, Joel.”

“I mean, if you’re offerin’….”

Your jaw dropped as your head turned slowly to face him, eyes wide as you simply stared at him in shock.

He smirked. “What? You can dish it, but you can’t take it?” Joel’s tone was nothing but teasing, his eyes dancing with unspoken amusement.

Narrowing your eyes at him, his smile faltered slightly. “You have no idea what I can take.” Nudging your horse forward to fall into step beside him, you held his gaze with your head high, brow arched. “And I don’t think you want to find out.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“When I push back. You wouldn’t be able to handle it, Joel.”

He cleared his throat. “Look, I was just messing around. This wasn’t supposed to take such a serious turn. I’m sor-”

You couldn’t take it anymore. The laugh tumbled out of your mouth before you could catch it, more and more coming out to join it.

Joel lowered his brows, glaring at you. “That ain’t funny.”

Wheezing, you pointed at him. “You should have seen your face!”

A horse trotting up beside you made you turn, expecting to see Jane once again at your side, but all you were met with was her horse, sans rider. You thought quickly enough to grab the reins and guide it along with you, before you looked back at Joel, finding his eyes already searching the group. Turning, you tried to sit higher in your saddle for a better vantage point, when movement out of the corner of your eye caught your attention.

Near the tree line, Jane struggled in the arms of a man as he yanked her back towards the cover of the woods, none too delicately, one hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

“Jane!” You yelled at the top of your lungs, and you could see when she heard you, her body going rigid in her captor's hold.

The man yelped, pulling his hand back from her mouth and shaking it.

She must have bit him.

Before you could fully process much of anything else, Jane was screaming at the top of her lungs, “Run!”

The hand was back over her mouth before she could say anything else, the raider pulling them both back until they disappeared into the trees, Jane putting up a violent struggle as they went.

Not willing to look away from where she disappeared, you called out for Joel, and he was beside you in an instant. His horse picked up on the sudden unease spreading over the group, shifting its weight from foot to foot restlessly.

“We’ll get her, darlin’,” Joel reassured in a low voice. “Don’t you worry. We ain’t-”

Suddenly the entire group was surrounded by raiders, guns and knives of various sizes pointed towards every member of your party, violent threats being traded back and forth from both sides.

While you had thought your group was large, this bandit raid made your numbers pale in comparison. At least double your head count at first glance, easily. And you had a feeling more were lurking in the shadows somewhere, if what had happened to Jane was any indication.

You noticed that while several of the men aimed menacing looking rifles at your party, they lacked the magazines full of ammunition to back them up. Leaning toward Joel as subtly as you could when they ordered everyone to dismount their horses, you mumbled under your breath, “They have no bullets.”

He looked at you in confusion for just a moment, brows knit until one of the raiders yelled loudly and pulled his attention away.

Falling in behind him, you whispered again, “Their rifles. They have no ammunition. No magazines. It’s all for show.” You saw the moment the information registered for him, his shoulders setting a bit broader, and his head held just that much higher.

A raider a few feet to your right was eyeing you skeptically, looking like he might dismount his horse any second and make a move toward you, so you pretended to trip into the back of Joel, smirking into his chest when he caught you.

Without missing a beat, his arm firmly around your shoulders to steady you, Joel went straight for negotiations, trying to talk the men down, offering supplies, whatever they wanted. You weren’t far from Jackson, it was a smart move. You could get back and recoup your losses in no time. But people? You can’t replace them.

“Nah,” the head honcho said with a sarcastic sneer. “We’ve got somethin’ else’n mind.”

You didn’t like the sound of that.

The raider in charge gestured Joel over to a smaller group of his men, which he obeyed reluctantly. After looking down at you for a moment, offering the most subtle nod you’d ever seen a person give, he began to move toward the small group of raiders.

The boss stopped him just short of the rest and asked him a question in a low voice, which Joel answered softly, shooting you a look which you couldn’t quite read. You couldn’t quite make out what he said, either, but then the head raider decided to make a scene, show who was in charge, and it all made sense.

In a loud voice, full of bravado and misplaced charisma, the raider turned back to your group with arms spread wide, rifle held lazily in one hand, and called for Joel’s second in command - Will - to hop down and join his ‘fearless leader’.

Surrounded by the smaller group of thugs, you could tell what the goal was…. They meant to make a spectacle for the rest of you. Take the leaders down, the rest will follow. But Joel didn’t let them get that far. He mumbled something to Will so subtly, you almost missed it, but you saw the younger man’s eyes dart to one of the raider’s guns, and you immediately knew where this was headed.

It all went by in a blur, and yet it was like you could see every detail in painful accuracy. And you couldn’t look away.

In an instant Joel had dropped three of the men in the smaller group surrounding them.

Will another two.

They both had commandeered their own rifles back off of those men, and they were now aimed at the remaining two raiders around their small group.

The one in front of Joel began to move forward, only making Joel smirk as he jerked the bolt action on the rifle. “Try it.” The raider stopped, making Joel’s smirk only rise higher up his cheek. “Good choice.”

That’s when all hell broke loose.

It was almost like someone kicked a pile of ants. The stillness of the valley you were in was broken and everyone swarmed at once. A cacophony of sounds clashing all around you.

You went on autopilot for most of it, simply fighting for your life and that of those in your group. It could have been hours or only minutes later, but the next time you really started to pay attention, or frankly, were able to focus on any one thing in particular, you saw a raider sneaking up on Will a few paces in front of you, and you lifted the rifle you’d snagged off of one of the men you’d taken down.

“Hey, bucko!” The raider froze and turned to you with a sneer, the expression falling off his face when he came nose to nose with the muzzle of your rifle. You cocked the bolt action just for added effect, chambering a bullet as you somehow had found the one locked and loaded gun the raiders had. Hands lifted in surrender, he slowly took a resigned step backwards, grip tightening around the knife still clutched in his right hand. “Drop it,” you ordered, narrowing your eyes at his slight smirk. “Nice and easy, now.”

Will turned to see what the fuss was, his eyes going wide when he realized what had happened. He looked between you and the raider from over the bandit’s shoulder, raising a brow at you in question, but you motioned him on with a jerk of your head to the left, keeping the rifle braced on your right shoulder and aimed at the raider. “I got it. Go help the others.”

Nodding, Will took off toward the remaining chaos, leaving you with the scumbag at the end of your barrel. He started to move after Will but you tisked, taking a step closer. “Not a good idea.” The lowlife hissed through his teeth in aggravation, but you cut him off before he could even start in on an actual sentence. “Knife. Ground. Now.” With a half step forward for emphasis, you gestured toward the field underfoot with your rifle before centering your sights back on their target.

The man arched his back away from you as you took the small step closer, his hands shooting up higher beside his head. He then began to slowly lower to his haunches to lay the blade on the grass, his other hand still held up in surrender. His eyes flitted from the weapon to something behind you, and before he could set it all the way down, or you could turn to look, an arm wrapped around your neck, cutting off your air supply.

Both the man behind you and the man in front of you laughed, cheering at your misfortune as you dropped your rifle, the weight of the weapon jerking its strap across your shoulders as it fell to your side.

You clawed at the arm wrapped around your neck, gasping for air, and grunting as you tried to get a shot in with your elbow, but he pinned down your arms with his other arm wrapping around your torso.

A voice close to your ear leered, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’ll all be over soon.”

The raider in front of you suddenly started screaming, dropping the blade in his hand in order to clutch his knee, blood pouring violently from a wound made by a large pocket knife you’d know anywhere protruding from its side.

“Don’t move!”

All three sets of eyes pulled over to find Joel standing just a few feet away, rifle raised and aimed at the raider now in a heap on the ground. His gun swung over to the man still holding you hostage, a dark chuckle rippling out through the chest pressed closely to your spine at the movement, and it made your skin crawl.

“Let ‘er go,” Joel said in a low voice, something dark and menacing thrown right back at the thief trying to steal your life away.

“Nah,” the man said after a minute, amusement heavy in his tone. “We’re just havin’ too much fun, aren’t we, sweetheart?” He tightened his grip around your neck as he pulled you closer, squishing his cheek to yours in mock affection.

You mumbled something as best you could, but it came out all garbled from the pressure on your windpipe.

“Aw, I’m sorry, I’m bein’ mean, aren’t I?” His tone was mocking. He loosened his grip slightly, the arm around your midsection disappearing altogether as he twisted slightly to get a better view of your face. “Now, try that again?”

“I said,” your voice was hoarse from the struggle, so you cleared your throat, shifting your weight slightly as you looked to Joel with wide eyes in mock fear. “I said-” In one smooth motion, you swung the butt of your rifle up and back, and slammed the man in the face, squinting when blood sprayed out of his mouth and onto your cheek.

Taking the opportunity, you elbowed him in the ribs, before stomping on his foot, spinning around once his arm around your neck released you and kneeing him in the crotch.

Stepping closer to him once he fell to his knees cradling his damaged manhood, you looked down at him as you wiped his blood from your cheek with the back of your sleeve. “I said fuck you.”

With a quick jerk of your knee to his face, the raider fell backwards, out cold. You turned to face his friend who laid in a ball on the ground, hands gripped tightly around the knife still protruding from his knee.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He began to try and scramble back, looking to Joel for some sort of help as you approached.

Joel only shrugged, looking at you with wide eyes for just a moment before turning back to the poor man. “Hell hath no fury ‘n all that….”

Kneeling in front of the man, you smiled disarmingly sweet. Reaching out to grip the knife, you looked up at Joel. “This yours?” Lifting a brow at your rhetorical question, you knew very well it was his, he nodded. With a yank, you pulled it out of the man’s leg, his screams cut short when you elbowed him in the face, knocking him out like his companion.

Lifting your rifle slightly, Joel began to make a fuss, “Darlin’, they’re down-” but he stopped when you over exaggeratedly clicked on the safety, lifting a sarcastic brow at him. Rising to your feet, you wiped the blade off on your jeans before closing it and handing it back to Joel.

He took it cautiously, watching as you rubbed at your throat with a wince. “Thanks.”

“No, thank you. If you hadn’t shown up and distracted them, I wouldn’t have been able to get the jump on ‘em.”

He looked at the two men before looking back at you, his eyes flitting down to the rifle for the briefest of moments. “Looks like you would’ve been just fine.”

You leaned in closer to him, adjusting the weapon’s strap across your chest. “Take the compliment, Joel.”

He grinned softly. “Yes ma’am, Miss Fanny.”

You groaned at the nickname. “You know what? I don’t even really mind.”

It looked like Joel wanted to say more, but other members of your group came running up, looking around frantically only to find all the enemies already taken care of.

“We didn’t hear any shots,” Will said absently, staring at the two motionless forms on the ground after a wary glance. “Thought you might need some help.” After a long moment of silence, he looked from you, to Joel, then the raiders. “They still alive?” He pointed toward the men, one of them stirring with a pained moan.

“Only just,” Joel mumbled, watching the one man begin to roll to his side, the one who had held on to you, before his gaze flicked to the other, noticing his breaths becoming shallower and shallower. Gesturing to the latter with his rifle still held in his hands, he looked back up at Will. “That one’s not longed for this world if you don’t get something to stop the bleedin’. Need information from both, preferably.”

Will nodded, motioning to the others with a nod of his head, quickly moving toward the raiders.

You had turned toward Joel, your back to the men when a twisted voice rose up behind you, slurring around laughter as if it knew the funniest joke in all the world.

“Well, sweetheart, I’m just so goddamn sorry things didn’t work out ‘tween us.”

Joel glared at the raider over your shoulder. “Stop talking, asshole,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes as he took a step closer to the man, slightly in front of you. Turning to face the man yourself, you thought you’d steeled yourself for whatever you’d see, but the twisted smirk you were met with made your stomach drop.

Laughter turned to wheezing, wet coughs before the man spit off to the side in front of him, blood painting the ground an ugly, violent color. He lifted his head just enough to look at you again, snickering as he peered through his lashes. “I had such plans for you….”

“I said be quiet,” Joel’s voice had grown more firm, and he opted to step to the side, obscuring your view of the creep instead of taking any steps closer.

“Oh, but they were nothin’ compared to what we were gonna do to that little friend of yours…. That blonde? Whoo! She was feisty!”

“Can somebody shut him the fuck up!” Joel bellowed, turning to the group simply standing by and watching the exchange.

Will shrugged off his outer layer flannel, balling it up as he stomped toward the man and began to shove it in his mouth.

The man weaseled back away from the cloth, shouting with wild eyes, “You’ll never find her!” His following laughter was muffled around the material, manic and unhinged.

“Will, I need you to….” Joel trailed off when you put a hand on his shoulder, pushing him to the side gently. He tried to stop you walking towards the lunatic, but you met his gaze with your own, unwavering, and he let you go, following close behind, one hand adjusting his grip on his rifle as he held it loosely just in case.

Kneeling down in front of the man, you got close to his face. “What did you do with Jane?” Your voice was so low and quiet, you barely recognized it.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The man mumbled around the shirt, eyes wild and sure of himself.

Looking down toward the ground, you huffed out an unamused laugh. “I’m going to ask you one more time,” you lifted your gaze to look at him straight on again, “and you’re going to tell me, or else my friends are going to be not so nice to you.” The man scoffed. “What did you do…. with Jane?”

The man leaned forward, his nose almost touching yours. “Go fuck yourself, bitch.”

Without hesitation, you slammed Joel’s pocket knife you’d swiped from his jacket a moment ago into the man’s hand where it rested on the ground with your left hand, yanking the shirt out of his mouth as he screamed with your right, and tackled him backwards onto the ground, pinning your right forearm against his throat. As he struggled against your hold, you twisted the knife still gripped tightly in your hand, making him settle into the dirt.

“Okay! Okay! Okay! Fuck! Just stop!” He looked at Joel with wide, wild eyes. “Get the bitch off me!”

You noticed some of your party moving toward you, but they stopped with a hand motion from Joel.

He studied you with an unreadable expression before looking back at the man and jutting his chin toward you. “Tell her what she wants t’know.”

“Get her off me first!”

“Talk!” You growled, digging your arm in further, making him gasp. When he turned a defiant look up your way, your knee ‘slipped’ where you straddled him and landed dangerously close to his ego once again.

“Okay, okay, goddamn!” He wheezed, collapsing fully into the ground below him, eyes fluttering shut as his face twisted in pain.

It was all you could do to repress the triumphant smirk wanting to crawl up your face, your brows arching in amusement instead.

“She’s back at our camp. ‘Least that’s where we left her. Don’t know how she’d move much after what boss did, though.” He looked back up at you again, everything about his expression amused, and nothing seemed to dull it, even as you pressed your arm harder into his throat, only causing his words to take on a sinister hiss. “He stuck her good. You think this little knife is somethin’, you should see the one he used on-” his words trailed off on a gurgled chuckle as you continued to lean into him.

“Hey,” Joel’s calm voice near your ear made you pause, staring down at the creep. “We need him alive, darlin’. Stop.” A warm strong hand gripping your upper arm firmly made you lift off the man just slightly, glaring down at him as he sucked in a breath and started coughing, grinning up at you triumphantly. He hissed with a wince when you yanked out the knife, bringing the hand close to his chest to hold it tight with his other, and wrapped it haphazardly with the flannel Will had shoved in his mouth to stop the bleeding.

“You Jacksoner’s are all the same,” he shook his head in amusement. “Bleeding hearts, all of ya!” He grinned up at the group in the most sinister way you’d ever seen. “And that is why you’re all gonna burn.”

At that, Joel was yanking you off the raider and pulling him up to a seated position with both hands twisted into his jacket, getting right into his face with the most menacing voice you’d heard yet. “What did you just say?”

The man just smiled a tight lipped smile, eyebrows shooting up before he used his good hand to pantomime locking his mouth and tossing away the key.

“They had a bunch of dead guns. No ammunition. How in the hell were they planning to do something to Jackson?” You mused offhandedly, mostly talking to yourself.

“Guns ain’t the only way to make somebody bleed,” the freak singsonged, looking at you gleefully.

You glared at him. “I liked you better out cold.”

He guffawed. “I liked you better up close….”

Joel gave the man a forceful shake by the front of his shirt still in his grip. “What’d I say?” The man rolled his head back to Joel with a bored look, his lips twitching up just slightly. “Y’either start talkin’ ‘bout somethin’ important I want t’hear about, or I’ll reach my hand so far down your Goddamn-”

“This one’s not doing well, Joel,” one of the party mentioned, checking the pulse of the other raider. “We need to get them back to camp.”

The man in Joel’s grip slowly melted into a wide grin. “Looks like you need me now more than ever.”

Joel began to smirk, and it made the raider’s sure grin falter. “Yeah, but that can change real quick.” He shoved the man back, rising to his full height before turning back toward you and walking quickly. A hand closing around your arm once again, you followed where it led.

“Get them to camp. Will, get a party of four together and come with us to go get Jane. The rest of these assholes are dead, there’s no one to keep her there anymore. She probably tried to run, and if she’s injured, we need to spread out and cover as much ground as possible.”

He stopped, looking over his shoulder when no one was moving. “Let’s go!”

When he turned to look down at you, you saw something in his eyes close to fear. “We’ll find her, Joel.”

He held your gaze as he kept moving you further away from the scene. “I know, darlin’.” He looked forward again, walking a bit faster. “I know. Now let’s get goin’. Sun’s gonna be settin’ real soon.”

Xxx

As the two of you made your way in the direction the thug had sent you in, your mind began to wander.

“What if it’s the wrong direction, Joel?”

“He said go east-”

“No, I know.” You closed your eyes briefly as you took in a sharp breath through your nose before looking forward once again. “But what if he lied?”

Joel sighed, looking down at his feet as he continued to walk. “Darlin’,” he looked deep in thought but also at a loss for words at the same time. It was such an inextricably Joel thing to do, it almost pulled a smile up one side of your face.

Almost.

Glancing over his shoulder toward the small group that was following along to help, the rest staying behind with the two assholes, he then took a step closer to you, speaking in a low voice.

“He very well may’ve.” When your eyes went wide, Joel was quick to continue on. “But,” he smiled at your now narrowed glare. “I’ve been patrolling these hills for a few years, now. Never out this far, mind you, but I know the general area. There’s a stream that runs not far from here. Anyone with any brains would camp near it. I know the worlds gone t’shit, but I refuse to believe we as a species have fallen that far that fast.”

His smile spread a little further at your soft chuckle.

“Touché, Miller. Touché.”

Grinning like a child, Joel turned back to the rest of the group, his expression turning stony in an instant. “The rest of you, fan out!” His voice was a low hiss. “Keep quiet and keep aware. These trees are dense from here on out to the creek. Keep a lookout. I’m not responsible for your own stupidity.”

Good-natured eye rolls went around as the few people spread into the trees starting to populate the clearing you’d been passing through.

Joel grabbed your arm when you went to take a step forward. “Not you.” He shook his head gently when you looked up at him. “You’re coming with me.”

“I’ll stay within sight,” you argued, pulling your arm from his grip. “I’m not a child, Joel.”

“No, you don’t-”

“I can take care of myself.” Taking a few steps forward into the tree line, you looked for any signs of life, but before you could get far, Joel’s voice was at your ear again.

“Don’t-”

He yanked you back into him, making you stumble into his chest. Lifting your head up to glare at him, you came nearly nose to nose as he looked down at you and you looked up at him. Your breath stopped, catching in your chest as your eyes scanned his face.

“Tripwire,” he mumbled, his eyes firmly watching your lips as they moved soundlessly in shock.

“Thanks,” you finally managed, closing your mouth and clearing your throat.

Joel nodded.

You went to take a step back, looking over your shoulder towards the trap, but his grip on your upper arm wouldn’t let you move.

Turning back to look at him in question, your curious expression melted when you found him even closer than before, his eyes cast down as his nose lightly bumped the side of yours.

The distance continued to close, only a breath left between you when a faint scuffle then a thud was heard, making you both pull apart like lightning.

Turning, the two of you saw Will suspended upside down by his ankle from a nearby tree.

“Careful. Tripwire,” you grinned.

Will smirked sardonically, arms coming to cross over his chest after batting away his flannel outer layer that hung in his face since he was inverted - he’d dug out a spare from his bag after using his original to shove into the mouth of the crazy raider. “We found a blood trail.”

The smile fell off your face as your gut sank. “That’s-”

“A good thing,” Will cut you off. “Means she was moving. She was alive.” After a loaded moment of shared looks, he cleared his throat. “Can someone cut me down, please? I’m getting woozy.”

Xxx

You only encountered a few stragglers at the camp, Joel earning some bloody knuckles and you a black eye, but the remaining members of the bandit group lay in lifeless heaps at the feet of your group when it was all said and done. There was no chance for prisoners, they weren’t going to be taken alive.

Which meant that one idiot back at the camp who’d tried to kill you had to stay alive if you wanted any answers.

The thought of that made you start to hyperventilate.

Which wasn’t like you.

You took everything in stride, this new world required it, but suddenly you felt his arm around your neck again, and you began to claw at the phantom limb, gasping for air as tears began to stream silently down your face.

You couldn’t look anywhere without seeing a body, violence, bloodshed….

Can’t breathe….

Everything blurred by as you faintly registered your feet moving you forward, a warm hand around your forearm pulling you gently along before the firm press of tree bark met your back with a gentle thump.

The soft trace of rough, callused fingers making their way past your cheeks to rest behind your ears drew a shiver from your bones. “I’ve got you. You’re okay. You’re good. It’s over. I’m here.” Joel’s mumbled words vibrated somewhere in front of you, desperately grasping at you to give you something to hold onto. Cradling your face in his hands, Joel stood toe to toe with you. He took a small step closer and leaned down, pressing his forehead to your own as you fought for air. “Nothing’s gonna get you. I won’t let it.”

The phantom touch of that asshole’s arm around your throat still constricted your airway, threatening to make the world cave in.

Joel reached up to gently grab your hands still frantically clawing at your throat, placing them on either side of his ribcage, and you clutched onto his flannel under his jacket for dear life. The warmth from his body heat radiated into your palms and sent a wave of something down to your toes. Worrying the threadbare fabric between your fingers mindlessly, Joel seemed to notice and step even closer still, enough that a deep enough breath would close the distance.

Though, as you thought about it, how he still had room to maneuver any further into you was a mystery, you didn’t even know it was possible. It seemed like every part of you was wrapped up in every part of him.

His voice drew your thoughts back to the present. “Hey, hey. Shhhh…. No more. He’s gone.” Did his voice just crack? “It’s over.” His voice grew a little firmer, if not quieter. “It’s over.”

If only he knew, you weren’t struggling to breathe because of the remnants of a panic attack anymore. No, now it was his proximity. His warm breath fanning across your face as he mumbled words of peace. The press of his skin against yours as he cradled your face so gingerly.

Time stopped, the world ceased its spinning, and suddenly all that was left was this right here between the two of you. This quiet moment, in the middle of a forest, painted in violence and hope, in fear and tenacity, in…. Vibrant shades of both of you.

Will walked up around the tree quietly, clearing his throat softly. “Some of these men were dead long before we got here.”

“Jane,” you smiled.

“That girl sure is a spit fire,” Joel remarked with his own grin, pulling away from you just slightly, but still keeping you in his hold.

Turning to Will, you steeled your shoulders. “Take me to the blood trail.”

Xxx

It took all of ten minutes of tracking to find Jane leaning against a tree with her back to you, heaving breaths as the right side of her shirt was stained crimson. The violent splotch was spreading, whatever wound obviously still angry and weeping under her white shirt, her outer layer long gone and forgotten in the chaos by now.

“Jane?” You called out softly from several yards back. A twig snapped under foot, causing a flock of birds in the trees above to startle and take flight in a whir of wings and wind.

She whirled around, knife held out in front of her at the ready, eyes wide and wild from the adrenaline. When she realized who it was, relief washed over her features so strongly it brought tears to your eyes. She dropped the blade to the ground with a clatter and slumped the side of her shoulder against the tree with a huff.

“Took you long enough,” she breathed in amusement, turning so her back was to the tree with her head thrown back, her face toward the sky, wincing in pain.

Before you could even make a move towards her, Will was there helping her back to her feet, scooping her up bridal style and carrying her back towards camp, her head on his shoulder as she went limp, finally able to rest.

Will glanced back when no one else moved. “Come on!” He whisper shouted. “She needs help as soon as possible, or I’m going to-” He caught himself. “We’re going to lose her.”

As the group moved in unison behind a speedwalking Will, you glanced up at Joel in amusement. “Do you think he knows?”

Joel shook his head with a grin. “Everyone else does, so no, probably not.”

You chuckled, despite the situation. It was probably the relief that she was alive finally catching up with you. “That girl’s got his number.”

Huffing a laugh, Joel looked at the back of Will’s head as he rapidly disappeared at the front of the group. “Wrapped around her little finger like those little things she uses to protect herself when she sews back at her shop. Oh, what’re they called?”

You stared at him for a long moment before quietly suggesting in hesitation, “Thimbles?”

Joel slapped his thigh before pointing at you with a renewed grin. “That’s the one!”

With a shake of your head, you turned back to face forward and head up toward the front with your friends. “Ellie was right. You’re losing it, old man.”

“Ain’t old,” he grumbled, his face instantly turning sour. “Jus‘ ‘xperienced.”

“Then you should know all the words, Joel.” You smirked. “No excuses.”

“I do know all the words,” he groused. “That’s the problem. I know too much, my brain can’t keep up.”

You turned to face him, walking backwards. “Sure. That’s the problem.”

“I know things,” he shot back, echoing your words from earlier, his head tilted back to look down his nose at you in a mirror image as he continued to mock your earlier statement. “Lots of stuff.”

“Oh, I see,” your tone was condescending, but playful as you mimicked him right back. “Stuff.”

“And things.” He was trying so hard not to smile.

You were not, letting the grin spread broadly across your face. “Oh, we mustn't forget the things….”

“Yeah, okay.” Joel looked to the side to try and hide his amused grin. “Fuck you, darlin’.”

“I mean, if you’re offerin’….”

His head snapped back to look at you in surprise as you threw his words right back at him yet again. Joel opened his mouth to refute, but you cut him off with a grin.

“I’m going to go make sure he doesn’t promise her his house or something. Boy would give her half of Jackson if he could.”

“He can have your half, you jackass,” Joel grumbled playfully as you turned back to face the front of the group. “Mine ain’t for sale. Don’t care how pretty you are.”

You glanced over your shoulder, fluttering your lashes ridiculously. “You think I’m pretty?”

“I meant her,” Joel gestured to your friends with his rifle still loosely gripped in his hands, strap slung over his shoulders, at the ready just in case, like always. “Ain’t nothin’ pretty ‘bout what you just said.”

“I only spoke the truth.”

“You’re only makin’ it worse.”

Xxx

The sun was setting by the time Joel was able to pry you away from Jane. You hadn’t wanted to leave her side as Will took it upon himself to treat and dress her wound.

You held her hand as she grunted in pain while he disinfected the area with a bottle of alcohol someone had brought, then stitched it up. Luckily the blade had missed anything vital, and hadn’t been rusty, thank goodness.

So far this whole trip had been getting by by the skin of your teeth, and that didn’t bode well with you.

Once she fell asleep, Joel coaxed you over to a clearing not too far away for a breath. A bucket full of water from the nearby stream had been brought to wash the blood off your hands.

Staring down at the water as it turned pink under your touch, tinged with the blood of your friend, you looked up when a shadow crossed over the little bit of sunlight left in the day.

Joel stood just in front of the dying light, backlit and a silhouette as he extended a…. rock? to you.

“That creek is fed from the mountains. Snow melt. Coldest thing around. Best alternative to ice we’ve got right now.” You narrowed your brows at him, making him sigh in frustration. “For your eye,” he said as if it were obvious.

“Oh,” you said dumbly and took it, lightly resting it against your left eyebrow where you felt the worst of the black eye forming. The cool, smooth stone instantly offered some relief for an ache you hadn’t even realized you had, making you groan softly, and shut your eyes with a grateful sigh. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “Mmm-hmm.” The side of his mouth twitched up as he lowered himself to the ground beside you with a quiet groan. “T’ain’t nothin’.”

Pulling the stone away to examine it for a moment, you arched a brow when Joel slowly pressed it back to your head. “Don’t work if you don’t keep it there, darlin’.”

“Really?” You said as sarcastically as you could muster.

“Huh-uh,” he confirmed with a gentle shake of his head, keeping the stone pressed firmly to your skin. “It’s not a comfort by osmosis thing.”

“No healing by proxy?” You groused, despite the smile working its way up your face, your one good eye squinting from the held back laughter you were just managing to reign in as you looked up at him.

The corner of his mouth lifted so high a dimple creased his cheek. “Now wouldn’t that be somethin’,” he mused softly.

The two of you sat in comfortable quiet for a long moment, his hand still holding the rock to your head gently until you finally decided it was time to break the silence.

“So what’s the plan from here, Mr. partially-in-charge-of-security?”

Joel’s hand fell from you with a sigh as he shook his head slightly in disbelief, his gaze turned forward as if he couldn’t even bear to look at you after an attempt at a joke that bad. “I’ve been goin’ over it in my head since we left their camp-”

“That must’ve been painful,” you muttered, grinning innocently when he cut his eyes over to you.

They shut briefly with another loaded sigh before they fluttered open and he turned to look at the forest on his right while he continued. “Best I can come up with-” he held a finger up in front of your face without a glance back your way. “I don’t wanna hear it.”

You stared at his finger inches from your nose. “I wasn’t-” You totally were.

The finger began to wag as his head rolled back to level you with a look. “Now, we both know that’s a lie, darlin’.” You shrank under his continued stare and he went on. “Best I can think of is to send the majority back home since we’re still so close to Jackson. Have them protect Jane and those two raiders we got to interrogate.” His arms were propped up on his bent knees, and his fist clenched at the mention of the thugs.

After he stared off vacantly for a moment, he brought his gaze back onto you. “That means the cart is going to have to go back with them, though. Jane’s in no condition to walk, and you did a number on asshole number one.” He chuckled.

“Don’t even worry about the cart,” you waved him off. “Jane is more important. What about asshole number two?” Rubbing your throat absently with the hand not holding the rock to your head, you stared into the trees straight ahead before you realized what you were doing and lowered your hand, turning your gaze back to Joel. “He can still walk just fine.” You tilted your head in thought for a moment. “May be a little bit more of a waddle, but….”

Joel chuckled darkly, hanging his head as his shoulders shook with the laughter. Finally he looked up at you through his lashes, a conniving expression twinkling in his eyes. “Let the little ugly duckling waddle back, then.”

“How will we be sure he doesn’t waddle off?”

“I’ve been known to tie a knot or two in my day.”

As the novelty of the whole situation wore off, you turned to face Joel a bit more fully, letting the hand that held the rock fall from its spot against your face to rest in your lap, ignoring Joel’s scowl in protest.

“You said most of the group. Joel, we should all go back. Safety in numbers. Making sure everyone is safe is more important than my paint-”

“Safety in numbers. Exactly. That’s why most’f’em are goin’ back. We only need a few t’do this run. It also made us a target bein’ such a big group. The council made a shit decision ‘bout that. There’s a reason patrols’re only two people.” He looked out at the woods again. “It was temptin’ to leave it just the two’f us as originally planned, but, after yesterday, even you could see the perks’f havin’ a few extra people should somethin’ happen.”

“Quality not quantity.”

Joel bobbed his head, his eyes shining proudly as you understood. “‘xactly.”

Something wasn’t sitting right. “But what about the threats, Joel? They said somethin’ about Jackson was gonna burn….”

“People say all kinds o’shit when you’ve got a pocket knife in one hand n’your knee pinnin’ their crotch to the dirt.”

You let out a snort, unable to contain your laughter at his blunt explanation. “Can’t say you’re wrong there.”

Joel leaned back with a contented sigh, propping his arm up on his bent leg. “I’m never wrong.”

You let out another snort of laughter, more bubbling up and out when he shot you a glare.

Xxx

That night, just as the sun began to set, Joel slammed the back tailgate of the cart shut after helping Jane up into it.

“You good?” He asked quietly, his voice soft and kind.

“I’ll be fine. Thank you, Joel.” Jane reached out a hand to rest on his shoulder.

“Not worried ‘bout you, sweetheart,” he mumbled, his eyes darting over to the wounded raider sitting as far from him as he could get in the front corner of the cart. The bandit cowered under his stare but stayed silent. “Was more worried ‘bout him.” Joel looked at Jane pointedly as he explained, his head tilted forward while he looked at her through his lashes and arched brows.

“Like I said,” Jane spoke firmly, her voice low and even as she turned to look at the asshole, making him cower even further. “I’ll be fine.”

“Whaddabout me?” The second bandit who had tried to choke you said loudly and amusedly from where he stood behind the cart a few feet away from Joel, his hands bound by one end of rope and the other end tied to the back of the cart. “Do I get a send off from tall, dark and brooding?”

Joel turned to him without even fully looking at the man, cocking his rifle as he spoke on a tired sigh. “That can be arranged.”

The raider guffawed as he stumbled back a few steps, Joel striding forward the ground he lost, while you stepped in between, hands extended.

“Stop. There’s no time for this.” Turning to face Joel, you lowered your arms. “Joel, let the little shit leave.”

The raider’s voice rose behind you like a forgotten tendril of smoke, thin and pungent, just enough to remind you it was there. “Ain’t nothin’ little ‘bout me, darlin’.”

Without a second thought, you whirled around and clocked the thug in the eye, making him stumble back further, the rope stretching to its limit and yanking him forward to his knees.

“Except your brain, apparently.” You shook out your hand to your side, the impact from the punch leaving a searing sting across your knuckles. “You don’t get to call me that.”

“What do I get to call you then?” The man sneered, bringing his bound hands up to swipe at his face.

You took a step closer, smirking, and enjoyed how the amused sparkle in his eyes faltered slightly at the sight. “Whatever you say when you’re begging for your life, tough guy.”

The man swallowed nervously, despite his narrowed eyes of contempt. “I don’t beg for anything. From anyone. ‘specially not you.”

You let your eyes travel up and down the length of him slowly in an unnerving appraisal. “We’ll just see about that. Won’t we, Joel?”

“Lookin’ forward t’hearin’ just how loudly he won’t beg….” Joel mused behind you.

“Fuck. You,” the man hissed.

“No. Thanks,” you sneered back.

Will pulled your attention away as he stepped up on the wheel of the cart to lean in beside Jane, his weight making the whole thing squeak under the pressure. “Are you sure you don’t need me to come with you to keep this asshole in line?” He jerked his head toward the guy tethered at the back.

Jane smiled and patted Will’s cheek lightly. “I think I’ll be just fine. Like I told Joel.” Her eyes flicked between the two of them. Her voice sickly sweet. “Now if you two don’t stop coddling me, one of you is going to be injured and sitting beside me on this trip back to Jackson. So shut,” she looked at Will, “your,” Joel, “piehole.” She looked at you.

You raised your hands in surrender. “Me? “ They turned out in question. “What did I do?!”

She shrugged, her head tilting just slightly. “It was preemptive.” Leaning towards Will again, she kissed him on the cheek, smiling when he began to sputter and turn six shades of red. “Stay with Joel. He needs you here more than he’ll admit.”

“I heard that,” Joel grumbled, walking past the end of the cart as he began to check in with the rest of the group.

“Good. You were meant to,” Jane grinned, lurching slightly as the cart began to move forward, Will jumping from the wheel before it could turn fully.

As the bandit walked past Will, he turned to him with a sadistic grin. “Don’t I get a goodbye kiss, handsome?”

“Sure,” Will said with a disarming smile, making the other man stumble for a moment. The next he was stumbling further after Will sucker punched him in the mouth. “How was that? Was it good for you, too?”

The raider in the cart was looking on wide eyed, but you caught him grinning slightly at the exchange, looking away quickly to try and hide it when Will glanced his way.

Jane was laughing as the cart began to disappear into the sunset. Her head thrown back, eyes closed, hand over her stomach type laughter. “Don’t make me laugh! It hurts!”

Will gave a dopey grin as he watched them disappear into the dying light, Jane and the bandit tied to the back of the cart bickering back and forth about nonsense that you couldn’t quite make out at this distance, but you could tell she wasn’t taking any shit.

“She’ll be okay.” You walked up to Will, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I know.” He was distant, his mind a million miles off. “I know.”

Xxx

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shirefantasies · 7 months

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Hello! I'm sick and on a major Hobbit/LotR kick. I found your blog and I'm in love with your writing! If possible, could I request something like how Thorin's company (specifically Kili, but can add others) would react upon discovering reader has Trichotillomania (anxiety-induced hair plucking disorder)? I know it sounds kinda stupid, but it just popped into my head.

-🦅

Not stupid at all! Pulling at/out my hair if I’m anxious or have no fidgets is kind of something I do and tend to have characterized as a “bad habit” so I so get this! But our hair is precious as our lovely dwarves will remind us 😌 hopefully this is accurate, I included feelings I have when I’ve had anxiety/panic attacks, too, & just got carried away with some of them! If this is not a good representation, my apologies in advance love 🙏🏻

Trichotillomania- Thorin’s Company x Reader

Balin

“If ever you wish to talk, I hope you know this old dwarf’s ears still work.” Eyes widening, then narrowing as they looked up at Balin standing there the sunshine, you found yourself nodding and wringing at the ends of your sleeves. “Thank you,” you replied, “but why all of a sudden?” “I can tell you’ve been under some stress, and I can’t pretend I don’t understand. But ‘tis always better to talk about it than take it out on ourselves. Or each other, but I can’t foresee that being a problem with you,” the older dwarf winked. “No,” you chuckled, shaking your head, “I have no plans to start a fight. It may sound silly to you, what I have to say.” “Please,” Balin waved a hand, smiling lightly. You loved the way he always said ‘laddie’ or ‘lassie’. “I grew up with Dwalin and then the princes running around underfoot for how many years? Daresay I’m an expert at the inane by now.” “In that case, I’ll think of it as some free entertainment for you,” you joked back.

Dwalin

“Have you ever considered shaving it all off?” Frowning, you drop your hands and swivel to face the bald dwarf. You hadn’t exactly expected anyone to catch you having a panic attack in the woods, let alone cut through it with sarcasm. Body freezing, you wracked your brain for a response. Dwalin, it seemed, perceived that, changed his tone. “‘m not makin’ fun of you. Might feel good if y’ don’t mind looking like me. Ever you want to, just say the word and I can help.” Rough as his words were, you could sense the care behind them. Would it feel better to be rid of your compulsions completely, to have a fresh start? Whether you truly considered it or not, well aware were you how meaningful a suggestion it was by the warrior. “You say that as though looking like you is an insult,” you simply replied and gave him a nudge.

Thorin

Joint discovery. That is the word you would use to describe the night. Thorin had jolted awake suddenly, taking deep, panting breaths you could see heaving beneath his bedroll as you sat on watch duty, shock, concern, and anxiety increasing your own reactions. Coming to, the king-to-be took in the sight of you, sighed at the familiarity, thought better of it as his brows knitted. “Did you just have a nightmare?” You asked, and all but simultaneously Thorin said he saw the way your hands wrung your head. “Quite a bad habit,” you replied sheepishly, “but you really should go back to sleep.” “I think I would prefer to stay awake for a time, if that is alright,” Thorin responded, sitting up and brushing some long black hair off his shoulder. “Of course,” you told him, surprised but smiling at the way he shuffled to sit at your side. Tentatively you reached out a hand. “May I?” The king gave a silent nod, prompting you to gently rub his back, content at the new, more soothing occupation of your hand.

Oin

It all started when Oin was given bedroll duty, taking up all the members’ nighttime dwellings to carry once more. Upon yours, he could not help noticing, was a mass of hair, an unusual amount even for a race so conscious of its shedding. Approaching you, he asked if you’d not been feeling well, perhaps wanted to try an oil to care for your hair with or an herbal supplement to bring your strength back. Eyes shining at his generosity, you break down and admit your nervous habit, the way your hands go to your hair especially in the dark of night when all seems lost. From then on he appoints himself your personal hair carer, even teaches you new ways to style it that might keep it more safely out of the way. His hands work so gently over your hair, undoing the irritation and pain it had endured for so long and bringing a soft smile of contentment to your lips.

Gloin

Heavy breaths mingle with your own, prompting you to snap briefly enough from your reverie to register the dwarf running toward you with great stomping steps. Jumping a bit, you find yourself goggling at Gloin, who rests his hands on his knees and heaves a few more times before addressing you. “Now what’s brought this on? Can’t have you hurting yourself.” ‘Hurting yourself’ was never a consideration you’d made, but you supposed your hair was less precious to you than it was to the rest of your companyman. “You- you weren’t supposed to see that,” you told Gloin, folding your hands in your lap. At that, though, the auburn-haired dwarf waved a hand. “Nothing to be ashamed of. If it’s botherin’ you up there, why don’t you try one of these?” Any of the dwarves reaching into their pockets worried you a bit, but your mind races for his brief rummage until he produces a small article that looks somewhere between a cap and a bonnet. “Keep it safe up there. And if ya need something to do, why, come play a few rounds with my brother and I! That’ll keep your hands moving so fast you’ll forget you have ‘em!” “Hands or worries?” You laugh shakily. Luckily, Gloin gives a huge laugh at your awkward joke, patting you on the back. “Both if we’re lucky!”

Bifur

Far gentler about it than one might expect from him. He knows what it is like to have trauma, though, to have PTSD even if he doesn’t have that word for it. Thus he can read the signs of anxiety from a league off and tends to shuffle to your side during those moments. He knows his way of communication draws focus, attention, so as he sees you tugging at your hair he begins to sign questions. Simple questions, but ones you must then answer. “What is your name?” You tell him. “What is your name?” He signs again. Even through the spikes of overwhelming weight, the way the world closes in on you, you find yourself trying to remember how to sign your name if you know it, indicate you can’t if you don’t. Nodding, Bifur keeps this method going, cutting slowly but surely into the spiral and even telling you at the end of it that you are precious…all of you.

Bofur

“Hey, hey, whoa, what’s all this, huh?” Starting, you see Bofur appraching you, clearly having caught you ripping at your hair. Before you can respond his gloved hands fall over yours, removing them gently. “Feeling a mite stressed?” World still pressing in on you, you just nod, and Bofur’s hazel eyes soften. “Well, I don’t much are for seeing ya hurt yerself. Tell ye what: why don’t we try this instead?” Sitting up straighter, you peer up at the dwarf to see him unwinding his scarf and draping it over your shoulders. “Next time you don’t feel good, try playin’ with this instead. I like to mess with the little fringe on the end myself.” Fingers thoughtfully caressing the dangling edges, you smile as the scent of him rushes to you, grounding you that much more. “Are you sure?” “Positive,” he nods, patting your shoulder, “it’s all yours. Then again, I daresay it’s long enough for the both of us.” He winks and you grin all the way this time.

Bombur

“You get served first tonight,” Bombur tells you one evening, nodding to the carven bowl in your hand. “Me,” you ask, “why?” “Can tell you’ve been having a bad day is all,” the fiery-haired dwarf replied as he plucked the vessel from your hand, “and if you aren’t feelin’ well, well, extra to you!” Did he think you were sick? “This is just something that happens to me, though,” you told him, “it is not new." "Well," Bombur filled your bowl up high as he could, "more nourishment for that pretty hair of yours, and tell you what- next time you feel like pullin' it out, how's about asking for a hug instead?" Pausing, you accepted the warm wood he handed you. "You feel no shame at that?" "No," he replied, voice quietened, "I will only feel lucky." "As will I," you told him with a smile, knowing how Bombur gave the company's greatest and warmest hugs.

Dori

Dori, you knew, had the habit of hovering over his brothers, whether it was keeping them from their squabbles or ensuring they would not be catching cold, but you were hardly used to receiving such attention the day he sat at your side, insisting you share a cup of tea with him. Gently setting the steaming cup in your hands, the eldest Ri brother started asking you questions about how you were feeling, if the company treated you well. Sharing some stories and laughs about the others first, you finally asked him what this tea was all about. Well, in the most literal sense, Dori told you it was a calming blend with a bit of something Oin said helped hair grow and even a small dash of sugar he was able to scrounge up! Beyond that, well… “You don’t take care of yourself,” he replies, your name heavy but sweet upon his lips, “so I thought I could do it for you. I’m used to that, you know. Your hair is beautiful as your smile, so I suppose I wanted to protect both. Sorry if that’s silly.” Letting your head fall on his shoulder, you cupped your warm tea a bit tighter, tears welling in your eyes. “Not at all, Dori. Not at all.”

Nori

“Have you been itchin’?” Nori asks you one night, sending your gaze rapidly swiveling his way. “I beg your pardon?” “Couldn’t help but notice the way your hair is botherin' you," he replies with a shrug as he passes your bowl. Accepting your nightly meal, you sigh. "No, it isn't that, I... I get anxious. Don't know why I do it, but I can't help it." "No?" Nori pauses before his signature smirk returns. "But I can!" "Huh?" Dropping your spoon back into the stew incredulously, you turn your attention his way once more. "What do you mean?" "Simple. Just tell me when you get worried. If you like the feeling of something touchin' you, well I think I have that covered." Your eyebrows shoot up at that, raising a bark of laughter from the dwarf. "Whatcha getting in that pretty head of yours? Thought I might hold your hands, put an arm around ya."

Ori

“I made you this.” Ori holds out a knitted bear to you, smiling sheepishly through your zoning stare at the fire. Giving him your full attention, you break into a smile, clutching your gift close as you ask him what it is for. “Well,” the young dwarf rubs at the back of his neck, “I wasn’t trying to see, but, well, I did, so…” “What are you talking about?” Your brows furrow. “I noticed the way you pull out your hair when you get stressed and I thought it might hurt,” Ori replies, voice quiet, “so I made you something you can squeeze instead. It’s alright. He can’t feel the pain. Not like you can.” Tears well up in your eyes; misunderstanding, Ori takes a step back only for you to catch his hand, holding it tight and looking him in the eyes. “Thank you for seeing me. Truly.”

Fili

“You call that a bad habit? Why, you should see what half of this company’s gotten up to in their lifetimes! The sheer number of things they’ve snuck on this very trip,” Fili said with a smirk. A wave of nerves crashed over you, falling into a defensive cross of your arms. “Well, I’m sorry I’m too much of an anxious wreck to be exciting,” you bit out, turning away from him only to feel a hand on your shoulder. “Wait,” Fili breathed your name, “that came out wrong. All I meant is these rapscallions are the ones who have anything to be ashamed of. I’m sorry you have to deal with all that. Please let me make it up to you.” His blue eyes bore into yours, softening earnestly enough to earn him a nod from you. “Alright,” you agreed, “I understand. You were just trying to keep things light, we’ve all done it. What did you have in mind, then?” “Next time you feel nervous, think of me as your personal doll!” “I beg your pardon?” “How many years have I had this hairstyle? More than I can count! Let’s let some good come from those idle hands,” the blonde urged you with a smile, “and play around with each other’s hair instead. What say you?” Blast it- as if if you could ever resist that grin!

Kili

Frantic motions of your hands are interrupted by a softer touch, hands gently running over your scalp. “Care to talk or would you rather just sit?” Kili’s voice, a sound that rarely fails to bring a smile to your face, echoes behind you as he lowers your now-joined forms into a seated position upon an abandoned bedroll. The arm not reaching to your head, seemingly unashamed of the damage you’ve done that sometimes fuels your spirals, is wrapped firmly around your shoulders from the front to hold you against his chest. “I don’t mind either way as long as I’ve got you here.” “Then let us enjoy the silence,” you request quietly, internally fighting the part of you that struggles to accept the blessings you are given. “For as long as this lot’ll let us,” Kili snorts, but with that he presses a kiss to your forehead and continues holding you, fingers shifting to grab one of your hands as he soothes the itching patch of hair you’d been reaching for.

Bilbo

“Oh. Oh, dear, what’s the matter there?” He isn’t trying to make things worse and in fact he’ll get quite apologetic, but the hobbit has never seen such behavior so it raises legitimate, innocently blunt question. The shame, though, does not ease your spike of anxiety, leaving your hands shake with the pressure of both your trigger, your impulse, and the fight of it for fear of Bilbo’s judgment. Suddenly his hand is upon your shoulder. “It’s…a lot, isn’t it? I understand. Typically my go-to is to faint, but I can see why this lot would have you wanting to pull your hair out!” Weakly he swings his arm, clearly trying to joke you out of your state. Your brows furrow, such an unexpected reaction jarring some breaths back into your lungs. You are surprised again when Bilbo takes your hands. “You’re shaking…here, lie back a little, let’s talk, all right?” He listens, apologizes frantically for his ignorant comments, holds your hands still, running a thumb over the back of them.

Taglist: @lokilover476 @fuckyoumakeart @mossthebogwitch @kilibaggins @ibabblealot @joonies-word @stormchaser819 | Reply/Ask/Message to join!

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wisteria-cherry · 2 months

Note

heyaa

saw you were on the lookout for a marauders x reader fic request? well, here is your savior 😌 (also if you write it you'll be my savior so it's an all win situation right?)

how about a Remus x reader, where they're kinda wandering around outside the castle during winter (snow gazing date, is that a thing?) and although reader is already wearing remus' woolen sweater and we'll equiped for snow, they (or she, or he, whatever you prefer writing with) are freezing and so they cling to Remus and like he takes their hands to put them in his pockets and stuff...and yeah it's all fluffy and cute and warm

is that clear lol ?

anyways byeeeeee

omg my savior🙏🙏🙏 she’s a little short, hope that’s okay..!

warning: tooth-rotting fluff

“it’s beautiful.” you remark as you walk side-by-side with remus, gazing at the snowfall from your favorite overpass at hogwarts— a beautiful wooden pathway, with a roof to protect from harsher weather such as this.

“dare i say not as beautiful as you?” remus glanced down at you, bundled up in his ever-cozy wool sweater, and cracked a smile.

“if i didn’t know better, rem, i’d say you were hitting on me.”

“let’s not be presumptuous, now.” remus looked out at the snow. “i’ll blush.”

“your cheeks are already pink.” you retort.

“that’s because it’s cold, love.” he looked back at you with honey-colored eyes. it was a crime, really, to have such beautiful eyes. surely you must be a criminal, then, to have fallen for such eyes. “yours are much redder.”

“because i’m cold.” you huff.

“that had better be satire, that’s my best jumper you’ve got there.”

“you told me i could wear it.”

“that i did.” remus agreed. remus stopped in his steps, leading you to stop as well, and he turned to lean against the banister. he lifted his arm up. “c’mere.”

you gratefully tuck yourself under his arm, pressing yourself against remus, who, despite the cold, was incredibly warm. maybe he was hiding the possibility that his actual best jumper was the one he was wearing right now. remus’ arm settled around you, hugging you close. he gently kissed the top of your head, much to your delight.

“pretty thing.” he murmured against your hair.

“cold thing.” you hum in response. despite the addition of remus’ body heat, you were still shivering, and your ears were still bright red.

“can’t have that, now can we?” remus replied. you feel his arm move from its position around you, the wool from his and your (technically also his) jumper sleeves rustling. his hand takes yours, and he faces you, using your hand to guide you to do the same. his other hand finds your other hand, and he studies them, as if admiring a work of art.

“didn’t i tell you to wear gloves?” he inquired, raising a questioning eyebrow as he looked at your red knuckles.

“maybe.”

“what am i going to do with you?” he tutted, taking your hands and moving them behind him, sliding them into his back pockets. you look up at him earnestly; he was truly the sweetest boy you’d ever met. in that moment, you were sure you’d never fall in love with anyone else ever again.

“come on, now, you.” remus released your hands, and now wrapped his arms around you, bringing you into a hug you wished would last forever. you rested your cheek on his chest, and he rested his chin on the top of your head. the both of you continued to look out at the scenery. fluffy snowflakes fell lazily from the sky and landed on the powdery wonderland that hogwarts became each winter.

“i used to hate winter.” remus admitted, not once taking his gaze away from the view.

“really?”

“yeah.” remus confirms. “i thought that all winter did was hinder people, and track snow in the house, which would then melt and get everything damp.”

“pessimist.” you accuse lightheartedly.

“realist.” remus corrected. “besides, that’s changed.”

“has it?”

“it has.” remus confirmed. “i started liking it when i saw how much you liked it.”

“really?” you felt your heart flutter. this was easily one of your favorite sides of remus— the romantic side. more often than not, he hardly even realized he was being romantic; in his eyes, he was just stating the truth. but there was something so incredibly beautiful about the way he worded each truth that you just wanted to give him the world in exchange for one more.

“really.” he confirmed.

“hey.”

“hm?”

“i love you.”

“i love you too.”

#marauders drabble #harry potter marauders #the marauders era #marauders drabbles #the marauders map #marauders map #the marauders #marauders era #marauders #remus john lupin #young remus lupin x reader #young remus lupin #remus x reader #remus lupin

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whateverisbeautiful · 8 months

Text

♥️ Ranking Richonne

#18: We Will (S7E16)

The beauty of this whole scene is just breathtaking to me and I appreciate this moment so much. 😭 I once saw Rick and Michonne's dynamic described as “healthily reliant on each other” and that’s really a great way to put it. I mean there's a reason TOWL's description says, "Without each other are they even alive?" And this s7 finale scene illustrates how Rick and Michonne breathe life into each other. I always love it when Richonne’s deep love is so visibly poured out, and this moment just perfectly captured how much they love and need each other, and how they truly are one...

This scene arrives after all the wild events of the season 7 finale. Rick and Michonne had a day, y’all. 😣 Like being harassed and betrayed by Jadis and her people, losing Sasha (😢), Michonne having to fight for her life on a balcony, Rick and Carl on their knees devastated thinking they just saw the matriarch of their family fall to her death, and Negan coming this close to killing Carl before a whole tiger saves the day. Safe to say they’d been through a lot and needed to now be back in the arms of the one who makes them feel most safe. And so that’s exactly what happens. 😌

As soon as Rick and Carl are able to go check on Michonne they urgently run over to find her, and I love how much her boys love her and how happy they are to see it wasn’t her that fell. If my eyes don’t deceive me, Rick really does look upward and seems both relieved and impressed that Michonne took care of business.

So then Rick enters this room where Michonne is leaning against a wall and all bloodied and it’s heartbreaking to see. I always think about how she must've been so seriously hurt to have to just stay in that room during the battle 😢 cuz I know if any ounce of her could have continued to fight with the others, she would have.

Rick immediately gets rid of his gun when he sees it’s her and he is so gentle with her when he stoops to her side and calls her name. At the same time, you can really hear and see the utter concern he has as he worries if she’ll respond. He loves her so much, y’all. 😭 It’s always so clear. Especially the second time he says her name, you can just tell that losing Michonne would break him.

I'm sure he knows it too. Like in the van in 7.12 he expressed knowing it was possible they could lose each other, but for both Rick and Michonne, seeing the other "fall to their death" and thinking they lost them just really confirmed that the loss of the other would be pretty unbearable.

Also, the way he takes the biggest breath when he finally hears her breathing. My heart instantly melts. It’s beautiful. And it is such a vivid illustration of the way she has his heart. Like truly, it’s like her little breath put breath back into him.

It feels like Rick now knows the exact feeling Michonne felt when she thought she lost him in Say Yes. He experienced that same emptying when thinking he saw her fall. And so being back with her just brings him back to life, and I feel like it confirms to him how much he can’t lose her. Like they still can technically, but also they can't.

I love the tender way Rick places his hand on her face and whispers "you’re alive" with so much relief. And you can tell this whole time he’s trying to figure out how to touch her without hurting her. #Magnets.

And the way Michonne can’t even fully open her eyes but just hearing his voice and feeling his touch puts a smile on her face. Y’all...their love is so palpable, and they are seriously the best soulmates on TV. Just had to reiterate that. 🙌🏾

The way Michonne clearly reaches for him too. I feel like it has to be such a relief to her that he’s also alive after the last thing she saw was basically him getting grazed by trifling Jadis before the fight broke out.

Carl joins them, and I know having her boys back with her after all the chaos that ensued really does cement to Michonne that they’re the ones who live.

And then I absolutely adore that it seems Rick kisses her hand. And then, even in so much pain that it hurts to talk, Michonne, the resilient queen she is, still nods and tries to instill encouragement and belief in them by trying to say their ever-so-important and always true motto - we’re the ones who live.

But that Rhonda Rousey trash chick really did a number when choking her, so Michonne can’t fully get the words out. So, to just make the scene even more romantic, Rick knows exactly what she’s trying to say, and he says in the warmest sweetest voice, "I know" three times.

Y’all, it makes me teary the way he speaks to her. 🥲 Both of their Richonne tones are A1 always. It is so caring and gentle, and I love that he sees that she’s in pain and he again softly touches her and lets her know it’s okay cuz he knows what she’s trying to say, and he believes in their motto too.

And he shows how much he believes it even more when he says with conviction “We are. We will.” Genuinely romantic and moving. 😭😭 Like genuinely no one should be surprised that Rick and Michonne's return to the franchise is being marketed as an epic love story because their journey has always been a love story. And a love story for the ages at that. 😌

I love the way Rick looks right at Michonne this whole time, again just letting her be the sole focus over anything else going on. And it’s sweet cuz in the s7 msf she was the one reminding him they’re the ones who live, and in the finale, it’s them both knowing and believing it together. 🥰

There's also something so powerful about the two of them affirming this to each other after their previous partners both didn't have that same 'we can live and make it' mentality. It just further shows how Rick and Michonne are truly more aligned at their core.

And then you really see those magnets kick in cuz Rick is like somehow someway I still need to hug you. And I just adore this hug. 😭 I love it because it’s Rick wanting to offer comfort to her, but it’s also very much a comfort for him too.

You can just see it in the way he leans into her like this is the one moment in the day where he can just release and be Rick the human being, in the arms of the woman who loves and takes care of and offers the utmost warmth to him.

I so appreciate that Rick and Michonne are able to equally be that invaluable source of comfort for each other - because they’re strong for everyone else, but with each other they can just be all of themselves.

And I love how, even in her pain, Michonne still passionately embraces him (with her hands in his curls once again, cuz of course 😋) You again just see how much this husband and wife can be human with each other and how much being in each other's arms is where they feel most at home. After everything they'd been through that day, just being back with each other began to restore them.

It’s also really sweet that Carl is right there to see all this. I love that during this time Carl and Judith got to grow up in a home where their parents so deeply loved each other. irl, it’s important for kids to see their parents value each other.

(also the only thing that could have made this scene better is if we got to see Carl eventually join in on the hug. i tease that this is 'the greedy hug' because Rick really said look I need my time with Michonne and Carl is just gon' have to wait his turn lol 😋)

And I notice how Carl had been being strong all episode but it’s only when he sees Michonne that we see him get a bit more emotional. Michonne has always meant so much to him. That's his mom. So it’s sweet that it’s in this moment where Carl finally can’t help but react with a bit more emotion.

Also it makes me think of how little Carl was there to witness that bullet exchange between Rick and Michonne in Clear, where his little self seemed to be picking up on a vibe between them. And now here he is older, and seeing exactly the love that was deep under the surface between Rick and Michonne back then.

(Side note: of all the deleted TWD scenes I’ve seen, the one from this ep with Michonne giving a speech to Carl (and Rick) really should’ve been kept in imo, especially as a full circle moment to this scene here)

And I love that they really stay in that hug for a moment. Richonne never rushes when expressing their love. And the visual of the three of them, the golden trio, is just beautiful. 🥹

Season 7 made a lot missteps but truly when it came to Rick and Michonne’s love story this season they never missed not once. In the area of Richonne content, season 7 is one of my favorites for them because there's just an abundance of Richonne gold throughout.

And concluding Richonne's s7 arc with this gorgeous moment where they seem so relieved to be alive with each other and to be the ones who live and to hug so passionately is great.

And then later to see Rick tending to Michonne while she healed. It was a lovely way to close out the Richonne content of their first full season as a couple. Every season, Rick and Michonne always land on unity and love no matter what they go through.

Scenes like this #18 one make it so clear that what we’ve always been watching is a love supreme between Rick and Michonne Grimes (as Rick has now made perfectly clear for the people in the back #MyWifeIsMyChoice). And I love to see it. 😌

#also reading your comments and messages has been making my day so just wanted to say thanks so much 💖#richonne #top 30 #number 18 #rick x michonne #twd 7.16 #reveling in richonne #twd towl #the ones who live

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cellophaine · 2 years

Note

howdy!! could i request a Foggy’s younger sister x Matt fic where she comes to visit them for the holidays? :)) Foggy’s protective of his sister, Matt is a huge flirt, and the sister thinks it’s fun to tease both of them! thank you 😌♥️

Reunion

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Foggy's Adopted Sister!F!Reader

Warnings: Fluff.

Author's Note: It’s 11 months too late, but I hope you’ll enjoy it! I'm all tapped out.

GIF Credit

The yellow cab came to a stop before the familiar building, easing you into the comforting reverie of being home. The exterior had mostly stayed the same in the past year, except for the semi-new posters on the windows. The dark green sign remained unchanged, slightly fading from the weather.

Nelson's Meat. You are here.

Snow dusted the cold air, falling over you like the finest gossamer. The little white flakes melted on your nose at the first touch. You thanked the taxi driver for helping you with your suitcase, and soon you were left alone before the shop on the vacant street. The warm light illuminated from the inside was inviting, coaxing your feet to step forward to the door. You took a moment to brace yourself, taking in a deep breath. Your body shuddered faintly from the cold that slowly seeped through the layers of your clothes. After a year of living and working abroad alone, you missed your adopted family. Your arrival was no secret, but your family didn't expect you until the next day. Your knuckles rapped on the glass door; the scene inside was shielded from your vision by the blind. The door opened, and your brother, Frank, or as you so lovingly called Foggy, greeted you with the biggest smile. Your name was an excited shout in true Foggy's fashion.

"If this isn't the prodigy daughter! I thought you wouldn't be here until tomorrow?"

He pulled you into a crushing hug, lifting you off the ground. You held onto him with both arms, squealing as you tried to explain.

"I wanted to surprise everyone!"

An onslaught of delighted cheers and calls rushed at you the moment Foggy ushered you through the door, out of the claws of the late autumn. He followed closely behind, taking your suitcase in with him. You were pulled into one hug after another, and each member of your family squeezed you until you were sure there would be imprints of their hugs on your back. You tried your best to keep up with the questions, their overflowing enthusiasm for your foreign experience, and the stories from home that were thrown at you.

You parted from your uncle, smiling bashfully at his genuine excitement that you had a safe trip home. Over his shoulder, from the peripheral of your vision, you saw him stepping into the room. The sight of Matt was unexpected, to say the least. You hadn't seen him since the day you left for Sweden. Before you were fully aware of what you were about to do, you took long, haste steps and jumped into Matt's arms, giving him a big hug.

"Matt! You're here?"

He wrapped his arms around you, embracing you with just as much enthusiasm.

"Your brother invited me. Apparently, he deems ordering takeouts on a Thanksgiving evening too pathetic."

You snorted as an easy smile graced the corners of his lips. You pulled back to truly take him in; your eyes ran over his endearing features. Matt hadn't changed much in the past year, but you noticed the subtle difference in his frame. You could feel the firmness of his muscle over the thin material of his white dress shirt. You stayed locked in each other's hold, your hands on his shoulder and biceps, his hands on your waist with the soft back-and-forth brush of his thumb. You thought of that day at the airport, how he surprised you just by being there, and even more so when he pulled you into a tight embrace and held onto you as if he couldn't let you go.

Foggy cleared his throat, and you turned to your brother. He gave you a strange look, his eyes widened as if to ask a question you didn't have the answer to, and you let go of Matt. Your brother was all too eager to steer you to the kitchen, going on about how you must try his eggnog recipe with a twist. The tale of how he used absinthe that one time fell on deaf ear as you glanced over your shoulder to see Matt where you had left him. He seemed to know that you were looking at him, tipping his head as if to tell you that he would be okay.

In the kitchen, a glass of eggnog without absinthe, as Foggy assured, was shoved in your hands. The night went smoothly as you traded stories and started a weirdly competitive game of Pictionary, enjoying your drinks as you waited for dinner to be ready.

After a while, your skin prickled with sweat and warmth from the drink in the room full of people. You excused yourself, going to the kitchen for a glass of water. You were staring at the golden brown turkey in the oven when Matt entered the room with empty hands. You asked if he wanted a beer, to which he nodded. You drew one from the fridge and popped it open by placing the edge of its cap on the counter before handing it to him. You leaned on the kitchen counter, and Matt did the same. Moments passed when neither of you said anything, contentedly basking in the quiet. You tipped your head towards him and whispered, even though the two of you were alone, in the kitchen rich with delicious smells.

"How have you been?"

He gave a casual shrug.

"I've been busy. Things have been picking up at the office. I'm just glad that we have more clients to foot the bills now."

You hummed in agreement. Foggy told you all about it during your weekly call. You glanced at Matt's hand on the beer bottle, seeing the skin on his knuckles scattered in white scars. The sight of them somehow reminded you of when Foggy was at Columbia and would sometimes bring Matt with him home. Matt was skinnier then, always in baggy Columbia sweatshirts or soft sweaters, always timid around your big, loud family. From time to time, the sight of his red and blistered knuckles wouldn't escape your perceptive eyes. When you asked about it, he always blamed it on his clumsiness, and how he too often pushed himself too hard at the gym. You had your suspicion but never asked out of respect for his boundaries. He seemed uncomfortable whenever you pointed out his injuries.

Matt looked different now. His dark hair grew longer, tousled on top and curled slightly at the nape of his neck. The stubble added a ruggedness to his sculpted face, accentuated by a smile sweet enough to make your heart race. Your eyes travelled down to the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt, displaying his fuzzy forearms. Continued the path downward were his hands; the veins were prominent on the slightly red skin. And how could you forget the scars?

You nudged his shoulder teasingly.

"Still up to no good, I see."

Matt turned to you, a questioning look on his face. His brows raised, peeking over the red glasses he wore. You brought your hand to his knuckles, brushing against the calloused skin. Matt inhaled deeply as a shiver rolled down his spine, bathing him in a warm rush of blood as it went straight to his traitorous heart. Your touch was soft and tender, a gentle swipe over his brutal achievement. His cheeks warmed at the barely-there contact.

"I'm just … clumsy. Maybe I do need a guide dog."

"Dogs are cute! And helpful! I can imagine a little Labrador being your sidekick."

You cooed, imagining a lovely pup always perching at his feet. Matt shook his head.

"I don't think I'm a dog person, so …."

"Wow! How dare you?"

You said it with so much seriousness that it made Matt laugh out loud. His laugh was contagious, and you joined him, a burst at the ridiculous and unfunny joke. Your shoulders touched as your bodies swayed in the other's direction. Your hand still lingered on his when Foggy walked in. At the sight of your brother, you abruptly pulled your hand back, which earned another scrutinizing look from him. He stared at you and Matt, at the distance between you two, and his eyes narrowed.

"What's going on?"

You lifted a shoulder, casting an innocent smile at your brother.

"Nothing! We're just catching up."

Matt took a swig of his beer as you sipped your water.

"Doesn't look like it to me."

A call for Foggy from the living room reached the three of you, but he didn't care to answer. It seemed he didn't want to leave despite the persistent call, his expression full of concern. You silently gestured for him to go on, yet he didn't move an inch. An awkward air cast over the three of you until your mother barged in.

"Come on, we've been calling you!"

Foggy turned to his mom, nudging his head in the direction of where you and Matt huddled together.

"But I can't leave them there."

With a wave of her hand, your mother dismissed Foggy's silly concern.

"Yes, you can. Don't be a buzzkill. Let them catch up."

Despite his resistance, Foggy was dragged away. You chuckled, shaking your head.

"I missed him, even with his overprotectiveness."

A lightbulb went off in your head.

"I missed teasing him most of all."

Matt's head tipped forward as he laughed, making a few strands of hair fall over his forehead. Your hands itched to feel them in the guise of pushing them back.

"Why do I feel like you're involving me in this?"

"Because I am. Do you trust me?"

You leaned close, and Matt could smell the faint daisy of your perfume. He swallowed hard, nodding.

"I do."

And let you hold his wrist, guiding him to the living room, where your family was still very much engaged in Pictionary. You chose to stand near the snack table, which was in Foggy's line of vision. Your arms touched, and you had to reign in the slight shiver that threatened to break.

Matt leaned in as if to tell you a secret. His husky voice stroked the growing excitement and nervousness in the pit of your stomach.

"Is he looking?"

You pretended to trail your eyes over the game, taking in the sight of a grumpy Foggy. It was obvious that he didn't like how close his friend was to his sister.

"Yes, and he doesn't look too happy about it."

Matt pulled you closer by your arm, keeping his face close to yours. From the look of anyone who didn't know what you were up to, you looked comfortable with one another, borderline intimate. Warm puffs of air tickled your ear, sending a pleasant chill down your spine.

"Is this okay?"

You touched his hand, which still lingered on your arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's more than okay."

Surprised by your honesty, the tips of Matt's ears turned pink. You couldn't help the flush that crept onto your face, and you were glad Matt couldn't see how deep the blush was. He cleared his throat, changing the direction of your conversation.

"So … are you going back there after Thanksgiving?"

You nodded before verbalizing your confirmation.

"Yes, I am. In three days. I have to wrap up my quarter's work before the holidays."

"Are you staying there for Christmas? Spending it with someone special?

If you didn't know any better, you would think Matt was testing to see if you were seeing someone. You bit back a smile.

"I'm planning to come home for Christmas and New Year. And uhm, no boyfriend.”

Matt nodded a little too eagerly.

"What about you? Do you have anyone in your life?"

"No. I haven't dated anyone seriously for a long time."

"Oh."

Relief was the last reaction you expected, but your heart skipped a beat, surprising you. The few out-of-place strands fell again, and you couldn't help yourself this time. Your hand grazed Matt's strong jawline, beckoning him to fully turn to you. He obliged, and you swept the hair back, watching his face soften in genuine wonder.

Your mom called everyone to the dining room as dinner was ready, breaking you out of the stupor. You led Matt to the table with his hand resting in the crook of your arm. Matt pulled out a chair for you, like the gentleman he was, and went to take a seat beside you. Foggy tried to slot himself in between, asking if you needed another drink, to which you declined. Theo pulled Foggy away with a warning look, making him sit on the other side of the table. You helped Matt with his plate, filling him in on what was on the table. The dinner carried on, and you continued to have a good time with Matt; the scheme of making Foggy mad was only a distant thing in the back of your mind.

The night ended, almost everyone left, and Matt decided it was his time to go. Despite Foggy's eager assistance to call Matt a cab, he took on your offer to walk him home instead. So you walked side-by-side through the quiescent neighbourhood with his hand on your arm, accompanied by the occasional taps of his cane on the snowy ground. You reminisced about the old days when you attended Columbia just two years behind Foggy and Matt. How Matt would always have something for you to snack on when your stomach grumbled. How he would wait for you and walk you home from your late study sessions at the library. You both chuckled at the present when the roles were reversed before allowing the reticence to settle.

After one and a half blocks, Matt broke the comfortable silence.

"After New Year, are you thinking of staying there for good?"

You took a moment even though deep down you already knew the answer.

"I'm not sure yet. They're giving me a few weeks to decide. I love working there, but … I also missed New York."

Matt hummed softly in response to your answer. He took a deep breath and exhaled before giving voice to his honest thought. So low and small that you almost missed it.

"Then maybe you should come back here."

A suspicion nagged at you, and you knew you would keep wondering about it if you didn't act on it.

"Why are you so curious about whether I stay or not?"

Matt stopped, and you ceased your steps with him.

"Do you want my honest answer?"

Your heart pounded in your chest. Gone was his playful manner, making way for a reserved, more solemn tone.

"Yes, of course."

His mouth opened and closed again. He had a tough time choosing a suitable response, doing his best to construe his complicated thoughts and transparent feelings into words that could bear the weight of the past year. No, the past years that he had known you.

"It's– I would love it if … you stayed here. But the decision is yours and I … I just want you to be happy with wherever you choose."

It wasn't something you expected. If you had to be honest, it wasn't something you expected from Matt. His answer felt personal, like a love letter on the mantle, unopened, but always there where its intended receiver could find and delve into the lovely words transcribed from unspoken feelings.

It took you a few moments, but eventually, you found your voice.

"Do you think I can find that here? My happiness?"

"Of course."

You didn't bother to hold back your bashful smile, reflecting Matt's own. The two of you started walking again, and you nudged his shoulder.

"I'll let you know my decision within a few business days."

His lighthearted chuckle was woven in the wind, the sound of it free and unchained. His apartment came into view, and you wished it was much, much farther away. When you reached the familiar building, you turned to him, watching the little puffs of smoke wafting around his pretty face.

"Thank you for playing along with me back there."

The deep timbre of his soft laugh and his broad smile warmed you from the inside out. Much more effective than Foggy's eggnog-without-absinthe.

"No worries. I had a good time teasing Foggy. I'm not looking forward to going in on Monday, though."

Your inside churned with giddiness for the thousand times that night. Why did this feel so easy, being around Matt? You came home with the intention of visiting your family, yet you found something you didn't know you had. It felt natural, like your reflexes. Your action was an extension of that as you stood on your tiptoe, adorning a kiss on Matt's cheek. When you pulled back, the grin on his red-tinted face was full of adoration. You had no doubt that you were blushing, too.

"Goodnight, Matt."

Your whisper was feather-soft, as if you were afraid you could ruin the moment by talking too loudly. Matt's hand lingered on your arm, holding onto the felt of your coat like he didn't want to let you go, just like that day at the airport. You took a few steps backward with reluctance; your eyes committed the sight of him to your memories. You looked back after a good distance away, and you could see Matt standing where you had left him, gazing in your direction. An unspoken promise in between.

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