#it’s just not true that’s not his character and that’s FINE. look elsewhere if you want a sweet character | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

deliciousangelfestival · 3 months ago

Text

I Hate It When You're Drunk - 8

Character: bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x Princess!Reader

Summary: A forbidden romance between a princess and her bodyguard leads to a dramatic wedding, but their happiness is soon overshadowed by political intrigue and betrayal, testing their love and resolve.

I Hate It When You're Drunk Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist || If you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee on : Ko-fi 🙏🏻please, please please.

Thank you to everyone who has read this chapter. Leave a comment and Reblog, please. I'd love to hear your thoughts. ❤️

The empty hall echoed with the sound of heels clicking against the marble floor and the frantic rhythm of heavy breathing. Someone was running.

You sprinted as fast as you could toward where Bucky was. The gunshot had come from the changing room where Bucky had been just moments ago. You had barely finished changing from your wedding dress into another gown for the reception when the noise tore through the air, sending a chill down your spine.

Your heart pounded in your chest, fear clawing at your insides. Did your father have a change of heart? Was Bucky in danger?

As you reached Bucky's room, you gasped at the sight before you. Bucky was on the floor, cradling a man's lifeless body in his lap. The scene was eerily reminiscent of The Madonna della Pietà, with Bucky's anguished face mirroring the sorrow of the famed sculpture.

"What’s going on?" you asked, breathless and desperate for answers.

King Leonard turned to you, his expression cold and calculated. “Another rat snuck in, trying to harm James. But our new head of security, Isaac, took care of it.”

Isaac, who had discreetly concealed his gun, straightened his suit with a calm, practiced elegance. He bowed slightly in your direction. “The safety of the royal family is my top priority,” he said smoothly, his voice carrying a detached professionalism.

"I see," you replied, trying to mask the turmoil swirling inside you. "Could you leave us alone, please?"

“Of course.” King Leonard snapped his fingers, summoning another guard who swiftly moved to lift the lifeless body from Bucky's lap.

Your husband remained silent, his face a mask of shock and disbelief.

As Leonard and the others prepared to leave, he glanced back at you both. “Don’t keep our guests waiting too long,” he warned, before directing his gaze at Bucky. “Change your clothes,” he added, his tone leaving no room for argument. Then, with a final, authoritative nod, he exited the room.

Bucky slowly stood up, his movements heavy and dazed. You reached out to steady him, noticing the blood splattered across his suit. A wave of dread washed over you; this was surely a bad omen—someone had died on your wedding day.

“Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” you asked, your voice trembling with concern as you gently touched his arm.

Bucky shook his head, his eyes distant. “No, I’m fine,” he muttered, still in a daze. “I should get changed.” He moved toward the wardrobe, where a spare suit had been prepared for him.

As he changed, he remained silent, his thoughts clearly elsewhere. The shock of seeing Isaac—the man he had once trusted—turning traitor was still too much to process. Isaac, who had seemed so loyal and full of hatred for the king, had betrayed them all.

“Who was he?” you asked softly, hoping to break through Bucky's silence.

Bucky snapped back to the present, his eyes meeting yours for a moment before looking away. “Just like the king said, another assassin,” he replied, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.

“I’ve known you for too long,” you said quietly, your eyes fixed on Bucky. “I know when you’re lying.”

He flinched at your words, the truth of them hitting home. He sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he walked toward you. “It’s true that someone tried to kill me,” he admitted, his voice low and strained.

You stared at him in disbelief. “You? Why would someone try to kill you?”

He shrugged, a casual gesture that didn’t match the gravity of the situation. “I managed to put him down and wanted to ask him some questions, but the new head of security shot the assassin before I could,” he said, letting the half-truth slip from his lips. He hoped it would be enough to satisfy your curiosity.

“Let’s go,” Bucky added, extending his arm to you. “We can’t keep the guests waiting too long.”

Realizing he wasn’t going to share more, you sighed inwardly and looped your arm through his. Together, you walked down the long hallway, your footsteps echoing in the vast space.

As you walked, the image of the lifeless body being carried out of the room replayed in your mind. You kept your expression neutral; under your father’s tyrannical rule, you had seen more than your share of death and had faced countless assassination attempts yourself. You had lost count of the number of times you’d almost died, only to be saved by Bucky’s quick actions.

But this assassin—this man—had looked different. He wasn’t like the trained killers you were used to seeing. He had looked malnourished, haggard, dirty. An assassin should be stealthy, composed, deadly—a shadow that could move unseen. But this man had been anything but. His appearance raised more questions than answers.

You gritted your teeth, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. What was going on? The day wasn’t even over, and already your husband was hiding things from you.

Finally, the two of you reached the large double doors leading to the reception hall. The head butler, standing tall and formal, bowed before opening the doors with a flourish. His voice rang out in a clear announcement, “Your Highness, Princess Y/N and Duke James Buchanan Barnes.”

'Duke.' Bucky could hardly believe it. He had been given a royal title—a position he never thought he’d occupy. As he stepped into the grand hall and saw everyone rise from their seats and bow, a strange feeling washed over him. In the past, he would have been among them, standing to show respect or remaining still like a sentinel. But now, everything felt different. The weight of his new role pressed on him, heavy and unrelenting.

The room was filled with dignitaries and high-ranking officials, all eyes fixed on the two of you. As you made your way to your designated seats near King Leonard, Bucky couldn’t help but feel a mix of discomfort and disbelief.

You took your seat next to your father, the tyrant king, while Bucky sat beside you. You could feel the tension radiating from him, his jaw clenched and his hands resting stiffly on his lap.

Leonard stood from his seat, lifting his champagne glass high, and the room fell silent in anticipation of his words. His gaze swept over the gathered guests, and his voice, deep and commanding, filled the hall.

“To my daughter, Y/N, and her husband, James Buchanan Barnes,” he began, his expression a mix of pride and authority. “Today, we celebrate not just the union of two hearts, but the unity and strength this marriage brings to our nation. May your lives together be filled with loyalty, love, and an unwavering commitment to our great kingdom. To the happy couple!”

“To the happy couple!” echoed the guests as they raised their glasses and drank to the toast.

The reception started in a formal, reserved manner, with dignitaries and high-ranking officials mingling and offering their congratulations. But soon, the atmosphere shifted, becoming more lively and animated. Laughter and chatter filled the room, and the formal lines began to blur as the guests relaxed.

Your friends surrounded you with warm smiles and excited chatter, each of them eager to share their well-wishes. One of them leaned in with a grin, her eyes sparkling. “Your dress is absolutely stunning, Y/N! It’s already gone viral online—everyone’s talking about it!”

Another friend chimed in, laughing, “And let’s not forget about Bucky! He looks so dashing in his uniform; he’s gaining a whole new fanbase!”

Their enthusiasm and joy were infectious, and you found yourself smiling, momentarily caught up in the happiness around you. It reminded you of why you had wanted this day so much—the joy, the celebration, the love shared with friends and family.

As you glanced across the room, you noticed Bucky deep in conversation with Archer, the Defense Minister, and several other military officials, easily identifiable by their uniforms. A pang of sadness tugged at your heart. Bucky didn’t have many friends here; most of the people surrounding him were tied to duty and obligation rather than friendship.

“Champagne, ladies?” Cassian suddenly appeared beside you, a tray of champagne flutes balanced effortlessly in his hand.

Your friends eagerly took a glass, and Cassian gave you a knowing smile. “Ladies, could you give us a moment? I have something to say to the bride.”

“Of course,” one of your friends replied, and they moved away, leaving you alone with Cassian.

Once you were alone, Cassian offered you a fresh bottle of champagne with a sly grin. “Care for a drink straight from the bottle?”

You scoffed, crossing your arms. “Are you trying to make me look like a fool?”

Cassian smirked. “Just trying to help you forget your misery. Marriage troubles already, right after the vows?”

Your glare was sharp, and Cassian chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. “I’ve been to a lot of weddings,” he continued, “and usually, the couple is inseparable at the reception. But you two? It’s like you’re miles apart.” He shook his head, feigning disappointment.

“Shut your mouth, or I’ll have you deported,” you snapped, half-joking but serious enough to wipe the smirk off his face.

Cassian raised an eyebrow, still smiling. “You actually have that power, you know.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Are you challenging me?”

His smile widened. “Only if you become queen.”

You rolled your eyes in exasperation and turned away, heading toward Bucky, who was still engaged in conversation with Archer.

As you approached, Archer’s tone was low and serious. “What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into, Bucky? Who was that dead man?”

Bucky sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s a long story. It’ll take time to explain everything.”

“Bucky,” you called softly as you reached them.

Archer immediately bowed. “Your Highness,” he said respectfully before stepping away to give you privacy.

“What were you two talking about?” you asked, your curiosity piqued by their hushed conversation.

Bucky offered a tight smile. “Just some military matters, nothing to worry about.”

“Oh,” you replied, feeling a mix of relief and frustration. You wanted to know more but could see he wasn’t in the mood to share. Your hand instinctively reached for his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze, hoping to reassure him that you were there, ready to support him.

A commotion erupted outside the grand hall, shattering the festive atmosphere of the wedding reception. The heavy wooden doors suddenly swung open with a loud creak, and a group of people entered. Every head turned, gasps filling the room as the guests took in the sight. The newcomers were dressed entirely in black, their faces obscured by black veils that covered them from head to toe.

You and Bucky exchanged bewildered glances, neither of you recognizing the mysterious figures.

Leonard, his face contorted with anger and suspicion, barked, “Guards!”

At his command, the royal guards quickly assembled, forming a tight circle around the intruders, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, ready for any sudden movements.

The figure at the front, clearly the leader, stepped forward with a slow, deliberate grace. A soft, yet firm voice emerged from beneath the veil, a voice that was unmistakably familiar. “It’s been a long time, Leonard.”

Your heart skipped a beat. You whispered, almost to yourself, “It can’t be…”

The woman in black continued, her voice calm but resolute. “I have no hatred, Leonard. I’ve come only to offer my blessings to my niece.”

She moved forward with an elegant stride, and the tension in the room seemed to make every step echo louder than it should. The guards hesitated, unsure whether to stop her. Her presence seemed to command an unspoken respect, and slowly, they parted to let her pass.

Even now, after all Leonard’s tyranny, the former queen’s influence lingered like a haunting memory. Alicia Svensson, the former queen of Veridian, the widow of your uncle, who was murdered by Leonard in his ruthless rise to power. All of his siblings and their families had perished, except for Alicia. On that bloody day, she had been away, visiting her ailing father in her homeland.

She was fortunate to have survived, but she lost her husband and sons. The grief drove her to madness, and she vowed never to return to Veridian, the land that had taken everything from her.

But here she was, walking through the hall with a quiet authority that silenced the room. Her steps, though soft, seemed to echo with the power of her past. Alicia stopped in front of you and Bucky, her veil still obscuring her face.

“I still remember both of you running through my gardens,” she said, her voice tinged with a melancholy that cut through the silence.

Memories flooded back—days of playing in her lush gardens, carefree and happy, under her watchful, loving eyes. Her sons, you, other kids, and Bucky are playing together. Before Leonard’s betrayal shattered everything.

Steeling yourself, you took a step forward, trying to hold back tears. “Aunt, thank you for coming,” you said softly, reaching out as if to embrace her.

But as you got closer, Alicia leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper only you could hear. “I pity you, dear. You, who know nothing or are too ignorant.” Her long nails grazed your skin, cold and sharp.

You flinched, pulling back, your eyes wide with shock and confusion.

She made the sign of the cross and prayed aloud, “I pray that you will one day replace your father and become a better ruler.”

Leonard’s patience snapped, his face red with fury. “You insolent woman!”

But Alicia was unfazed. “You can’t touch me, Leonard. I am here as a diplomatic guest,” she said, her voice steady and defiant.

Leonard’s lips curled into a sneer. “Then my guards will drag you and your servants out of this house.”

At his command, the guards moved in, roughly grabbing Alicia and her entourage, escorting them toward the exit.

Leonard turned to Bucky, his expression cold. “Make sure they leave the premises immediately.”

Bucky nodded, his face a mask of stoicism. “Yes, sir.”

As the uninvited guests were escorted out, the tension in the room slowly began to dissipate. The remaining guests murmured among themselves, shocked and curious about what had just transpired.

Leonard, ever the manipulator, raised his voice to calm the crowd. “Nothing to worry about, my friends. Please, enjoy yourselves! More champagne, wine, and food!”

But for you, the festive atmosphere was gone. The shooting, the death, and now Aunt Alicia’s ominous appearance—it all felt like a bad omen, a dark shadow over what should have been a joyous day.

With everyone preoccupied and the focus shifting back to Leonard, you found a moment to slip away unnoticed. Grabbing the bottle of champagne that Cassian had offered earlier, you quietly left the ballroom, your footsteps echoing in the empty hallway.

The hall was dimly lit by the moon’s pale glow, casting long, eerie shadows on the stone walls. You walked slowly, lost in your thoughts, replaying the events of the day over and over in your mind. Once you were far enough away, you pulled out the cork with a loud pop and brought the bottle to your lips, drinking deeply. The cold liquid burned slightly as it went down, but it wasn’t enough to drown the turmoil inside you.

One bottle wouldn’t be enough to make you forget. Perhaps you’d find another, or a third, to numb the pain of this day’s bitter revelations.

Join the tag list:

@thezombieprostitute

@thetravelingtyper

@scott-loki-barnes

@mostlymarvelgirl

@dexter99

@seresingirlie

@missvelvetsstuff

@kjah97

@tfatwsoldir

@itsteambarnes

@toldyouitwasamelodrama

@sapphirebarnes

@thedonswife13

@angelbabyyy99

@esposadomd

@buckitostan

@wh0reforbucknasty

@bada-lee-ily

@evie-119

@mrsstuckyboo

@ghalouha

@iamasimpingh0e

@loki-laufeyson68

@buckybarnessimpp

@milllieeee

@ashdoctor

@mushycore

@crazyunsexycool

@anixerz

@mcira

@touchstarvedforbuckybarnes

@pattiemac1

@elizalexwil

@ghalouha

@gingersnap-2

@whitexwolfxx310

@kaithesimps-blog

@marvel-wifey-86

@kumointhesky

@hnnhbananananana

@je-suis-prest-rachel

@nouis-bum

@julvrs

@thebuckybarnesvault

@saiyanprincessswanie

@unaxv

@danzer8705

@breathlesspieceofdeath

@darsynia

@lokislady82

@bonkybarnes106

@kandis-mom

@finthebeautyinbreakdowns

@avis15

Author Note: If you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee on : Ko-fi 🙏🏻please, please please.

187 notes · View notes

lucidlivi · 4 months ago

Text

she calls me daddy now

popping in with the supernatural/true blood crossover you didn't know you needed!

Warning: not suited for minors, strong language, sexual innuendos, sex, slight threesome, violence, blood, gore, major character death, blood drinking, blood draining, mentions of death, staking, vampire burning, major angst, heartbroken Dean

I will be working on other prompt requests soon but I had this idea and didn’t want to lose it, I hope you guys love it as much as I do!

A switch in viewpoints will be indicate in bold italics

Reader

"Fangtasia? really?" I snort glancing at the boys beside me.

"Leeches with a sense of humor.. great." Dean grumbles.

"So much for mainstreaming, Louisiana has one of the highest disappearance rates in the country... 346 people in this last month alone. You and I both know what really happened to them." Sam says looking at the news article on his cellphone.

"And you're sure we're going to find help here?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"I mean there has to be some sort of order to things, even for vampires.'" I shrugged.

"And since we're not scoring a date with the vampire queen , one of her pawns should work just fine." Sam said as I watched the eager humans line up to get in to the famous vampire bar.

It's been years now since vampires exposed themselves to the world.

Of course we already knew of their existence.

However, with the invention of synthetic blood the vamps decided they wanted to become part of society, mainstream they call it.

It took the world by storm.

People were lining up to meet and more disgustingly volunteer to get bitten by a vampire.

It was sickening.

As you can imagine this did not go over well with the hunting community.

It was a question on everyone's mind.

Could vamps really change?

Could they be functioning members of a society?

In Louisiana the answer was no.

"I still don't like this." Dean growled as we took our place in line for entrance to the bar.

"No one does, but we have to try to work out some sort of treaty, some sort of peace between us and them, too many people are dying." Sam said.

Oh Sammy.

As if peace between vampires and humans was possible.

We were a meal to them, nothing more.

I could feel Dean's anxiety pushing in to me, making me anxious.

I grabbed his hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. He was quick to lace our fingers together pulling me closer to him.

He instantly calmed a bit.

Dean and I had an interesting relationship.

Sam, he was like my annoying little brother.

But not Dean.

Dean and I shared a connection that went deeper.

He and I just got each other.

We weren't what you would call a thing though.

A hunter's life didn't afford us that privilege.

I knew that no matter what we would always look out for each other and if something were to happen to one of us, the other would never be the same.

It was a terrifying feeling in our line of work, since a brush with death was a daily occurrence for us.

As we got closer to the door I slipped my hand from Dean's.

I could see a lady at the door taking ID's, and from her too straight posture and her perfect looks I could tell she was one of them.

I had seen a vampire or two in my lifetime so they were easy for me to spot.

I felt the air shift as we got closer, causing me to pull my leather jacket tighter around my body.

"ID." she ordered extending her perfectly manicured hand towards me, her eyes focused elsewhere.

I sized her up, trying to guess her age. If I had to I'd say definitely over 100 years old.

She looked experienced, which is how you could tell a vampire's true age.

After a moment of stillness she finally glanced up meeting my eyes.

She glared at me, as if I was beneath her.

I simply stared back at her.

She flashed her fangs willing me to fall at her feet in submission.

I could feel Dean tense behind me, ready to pounce if needed.

"ID." She ordered once again with a southern drawl.

I gave her a forced smile, pulling out a fake ID card.

If she knew it was fake, she didn't say anything, just let me pass. Sam and Dean were let in without showing ID much to my annoyance.

As soon as we were past the rope, the woman at the door disappeared.

I could smell the stench of sex, sweat, and booze as the doors to the bar opened.

If I thought the name was ridiculous, the inside was even more ridiculous. It was decorated in reds and blacks, really selling the vampire theme.

I scoffed at the patrons who were clad in leather and lace. It was like they were proud to be flaunting their flesh for the bloodsuckers.

Perhaps though the most ridiculous and tacky thing was the throne in the middle of the stage overlooking the bar.

My eyes traveled up the throne before connecting with a pair of icy blue ones.

Suddenly it was as if I was being pulled into some sort of trance.

His eyes boring into my own.

I quickly broke eye contact taking a moment to take in his other features.

A mess of blonde locks lay on his head.

His jaw perfectly defined along with his other facial features.

His hands that were gripping the arm rests of the throne, large and lethal.

He was frighteningly tall, even taller than Sam, and he was basically Bigfoot.

It was however the smirk that played on his lips that made my blood boil.

He knew what I was, just as I knew what he was.

A vampire.

Just the pawn we were looking for.

I noticed the perfect blonde woman from the door suddenly at his side, leaning over and whispering in his ear.

I could see her glance in our direction.

She was trying to be discreet but I was on to her.

She was warning him.

Warning him about us.

I didn't get to see anything else as Dean pulled me towards a booth in the back.

I took this moment to study the people.

It was sickening seeing so many vampires and humans mingling like they weren't bloodthirsty monsters, and the humans eager to be their next meal.

"So I think the big blonde guy is who we need to talk to." Sam said looking between me and Dean.

I rolled my eyes.

Is he serious right now?

"Really Sam what gave you that idea huh? The throne in the middle of the stage? The way all the other vampires flock to him? Or, or maybe it’s the fact that he's glaring daggers at us right about now." I sassed feeling the blonde's eyes burning me from behind.

"Okay so what's the plan then, I don't think he's going to talk to us willingly." Dean said ignoring my attitude.

"Well maybe not us." Sam said pointing between himself and Dean.

Dean looked around seeing the blonde man's eyes devouring my form.

"No absolutely not." Dean interjected quickly.

"Dean, it may be our only shot I seemed to have peaked his interest." I said turning my body fully towards him.

"We can figure something else out then, this is reckless and you know that." Dean growled.

"I know but I don't think we have that kind of time, people are dying Dean, people we swore to protect." I shot back.

"Yeah well I swore to protect you." Dean gutted.

"So then protect me." I said rising from my seat.

Dean was not happy, that much was evident on his face. I couldn't focus on that right now though. I was doing this.

I took a deep breath straightening out my jacket.

I slowly approached the throne, center stage.I could see people eyeing me with envy. I was only focused on the vamp, whose eyes grew more curious the closer I got.

I was about to take another step but was halted by another man, who I could tell was also a vampire.

"Sorry no one speaks to Mr. Northman without his permission." He growled at me.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at this.

Who the hell did this vamp think he was, god?

"Chow, let her through." A strong voice spoke.

It didn't take me long to figure out it came from the vampire on the throne.

The man grumbled something under his breath before stepping to the side.

I took another deep breath striding in front of the blonde man.

"Mr. Northman I presume?"

"Please, call me Eric, and who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?" He smirked.

I thought for a minute if I should make up some fake name.

"And mind you I can tell if you're lying." He added, somehow reading my thoughts.

"y/n." I offered only my first name.

"What I can I do for you y/n?" He asked interested, as if I was going to offer him my neck.

"I think you know why we're here." I stated crossing my arms in front of myself as if it would put more distant between me and Eric.

"Yes unfortunately , it was only a matter of time before you hunters showed up."

"We wouldn't have to if you leeches kept yourselves in check." I bit back quickly.

"Well aren't you sweet." Eric smirked.

"Yeah not really."

I knew I should probably watch my tongue in a bar full of vampires. However, when my anger got the best of me, I couldn’t control the things that spilled from my lips.

"You have no idea who you're talking to do you?" Eric laughed, standing to his full height.

He towered over my short stature easily.

I wouldn't let him intimidate me though which is exactly what he was trying to do.

"So enlighten me then Mr. Northman."

"I'm a thousand year old viking darling, I'm not threatened by you or anyone for that matter."

"I'm not here to threaten you, I'm here to help you." I retorted quickly, acting unfazed by the declaration of his true age.

My statement resulted in another laugh from the viking vampire.

"Help me? Now what in that pretty little head of yours makes you think I need, or want your help." He whispered menacingly, clearly trying to threaten me.

I would have been a little more afraid had I not noticed the slight crease in his eyebrows as he spoke.

He was worried about something.

My guess, pressure from his boss to solve his little vampire problem.

Order.

Creatures couldn't function without it.

I couldn't fight the smirk that made it's way to my face.

"I think you're worried, 346 bodies is a lot of bodies to hide, I mean we know that they didn’t really disappear did they? Also isn't it your job to keep all these vampires in line? I'm guessing a bunch of rogue vampires going on a killing spree doesn’t exactly fair well with your boss." I taunted.

I knew I pushed it too far when his fangs popped out with a click.

He quickly wrapped a hand around my throat causing Dean to shoot up, pulling out his gun loaded with ultraviolet emitting bullets.

If Eric saw him, he was completely unfazed by his actions.

I gave Dean a look, telling him to wait before he starts blindly shooting in a room full of vampires.

I could handle myself well, Dean knew as much.

“Don’t you tell me how to do my job.” he growled his hand squeezing a little tighter around my throat.

"Do your job then." I spat, pushing him a little further.

Eric then looked deeply in my orbs as his glazed over.

He spoke in an enchanting voice.

"Now you and your little gang of hunters are going to leave my bar, but before you go, you're going to let me taste you while your boyfriend over there watches me."

I knew what he was trying to do.

He was trying to what they call "glamor" me.

Get in my head.

Control me and my thoughts.

No man controls me.

"No offense Mr. Northman but you're not really my type." I managed to squeak out, his hand still squeezing my throat.

Eric quickly released my neck with a confused look.

"Why can't I glamor you?" He growled in frustration.

I quickly turned around, pulling my shirt up slightly so he could see the anti-possession tattoo in the center of my spine.

"Turns out this isn’t just for demons, works for your mind tricks too. Eric this is my final offer, let us help you or we're gonna handle things our way, and then you'll have a lot more bodies to dispose of. We’ll be in town, it’s your choice." I threatened before turning away from the vampire.

I could tell he didn't take kindly to my threats but he didn't retaliate surprisingly, given his nature.

I could see the relief wash over Dean's face as I returned to his side.

"Looks like we aren't getting his help, let's go." I said knowing full well Eric could still hear me.

Dean tucked his gun away roughly grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the bar.

I could tell by his face that he was trying his best not to explode.

He was irate.

As soon as we were in the impala the floodgates opened and all hell let loose.

"Wow you've done a lot of stupid shit in the past but that has to be the most fucked thing you've ever done, what the hell were you thinking?" Dean growled.

I wasn't sure if it was directed at Sam for suggesting I talk to Eric alone or me for actually doing it.

“Dean come on it’s…” Sam started but Dean quickly cut him off.

“Stay out of this Sam.” Dean growled.

I guess now I knew it was directed at me.

“You can’t be serious right now?” I scoffed at his behavior.

“He could have snapped you like a twig, you gave him every opportunity.” Dean snapped.

I knew this was his way of saying he was worried about me but l didn’t like how he was going about it.

“I can handle myself.” I said with an eye roll.

“I mean what was your plan exactly? Badmouth him until he sinks his fangs in to your neck? You had no plan going up there, that was so irresponsible.” Dean continued.

“Yeah well he didn’t hurt me did he?” I scoffed.

“Your lucky he didn’t, you just act without thinking about the consequences.” He retorted.

“Yeah well sometimes you think too much and don’t act.”

“At least you don’t have to continuously save my ass!” He growled.

“Ugh would you stop treating me like a child!” I said my voice rising along with my anger.

“I will when you stop acting like one!” Dean yelled.

I rolled my eyes again, sinking back in to the seat. I was done talking about this. It was no use anyways.

I knew Eric wouldn’t hurt me.

I don’t know how I knew, I just did. He wouldn’t admit it but he needed our help.

I was extremely thankful to be pulling in to the motel parking lot. I jumped out of the car before Dean could bring it to a complete stop, slamming the door in a fit.

I could hear Dean throwing open his door and quickly striding up to catch me.

“We are not done talking about this.” He growled grabbing my wrist.

“I am.” I seethed snatching my wrist from him.

I walked in to my separate motel room, slamming the door in his face.

God!

Dean didn’t usually yell at me, I had no idea where all this was coming from.

"Fuck!" I screamed, before quickly stripping my clothes wanting to wash away this evening and everything it brought.

I turned on the shower, steam instantly filling the bathroom.

I stepped in, the hot water relaxing my tense muscles.

What the hell was up with Dean?

Why was he acting so, so possessive?

He knew I was strong enough to handle my own, yet he was treating me as if I were some stupid kid walking in to the lions den unprepared.

I knew how to kill vampires, this wasn’t my first rodeo.

I was angrily scrubbing my body and hair, too caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t hear my motel room door opening, or the bathroom door for that matter.

I washed the shampoo from my hair before noticing Dean’s presence. It made me jump but only momentarily. He was standing on the other side of the shower curtain, his shoulders slumped over.

“I said I was done talking about it Dean.” I bit quickly.

I was expecting him to start yelling at me again, tell me how stupid I was being, but Dean didn’t say anything instead just stayed quiet.

"Dean?" I asked softening my tone.

Dean was never quiet.

Only when he was in his head about something.

Like I said we just got each other.

It was a moment before he spoke.

“You have no idea how worried I was for you, fuck y/n why do you care so little about your life when to me it’s everything?” Dean said, his voice being overtaken with emotion.

My breathing stilled at his words. I felt tears gather in the corners of my eyes.

Dean wasn’t the vulnerable type, never admitting how he was truly feeling, but here he was laying it all out.

Before thinking I flung open the shower curtain looking at him. His eyebrows were creased with worry and hurt.

I suddenly felt extremely guilty.

I didn’t want to hurt him.

That was the last thing I wanted to do.

Dean was my person.

I jumped out and flung my arms around him, soaking his t-shirt. He didn't seem to mind much as he wrapped his strong arms around me holding me tightly to his body.

I buried my head in the crook of his neck, allowing a few tears to cascade down my cheeks. His hand found its way to the back of my head stroking my wet hair.

“I’m sorry Dean.” I spoke quietly.

Dean’s hand traveled down to the back of my neck, pulling my head up so he could look in my eyes.

Dean and I didn't need words to convey our feelings.

Our eyes alone did just that.

I could feel the heat spreading to my core as his eyes devoured me hungrily.

Dean and I didn't cross this line often.

In fact only once before.

It was a dangerous line to be flirting with.

But in this moment, I didn't care.

Dean didn't either, for a moment later he was crashing his lips on mine.

His lips had a petal softness to them, but he kissed like a man that had been starved for months.

I balled his t-shirt in my fists pulling him impossibly closer. Dean's hand gripped my neck harder as if I was about to float away and he was the only thing holding me down.

I broke away but only briefly to suck in a harsh breath.

Dean pulled me back in again, devouring my lips.

He kissed me as if I was oxygen and he was dying to breathe.

I couldn't help the breathless moans that fell from my lips as I felt Dean's trapped erection on my already burning center.

I wanted more.

Needed more.

"Dean." I panted, hoping he would catch on.

Dean didn't bother teasing. He picked me up quickly kicking the bathroom door open, before gently placing me on the run down motel bed.

He was quick to dispose of his shirt.

I trailed my eyes down his body.

Dean was the kind of handsome that got into my bones, that spoke to me before he'd even said a word.

I licked my lips as I admired him.

I sat up on the bed, not being able to stop my self from placing my lips on his perfectly chiseled jaw. He let out a guttural sound as my tongue worked down to his neck, kissing and sucking, marking him as mine.

He quickly disposed of his jeans, freeing himself at last. He gently pushed me back down hovering his body over mine.

Dean looked at me as if he applied too much pressure I might break.

He trailed his hand down my body painfully slow, stopping to brush gently over my aching core. I sucked in my bottom lip to try to stop the needy whine that wished to escape but I was too late.

I needed to feel him, all of him.

Dean leaned down once again kissing my lips tenderly.

"I promise." Dean whispered pulling away gently.

I shook my head in confusion.

"Promise?" I breathed out.

"I promise to make up for all the years I was supposed to be kissing you." Dean rasped.

I felt my eyes prickle with tears.

I grabbed his head bringing his lips back to my own.

I don't think I'll ever get over the feeling I get when kissing Dean, it was warm, it was safe, it was everything I needed, because with Dean, sometimes kissing felt like healing.

Dean grabbed his erection, slowly rubbing his tip up and down my folds, torturing me with pleasure.

He grunted pushing himself through my slickness all without breaking our hungry kiss.

Dean thrusted at a tortuously slow pace, hitting my sweet spot with every movement. Dean buried his head into my neck, heavenly groans fell from his lips.

I moaned a little louder with each slow thrust.

I couldn't take anymore, I rolled my hips up meeting his.

Dean pushed himself even deeper, causing a sensual whine out of me.

"So pretty when you're whining for me."

I could barely think straight from the fire burning in my veins. I closed my eyes digging my nails slightly in to his skin.

“Oh fuck Dean right there.” I moaned feeling my orgasm making itself known.

I could feel myself clenching around him causing him to cry out in pleasure.

“Good girl baby, cum for me.” Dean whispered in a husky voice.

His tone and praise alone was enough to have me soaking his length, my walls contracting all around him.

Dean began to thrust harder and faster, chasing his own orgasm. When his rhythm became sloppy I knew he was close.

Dean gave one last deep thrust before I felt white hot spurts of liquid coating my still sensitive walls.

Just when I thought Dean couldn’t get more attractive, here he was looking like a god as he groaned, riding out his orgasm.

I could cum again just from the sight of it.

Dean slowly removed himself, satisfied when his seed spilled out coating my thighs.

"I think you're gonna need another shower." Dean smirked.

Yep.

Dean was back.

I was about to make my usual snarky comment but a loud knocking on the door got my attention.

I thought it might be Sam coming to check on me, he has been on the receiving end of Dean’s wrath more than once.

I threw on a shirt and some sleep shorts before peeling the door open slowly.

I was not prepared to see Eric Northman behind it.

"You know for hunters you really need to cover your tracks better, wasn't all that hard to track you down, not with that sweet aroma you carry around." Eric smirked pompously.

I could hear Dean shuffling as he rushed putting his clothes back on.

He was suddenly at my side ripping the door open and glaring down the viking vampire in front of me.

It was the first time I saw them toe to toe.

Eric was definitely taller but Dean was unfazed by his size.

Dean was nothing to mess with either. He was lethal in his own right, and had more blood on his hands then he liked to think about.

"Now if you're done fucking your play thing, I'd like to talk." Eric said completely ignoring Dean’s threatening demeanor.

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

Oh god he heard that?

Of course he did, fucking super hearing ability.

"I think that opportunity has passed, we're no longer interested." Dean growled slamming the door but Eric’s vampire speed won out and he caught it seamlessly.

"If you could do me a favor sweets and calm your guard dog here, I believe you and I can help each other." Eric said once again ignoring Dean completely.

"I thought you said you didn't need or want my help?" I finally spoke, feeling my anger rising again.

"Oh don't be smug, it's humbling enough having to come to a breather for help." Eric said rolling his eyes.

I could feel Dean stiffen beside me.

He didn't trust Eric that much was obvious.

I didn't trust him either.

I was realistic though, and I knew our odds would be better with him on our side instead of in our way.

"Hypothetically speaking of course, let's say I was still interested in helping you, what then?" I inquired.

Dean growled from beside me.

“Excuse us for a moment." Dean said through clenched teeth, shutting the door, this time Eric allowing him to.

Dean sucked in a sharp breath preparing his lecture but I quickly cut him off before he could deliver it.

"Look before you yell, let's be realistic here, I think we're in way over our heads and having Eric on our side instead of in our way is an asset, even if I don't trust him, keep your enemies closer right?"

Dean's eyebrows furrowed knowing he couldn't argue with my logic.

"You were mad before because I didn't have plan, this time I do." I promised.

Dean placed a gentle hand to my cheek pulling my lips to his.

He knew Eric would be listening behind the door.

He wanted to make it known I was his.

I would definitely have to unpack this situation later.

Dean removed his lips resting his forehead on mine.

"Fine we can talk." Dean reluctantly agreed.

I gave him a small smile as I opened the door, seeing Eric standing there looking completely uninterested in Dean's show of affection.

"So then let's talk." I said nodding my head at Eric.

"Just you, no offense but I don’t think your guard dog will fit in with where we’re going, also you might want to shower first, if you’re going to be with me I can’t have you smelling of another man, and one more tip try not to look so much like a hunter, I’ll be back in thirty.” Eric ordered before speeding away.

“Fuck this, no way in hell am I letting you go anywhere alone with him.” Dean said.

“The idea doesn’t thrill me either but I’m just going to need you to trust me.” I said quickly going towards the bathroom.

Dean didn’t say anything instead followed behind me sulking. He shed his clothes stepping in the shower after me.

He huffed pouting as he took his hand washing his seed away from my body. I moaned as his fingers dipped in my folds cleansing me.

“I can trust you if you promise me you won’t do anything reckless, I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt and I wasn’t there to help.” Dean said.

I quickly turned around facing him.

“I promise you Dean, nothing reckless.” I said standing on my toes to place a soft kiss to his mouth.

I finished washing myself quickly, then stepped out and towel dried myself.

I looked in my suitcase trying to find clothes that didn’t scream hunter. I settled for a sundress, this made me look more innocent, more naive.

Exactly thirty minutes later on the dot their was another harsh knock at the door. I took a deep breath opening it. Eric stood smirking behind it, clearly trying to provoke Dean. He let his eyes drift up and down my form very noticeably.

“If I didn’t know any better I would say you almost look normal.” Eric joked, that ever present cocky smile still on his face.

Dean wrapped a protective arm around me.

“I swear if you fucking hurt her..” Dean started but Eric cut him off.

“Down boy, she’ll be fine, besides I already ate this evening, though I wouldn’t say no to some dessert.” Eric taunted him.

I rolled my eyes at the pair.

I quickly turned around grabbing Deans shirt bringing him in for a feverish kiss.

Dean smirked in to the kiss hearing Eric sigh in annoyance.

I pulled away letting a hand linger on his cheek.

“I’ll be back.” I assured.

I turned towards Eric ignoring the arm he offered me.

“Well after you.” I gestured.

I saw the the expensive bugatti now parked outside my motel room.

A little over the top I thought, although I guess when you’ve been alive for so long your wealth is vast.

Eric smirked at Dean as he opened the passenger door gesturing for me to get in.

I gave Dean one more soft look before climbing in.

Eric zipped around clambering in the drivers seat. He peeled out of the motel at inhuman speed, making me grip the seat.

“So are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked annoyed.

“A tribunal meeting.” Eric simply answered.

“A what?”

“You people really don’t know anything do you?” He jabbed.

“Look if that’s how this is going to be you can just take me back.” I said rolling my eyes.

“You know your cute when you pout.” Eric laughed.

I rolled my eyes again ignoring his flirtatious comment. He was trying to get under my skin, and he was doing a damn good job at it.

“Listen just stay close to me, and don’t talk to anyone but me.” Eric said glancing at me.

“Eric..”

“No this is serious okay, for me to keep you safe you have to listen to me.” He said.

I glanced at his eyes, and for a moment just a moment I saw some of what I believed to be sincerity. It made him almost seem…. human.

“Fine.” I grumbled.

He pulled in to a field in the middle of nowhere.

I really wasn’t thrilled with this idea now.

I took a deep breath feeling the silver dagger Dean slipped in to the waistband of my underwear. It wasn’t much but it could help me out, give me some leverage.

Eric got out zipping around to open my door.

I got out of the car looking fully at the scene.

There were a few other vampires there, most looked pretty ancient. It wasn’t their looks per say, but their demeanor, the way they carried themselves.

I saw a few humans too, one vampire was openly feeding on a girls neck. If I had eaten I was sure it would come back up at the sight. The worst part is the girl moaned as if she was enjoying it.

Eric smirked as he wrapped an arm around my waist leading me towards the group of vampires.

"Remember what I said, be a good breather and keep quiet." Eric said.

"Fuck you." I cursed under my breath knowing full well Eric would hear me.

Eric's presence instantly got the attention of a man dressed in an expensive suit.

"Eric welcome, and who is this lovely thing you've brought with you, she smells delectable."

"Easy now magister, she's mine." Eric said.

His?

Oh hell no!

"Yours the fu.." I started but Eric quickly clamped his hand on my mouth.

"My apologies sir, quite the mouth she got on her, though it does come in handy." Eric joked.

I nipped at his hand covering my mouth as if telling him he was really pushing it.

"If you'll excuse us sir.." Eric said leading me away from the man.

As soon as he took his hand off my mouth, I raised my hand to strike him but he quickly caught it.

"Yours? What the fuck was that!? I am not now, nor will I ever be yours!" I growled.

"It's my way of protecting you, it's an unspoken rule for vampires that we can't harm or feed from another vampires claimed human, now that I openly claimed you, nobody can touch you or they have to deal with me."

I was still pissed at him but I shook my head in understanding.

"These guys, they're the authority?"

"Well sort of, we work for them, that guy was the magister, the judge of my kind, if you will. The others are area sheriffs like myself, we keep order in our area, and we're all here to talk about our little problem." Eric explained.

"And the humans are privileged to this information?" I questioned.

"No, you’re here to satiate us, but it doesn't matter what they hear they'll just be glamoured to forget, but since you can't be glamoured you better be good at acting." Eric said.

I nodded my head finally understanding.

I would be the only human to remember this meeting.

He was giving me information, leverage.

Eric was about to say something else when the magister cleared his throat getting the attention of all vampires present.

"Now stay close to me, and for fuck's sake act like you can stand to be near me." Eric whispered once again wrapping a cold arm around my waist.

I knew if Dean were here right now he'd be furious at Eric for even daring to touch me in such an intimate matter.

In fact Dean would probably kill him first and ask questions later.

Eric was right, Dean definitely wouldn't have fit in here.

I didn't fit in here.

I grumbled, leaning in to Eric's side, cozying up to him.

I had to pretend.

It might kill me.

But I had to pretend.

I could feel Eric's stupid smirk without seeing it.

"Stop enjoying this." I growled causing a chuckle to fall from his lips.

"Sheriffs, it's great to see you, unfortunately I wish it could be under better circumstances. You all have been gathered here because as you know your state has managed to gain the attention of the authority, and I can tell you they aren't happy. You were put in a position to keep order, lay low, push the movement along, so please someone tell me why it's a goddamn circus out here?" The guy who I now know as the magister yelled.

I could feel Eric tense beside me, his arm getting a little tighter around me.

I could tell the magister was in a significant position of power even without Eric telling me so.

"Sir it's the newborns, they're insatiable, unsupervised." One vamp spoke up.

"And who's fault is that, isn't it your job to handle problem vampires?"

"You wish us to kill our own’s progeny's?" Another quipped.

"Do you dare defy my order?" The magister threatened.

"No sir."

I was taking in all the new information.

It seemed that new vampires were being made, "progeny's" and being left unsupervised after their creation.

It was not only reckless, it was cruel.

"Well maybe the humans have it coming, all they've ever done is hunt us down and lynch us." A vampire beside us spoke.

I glance at him.

He was tall, not as tall as Eric but tall none the less.

He clearly thought he was holier then thou.

I guess he hadn’t come face to face with hunters yet.

"I mean we do kind of deserve it." Eric spoke, surprising me a great deal.

I didn't think he was capable of any compassion towards what he calls “breathers.”

"Wow I can't believe my ears, Eric Northman, the ruthless viking prince suddenly gets himself a human bitch and now he's mr. mainstream?" The vampire spoke turning and taking a step towards us.

Eric let out a warning growl.

"I would watch your next words sheriff, I’m not known for my patience." Eric said baring his fangs.

His hold on me got tighter, if that were possible, I was already trapped against his body as it was.

I could feel the tensions rising as both vampires hissed at each other.

I took my hand squeezing Eric's.

I was surprised when I felt him calm slightly.

It was a simple gesture that always worked for Dean, and seemingly Eric too.

It was a little way of wordlessly saying “I’m here, I got you.”

"ENOUGH both of you! Eric’s right, we all knew coming out of the coffin there would be risks involved, if you can't keep order the authority will come and eradicate your regions."

Eradicate?

As in kill them all?

I was all for killing vampires, but that seems a little excessive.

I worried for Eric.

Wait.

What the fuck am I saying?

I don't worry about vampires.

Vampires are nothing but killing machines.

They don’t have feelings.

Or do they?

I don’t know what I believed anymore in this moment.

"With all due respect magister this is complete bullshit." the previous vampire spoke again.

I could see the magister getting visibly angry.

"We are apex predators, the top of the food chain, and you expect us to just lay down and take it from a bunch of blood bags?" He continued.

I could feel myself getting heated at his words.

He was the epitome of the vampires we killed.

No regard for human life whatsoever.

"We don’t take it, we learn to control ourselves there’s a difference." The magister corrects.

He was all about pushing the mainstreaming movement along, that much was clear, but he could care less about humans as long as all killings and feedings were done in secrecy and done so as not to draw too much attention.

He was just another two faced authoritarian, pushing something he could care less about.

"You and the authority are out of your goddamn minds if you think..." He started.

In an instant the magister zipped over to him, producing a wooden stake before driving it straight through the vampires heart. The vampire exploded sending guts flying everywhere.

Eric quickly turned us around so I wasn’t hit by the debris but he was.

I let out a shaking breath as blood splattered the side of his face.

I didn’t think I would be getting this close to vampire politics tonight.

I was officially over it.

Eric looked in my eyes as if assuring me everything was alright.

The magister wiped some vampire guts from his suit before turning back to everyone.

“I think we’ve all learned our lesson yes?”

No one dared to speak so the magister continued.

“You,” he said pointing at one vampire, “clean up this mess’ and you,” he said now turning to Eric who was cleaning the blood from his face, “glamor your human and then come with me.”

Eric turned to me giving me a look, guess now it was time to put on an act.

How does one even act glamoured? A mindless zombie I guessed.

He stared at me with that glazed look in his eyes, the same one from the bar. He also had something else in there, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was; mischief maybe?

Next came his enchanting voice.

“y/n.”

“Yes.” I spoke quietly as if I was under his spell.

“Nothing happened here tonight, you don’t remember any other vampires being here, you don’t remember anything that was said, do you understand?” Eric ordered.

“Nothing happened here.” I repeated.

“Good…” Eric smirked pompously. “Now kiss me and wait in the car like the good little breather you are.”

I felt my insides boiling.

What the hell was he doing?

He knew I couldn’t say no to him.

It was either that or blow my cover to the magister.

I trusted my skills but not enough to take out an ancient vampire with a simple silver dagger, not while so many others were around.

I realized I was already taking too much time to think. If I didn’t act soon it was over, I was made.

I glared at Eric with furious eyes before leaning in.

He grabbed the back of my neck joining our lips.

I kissed him back with much reserve but he didn’t seem to notice.

He however kissed me gently to my surprise.

In fact he was kind of good at kissing.

What the fuck?

Shut up brain!

This was a vampire for fucks sake!

I willed the moment to be over but Eric was taking his sweet time tasting my mouth.

As we were kissing I tasted something metallic on my tongue.

I knew that taste.

Blood.

I swear if he bit me, I don’t care who’s watching I’ll kill him.

I was confused when Eric pulled away and it wasn’t my lip that was bleeding but his own.

It was his blood?

I quickly turned around walking back to his car as instructed.

I was trying to soak in all the information.

At least now we knew what we were up against.

A bunch of unsupervised baby vamps.

Great.

Eric came back moments later getting in the car. I held my breath until we were far enough away from the field before speaking my thoughts.

“I don’t understand, why are there unsupervised baby vampires allowed to run amok, they need to be taught, isn’t that a little cruel, illegal?”

“It’s unfortunate not every vampire has such a responsible maker.” Eric answered.

“And your maker?” I wondered.

I heard the vampire call Eric a viking prince, I wondered just how he came to be what he was now.

He hesitated a moment before he spoke.

“Godric, he’s gone, he saved me from dying on a battlefield.”

I scoffed a little catching his attention but kept my comment to myself, further annoying Eric.

“Go ahead, say what you want to say.” Eric pushed.

“I don’t know how he saved you, making you crave blood to survive, making you a slave to the night, making you practically immortal, I mean that has to be really lonely, eventually everyone you know will be gone and then it’ll just be you.” I said glancing at him.

“It’s a good thing I don’t care for mortals then.”

“I don’t believe that.” I quipped.

“And I don’t believe you actually hate vampires, I saw how you reacted when the magister spoke of the authority eradicating our regions.” Eric pushed back.

“About that, can they actually do that?” I asked.

If vampires had enough power to eradicate entire regions I think we had bigger problems to worry about then a bunch of baby vamps.

“Yes, they can and they will if the problem isn’t solved.” Eric said slowly pulling back in the motel parking lot.

“So what do we do about it so that doesn’t happen?” I asked turning my body towards him.

“We?”

“Just shut up, and tell me!” I said rolling my eyes at him again.

“I guess the only thing we can do, go on a hunting trip. If we can’t control them we have to eradicate them.” Eric said.

“Alright we’ll be ready then.”

“You and your dog can meet me at fangtasia tomorrow night, sunset, we’ll formulate a plan from there.” Eric nodded.

“Sunset.” I confirmed turning to get out of the car.

“Oh Eric, one more thing.” I said turning back around.

Before he could realize what was happening I balled my fist, sending it flying in to his nose. I heard a satisfying crunch as it connected.

“ If you ever trick me into kissing you again, I’ll kill you myself. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I smirked getting out of the car.

“You broke my nose!” Eric yelled out the window.

“Eh your a vampire, you’ll heal.” I shrugged, glancing once more at him.

“I know I’m a vampire but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.” He growled pushing his nose back in to position.

“Goodnight Eric.” I called one final time.

Eric rolled his eyes before peeling out of the parking lot, the sound getting Dean’s attention. He flung open the door pulling me to his chest. He inspected my body for any signs of injury but found none.

“Dean it’s okay, I’m okay.” I said placing a hand on his cheek.

I took him inside telling him everything that happened.

Well almost everything.

I left out the kissing part.

It would just further cause problems between the two, and besides I handled it.

He groaned when I told him we’d be seeing Eric tomorrow night.

He didn’t want to work with him but he agreed with me, that if we didn’t take care of this little problem we’d have a much bigger problem on our hands, i.e. an authority of ancient vampires that could eradicate entire populations.

“It’s nearly dawn, we should get some sleep.” Dean said stroking a hand through my hair.

I looked at Dean’s face, he had a slight crease in his forehead that only showed up when he was worrying about something.

“Dean what is it?” I asked.

“Who’s to say we don’t help him and then he turns right around and tries to kills us? I don’t want you caught in the crossfire.” Dean says sincerely.

“I know your worried but I don’t think he’ll try anything, he needs our help, besides he had every opportunity to kill me tonight, but he didn’t. Instead he gave us some pretty valuable information, which I’m suspecting he could get staked for if someone found out.” I said my mind traveling to the blonde haired vampire.

I had no idea why he was on my mind right now.

“Are you concerned for him?” Dean asked a look of jealousy and disgust on his face.

When I didn’t answer immediately, Dean continued.

“He’s a killer y/n, a leech, you can’t seriously be worrying about him?” Dean growled.

“I’m not.” I told a half lie.

“What is it then?” Dean pushed.

“It’s just everything might not be as black and white as we think that’s all.” I said trying to carefully chose my words.

“I mean they drink human blood to survive how is there any grey area in that?” Dean retorted.

“Some of them didn’t ask for this life, you know they thought they were being saved..” I trailed off thinking of the story Eric told me of his creation.

“It doesn’t change what they are.” Dean said.

I shrugged my shoulders. I guess he was right. At the end of the day they would still be feeding on humans to survive.

We were prey to them.

“I think we should get some sleep.” I said leaning up and pecking his lips quickly.

Dean was not satisfied with how we ended things but he didn’t push further to which I was thankful. Instead he pulled me in closer so my head was laying on his chest.

I felt the exhaustion starting to take a toll on my body, and the darkness starting to envelop me.

I reached my hand up to touch Dean but was surprised to feel the space empty.

Suddenly fingers were hooked in to my sleep shorts pulling them slowly down my legs. I groaned as lips kissed tenderly up my thigh, making my core burn with pleasure. I cast my eyes downward, meeting a pair of green ones.

“Dean.” I moaned as his head dipped down, his breath fanning over my center.

I didn’t know how Dean slipped down there without me noticing but right now I didn’t care.

Instead of devouring me like I wanted, his lips trailed back down to my thigh.

I could feel my blood pumping with need and desire.

“Beg me for it.” Dean commanded.

Didn’t need to tell me twice.

“Oh god please Dean.” I begged running my hands through his hair.

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my thigh.

I gasped looking down but instead of Dean, Eric was there with extended fangs, licking blood off his lips

What the fuck is going on?

Am I dreaming?

I’ve got to be dreaming.

A million questions surged through my head.

How?

When?

Why?

“Eric?” I blushed trying to hide my body from him.

“The femoral artery, like the jugular if pierced wrong can cause you to bleed out in mere minutes.” Eric said licking my thigh.

I looked down realizing blood was seeping out from too little pin pricks. I could feel my heart start to race but it wasn’t from fear… rather excitement.

What was wrong with me?

Was I turned on by this?

“It is indeed the best place to draw blood, so pleasurable and not just for me.” Eric said dipping his head back down, sinking his fangs in to my thigh.

I threw my head back with a moan as Eric drank my blood. His long fingers trailed up my thigh, dipping in to my folds that were already slick with arousal.

Oh god this was so wrong.

But it felt so good I didn’t want to stop.

But Dean?

Fuck!

As I was about to push Eric away, I felt lips against my neck, a hand trailing down my shirt to play with my hardened nipples.

I sat up a little seeing Dean now behind me.

Okay now I know I am in fact dreaming. These two can’t even be in the same room together, let alone take turns pleasuring me.

Eric removed his fangs and started to devour my core, his tongue working expertly up and down my folds.

“Oh god.” I moaned, biting my lip.

Dean trailed his fingers down further and started rubbing circles on my bundle of nerves, making my body writhe with pleasure.

“Mmm such a good girl, wouldn’t you agree Eric?” Dean whispered with a husky tone that made my legs shake.

"Mmm, the best girl.” Eric said removing his mouth from my folds momentarily before diving back in.

I felt the coil in my stomach winding tighter and tighter, begging to spring free. The sensation of Eric devouring me with his mouth while Dean worked me with his fingers was too much to bare. I was so close and then….

I sprang up, gasping for air.

The room was still dark, however sunlight started filtering through the curtains.

I guessed it was just after sunrise.

I looked to my left seeing Dean sound asleep. Eric was nowhere to be found.

“Of course not dummy, he’s dead during the day” my brain screamed at me.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead trying to calm my racing heart.

Why in the fuck would I dream of Eric pleasuring me?

Dean makes sense but Eric?

Eric?

A thousand year old vampire?

What the fuck was wrong with me!?

The worst part is he bit me, he bit me and I enjoyed it.

I deduced I was in need of some serious therapy and counseling.

I took a few deep breaths before laying back down next to Dean. I tossed and turned for what felt like hours before finally succumbing to pure exhaustion.

I woke up to a hand running through my hair. I was hesitant to open my eyes, my dream still at the forefront of my mind.

I was relieved when all I saw was Dean.

“It’s almost sunset.” Dean said placing a soft kiss to my forehead.

I groaned in response causing Dean to laugh.

“I’m not looking forward to this either.” Dean said getting out of the bed and heading towards the bathroom.

I sat up stretching my limbs. I was dreading having to face Eric after the impure dream I had about him.

I was still struggling to understand why I was dreaming about him in that way. I mean sure he was attractive, but he was a monster and I was the one who hunted him.

I didn’t realize how long I sat there in my head until Dean was coming out of the bathroom freshly showered.

I quickly collected myself so I didn't look like a mess.

Dean could NOT find out about this.

I rushed in to the bathroom turning on the cold water. I splashed my face a couple times trying to calm my shaking hands.

Fuck.

Get it together.

I stepped out getting dressed for the night. Dean was already ready to go, reloading uv bullets in both guns.

“Sam?” I asked lacing my boots.

“He’s keeping the police off our backs for now, he’ll meet up with us later.” Dean said tossing me my weapon.

I grabbed some colloidal sliver as well as a couple silver daggers.

“Alright, let’s do this.” I sighed.

Dean grabbed my hand pulling me to his chest.

“If shit goes down, you get out, and I’ll come find you.” Dean said placing a gentle hand on my cheek.

“You and I both know that isn’t happening, we’re in this together, until the end.” I said looking deeply in his eyes.

Dean leaned down capturing my lips in a passionate kiss.

I wished desperately we could just stay in this moment but that was a fairytale and our lives were anything but. It was more like a constant nightmare if you asked me.

Dean pulled away giving me a silent nod.

It didn’t take us long until we were sat in the fangtasia parking lot.

“If he tries anything, I will kill him.” Dean said pulling the safety off his gun.

“I know you will, you’ve only been chomping at the bullet to since we’ve met him.” I said mimicking his actions.

Dean shrugged knowing I wasn’t wrong. I saw the blonde lady from before opening the door. I guess that was our invitation to go in. I tucked away my gun, climbing out of the impala.

“Oh great they’re back.” The blonde lady spat sarcastically.

“It’s nice to see you again too.” I bit back.

“Pam, play nice now, these humans are here to help us.”

I gulped as soon as I heard his voice.

My mind flooded with the images of him tucked between my legs, my blood dripping off his fangs.

Dean must’ve noticed my unease. He put a hand on the small of my back giving me a reassuring pat.

I pushed past the blonde lady, Pam I now knew was her name, and I walked in to the empty bar. It sure looked a lot different with the lights on. Eric once again was sitting on his ridiculous throne. He smirked at me as soon as our eyes connected.

Dean was quick to catch up with me.

He stood so his shoulder was slightly blocking me from Eric.

“So what’s the plan?” Dean growled.

“Oh no formal introductions, straight to the point huh.” Eric taunted looking at me.

“Eric please, save the jokes, let’s get this over with.” I sighed.

“I for one had a great time last night.” Eric smirked.

I glared at him, silently telling him to shut up.

Dean didn't know about the kiss, and if he found out now, he'd kill Eric and then maybe me.

“Well except for that little part where you broke my nose.” He said.

As he said this the blonde lady flashed her fangs at me. Dean immediately shifted pulling his gun and aiming it at Pam.

“Pam stand down.” Eric commanded.

Pam was protective of him, that was abundantly clear.

I was starting to put the pieces together.

Pam was his progeny.

He created her just as Godric created him.

Dean slowly lowered his gun once there was no threat to me anymore. He gave me a incredulous look as I hadn’t told him that part of the story.

“It looks to me you healed just fine, now please let’s get on with it.” I sassed him.

“As you wish, follow me.” Eric said standing from the throne.

“Where?” Dean quickly ordered.

“What you don’t trust me?” Eric taunted him.

“I don’t trust bloodsuckers no.” Dean retorted.

“Ha, I could snap you in half in just a matter of seconds” Eric threatened.

“I’d really like to see you try, give me a reason to fry you.” Dean growled cocking his gun.

Ugh these two were incorrigible.

“Ok enough of the dick swinging contest are we doing this or not?” I asked rolling my eyes at the men.

I could see Pam for once in agreement with me.

I gestured for Eric to show us what he wanted to. He walked down a hallway leading us to a stairwell.

“Is this your dungeon or something?” I joked.

“Yes.” Eric answered seriously.

Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.

“You first.” Dean growled not trusting Eric to go behind him.

“Guests first, I insist.” Eric said opening the door.

“Seriously?” I groaned, pushing past both men, and starting to walk down the steps.

I heard footsteps following behind me, they weren’t heavy like Dean’s so I knew they were Eric’s. He was close behind me.

I felt a chill run down my spine the closer he got.

“So, tell me y/n have any good dreams lately?” Eric whispered in my ear.

I about lost my footing, as my face went pale.

He knew?

How the fuck did he know that?

I quickly pulled myself together, I wouldn’t let him get under my skin.

“Yes in fact, Dean was in all of them.” I bit back.

“I bet he was.” Eric smirked.

I could hear some low growling sounds as we got to the bottom of the stairs.

He wasn’t kidding it really was a dungeon down here.

I felt Dean once again at my side.

Eric disappeared for a moment pulling a lever.

I heard the growling get louder, a vampire descended from the ceiling suspended by silver chains.

He thrashed around trying to break free, the silver burning his skin as he did so.

“I found this one feeding on a human right outside my bar, he’s new, not yet a month old.” Eric said.

“A newborn, I’m guessing his maker is nowhere to be found.” I said eyeing up the vamp.

He looked weak, I would guess he’d been down here for a few days, starved of blood.”

“Oh on the contraire, his maker is very much around, in fact he’s responsible for the surge of newborns, that’s where we need to go.” Eric said.

“How do you know that?” I asked him.

“We’ve been spending a lot of quality time together lately.” Eric joked.

“Where’s his maker?” Dean asked.

“Only thing I can’t get out of him. What do you think she’s for?” Eric asked nodding at me.

Dean was quick to put an arm out in front of me.

Before Dean could protest Eric spoke.

“Tell me guard dog do you know her blood type?” Eric asked Dean.

“AB Negative.” Dean answered quickly.

I was a little shocked that he knew that, but I guess I had to be given blood a time or two since we started hunting.

“Yes, the rarest of all blood types, a delicious treat for a vampire, a treat that is very very hard to resist.” Eric answered.

Oh great so basically I was crack for vampires.

“I’m not giving any of my blood.” I growled.

“Oh you won’t have to.” Eric said stepping closer to me. “Just your scent alone will drive him mad.” Eric added inhaling.

“Fine.” I said rolling my eyes.

“If it even moves an inch, I’m shooting.” Dean says taking aim at the newborn vampire.

I took a few steps closer to the still thrashing vampire.

Eric was right, as soon as I was within distance, his fangs popped, his neck craned to hiss at me.

“I don’t think you want to do that.” I warned.

He hissed again in response.

“See that gun, it’s loaded with uv administering bullets, it’ll feel like the sun is invading every part of your body, it will be a most unpleasant sensation.” I explained.

Dean aimed the gun a little higher, waiting for the vampire to make a wrong move.

“Don’t make him have to use it, all you have to do is tell us where your maker resides, and all this can go away.”

“Fuck all of you.” The vampire spat.

“Why are you protecting him?” I asked circling him.

“He’s my master.” He answered.

“Well he clearly doesn’t care about you, he left you to fend for yourself.” I pushed.

“He released you?” Eric questioned coming closer to me.

“Yes.” The vampire answered.

“You are no longer his problem then.” Eric said.

“You have no loyalty to him.” I added.

“Shut up all of you please.” The vampire cried out.

Eric and I were trying to break him down, and it was working.

“He wouldn’t care if we killed you right here right now, in fact he wouldn’t even think twice about it.” Eric pushed farther.

“In fact he’ll probably just make another to take your place, it’ll be like you never existed.” I said.

“I think we’ll go ahead and do just that.” Eric said popping out his fangs.

“Alright stop, please I’ll tell you, just don’t kill me”.

Eric gave me a satisfied look before going in the newborn’s face.

“Where is he?” Eric growled.

“He’s got a whole nest next to the old cemetery, he’s stashing humans there to feed us. Please now let me go, I did what you wanted.” He begged.

“You’ve been a great help.” Eric said putting his hand through the newborns chest producing his heart.

I could see betrayal flash on the newborns features as blood seeped from his mouth.

I turned away as Eric crushed his heart in his hand, causing the newborn to explode in to pieces.

“Was that necessary?” I asked kicking a chunk of vampire guts away from me.

“Yes, he broke the law so he must suffer the true death. It was either this or let your boyfriend fry him from the inside, I gave him a quick way out.” Eric said.

I took a deep breath, I needed to get out of here, the smell of vampire guts was starting to make me sick. I ran up the stairs, hearing both men trailing behind me.

“You mortals have such weak stomach’s.” Eric said going behind the bar.

He quickly produced a glass of water for me. I took it gratefully, choosing to ignore his comment.

“I need to go call Sam.” Dean said.

“I’ll be fine, go ahead.” I nodded.

“It’s not you I don’t trust.” Dean said glaring at Eric.

“If I wanted to kill either of you I would’ve done it by now.” Eric shrugs.

“Yeah well I’m still debating about killing you.” Dean said.

“For once we agree on something.” Eric retorted.

“For the love of god both of you stop acting like children!” I said slamming my hand down on the bar top.

I walked to the other side of the bar taking a seat in an empty booth. I was tired of the back and forth. Dean gave me a apologetic look before stepping out to call Sam.

I rolled my eyes as Eric joined me in the booth.

“What do you want now?” I groaned.

“Quite a temper he’s got on him.” Eric said.

“I can see you got your own guard dog.” I said nodding my head towards Pam who looked like she wanted to rip my head off for even daring to breathe the same air as her maker.

“Yes Pam, she’s my..” He started.

“Your progeny.” I cut him off.

“How did you know that?”

“I’m not completely dim Eric, I put the pieces together. I saw how you looked when talking about your maker, it’s the same way Pam looks at you.” I shrugged.

“Jealous?” Eric smirked.

“Did you save her too?” I asked ignoring his comment.

“Yes in fact I did. I didn’t set out to create Pam, but if I didn’t turn her she was going to die, and Pam had a hard life, I thought she deserved a little good.” Eric spoke tenderly.

“I guess you didn’t leave her at least.” I said.

“I never would, I made her this way, it’s my responsibility to look out for her, teach her, just as Godric did me.” Eric said.

“Hmm so you can insightful, good to know.” I said offering him a nod.

“You never answered my question earlier, any good dreams lately?” Eric smirked.

I rolled my eyes at his teasing.

“I guess you’ll never know.” I shrugged.

“I have a feeling your boyfriend doesn’t know either.” Eric pushed.

“Okay I’m debating on killing you now.” I said annoyed.

“It’s okay if you did dream of me, I mean it is a side effect of taking my blood after all.” Eric said nonchalantly leaning back in the seat.

I spit out the water I was drinking as the words left his lips.

“Wait what?”

I don’t remember taking his blood.

I remembered then the kiss, when I pulled away Eric had blood on his lip.

“You see when we kissed, I accidentally cut my lip on my fang and you drank some of my blood. It was what allowed you to break my nose, it gave you a boost of strength. Unfortunately it does come with a few side effects.” Eric explained.

Accidentally?

I somehow didn’t believe that.

“You mean when you forced me to kiss you.” I growled.

“Ah yes forgot about that little detail.”

“Yeah what else did you forget to tell me?” I asked balling my fists.

“You see now that you have my blood inside you, I’ll be able to locate you quickly, and I can feel the things you feel. In return your innately more attracted to me, dreaming of me. You and I are bonded now.” Eric explained.

I suddenly felt very violated.

“I didn’t want that, I didn’t want any of this.” I bit.

Eric chuckled and leaned in close.

“Oh come on you’re not fooling anyone.” He whispered.

I could feel my heartbeat uptick just from his proximity to me. I couldn’t control it, it was as if it completely shut my brain out and was thinking on its own.

“I don’t want anything to do with you, in fact I can’t wait for this whole thing to be over so I never have to see you again.” I growled.

“I think you’re forgetting I feel what you feel, I know that’s a lie.” Eric said sliding a little closer.

“It’s not.” I defended.

“I know you want me.” Eric said placing one of his large hands on my thigh.

I sucked in a sharp breath trying to calm myself.

“You want me just as much as I want you.” Eric added trailing his hand upwards.

I quickly jumped up causing his hand to fall.

“Sorry you’re dead wrong I love Dean.” I growled walking away from him.

I was relieved when Dean came back. I quickly walked over to him wrapping my arms around him. He was surprised for a minute but hugged me back.

I can’t believe I admitted my love for Dean, to Eric of all people.

I seriously needed some therapy now.

“Sam’s going to meet us there.” Dean said.

I nodded my head.

“Let us get a few things and we’ll meet you there.” I nodded to Eric.

“No chance, I’m coming with you. I don’t trust you mortals either.” Eric said grabbing his jacket.

I guess that was fair.

“Eric, I’m coming with you.” Pam spoke.

“No Pam, I need you to stay here and handle opening. I’ll be fine don’t worry about me.” Eric said walking over to her and placing a kiss on her forehead.

Pam gave me a look, one that said if he gets hurt you’re dead.

I gave her a silent nod that it would be fine. I wouldn’t let Dean kill him.

I might still kill him, but Dean won’t.

Eric followed us back to the impala.

I opened the trunk where we stored all our weapons, or most of them at least. I grabbed a silencer putting it on the end of my pistol, the last thing we needed was to attract more attention.

I grabbed some silver chains as well as some silver bullets in case we ran out of the uv ones. I grabbed a wooden stake, before turning back around.

“Really?” Eric asked rolling his eyes.

“I would stay out of the crossfire if I was you.” I threatened.

Dean smirked as he shut the trunk.

Eric zipped to the old cemetery while Dean and I drove. I could see headlights at the entrance belonging to Sam.

It was eerily quiet.

Eric led the way as Sam, Dean and I aimed our guns, taking in our surroundings.

We walked a few steps seeing and hearing nothing.

“I don’t think anyone’s here.” Sam said.

Of course as he said that, a newborn came out of the dark and lunged towards my neck.

Eric was faster and caught the newborn by the neck while Dean shot a bullet through it’s chest. It immediately sank to the ground in agonizing pain as the uv bullet pulsed in its chest.

As if on queue we were surrounded by insatiable newborns, all looking for one thing, our blood.

I took a deep breath.

“Dog, keep her close, her smell will drive them mad.” Eric said pushing me closer to Dean.

Dean gave Eric an almost silent thank you.

It was as if they were suddenly given a silent command to attack, the newborns rushed towards us fangs bared. I fired multiple rounds finding a different target each time.

I could feel my ears ringing from the gunshots as well as the wailing of newborns who were being fried by the uv bullets.

I stumbled crashing in to Eric.

He caught me quickly standing me up on my feet.

I ran out of bullets shortly after, having to resort to the stake and silver daggers. I was wrestling with a particularly strong vampire, my silver dagger doing little to deter it’s advances. I lost my footing falling to the ground with the vampire. I held an arm to it’s throat keeping it’s fangs away from my face.

It was getting harder and harder to hold it back. I suddenly felt blood splatter on my face as a wooden stake stuck out of the vampires chest.

“Oh fuck.” I heard the vampire groan before exploding.

Dean quickly picked me up brushing me off.

“Dean watch out.” I called.

A vampire was approaching him quickly.

But this one wasn’t a newborn.

It moved far better, it was more experienced.

It was the maker we had been looking for.

And it was coming straight for Dean.

I didn’t know what I was doing until I was already moving.

I quickly shoved Dean out of harm’s way.

I felt a hand go around my neck and teeth sink in to my flesh.. and then I felt nothing.

Dean

“Dean watch out.” I heard her voice call.

Before I had time to react I was being shoved to the side. I looked up to see a vampire grab her by the neck and sink his teeth in to her throat.

“No!” I screamed, grabbing my gun and firing six or seven silver bullets in to it’s chest.

Eric noticed the commotion and ran up behind the vampire pulling it’s heart out ultimately ending it.

I quickly ran over as y/n slumped to the ground, her hand going up to try and cauterize her wound. I quickly replaced her hand with my own, putting as much pressure as I could to stop the bleeding. I felt the tears already welling up in my eyes as the blood gushed from her neck despite the pressure I applied.

“Dean.” I heard her gasp, her eyes filling with tears.

I was soon joined by Sam.

“Dean, her jugular is severed, what do we do.” Sam panicked.

I didn’t know what to do.

She was losing too much blood too fast.

I let out a sob running my other hand down her cheek.

“It’s okay baby don’t worry, you’re going to be okay.” I sobbed kissing her forehead.

“Dean it’s okay I’m not afraid.”

How could she say it’s okay.

Nothing is okay!

“It’s not okay, please just hang on.” I cried.

“Dean, I’m in the arms of my first love, I’m with the only man I’ve ever loved, I’m okay.” I could hear her choke barely getting it out.

She loved me?

It was the words I had been longing to hear for years, but not now.

“I love you too, I love you so much which is why you can’t leave me.” I begged.

I looked over seeing Sam now crying too.

I looked back to her face, noticing it go paler and paler.

My hand was doing little to stop the massive blood loss.

Her eyes slowly fluttered shut as she lost consciousness.

She was dying.

My love, my world, dying in my arms.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I wouldn’t.

I gently laid her down, grabbing my gun.

I pointed it at Eric who was standing there just watching with furrowed brows.

He acted like he was hurt by the situation, like he cared about her.

“Change her.” I growled.

“Dean, you can’t.” Sam said as he started standing up.

“Sit the fuck down Sam.” I screamed at him.

I turned back around to Eric who still hasn’t moved.

“I said fucking change her, now.” I hissed.

He made no movements.

I fired a single silver bullet right in to his shoulder making him hiss in pain.

“I’m not asking again fucking do it.” I screamed.

“I don’t think you know what you’re asking for.” Eric said.

“I don’t care, I’m not losing her, do it.” I said.

I wasn’t thinking straight, all I could think about was that I didn’t want to live without her.

“I don’t even know if it’ll work.” Eric growled getting closer.

“Try, you fucking owe us that much.” I growled.

Eric gave me one last look before sinking his fangs in her neck wound, completely draining her of blood.

I sank to my knees as he bit his wrist forcing it in her mouth.

“I need you to start digging a hole big enough for the both of us.” He said once her heartbeat stopped.

“Why?” Sam asked.

“It’s either that or she dies from sunlight exposure.” He growled dripping more blood in to her mouth.

“Sam go.” I growled.

“Dean you can’t be serious with this?” Sam protested.

“Goddamnit Sam go.” I yelled.

He gave me one last look before running off to dig a hole. Eric finally yanked his wrist away going to help Sam dig. I crawled over to her now lifeless body.

“I’m so sorry baby, this is all my fault.” I sobbed on her chest, not caring that I was getting covered in her blood.

I didn’t protect her.

I should’ve protected her.

It should’ve been me.

“Alright move.” Eric growled pushing me off of her.

I grabbed my gun pointing it at him. I wanted nothing more than to kill him right then and there, but if this worked, she would need him.

He lifted her carefully in his arms jumping down in the hole that was dug. He gently laid her down, before laying down himself and cuddling her body to his chest.

I couldn’t stand the sight,

“Now cover us up. No sunlight can seep through or we’ll both die.” He growled.

“How will I know if it worked?” I said utterly defeated.

“If she wakes up tomorrow night, you’ll know.” Eric said.

I grabbed a shovel dumping dirt over them.

I couldn’t stop the tears from falling as I buried her.

Once I was sure she was far enough underground I collapsed as my body racked with sobs.

“Dean what did you do?” Sam questions sitting down beside me.

“I don’t know Sam, I couldn’t let her go.” I cried.

“It would’ve been better than this, Dean she wouldn’t want this.” Sam said.

I felt rage cloud over my eyes. I turned around shoving Sam.

“It wouldn’t have been better how can you say that?” I seethed.

“Dean I loved her too.” He started.

“No you didn’t, not like I did.” I whispered.

“So what you’re just going to wait here until tomorrow night?” He scoffed.

“If I have too.” I snapped.

I didn’t care what it took.

I was going to see her again.

“I’m sorry Dean but I can’t be part of this, I won’t.” Sam said.

I didn’t answer him.

If he didn’t want to be apart of this then he can go.

“Dean?” Sam pushed again as if he was going to change my mind.

When I didn’t answer him for the second time he finally left.

I brought my knees to my chest laying down beside the pile of dirt that contained her. I felt as if I died right along with her.

Reader

Am I dead?

Is this what death is like?

A permanent darkness?

I felt something cold and heavy on my body.

Where was I?

I can’t remember anything.

I felt something stir beside me alerting all of my senses.

I tried to move my hand and realized I was surrounded by dirt.

Was I buried alive?

What was going on?

I was panicking now.

I quickly started digging trying to free myself.

I was suddenly being ripped from the dirt by a strong hand.

Moonlight flooded my eyes as I took a sharp breath in.

It however provided no relief to my burning throat.

“It’s okay, everything is okay.” I quickly flipped around seeing a tall blonde.

I felt my memories come back like a flash flood.

Eric. Dean. Vampires. Death.

I died.

But I was still here.

That’s impossible.

Unless….

“I’m a..” I started too stunned to speak.

“A vampire.” Eric finished.

I looked at him, suddenly feeling a pull towards him, an unexplainable urge to protect and care for him.

I realized then that he was my maker.

He did this to me.

“I don’t understand.” I said grabbing my throat that was still burning.

“I saved you, you were dying and I saved you.” Eric said taking a step closer.

I found that my vampire self didn’t want him to step away, I wanted him to take me in his arms and tell me everything was going to be okay.

“I’m so..”

“Thirsty, I know, I’m going to take care of you.” Eric said.

Thirsty.

For blood.

I craved blood.

It made me sick, but I needed it.

Eric was about to take me away when a voice caught my attention.

“y/n?”

Dean

I laid by the freshly dug grave until I could see the sun starting to set.

If this worked she’d be up soon.

Please god let it work.

I sat up when I heard something stirring.

Eric arose out of the grave, eyes clouding with fury when he saw me standing there.

“You need to leave now.” He growled.

No fucking way.

“I’m not leaving.” I pushed back.

“Look she will be insatiable, and you’re covered in blood, so unless you want her to have your death on her conscience for eternity you’ll leave.” Eric said this time putting his hands on me and shoving me away from the grave.

“It worked?” I asked ignoring his request.

I couldn’t believe it worked.

“I need to see her.” I said, standing my ground.

“I need to feed her, so unless you want to become her meal you’ll leave. This is the last chance I’m offering you!” Eric growled.

I hesitantly backed up.

I didn’t want to torment her new senses.

I sighed before jogging off in to the tree line so I was out of sight.

I watched as Eric stuck his hand in the dirt pulling her out.

She still looked like herself, but everything was more defined now.

I felt my heart break as her eyes looked around terrified.

Oh god..

What did I do?

“It’s okay, everything is okay.” Eric assured her.

Her face contorted with realization.

“I’m a..”

“A vampire.” Eric confirmed for her.

I could see her heartbreaking for just her face.

She didn’t want this.

I did this.

Oh god.

What did I do?

I felt the tears start to cloud my vision.

I was completely selfish.

Sam was right, she didn’t want this. But I wouldn’t listen.

“I’m going to take care of you.” I heard Eric say as he went to leave with her.

I couldn’t let him.

I stepped out of the tree line.

“y/n?”

She quickly whipped around in my direction. I saw her eyebrows contort in pain as she looked at me. Eric grabbed her hand bringing her to his side.

“It’s okay y/n, come here, I’ll help you.” I said taking a step closer.

She didn’t budge. Instead just stared at me with longing eyes.

I heard Eric chuckle making me growl.

“Remember that part where I said you had no idea what you were asking for?” Eric taunted.

“y/n come here.” I said again choosing to ignore him.

“Sorry, she only listens to me, she calls me daddy now.” Eric jabbed.

No.

This was all wrong.

This isn’t what I wanted.

I felt my hands shaking.

What did I do?

Part Two: Coming Soon!

291 notes · View notes

yandere-romanticaa · 2 years ago

Text

I don't think some people understand just how absolutely terrifying Mori is and I want to talk about it.

When you meet him it will most likely be in a casual place such as the street or the mall with Elise by his side, naturally. The little girl takes a swift liking to you and basically demands Mori to convince you to play with her and he obeys. It is honestly a little humiliating seeing a grown man beg for something like that but it is endearing in its own little way. Feeling bad for them both you agree and promptly make your way towards the playground where the three of you spend the day together, responsibilities be damned.

Before you know it, the physician and his daughter become something of a semi often occurence in your life.

Mori himself is silly - tripping all over his words, especially if Elise says something to him. There are times when the little girl says some of the most concerning things totally out of the blue but Mori always manages to shut her up, which feels out of character for him.

It feels like some sort of secret that you really should not hear but you decide not to pay any attention to it. Everyone has secrets to keep, a skeleton or two deeply hidden in their closets, you don't judge Mori for this.

He is greatly pleased with your easygoing attitude.

Mori often sits in his pitch black office, the scent of fine chocolates and cigarette smoke lingering in the air as his subordinates give him their reports but his mind is elsewhere.

He's half paying attention to the executive's words as he grabs a tiny heart shaped chocolate from the pristine red box, its surface shining brightly against the light that is lit close to him. He pops is in his mouth and savors the milky flavour, the sweet strawberry centre giving it that extra delightful kick which he oh so craves.

Mori indulges in the sweets and thinks of you as he does so. Yes, this is something you would love.

The gifts start pouring and pouring, each one more extravagant than the last. They range from fine sweets, good wine, beautiful clothing and letters which detail the senders feelings towards you. The sender never bothered to sign the letters but always made sure to add something like I'm always watching or Sleep well.

It was creepy.

You tell Mori about some of the gifts that are left on your doorstep but never go into full detail as you're too nervous of scaring him off. The older man always somehow manages to laugh the entire sitation away and tells you to not so worry so much. Don't you know that some people would kill to have someone so helplessly in love with them? He sits on your couch, legs crossed and with a cup of tea in his hands, which you served him of course. You talk and talk and his words give shallow comfort especially as time goes by.

Was he being too forward? Did the gifts not suit your preferences? With a sigh he just waves off his men, all while thinking to himself "Ridiculous, of course they love it!"

Mori thinks you're just shy. You just are not used to someone paying so much attention to you, especially to the extent that Mori is. He has eyes and ears everywhere, your apartment is under constant surveillance and not to mention that the apartment itself is bugged, allowing Mori to hear you speak and do your other daily activities.

He knows you better then you know yourself.

It does not take Mori insert himself in your life in more personal ways. No matter who, Mori always somehow manages to make the people around him look worse than he is and in a flash he orchestrates the downfall of your whole entire life. You lose your job, your home, your friends and family no longer speak to you.

Some, if not all are dead but you don't need to know that.

That is when he comes to you, when you are at your weakest, your most vulnerable. He drops the silly act like a mask and his true colours are exposed.

Mori Ougai is a monster.

But, would you rather sell your soul to a monster or be left in the streets alone, unloved and penniless? Truly, your life would be so much easier if you just submit to him and look, you don't even need to do that much! Eat the food he feeds and wear the nice clothes he gets you and you will be golden!! Just, be still and pretty, alright?

It's honetly so jarring to see Mori's personality shift - one minute he is the silly doctor you met and grew to like, the man who says dumb things in order to make you laugh, the man who was willing to beg on his knees for you to just please, wear this cute outfit, it is going to look so good on you he promises!!

And yet, the next moment he is cold, cruel and calculating, the head of the Port Mafia. He is a man of his word and his subordinates greatly admire and fear him, yes, fear. Do not forget that Kyouka literally started shaking when she saw him after she left the Port Mafia, almost everyone who is in close contact with the man is never the same person they were once before. He will make himself out to be the best possible option and you know that he is the reason why your life is in shambles but that's not even the worst bit.

It is the fact that you have two options. Do you go to the streets and die in the darkness, be it from starvation, dehydration or murder? Or, do you stay with Mori who all but guarantees your safety and comfort, under the condition that you can never leave?

He knows you hate him and he is perfectly content with that. You will choose him in the end, you always will.

That is what keeps you both up at night, one with glee while the other with terror.

🕊️ TAGS: @yanroma, @oneoftheprettynerds, @rosemary108233, @itssara-chan, @gettinshiggywithit, @ophticcus

#yandere #yandere x reader #yancore #yanderecore #yandere aesthetic #yandere imagines #yandere x you #bsd mori #yandere ougai mori #yandere ougai mori x reader #mori #mori ougai x reader #bungou stray dogs x reader #yandere bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs #yandere bungo stray dogs

2K notes · View notes

the-fiction-witch · 5 months ago

Text

Visiting

Media - Morbius Character - Lucien Crown / Milo Couple - Lucien Milo X Reader Reader - Miss Y/n Y/l/n Rating - flirty + Cute Word Count - 3077

Y/n headed inside as usual, her blue heels clacking on the stone floor, she wore sheer black stockings, a blue plaid dress with a black belt, her silver locket, and her curls in a ponytail down her shoulder, she slipped off her black coat hanging it over her arm as she walks, Y/n had known Lucien for almost eighteen years now and very much had a blank reaction to his wealth given she had known him for so long before he had it, after knowing each other so long little secrets existed between them, much like siblings even if there was a .... tension both knew had been their since their early teens.

Lucien chucked from his chair as he sat receiving another of his many daily treatments, “You’re late,”

"Sorry Milo, had to get through your sixteen waves of security," she joked, she called him Milo simply because everyone else she knew did and even if it wasn’t his name it was more what he was referred to as.

Lucien smirked when he saw her. "Ah, it's always so hard to avoid them. They're almost too good at their jobs." He joked back with a devious smirk. He moved the needles off of his body and sat up to look at her better. "You look quite lovely today." He complimented her with a charming smile, eyeing her up as usual.

"Do I?" she asked fixing her hair a little as she tossed her jacket on the empty chair "I had a job interview today, Do I look employable?" she asked smoothing her dress and putting her hands on her hips to pose a little,

Lucien chuckled his eyes ran up and down her body in a very obvious manner to look at her properly, then met her eyes again with an amused smirk. "Oh, you definitely look very, very employable." He said with a charming tone, and then gestured for her to come closer to him instead with a smirk. "Come closer, I want to see you better."

Y/n rolled her eyes and came over to his chair, she breifly rested her hand on his arm in a comforting way, as she crouches by the chair but as she does she secretly checked his pulse, her eyes met his and she smiled, for a moment the snarky playfulness gone "You feeling okay?"

Lucien definitely noticed her checking his pulse, but he didn't tell her that he noticed, as it was something she did everytime she was around him, he secretly liked it, but like a true stubborn man, would never verbally admit it. He smiled back a bit as she asked him the question, and hummed thinking for a moment, he knew he wasn't okay, but he decided to pretend that he was to not worry her. "Yeah, I'm feeling fine." He lied, but his voice and expression made it seem like he was telling the truth.

Y/n breifly smiled sensing he was lying to her but she didn't push it, "Good, Ohh I spoke to Micheal this morning," she smiled as she got up going to make him some tea,

Lucien's expression darkened a little bit when she mentioned Michael, and he looked away, not responding for a moment as he felt a pang of anger at the mention of his name, but he tried not to show it. "Mmm, did you now?" He responded with some irritation in his voice, trying to act indifferent. He was angry at him again, and he didn’t want to worry her by telling her why.

"He's shipping off elsewhere again, wouldn't tell me where as usual," she chuckled as she brought Lucien a cup of warm tea just how he liked it, and she rested her hands softly on his shoulders and her chin on his head as she stands behind him, "But... He is 'distracted'," she playfully cooes,

Lucien sighed at the news of Michael leaving, of course he wouldn't tell her, he's secretive like that, he's like a walking mystery. He relaxed a bit as she placed her chin on his head and her hands on his shoulders, it definitely made him feel a bit better when she touched him like that, and he couldn't deny that. "Distracted by what?" Lucien asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Martine," she cooed "Young girl in his office, apparently has him very distracted," she chuckled

"A girl..." He mumbled, his mouth feeling a little bit dry suddenly at that thought. He took another sip of tea to ease the sudden tension and feeling from his dry throat.

"It'll be good for him, poor guys so focused in that damn lab he needs someone to talk to"

Lucien's jealousy does not subside at the idea Michael of all people was getting female attention, in fact, it seemed to only make it worse. He felt a pang of dread in his chest at the thought. He tried to act as indifferent and casual as possible. "A girl, huh? Yeah, I suppose someone should distract him from his lab work." He tried to say in an indifferent tone, but his jaw was clenched as he said it.

Y/n chuckled "I'm sure you had a pretty girl wondering around you'd be distracted too Milo," she chuckled grabbing her lipstick and compact from her handbag giving it a small touch up,

Lucien definitely would not entertain the idea of some girl wandering around him, well, unless it was Y/n, he was very possessive of that girl. He felt a pang of irritation at the notion of a girl that wasn’t her having the same effect on him as she did. He watched her put some lipstick on, trying to avoid looking at her red lips, but failing. "Ha," he huffed, pretending to think the idea was ridiculous. "Me, distracted by a girl? I doubt that."

Y/n finished with her lipstick setting it back in her bag, and coming back over sitting on the arm of his chair looking at him and giving his hair a slight adjustment, "What you reading today?" she asked glancing to the pile of books on his table,

Lucien definitely enjoyed the fact that she came to sit and gave his hair a slight adjustment, it gave him a nice tingly feeling in his chest, but he tried not to show how much he liked it. He looked over to the pile of books on his table and hummed in thought. "Some medical journals, nothing too interesting." He responded, grabbing the nearest one and flicking to a page and skimming through some of the text. He was only pretending to look interested in it, since he was much more distracted by her sitting next to him.

"Alright," she chuckled "If your happy, I suppose,"

Lucien rolled his eyes at her, she definitely knew that he was pretending to read the journal. He put the journal down and looked up at her, a smirk slowly forming on his face. He reached a hand up and wrapped his fingers around a strand of her curls and twirled it with his finger, playing with it. "And if I'm not happy?" He asked, his usual playful and charming tone had returned to his voice just by being in her presence.

"Then you should be doing whatever does make you happy," she smiled,

Lucien chuckled and continued to twirl her curl around his finger, his smirk growing as he looked at her, enjoying the feeling of the silky hair between his fingers. A thought crossed his mind, and his smirk turned into more of a sly grin as he came up with an idea."And what if you make me happy?" He asked her, looking at her in a way that almost made him look like he was undressing her with his eyes. A classic Lucien look.

Y/n rolled her eyes a little at his look "You make me happy too," she cooed "If I could sit here all day and just take care of you or even just keep you company I would, But I need to get a new job I've been out of work way too long." she explained "And for the fourteen time, It's a fantasic offer but I'm not moving in to one of this sixteen bedrooms,"

Lucien watched with amusement as she started refusing to move into his mansion yet again. Every. Single. Time. She always mentioned about getting a new job or mentioned money, he would offer her a room, and she always refused. This has been going on for years, and she STILL hasn't agreed. "Oh, come on, why won't you move in?" He asked with a smirk, his fingers still playing with her curl. "It's the perfect offer. You won't have to worry about rent, you can live in a mansion, you won't have to work."

"I can't, its far too generous. it's your money I don't have any right to it." she explained "I know you want me here, the issue is I know you'd want to give me everything, A Suite of my own, free food, free heat, light, power, water, free use of the mansion, pool, and god knows what else. And I would feel so bad all the time if I was taking up so much space and so much of your money." she explained "And I wouldn't have my own money, how would I pay for my phone, make up, clothes?"

Lucien sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as she protested and listed all the reasons why she wouldn't move in. He knew all of these reasons by heart at this point, he had heard them a hundred times. He knew she was stubborn and too prideful to accept help, but he didn't like it, he wanted to take care of her, but she didn't let him. "First of all, how about you stop worrying about taking up space or taking all my money. You're not taking up space. You're not taking all my money." he cooed, "Secondly, as I said before, I could cover ANYTHING you could possibly need. You wouldn't have to worry about a thing. If you want a new phone? You got it. You want new clothes? You got it. You want a new car? You got it." He said, listing off the things he would happily give her without question. "And you wouldn't have to work either. You could come and go as you please. You basically have free range of the whole place. Why won't you accept this?"

Y/n sighed "... Because what if I get used to it..." she said her meaning obvious "If I have all this, I... I could get used to it and then... if something... happened to you, I'd be right back were I started"

Lucien's expression softened when she mentioned the 'if something happened to him' part. He didn't like the idea of that happening one bit, he was in denial that he very well could end up dead sooner than he should due to his condition, and the idea of leaving her at the start line was a horrible thought. He sighed in frustration, but his frustration wasn't directed at her, it was directed at himself. "Y/n, that's not going to happen. And even if it did, I'd-." He shut his mouth before he could finish that sentence. He clenched his jaw, he had been seconds away from saying that he had a will in place and that she would be left with everything, but he knew she would definitely protest against that. So he didn't finish that sentence, he knew it wouldn't change her mind. "Look, you don't have to worry about any of that." He said with false reassurance. He knew deep down that anything could happen at anytime, and he could be six feet under in a matter of days, but he didn't want to think about that, and he definitely didn't want her thinking about it either.

She sighed once more her eyes meeting his again "Would it make you happy?"

Lucien stared at her, his expression softened more and he smiled a little at her question. If he was being completely honest, it would make him very happy to have her living with him, it would actually make him overjoyed. "Yes, it would make me VERY happy." He said, and although he wasn't being completely truthful, and he wasn't telling her just how happy it would make him, his eyes made the answer obvious. He WANTED her to move in, really badly.

"Alright," she agreed "But a small room milo." she quickly said even if she knew it was pointless, Lucien was going to give her the best suite in his mansion, better then his own if possible and she knew there was little she could do to change his mind on that fact

Lucien almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, she agreed? Was this actually happening? He couldn't stop a big smile from forming on his face, he looked almost like a boy on Christmas day who had just been given the biggest gift he could possibly ask for. As she asked for a small room, he quickly started shaking his head. "Y/n, darling, you are not getting a small room. You're getting one of my best suites in this whole damn place and that is the last I'll hear of it."Lucien reached out and grabbed her by the waist moving her onto his thigh as she playfully squealed, but relaxed leaning against his chest, after all they had been freinds so long that this wasn't really something to be concerned over, she'd sat in his lap thousands of times

"There's no talking you out of this is there?" she sighed

Lucien chuckled he wrapped his arms around her waist as she leaned back against his chest, his expression very smug as he had her there. He hummed in mock thought as she asked him if he could be talked out of it. "Nope." He quickly responded, his smirk growing. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and leaned in to speak into her ear. "There's no talking me out of anything when it comes to you."

"Fine, at least have some restrictions, as I can only use the pool on Tuesdays or only the bar on Saturdays,"

Lucien chuckled and hummed in thought, he liked the sound of those restrictions. The thought of her in a swimsuit in the pool on a Tuesday? Or her sitting at the bar on a Saturday in a nice dress or something. That was definitely something he could get on board with. "I don't know about that... those are some pretty strict rules..." He teased jokingly, he definitely had no intention of putting any restrictions on her, she would have free rein over the place, it was going to be her home now too.

"Fine! but I'm doing my own laundry, I don't need the maids to take care of me,"

Lucien chuckled again and rolled his eyes a little at her comment about doing her own laundry. He knew this was a lost cause, she was very stubborn. He leant his head on her shoulder and spoke in a sly tone, trying to persuade her into having the maids take care of her laundry. "Darling, why would you do your own laundry and wash it yourself when you could have the maids take care of it for you?"

"Cause I feel rude handing a nice lady all my dirty clothes for her to wash,"

Lucien chuckled at her response. Typical her. She was always so nice and polite, it was one of the many reasons he loved her. He leant his head on her shoulder again as he continued, his arms tightening around her waist. "they're maids. That's their job, to literally take care of the house work, you won't be rude by having them wash your clothes."

"Fine" she sighed knowing there was no point in arguing with him

Lucien smiled victoriously at her conceding. He knew he would get her to give in eventually, and it didn't take much arguing. He loved the fact that she was just as stubborn as him, if not more. "There we go, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He teased, moving one hand to gently pat her thigh.

"I suppose not, so? when I move in am I to be expected to come and wake you every morning with pancakes and tea?" she joked

Lucien smiled warmly at the joke, he remembered those times in the hospital vividly, and those times that she would come every morning and bring him tea and pancakes, or whatever she'd managed to smuggle into the hospital. He laughed and gave her thigh a playful squeeze. "Of course." He replied, his tone playful and sarcastic. "That's exactly what I'm expecting from you. That, and massages and everything. Got it, darling?"

"Breakfast, massages, anything else? cause I'm not giving you baths and dressing you Milo your a big boy you can do that yourself" she chuckled "You want that level of help you need to hire a nurse... and I am not qualified."

Lucien let out another playful chuckle as she mentioned that she wouldn't be giving him baths or dressing him. To be honest, the idea of her giving him a bath did sound nice, but he quickly decided to not mention that. "Yes, yes, I know, I was just teasing you." He said with a smirk. "And as much as I'd love to hire a nurse, you're much more enjoyable to have around than a nurse,” He chuckled again, she would actually be perfect as a nurse. She already showed so much care and kindness to him, she was kind, she was patient, she was gentle, and she was very pretty. If he thought about it, if she was ever a nurse, he would’ve been very tempted to purposely get injured all the time just so she’d tend to his injuries and give him medicine. He pushed the thought away, and leant his head on her shoulder again. "Seriously though, darling, thank you for agreeing to move in."

"Thank you for letting me" she smiled sweetly giving his temple a small kiss

Lucien smiled warmly when she kissed his temple. He loved the way she always showed affection like that, even though they were just friends. Although deep down, he secretly wanted them to be more than just friends, he didn’t think she felt the same, so he didn’t bother to make a move. "You’re welcome. It’s going to be a pleasure to have you living here.”

127 notes · View notes

kylethescott · 2 months ago

Text

NaruHina: Minor Edits

I have no other platform for this, so I’ll just put it here and maybe someone will enjoy it. I really love NaruHina, it brings me great joy knowing that it’s canon and has done for the last decade.. People will often say that it’s “badly written” and I don’t agree with that. I mean I think there’s a good reason people started shipping it in the first place, but I do have my frustrations with how some of it plays out.

I want to approach this like Pedro Pascal - Maxwell Lord: “Life is good, but it can be better!” My goal is not to massively rewrite the entire series, but take what we’ve got and talk it over and see how we can improve it with just a few minor tweaks, because I really do think the foundations are solid. Also just disclosing my biases, Hinata is my favourite character in the entire series, something I have talked about in much more detail elsewhere.

So without further adieu, let’s just get into this.

Part 1

I wouldn’t change a goddamn thing in Part 1. I genuinely think Part 1 lays out a really solid foundation for a romantic subplot. The story draws a bunch of direct parallels between Naruto and Hinata that are critical for each character's growth, we see how they help each other and support each other. First Naruto cheers her on in her fight, and then Hinata gives him the confidence before the finals. During which we also see that Hinata is someone Naruto feels comfortable enough around to talk about his deepest insecurities, which is extremely rare for him to do in Part 1.

NaruHina is built on a classic romance trope: “opposites attract”. Naruto is loud, Hinata is Quiet. He’s rude, she’s polite. He’s overconfident, she’s underconfident. Even just visually, she’s blue and purple, he’s orange and yellow. The reason this dynamic works so well in stories is that they balance each other out. Each of them brings something to the table that the other person needs.

Hinata needs someone in her corner who can give her confidence, Naruto needs someone in his corner who can see his vulnerability. Together they become stronger, that’s what the best romantic stories are built on, and Part 1 nails that. I think Part 1 also makes some interesting contrasts between Naruto’s relationship with Hinata and his relationship with Sakura, the girl he spends the entirety of part 1 pursuing.

We now have the benefit of looking at Naruto (the story not the character) as a complete package, obviously that wasn’t true at the time it came out. But if we factor in what The Last will eventually reveal about Naruto’s crush on Sakura, that it’s completely superficial, I think Part 1 actually backs that up pretty well.

His only interest in Sakura, especially at the beginning of the series, is that he thinks she’s pretty. How could it be anything else when she treats him like absolute dirt. I think the bench scene, while a bit weird, demonstrates Naruto’s complete lack of understanding of romance or love. He was totally fine with kissing her while disguised as Sasuke, after she’d just shit talked him right to his face. This is not a boy who understands what love is.

(just to get ahead of this, I am by no means a Sakura hater, I do think there’s a lot of problems with the way Sakura is written which we’ll have to get into, but on a basic character level I think Sakura is fine.)

The only addition I would make to Part 1 has already been made, it’s the 100+ episodes of filler everyone skips. These arcs range massively in quality, I will not dispute that, but I like their existence in the story because to me it makes Naruto’s friendships with all the other genin feel more natural. We get to see them bonding by seeing them out on a whole bunch of missions together where they get to know each other better. I think even if you don’t watch them, just knowing that’s a thing enhances the bonds.

For our purposes, there’s some genuinely great NaruHina stuff in there. Like Hinata finally being able to showcase her strength to Naruto, or the “you’ll make a great wife” line, and just a bunch of other cute moments that I’ll happily accept into my personal canon. (I always see people say that the anime studio shipped NaruSaku, but I don’t really get that because the filler for Part 1 is full of completely explicit NaruHina moments, I digress.)

Early Shippuden

(we’re classing “Early Shippuden” as everything up to Pain’s Invasion)

Now I would never want to accuse Kishimoto of playing favourites with his side characters…but this is a man who once said in an interview that if he were to date any of his characters it would be Shikamaru. No hate on Shikamaru, I love him, but the fact that he gets an entire story arc all to himself while the rest of the side cast all get to beg for table scraps is…well it’s frustrating to say the least. Not because that arc is bad but because I so wish other characters could get the same treatment, especially Hinata.

What we get from Hinata in early Shippuden is pretty much just cameo’s, she shows up at the start of the Tenchi Bridge arc to faint and then she shows up during the Itachi Pursuit arc to just kinda stand in the background. I don’t think either of these are necessarily bad, but they could be improved.

The fainting. Let’s talk about the fainting. In both the Manga and the Anime this is pretty much just a gag, and as a gag…ehh?…it’s fine. I personally just find it more frustrating than funny. But it wouldn’t take too much to make it an actual character moment and the best way to do that is to change the reason she faints.

As it stands she just faints from shock because it’s been 2.5 years since she’s seen Naruto and he gets up in her face. My suggestion is to change it so that it’s actually something on Naruto’s end that causes her to faint. She can still be all nervous to come up and talk to him, but the reason for her fainting should be because Naruto makes some comment about how she’s “gotten really pretty” or something along those lines.

By adding a line like that you change it from a basic “oh no my crush is here!” fainting to a “Oh my god my crush thinks I’m pretty!!!!” fainting, which makes it feel a little more earned as a moment. This also makes it a more significant moment for Naruto, it would show that he thinks Hinata is pretty. Which while not essential to a romantic subplot is a pretty basic thing to get out there. If you want to go all in you can have him be taken aback slightly by her appearance.

And you can still play into the joke of his ignorance by having him not understand why she’s freaking out over a simple compliment. Threading the needle between showing that Naruto has romantic feelings for Hinata, while also showing that he’s still not emotionally mature enough to recognise those feelings is a fine line to walk, but I think this change would do a lot to help.

It’s still a gag, ultimately, but now it’s a gag that also signals a change in their dynamic from something that’s more explicitly romantic.

As for the Itachi arc… I don’t know. Ultimately that entire arc really doesn’t have much going on for Naruto and the crew, it’s a Sasuke arc, so Hinata not having a lot of time in there is fine. I do think however I would slot the Three Tails arc from the anime into canon. I think that arc is genuinely pretty good and well placed in the story as a last hurrah for Orichimaru as a main villain and his particular vibe of mad scientist villany.

I would make Hinata a little more prominent in that arc (let my girl win a fight damn it!), and just in general have a few more interactions between her and Naruto that showcase that Naruto does like hanging out with her even if he doesn’t understand his reasons why. Yamato sets up a big house in that arc that they all end up camping in, so maybe just a scene or two of Naruto telling her stories of his adventures with her listening intently and laughing at his jokes.

Pain Invasion

You can probably already guess where my edit goes in this arc, but I will say that all of the confession stuff is great, absolutely iconic stuff. I think the anime takes the win here by expanding the fight scene, but also by adding the flashbacks to Naruto saving Hinata from bullies as a kid. I think that throughline really adds to the scene (and I also prefer that version of the scene to the one we see in The Last).

It is absolutely cuckoo bananas that Naruto does not say anything to Hinata after he comes back to the village. Even from a basic narrative perspective, let alone as a romance, it’s insane that there’s no follow up. Hinata’s self sacrifice causes Naruto to break the 9-tails seal! It’s an absolutely pivotal moment of characterisation for him even ignoring the romantic implications. The fact that we just don’t address it at all until The Last boggles my mind to this day.

Here’s my edit: everything happens as it does originally right up until the hug with Sakura, during that hug Naruto catches sight of Hinata over Sakura’s shoulder’s and immediately runs to give her an obviously much more intimate hug, patting her down and making sure that she’s okay, then finally relaxing when he’s sure that she is. Then you can get back to all the village hero stuff. (It honestly feels out of character to me that Naruto doesn’t check in on her as soon as he gets back.)

We’re talking like 3 panels here, a page maybe, but it would wrap the whole thing up so much neater. I think the hug from Sakura is a…fine moment? But I think if it was contrasted by his actions towards Hinata like this it would be a clear signal to the audience that his crush with Sakura is over, and this is the actual relationship of the story.

This wouldn’t and shouldn’t lead directly into a romantic relationship, I’m actually fine with Naruto not understanding the love confession fully, but there’s simply no way that it shouldn’t change his relationship with Hinata at all. Even if Naruto doesn’t realise he’s falling in love, it should at least be clear to the audience that he is, especially as we go into the next arc.

Five Kage Summit

“But Kyle! Hinata isn’t even in this arc!” Yes, exactly, that’s the problem. Let’s just look at the scenario presented in this arc:

In a short span of time, Naruto has received two love confessions. One is from the girl he’s always claimed to love, and is completely false. One is from a girl he’s never considered that way, and is completely genuine. If you’re trying to write a romance story, and you’ve just come up with this, you should kiss yourself on the mouth because you’ve just forced your main character to do some serious reevaluation about what he actually wants and who he actually wants to be with…in theory anyway!

In practice, Sakura's fake love confession is just a waste of absolutely everyone's time. It never comes up again and Naruto never does any kind of reflection on it at all. I know Naruto is dense, I understand that and I love him for it. But come on, even he isn’t emotionally stunted enough to not put two and two together here… right?

It also might be my least favourite scene in the entire series? There’s just no way of reading it where Sakura doesn’t come across as a massive self centred narcissist, especially because it’s such a poorly thought out plan? (Like really Sakura, what are you going to do if he buys this? Date him forever? Quietly dump him after a few months of slumming it? What’s your endgame here, hun?)

But mostly I just can’t believe that the story puts two love confessions right next to each other like this and never once draws any kind of comparison between them. They’re just supposed to be treated as completely isolated scenes, it feels like it should be against the rules or something.

So, there’s two potential edits here, one is to do what I suggested and have this be a moment of reflection for Naruto where he starts to consider Hinata in a more explicitly romantic light. Or, the option I prefer, just cut this scene. It adds little and detracts massively from Sakura’s character. (I could get massively derailed on a Sakura rewrite here so let’s just leave it there for now.)

On a lighter note I think this period in time presents an fun opportunity which the series never explores. Which is we’re now at a point where Hinata is confident in herself but not actively pursuing a relationship with Naruto, and Naruto is developing feelings for her that he doesn’t yet understand. So what you can do now is flip their dynamic from Part 1 where now it’s Naruto being all awkward and shy around Hinata.

The best opportunity to explore that would be to have Hinata tag along on Naruto’s training trip with Bee, there’s plenty of opportunities for some cute moments there, and she can still go and join the war later like Guy does, but maybe that change is just me being self indulgent.

The War

I’m mostly fine with everything that happens during the war, I don’t love Neji’s death but thats got way more to do with how the Hyuga are just kinda dropped from the plot after Part 1, rather than NaruHina specifically, I think as a NaruHina moment it’s solid. It’s another point on the list where Hinata is there to support Naruto at an emotional low point, but this time on more equal footing, holding hands is pretty much the exact symbolism for mutual support.

I love that Kiba teases Naruto for showing off in front of Hinata, because I think it’s funny that Naruto and Hinata are the last people to notice that Naruto has feelings for Hinata. On the other hand, the whole thing where Minato asks if Sakura is Naruto’s girlfriend is just very weird, especially since it comes after the Hand holding thing.

One the one hand I kind of like it, because it’s just such a dad thing to ask. On the other hand Naruto’s answer at this point really just should be a flat “no”. But instead he still fumbles over his words as if he still has any interest in Sakura at this point which I just don’t think is true, they’ve definitely moved into a more sibling like relationship by this point.

I would’ve liked it if after the Infinite Tsukuyomi is released Naruto checked up on Hinata, especially when he was ready to charge out and rescue her the second he sensed her call out to him, but there’s so much other stuff going on by that point in the story I understand why we didn’t get to see that. I can infer that it probably happened at some point.

Don’t get me wrong, I have major problems with the War arc and how it’s constructed (primarily that it’s just way too long) but as far as NaruHina is concerned I think it’s mostly solid.

The Last

I mean full disclosure, I love this movie, obviously. I’ve been a NaruHina shipper from day 1 so this movie was like exactly everything I wanted. I think the problems with the movie, and definitely the problems some people lay out against it don’t have much to do with the movie itself and more to do with the audience's knowledge going into it.

Basically, if you ship NaruHina before going into the movie, you’re golden. If you don't, the movie does a pretty bad job of convincing you otherwise, and that’s not the movie's fault, it’s the rest of the story's fault for not making it clear enough that Naruto loves Hinata. Subtle hints and little nods are only really effective if you’re predisposed to shipping. If you’re not then the story up to this point has really not made it obvious enough.

I think the idea that the movie tries to convey, that Naruto doesn’t understand the difference between platonic love and romantic love makes perfect sense for everything we know about him as a character, but what the movie doesn’t convey is that Naruto did have those romantic feelings all along, he just didn’t understand them. So my minor edit to the memory scene is just to make that more obvious.

Include a montage of Naruto watching himself hanging out with Hinata, and lingering specifically on the fact that Naruto is always happy around her, I think adding that alone would solidify what the movie is trying to convey in that scene. I would also suggest that it should be more apparent that Naruto and Hinata are pretty much already dating before the movie even begins. This is kind of implied in the movie and certainly hinted at in some of the light novels, but just make it more obvious in the movie.

They’re really close friends in that way where everyone else in the group just sort of assumes they’re already dating, But Hinata’s too nervous to actually make a move and Naruto’s too dense to. That’s already the conflict of the movie. Just make it more clear that this has been the state of affairs for a while. These are minor things, ultimately, I did say that I love this movie, it’s the fairytale romance of my dreams for these two characters and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

And that about wraps it up! There are some people who think critiquing or analysing the romance in Naruto is pointless because it’s a fighting anime for boys, but I would retort that romance is woven throughout the entirety of the series from the get go. I mean the series ends with a romance movie, it’s weird to suggest that it’s only a minor part of the series.

And I genuinely don’t think Kishimoto is terrible at it, even if he himself thinks he is. I think he had a lot of good ideas, he just wasn’t quite sure how to bring them all together, but the best of his moments are the parts that unite romance with the fighting, like with Pain, or during the war, that’s why romance is a completely valid part of shonen.

I hope you’ve found this ramble entertaining, this is not the sort of thing I usually do but it’s been stuck in my mind, so there we have it.

#naruhina #naruto x hinata #hyuga hinata #hinata uzumaki #naruto the last #naruto #naruto uzumaki #naruto shippuden

27 notes · View notes

thesightstoshowyou · 25 days ago

Text

A Trick for a Treat

- A Series -

~~ Over the next few days, I hope to get out a few shorts detailing what my favorite characters are up to on Halloween ~~

(Part 1)

Part II

Asa Emory (The Collector) x Cricket (OC)

- Less Torturemurder AU -

Second part to this

The scratching of the pen pinched between Asa’s fingers is barely audible over the giggling and screeching of children just outside his office window. The Collector curses his office location. Every year he forgets about this little event until it’s too late.

It is time again for student volunteers to host the annual Trunk or Treat in the university’s parking lot. The promise of a “Safe and Sweet” Halloween always draws a sizable crowd. Sizable and noisy. Now, his vehicle is trapped among the throng of wildly dressed children, parents, and college students and Asa is forced to finish grading here rather than in the comfort and silence of his home office.

Gritting his teeth, he makes a particularly aggressive mark in red pen. Truthfully, his thoughts are elsewhere, his mind hyper-focused on the intricacies of a new trap design. It just needs a little fine tuning, something he cannot do from this god forsaken office. He’ll need to put a reminder in his calendar for next year so this doesn’t happen—

“Dr. Emory?” A voice like the delicate twinkling of a wind chime sounds from his doorway. Asa lifts his gaze from his work. Instantly, his throat dries when his dark eyes land on the figure in his doorway.

It’s the girl. The heterochromatic one. The ballerina taking the anatomy lab across the hall from his Thursday lecture. The one who has haunted his every fantasy ever since she’d wished him a “Good morning,” in that sweet voice the second week of classes.

The woman who’d baked him cookies and asked him on a date.

She’s dressed in a black leotard that glitters here and there in the low light. A frilly tutu sits around her slender waist, and black ribbon snakes up each of her perfect legs. A costume, obviously. She must be volunteering outside.

“Yes?” he replies finally, beyond relieved he managed to keep any emotion out of his voice.

“I saw your light was on,” she comments, taking a small step past the doorframe. Her hands clasp together before her and Asa finds it difficult to tear his gaze away from the graceful bend of her wrists.

“…Do you make a habit of checking my office window?” His expression is blank, but there is a slight teasing tone to the rasp of his voice. The little upturn of her lips tells him she caught the jest.

“Kinda hard to miss it when you’re the only one working late.” Another step closer. He hums noncommittally and the pen falls to the desktop with a quiet clatter.

“Can I help you with something, Miss—

“You didn’t call.” It’s not accusatory, or chiding, or petulant. Just a simple statement that teeters on the verge of a question. Asa glances to the drawer where he’s kept her number hidden for two and a half weeks. Slowly, he leans back in his chair and rests his chin on a fist.

Her comment isn’t entirely true. He did call, but he only let it ring once before slamming the receiver back down. Taking her on even one date is a terrible idea, no matter how he looks at it. It’s reckless. Dangerous. If he lets her in, allows her past this carefully constructed wall, she will inevitably start asking questions, questions he will never be able to answer.

Asa’s chest rises when he breathes in a steadying inhale. “I…didn’t think it appropriate.”

“To date a student?” she finishes for him. Another step. She’s almost to his desk now.

Asa nods. She bites her lip and the muscles in his shoulders tense. “I’m a non-trad though.” She’s teasing back now.

“And that somehow makes it more appropriate?” He can’t stop the way the words leave his mouth like a purr. Tentatively, the girl completes her approach. One, elegant hand lifts slightly so her fingers can trail daintily across his desktop as she slowly steps around the side.

“It’s not like I’m fresh out of high school or anything,” she murmurs in response, offering a little half shrug. She winds around his desk, then leans back against the edge. He can smell her now, the floral notes of her perfume invading his senses and making him salivate like a predator catching the scent of its prey.

Dark eyes that glitter like her costume rake over the ribbon encircling her legs. He allows his gaze to linger there, too long to be “appropriate.” Slowly, his eyes slide up to meet hers—one green, one brown. There’s pink tinging her cheeks, a soft blush spotted with freckles.

Careful and measured, Asa rises from his chair. Calloused fingers slide against smooth oak as he places his palms on the desktop, one on either side of her hips. He cages her in, dwarfs her slight form with his, invades her space until he can feel the warm little puffs of her breath against his lips.

He’s not touching her though, not yet. Asa fears if he were to feel the soft, pliant expanse of her flesh under his hands, his resolve will crumble away entirely. Though, with the way she shivers now, trapped between him and the desk, he’s mere seconds from losing it anyway.

“No, I suppose you’re not,” he rumbles quietly, his words only for her. His gaze darts down to admire the way her teeth catch her bottom lip before quickly returning to her eyes. “What was your goal in coming here?”

“I…” her voice cracks, the single word escaping as a quivering chirp. She clears her throat and tries again, cheeks now a deeper shade of red, “I thought that would be obvious…Sir.”

Asa’s eyes snap shut as a jolt of arousal arcs through his gut like lighting. Fucking. Hell. He would do almost anything to hear her call him that again. Sucking in a breath through his teeth, he looks down at her again.

“…Why do you keep coming back?” The question is harsher than he’d meant it to be, but she doesn’t balk or look offended. On the contrary, she appears more determined than ever.

“Because I want to know you. I want…you. And…I think…the feeling is mutual.”

If she knew how right she was…. He replays her words in his head and it dawns on him then that she feels the same. Asa searches her mismatched gaze for hidden meaning, but all he finds is earnest sincerity.

One hand leaves the desktop. Slowly, purposefully, Asa’s fingers graze her throat and curl around the back of her neck. His thumb comes to rest on her pulse and finds it racing. Her eyelids flutter closed as he leans in, inch by agonizing inch.

The first brush of her plush lips against his shocks him all the way down to his toes. It’s impossible to stop his other hand from coming up to grip her jaw, from crushing his lips to hers, from opening his mouth to swallow the little whine that escapes her throat. When his tongue slides past her lips, he tastes mint and the chocolate she’s been handing out to trick or treaters.

Her hands raise to settle against his chest. She gasps when he grips her wrists in one hand and squeezes, not hard enough to hurt, but forceful enough to get her attention. Against her mouth he growls, “Keep your hands to yourself until I tell you otherwise.” The hitch in her panting is not one of fear.

“Yes, S-Sir.”

It takes Herculean effort to rip his lips from hers. Asa breathes in deep and stomps down the heat raging in his blood so he can grit out, “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.” He hates how hoarse he sounds. The sight of her swollen lips parted, eyes half lidded, cheeks blushing so pretty and pink for him nearly destroys the remaining vestiges of his self control.

“M-Maybe not,” she stammers in a whisper. Her hands tremble in his grip as she continues, “But that d-doesn’t make me want it any less.” Asa clenches his teeth and forces out a shuddering exhale. Inhaling again only pulls more of her scent into his lungs and dumps blazing need into his belly.

“…Then I suggest,” he murmurs, fighting to keep his tone steady, “We find a way out of this parking lot before I show you right here in my fucking office.”

“I’m parked in the side lot,” she breathes out and jerks when Asa slams the file on his desk closed.

“Lead the way.”

#asa emory #the collector 2009 #the collection #asa emory x cricket #asa emory x oc #the collector x cricket #the collector x oc #thesightstoshowyou #Halloween writing event #a trick for a treat #less torturemurder au

21 notes · View notes

girl-next-door-writes · 2 years ago

Text

Not What I Asked For

Characters: Crowley x reader

Summary: Crowley has done the unthinkable and caught feelings for a hunter. The problem is, he believes your affections lay elsewhere, somewhere more heavenly.

Word Count: 1060 words

Request: ‘Billions of people in the world, and I chose you, how stupid was that.’

For: @everythingyouknowisalie

The quiet clink of ice against glass was the only sound as the King of Hell slumped on his throne, his mind sifting through the wreckage of his life. This was all he ever wanted, to be the King, so shouldn’t he finally feel fulfilled? It was not easy for him to admit, but he no longer recognized himself. The constant demands, the demons, the angels, the never-ending threat of the apocalypse, it had drained him, taken everything and left him a hollow husk of the man he had imagined he would be.

Crowley was never a ‘good’ man, beneath his cruelty and callousness he wasn’t hiding a soft gooey centre, but after centuries scrabbling to get to the top, it was heart breaking to discover this was not what he wanted. Perhaps it would have taken him longer to realise all this if it hadn’t been for you. The irony of his ‘soul searching’ was not lost on him, it had been so long since he had possessed one, and yet you had opened something within him that he couldn’t close.

This awful self-awareness was not what he had asked for, wasn’t what he had ever desired, and yet it had slowly dripped into his consciousness with every interaction between the two of you. Somehow, you had snuck in, become that voice in his head that told him he could do better, be better. That little voice of yours was so damned convincing and he could almost fool himself that it was true, that he could be worthy of… of you.

The grip on his glass tightened almost imperceptibly and his jaw tensed as a flash of anger ripped through his despair. You were not what he had asked for, you and your false belief and optimism. The glass smashed against the wall, the diminishing ice cubes skidding across the concrete between the shards of glass. How he wished he had never met you. He would gladly give every moment back if it meant he still had his own peace of mind, if he could still delude himself that this life was what he truly desired.

Having you in his life had done nothing but rip apart everything he had spent so much time building. How dare you! How could you be so reckless? So careless?

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar ringtone emanating from his inside jacket pocket. Crowley didn’t even need to look to know who needed him, and he also knew he was unable to refuse.

“You look like hell.” Dean’s comment had the demon rolling his eyes.

“King of Hell, remember? Not your personal supernatural assistant, that’s what your pet angel is for.”

“Yeah, well, we need some information.”

“And you forgot how to use google?”

“Contrary to popular belief, google don’t know everything.”

Crowley was about to throw another sarcastic retort his way when his eyes glanced over at you, and he tensed. Your face was bruised, and you were holding your left arm. Despite your best efforts to hide it, he could see the pain written in your expression and his feet automatically took him in your direction, Winchester now totally forgotten.

“What happened, kitten?” He asked softly, tentatively reaching for your arm. There had only been a handful of times he had actually had physical contact with you, and he didn’t wish to overstep or cause you more pain.

“I’m fine. Just a run in with a demon who really didn’t want to help us out.” You shrugged nonchalantly, your skin tingling as he gently ran his fingers over your arm.

“And that angel of yours hasn’t shown his face to help you out?”

“Cas is-“

“I meant your angel.” He refused to let that name fall from his lips, fearing you would hear the intense level of distain. His eyes met yours and the pain in your arm dissipated.

“He’s not my angel.” The two of you stood there, just gazing into each other’s eyes as your words sank into his consciousness.

“Oh.” His hand moved to brush some hair from your face before cupping your cheek, his thumb grazing over the bruise as you leaned into his touch.

“Is that why you’ve not been around? Gabe?” You asked with a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

“I’m the King of Hell, darling. That keeps me busy.” He lied, smiling softly as he stepped back, your injuries now a distant memory.

“So, Crowley, you think you could-“

“So, you and the angel. You’re not… what happened?” Crowley ignored Dean’s attempts to get him to focus back on the case, instead much more interested in finding out why you would reject the advances of an angel, or perhaps the feathered idiot had broken your heart. If the latter was the case then he would hunt him down, archangel or not.

“He just wasn’t my guy. I think your heart kinda chooses for you and mine chose someone I can’t have.” You avoided eye contact and Crowley wondered who this guy was, and how someone so lucky could pass up the opportunity to be with you.

“Who?” He asked softly, stepping a little closer and hooking his finger under your chin so he could lift your head and see you clearly. Whoever this guy was, he would be tortured so exquisitely for causing you even a second of heartache.

“Billions of people in the world, and I chose you, how stupid was that.” You gave him a sad smile, tired of denying your feelings and anticipating the inevitable rejection. There was silence for what felt like an eternity as Crowley felt the weight of a million emotions wash over him all at once.

“About as stupid as a demon falling for a human, yet here we are.” He hummed, a smile playing at the corner of his lips as he watched the realization bloom in your eyes.

“Yeah. Here we are.”

“So, you gonna help us solve this case, or are you gonna just stand there like a love-struck teenager?” Dean’s voice had you and Crowley breaking eye-contact and glancing over at the hunter in surprise and annoyance.

“If I help you, then it will be done sooner, and then, oh then, me and kitten have plans.” He smirked, his mind already playing over all the possible scenarios. “So, what do you need, Squirrel?”

#Crowley #Crowley x reader #spn #gndw fic

207 notes · View notes

justavulcan · 1 year ago

Text

Backgrounds With Class: Golgari Agent

I'll be honest: Ravnica has always fascinated me. I was a high schooler when the first set came out, and I was immediately consumed creating characters for the setting. Now that we've actually received my long-awaited crossover, I thought it would be nice to write a love letter to the setting in the form of another Backgrounds with Class series. After all: some guilds have natural class choices tied in, from a conceptual standpoint. Boros and Fighter, Izzet and Wizard, Selesnya and Druid. But guilds aren’t class-restricted, and so I wonder what it would look like if you paired every class with every guild background, even the ones that seem at odds, like Izzet and Barbarian, or Gruul and Artificer. So I thought about it, and this is what I came up with. Some character concepts for each class, and each Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica background for each class.

Golgari Agent

The Golgari Agent Artificer is one of the kraul, a wingless merchant who recently took over the family business. Poling a narrow raft through the undercity’s sewer network isn’t glamorous work, but it does afford her a fine selection of various fungi and other ingredients for her elixirs and salves. If push comes to shove, her alchemical expertise is for more than just brewing potions; many an undercity predator has tasted her home-made deathspore bombs and opted for easier prey elsewhere.

The Golgari Agent Barbarian has been a member of his neighborhood’s hunting party since he became of age. Eschewing moodmark paint in favor of a hunter’s mottled camouflage pigments, he knows how to track and run down prey with the pack coordination of a wolf. This talent’s not hyperbole, either; his last encounter with one of the Selesnya’s ledev guardians supplied him with a fine wolf-pelt cowl he wears proudly over his hunter’s paint. Sometimes he even thinks the spirit of the wolf takes over on the hunt; it would account for the times he’s come to after a kill with blood on his face.

The Golgari Agent Bard knows better than most how things of import can turn up anywhere. A findbroker by trade, her ability to discover the history behind any gewgaw or trinket she scrounges up has more than doubled her profit on occasion. Gifted with a turn of phrase and the eerie, low-pitch ocarina she cares for like a child, her ambitions don’t stop at finding lost art- she yearns to be the first to rediscover some buried vault or basement thought long lost.

The Golgari Agent Cleric, in accordance with the Swarm’s care for the cycle of life and death, has been responsible for dozens of acts of euthanasia in her life. It doesn’t take an expert to recognize when a hunter’s been taken by zombie fungus, or when a red reaver bloom’s explosive dispersal drives a whole apartment block mad with aggression. It just takes care and respect for the final solace of death to ease people’s suffering. That her focus also comes in handy fending off territorial disputes is icing.

The Golgari Agent Druid is, technically, a drudge, one of the zombified dead that the Swarm relies on for muscle, both on the farm and the battlefield. However, unknown processes allowed the fungal parasite to seize full control of the host, and arrive at a consciousness of their own. Now, they’re busy determining the meaning of their new existence. While they work it out, they shamble about the Undercity, working odd jobs tending livestock and helping farmers with their natural understanding of other fungi.

The Golgari Agent Fighter is militant, a troll-blooded human with the strength of arm and heart to testify to his lineage. While for the moment just one of the many toughs that lurk around the Undercity looking for easy prey, his true goal is far less provincial: to climb the Swarm’s political ladder and become one of Jarad’s closest advisors or even his bodyguard. To this end, he’s quick to speak out in aggression against surface- dwellers intruding on his domain, or take the initiative and lead a raiding party himself.

The Golgari Agent Monk was always gifted with swiftness of arm and wit; as a nymph he scrapped with his siblings more days than not, and has since taken to far more dangerous partners to improve her skills. He mostly works as a guide for the rare surface-dweller to travel below the sunlit streets, and even distills his own moonshine from fermenting fruit and the ample yeast colonies on his travels. He’s become quite the alcoholic aficionado, and claims he fights even better when he’s had a few drinks.

The Golgari Agent Paladin was, like many of his Ordruun kin, originally slated to join the Boros Legion as a cadet when he came of age. He did, but when a raid went bad and he was left for dead in the Undercity by a sergeant he knew to be corrupt, he swore he wouldn’t leave the darkened streets and buried closes of Ravnica until the man lay dead before him. A childhood roaming the near-surface reaches and a minotaur’s innate sense of direction have served him well, and his new guild feeds the cold core of his desire for vengeance happily so long as it’s pointed at their mutual enemies.

The Golgari Agent Ranger always liked bugs. Wasn’t much of a choice, really, living in one of the many tenement buildings sunk below the sunlit streets of upper Ravnica- you learned to deal with the scurrying things of the world young. Cultivating a unique magical bond with them was the work of many long nights, but the result has been beyond reproach- his many tiny friends are stronger than they look, and complement his hunting well as they ensure that his prey can never truly escape.

The Golgari Agent Rogue has aspired to become one of the Ochran ever since one killed his abusive parents in front of him. Starry-eyed about becoming one of the Swarm’s most famous killers, he moved to the Undercity the next week, escaping the home of his blood family to find new kin. He had a rough time of it, begging and sweeping out chimneys, but he picked up the poisons quickly, and has always been slight enough to slip down sewer pipes and chimneys to find the target.

The Golgari Agent Sorcerer was a washout before he was anything of real use- literally. Originally an experimental attempt at forming a drake-human krasis for the Guardian Project, he was mistaken by a careless lab assistant for a failure and flushed out of his transformation tank before his scales, wing flaps, and poison glands fully developed. Recovered by a rot farmer accustomed to handling the runoff from the Simic lab in question, he’s grown to appreciate his new environment- and has already misdirected or slain the first attempts of the lab’s owner to track him down for retrieval.

The Golgari Agent Warlock always made a point of delving deeper and into tighter environs than his contemporaries. Never a good fit with hunter or shaman, he explored the depths of the Undercity all on his own before stumbling one day into an as-yet undiscovered chamber. The figure sitting on the throne there was enormous in size and patched together from all different creatures, but when it stirred to see the boy before it, all it did was offer him a set of knucklebones on string. Taking them was the beginning of something, and now the man treasures the talisman that forms the link to his patron.

The Golgari Agent Wizard has been a rot farmer for decades. It’s only now, lately, that he’s set out to travel and study magic in the hopes of winning his farm back. It was taken from him by a devkarin lich, an objective lesson in might making right within the Swarm, and he hopes to master enough of the necromancer’s art to bend the new owner’s undead farmhands to his will. He’s quickly finding that things are very big outside his secluded cavern home, and even that he likes it- perhaps enough to keep him from going back.

32 notes · View notes

cookstorys · 2 years ago

Note

o gosh you added my new obsession to your list!! Can you please write harlen x male reader who’s the friendliest person at school and the bad boy(harlen) falls for him. But the reader is hesitant about it because of his reputation.

𝙾𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝙰𝚝𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝

_____________

Character- Harlan Briggs

Show/Movie- Wolf Pack

Warning - Sad ending 💔

Author Note - New obsession is so real 😭

Females dni

_____________

It started with simple glances at the boy. Harlan didn’t like him, just the thought of him. At least that’s what he told himself. He and [name] was total opposites. Harlan had a reputation for being a bad boy, and a boyfriend stealer. [name] on the other hand had a perfect reputation. Everyone loves him, they thought he could do no wrong.

However, when a very drunk Harlan texted the boy that he loves him, he wanted to do some wrong. [Name] had a crush on him since middle school. He wanted nothing but to text Harlan back saying ‘I like you too’ or ‘Took you long enough’ but he couldn’t. Just the simple thought of everyone’s judgmental eyes on [name] made him go full anxiety.

Which is why the next day you ignored him. Then the day after that, and the day after that. Eventually, it had been a week and a half without speaking to Harlan. Harlan wanted to tell him it was all a big misunderstanding. However, with the whole pack thing going on he never had a chance to. Until they bumped into each other at the police station.

[Name] wanted to give the station some late-night snacks since they’d been working so hard on the murders. While passing some donuts out, he recognized Harlan walking in with Everett, Luna, and Blake he believed. As soon as he and Harlan made eye contact his stomach fluttered. He was so hot and [name] was so into him. ‘Reputation and colleges [name], reputation and colleges [name].’ You repeated in your head. You couldn’t like Harlan. You both were too different to be together. That’s what you told yourself. After finally composing yourself, you thought it’ll be best if you just walk straight past the group and went home.

That plan quickly backfired when a very nervous Everett stopped you. “Are those donuts [name]? May I have one?” He sounded like he needed them. It didn’t take someone with 20/20 vision to see that Everett was freaking out. “Sure, of course.” You handed him the box and in return, he quickly thanked and chomped down one. “Don't worry about him. Eats when he’s stressed.” Harlan blurted trying to find something to talk about. He didn’t know if it was true but it looked like it was from the way Everett was eating.

“It’s fine. I get the same way sometimes.” Then silence fell again amongst the group of teens. The only sounds that could be heard were Everett and him eating his donuts. “Well be careful guys. I’ll be… elsewhere.” Harlan looked at the boy with a nod and watch him turn on his heels and walk away. That was his chance, to clear the air, and make everything a little less weird. The more he waited the more his chance faded, and the more he got worried. “Fuck it” He mumbled. Harlan stood up from his seat and ran towards the doors to look for you. Luckily you were just about to exit when you heard your name being yelled.

“Harlan, what are you doing?” You laughed. He was out of breath from the long hall he just ran down to get to you. “I-You-Me..” Harlan tried but every word was met with useless breaths of air. “Take your time.” You laughed again and then rested your hand on his shoulder. Harlan felt the same thing you did earlier. Butterflies. All in his body that he couldn’t control. The way you smiled made him feel had him smiling from ear to ear. Then he did it. [Name] had to admit, the boy had balls.

Harlan pulled [name] Into a long steamy kiss. His hands grabbed your waist with a type of force that told you were his and only his. He pulled you closer when he felt you finally kissing back. Then, the kiss broke. Both boys were gasping for air this time, one forehead leaning on the other. It finally beamed on Harlan what just happened and his smile got bigger. “[Name] I love you.” He grinned excepting something in return. Anything. Instead, he was met with silence.

He lifts his head to look into the eye of the man he just kissed, to be met with an eye filled with sympathy. “Harlan I’m sorry but I just-, I just don’t think we can-..” [Name] couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. Harlan tried to hide the tears but he was sure a few escaped. “No, it’s fine I-I kissed you. No hard feelings.” [Name] was holding back tears too at this point. Harlan turned to leave, [name] wanted to stop him but he felt he did enough damage for the night. This was not good.

#cookstorys #male reader #harlan briggs #Harlan x male reader #wolf pack #wolf pack x male reader #gif series

104 notes · View notes

cal-daisies-and-briars · 3 months ago

Note

For make me write!!

🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮 (I love this fic and everything about it and I can’t even go into why but thank you for writing and sharing and I’m excited about part 2)

⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡(The last chapter was so sweet and I’m so excited to see where Buck and Eddie’s journey is next with the wedding and future plans. And yay for good communication).

🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮 (Ah the Bobby seeing Buck’s past had me in tears I don’t think Im ready for the opposite of that)

🚨🚨🚨🚨(I went from emotional to OH NO real quick)

🩸🩸 (Eddie healing from all his trauma in this one is just *chefs kiss*)

💐(The couple of snippets I have seen, this one about May just seems so interesting! Plus I love getting to see recurring/non-main characters heads!)

HI!!! THANK YOU!

30 for 🦮 (THANKS! I am so excited to share Pt. 2)

---

One, trying to work from home with a little kid in the house. Two, knowing that, elsewhere, Eddie is struggling considerably with missing his son. And, three, the fact that Cranberry seems to be matching Buck’s bored, cagey energy.

Christopher is a great kid. Really, the best. But he’s still a kid. And the novelty of online school - for both student and teacher - means a lack of order and structure that leads to him inevitably seeking out Buck several times an hour. Buck has to give him a stern talk about interrupting meetings if it’s not an emergency. And no, needing a Rice Krispie Square is not an emergency. Although Buck understands the urgency. He’s been snacking on them lately, too, and they’re sort of addictive.The point is, it’s not easy sharing the same space with a kid literally all the time with no breaks. Even a kid he genuinely adores. Especially when he’s never been anyone’s primary caregiver before, other than Cranberry.

As for Eddie, Buck knows he’s not adjusting great. They talk every single day. Often multiple times a day. He tries to put up a brave face, but he misses his son and feels badly for leaving him again.

“It just brings back old shit,” he explains one evening over FaceTime. “Like I’m back where I started. Even if I know that’s not true.”

He’s not alone at least. Hen and Chim have both moved into Buck’s apartment temporarily, too. Which Buck thinks sounds crazy crowded. But he gets it. They both have families to protect. And with Maddie recently announcing her pregnancy, Chim is extra anxious. So, at least Eddie has company. People to look out for him at work and away from it. Because right now, there’s not a lot Buck can do for him, other than be a constant ear.

“You’re already doing the most important thing for me,” Eddie argues when Buck expresses this.

---

24 for ⚡(thank you!!!! I am plowing full steam ahead on this wedding hahah because I want to get past it):

---

“Shall we take a look at the bedrooms?” Gianna asks.

“Definitely,” Eddie replies.

She leads them down the hallway to where three white-walled bedrooms of different sizes wait to be viewed. The master has a lot of space. It’s got an odd sort of shape, longer than it is deep. But the ensuite bathroom is kind of a dream. Shower and tub. Spacious. Recently redone, so it doesn’t need any work.

Yeah, Buck can see himself enjoying this master suite very much. And enjoying Eddie in it, too…

The other bedrooms are good sizes too. One is almost as big as the master, minus the closet space and bathroom.

“Chris would appreciate that,” Eddie says.

The other is a bit tinier, but would be perfect for a, well, tinier person.

By the end of the house tour, Buck realizes he doesn’t actually have a single major complaint.

“What do you think?” Gianna asks.

Eddie looks at Buck hopefully. He likes it. Buck knows he likes it.

“I think we should talk about it,” Buck concedes. “It’s got everything we need and it’s close to family.”

---

18 for 🔮(TBH the Bobby one is sadder):

---

He doesn’t matter here.

He retracts his hand.

“Charlie, please,” their mother says.

Charlie huffs. “Fine. Whatever.”

The rest of the drive is silent. Bobby wipes the tears off his face, presses his cheek to the glass of the window, and stares off into space. Buck wishes he could crack open his head and look inside. He wants so desperately to understand what he’s thinking. Past and present.

Buck wonders if Bobby has always been so hard to read. If he has always kept what’s hurting him so close to his chest. Did this start recently? With his father dying? Or before? How much agency does a kid have in their emotional reactions? Buck knew he often felt out of control at this age.

---

12 for 🚨(hahahaha sorry):

---

“Are you sure you’re okay with me taking your room, Eddie?” Hen asks when they arrive on the first day. “One of us can take the couch. Really.”

“Oh, it’s fine!” Eddie insists. “Buck and I can share. No biggie.”

Eddie hasn’t slept in his bed in weeks.

“Makes sense,” Buck adds. “Then it’s only two people per washroom. Much better shower schedule.”

Hen raised an eyebrow at Eddie, who just offers her an awkward smile.

---

6 for 🩸(THANK YOU!):

---

“You can’t escape!” The guy shouted. Loud enough to indicate to Eddie that he had no idea how close Eddie was to him.

“You all have to die for this to be over, you know” He continued. “It’s the only way!”

---

3 for 💐 (THANKS!):

---

“I know,” April shrugs. “Doesn’t hurt to have another set of hands, though, does it?”

There’s a confidence in her tone, like she just knows she’s so capable and good at this.

#daisies and briars writes #things we're all too young to know fic #buck service dog fic #weary memory fic #any other way fic #long death fic

7 notes · View notes

justsomerandomfanfic · 2 years ago

Text

Jealous? - Indiana Jones X GN Reader

Title: Jealous?

Indiana Jones X GN Reader

Additional Characters: Johnathan Bleak (OC), Johnathan's mother and father (OC) (Mentioned), Reader's other friends (Mentioned), and Partygoers (Mentioned)

Requested by @bunnymacjones!

WC: 2,109

Warnings: Mention of being sick, jealous Indy, anxiety, nervousness, embarrassment, angst, misunderstandings, miscommunication, hurt/comfort, cursing, fighting, yelling, kiss in the rain trope, confessions in the rain, fluff

Indiana watched you chat with some man he knew as your friend. James? Jim? Jimmy? He didn't remember. All he did know about the guy was that he was a volunteer for the museum. And Indiana didn't like him. Not one bit. Indiana crossed his arms, leaning against the wall of the said museum as he continued to watch. Seeing you almost double over in laughter at whatever your friend had said. Grinding his teeth, Indiana stared as your eyes crinkled with amusement. It was an adorable sight that caused his stomach to clench uncomfortably, butterflies erupting and fluttering in delight and anxiety. A little voice in his head whispered about how cute you were when you laughed. He ignored it, knowing it was true.

Indiana shifted uncomfortably in his spot as you gave your friend a hug. Indiana uncrossed his arms and glanced elsewhere as you wandered over, a smile on your face. He had only wished he could make you smile like that. Curse that friend of yours. Indiana was the one who invited you to the event, he was the one who had met you first.

"Hey, Indy. Are you alright? Your face is slightly red." You spoke, standing on your tippy-toes to press the back of your hand on his forehead. "You are a bit warm. Are you sick? Do you need to go home? Johnny can drive me home." You offered, eyes wide and full of worry.

Johnny... That was his name. Johnny.

Indiana shook his head, reaching up to take your hand in his. "No. I'm fine. It's just a bit hot in here is all." He spoke up, clearing his throat as he adjusted the collar of his suit with his free hand.

You continued to look up at him with a frown before he watched your expression change; one he understood as your 'I have a great idea' face. "How about we go out on the balcony? Get you some fresh air." You spoke, before dragging him to a nearby balcony, "Then you can tell me why you're acting so strange."

Indiana chuckled, "Me? Strange?" He asked, following you, weaving past a few people, "I'm never strange."

You chuckled back, making Indiana's heart race at just the sound of your sweet laugh, "Oh, that's just not true, Indy. You're always strange. But..." You stopped at the balcony, placing your hand on the rail, Indiana standing next to you, "But right now you're acting stranger than usual." You finished, looking up at him.

Indiana sighed, closing his eyes for a moment; taking a deep breath. He turned towards you, “You’re naive if you think he just wants to be your friend.”

Your eyes widened at his words, jaw dropping slightly. "Who?" You laughed out, "Johnathan? No!" You exclaimed, laughing; shoulder shaking. "He's my friend. I don't know what you're talking about," You added, turning away from Indiana. “But he’s only a friend.”

Indiana frowned, "Well, he sure likes you. He’s so obvious." Indiana looked off at the garden below, "It’s embarrassing." He mumbled.

You huffed, crossing your arms as you turned back to him. "What's your problem with Johnathan? You always get... Weird when I talk about him." You paused, realization crossing over you. "Are... Indiana, are you jealous?" You asked and Indiana sputtered a laugh, shaking his head.

"Jealous? Me? Pff. Never.” He answered quickly, "What would I be jealous about?" He asked, looking away from you again.

You stared up at Indiana, eyes watering slightly as you bit hard on your lip in anger and frustration, "You're a real piece of work, Indiana Jones." You spat out. You turned back to the railing, crossing your arms as you glared down at the garden, waiting until he finally responded. Pleading for an apology.

"Well, excuse me, sweetheart for worrying about your well-being." Indiana taunted irritatedly. "I don't trust that guy." He mumbled as you looked back up at him, eyeing him angrily.

Your eyes narrowed at him for a moment, "You don't like any of my male friends, or any friends for that matter!" You threw your hands in the air, frustrated. "I thought you trusted me." You spoke, watching him carefully.

Indy looked away, avoiding your gaze. Why did everything have to come back to Johnathan, huh? He didn't want to admit it, but you were right; he was jealous. How you giggled, blushed, and smiled around Johnathan more than himself. His chest felt tight at the thought, the butterflies reappearing in his stomach as they flitted around his body. Damn it. You were right. He really was jealous. He couldn't stand to see you giggle at Johnathan's stupid jokes. Or when you hugged that man. Indiana wanted you to laugh at his jokes. He wanted you to laugh how you laughed with Johnathan, carefree and beautiful. Indiana wanted your arms wrapped around his, to feel your heartbeat under his fingers. Indiana wanted to kiss you. To feel your lips. To hear your giggles. To hold you close.

"Look, this isn't fair. If you're jealous then you can stop being jealous. Stop pouting and act like an adult." You scolded, "Would you please tell me what is going on?"

"I just..." Indiana paused, clearing his throat as he stared down at you, "I just don't like him." A half-truth.

You pursed your lips, before turning away and heading back towards the party without a word. Indiana stumbled, growing panicked as he reached forward and grabbed your arm, stopping you. You looked up at him, eyes holding hope, but that all went down the drain.

"I'm telling the truth, Y/N." Indiana spoke up, "I don't like Jim."

Your jaw dropped, feeling like a fish out of water as you tugged your arm out of his hand, glaring up at him. "Henry!" You exclaimed, completely outraged, starting Indiana from the use of his real first name. "You know what? I’m done." You told him before walking back to the party. Pausing, you turned to Indiana one last time, "And his name is Johnathan!"

And just like that... You were gone.

Indiana watched you go, sighing deeply as he ran a hand down his face. He messed up. Big time. He couldn't do anything right around you. "Damnit..." He whispered, running his free hand through his hair. What should he do now? Go after you? No. Too risky. Just leave, and let you cool off and find someone else to spend the evening with. Maybe he'd just stay back inside and sulk. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. With a heavy sigh, Indiana turned around only to stop in his tracks. There stood Johnathan, champagne glass in hand; shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Jonathan gave the man a small awkward smile, "Uh... Hi." He spoke up, eyes trained on the ground.

Indiana's eyebrows furrowed as he looked the man up and down before letting out a long-suffering sigh, "Can I help you?" Utterly annoyed by the man's presence.

Johnathan nodded, raising the glass to his mouth. "Yes. Yes, you can. In fact, I heard your... Fight with Y/N," He began, walking forward, and standing beside Indiana at the balcony railing. "And I'd thought I'd let you know how much they admire you." Johnathan took another sip of his drink before continuing. "You should've heard all the stories they’ve told me about you and your adventures. Amazing! They told me of your trip to Peru, and they wouldn’t stop talking about how brave you are." Johnathan pursed his lips, adjusting his tie as he averted his eyes to the sky briefly, "You know, they talk about you all the time to me..." He let out a laugh, looking back to Indiana, "So much so... That I think that they love you. The look in their eyes... Damn... They are like galaxies. Beautiful. Brilliant. Full of wonder, and awe." He finished with a smile. Indiana said nothing, growing sorrowful, he dipped his head in shame. He heard Johnathan sigh, "You know, I've only seen that look between my parents, may they rest in peace. Forty-six years of marriage, and I haven't seen that look since..." He trailed off, swallowing thickly. "That look Y/N gets is the same look my parents had for each other." He let out a sigh. "It's a beautiful thing... Love." Johnathan placed his hand on Indiana's shoulder, gaining his attention, "Cherish it, Dr. Jones. That love you both share... It's rare." He gave him a smile, before patting his shoulder and heading back into the party.

Indiana watched the man leave, his heart pounding in his chest as he quickly ran a hand through his hair once more. Dragging his hand down his face, he held it over his mouth as he thought. His mind was racing. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to process what had happened, trying to figure out what to do. Should he apologize? Tell you the truth? Would it make things better? He shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh, opening his eyes, and staring at the flowers on the balcony in front of him, contemplating his options.

Feeling something wet fall on his head, he looked up, cursing as the rain began to pour down from the dark sky above. Quickly, Indiana rushed back inside; rapidly scanning the room, looking for you. He spotted you, grabbed your coat, sliding it on. Indiana sped up, walking over to you. Walking down the steps and out the door, Indiana was close behind, "Y/N! He called out to you, only for you to ignore him, stepping out into the rain. Running down the stairs and out the door, Indiana watched as you tried to wave down a cab. "Y/N!" He called to you once more, you finally turned to him before turning away again.

"Leave me alone, Jones." You said to him.

"Please wait." He begged, his hair already soaked as he reached for your hand.

"No, Indiana, leave me alone." You snapped, voice shaky.

Indy stepped closer, "I love you." He said quietly.

You shook your head, turning to him again, "Wha?" You stopped short when you saw the tears forming in his eyes. "Oh, God." Your eyes and throat burned as you felt your own tears forming. "Oh, God." You whispered, you repeated, "What did you say?" You asked softly, peering up at Indiana as the rain poured down on both of you.

"I-" He choked back, stumbling as he just shut his mouth.

"Did I hear that correctly?" You questioned gently, taking a step closer to him.

He nodded, wiping furiously at his cheeks with his sleeve, but it was fruitless as the rain continued to pour, "Yes. I love you, Y/N."

"But why-"

"Because!" He shouted suddenly, shocking you into silence. His breathing quickened as he looked away from you, "I've been in love with you for three years! Ever since we met, Y/N."

You gasped softly, your eyes widening slightly, "Wait... Three years?" You asked, confusion filling your tone, "How..? Why..?" You asked, confused, shaking your head, tears falling from your eyes as well. "I mean.." You sniffled, "Is this why you've been so... Weird? Getting all jealous?" You asked, getting a nod from him. "Why didn't you tell me?" You asked, shaking your head slightly.

"I never knew how to tell you..." He admitted softly, "And you were so close to Johnathan... I was... Scared." He confessed quietly.

"Afraid to lose me." You finished, biting your lip, still shocked at the news.

"Because I wasn't sure if that was what you wanted." He replied quietly. "I don't deserve you. At all. You deserve better than me."

You looked away, tears falling freely from your eyes, "I can't believe this." You looked back up at him with determination, "Indiana Jones, I don't care what you think I do or do not deserve. I fell in love with you the moment you rescued me from those baddies in Chile. And I love you too." You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him down to meet your lips.

He smiled softly, his hands slowly coming to rest on your waist. Beyond overjoyed and full of relief as he kissed back. The two pulled apart, foreheads resting against each other. You were smiling brightly, even as the rain fell on your face, drenching your hair and clothes. He smiled, almost giddily, reaching up to wipe away the rain from your cheeks, before leaning forward and kissing you gently once more. The two stood there in the pouring rain, soaking wet, but happy.

116 notes · View notes

joe9cool · 1 year ago

Text

Collide- Epilogue- Lover of Mine

A/N: This is fanfiction, I do not know anyone on or affiliated with the Chargers. I own my original characters. You do not have permission to post my story elsewhere. Thank you and enjoy!

"What brings my brother to New York during this Bye Week?" Mitch sat down on his couch while Justin stayed standing. "I can't just visit my brother? I hardly ever see you. I thought it would be nice to come see you and Isabelle while I have the time off'

"You are so full of shit. This is year four for you and you decided to suddenly take a break and fly out here?" Justin paused, "I can't spend time with you guys?"

Mitch rolled his eyes. "Justin, it's you." He noticed his younger brother fidgeting nervously. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Before Mitch could respond, the door opened, and Justin had never been relieved at Isabelle's arrival. "Hi Justin." She was surprised. "Did something happen?" He was confused. "No, I just thought I'd surprise you and we could spend this time together, grab some lunch"

"I'm calling full of shit. But okay." Isabelle laughed. "Let me change, and then we will go." When she walked out, Mitch looked at Justin. "Again, I'm gonna ask what is wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Justin Patrick"

"I promise Dad. Nothing is wrong." He said in his mocking voice. Isabelle walked out of the room and Mitch decided it could wait til lunch, and they all walked out of the door.

—--------------------------------------------------------------

"Eating on the Upper east side? What's the occasion?" Isabelle asked as they sipped their drinks (water for Justin, of course)

"Why do you guys assume something is wrong?" He was actually offended that his own family thought he didn't want to spend time with them.

Mitch laughed. "Again, you call me at the last minute to say that you've got a hotel here and are spending a few days in town on your bye week. What is going on?"

Isabelle cut in. "We are glad you are here, but something is up. Also you mentioned not telling Sara you were in New York."

It was true, Sara was off in Tokyo doing promotional press for a few days.

Justin put down his menu. "Fine you got me, I wanted to wait until after lunch, but since I have an appointment. Look, I need your guys help shopping."

Isabelle choked on her drink, immediately understanding why he was there. Mitch began laughing. "Really Justin? I don't know the first thing about clothing either. Why don't you ask Sara's stylist?"

Isabelle looked at him. "Baby, he is not talking about clothes."

Mitch stopped laughing. "Then what?"

"Oh my god! How did you even get into med school?" Justin smiled. "I want your guys input on a ring for Sara."

That got Mitch. "Woah woah. For an engagement ring?" Justin smiled, and Mitch leaned back into his seat. Exasperated. "Wow. I mean Justin, it hasn't even been two years. Are you sure?"

Justin nodded. "You don't like Sara?"

"That's not it. I love her to death, and I couldn't be happier to officially have her as her sister. But again this is you. You have to admit no one would expect you to be the first one to be married."

He laughed and Isabelle smiled. "You always knew what you wanted and went after it. Even when you and Sara were apart. Its-"

"Always been her." Justin finished.

"Do mom and dad know? What about Pat and Carly?"

He smiled. "I called them when I got to the hotel earlier today." —---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Justin? Is everything okay?" Holly was confused as she answered her middle son's facetime call. It was early in the morning, but Justin wanted to speak to his dad too, and he had to catch him early before he left to do whatever.

"Yeah everything is fine. Can I talk to you and dad for a minute?" His hands were sweating, and the reality of what he was about to say was hitting him.

It wasn't a nervous sweat in the sense of marriage. It was the fact that he wanted his family's input. He knew they loved Sara, and she loved them but you never knew.

"Hi Justin. Are you okay? What happened?" He saw both of his parents on the screen and smiled. He knew he only asked for both of them when it was something major, and it usually was a big life decision.

"I just wanted to ask you guys something." Holly and Mark were confused. "What is it son? Is it about football?"

Justin laughed. "No, it's actually about Sara." This time Holly cut in. "Oh my god please don't tell me you broke up again. I'm gonna kill you."

He rolled his eyes. "It's not that mom."

"Then what is it?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm going to ask her to marry me, and I want your blessing."

There was a pause, then Mark laughed while Holly screamed. Justin was confused "is this reaction out of happiness or?"

"OF COURSE IT IS! oh my god! Of course you have our blessing! Shouldn't you be asking her parents this?" His dad laughed and Justin joined in. "I'm going to ask, I wanted your input, she's joining our family too. If she even says yes." Justin trailed off the possibility of her saying no now creeping into his mind.

Holly knew what her son was thinking. "Honey, she's not going to say no. She loves you, and the whole family loves her. We couldn't be happier over this."

"Thanks guys."

"Do you have a ring?" He laughed. "Not yet, I'm heading to New York a few days earlier than usual to have Mitch and Isabelle help me."

"Good idea, and we won't tell Pat. God knows your brother can't keep a secret." They all laughed, knowing the younger Herbert too well. "We love you son, and Sara too"

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin told the story of their mom and dads approval as they drove to a private residence that Justin gave. It was actually her management he contacted about looking for rings. He knew that he couldn't walk into a jewelry store and pick something out in broad daylight. The surprise would be ruined immediately. Her manager Alex, along with Law got him in touch with Jamie Wolf, who was popular among celebrity jewelry. She conducted business out of her brownstone for famous clients

They were in a ritzy part of Manhattan, one that Mitch and Isabelle weren't familiar with. "You know Justin, it's okay if you don't pick out a ring. Take your time with it." Mitch stated as they pulled into a driveway that matched the address on their phone. Justin laughed, "I think I'll know it when I see it"

As they got out of their cars, the door to the expensive brownstone opened and a woman in her forties peeked outside. “You must be Justin! Law told me all about you!” Justin climbed the steps and she wrapped him into a hug. One thing he learned about being around designers: you had to be ready for any type of greeting. Once Jamie did the same to Mitch and Isabelle, she invited them to sit down where there were horderves and champagne. They all sat down and took a glass of champagne. “Okay, so Law called me and said you are here for an engagement ring for Sara correct?”

Justin nodded and smiled. She clapped her hands together. “Excellent, now before we begin to look at rings and decide if we want custom or not I always like to hear the moment you decided you wanted this moment."

Everyone was looking at him and it dawned on him they wanted the story. "Well, I've always known to be honest." He trailed off, and Mitch rolled his eyes. "He isn't very romantic in that sense." He told Jamie and Isabelle to cut in. "Neither of them are. Are you sure you didn't want to bring Pat?"

Justin laughed. "There was one moment….

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 week earlier.

Justin had just pulled into the driveway, he had just wanted to go home and sleep after coming back from a game where they got blown out. It was embarrassing, they were tied with the chiefs for first in the division, they couldn't afford losses at all. Yet Justin threw for 2 interceptions, one that gave the other team the confidence to come back.

He was surprised to see the lights on. This meant that Sara was probably suffering from her insomnia. She had started seeing a therapist for her anxiety and been prescribed medication for when her sleep got really bad. She was stubborn though, granted she didn't really need them since she was doing well.

Justin walked in to music turned up loud, but not too loud. It was one of the boy bands she listened to. One Direction.. or was it 5 seconds of summer?

He stepped into the kitchen/living room to see a few trays of chocolate chip cookies on the island. Covered so the cats didn't get to them. Justin smiled as he saw his girlfriend dancing with Eugene, well more like twirling him around. The song changing to a piano melody.

'Lover of mine' Maybe we'll take some time' Kaleidoscope mind gets in the way Hope and I pray darling hat you will stay Butterfly lies chase them away

Dance around the living room Lose me in the sight of you' I've seen the red I've seen the blue Take all of me.

Sara turned to face Justin and squealed. Letting Eugene down on the counter she paused the music. "Why must you always do that?"

Justin laughed and went up to her. Kissing her, he stated. "Because it's fun. Anyway you can't sleep?"

She nodded. "I actually napped before the game so I have all of this energy. I'm sorry about the loss. I'll clean this all up and we will go to bed.

He shook his head. "Grabbing a cookie, he plopped it in his mouth and groaned. "Oh my god are these chocolate chip turtle cookies?" She nodded and he sighed. "I guess I can't have the guys over after practice for the film. Her eyebrows raised in confusion. He laughed. "You're gonna make them all fat."

She giggled. "Invite them over, i'll make a full spread. I miss cooking." He kissed her.

"I love you."

"I love you." She put the music back on, and in the moment, he grabbed her hand and they began dancing, more like swaying

'Dance around the living room Lose me in the sight of you I've seen the red I've seen the blue Take all of me' Lead to where your secrets are Where we've been a thousand times Swallow every single lie Take all of me

I'll never give you away Cause I've already made that mistake

If my name never fell off your lips again, I know it'd be such a shame When I take a look at my life And all of my crimes You're the only thing that I think I got right I'll never give you away Cause I already made that mistake'

The last line rang true as it stayed In his head, gathering the brunette closer to him

It was in that moment he knew. Granted, he always did know deep down. But now, he could see this, coming home to her and knowing what to say and do to calm him down and vice versa. They loved each other other and were committed.

He made a note to make some phone calls while he was at the facility tomorrow.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Aww that is so sweet!" Jamie smiled after Justin told her the watered down version. "Okay, now follow me and you can bring your glasses with." They all got up and followed her upstairs to a room that had a code Jamie entered. When they all walked in it looked like a walk in closet with an island that she had the group stand at while she opened two skinny draws. Pulling out two trays she set them down. Immediately Justin's eyes widened along with Mitch's and Isabelle gasped.

All the rings were gorgeous,sparkly, and huge. "All my rings are at least two carats. These all in this case are four, and these are three. If you dont like any of these, I can custom make one.”

“Just outta curiosity, what is the price range.?” Jamie said the number casually, “All my rings start at $100,000.” The number may have shocked the other two, But Justin knew he'd drop a pretty penny. It didn't matter, he wanted this ring to be special. Hopefully she’d be wearing this for the rest of her life. “Do you know her style?”

“Shes simple, classic. She wears alot of dainty jewelry, she loves emerald gems, and no gold.” Mitch laughed. “I got to say I am impressed you all know that.”

Isabelle cut in. “Do you have any emerald cut rings? Maybe the main stone is diamond, and then two emeralds on the sides in trapezoid cut. Then for the band we can go with a plain platinum band.” Justin and Mitch stared at her before Justin looked at Jamie, “Yeah, exactly what she said." The designer laughed. "And how many carats are we looking at?"

She showed him the different weights in Emerald cuts and he settled on the 2 for the middle stone, and .75 carat each for the sides, making it a total of 3.5 carats.It wasn't obnoxiously big, but people would notice it on her finger. He knew her ring size from getting the Oregon ring.

After dropping a hefty amount of money on the ring (as much as he paid for his house in Oregon) She told him it would take her a couple weeks to get the ring ready. Jamie told him that she could ship to him which he declined. He didn't want to keep the ring in the house where she would find it and especially not in his football bag.

No, he still had another stop on the east coast to make once the ring was done.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"God Justin!" He looked up to see his girlfriend's head thrown back and her fists full of the bed sheets. Moaning, his hand snaked up her body underneath his t-shirt to pinch a nipple while he tongue flicked her clit.

He arrived home off a weekend with his brother and girlfriend, feeling good

Maybe it was the fact that he was one step closer to officially making Sara a member of his family,maybe it was those spandex shorts that accentuated her ass. Maybe it was the fact he was planning to ask her one of the biggest questions of life. Nevertheless he was on her, knocking the pile of folded laundry on the floor.

He latched on her and his tongue fucked into her, causing her to squeal and close her legs around him. Justin loved it, he could die by getting crushed by those thighs and he'd be the happiest man.

He continued his motions, all the way to her orgasm. Stopping once she was cleaned up he pulled away and she was a heaving mess on the bed. "Oh my god." She looked over at the messed up pile. "You're gonna fix that." She said between breaths, and he nodded and laughed.

"What on earth was that for?" She got up and stared at him. He shrugged. "I can't just eat out my girlfriend?"

"I mean you can. I won't ever complain. But damn. You were like in heat!" He laughed. "I just missed you. That's all."

She just nodded. "Well you're still folding the laundry."

He smiled and nodded. "Yes babe. Let me just get dinner started. I have some steaks marinating so I'll get those ready for the grill."

"What should I make for the sides?" She got up. "Don't worry about it. I have asparagus too." He walked out. Justin knew he played it cool.

—--------------------------------------------------------- Something was up with her boyfriend.

He was being super nice. Not that Justin wasn't a nice guy, but he seemed to be laying it on pretty thick. Justin was coming home earlier than usual. He would only slightly complain about her reality shows. (She knew he would like Jersey shore family reunion) however he kept giving her full control of the TV. He was more affectionate when they would step out in public. Not full on makeouts, but he would stop and kiss her randomly at the grocery store.

While she loved it, it wasn't her man. "Why are you complaining?" Samira told her between takes. She was sitting with her and Joe, along with Greg. "I know it sounds stupid. But it's not him you know?"

"You think he is cheating on you?" Greg asked as he popped a grape in his mouth. She shook her head. "No he isn't, I'm sure of that."

"Have you tried asking him?" Samira asked. She nodded. "Yes, but he swears its nothing. Maybe I'm just overreacting."

"You do have trust issues from other relationships."

"I trust him. It's not that. I'm just wondering why he is acting different"

Joe stayed quiet. Justin had called him a few days ago telling him he wanted to propose and thought about maybe doing it on their 2nd anniversary, which was also his and Alisha's anniversary. Justin was worried it would be overshadowed. Joe laughed and told him it was no big deal. He was excited for his co-star and close friend. She was going to finally have her moment after being broken hearted for so long.

He was so happy for her, but he swore to secrecy to not say anything to anyone, not even her costars. Alisha knew, but she was his wife he had to tell her.

"Joe!" He snapped out of his daydream to find the group staring at him. "What's up?" He asked. Sara narrowed her eyes at him. "You know something we dont?"

He scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about." He took a bite out of his snack.

"I don't trust you Grant, I think you know something about my boyfriend that I dont." He rolled his eyes, trying to play it cool. "You're right. We're having an affair. We planned on telling you and Alisha when we have dinner next week. But I can't deny my love for that tall glorious man anymore."

Samira giggled and Sara laughed. "I'm still calling shit on it but okay. I will find out."

—-----------------------------------------------------------------

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Justin was an idiot. He and Sara had gotten into an argument earlier. They had a Victory monday so Justin had time for golf. He was excited, since he finally had the ability to swing normally.

Justin asked Sara to join him on the course and surprisingly she agreed. It had been a rough week. She had reshoots and decided to take on co-producing Lord Huron's new album. He had warned her that it might become too much, but she was stubborn.

It was wearing on her and he saw that. So maybe this was his chance to get her to relax and spend some time together. They were really busy, which meant they had no time together, sex was out of the question. They were both worked up and wanted to take their stress out on each other.

Unfortunately it didn't go that way. In between swings she was on her phone messaging Ben about a guitar riff on one song, then Heidi called about some rumor she wanted to dispel. She wasn't focused on the game, which pissed him off.

Also, she wasn't athletic and wasn't able to grasp the mechanics of a perfect swing. Justin tried to explain it to her but she wasn't getting it. "Well maybe if you actually paid attention you would understand it." He snapped. She glared at him. "And I told you, I'm not athletic, I've never been. I mini golf that's it."

"You don't even try! I think you are just making excuses because you don't want to do it." She rolled her eyes. "What are you, my dad? I got that shit from him my whole life."

"That has nothing to do with anything!" "Yeah and I want to see you try to film 12 hour days."

"We aren't talking about careers, I know sure as shit you can't throw a football. I'm talking about hobbies. You don't care."

"I do care! I'm sorry I'm busy." She took a deep breath and walked away. "Where are you going?" He called.

"I'm going back to the clubhouse." She wanted to take the cart and leave him stranded, but she wanted to walk. "Are you insane? We are far out and you don't know where you are."

She ignored him and kept walking. Sara heard his footsteps behind her. "Get back here!"

"No dad!" "You're being a brat." When he saw she wasn't budging, he cursed and ran back to the cart to put his stuff away and catch up to her. He drove the cart up and kept pace with her. "Get on the cart."

She kept walking. He sighed. "I'm sorry. You don't have to talk to me but you're not going to walk all the way back. It's too hot." She stopped, and got on the back off the cart.

They were both annoyed and didn't speak at the clubhouse and on the car ride home. When they got in the house, she went straight to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

You dumbass, now she's not going to want to marry you. He thought as he waited for her to get out of the shower.

He was just irritated. Football was always stressful, and he missed Sara. It wasn't her fault he was just being an ass. He wanted competition and Sara wasn't just that person. They worked as a nice balance, but he could be a major ass.

He stayed on the couch with the cats until he heard the door to the bedroom open and Sara walked out in one of his shirts, towel drying her now long hair. "Hi" She went up to him and he grabbed her thighs to pull her closer to him. "I'm sorry." He spoke after a minute. "I got too excited and frustrated that you don't like golf."

She sighed. "It's partially my fault. I never really give it a chance. I should have been more focused." She rubbed his shoulders. "Forgive me?" He nodded. "Forgive me as well?" She smiled and kissed him. "Next time I swear. I need to start taking lessons. I'll kick your ass at your invitational next year." He laughed. "Yeah okay babe."

His phone rang, and he glanced at it. Sara looked at it. "Is it Mitch or Isabelle?" He knew she could tell it was a New York area code. He shook his head and declined the call. "I don't know the number." He kissed her again. "Wanna order in? We can watch Jersey Shore and cuddle with the cats."

She smiled "I knew you would like the show!" He rolled his eyes. "Easy, I know you like it." She laughed. "Uh huh that's why you were upset when Sam got mad at the house when she found the letter."

"Hey, she got mad at everyone else but Ron. I don't know why she is putting up with him. He looks like a douche." She laughed. "I got to dry my hair. Do you want to do sushi or tacos?"

"Or there is that steakhouse down the street? I could pick it up?" She nodded and ordered her usual. Justin placed the order.

Crisis averted.

—--------------‐—--------‐—----------------------------------------

"Explain to me again why you are flying out Thursday before your game against the Jets?" Sara asked Justin over the phone. She was in Canada where she was doing a talk show to support her new project. She was flying in New York to watch Justin against the Jets for Monday Night Football. Sara's entire family would be there as well in the suite, their dad wanted to sit out in the cold, but with his heart it wasn't the best idea.

"Well, I wanted to see Mitch and Isabelle. Mitch really liked when I came up for the bye week. Plus he is graduating from Med school, so I'm rarely going to see him once he becomes a doctor." Justin bit his tongue, hoping his girlfriend bought the lie.

"Oh well that's nice. I was just surprised the team was okay with it." He had cleared it with Staley and Moore. Justin had no choice but to tell them he had plans to propose and wanted to go up to Pittsburgh to seek her parents' blessing. Her family was coming on Saturday and he would be locked in, unable to talk to them. So he had to see them first.

He just hoped he could do it without being spotted. Once again he had contacted AnnSophie about using her jet, which meant that he told her, which she told Joey. So far almost everyone in their friend group knew about his plans.

"If you want any motivation to kick Rodgers ass. Just know I met him at an awards ceremony when he was with his then fiance, he was staring at my boobs in my dress the whole time." That got Justin annoyed. Since it was known that he and Sara were an item, teams would use that as an excuse to taunt him about his relationship. It took everything in him not to fight Kelce when after a touchdown, Kelce went up to Justin and held up his hand to mimic a phone. "Have your girl call me." He muttered to Justin who was fuming. Luckily Bosa destroyed him when he took the field.

Justin made sure to pick up nice quality meat for him to grill.

—-----------------------------------------------------------

"Thank you sir. Have a nice day." Justin handed the taxi driver $20 as a tip. Once the cab pulled away, he turned towards the big house that homed Sara growing up. He took a deep breath. It was Friday afternoon, and he hoped her parents would be home. He flew out to New York first to pick up the ring.

Justin didn't get speechless or in awe of materialistic things, but when the jeweler opened the black velvet box he choked up. Seeing the ring, his vision, him putting it on her finger. "Wow. It's beautiful." He wiped the tears in his eyes. "Thank you."

"Your reaction is the best one yet. She's going to say yes." He nodded, still in awe of the reality.

As he approached the double doors of the large two bedroom home his hands were sweating, he put his hands in his pockets to feel the black velvet for the one hundred times before knocking on the door.

After a few seconds he heard Cathy's familiar voice call. "Coming!" Before the door opened. Her expression was shock as she didn't expect to see the six foot six man at her door. "Justin! What a nice surprise to see you!" She pulled him down for a hug. "Come in come in!" She ushered him inside. "Not that I don't mind seeing you, but aren't you supposed to be in New York?"

Before he could answer, he heard Katie's voice. "Mom who is it?" She was sitting at the kitchen island with papers scattered around and a laptop."Justin! What are you doing here? I thought we would see you Sunday night before the game. You know Charlie and Trisitan have been non-stop bragging to their friends" He smiled. "I'm glad. They will have fun Sunday."

Cathy's back was towards them, cleaning up what he assumed was lunch. "Do you want some shrimp salad? Mike didn't eat much."

It sounded good, but he was too nervous to eat. Katie was looking at him like she knew something was up. "No I'm fine. Speaking of Mr. Wozniak, is he here?" He was still using proper terms, no matter what they said. "He's in his study, probably trying to figure out how to sneak a burger in without me knowing." Justin laughed. "Um I wanted to talk to him, well actually I'd like to speak with the both of you."

"Is everything alright?" Cathy was still tidying up, but now with concern. Katie was on her work laptop, trying to pretend she was focusing on an excel spreadsheet but was dialed in on the conversation.

"Everything is great, I Uh wanted to speak, well actually ask you and Mr. Wozniak about something." Cathy nearly dropped the plastic container she was holding. Katie's eyes widened at the screen. Immediately they knew what this was about. "Oh, okay. Well, let me put this in the fridge and we will go to the study to see Mike." She did that, and then wiped her hands on the dish towel. "Katie, will you take out the banana bread when the timer dings?" The younger girl nodded and as soon as her mom and Justin were out of sight, she grabbed her phone and made a group message chat to Brittany and Alyssa.

K: 911 SISTER EMERGENCY!

A: OMG WHAT HAPPENED?

B: SISTER EMERGENCY? WHERE'S SARA?

A: ILL ADD HER

K: DO NOT ADD HER! THIS IS ABOUT HER!

B: IS EVERYTHING OKAY?

K: Justin is here. Showed up at mom's house.

A: Wait what? What for?

B: why would Justin show up to Pittsburgh?

K: he is in the study right now with our parents. He told mom he wants to ask them about 'something'

A: Katie, is this what I think it is? B: Hold on, I got to put my face in a pillow so I don't wake the kids when I scream.

K: 💍💍💍

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Justin my boy! What brings you here? Thought we weren't seeing you til Sunday." Mike got up from his desk with the support of his cane and shook Justin's hand. "Have a seat." Justin took a seat across the desk and Cathy stood next to her husband's chair. "So what brings you here?"

Justin fiddled with his hands for a second before he spoke. "I think you know why I'm here." Cathy had a big smile on her face

Mike chucked. "I do know why you're here. I've been through this three times before." He folded his hands on his desk like he was about to deny someone a loan. "You want our blessing to ask Sara for her hand in marriage."

He nodded, fiddling with his thumbs. As much as he tried to be confident he was nervous as hell. Mike Wozniak was an intimidating man.

Mike sighed. "Well no."

Cathy gasped, Justin could feel himself wanting to throw up. "Sir." He choked out.

Mike began laughing. Justin was lost. Cathy looked like she wanted to put him back in the hospital again. "Michael." She warned

"I'm sorry I'm sorry. Son, why are you asking me? I'm not marrying you Sara is.." He laughed some more. "I've done that, will all of my girl's partners, take it as an initiation to enter the Wozniak family." He looked at his wife. "What do you think hun? Should we give him our blessing?"

Cathy roller her eyes playfully. "I certainly didn't know you did that to the others."

"Well Justin, you are the first one to ask her mother and I. That says volumes."

Justin smiled, feeling a whole lot better about the conversation. "To be honest I was going to ask whether I had your blessing or not."

Mike laughed. "I wouldn't expect anything less." He fell back into his chair. "God, I never thought I'd see the day. You love her right son? I don't need you repeating what happened when I was in a coma."

Justin shook his head. "No sir. I've already lived without her once, I don't want to do that again. I love her more than words can express. You raised an amazing young woman."

Mike sighed and looked at his wife. "We are very lucky. We know we could have been better parents and made many mistakes, especially when it came to her. I thought she was just going to elope and we would have to find out in a magazine. It would serve us right"

He sighed again. "Thank you for loving her the way she deserves it. She's a special woman. I know you realize that." Justin nodded. "I do sir."

Cathy was wiping tears in her eyes. "Congratulations you guys. I'm so happy for you."

Justin made light. "Hey, I haven't asked her yet. I got to plan something."

They all got up to go back into the kitchen. "Well Sara isn't a person of grand gestures like her sisters. Katie got engaged in the middle of a winery in Italy, Brittany was at a Pirates game, and Alyssa had a scavenger hunt that led to a glass chapel. So I say you got it easy." Mike laughed as he approached the door. They heard feet running away and Cathy laughed. "I knew Katie was listening in."

They walked into the kitchen to find Katie at the table, trying to disguise her being out of breath. "So what's up? She tried to act casual."

Mike sat down. "Oh nothing, we weren't discussing a partnership with Justin" Justin had to hide a laugh as he watched her eyes bug out. "Dad! You know you aren't supposed to be working!" She looked at Cathy. "And you are okay with this?"

"Cathy nodded. "Justin will make a great addition to our family."

Katie looked back and forth between all of them. "Does this mean what I think it means?" Justin nodded and she squealed and rounded the island to hug him. "Oh I'm so happy! You know how excited Charlie and Tristian are going to be?"

Justin laughed. He could only imagine. "You can't say anything though."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I won't, those brats can't keep a secret to save their lives." He laughed.

"Do you have a ring in mind?" Justin smiled and reached into his pocket. "I have it on me." The girls gasped while Mike rolled his eyes. Justin opened the box and Cathy and Katie both oohed and ahhed over the 3.5 carat sparkler. "Oh my god it's beautiful, and it's so Sara." Katie held up her phone. "It's so sparkly my phone doesn't do justice." She managed to take a video with Justin moving the ring around in different lights. "I picked it up before I came here."

A plate of banana bread with ice cream was placed in front of him. “Justin, we could help you plan something.” Cathy passed out plates and sat down. "So. We all know Sara doesn't like public or attention grabbing gestures."

Not like Justin was comfortable doing that anyway.

"What about taking her on vacation. Charles took me all across Europe then proposed in Tuscany. It was so romantic."

Justin took a bite of the bread. "I don't know, I have only been overseas once, and that was a charity trip." He admitted. "I want to surprise Sara. Granted we have talked about our futures and we both want this, but I want her to be surprised by the actual event."

"Well when you do it we want to be there. Make sure she has her nails done, and make sure you have a photographer to capture the moment. Also make sure the background is nice, maybe some roses and candles."

"Jesus you're going to overwhelm him. He will know when its right. You kids and social media, everything has to be this big production." Justin said a silent thank you to his future father in law.

There was one thing everyone was right about, he needed a plan

—-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why are you guys being weird?" Sara looked at Katie and Brittany as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. They were sitting outside the suite bundled up in their typical east coast attire. As usual it was cold and snowy. The Chargers were up a touchdown in the first quarter. Many commentators doubted that Justin and his team would be able to do it in the cold. Sara scoffed hearing that. They didnt realize that Justin lived in Oregon where it got cold.

"Nothing, nothing wrong. Why are you saying that? Katie was looking at her phone while Brittany went back inside to feed Ameilia.

"Aunt Sara is right, you are being weird." Charlie munched on his popcorn without taking his eyes off the field.

"Okay Charlie it's too cold, go back inside and play with your cousins." He shook his head. "I'm not a baby, and they are all babies. Who am I going to discuss the game with?" Katie rolled her eyes, " Talk to grandpa. Go inside Charles." He huffed and went in.

"God, if this is how he is at eight. I can't imagine the teenage years." She sighed and Sara laughed. "Okay, see? I'm not the only one who notices you being off, you, Brittany, and Alyssa. When I saw mom at the airport she began crying. Claims they are tears of 'happiness''' she did air quotes around the word. "Hell, even dad was just staring at me this morning at breakfast, saying his little girl is growing up. Hello? I'm 27."

"Oh stop being so paranoid, They are just happy there is peace in the family. Dad has been given a second chance at life. Its been a wakeup call for all of us, I know its unusual, but just enjoy it.” Katie felt bad about gaslighting her baby sister, but in this case it was necessary. Her family wasn't going to be responsible for giving it away or having Sara be hot on the trail.

"I guess you're right, it's just weird you know? The other day dad said that he found old recordings of my high school plays and had plans to watch them all.”

Katie smiled, “Yes, all of the older kids are coming over next weekend to watch them all. Dad has a lot of time to make up for, we all do.” Sara’s cheeks turned pink and she looked down at her drink. “I’m not used to this, all of this attention from you guys.” She admitted and they laughed

The Chargers were able to pull off the win, but due to a shortened week, Justin only had about an hour to talk to Sara’s family and discuss the game with her nephews before he had to be back on the bus. Sara was staying with her family for a few more days before heading home.

She had forgotten about what she and sister discussed until she saw Justin and her dad off in a corner speaking to themselves.

"SARA!" She turned to see Brittany calling her. "Can you hold Eliza for a minute? I need to change Amelia's diaper."

"Oh of course!" Eliza was three and could walk, however she was a runner and thought it was a fun game to take off, and for a little girl she was fast.

However as much as she tried to keep the little girl occupied, her mind kept going to her dad and Justin.

What on earth could they possibly be talking about? —-----------------------------------------------------------------

6 photos on Instagram

SaraCWozniak: Family and Football

Bella Hadid, Timothee Chalamet, 150,000 likes

Commenter: where's Justin? Commenter 2: your man balled out today Commenter 3: your sisters are hot HollyHerbert: miss everyone! Next time KateHarlow: look at you in your WAG speak AnnSophie : living your best lover era.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm glad we decided to try this place." Justin took a bite of his chicken while Sara laughed and took a sip of her wine. "No, I decided to try this place. You just wanted leftovers." She looked over at the stroller where Eugene and Nova were situated, sniffing the air as she opened the net. "Isn't that right, kids?" Eugene meowed in response. "He just wants your fish. You starve the poor guy." Sara laughed as she went into her bag and got out a treat to give them. Justin couldn't help the words that came out of his mouth

"God, you are such a mom." Sara looked up, surprised. "Is it a bad thing?" He shook his head. "Definitely not. It comes naturally. I mean just with our cats. I can only imagine when…." He trailed off, and Sara finished for him. "We have kids." She reached across the table and grabbed his hand and they exchanged smiles.

"Excuse me? I'm so sorry. But can I get a photo with both of you?" The moment was ruined when a girl who was in her teens approached the table. As much as she was annoyed, the poor girl looked scared, and she couldn't be rude. "Sure, but can it wait til we finish eating?" The Girl nodded and showed the couple where her family was eating. It was a weekday, so there weren't too many people out.

The city of Irvine was very respectful. People did see them out and about and sent the stories and photos to deumoxi. Which as much as Justin and Sara hated it, it wasn't something they couldn't control. They couldn't just be at home all day.

Sure, there were moments where people were recording and sometimes they were photographed during runs to the grocery store. But overall they were left alone.

They talked and finished their meals, when the bill was paid they headed over to the family's table and took photos and allowed the cats to be pet. The family was very sweet and kept apologizing for their time. Before they departed, Justin went up to the waiter and paid for their food, and they took the cats and walked home.

Along the walk they ran into their neighbor and their kids and stopped to talk. Their neighbor John and his wife were in their mid thirties with five kids. All were total sweethearts and Sara made a point to bring over food when the wife couldn't leave the house because of a sick kid or helped watching one of them. As Justin spoke with Dan about power washers he saw Sara bent down at eye level with the kids, talking about the cats and how to pet them, showing them how to feed them treats. She laughed along with the oldest boy, who was tickled at the sensation of Nova licking his hand

He almost dropped to one knee right then and there.

They said their goodbyes and when they got in, Justin was on her before she could say a word to him.

"What's gotten into you?" She breathed between kisses. He stayed silent, instead focusing on getting her pants off. But she stopped him. "Hey, Hey, Hey. What's going on?" That got him to halt. He kissed her again. "I don't know, seeing you with the kids, the conversation we had earlier. It just got to me." She kissed him, and he thought that was it until she smirked. "Justin Herbert, do you have a breeding kink?

His cheeks turned pink. "Maybe." She laughed. "You know it's okay, I've thought about it a few times." He raised his eyebrow at her. "Are you saying you want kids?"

She lightly pinched his arm, "Hey I told you before, I'm not popping out a baby on girlfriend salary. I want the name first." He smiled. "Agreed. We can practice first." They fell on the couch and Justin got to work.

The ring in his shoebox in the closet in the back of his mind

—--------------------------------------------------------------

"Ladies and Gentlemen we couldn't have done it without the organizer of this event! She is the biggest Fleetwood Mac fan and I was so touched when she told me she wanted to do this in honor of Christine. Sara I'm so proud of you and you are truly the daughter I never had. Sara, please join me on stage for this next song." Grabbing the mic on the side of the stage she stepped out to the roaring applause of the Forum.

It was March, and football was over. The Bengals won the Superbowl, knocking out the Chargers in the second round. Justin was bummed, but he and Joe were good friends and despite the analysts constantly comparing them. It was all in good fun. They were able to avenge themselves against the Jags, but fell short to the eventual super bowl champions.

Sara had been working behind the scenes with organizers, management's and Netflix to secure the concert and get it aired on the streaming service. While she was offered a huge sum of money, she only took ten percent of what was left over after everyone was paid and gave the rest to Christine's charity.

She got all of the major stars, Harry, Stevie, and other members of the band (except Lindsey) Adele, Elton John even reached out to volunteer his services.

It was a blast and everything came together. Now all there was left to sing was Landslide with Stevie and the band. She was terrified, but calmed her nerves with an edible beforehand.

As she sang she looked back into the audience, where Justin, his family and hers were in attendance. As she locked eyes with Justin she felt calm.

People knew he was here. She made sure the Netflix cameras didn't cut to him. However they cut to her family and noticed he was next to them. So he was in a few shots.

She made it through the song and had to be rushed off stage while they played a segment on screen of Christine's family talking about her early days in the band. She and Harry were going to be dueting 'Go your own way'

Things with Harry were better. As first it was awkward, but she was determined to get over it. She knew how much Harry loved the band, and if it wasn't for him she wouldn't have developed such a close bond with Stevie.

They worked tirelessly to get this done, he was very helpful in getting his friends to participate. He was willing to meet Justin and inform him that he and Sara were just friends, and he respected their friendship. That seemed to settle her boyfriend a bit.

Before she knew it, it was time to grab the mic and wait for Harry's line as a cue for her to sing her part.

Once the event finished, everyone made their way to the after party. Which was largely made up of celebrities and crew and members. Sara tried to stay by Justin and his family side as much as possible so they didn't feel overwhelmed. Patrick was the life of the party. Everyone was drawn to him, Mark and Holly were in awe talking to Stevie.

Photos were taken and shared on social media. There were the news articles, with 'sources'

Inside Sara Wozniak's low-key serious romance with Justin Herbert

Why are celebs so private?

Probably got other women in other cities

Just post a fucking photo together

I think he is just using her for fame

I hope Herbert doesn't get a big head because he's hanging out with all these famous people

You watch he is going to be another Rodgers.

Didn't he dump her because of her fame? Is she that desperate to have someone like her fat ass.

Everything went off perfectly, and Justin had never been so proud. He was never a person of the arts, but being with Sara and around her friends made him truly appreciate the craft. She had supported him throughout his career, and it was nice to be able to do the same for her.

Everyone had almost left the after party, Justin and Sara were the last. They were made aware that there were swarms of paps outside, waiting to get that rare shot of them at a public event. They smiled at each other, Justin grabbed her hand, and they ran to the SUV that was waiting for them. It was caught on video, and people thought it was a cute moment.

In that SUV, Justin and Sara were laughing

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Can you stop being a pussy?" Justin's eyes widened at Patrick's statement. "I thought you were just facetiming me to wish me a Happy Birthday. I don't even know what you're talking about." He lied through his teeth. Patrick rolled his eyes, "Where's Sara?" He looked up above his phone screen to see her floating in the ocean that surrounded their private villa.

Just a few days after the memorial concert, Sara surprised Justin with a week-long birthday vacation in Turks and Caicos. They hopped on a private Jet, and were greeted with a car to take them and their luggage to their private hut which was more like a house. It was so private only employees had access to it. Which meant no cameras. It was no doubt expensive, and Justin felt guilty. Everytime he would mention something, she would kiss him and tell him she had last year's birthday to make up for.

"That doesn't count, we weren't together around this time last year. I don't deserve it." She rolled her eyes and said she would wait for him in the water while he took his family's calls for his birthday

"She's not around me."

"Dude I know you have a ring for her. Isabelle had a few too many at the after party and told Carly. Thanks for telling me by the way. I'm touched." Patrick joked but he could tell his younger brother was hurt. "Listen, I'm sorry but you can't keep a secret."

Pat shrugged. "True, but I also wouldn't be a bitch and have the ring for five months."

"I didn't want to do it during the season. She deserves better than that."

"Well your season ended in January. So now what's the excuse?" Justin sighed. "I just want it to be perfect."

Pat shrugged. "Well, I mean you're gonna have some perfect moments over the next couple of weeks. You have the ring on you?" Justin smiled. "It's in my bag."

"Good luck bro you got this."

"Thank you."

Patrick smiled. "I gotta go. Happy Birthday and call me when she says yes."

They hung up, and before Justin went outside to join Sara in the water he made a phone call to the room service. He jumped in the water disturbing Sara as she floated on her back. She squealed and laughed as he came back to the surface, grabbing her and pulling her to him. They kissed and she smiled. "Happy 26th Birthday Baby." He smiled. "Thank you, beautiful."

She wiped the hair out of his face. "Beautiful boy. Your eyes are as blue as this ocean." He blushed and she giggled. "Stop." He mumbled.

"Where did you wanna go tonight? There's dinner by the ocean. We can have room service. Oooh or there is one overlooking the ocean." He smiled at her excitement. "You pick."

"Justin, it's your birthday. You have to pick."

He smiled. "By the beach sounds nice." She nodded. "I have to give you your gifts before we leave. We have plenty of time." It was 1pm, and they probably wouldn't get dinner til 7. They were snacking on all of the food the resort had to offer since they arrived a couple days ago. Sara indulged in some fruity cocktails. Luckily, the hut had a few workout machines. Justin would run every morning then spend some time on the machines. She joined him yesterday, but overall decided they were on vacation.

"Sara. You didn't have to get me anything." He looked around "this was way more than enough." She rolled her eyes. "Oh shush. I wanted to spoil you. You've been so good to me." She kissed him and moaned when he slipped his tongue in her mouth. Once they broke the kiss she whispered. "Let me be good to you."

"Hmm you're always good for me." He moaned as he felt her hand snake down. "Baby." He looked around seeing no one. "I don't think we can do this here."

She hummed. "You're right. We can fuck at night when it's dark."

He laughed

—------------------------------------------------------------

"Look what Ashley sent me." Justin turned his phone around to show Sara the photo his manager took. It was the cats snuggling together on the couch. "Aww that is soo cute!" She smiled and looked at him. "You miss them don't you?"

"I do. Even Eugene. The little menace that he is." She giggled. "Remember when he got into the freezer and ate all of the chicken hearts on the guest bed? And he still wanted his dinner. That was like.. Twenty chicken hearts! How did he not throw up?"

Justin shook his head as he gave Sara a glass of water on the couch. They had just gotten back from a late dinner, followed by a walk on the beach. He wanted to do it there, (he had the ring in his pocket the entire nignt) but there were many people for being late. The last thing he wanted was people to take videos and post them everywhere. He didn't want to have their families find out about the engagement through social media.

So here they were, back at the hut. Sara said she wanted to relax a bit before taking a dip in the hottub on the deck. Justin agreed that sounded nice before heading off to bed.

As Justin took his seat next to Sara they enjoyed the sound of the waves in the ocean. It was calming and peaceful. Until Sara broke it. "Can I play some music?"

He laughed. "Sure, go ahead." She pulled out her phone and scrolled through what was her Playlist. "Any suggestions, Birthday Boy?"

Justin was about to say no, but then he thought about it. "Actually yes, I got one." She handed him the phone and he typed it in before pressing play.

I think about you all the time I can't get you off my mind If they only knew Who I've been talking to.

You got a place off the park I'll come on by after dark Was nervous when You let me in

Justin knew she remembered the song when they were at Bella's party. He grabbed her left hand and began tracing circles on it with his thumb

To be honest, he didn't have a definite plan of what he was going to say, which was unlike him. He was always prepared, always ready.

Until he met her

And it hurts All throughout my insides I couldn't stop if I tried loving you I'll never learn So I'll call you when I'm outside You Said the keys behind the porch light for unit two

And I thought of maybe quitting But there's no quitting you.

His mind was running a mile a minute as the song played its course. Once the song was finished, he was interrupted by Sara cuddling closer to him and then laying into him.

"What's in your pocket?"

"Huh?" She sat up. "I felt something poke me."

She was talking about the ring box. "Is it something or are you just happy to see me?" She smiled and he laughed. "Pervert."

He could have left it at that, but in his heart it was this moment right now. Taking a deep breath he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small black box.

Opening up his hand he presented it to Sara, her knowing immediately what it was. "Oh." She whispered and he smiled.

"I know this isn't a typical proposal." He started. "But nothing about our relationship has been typical since we met."

She laughed as tears came to her eyes.

"My whole life I had a plan, and love wasn't on the list anytime soon,and you came and flipped my world upside down in the best way, and I almost didn't realize it." He felt the lump in his throat. " You challenge me, love and support me even when I deserve it. I love you more than words can say, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Sara Christine, will you marry me?"

Tears were spilling down her cheeks. "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life." He said, exasperated that she would even question that.

She was full on sobbing now, and in a second she launched herself at him, them both falling onto the floor. Her gripping him tight. "How long have you been planning this?" She pulled away to look at him

"Umm I have had the ring since November." Her eyes widened. "Four months!?"

He sat up, with her on his lap facing him. "I didn't want to do it during the season!"

"Fair."

"Is that a yes?" He was nervous. She nodded and the tears came back. "Yes Justin, I will marry you."

He smiled and they kissed. She hugged him again and peppered kisses on his neck. "I love you so much Justin." She whispered.

He buried his face in her neck. "Mine forever." He then had a thought. "Don't you want your ring?"

"Oh shit the ring!" They both laughed and he picked up the box from the couch. Opening it she gasped at the emerald cut diamond with the green emeralds on the sides. It wasn't small, it wasn't big. It was perfect,

And it was hers. She watched as he took it out of the box, holding her left hand, he slipped the ring on her finger and it was a perfect fit. She stared at it, admiring the diamonds shining in the light. "It's gorgeous." Sara looked at him "Did you design this?"

He nodded, then thought about it. "Well Isabelle helped when I was in New York." She kissed him again. "My fiancé." He smiled and echoed her statement "my fiance."

"Holy shit! We are getting married!" He laughed and kissed her again. Getting up, he went over to the fridge and got out the champagne. "Should we pop this open?" She nodded and they went out to the balcony, where they shook the bottle and opened it. With a 'pop' the champagne spilled on their hands. They were so giddy that they forgot the glasses and began sipping from the bottle. They both had a few before deciding to jump into the ocean, fully clothed and all

"SHE SAID YES!" Justin yelled into the night sky as he came up for air. Laughing, Sara pulled her hair from her face. "You might have just announced it to everyone."

He was on cloud nine, the woman of his dreams agreed to marry him.

—---------------------------------------------‐—---------------------

They woke up the next morning, tangled in the crisp white blankets. They were up late in the night celebrating their engagement. First in the shower, then all over the bed.

"Wanna do some floating breakfast in the water?" He whispered and she hummed yes before kissing him. Rolling over onto her back, she held her hand up in the light, admiring her new accessory on her hand. It wasn't about the ring, (it was beautiful and her style completely) but it was the fact that she was marrying the man of her dreams.

"When should we tell everyone?" She thought about it. "I think we should wait until we get back. Let the rest of this week be about us."

"I agree, it's going to be chaos as soon as we tell people." They were going to have to be concerned about telling people and who they trusted and making sure not to leak it to the press, they weren't sure if they would make a formal announcement.

But like she said this was something they should worry about later. Right now it was about them.

He rolled on top of her. "Don't you usually workout at this time?"

"I am working out." She laughed. "Well, I skipped yesterday. I could use a good one before breakfast."

—-------------------------------------------------------------

It was that last night on the island and they were both soaking up every moment before heading back home and to responsibilities. Sara had to head to Italy for a Valentino promotional event. She asked Justin to come but he declined. "Maybe one day I will get the nerve to join you."

They were in the middle of packing when Sara's phone rang signaling she had a facetime call. She wanted to reject it but seeing it was her nephew she answered it. "Hello Charles David Burke the Third."

"God, that makes me sound like such a loser." For being nine, he was already giving a teenager attitude. Sara laughed. "I'm sure your mother would love to hear you say that"

"Are you going to tell her?"

"Maybe." She teased.

"Hey no fair! If you tell her I'll tell her you stole her black jacket!" Sara laughed

"Ha! Nice try, she knows already and I got yelled at for it!" Charlie huffed and Justin laughed in the background "why did you call? Is everything okay?"

"Are you guys coming to Pittsburgh?"

"That's next month Charlie,"

"But our football season will be over! Justin won't come to a game and see me"

"Oh so that's what this is about? It's about Justin and not me!" She feigned hurt, and her fiancé cut in "Hey Charlie, how about I do some reps with you? We will run routes and everything."

The little boy's eyes lit up. "Really?" Justin appeared next to her "Yes, I can call my brother Patrick to give you some pointers." Charlie began playing tight end.

Sara felt a yawn coming on, and out of reflex she put her hand in front of her mouth to cover it.

It just so happened to be the hand that contained the ring.

"Are you and Justin getting married?" Sara stopped and looked next to her, she saw Justin's eyes widened. "What makes you say that?" He asked.

"Because Aunt Sara has a big diamond on her left hand."

"What!?" They heard a new voice and Charles and Katie both were now next to Charlie, a twin girl in each hand. It was night time in Pennsylvania, they were all going to bed. Well now they were wide awake. "What's going on? Are you guys engaged?" Katie's eyes darted back and forth between the couple, who were a deer in headlights "uhh." Sara started

"Yes" Justin interrupted. "I asked her on my birthday." He smiled at her.

"AHHHH" Katie screamed and the girls began crying. Sara had to hold in her laugh as Tristian ran in confused. "Mommy what's wrong!"

"You're Aunt Sara and Uncle Justin are getting married!" Justin smiled big at that. He wasn't an Uncle on his side so when he was referred to as Uncle for the first time it gave him a good feeling.

The rest of the call was chaos. Suddenly Katie put them on a multiple call with her entire family. Everyone congratulating them and talking about a summer engagement party.

Once they hung up they both looked at each other. "I'm sorry, I know we didn't plan to tell them that way." Justin shook his head. "It's not a problem. I know as soon as I go to the facility the guys are going to ask, and I would like our families to know first."

"They are going to be shocked." Justin laughed. "Actually everyone knew it was coming. I took Isabelle and Mitch shopping. My parents and Pat knew, and I asked your mom and dad for their blessing before Monday Night Football. Katie was there, so I'm guessing your sisters know too."

"Yeah probably." Sara laughed. Then was touched. "You asked for my hand?"

He nodded. "I know it's old fashioned, but it was something I felt was right. Our families would be connected forever."

"What if they said no?" She teased. Justin laughed. "I was still going to ask. It just would have been awkward."

Sara laughed. "Was your family okay?"

"Why wouldn't they be? They all love you!" That warmed her heart. She loved all of his friends and family and while she knew they loved her. There was always that doubt

"Speaking of, let's call them" He nodded and grabbed his phone. He facetimed his parents, then did a three way. Patrick was at Carly's down south so it worked. "Hi everyone." Sara stated.

"Hi guys. How's Turks? Excited to get back soon I'm sure." Carly smiled.

"It was a blast, I posted so many photos on my private story I'm surprised you didn't block me." Sara joked. Everyone laughed. Then there was silence.

"Soooo. Is there a reason for the family call?" Patrick trailed off…… everyone looking on the edge of their seat.

"We can't just talk to you guys? We just wanted to touch base for this year's invitational. We set the dates." Justin said with a straight face and despite her being the actress she wanted to laugh at the Herbert's reaction. "That's it? You didn't have to call for that?" Mitch responded.

"Mitch that's rude!" Holly scolded.

Justin spoke again. "Well we also need to look at dates next year."

Holly laughed. "Justin, we always have the invitational in July."

Sara cut in. "Holly, you know how I feel about heat. I'm not getting married in July. Plus no time for a honeymoon."

It was silent, until Mark broke it. "You mean…."

"We're engaged."

Just like Sara's family, there was a sound of joy. Although it wasn't as much as her family. There was genuine happiness and love, and excitement at the prospect of a wedding next year.

"Oh my god! Finally! I thought it was going to be another year!" Pat laughed. Carly rolled her eyes. "Let's see the ring!"

Sara held her hand up. All the girls oohed and ahhed over the ring in the light. "It's perfect." She addressed Isabelle. "Thank you Isabelle."

The Girl giggled. "You should have seen him at the jeweler. That man had no idea what he was doing!"

It was an agreement that only the immediate family would know, and as much as they wanted to spread the news to all family and friends, they wanted to keep it to themselves for a while before they were ready for the public to know. Sara's fame had grown over the past year and had reached superstar status. People were more invested in her relationship, questions about Justin were more prominent in interviews. Anytime she gave a snippet, news articles ran with it.

While they were on the plane heading back to Los Angeles. It was agreed that Sara wouldn't wear her ring in public. However, Justin and Sara did tell their respective management to keep everyone in the loop and plan PR distractions to divert news media.

When they arrived home, Sara went straight to the cats who didn't seem to care that their parents were gone. They had Ashley, the fun aunt, who had put the "My parents are getting married!" bandana on them. After more congratulations were shared they were alone. They were soaking in the moments before life had to resume to normal. Sara wore her ring around the house, she would leave it in a safe in their shared closet where other expensive pieces of jewelry were.

—------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin arrived at the facility, he had just dropped Sara and her assistant Ailyah at the airport. Aliyah was one of Sara's friends from Pittsburgh who was an event specialist and manager, and while others on Sara's team were hesitant to bring on another friend in, however Ailyah was very trustworthy, and Sara would never make the mistake of getting too close to a worker again

Justin could tell Erika was a sore subject. Gossip ran wild with people guessing what happened to their fallout. Erika had picked up a job as a Marketing Coordinator in Philadelphia and lived a private life. Sara's team had paid her off to sign a lifetime NDA.

He knew she felt nothing but betrayal and hurt towards her former best friend. Luckily she had a good support system, including him.

He walked Into the dining area to grab himself a protein bar. A good fifty percent of the team were there. While guys were still packing up and leaving as soon as the media obligations were over, many were still in town and that number was growing as the years went on, and that spoke for the team's culture.

Williams was the first to ask. He had told the core guys. Bosa, Ekeler, Williams, and Allen who all cornered him in the weight room once the others went to the locker rooms. Bosa was the first one to speak. "So how was your vacation? Annie told me you guys were in Turks and Caicos." He was trying to play it off, but Justin noticed the other guys were paying attention closely. Justin shrugged. "It was fun, got some sun. It was nice to relax."

Mike chimed in. "Anything major happened?

Justin had a small smirk. "Eh."

Keenan cut in. "Alright. I'm not tip-toeing around this. Did you propose or not?"

Justin dropped the dumbbells and faced his friends. With a smile he nodded and spoke. "I'm getting married next year."

The guys whooped and hollered. Joey picked Justin up in a big bear hug. "Congrats man. I'm so happy you got your head out of your ass." Justin laughed. "I have you to thank for."

It was true, if it wasn't for Bosa trying to make a pass at Sara during the beginning who knows what would have happened. He could tell Joey was touched. "Hey, I'm just happy you found someone."

Justin nodded. "Same goes for you." Joey looked away and blushed. —-----------------------------------------------------------------

Sara was glad to be home. Italy was always a blast, and seeing all of her friends were always a good time.

It was the hardest week ever, being away from Justin after a romantic week, not seeing her babies, and finally, keeping such a big secret. As much as she wasn't ready for the world to know, she wanted to tell Timothee and Bella. But it would have to wait until she got them alone in a more private setting where there was no risk of someone overhearing.

She was home by herself, as Justin was in Vegas filming commercials and endorsements. After throwing her stuff in the laundry, she opened her PR packages. All her skincare she would be giving to friends and her team as well as Carly or Isabelle and Holly. There was a big box from Law that contained tons of white lingerie sets with a note that said 'For the honeymoon.' With a wink. She laughed and sorted through it. It was lacy, see through pieces that she was sure Justin would love. The one part that got her was a white cashmere robe that said 'Bride' written in silver cursive on the left breast. Turning it around, she gasped when she saw the back

In the same print in bigger letters.

Mrs.Herbert

She was sure she had the stupidest smile on her face. Placing it gently on the bed, she took a photo to send to her sisters as well as Holly. Shooting a quick text to Law to thank him, she sifted through the other boxes. More PR, more outfits the stylist wanted her to wear to upcoming events, some packages she ordered for the cats. Finally she got to the biggest box of them all. It was heavy, and she saw it was from Alyssa's address in St. Louis. Confused, she opened it and gasped.

It was all bridal things, magazines, bride mugs, every trinket someone received that was newly engaged. Going through all of them Sara was misty eyed. She remembered seeing all of her sisters go through this, and as much as she scoffed. It was a front because she was told by family and friends that this would never be her. Alyssa, being the closest in age and the most recent marriage, knew how her youngest sister was feeling during that time. The jokes were made that Sara was always the bridesmaid never the bride. She was going to be the aunt who never married and traveled. She knew it hurt her baby sister.

Finally, all the way at the bottom there was a small blue box. Grabbing it, she opened it and began crying.

It was her great grandmother's barrette, it had pearls and emeralds and it had been passed down generations. Her grandmother, and mother wore it. Katie and Brittany didn't wear it because they didn't think it went with the style of their dresses and hair. Alyssa was on the fence about it, until others pressured her, saying Sara was probably never going to get married and this was the last chance. On the day of the wedding, she had told everyone that the piece had broken when she was doing a trial run on her hair. Sara's heart shattered hearing that and her mother told her she could have a replica made to which a cousin told her not to waste her money, joking Sara wasn't probably going to get married anyways.

Looking at the hair piece, everything was perfectly intact. Confused, and through tears she read the note

Remember this? I was never an emerald girl like you, and I knew It would look so much better on you. I just told everyone it broke so I didn't have to wear it, because I knew it was always meant for you. Congratulations Sara, I'm so happy this is your moment with your man. This is yours forever to pass down to your future daughter.

I love you Sare bear and I couldn't be happier you found your soulmate.

Big sissy Lissy

Sara smiled and made a note to call her when she wasn't an emotional basket case though she probably would be a mess all over again when they spoke.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------

"There she is!" Sara laughed as she was lifted off the ground by Pat. They had just arrived at Justin's well, now their Oregon home after a long road trip. Justin opened the carriers and both cats cautiously came out, sniffing the area until they remembered this was their second home.

Putting her down, Pat grabbed her hand and examined the ring. "Isabelle did a good job, you should just marry her."

"Ha ha ha" Justin spoke sarcastically. He hugged Pat. "Good to see you asshole. Are mom and dad back at the house?"

"Yes, and a couple cousins and Aunts are there. Mom's bursting at the seams wanting to tell them. I came here to warn you they are joining us for dinner, so you might want to take off the ring."

Justin nodded. It had only been a month since they got engaged. They both agreed that they wouldn't give anyone a hint until the end of the off season, right before camp they wouldn't be doing any precautionary measures to hide it.

They were getting ideas of wedding planning. The couple knew they needed to pick a date soon and a location. Sara wanted to get married in Oregon, however Justin told her there weren't too many places that could hold a celebrity wedding. He wasn't stupid, he knew this wedding would attract sports fans as well as those interested in celebrities' personal lives. Pittsburgh was an option, but Sara sorta shook her head. All of her sisters, barring Alyssa, married there. Alyssa married in California at the same Vineyard one of his teammates married at.

Sara wanted it to be in 2025 as well. She didn't want to wait two football seasons to be married. The most ideal dates being March and April. That way it wouldn't be too hot no matter where they picked.

Once they were done getting situated they made their way over to his parents house. Sara's ring was in her pocket. Justin made her carry it if it were to be announced to the extended family. "We're doing such a great job keeping this under wraps." He joked and she laughed.

They made it to the house and after giving ample attention to Dylan they made their way to the dining room where Justin's aunt and cousins were. "How was Turks? I saw the photos on your Instagram. It looked gorgeous." Madi smiled. Holly was clutching her drink and smiling as she smiled. Justin cut in. "It was really good. It was nice to get away and not think about football for a bit.

The girls all stayed in the kitchen and spoke. Justin noticed Sara was fiddling in her pocket where the ring was in. He smiled, they just had to get to August and they would be fine.

As the night went on, the group decided to relax in the large hot tub in the backyard. They all had a few drinks, and Justin, who was a lightweight, was getting very handsy and clinging to Sara. She giggled as he pulled her to him during their soak. "I love you." He murmured.

"I love you too." She stroked his cheek and his cousins both awwed. "I swear I've never seen him so loved up. Who knew my cousin was so emotional when he's in love?"

Sara smiled, as Justin nuzzled his face in her neck. "You're wearing my favorite bikini too. God, you're trying to kill me." He groaned.

It was the white one, the one she wore infront of his teammates that he was jealous of. "I remember you were so upset when I was talking to Joey." She laughed as he grabbed her ass. "Cause you're mine." He said out loud. "My love, my fiancé"

"Fiance?!" His Aunt, who was behind them and heard it all, came up behind the tub. "You guys are Engaged!" She looked at her sister, who was looking away. "When did this happen!"

"On my birthday. Only the immediate family knew. Well… now you all knew."

Everyone gathered around the couple to congratulate them and ask the typical questions. "Oh my god. I will give you the information to the wedding planner me and my husband used! She's great! Where and when were you thinking of getting married?"

Sara smiled. "Probably next offseason. I want to marry here, but I don't think my status and fame will allow that." She said sadly.

"Isn't there security we can hire for the day? Or a wedding weekend!" His cousin squealed. As everyone began talking about wedding planning Justin looked at Sara

"It's going to be one hectic wedding planning." She sighed. Already anticipating the chaos her family could possibly bring

Justin smiled. "We could go to the Magistrate this week."

"Oooh no you won't! Justin Patrick you will not deprive us and Sara's family of a wedding!"

"Hey, my family had three already! Trust me they won't care about this one." Sara joked.

"We care." Pat intervened. "You cannot deprive us of seeing Justin get in his feelings and be mushy in front of everyone!" Justin flung some of the hot water at him

Holly sat back and smiled. She had never seen her son so happy and relaxed. Of all the sons she was worried about, it was Justin. He was always so focused on football, so emotionless when it came to relationships. She knew deep down when she first met Sara that she was the one. How Justin interacted with her, how he looked at her. Sure, he was a total idiot for doing what he did. But they found their way back to each other.

And now they were getting married, and Sara would officially be a part of their family. Looking around, she met eyes with her future daughter in law and they both shared a smile, thinking the same thing.

Mrs. Sara Herbert.

A.N. Finally right? Lol, I want these epilogues to be longer than usual. This is one out of three. I am so excited for these!

#Justin Herbert #NFL imagines #alexa writes collide #Los Angeles Chargers

39 notes · View notes