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falling-pages · 3 years ago

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Let me be your strength: MoriHaru

I transcribed this at 2 a.m., so it's not edited nor well put-together. But I liked it and thought it was cute, and there is not nearly enough MoriHaru content. Shoutout to @ohshcscenerios for listening to me cry about this AND for making the mood board!!!!

Summary: When the pressures of life threaten to snap Haruhi like a twig, she learns to fall into the arms of an old friend.

(AKA me thirsting over Takashi for 4k words)

Takashi Morinozuka x Haruhi Fujioka

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: Talk of terminal illness

It wasn’t the champagne that made Haruhi lightheaded or twisted her stomach into knots, but she refused her second glass and sent the waiter away with a polite wave. The heat from the throngs of crowded pressed down on her, though the space was large and cool. She wished she could move outside, but the unbearable heat of a summer evening kept her clinging to her cold glass of water and air conditioning.

She dabbed at the sweat lining her brow, threatening to wash out the makeup Renge had so carefully applied. Haruhi rarely wore it, and when she did Renge always did it for her. They usually stuck together at parties, but she had slipped away as soon as they walked inside. For that, Haruhi couldn’t fault her--the ball was to celebrate hers and Tamaki’s engagement, after all.

The foundation was sticky in her pores, thick eyelashes framing her vision. She was too hot, too tired, too shifty. She tried to enjoy the party, but the source of her discomfort roared deep inside.

“Hello, Haruhi.”

She jolted, briefly, at the voice, so locked up in her thoughts she didn’t even notice the man approach her. Her old classmate towered above her, but his presence was welcome.

“Hi, Mori,” she sighed, leaning into the shadow he cast. Her skin cooled, but her heart burned at how close he was. “It’s nice to see you.”

Mori chuckled, eyes aglow with mirth. Or maybe alcohol, she couldn’t really tell. She had spent the last few minutes searching for anyone she knew at the ball, and it had seemed everyone was classily drunk on their wealth and drinks. It only added to her longing to go home, the guilt lodged in the back of the throat.

How could she be at a party when her father was so sick at home?

“Same to you,” her friend replied. His silver eyes raked down her body, taking in her dress, her makeup, her hair. His glance didn’t feel perverted, though, nor unwelcome. More like an artist working his eyes over a classic masterpiece. “You look very beautiful.”

Haruhi blushed magenta. Renge had worked her magic, lining her eyes and brushing pink wax against her lips, transforming the tired law student into a high-society lady for a night.

“Thank you,” she whispered, holding his gaze, despite every nerve telling her to look away. “You don’t think it’s too much?”

Mori inhaled. He blinked, washing his eyes anew, forcing the bourbon out of his system. He needed to see her straight, and he looked. He looked carefully. Dutifully. Rolling something over in his mind. “On you?” he answered. “Never.”

Haruhi sucked her tongue and smiled, letting herself feel beautiful, letting her insecurities dissipate under his gaze. “You know, this is all Renge’s work,” she explained. “The makeup, and we went dress shopping together.”

Mori grunted, envisioning it a precursor to wedding dress shopping Renge would surely drag her to in the upcoming months. He had to admit, the young lady did a great job -- the light green stitching against the pale yellow silk made Haruhi look like a flower in spring.

“We had to lock Tamaki in the house to keep him from coming with us,” Haruhi continued. She joined Mori’s laughter. “He still thinks of me as a doll he can dress up and play with.”

“Would you rather he had gone with you?”

Haruhi considered, squinting her eyes. “I’m not sure if he would have calmed her down or just doubled the madness.”

“Calmed her down, doubled your madness.”

“Yeah.”

“Mm.”

They shared an easy smile before Mori stepped away, by her side, to scan the crowd. Tamaki and Renge were sitting at a table overflowing with wine and hors d'oeuvres, chatting as he fed her a bit of cheese on a cracker. Both of them, likely drunk out of their minds, fell into laughter as he missed her mouth, snapping the cracker against her cheek.

“They’re good for each other,” Haruhi mused, not bothering to hide her wistfulness. “The king of excessive compliments, and the queen of backhanded ones.”

Mori noticed the lilting quirk in her voice, veering on the slight edge of jealousy. He grunted again, prompting an explanation.

“While we were getting ready, I asked her if it were too much,” Haruhi said. She sipped from her water glass, swallowing delicately. “I didn’t want to outshine the bride-to-be at her own engagement party. And you know what she said? She said, ‘Don’t worry, you don’t outshine me.’” This time Haruhi was the one to grunt, indignation crossing lines on her forehead. “Maybe she didn’t mean it like that. Maybe she meant something nice in French and it just came out bad in Japanese.”

Mori stayed silent as a waiter approached them with a tray of champagne. He reached for a flute, raising his eyebrows in a silent question to her, but she shook her head, and he refused as well.

“It’s strawberry.”

Haruhi perched her lip in question.

“The champagne.” He finished his bourbon, setting the glass down on a nearby stand. “They did that for you. They remembered you like strawberries.”

Haruhi briefly smiled, but took another sip of water. “That’s kind of them.”

Mori noticed the way she gripped her drink, the way she stared at the happy couple with blacked-out pupils. She couldn't be jealous of them individually, he knew. But of them as a couple? As a concept? Of their happy smiles?

He wanted to tell her she could outshine a thousand suns, that the golden shimmer on her cheekbone reminded him of a fairy queen, that in the lightness of her skin she could have trapped the moon. But he didn’t; he raised his fist to his mouth, cleared his throat, and tore his eyes away.

“You’re jealous,” he muttered. “Why?”

Haruhi snapped her gaze back to him. He had always been able to read her like a book, a riddle solved without explanation as the others stood scratching their heads. He looked back down at her, seeing how small she really was beside him. Confusion stirred in her deep eyes.

“Are you not?” he repeated.

She tore his eyes away from his, feeling movement in her chest. The terrifying ordeal of being known. She knew the champagne wasn’t the cause of her stomach knots, this time, either; rather, the smell of his cologne, strong and musky, left her lips parted in silent contemplation.

“I am,” she confessed. The drink weighed heavily in her hand. “They’re so carefree. There’s not a thought behind those eyes. They’re happy and don’t have stress or law school or a sick parent at home they should be caring for right now--”

Mori took the glass from her hand and set it on the table before stepping in front of her, bowing and extending his hand. She paused her rambling, just now noticing the change of music into a love song and the couples thronging onto the dance floor.

“Haruhi,” Mori said, “may I have this dance?”

Without hesitation she slipped her hand in his, allowing him to lead her onto the floor.

Just that little bit of touch sparked an inferno in his lungs, and he strained against the desire to just wrap her in his arms and whisk her away.

Once they floated to a free space, he took her right hand clasped in his left and took her waist with the other, spreading his fingers over the soft bodice of the gown.

“Is this okay?” he whispered.

“Yes,” Haruhi gasped, nearly euphoric at the feeling of his strong hands on her. She had been alone for so long that she didn’t even realize how touchstarved she was until his thumb rolled over her knuckles. Like it was right, like it was the only thing that mattered.

Mori led her in a waltz, guiding her clumsy feet with his experienced steps. He was a man so prone to the wild that she had nearly forgotten he was raised in aristocracy, trained and learned in all things fine and elegant. He probably learned this waltz as soon as he could walk.

And yet he held her with firm hands, looked at her with gentle eyes, softly correcting her mistakes without annoyance, only a speck of amusement playing in the upturned smile on his lips. He was in control, and this dance was the only thing she didn’t have to stress over. It made her want to fall into his arms and have him take care of everything else, too.

She noticed, too, his handsome features, as there was nowhere else to look but his face. He was taller now than in their youth, a broad-shouldered man of 26, heady and well-established and strong. She thought him too tall and muscled to be a graceful dancer, but she had forgotten he was a hunter, a fighter, a swordsman at his core. His suit, dark green and black, barely clung to his athletic frame. He was absolutely massive compared to her. Gone were the lanky, tall boy and flat-chested girl that once walked Ouran’s halls. Now they were man and woman at their peak.

She wondered how he had not found a wife yet, then wondered how she had never noticed him before.

He noticed, too. Every girlish feature he had adored in high school matured into ones of a woman mother nature scorns. When his fingers brushed her ribcage, she turned her attention back to his face. He was looking at her with the same intensity, but not the same recognition, like he was seeing something he had always known. His nose was noble, lips full, jaw sharp as his eyes. But what caught her attention was the scar, white against his tan face, jutting through his left eyebrow. It had healed long ago, the result of a kendo accident his first year of college, but the hair of his eyebrow never grew back correctly. The scar was turned and jilted and railed against the puckered skin, so untameable that Mori had stopped trying.

But Haruhi thought it suited him. The man could outrun the wild, but the wild would always catch up to him. The bit of evidence that he was more than what his last name got him.

Suddenly, she wanted to touch it. She had never felt the urge before; she barely noticed it, to be honest, and would never disrespect her friend like that.

But then again, he had never held her so intimately before.

Before she could, Mori cleared his throat. He had waited until she was settled in the dance to question her further, but she was staring so intently at him that he kept quiet. Had he been less tan, she would have seen him blush.

“What else is going on,” Haruhi?” he asked, turning slightly to avoid bumping into another couple.

She took a breath, disappointed that her reprieve had ended. She enjoyed looking at him. If he allowed it, she would have all night.

“You know, my dad,” she said simply, and Mori nodded, pulling her closer. Feeling his hand squeeze her made her woozy. “He’s still so sick. Not getting any better, not getting any worse. Just on the verge of needing someone to care for him at all times.”

Mori nodded again, chin hovering above her head. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he spoke. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, thank you.” Haruhi did not miss the singular I. “Kyoya has been gracious with paying for the medical care, and for the nurses staying at our house. You all have done enough. Truly.” She looked up at him and did her best to smile, but even she knew he wouldn’t believe it. “It’s just so difficult because he needs care 24/7. So I feel guilty about going to class, guilty about sleeping, guilty about being here.” Her steps and voice faltered, eyelids fluttering to avoid tears. “I shouldn’t be here,” she whispered, tugging her hands away from him. “I should be at home, with him. He needs me--”

She tried to turn around, but Takashi grabbed her waist and pulled her to him, shuffling so she could look into his eyes. Her gaze wandered just above them--to his scar, he was sure--but he shook her very slightly, very gently, like waking a baby. “Haru,” he whispered, taking the liberty of a nickname. Her eyes flashed in pleasure, in a memory, bright with tears and charm. But her bottom lip trembled.

“You deserve a break,” he said, using his strength against her for the first time, making her look at him, to hear every word he spoke. “You have done so much. You have suffered so much. You deserve a break.”

Haruhi tried to fight him, but it was useless--he was right, and he was here, willing to provide it. Beneath her anger, beneath her sadness, there was just exhaustion, burning like a bed of red-hot coals, and she was dangling just over the edge of it, so close she could feel the hellish fumes on her face. They drew smoke up her nose, wracking coughs through her chest, burning and blistering her palms as she clung to the rope just barely keeping her alive.

Either the rope would snap, or she would.

Her father had depended on her ever since she was a child, and she had no choice but to claw her way up the frayed thread. But now her lungs burned, her fingers bled. All she wanted was rest.

She had to drop sometime.

A warm hand on her shoulder roused her back, and she looked into her friend’s steel gray eyes, now warm and pooling like molten lead. When his fingers glided along her cheek, she realized she had been crying, and wiped away the tears. He didn’t speak, only caught the ones she missed.

“I’m not strong enough,” she whispered. Her mouth twisted into neither a smile nor grimace, but a ghostly combination of both. “They were right. I’ll never be like my mom, I’ll never be good enough.” Her exhaustion poured over her in buckets, weak knees finally giving in, stumbling forward into Mori’s chest. He caught her without reservation; he had since the moment they met, and he always would.

He was strong enough to stay still when she fell, propping her back up and sheltering her against him, within his arms. He held her fastly, tightly, as she cried, nine years worth of pining and love for the taking, manifesting in front of their very eyes.

He knew how difficult it was. He had just graduated from the same law school only months prior, had the same professors and took the same classes. He himself barely scraped through at times. Even though he had given her his old books and notes, she struggled--and no wonder, having to constantly take care of her father.

“You’re right,” he said against the shell of her ear. She shivered, and he ran a hand up and down her back to soothe her. “You’re not like your mother. She ever had to carry the burden you do.”

Mori saw the weights tied to her feet, dragging her over the edge. She was going to slip, and soon--she couldn’t continue the facade of strength when she barely slept at night, barely processed her mornings over coffee, barely found the motivation to shower and brush her teeth when all she wanted was to sit at her father’s side and cry.

Maybe she thought she was concealing it well, but he was a Morinozuka, trained and battle-hardened and able to pinpoint weaknesses. He didn’t want her to hide from him.

A cold hand wrapped around Haruhi’s heart, and she pressed further into Mori’s chest. Then she realized herself and flung back, cheeks reddening at her boldness.

“Gosh, I’m so sorry, Mori, I forgot my place,” she said, keeping her eyes fixed on his very expensive shoes.

“No, no, Haru, no,” he said, scrambling for words. He cursed his silent nature. “I’m not going to let you fall. You are safe with me. I am never going to let anything happen to you.”

For a man whose strategy was always holding his cards close to his chest, he threw them down, baring his heart and soul to her mercy, desperately, as he tried to comfort her. He bent down, awkwardly long limbs sufficient in holding her, pressing her head to his chest. Her shampoo smelled so sweet, like the cherry blossoms waving just outside, and she felt so small curled up in his protective embrace. It sparked a heat in his knuckles, anger in his heart.

No one so sweet and good should have to suffer like this.

When she was ready, she moved away from his chest, accepting his willing hand wiping away her tears and the handkerchief in this pocket to hide behind until she regained her composure. Her makeup was ruined, and her hair was in disarray, but Mori thought she had never looked more beautiful than under his arm, pressing her cheek against his hand, chasing his comfort.

As soon as she smiled at him again, he took her hand and spun her back into the waltzing position. Mori built up the confidence to speak again.

“Is it alright if I call you Haru?”

A blythe smile. Pink tinged around her ears. “Yes.”

“Good.” He swallowed. “Haru, you are strong, and beautiful. It breaks my heart to see you like this. If you need to lean on someone, lean on me. Let me be your strength."

A fluttery sigh escaped her lips. “Okay.”

Mori nodded, leading her quickly back into the dance. Amazing, how many songs could be waltzed to. His agile feet knew them all by heart, so he could bask in the young lady’s presence.

Their eyes met periodically, blushes exchanged, and then gazes wandered. His traveled to the dance floor, landing on Tamaki and Renge.

They danced like two fools in love--which they were, obviously. Clumsy, falting steps, swathed in each other’s arms, mouths colliding in mismatched kisses and loud laughter. When he read their lips, he saw them chattering away in French. He saw the light pouring into each other’s eyes, both of them the sun pouring warmth through the window of the other’s soul.

He saw the way Tamaki’s bride-to-be looked at him, and wondered if the woman in front of him would spare him the same glance.

“You’re jealous,” Haruhi said suddenly. “Why?”

He turned to look at her, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Why did she use his own words against him?

She hid her smile behind her hand. “Are you not?”

He rolled his eyes, taking her firmly by the waist, as her hand returned to his shoulder.

“If you must know,” he muttered, twirling her under his arm, smiling as she giggled, “I am jealous. Because Tamaki has a beautiful lady in his arms, whom he loves, and who loves him, whom he can kiss and woo whenever he pleases.”

The orchestra suddenly roared, or maybe it was the blood in his ears when he noticed Haruhi’s hand tense in his. But, at least she didn’t drop it. She spun back into his chest, clinging to his shoulder like her grip would imprint on his suit. And when she looked at him, eyes bright and wide and full of wonder, he saw the knowing glint within.

She cocked her head aside. Her steps slowed, and she looked at him, running her eyes up and down his body as if just now realizing how long they had been dancing together.

“And you long for that?” she asked.

Mori sighed, ears pricking as the music ended. He let her go and bowed, assuming her wariness a rejection. Parallel to the floor, at least, gave him time to hide his face, regain his composure, mask the pain flowing quickly to his hands.

“Yes,” he sighed. And then, throwing all decorum out the window with a cracking toss of the head and a to hell with it for social commentary, he spoke again. “I long for it the way a bird longs to fly. And it makes me jealous of them, because I, too, had a beautiful lady in my arms, whom I love most dearly, whom I also wish to kiss and woo, but I do not know if she loves me back.”

His heart rose in his throat, and he gasped as he uttered the last words, oxygen leaving his lungs and brain at the sight of her chewing her lip. She had likely never heard him speak so many words at once. But they had clouded his mind. He had lived with them for nine years, pushed them down beneath the surface even as they slithered and crawled around in the form of blushes on his cheeks and pats to her head.

Finally, she spoke. They had stood there for an eternity, watching the other breathe. Wondering whose heart would give out first.

“Well,” she whispered, stepping forward and taking his hand, “she does.”

And then she pressed herself on her tiptoes and kissed him, just in time of the climax of the new song, in beat with the swells of strings and cymbals and trumpets, forgetting, momentarily, where they were. Takashi didn’t forget, but he couldn’t have given less of a damn. He turned off his practiced decorum, the polite manners of the aristocracy, all he had ever known, and kissed her like a man starved. Like she was his last meal, like he was poisoned and she was the antidote. It was Tamaki and Renge’s ball, yes, but he, too, deserved to be selfish for the first time in his life.

Haruhi knit her brows in concentration. His body was so hard, rough and solid and muscled from his years of training, but his lips were soft. Even harder were his practiced hands as they clung to her waist. They bunched the dress, moving and touching and exploring, and it reminded her of some exploring she also wished to do.

Without breaking the kiss, her hand wandered from his shoulder to his jaw, threading in his hair, before landing at his temple stroking the fine hairs of his eyebrow. But she hesitated. Even as her tongue was in his mouth, she was nervous.

When her fingers brushed the scar, he grunted. Though it was muffled by her mouth, the shame filled her stomach. She moved her hand back to his hair, but he grunted again, pulling just inches away to see the mortification hollowing her pupils. He pulled her hand forward, pressing a kiss to it, and replaced it where it belonged. He clutched her closer, watching in amusement as she touched as she pleased. The scar was rough and tattered, like the rest of him, but it distinguished him from the fine elegance of the ball.

She never cared for fine elegance, anyways.

Mori leaned down to press a softer kiss to her swollen lips. Haruhi’s stomach twisted into knots. How this force of nature could love her so tenderly was beyond her.

But when the song ended all too soon, he took her hand and led her to a table, snagging a glass of water for her. He whispered her name, his voice the soft type of strong that made her feel safe. “If you’ll have me, I’d like to call you mine.”

Haruhi’s mouth filled with cotton. She cautiously moved her hands up his chest, circling the knot of his tie.”Mori…”

“Call me Takashi, please,” he said, reaching down to hold her face. His thumb swiped gently over her lips, seeing how flushed and full they were. “Or you can call me Mori, or anything else you wish. It only matters to me that it comes from your lips.”

She gave off a sigh, a damp, fluttering sound from the back of her throat. “Yes,” she cooed, breathless. “Yes, Takashi, yes.”

At her perfect annunciation, Takashi swept her into his arms, lifting her high into the air, almost like the first time in Music Room Three, but this time she was smiling, and laughing, and maybe it was the candlelight and stringed musicians that made him feel so romantic, but he thought he could see forever in the way her glistening tears met her smile.

#ouran high school host club #haruhi fujioka #takashi morinozuka #mori x haruhi #moriharu #takaharu #takashi x haruhi

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ironmandeficiency · 4 years ago

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falcon, falcon, goose!

pairing: sam wilson / reader

word count: 3547

summary: there were reports of geese leading people to their soulmates spanning centuries, and it seemed like a cool concept, but why did it have to coincide with you coming out of your writing slump?

warnings: cursing, geese, dumbassery, implied happy au where the avengers get along, iw and endgame who?

a/n: this is an older piece i wrote a couple years ago, decided to brush it up and repost it. and the reader works for snl bc why the hell not? keep in mind that the original was written before everything went to shit w iw & endgame. posted from mobile yet again yall what is wrong w me

it was a sunny day outside, and deciding that you had been cooped up for far too long, you brought your laptop to the park a couple blocks from your studio apartment.

being a writer for saturday night live wasn't always so peachy, what with the lack of a social life outside of your co-workers and constantly explaining your job to confused relatives. you had been in a slump for the past couple weeks, the fact most of your sketch ideas not making the cut for the next episode continuing to throw you off your rhythm.

this week, you were going to change that. Your headphones were playing your concentration playlist full volume and you were hyped to the max. with your laptop on the picnic table in front of you and a warm cup of tea beside it, you were ready to blow the producers away with your next idea.

"honk! honk!"

you felt something nudge your leg, but you were too engrossed into what you were typing to care. after getting through a few more lines, it happened again.

"honk! honk! honk!"

you couldn't hear the sound but the feeling on your leg got a little bit rougher, more demanding. you moved your headphones to the side for a minute and took a moment to look around you. there was no kid running to get their ball back or any squirrels nearby that dropped a nut.

strange.

but you put your headphones back on, trying to keep your groove alive while hoping the interruptions are finished.

"HONK! HONK! HONK!" the goose honked louder, pecking at your leg harder than it had earlier.

you were getting frustrated and a little pissed. the creativity was flowing through your veins for the first time in what felt like ages and this — whatever it was — decided that today was the best day to annoy you.

you kicked your legs out with a strange flail and when you came into contact with something large and solid you nearly screamed.

"ow! motherf- oh my god!"

standing on the ground beside your table was a goose. it honked yet again with impatience (geese could do that?) and nipped lightly at your thigh closest to it. looking to the pond nearby, it was nearly an entire gaggle of the damned things.

so here was this goose honking at you and nipping at you like you were supposed to know what the hell it wanted from you.

"i don't have any bread, dumbass. go find someone else to bother." thinking it would leave if you ignored it, you turned away and continued your work.

"HONK! HONK!" it continued to honk and decided to peck you before flapping its wings, landing itself on the table next to your computer.

"get outta here, ya damn goose!" while you were trying to shop it away, it expertly evaded you. "go! shoo! leave me alone!"

it just stayed over on the bench, expertly dodging your attempts to get it to leave.

a few people nearby had heard your altercation with the infernal bird. one of them was an older gentleman that laughed as he sat across from you, the mirth in his eyes glinting as you give him a sarcastic side eye while trying to deal with the current issue.

"that bird won't leave you alone, you know." At his voice, the goose calmed down and waddled a few feet away from your arm's reach.

that was the first time the thing had been seemingly calm since he showed up at your little table.

"what do you mean he won't leave me alone?"

he pauses, part of him enjoying the irritation in your tone. he remembers someone talking to him like he was to you many years ago, and it made his heart smile at the idea of repaying the favor. "have you ever read about soulmate geese?"

"hey we're gonna go for a run, wanna join?" steve’s offer was given with a smirk. ever since reuniting with bucky, the two supersoldiers found so much humor in doing laps around sam every time they went out jogging.

it annoyed the shit out of him, the "on your left" comments from steve and the newer "on your right" jabs from bucky, but it also pushed Sam to work harder during his runs. ultimately he knew his non-enhanced body didn't stand much of a chance beating them, but he enjoyed when he was able to close the gap between their times just a little bit.

"sure, just gimme a few to eat breakfast and I'll join you guys." the blond nodded and turned back to the elevator, having woken up far earlier than sam and therefore already ate.

he hummed otis redding as he laid the bacon flat into the pan, shoulders moving along with his created rhythm while changing the grounds in the coffee filter. this was how he spent most of his mornings, barring the occasional hangovers and missions where he couldn't afford the distraction.

he ate, got dressed, and told FRIDAY to let bucky and steve know he was ready to go. h had his water bottle in hand, giving his body a pep talk in preparation for the run. they met in the common room and soon, the trio was off.

"on your left!"

"on your right!"

"oh, come on!"

he knew it was gonna happen, but for some reason it felt like it happened sooner than normal. either they were trying really hard to mess with him today, or he was off his game. but regardless, he pushed his body harder than he probably should have because when there was something obstructing his path, he didn't pause. no, he charged it straight on through and fell hard.

steve and bucky had seen this from a distance and immediately rushed to get to their friend.

sam rolled onto his back, exhausted and now in terrible pain from the fall. he closed his eyes and just let it all sink in. when he opened his eyes at the sudden foul smell flooding his nostrils, he could feel the palpitations, thinking he was about to have a heart attack.

"holy shit!" sam sat up like a rocket despite the way his body was throbbing from the fall.

the goose stared at him curiously and turned its head toward the pounding footsteps from the approaching brooklynites.

"sam! What happened?" steve was concerned, inspecting sam while bucky noticed the bird. The brunet bent down to meet the goose eye-level and was somewhat surprised that it didn't run away at the close proximity.

"did you trip the dumbass? was it your fault sam landed on his face? Huh, little guy?"

"honk! honk!"

"i thought so. good job, man." bucky pats the animal on the head gently before turning to help steve get sam off the ground.

"nothing’s broken but there's probably a sprain, can't really be sure until we get to cho." sam and bucky lift their friend from the pavement and they have no problem supporting his weight.

they began the walk back to the tower in silence. well, almost silence. there was a faint pitter-patter of tiny, webbed feet behind them that sam and bucky weren't paying attention to.

steve noticed the goose slowly waddling behind the trio and looked at sam with a smile. sam responded to steve’s happy face with a glare, not enjoying any of the situation he found himself in.

"look behind us, guys."

both men took turns looking behind them and see the goose waddling behind them patiently. sam wasn't particularly happy about the culprit from moments before trailing behind him, but bucky thought it was hilarious.

"do you know what this means?"

sam rolled his eyes because he thought the blond was about to make some sort of poetic comment about one thing for another.

bucky had paused to think about the implications of a random goose for a moment before gasping. "dude," bucky nudged sam softly, being conscious of his friend's injuries. "you’re gonna meet your soulmate, man!"

"a soulmate goose. man come on, are you out of your mind?"

"steve got his goose back during the war, i think we know enough about it."

sam had only heard vague reports of soulmate geese throughout his life, but now that he thought about it, it did make sense. the goose showed up randomly in the middle of his routine, completely throwing him off, and was now refusing to leave him alone.

"well if this is my soulmate goose, then somebody’s gotta tell tony about our newest avenger." they laughed at the implication, viciously eager to witness tony’s reaction to the newest resident of avengers hq.

it has been three days of dealing with your goose, and you were now teased at work as “bird brain”, walking into your office to see several loaves of bread covering the desk. your goose, that you had named piper once you got home, was excited at the prospect of more food, but you planned on donating most of the bread to local shelters, only keeping a couple loaves for the house.

the guest host that week was mick jagger, and he had emerged into the room “i dream of jeanie” style, startling both you and piper, who honked at him in irritation.

it was time for you to work on the song for your little sketch with him, and you had only two more days before performance night (it was thursday) to finish writing it. after settling down and getting into the right mindset, the writing process had begun.

"alright let's see," mick murmured. "let’s all go to the picnic, let's all have a drink. what rhymes with 'drink'?"

you thought for a moment and said quietly, "think?"

you weren't prepared for the absurd response you received from the man, his accent making him round mean as he barked out a loud "NO!" with an unnecessary hand gesture.

piper just about lost it. she was honking and flapping around your office in a tizzy (but staying away from mick because the man was seen as a stranger she wasn't comfortable with).

you racked your brain for another solution, something else to rhyme with 'drink' and you eventually found it: "sink?"

mick thought about it for a moment before replying with a much lighter "yes!" also paired with unwarranted pointing.

‘motherfucker, is this how you write songs?!'

thursday and friday came and went, and soon it was time for your piece to be performed by mick. du to an accidental ankle twist someone else suffered, you were forced to perform a skit live for the first time in your career. it would have been great, but there was one teensy problem: piper blatantly refused to leave your side when it was time to perform, and she would honk and bite anyone that tried to keep her from you onstage.

even poor bobby, who she had grown fond of, was taking the brunt of it. she was not allowing you to be more than a couple feet away from her, and it was almost endearing if you weren't being broadcast on national television.

apparently, piper would also be making her debut appearance on saturday night live tonight as well.

saturday had arrived, and it was sam’s day of rest. he spent the day doing the bare minimum, eating junk food and watching almost everything on netflix he could find.

he didn't stray too far from tradition, not really. it was just that now he had a goose accompanying him the entire time, honking at this and that and eating occasional pieces of popcorn that sam didn't want to share.

he didn't mind his feathered companion, he was actually quite fond of his goose at this point. whitewing (not to be confused with redwing) was the most calm goose any of them had seen, no biting or nipping and especially no honking at ungodly hours of the night.

steve was perplexed. "Are you sure whitewing hasn't done anything bad? no waking you up at night or bites when you don't feed him soon enough?"

sam would chuckle and shake his head, proud to have such a calm goose. "why are you so keen to see him misbehave? aren’t all soulmate geese like this?"

"for lack of a better word, most geese are assholes. i don't know how whitewing is so well behaved," steve balked at the very idea of all geese being so mellow and decided it was story time.

steve’s goose from the century before was the most rambunctious animal anyone had ever seen. he recounted the first and several occasions following where his soulmate goose, jimmy, fended off the blond man's alleyway attackers.

sam was extremely grateful that whitewing had less feral and goose-like tendencies. whitewing was extremely well behaved and had an almost human way about him, the way he honked in reply to sam or the rest of the team when they talked to him.

it was late in the evening when clint decided to plop down onto the couch and flick the channel to nbc, where tonight's host was mick jagger.

"why are we watching this?" sam was enjoying his sitcoms before the other bird man had showed up.

"i haven't watched it in ages, plus mick jagger is on tonight."

"alright, whatever you want."

the intro played like usual, and whitewing was perfectly complacent. they laughed in the right places with the occasional honking from the bird, and everything was great.

"hey man, look!" clint interrupted, keeping sam from being able to hear the punchline. "i think that's a goose!"

"why is there a goose? The skit has nothing to with-"

sam and clint seemed to come to the same realization at the same time as whitewing, the goose beginning to honk incessantly. he was going absolutely berserk, flapping his wings and hopping off of sam’s lap and onto the coffee table, occasionally pecking at the tv where he saw the other goose.

he was going absolutely bonkers.

"whitewing! whitewing, no! calm down!" sam scrambled to calm down his goose, but he was having none of it. the whole entire skit, whitewing was honking and flapping and being a general nuisance.

he found his soulmate.

whitewing kept at it until the screen went to a commercial, his soulmate off of the screen.

"y’know," clint spoke around a slice of pizza. when did he get pizza? "if you hurry, you could go to the studio and meet your soulmate. the show is about halfway over."

before sam could think over the proposition, tony’s voice was heard from the corridor. "somebody shut that damned bird up before I pay ramsay to cook it!"

"i’m taking care of it!"

with that, sam heads to the armory with whitewing on his tail to get his wings. once he's equipped, sam heads to the window and jumps, immediately setting his course for studio 8h and his soulmate.

you’re released to go back to your office once you finish the skit alongside mick and piper, the show almost over. you’re gathering your things lazily, knowing that you have no other responsibilities for the night.

just as you lock your office and piper is waddling beside you without a care in the world, you see kyle running towards you with a look of fear in his eyes. that fear seems to only triple when his eyes land on piper beside you.

"kyle! what’s-"

"there’s another goose on the set! no one is safe!"

wait, was he bleeding?!

you were going to try and help your friend but one look at piper sent him off the rails, the lanky man nearly falling on his ass in an attempt to skid the corner. you hoped that someone would help calm your panicked friend, seeing as you were literally the worst person for the job at the moment.

without further incident, you are able to say goodbye to cecily and mikey before you're stopped in your tracks by michael, who gives piper a funny look.

"wait, so the goose that attacked kyle wasn't piper?" You shake your head in confusion. "dude, your soulmate must have come to the set!"

piper must have either understood what your co-worker had said or she could sense a change in the studio, but she began to honk erratically and run away from you. the last thing new york needed was two feral geese running around attacking people, so you did what anyone would do and ran after her.

"piper! piper, come back!" michael laughed as you chased after your goose. while you were running, you nearly died when you heard a honk that you knew wasn't from your piper. hers were carved into your brain, and you were positive that you could pick hers out of an entire gaggle of geese, so there was indeed a second goose in the studio.

to your dismay, piper did not stop and wait, she just kept on honking and flapping and scaring people in pursuit of the other goose, poor old you having to chase her.

there was another voice you assumed was yelling at his goose since you didn't know of anyone naming their kid whitewing. your eyes were not looking straight ahead when you suddenly bumped into someone, immediately stumbling a bit before regaining your balance.

piper had stopped her honking and that scared you. did someone hurt her? was she-

her and another goose were making muted honks to each other. they sounded like affectionate honks, which is one of the weirdest sentences you ever constructed in your head. but it was true! they were cuddling close to each other and making really quiet honking noises at each other, and if that wasn’t affectionate then you didn’t know what would be.

so if piper found her soulmate, that means yours was-

"i hope comin' to your job was okay. whitewing wasn't gonna give up until I left, so here we are." your eyes were dragged from the touching scene of piper and her special goose to a pair of dark brown irises that radiated warmth and a promise of happy days.

you were absolutely dumbstruck. your mouth was unable to form coherent words, so you decided to take in the appearance of your soulmate. he was wearing a soft grey tee and sweatpants, and socks without shoes. did he realize how unsanitary the streets of new york were?

but upon further investigation, you realize that he probably didn't walk to the studio. on his back was what you would normally call a jetpack, but when you recognize the face your mind completes the puzzle: your soulmate is sam wilson, otherwise known as the falcon. holy shit.

"uh yeah of course, i guess you flew here? no sane person in new york would walk around barefoot in the street." did you really just say that?!

sam nodded and then remembered that he was in his pajamas in front of his soulmate without any shoes. "yeah, he wasn't gonna stop attacking the tv once he saw uh…"

you realized he was asking for your goose’s name, and so you hastily gave it to him.

"yeah, once he saw piper, he went wild. caused more chaos in five minutes than he did in five days!"

you laugh, the nervousness falling away as you recount the story of you first meeting with piper.

people are staring at the pajama-clad avenger and his soulmate, their geese finally satisfied. after all, it wasn't every day so many people were able to watch soulmate geese (and their people) meet for the first time.

sam gently took your hand, his thumb smoothing the skin on the back of it, just listening to you talk. you asked him a question about whitewing and he was in the middle of telling you when he cut himself off. "i just realized i don't even know your name!"

in most scenarios you’d be slightly put off by this, but you didn't have an issue because of the specific circumstances. if he weren't an avenger you wouldn't have known his either, and plus, no one really pays attention to the little rat writers. you give him your name and smile when he introduces himself, his voice even helping show off the brightest smile you’ve ever seen.

with impeccable goose timing, piper and whitewing honk at you to hurry your introductions and leave the studio.

"do you want to fly back to your place , or can I drive you?" it was a risk to ask him such a question, but you were genuinely concerned. you hoped he wouldn't think you were trying to jump his bones only minutes after meeting him so you used (terrible) humor to show your intentions. "you shouldn't fly so late at night without headlights, no matter how high up you get."

sam’s laughter was infectious and soon you joined him, your geese about to get more irritated with their humans.

"yeah, I'd like that. lead the way, soulmate." piper and whitewing honk as the two of you head to the lobby hand in hand, the birds waddling behind you just as happy as soulmate geese could be.

#falcon #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson #mcu #marvel #falcon falcon goose!#sam wilson imagine #falcon imagine #bucky barnes #please don’t judge this mess

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onecanonlife · 4 years ago

Text

In which Tommy travels back in time and tries to prevent a nightmare from happening to everyone he knows. Everyone else, meanwhile, is highly concerned.

(fic masterpost w/ ao3 links)

(first part) (previous part) (next part)

(word count: 4,598)

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Part Three: Wilbur

Wilbur oversleeps.

He doesn’t mean to. He never means to. But he does, and when he wakes up and finds the sun halfway to its peak, definitely mid-morning rather than the predawn he was hoping to find, it serves as a shock to his system, and all he can think is, shit. Because sure, he’s been pretty fucking exhausted lately, but that’s no excuse. He’s supposed to be the leader here, and leaders can’t lead when they’re sleeping.

And gods above know what Tommy’s managed to get into this morning, or what Dream’s done, because Dream’s been suspiciously quiet over the past few days and there could be an attack at any moment now, and shit, shit, shit.

He fumbles his way through dressing, tries to neaten his hair, fails utterly, and gives up and pulls his beanie on over it. Not very professional, but it’s fine. This is fine. He can’t hear any screams, so nobody’s dying. Probably.

He steps outside of the hastily-constructed house he claimed for his own, and it’s less of a house, really, than a single room with walls and a roof liable to cave in at any second, but it serves for now, and he never claimed to possess his father’s building prowess. There will be time for infrastructure development after independence is secured. But he steps outside, squinting against the sunlight, and finds—everything in order. Everything looks fine. Nothing is on fire, except for the ever-burning camarvan. The walls still stand.

That should be his next step. The walls.

He climbs his way up, surveying the area. The surrounding lands appear just as they were left last night. No ominous structures set up. No fucking TNT cannons. All is calm, peaceful, and he has learned not to trust peace, these past few weeks, but if everything is alright for now, he’ll accept it gladly. Even if it doesn’t last.

He sighs, bracing his hands against the battlements. All too often, these days, he’s found his mind wandering down paths they never would have before. He can’t help but wonder what Phil would think if he knew the full extent of what he’s up to. His father tried so hard, when he was younger, to shield him from war, from the legacy that he and his best friend laid out behind them. And Wilbur cannot blame him for that protectiveness; his first experience of war has only been a few weeks long, and he’s finding he doesn’t care for it, even if he’s discovered a knack for tactics.

The thing is, though, he’s always wanted a legacy of his own.

Phil always said that it would be through his music. He never told him that he had his doubts about that, that he loves his songs but that something in him always calls for more, something just out of reach, just beyond the crest of the next hill. He’s not sure his father knows how ambitious he really is, in the end.

He should probably write him. He’ll do it after the war is over. After he has a country to invite him to see. After he’s built something that his dad will be proud of. And if he leaves out the struggle it took to get it, nobody has to know but him, because it’s certainly better that Phil doesn’t.

“Hello, Wilbur,” Dream says, right by his ear, and he jerks, pulling his sword from his inventory in an instinctive motion. How he missed the bastard’s approach, he has no idea, but Dream is standing right there, right on the walls next to him, covered head to toe in netherite armor, smiling mask firmly affixed to his face. He holds no weapons yet, but Wilbur knows all too well how quickly that can change.

“You’re trespassing on L’Manberg property,” he snaps, trying to disguise the frantic racing of his heart. His feet shift into a ready stance, a movement that’s old hat by now, both from this war and from Technoblade’s training when he was a kid, even though the sword will never be his weapon of choice. “With armor on, too. You’re not allowed to wear armor within our borders.”

He doesn’t know why he bothers to try. Dream won’t obey. He never does. That’s why they’re at war in the first place.

But then, to his shock, Dream chuckles, inclining his head. And then, piece by piece, the armor disappears, accompanied by the familiar clink of metal landing in an inventory slot.

“Right, right,” Dream says, as if he hasn’t just blown all of Wilbur’s expectations out of the water. “Of course. I guess I really should be trying to get off on the right foot with you, here. Congratulations, by the way. I’m sure you were happy to hear the news.”

What is he—?

What is this? Is he trying psychological warfare now? Is that what this is? Because Wilbur has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about. Is he supposed to know what he’s talking about? Dream’s acting like he should know what he’s talking about, and he doesn’t particularly want to give him the upper hand by revealing that he does not, in fact, have any idea what he’s talking about.

“Thank you,” he manages, a beat too late, but Dream doesn’t seem to notice, just continues on blithely.

“I just figured we should set up an official meeting of some kind,” he says. “One country leader to another. Get some peace treaties drawn up, write some trade agreements, draw some official boundaries, all of that stuff. I’ll admit, I’ve never done any of that before, but it can’t be too hard, right?”

“Right, I’m sure,” Wilbur replies, nodding along. Because, what?

“It doesn’t have to be right away,” Dream continues, and he just keeps talking. “I can give you a day or two to settle in, get stuff in order. There’s no real rush, but we should get it done soon. I don’t want to leave anything up in the air. That’s not the kind of thing that promotes stability.”

“Of course,” he says.

Dream goes to say something else, and then stops, tilting his head again. This time, it’s less mocking, more curious. “You do know what I’m talking about, right?” he says, and the game is up. Wilbur feels caught, but he breathes deeply, fights off his rising blush, gathers up all his composure.

“I’ll be entirely honest,” he says. “I’ve got no idea what the shit you’re on about right now.”

He’s not expecting that to make Dream laugh. But he does, tossing his head back and carrying on, loud and long, and then it devolves into a tea kettle wheeze. Genuine amusement, then, though at what, Wilbur isn’t sure. He doesn’t appreciate being laughed at, but he can’t help but feel like there’s something going on here that’s going straight over his head. He doesn’t appreciate that very much, either.

“Oh my god,” Dream manages, as soon as he’s capable of speech, mirth still dancing in his voice, “he didn’t tell you? Still?”

Something icy gets its claws around his heart.

“Who didn’t tell me?” he demands. “Who didn’t tell me what?”

“Tommy,” Dream answers, and those claws squeeze. His heart skips several beats, and suddenly, he’s casting back in his mind to the last time he saw Tommy. It was last night, wasn’t it? Just last night? He sent him to bed, because Tommy often tries to take late watches, claims himself capable, but he’s not even quite sixteen yet. Wilbur may have pulled him into a war, but he’s still a teenager, and Wilbur’s going to do his damnedest to make sure he comes out of this as intact as possible. And that means getting enough sleep.

He looked fine, last night. He was fine. He has to be fine.

He’s moving before he realizes it, his hand fisting in the front of Dream’s hoodie.

“If you’ve done something to Tommy, I’m tossing you off this wall right here and now,” he snarls. “Don’t test me, Dream.”

A year ago, a month ago, he never would have pictured himself making a threat like that. Never would have imagined himself capable of following through. But he is different, now, from the way he started, different already, and there is a part of him, a part of him that whispers to him in crows’ voices, that is scared of what he will be by the time the war is done.

“I haven’t done anything to Tommy!” Dream protests, raising both hands, though he sounds unconcerned. “I swear, I haven’t. He gave us a really good chance to, last night, but we didn’t take it. You should thank us for that. It was pretty stupid, what he did.”

“Explain,” he demands. “Explain right now.”

Tommy’s a resourceful kid. He can picture him getting himself in and out of an altercation easily. But the way Dream says it, it’s like he put himself in the situation in the first place, like he sought it out, and what the hell was Tommy even doing, outside of the walls so late at night? The walls are there for a reason. The walls are there for protection. The walls are there to keep his people safe, because maybe he didn’t exactly set out to start a country, in the very beginning, but he’s going to see it through. By all the gods, he’s going to see it through.

If, that is, this kid doesn’t give him a heart attack first.

Dream shoves at his hand, and he lets him go without an argument. Dream takes a step back, putting a bit more space between them, and then leans against the wall.

“Tommy came to us last night,” he says, “and traded his discs for L’Manberg’s independence.”

It’s a simple sentence. A very simple sentence. But somehow, the words don’t make any sense.

“Congratulations, President Soot,” Dream says, and he knows, he knows the bastard is smiling under that mask. “I look forward to establishing relations between our countries,” and he isn’t, Wilbur knows that he isn’t, but he’s enjoying this because he’s just dropped a bomb on him and he knows it, because—

“Leave,” he rasps. “Get out.”

Dream does a little salute, short and mocking, and then hops over the side of the wall. Wilbur hopes he takes damage, hopes he breaks his fucking legs. The sound of water hitting the ground tells him that he doesn’t. He can’t even be upset about it, because his heart has jumped into his throat, pounding in his ears, and all of the words were fine individually, but all together, they’re too much to process.

Tommy gave up his discs. And now L’Manberg is free. Just like that, the war is over. And Tommy gave up his discs. Tommy walked straight into enemy territory without telling him and handed over his most prized possessions, all for the sake of L’Manberg’s independence. And he succeeded. He got it. He sacrificed something dear to him, something that Wilbur never would have asked him to give up, and he did it for them. For L’Manberg.

Giddiness is the first emotion that fills him, and next is pride. Because this—this is above and beyond. He never would have asked Tommy to trade away something so important to him, but somehow, he found it within himself to do it, and he got what he wanted from it. He got what they all wanted. Somehow, Tommy managed to end their struggles in one fell swoop, and they’re not related, neither by blood nor by adoption or anything like that, but Wilbur thinks that this must be the sort of pride an older brother feels when watching the younger grow up, watching the younger go on and accomplish great things.

They are free, and it is because of Tommy. He feels like he’s on cloud nine. He feels like he could fly.

And then reality crashes back in.

Tommy didn’t tell him that he was planning this. Tommy didn’t tell him, might not have told anyone at all, and that means he strolled straight into the arms of their bitter enemies, people who might have killed him without a second thought. No one has died yet, and he always intended to keep it that way, but the thought of Tommy alone, at night, creeping his way into the belly of the beast, sends a chill down his spine.

Tommy could have died. Tommy could have died, and he wouldn’t have known until he woke up this morning, woke up late, and saw the message on his comm. TommyInnit was slain by Dream.

And then, another thought occurs to him: Tommy hasn’t come to him. Hasn’t come to brag, hasn’t even come to just tell him, to tell him that he’s just single-handedly won their independence. And that is not a Tommy-like thing to do, to let something like that go unremarked upon.

Something is wrong. Dream might have lied. He could have hurt Tommy. Tommy could be injured right now. He doesn’t even know for sure that he made it back.

Tommy gave up his discs for L’Manberg.

It still barely makes any sense to him. But there’s no time to make sense of it. He rushes back down the wall as quickly as he can manage, and then it’s off through their settlement, eyes darting around, hoping for a glimpse of him. He checks Tommy’s house, first, the ramshackle, makeshift thing he’s been sharing with Tubbo until they can get better buildings erected, and he’s not there, and Tubbo isn’t either. The camarvan turns up nothing. He’s considering leaving L’Manberg entirely, going to check by Tommy’s other house, the one built into the hill, when Tubbo comes up beside him.

“Morning, Wilbur,” he says, and then frowns. “You alright, man? You’re kind of pale.”

“Tubbo,” he says, and grabs him by the shoulders. Maybe a bit too emphatically, because he suddenly looks a bit alarmed, but he’ll be concerned with that later. “Tubbo, have you seen Tommy today?”

Tubbo’s frown deepens. “I was coming to see if you knew where he was,” he says. “He was being a bit off last night. Think he had a nightmare or something. But he’s not with you?”

“No, he’s not.” With every word out of Tubbo’s mouth, he feels his own panic grow. It is one thing for Tommy to hatch some sort of plot and not tell him. That is—well, it’s not fine, but Tommy doesn’t tell him everything. But to keep Tubbo out of the loop? To, presumably, visit him before leaving and yet still not tell Tubbo what was going on? It’s unlike him. Very unlike him.

“Okay, well, he’s got to be around here somewhere,” Tubbo reasons, his brows creased. “L’Manberg’s only so big. Should we go look for him together, then?”

“Right,” he says. He breathes, in and out. Tubbo’s a good kid. Very sensible. Very down to earth. And he’s right, of course. Tommy has to be around here somewhere. Any other possibility is out of the question. “Right, of course, let’s go look.”

So they do. They take a systematic approach, first checking all the most likely places and then combing every inch of their land in a grid formation. Tubbo’s suggestion, again. But that turns up nothing, either, and he can feel the panic creeping back in, because what if he actually didn’t make it home? What if he was out there in the dead of night, distraught and alone, and something took advantage of that? What if some mob looked at him and recognized him for an easy kill?

He’s not dead. He can’t be dead. There would have been a notification. But he could be injured somewhere, incapacitated, in pain and all alone, and he can’t let that happen, can’t let Tommy be hurt like that on his watch—

“Oh, wait,” Tubbo says, and pulls on his sleeve. “There he is.”

Wilbur jerks, and stares in the direction he’s pointing. And sure enough, Tommy’s there, right in front of the camarvan, and Eret too, it looks like. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt relief as pure as in this moment.

“Gods,” he breathes, and starts toward them, calling out, “Tommy!” And as he approaches, he gets the sense that something is off.

The first thing he notices is Eret’s expression. Pure, unbridled confusion, mixed with what perhaps might be something like anxiety. And the reason for that is clear enough: Tommy is holding their face very firmly in his hands. Which is bizarre, and Wilbur blinks a few times to make sure he’s seeing this right, because Tommy doesn’t—he doesn’t just do that. That is a gesture reserved only for people he is very, very close to. Tubbo gets that treatment. He’s been on the receiving end a couple of times himself, but not often. And he knows that Tommy and Eret get along just fine, are friends, just like all of them are, but he really didn’t think that the two of them were close enough for this. And judging by the look on Eret’s face, they didn’t think so either.

And Tommy is just standing there. Not speaking, not doing anything else. Just staring Eret in the eyes—or the glasses, rather—with a startling intensity.

“Tommy?” he asks, as soon as he’s close enough that he doesn’t have to shout. “Is everything alright?”

And Tommy startles. Withdraws his hands from Eret’s face as though he’s been burned. Turns to look at him, and Wilbur freezes in place, because just for a second—

There is fear on Tommy’s face.

He doesn’t understand what could have caused it. But it is undoubtedly there, only for a moment before it is smoothed away into something more neutral, if strained. And he hates it, hates it viscerally. He never wants Tommy to look at him with that expression on his face. It makes him feel sick to his stomach.

“Ayup,” Tommy says, and his voice sounds—rough. Like he hasn’t slept at all. “Morning Wil, Tubso.”

It’s casual. Far too casual for what Wilbur has just learned, for the panic he’s felt for the past half hour or so, unable to find this kid, this kid who is basically his brother, for all he pretends to protest against the moniker. Tommy is his family. Tommy is his family, and he risked everything last night, gave up everything for the sake of Wilbur’s everything, his grand ideals, his great vision, and now he’s standing there like nothing at all has changed.

“Ayup, Tommy,” Tubbo says. “You feeling any better this morning?”

At Tommy’s side, Eret shifts uneasily. Their expression is still one of concern, and Wilbur wonders exactly how long Tommy had been standing there like that, or what their interaction even was to get them to that point in the first place. It’s confusing. He’s confused.

“I’m great,” Tommy says, and—no, no, they’re not going to do this.

“Tommy,” he breaks in, and Tommy stiffens. “Tommy, last night, why did you—you just—why wouldn’t you tell me?”

It’s not quite what he should be asking, but it’s what comes out. And his voice is annoyingly desperate, and he hates showing off so many emotions like this, especially in a public space, but he can’t stop himself.

“What about last night?” Tubbo asks.

“Last night?” Eret echoes, and looks to Tommy, who blinks, his gaze darting between the three of them but landing on Wilbur most of all, and it’s like he’s nervous, almost, anxious about how he’s going to react, and—does he think he’s going to be angry about this? Perhaps he is, but only in the sense that he’s angry that Tommy took such a stupid risk. Below that anger, that anger born of fear, his pride burns bright. Surely, Tommy must know that?

“I—look, I knew you’d say no, alright?” he says. “But I knew that I could do it, so I did it. Simple as that.”

Simple as that, he says. As if he didn’t give up his greatest possessions. As if he didn’t win them the war, win them their freedom, win for them the reality of the values that this country was founded upon.

“What’s going on?” Eret asks.

“Yeah, does this have something to do with what you were saying to me the other night?” Tubbo says, and then looks at him. “Wilbur, what are you talking about? What happened last night?”

Tommy sighs, and says nothing. Wilbur swallows, and maintains eye contact with him as he speaks, searching for some kind of reaction.

“Dream came to me this morning,” he says, and does not miss Tommy’s flinch at the name, ��not even an hour ago. He said—he said that we were free. That the war was over, that L’Manberg was its own nation, that he wanted to set up a meeting for diplomatic ties and whatnot. He called me the president. And, um, he said that you won it for us, Tommy.” He pauses, just for a moment, trying to get his emotions under control. He mostly fails. “He said that you came to him, last night, and you traded your discs to him for L’Manberg’s freedom.”

“You did what?”

Tubbo’s voice is dismayed and disbelieving all at once. And Tommy flinches, draws into himself a little, and that’s not the reaction Wilbur would have expected, but literally none of this is what he would have expected.

“Yeah,” he says, sounding quiet, a bit defeated. “Yeah, I—I did. I knew he’d take the deal. And I just wanted—I wanted the war to be over, yeah? Before anybody got hurt. And I knew this would work, so I just went and did it.”

“You couldn’t have, though,” he finds himself saying, before he even know what he’s going to say next. “Maybe you could’ve guessed that he’d go for it, but—Tommy, what if they’d killed you? Taken what they wanted and killed you right then and there? I just—” He breaks off running a hand through his hair, remembering too late that he’s got his beanie on. His fingers dislodge it, and he readjusts it with more fervor than is necessary. “I just can’t believe you did that without telling someone. Without telling—” Me, he wants to say, but holds himself back. No matter his feelings regarding Tommy, the deep respect and even deeper love that has grown in him over the course of their friendship, he doesn’t have a monopoly on Tommy’s attention. Perhaps he would have preferred for Tommy to tell him, but he’d have settled for Tommy telling anyone.

“What, are you worried?” Tommy says, and Wilbur only spares a second to wonder why he sounds so disbelieving, because—

“Yes,” he bursts out. “Gods, Tommy! Dream came to me with this and my first thought was that you’d died! Or that you hadn’t made it back, that you were out there somewhere, alone and needing help, and I didn’t—Tommy. Tommy, please tell me you thought of this. Please tell me, tell me that you were prepared, at least. Tell me that you—” He cuts himself off again, shaking his head hard, and under any other circumstance, he would be kicking himself for the display, for the outburst of emotion, for the lack of eloquence, but he thinks he can be excused for the moment.

Tommy’s mouth works for a second.

“Oh,” he finally says, weakly. “Um, right. Sorry, Wilbur. No, I had it handled, trust me. Sorry, I didn’t, um. Didn’t mean to scare you like that. Sort of just—did it, y’know?”

“It’s okay,” he says, even though it kind of isn’t, because Tommy’s continued to shrink into himself, and he doesn’t want that. “It’s okay, Tommy, I’m just glad you’re okay. And, gods above, what you did—” He steps forward, then, unable to help himself, and takes Tommy by the shoulders. Tommy stares at him with wide eyes. “I never would have asked that of you. I couldn’t believe it when Dream told me. And Tommy, I—I’m so, so sorry. But I am so damn proud of you. You hear me? So damn proud. I know what that must have taken, for you to do that. And I’m so fucking proud of you.” He smiles, then, wide and a bit watery. He’s not going to cry, he’s not, but emotion is rising up in his throat, thick and overpowering. “You did it, Tommy. You won us L’Manberg.”

Tommy returns the smile, if a bit tentatively. “Yeah,” he says, “I guess I did, didn’t I?” And then, the smile widens, and he puffs out his chest, putting his hands on his hips. “I hear that makes me the leader now. You’re speaking to Mister High President King Lord Innit, so show me the respect you owe me, eh?”

“Absolutely the fuck not,” he replies, but he’s laughing. “No, no, enough out of you, go, take Tubbo and go get yourself whatever you want out of our rations, you’ve fucking earned it, Toms.”

Tommy offers him one last grin, and then he ducks out of his grip, grabbing Tubbo’s hand and dragging him in the direction of their storage. He can hear Tubbo’s voice already, high and offended at the fact that Tommy went and did this without telling him, and perhaps all is right with the world after all. Some things do not change, even when everything else does.

He went to sleep last night a rebel, a general. He woke up a president. How about that?

“Do you think he’s alright?” Eret asks, and he starts, almost having forgotten they were there.

“Probably not,” he admits. “Not entirely. Those discs meant a lot to him. But we’ve got time to figure it out.” He turns to them, then, makes eye contact with himself in the reflection of their sunglasses. “What was he doing with you, before we walked up?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” they reply. “He came up to me, sort of yelling a bit? Punched me in the shoulder a few times. Couldn’t figure out what that was about. Then he thanked me for something, and then he hugged me, which was a bit odd, and then he did the, uh, thing, with the holding my face? And then you and Tubbo arrived. I honestly don’t know what any of that was about at all.”

He hums, and looks out after the boys, at their retreating backs. As he watches, Tommy slings an arm around Tubbo’s shoulders, his other hand gesticulating wildly.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” he says softly. “It’s Tommy. He makes it his job to be unpredictable.”

“You’re right about that,” Eret says. “I suppose congratulations are in order, President Soot?”

President Soot. It’s got a nice ring to it. He is the leader of a free country now, and it is thanks to the kid he sees as a younger brother, whether he’ll admit as much out loud or not. He is the leader of a free country, and that means there is much work to be done.

But he gives himself a moment longer, and smiles at the way the midday sun shines in Tommy’s hair.

It’s all for them, after all. Land is just land; as long as he can give his loved ones the freedom they deserve, that’s enough for him.

#mcyt #dsmp #dream smp #dsmp fic #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #dreamwastaken #tubbo #eret #/rp #cw swearing #cw death mention #cw injury mention #both of those are hypothetical #cat writes fic #long post #time travel au #surprise!! bet you weren't expecting a new chapter of this today!!!#:DDD

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vampiregirl1797 · 4 years ago

Text

Love Blossoms

Aaron Hotchner x Female Reader

GIF Not Mine.

Click Here To Find My Masterlist.

Warnings: mentions of murderers, panic attack, some light smut near the end, otherwise FLUFF and Aaron allowing himself to be less serious and more happy around Y/N.

Word Count: 15,065– It’s a big ole one.

Summary: A collection of moments between Aaron and Y/N, documenting the journey they took to come together.

When I had started working at the BAU, it had been just after Agent Greenway transferred to another unit. I had no idea why she’d made the decision, but I sensed it was better not to ask, due to the tense behaviour that appeared the few times her name had come up in conversation. It took a while for the team to warm up to me, but even then they were still polite and professional. But for a good six weeks, I felt a little... left out, which sounded almost juvenile, but it was the truth. It didn’t take an expert in behaviour to notice that the BAU team were like a family, and after just losing a member made it easy to understand their hesitance in letting me into the fold.

I don’t know what made the decision for them, but it seemed that my relationship with each and every one of them went from polite and professional to open, honest and familial overnight. But I wasn’t going to complain, they were the most wonderful people I’d ever met and I was grateful for being accepted into their little family. There was only one problem, and that was Aaron Hotchner. The man was incredibly stern-faced, hardly ever smiled and he led the team like a drill Sargent. He had the most expressive eyes I’d ever seen, when he was actually willing to let his guard down for people to read them, he cared deeply, deeper than anyone would ever think, and I swear to god he knew about the crush I’d had on him since the moment I’d been introduced by Strauss on my first day at the BAU. That had been almost a year ago now, and my feelings had flourished, the flowers blossoming, the roots digging deep inside me to a point that extraction would cause me immense physical pain. I was in love with my boss, and I was certain he knew. How could he not? He was the unit chief of a team of profilers for goodness sake. And after we’d all witnessed JJ unsuccessfully hide her relationship with Will from us, well let’s just say I wouldn't be surprised if the whole team knew too. But I tried not to give it too much thought, after all Hotch was married and he was my boss. It wasn’t like I could do anything about it if I wanted to.

I needed to get over it, that much was clear. Which was why I was open to accepting Garcia’s offer to set me up on a blind date with one of her gamer friends. It could be good, couldn’t it?

‘Garcia, I swear I’m never letting you set me up on a date again!’ I complained, waving my hands around in my frustration, but somehow managing not to spill a drop of the coffee in my right hand.

‘Come on, Y/N! Randell is a catch!’ Garcia argued, linking her arm through my left in an attempt to calm my erratic movements.

‘A catch? Honey, there’s a reason they say you should never trust people you meet on the internet!’ I quirked my brow, lightly elbowing her when I noticed the smile she was trying to hold back as we stepped into he conference room, ‘you knew he was a creep!’

‘No I didn’t, I swear. Seriously though, what happened?’ She asked as we took our seats at the round table— we were the first to arrive for the briefing.

‘He was only capable of talking about sex, which was ironic because he kept flinching and crossing his legs every time I so much as reached for my wine.’ I rolled my eyes, sighing, ‘not to be overly negative but that guy wouldn’t have lasted thirty seconds if I’d taken him up on his offer.’

‘I’m sorry.’ She winced, her expression softening with sympathy.

‘Oh, I’m only getting started, he kept degrading me.’ I took a sip of my coffee to get my anger under control, ‘saying things like: “I’ll bet a girl like you likes it real hard and rough, huh? I’ll bet you’re a dirty little slut.” And then he proceeded to ask me to call him “Daddy” so I threw his wine in his face and left.’

‘His wine?’ Pen frowned, and I didn’t notice the way she glanced over my shoulder and took a sip of her own hot beverage to hide her smile.

‘I’d already drunk mine.’ I shrugged, my smile becoming a full grin when Penny started to laugh.

‘Well I’m sorry that he was a jerk, Y/N.’ Garcia said, her voice sincere once she’d recovered from the humour of my story, ‘he may or may not find a hardware wiping virus on his computer at some point today as a punishment.’

That startled a laugh out of me, and she chuckled with me too, my hand squeezing hers briefly in gratitude before releasing her.

‘Don’t worry about it, it’s my own fault really.’ I bit my lip, knowing that she could have put the perfect guy in front of me last night and I still would have found him to be lacking in some way. Because he wouldn’t have been him. I shook that errant thought away before it could show on my face.

‘We’ll find someone for you, Y/N.’ She patted my arm and lowered her voice as the rest of the team joined us, ‘or at the very least someone for you to blow off some steam with.’ She winked.

Her sudden suggestiveness took me off guard, so much so that if it hadn’t been for me raising my cup back to my mouth in time, there would have been coffee all over the round table, and a few agents sitting around it. I gave her a look that was a mixture of annoyance and mirth, but she only winked again as I wiped my mouth free of the excess beverage that had spilled onto my chin.

‘Are you gonna share what you’re talking about over there, Baby girl?’ Derek asked, a smirk painted on his lips as his eyes flittered in between the both of us.

Garcia and I shared a look that was full of mischief and mayhem— the usual concoction that resulted in us being together. Pen leaned forward and opened her mouth to say something that was going to be incredibly suggestive and most likely inappropriate, but as if he sensed a verbal war he wouldn’t be able to stop unless he got ahead of it, Hotch bought the conversation to a stop.

‘We’re going to Louisiana. They need our help with an unsub who’s mutilating women aged 25-30.’ He started, his authoritative tone garnering the teams attention immediately— I personally felt incapable of not paying attention when he spoke, he was so... captivating.

I felt myself subconsciously crossing my legs together, a vain attempt to quell the ache that started to form whenever I lost myself in his dominant personality. I pulled my eyes from him with great effort, and focused on the file in front of me, but it was for nought as my mind ran wild. Generally alpha personalities guaranteed a handful of the same qualities: arrogance, narcissism, dominance to a point of control and over confidence. I’d met, and even dated, more than my fair share of men with those same characteristics. But Aaron was different, and up until I’d met him I had no idea there was another kind of alpha male. He wasn’t arrogant, he was most certainly intelligent and confident within himself, but not to the point of parading his greatness in front of anyone and everyone in an attempt to boost his ego. He was quietly confident, but still willing to listen to others, still willing to accept blame if he ever did something wrong. He was about as far from a narcissist as you could get— getting him to talk about himself for more than a few sentences was taxing, he was much more comfortable and happy with the topic of conversation being on anyone but him. And as for being dominant... he most certainly gave of an aura of authority that you couldn’t help but notice or pay attention to, but rather than be flippantly commanding like the other alpha males I’d known, he always took other’s feelings into account. In other words— he’d never make you go through with something he could tell you wouldn't be comfortable with. Without meaning to, I couldn’t help but think Aaron Hotchner would most definitely be dominant in the bedroom— but I had a feeling it would be tailored to whoever he was with. He was a caring dominant personality, I was sure of it, he was the type of alpha personality to get off on getting his bed partner off, to care about fulfilling her fantasies and desires. The type to care about keeping his partner safe, to care for them physically, mentally and emotionally.

Hayley was a lucky woman.

I shook myself out of my thoughts with a sigh, actually taking in the details of the case in front of me and hearing Reid reel off the square footage of Louisiana.

‘Seeing as we already have three victims I’ll get started in a geographical profile when we arrive.’ Spencer finished, offering Hotch a small smile as he offered an approving nod.

‘Very good. Wheels up in ten, if this unsub follows the same pattern, he’s about to kidnap his next victim. Time is of the essence.’ Hotch said, I didn’t notice him frown when I didn’t catch his eye before leaving the room like I usually did— I just couldn’t bring myself to look at him just yet given how my thoughts had wondered off.

I needed to get my reactions around him under control, because this was getting ridiculous.

‘He has to be finding the girls at this club, following them home, and kidnapping them before they get their keys in the door.’ Morgan said, running a hand over his head as an exhausted sigh escaped him.

I leaned next to him on the table, my arm knocking against his as a silent offer of comfort, he nudged me back and smiled with gratitude.

‘I think our best bet is sending someone undercover.’ One of the cops at the Louisiana station proposed, and not for the first time.

At first he’d been dismissed because when we’d arrived, there had already been another woman reported missing, and we knew he kept them for a minimum of three days before disposing of them. So it would have been pointless to send someone out to seduce him when he already had someone to keep him busy. Her body had been found this morning and the friend who’d been with her had confirmed they’d been at the same club as the others the night she’d gone missing. We had no idea who he was, or how to find him, but we knew where he was going to be, now we had to lay the bait, but who was it going to be?

‘It’s not a bad idea.’ Prentiss said, looking over to Hotch, knowing that nothing would go ahead without his approval.

‘We’d need a woman who fits his type.’ Spencer pointed out, looking over to me.

‘Why are you looking at me, Doc?’ I raised a brow, frowning when I noticed everyone’s eyes on me, all except one pair.

‘Y/N, would you be comfortable with going undercover?’ He asked, his brown eyes meeting mine directly for the first time that day.

I felt my heart beat pick up in my chest as I answered, ‘of course.’

His eyes remained on mine for a few more moments, holding me captive while he studied my expression to determine if I meant what I’d said, or if I was simply agreeing because I felt I had to. What felt like hours later, he looked away, and I felt like I could breathe again as I lifted my coffee cup to my lips to hide my shallow breaths as I worked to return my heart rate to normal.

‘JJ and I will go with her, all the other victims were in groups, it would be suspicious if she was on her own.’ Prentiss murmured, her words somehow still sounding like a question even though she hadn’t worded it as one.

‘Fine.’ Hotch nodded, sweeping out of the room and leaving the team to prepare for what was most definitely going to be a long night.

‘I look ridiculous.’ I complained, not for the first time but I couldn't help it— I had never wore such revealing clothes and I felt exposed and stupid.

‘No, you look like a knock out, trust us we know what we’re doing.’ JJ said, her voice gentle and patient— I assumed she could see the discomfort in my eyes.

‘Don’t forget, we need to attract the unsub’s attention, and all of his victims so far have been party girls so we need to appeal to his type.’ Prentiss reminded me and I sighed, closed my eyes and resigned myself to my fate.

This isn’t about me. This is about stopping a psychopath and preventing anymore women dying.

‘Okay, thank you both.’ I offered them a shaky smile as I stood, trying to walk in the heels they’d dressed me in. It took a few minutes of pacing, but I got it.

Before I knew it, we were heading to the club the victims were last seen in, JJ and Prentiss linking both of my arms, and a deceivingly bright smile plastered on my lips. This was going to be hell. But I sucked it up and headed over to the bar, signalling for three drinks that were most likely going to be nursed for as long as possible. I was waiting for my drinks to be prepared when I felt a presence behind me. I attempted to ignore it until I felt a hand on my waist, the feeling sending a shiver of dread up my spine. I looked up into the darkest eyes I’d ever seen, and I didn’t just mean in colour, though they were a dark brown, but there was no emotion behind his iris’. They were completely void of any emotion aside from a sadistic shimmer that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This was the unsub, I was sure of it.

‘What might your name be?’ He asked, his hand moving back and forth on my waist.

I knew from the profile that this man’s ego led him to kill when he was rejected by the women he sought out, so I took great pleasure in twisting his arm behind his back.

‘My name is none of your business.’ I sneered, gathering up the drinks and carrying them over to the table the three of us commandeered in the corner.

‘We saw you had company.’ Emily commented, her tone light but her eyes held a seriousness to it that hinted at what she was really asking.

‘That’s him. I’m sure of it.’ I said, relaying what had happened to them, and the rest of the team on the comms.

‘Give it thirty minutes, then leave. Remember, you’re leaving separately. Y/N first and we’ll see if he follows you.’ Hotch murmured, his voice a quiet, seductive tone in my ear.

I took a deep breath and pushed away the cocktail in front of me— anymore alcohol and I would end up revealing more than I wanted. I knew from experience that I was a chatty drunk, and incapable of keeping any secrets to myself.

‘Got it.’ JJ answered for all of us and we lapsed into casual conversation for the next half hour.

Despite my intentions not to, half of my drink was gone before I’d even realised I was drinking it, but by that point I couldn’t remember why alcohol wasn’t a great idea.

‘So what happened with that asshole Garcia set you up with anyway?’ Emily asked, sipping her own cocktail.

I snorted, ‘he was awful, honestly. Wouldn’t talk about anything but sex, but every time I reached for my drink he flinched and kept shifting in his seat.’

‘No stamina there then.’ JJ snorted and Em and I nodded in agreement.

‘Honestly I’m just so sick of it.’ I rolled my eyes, swirling my drink around with my straw, ‘I can’t remember the last time I had satisfying sex.’

JJ snorted into her drink and Emily loudly agreed with me.

‘Tell me about it! The ones who are loud and proud about being able to get a woman off have—.’ Em started but I cut her off, happy someone knew what I meant.

‘NO IDEA WHAT THEY’RE DOING!’ I held my hand out for a high five, and sober I would have never considered high-fiving over something like this, but drunk me thought it was a great idea and apparently Emily agreed as she slapped her palm against mine eagerly.

‘Well, lucky for me I got one of the good ones.’ JJ smirked, flashing her wedding rings.

‘Lucky bitch,’ I gave her a mock glare that had her winking at me.

‘Seriously, you don’t know how lucky you are. Good guys are so unique and rare.’ Emily sighed, ‘I went on a date last month with a guy who spent the whole night talking to my breasts and when he was clawing at me when he dropped me back off at my place, I ended up kneeing him in the crotch.’

‘Men our age suck.’ I squeezed her hand in agreement, ‘most of them only care about getting themselves off, some to the point of aggression if you try and push them off when you’re not enjoying it.’

‘Amen.’ Emily cheered.

‘Do they know we can still hear them?’ Spence’s voice over the comms had us all breaking into laughter.

‘Sorry Spence.’ JJ apologised, wiping the moisture from her eyes.

‘No don’t apologise!’ I shook my head, holding up my hand to stop them from commenting, ‘he’s right, it’s sexist to exclude him from the conversation, do you have anything to add, Doc?’

I could practically hear him blushing from inside the club as he floundered for a moment, and someone— probably Derek— chuckled.

‘I know that in 2015, only 6 percent of women said that they always had an orgasm during penile-vaginal intercourse, 40 percent said they had an orgasm nearly always, 16 percent of women had an orgasm half the time, and 38 percent had one infrequently.’ Spencer reeled off, always eager to share information he’d absorbed.

‘Thank you, Spencer for proving my point.’ I smiled, finishing my drink, ‘you’re herby invited to the next girls night.’

Emily and JJ cheered, our glasses clinking together as they finished their drinks too, signalling for two more.

‘Thanks,’ Reid mumbled, actually sounding quite touched at the invitation.

I cleared my throat and stood, careful to keep the nerves now bubbling in my gut off my expression.

‘Well ladies, this has been fun, but I have to go.’ I pretended to pout, winking when they groaned in disappointment, ‘sorry, I have an early day tomorrow. Goodnight, I love you both.’

I hugged them before I departed, and both murmured a “be careful” into my ear before I left them. As I walked out of the club and headed for my car, I couldn't help but put my phone to my ear to talk to the others— the further away I got, the quieter I became and the more nervous I was.

‘Hey, this is unexpected, it’s so nice to hear from you!’ I greeted brightly, being careful to keep my eyes trained forward—if he thought I was on to him I might scare him off.

‘You’re doing great, sweetness.’ Derek murmured, his voice calm and comforting, though it didn’t dissipate my nerves completely.

‘That’s amazing, congratulations. I’ll bet your fiancée is so proud of you!’ I gushed, unlocking the rental car they’d commandeered for me and sliding inside, tossing my phone into my purse and placing it onto the passenger seat and putting on my seatbelt.

‘Just a little further, Y/N.’ Hotch’s voice soothed my anxiety like a balm and I felt my white knuckle grip ease a little from the steering wheel as I settled into the drivers set, suddenly more at ease.

‘Thank you.’ I murmured, hoping he didn’t hear how breathy my voice sounded as I headed for the address that had been pre-programmed into the GPS.

I drove in comfortable silence, knowing the team was on the comms offering me a sense of security. I was about five minutes from arriving when a cop car lit up behind me, wanting me to pull over.

‘Uhhh... did we clear the Louisiana police?’ I asked, not pulling over just yet.

‘Why?’ Hotch asked, his voice urgent.

‘Because someone is trying to pull me over now. What if that’s how he got them? Coming to the club in his cruiser and following them to pull them over when they were on their way home?’ I suggested, trying not to panic as my heart suddenly felt like it was beating in my throat. It made sense, and I might have recognised him had I been paying more attention to the cops around the station. It made me wonder if he knew me, but then again I’d barely been at the precinct the past few days, Hotch had me on activities that led to me being outside the station.

‘Y/N, listen to me do not pull over. Garcia just checked with Louisiana police department and there aren’t supposed to be any cars in patrol in that area.’ Hotch ordered, and I wondered if I imagined the tremor of concern in his voice as I sped up a little.

‘If I don’t pull over then we won’t have anything on him, remember? We have no way to tie him to the women he killed, and if he’s a cop that makes sense. If he doesn’t take me, he’ll try to take someone else, someone who doesn’t have an FBI team and SWAT to back her up.’ I argued, but I didn’t like it anymore than he did.

He didn’t respond for a long time and my heart beat became so loud that it was ringing in my ears. I almost didn’t hear Hotch when he responded.

‘Give it one minute and then pull over, I’m redirecting SWAT to your location and we’ll be there as fast as we can. Keep him talking, Y/N and don’t hang up the phone.’ He murmured, his voice dripping with so much authority that it made the hairs on my arms stand up.

‘Yes sir.’ I answered, watching the clock on my dashboard and pulling over exactly one minute later.

I put a bright smile on my face as the same man from the bar came up to my window, signalling for me to wind it down. I lowered it an inch. His smile was dark and I had to physically hold myself back from flinching.

‘Hello there darlin,’ he greeted, his attempt to be charming having the opposite effect, ‘I didn’t just see you come out of that club back there, did I?’

I pursed my lips, deliberating on whether to lie or not, I knew he’d find a way to get me out of the car either way, but I needed to buy myself some time.

‘You did, officer.’ I admitted, biting my lip in what I hoped was an enticing way, ‘but I only drank water.’

‘You wouldn’t mind proving that, would you?’ His hands rested on his hips as he pushed his chest out, attempting to emphasise his brawny shoulders, but he just looked like he was pecking like a chicken.

‘Prove it how?’ I attempted ignorance.

‘Take a breathalyser test for me, if you’re under the limit, I’ll send you on your way.’ He winked, his eyes glinting dangerously at the prospect of what he could do to me as soon as I stepped out of the car.

‘How long would that take, exactly?’ I asked, but I wasn’t talking to him.

‘We’re two minutes out, Y/N.’ Derek promised.

‘No more than five minutes.’ The man promised and with a sigh, I climbed out of the safety of my car, slamming the door shut loud enough to be heard over the comms.

‘Okay then.’ My words ended in a scream, because even though I was hyper aware of every move he made, the fucker was fast and had stabbed a needle into my arm before I could so much as attempt to defend myself.

‘What did you just—what did you—what’s happening?’ I groaned, my voice consumed with panic as I started to lose feeling in my limps. He caught me under the arms when I fell forward and laid me on the back of his cop car.

‘You and me are going to have so much fun, not that you deserve it, you uptight bitch.’ He snarled, his hand wrapping around my throat and squeezing just enough to make me aware how easy it would be for him to kill me then and there.

‘No,’ My eyes were wet with tears as I felt his hand roaming across my chest, ‘stop.’

He grinned, his eyes reflecting how much pleasure he was taking from this, and he watched my expression as his hand started drifting lower and lower...

I gasped in relief when he was roughly pulled off me. I couldn’t lift my head, but I heard the thump as he was pinned to the car and cuffed, most likely by Derek.

‘I can’t m-move.’ I said, worried that my voice would be to low to hear as even talking was taxing and took maximum effort.

‘Y/N,’ Hotch’s voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket. I noted the relief in his voice as his hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me into sitting position.

‘I can’t move.’ I murmured, as if he didn't know that already, my forehead rested against his shoulder as my body slumped forward.

‘I know. You’re going to be okay, there’s an ambulance on the way,’ he reassured me, and I must have been on some heavy drugs because I could have sworn I felt him stroking my hair.

‘Will you stay with me?’ I said, fear returning to my voice at the prospect of being in a cold, sterile hospital without a familiar, comforting face.

‘Of course I will.’ His warm breath against my ear would have made me shiver, had I been able to.

It was crazy how easily I slipped into unconsciousness with Aaron’s arms around me, holding me up and murmuring reassurances into my ear. His hand continually stroked over my hair, and I wondered if I fell asleep because of the drugs, or because Hotch had soothed me so well that I was powerless to stop it.

Months passed after the case in Louisiana, and nothing much changed, aside from Hotch announcing to the team that he and Hayley were getting a divorce. And I couldn’t muster up anything other than sadness for him, despite my nowhere near platonic feelings for him, I knew how much he loved her, how much it must have been killing him to be separated from her. So I tried to help in anyway I could, I took half his case files so he could go home sooner after cases and be able to spend a little time with his son before he was put to bed. I bought home cooked meals for him to take home, knowing he was less likely to take care of himself if he didn’t have a wife and son to cook for. And the whole team made an effort to get him to come out with us at least once a month. Usually I avoided the drinks on those particular outings, not knowing what my liquor fuelled brain might make me say to him, but tonight was one of the rare nights he said no, having promised Jack he would swing by and listen to his stories about his trip to the zoo.

No one had been able to argue with that, and after we all went home to change— well JJ, Emily and I got ready at Penny’s place— we met up at our usual bar and started ordering the drinks. The conversation flowed with ease, and as the alcohol intake increased, the topics became more... private... between the girls anyway. Reid, Morgan and Rossi were having a separate conversation of their own about past cases by the sounds of it.

‘What’s your number?’ Pen asked.

‘My number? You have it in your phone!’ I frowned, genuinely confused over what she was asking.

‘Not your phone number, the number of people you’ve had sex with!’ Emily shoved my shoulder playfully, the other girls giggling when I flushed in embarrassment at the miscommunication.

‘Three.’ I held my fingers up for JJ, who was furthest away from me and possibly unable to hear due to the loud music.

‘26’ Emily said, winking and throwing back a shot of whiskey.

‘14’ JJ chirped.

‘11.’ Garcia admitted last.

‘Wow, I’m such a prude.’ I mumbled, taking my shot and throwing it back.

‘Nah, you’re young! At 25 my number was around the same as yours!’ Garcia assured me, downing her shot with a grimace.

‘I’ll get the next round!’ I announced, standing from the table and trying not to fall on my face as I walked in the heels JJ insisted I wear.

They were strappy platform heels and apparently they went perfectly with the flowing black skater dress I was wearing. It was a lacy material and I loved it because it was dressy but also comfortable. I reached the bar and ordered another round of the usual for our table, asking for it to be put on our tab. The bartender assured me he’d have my order ready in a few minutes and I’d just slid in a stool to wait when I felt someone groping my ass.

I turned around so fast I almost gave myself whip lash, ‘hey, asshole what exactly do you think you’re doing?’ The first thing I noticed about him was the cockiness that seemed to seep from his every pore. His hair was a bleach blonde, his eyes a cold blue and his arrogant smile made my hand twitch.

‘Nothing sweetheart, pure accident I swear.’ He smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. I assumed he was trying to draw attention to his obviously athletic frame, but honestly I didn't think there was anything he could do to make himself attractive to me.

‘Hmm, see it doesn’t happen again.’ I warned, glaring at him, but his smile didn't waver, of course it didn't. This was the kind of man who saw women as property, as a plaything for him to do what he wanted with, whether they enjoyed it or not. To him, I was inferior because of my gender, and honestly there were few other things that boiled my blood like sexism.

He stepped closer, so close that I could smell the excessive amount of cologne he was wearing, it made my nose scrunch up in distaste that he refused to see, because as far as he was concerned he was god’s gift to women.

‘Back off.’ I said, preparing to defend myself if he laid a finger on me.

He laughed, but there was no humour in the sound. He opened his mouth to say something but it snapped shut again when he spied something over my shoulder. I studied his expression for a moment, and when I saw the genuine fear in his eyes I determined he wasn’t faking just to deter my attention. I was just about to turn to see for myself what was scaring him, I idly wondered if Rossi or Derek had seen the commotion and come to offer assistance, but before I could I was overwhelmed with a familiar scent. It was the woodsy cologne that I’d gifted him for Christmas, having found it and insisting that it smelled of Hotch. It smelled comforting, safe and strong. That was the scent that surrounded me, and I felt my eyes flutter shut for a second, overcome with the calm that came over me. When he wrapped an arm around my waist, I was sure my knees would have buckled if I hadn’t been close enough to grab onto the bar for support. I vaguely registered his deep, authoritative voice saying something to the arrogant blonde in front of us, but all I could think about was how warm he was and how good the heat felt seeping through my dress and onto my skin. So good.

‘Y/N?’ His voice bought me back, his tone soft with concern and a little humour.

‘Sorry, I was out of it for a moment there.’ I shook my head, knowing I should step out of his hold, but I couldn’t bring myself to.

‘Are you alright?’ He asked, his free hand twitched and I wondered if that was because he wanted to touch me with that one too.

‘I’m fine.’ My chin jutting in the direction the boy had been standing, ‘but for future reference, that is an example of the assholes men my age can be.’ I mused, signalling for one more beer for the new addition to the party.

‘Hopefully he’ll grow out of it.’ He said, his tone was dry and I found myself laughing with him as we headed back to the table.

‘What took you so long, sweetness? I’m dying of thirst here!’ Derek complained, chuckling when I rolled my eyes at his antics.

I placed the tray in the middle of the table and everyone helped themselves. I tried not to show how pleased I was that Aaron ended up sat next to me, his arm over the back of the booth and close enough to my shoulders that I could feel the heat radiating from him. As everyone drifted to their own conversations, I found myself falling back to talk to Hotch, his dark eyes focused on me and only me. That was the thing about him; he had this way about him, of making you feel like the only one in the room when he looked at you. I didn't know if he had this effect on everyone, or if it was just me, but either way it was overwhelming.

‘How was Jack’s trip to the zoo?’ I asked, shifting a little to face him better, and trying not to visibly show how my heartbeat quickened as my legs became pressed up against his.

‘He loved it and he’s already begging for his birthday party to be there.’ He chuckled, his brown eyes sparkling with the fondness he held for his son.

‘His birthday isn’t until October though, I’m sure he’ll change his mind a million times before then.’ I reminded him, smiling because I knew how wonderfully indecisive Jack could be, as all kids his age were.

Hotch stared at me for a moment, and for all my BAU skills as a profiler, I couldn’t identify the soft emotion swirling around in his eyes. Before either of us could attempt to continue the conversation, Rossi commandeered Aaron’s attention for help in recalling details of a particular case. I leant back and just observed everyone, happy to be silent for a moment and enjoy the atmosphere and multiple conversations around me without actually participating. And if I was secretly happy that Hotch’s arm stated behind me on the back of the booth, well no one needed to know.

As the night wore on, people started to leave. First Reid, then JJ and Prentiss, then Derek and Penny, until it was Rossi, Hotch and me. But when the exhaustion started to seep in despite my buzz, I decided it were best if I went home too.

‘I’m calling it guys.’ I announced, standing and stretching out my tired limbs before I grabbed my purse and jacket.

‘How are you getting home?’ Hotch asked, standing with me.

‘I’m gonna call an Uber.’ I said, reaching into my bag for my phone, but his hand on my wrist stopped me.

‘Let me drive you, I’m heading out now anyway and it’s on my way home.’ He murmured, his eyes boring into mine. I could see that he really wanted me to accept his offer, but I knew if I said no he’d drop it and let me go.

‘Okay, if you don’t mind.’ I smiled, much preferring to get a ride home with someone I knew and trusted rather than have to wait in the cold for a stranger to pick me up.

‘Do you need a ride, Dave?’ Hotch asked as he slid on his own jacket.

I missed Rossi’s knowing smile as he answered, ‘nah, I’ve been on water for the most of the night, I’m fine to drive.’

‘Okay, see you in a few days!’ I kissed his cheek and walked with Aaron out of the bar, wondering if I was imagining the warmth from his hand seeping through my dress into my lower back.

He led me to his car, opened the passenger door for me and gently closed it before moving to the drivers side. I felt a smile form on my lips at the chivalrous act— I didn’t know people still did that anymore— and I was surprised at the butterflies that formed in my stomach from his actions. He turned the heat up as he drove, noticing the subtle way I was rubbing my upper arms in order to generate some warmth. I found myself falling asleep, which was surprising seeing as I had trouble falling asleep when I knew someone could see me. Call me crazy, but it was the truth. I didn’t realise just how close I was to being completely immersed into unconsciousness until we arrived at my apartment and Hotch murmured my name, softly, sweetly.

‘Hmm?’ I jolted awake, my cheek feeling like ice from where it had been resting against the window.

‘We’re here.’ He smiled, and if I’d been more awake, more focused, I would have noticed the fondness behind it.

‘Thank you.’ I blinked, trying to wake myself up a little more, ‘love you.’ I said, stepping out of the car and into my apartment building, which was coincidentally the same building as Emily’s. I was on the eighth floor and she was on the third.

It wasn’t until I was tucked up in bed, on the brink of falling asleep again that I realised what I’d said. To Hotch. To my boss. To the man I was secretly in love with. Suddenly completely awake, I sat up, my eyes wide with mortification.

It’s fine, you tell the team you love them all the time, he wouldn’t have interpreted it any other way. He wouldn’t. I took a deep calming breath and lay back down again.

It would be fine. Right?

When we returned to work, I came in a little earlier, determined to catch Hotch alone and offer him the cookies I’d made for him and Jack as a thank you for the ride home he’d given me. I also wanted to clear the air, test for any awkwardness that might be lingering from my surprising declaration. I was still clinging onto the hope that he hadn’t seen it as anything more than me confessing platonic love.

I placed my coat and bag onto my desk and continued on to Hotch’s office, expecting him to be here already. But I was surprised to find it empty. I frowned when I noticed his coat and briefcase weren’t here yet, meaning he wasn’t somewhere else in the building. With a disappointed sigh I placed the box of cookies on his desk and took a post it note and pen from one of his drawers and scribbled a note before sticking it onto the box.

Hotch,

A thank you for taking me home the other night, I really appreciate it.

I made chocolate chip and walnut for you.

The chocolate chip ones I decorated in a spider man theme are for Jack, and you if he wants to share.

Thanks again,

Y/N.

I walked to the small kitchenette and poured myself a cup of coffee before heading to my desk. Seeing as no one would be in for another hour and a half— at the earliest— I decided to get started on some paperwork. I was surprised at how quickly I got through it, being as a stack so large would have taken me all night any other day. I guessed doing it first thing allowed for maximum concentration, and I was just moving the final file over to the done pile when the first agent arrived.

‘Spence!’ I cheered, my smile melting into a sheepish expression when he jumped, ‘sorry! I’m just so happy to see another person, I’ve been here since 7 and the empty room was really starting to freak me out.’

He chuckled, placing his satchel and jacket on his desk before coming over to mine and accepting the hug I offered him. I loved hugging Spence; he was almost a foot taller than me, so when his arms wrapped around me he made me feel tiny and safe. He was like the twin I’d always wanted— we were similar in age, we liked the same movies and we were both a little socially awkward and trying to figure out who we were.

‘Why did you come in so early?’ He asked after we’d pulled apart, the both of us heading to the coffee machine, his arm around my shoulders.

‘I made cookies for Hotch and Jack and wanted to drop them off before the team could see and complain I hadn’t made them any.’ I told him, which wasn’t exactly a lie.

‘Smart.’ The genius snorted, pouring some coffee into my mug and then his own.

‘What did you get up to yesterday?’ I wondered as we headed back to my desk—I’d actually seen him on one of the days we’d had off as we’d had a Star Wars marathon. It was something we made a point to do at least once every three months.

‘Nothing really, just boring domestic stuff.’ He shrugged, wheeling his chair over to my desk.

‘Same, well that and baking,’ I shrugged.

‘What’s the matter?’ He explained when I frowned in confusion, ‘you sighed, that’s your tell.’

I sighed again, biting my lip and looking over to Hotch’s still dark office, ‘can you keep a secret?’

‘You know I can, Y/N.’ He assured me, and I knew he was right.

‘I’m having certain... feelings for someone I shouldn’t be, and I’m just struggling to get over it.’ I admitted, looking down at my coffee cup to avoid his observant eyes.

‘You mean Hotch?’ He clarified, and my gaze found his, shocked and surprised at his casual question.

‘You know?’ I squeaked, putting my mug down before I dropped it, ‘does anyone else?’

‘I don’t think so, I mean I’ve known for a while now, but I didn’t say anything because I figured you’d tell me if you wanted me to know.’ He shrugged and his calm attitude quelled my anxiety a little.

‘Okay well yes, I’m in love with Hotch and I don’t know how to make it stop.’ I sighed, running a hand through my hair, ‘I know he’ll never look at me that way, plus he’s my boss everyone would see it as inappropriate and that’s not even factoring in the age gap. I’ve tried dating other men but I just compare them to him and find them lacking, or they end up being total jerks and well you know about the guy Pen set me up with.’

He nodded, his brow crinkled with sympathy.

‘I know what you’re going through. Well, kind of.’ He bit his lip, running a hand through his chocolate locks, ‘it took me a while to get over JJ.’

‘I didn’t know you liked her.’ I admitted softly, my hand reaching out to squeeze his.

‘I did, for about a year, until I realised that she was never going to see me that way. Then she met Will and had Henry so it was easier for me to move on.’ He explained, taking a sip of his coffee, ‘how long have you been in love with him?’

‘I’ve had feelings for him since I met him, but I never really paid them any mind until we were on our way back from a case on the jet. Everyone was asleep and Hotch was on his way back from the bathroom, on his way he stopped and covered JJ and Prentiss with blankets, and got you a pillow and put it under your head. When he saw that I was still awake he just smiled at me and sat down next to Rossi. He didn’t say a word and in that moment I realised I loved him.’ My voice was low, but still loud enough for Spencer to hear, and though neither of us knew it, it was loud enough for Hotch to hear from the kitchenette, neither of us aware of his presence, ‘that was almost two years ago.’

‘You should tell him.’ Spence said, his hand entwining with mine, knowing the warmth of his hand would offer me some comfort.

‘Why? It won’t change anything for the good. He’ll tell me I’m his subordinate, that a relationship would be inappropriate, that he’d never be interested even if I didn’t work for him. I’ll be heartbroken and embarrassed and it could change the whole team dynamic. I don’t want that to happen.’ I sighed, looking down and fighting to stop any tears from falling. But like I said, Spence was like my twin, he knew when I was upset and I was bundled up in his arms before I could take another breath. The tears fell in earnest then as I sobbed against his chest, knowing I needed this moment to pull myself together before the rest of the team arrived.

‘So what are you going to do?’ He murmured against my hair.

‘Suffer in silence and hope I don’t die alone.’ I said, sarcasm heavy in my tone, but it wasn’t enough to completely disguise the fear in my choice.

‘Hey,’ he pulled back to look into my eyes, to allow me to see the sincerity behind his next words, ‘no matter what, you’ll never be alone, I promise you that. We’re all a family here, Y/N. You know that.’

A soft smile formed on my lips, ‘thanks Spence. You’re the best twin ever.’

We chuckled together and I pulled away to wipe the moisture from my cheeks before looking at the time on my watch. 8:45. The team would be arriving soon.

‘I’m gonna go and clean up.’ I murmured leaning over to pick up my bag and missing Hotch making his escape to the hallway so he wouldn’t be seen when I stood up.

‘Okay.’ Spence’s voice was soft and he returned the smile I sent him as I left for the bathroom.

By the time I’d ran some cold water over my face, reapplied my make up and ran a brush through my hair, I looked like I had when I first stepped through the doors this morning. No evidence of my morning heart-to-heart with Dr Spencer Reid remained as I made my way back to my desk, placing my bag onto my chair and joining the others in the conference room.

‘Sorry, I was just in the bathroom.’ I murmured, feeling the embarrassed flush form on my cheeks. Only I could arrive two hours early and still be late for the briefing.

‘It’s no problem,’ Hotch replied, nodding at Garcia to continue relaying the case.

I didn’t notice his eyes flicker back to me after I’d opened the case file, his dark eyes swimming with adoration, concern and sadness for a moment before his guards rose again and his attention shifted back to Garcia.

Reid however noticed the glance and felt his heart squeeze with hope. Y/N might not have noticed Hotch’s behaviour towards her, but he certainly had. He doubted anyone else on the team had observed the same things he had, because his eidetic memory didn’t allow him to miss anything. The glances, the fond looks, the concern for her during cases, how his expression softened at her happiness, how he made sure that there was always a supply of chocolate pop tarts in the kitchenette at work, because Y/N often forgot to eat during cases and he knew the sweet treat would offer her at least some nutrition and a pick-me-up for the particularly hard days.

Y/N didn’t know about any of it, and he’d considered telling her, but he knew she wouldn't believe him, and also it wasn’t his place to reveal. If Hotch wanted her to know, he’d tell her himself, he didn’t want to cause her any pain if he did reveal his observations only for Hotch to shoot it down and hurt her. He shook his head and focused on the briefing, reiterating some statistics on Florida.

He just hoped it all worked out for his friends. They deserved happiness.

A weary sigh left my lips as I wondered to my desk, eyeing the stack of paperwork and deciding to stay late and get it done; it was better than letting it build up to obscene levels. We’d just returned from Florida after ten days tracking a man who kidnapped families, held them for a week and then murdered them all. We’d managed to catch him before he killed the new family he’d abducted and I was beyond relieved, as was the rest of the team as we always were when we managed to save someone.

I glanced over to my right, eyeing Emily’s tired eyes with a soft smile. She’d stayed behind to finish paperwork like I had, but I could tell she was about ten minutes away from passing out. Seeing as I’d already managed to finish the few I’d accumulated on my desk, I wheeled my chair over to her desk and snatched up her remaining six files. It would take me another hour and a half, but it was worth it if she’d go home to sleep.

‘Y/N, what are you doing?’ She yawned, pushing her chair away from her desk.

‘Go home, Em.’ I told her, my voice gentle but firm. I continued when I saw her hesitate, despite her desire to take me up on the offer, ‘I’m serious, go home and snuggle your cat. Get some sleep.’

‘Are you sure?’ She murmured, another yawn escaping her lips.

‘I’m sure. Get outta here.’ I winked, turning and hiding my own yawn in my fist as I placed her files on my desk.

‘Thanks Y/N. Love you.’ She hugged me from behind and left with a kiss to my cheek.

‘You better.’ I yelled after her, smiling at her tired laughter.

I turned and started to work, I vaguely registered the elevator open and close as I filled in the report efficiently and quickly. I was determined to get through the remaining files before the exhaustion seeped in and took me over, too. I could feel it lingering in the back of my mind, just waiting to strike, but I hoped my concentration and the coffee I was drinking would hold it off long enough for me to finish. I also put Taylor Swift’s new album ‘Folklore’ on shuffle quietly in the back ground, hoping to prevent the empty floor freaking me out for as long as possible.

I was humming along with my tears ricochet as I signed the last file, tossing it onto the separate finished pile for Emily. I placed them back onto her desk and sat back down at mine, yawning as I turned off the music and just took a moment to relax. Of course in hindsight, that was a mistake, because I was exhausted and vulnerable to sleep. I didn't remember my head falling to rest on top of my arms, nor did I remember closing my eyes, but the next thing I knew was a large, warm hand on my lower back, gently rubbing back and forth to carefully rouse me from sleep.

‘Hotch?’ I murmured, my voice thick with sleep as I blinked, trying to wake myself properly. I looked down to my watch and saw the time: 2:45am, the last time I’d looked it had been 1am.

‘You should go home and get some sleep.’ He said, his voice gentle as he rubbed my back once more before moving away.

‘Yeah.’ I agreed, standing and stretching, a yawn leaving my mouth as I did, ‘what about you?’

‘I’m heading home now.’ He assured me, a small fond smile on his lips.

‘Okay.’ I offered him a grateful smile as he helped my uncoordinated, still partially unconscious self pull my jacket on.

‘Did you get my cookies?’ I wondered as we stood in the elevator that would take us to the parking garage.

‘I did.’ He smiled again, his eyes sparkling with that soft emotion again. I found myself returning the gesture, hoping he didn’t notice the flush that had most definitely formed on my cheeks.

‘Good.’ I said eventually, my brain apparently incapable of coming up with anything better as I leaned back against the wall, too exhausted to stand properly.

‘Jack will love the Spider-Man cookies. He’s still massively obsessed with him, I’m sure he’ll be his Halloween costume this year.’ Hotch mused, a small smile on his face as he spoke of his son.

People always assumed because Hotch was so authoritative and serious at work, that he wasn’t capable of smiling ever. But that wasn’t the case, sometimes his humour did find a way to integrate itself at work, but whenever a case was over, he became much more relaxed and smiled a lot easier as the responsibility from his job eased from his shoulders for a little while. What I didn’t know, was that he never relaxed around anyone else as much as he did around me.

‘I don’t know.’ I pursed my lips to hide my knowing smile, ‘Jack might have already mentioned what he was going to dress up as for Halloween this year last week over the family picnic.’

Hotch had invited the team to spend some time at the park with him and Jack. Garcia had insisted on turning it into a picnic, and had insisted on my help for preparing the food, seeing as I’d been preparing meals for Hotch, and sometimes Jack, for months now so I knew what they would like. It had been a huge success, and I had been reminded again what an amazing father Aaron was to Jack, he was an amazing kid.

‘Really, what’s that?’ He asked, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

‘Sorry, I’m sworn to secrecy.’ I winked and then blushed immediately after when I remembered exactly who I was winking at. I cleared my throat, ‘but something tells me you’ll love it.’

‘I’m sure I will.’ His voice became soft as his eyes stared into mine, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was talking about something else.

I was as powerless to look away from him as I always was, he had this captivating aura around him, this powerful personality that you couldn't help but submit to. Or maybe it was just me who felt his bewitchment so strongly because of my additional feelings for him. Either way, he didn’t look away from me until the elevator dinged, announcing our arrival to the parking garage. Even then, it took him a moment longer and I found myself wondering what he saw when he looked at me that made him so reluctant to break eye contact. When he did, look away, I became aware of how fast my heart was beating, how erratic my breath had become and as I walked to my car I was overcome with embarrassment, because it was something that wouldn’t have escaped his notice.

‘Goodnight, Y/N.’ He didn’t speak above his usual volume, but it was easy to hear him in the near empty garage.

‘Goodnight, Sir.’ I replied, climbing into my car and taking a deep breath, before turning on my car and driving away.

When Foyet had attacked Hotch, I had been the one to track him down at the hospital. I had refused to leave his side while I waited for him to wake up, tears trailing uncontrollably down my face as I took in his weakened state. I’d hated seeing him so pale, so vulnerable, and when the rest of the team had been informed after the new case had been solved, so had they. It had been awful, even more so when he woke and immediately went into profiler mode. He discovered that Hayley and Jack were in danger and ordered for them to be taken into protective custody before he passed out again. I’d stayed while the team went to retrieve them both, holding his hand until he regained consciousness.

‘Hey,’ he murmured, his dark eyes on mine. I went to remove my hand from his, but he tightened his grip and prevented me from doing so. I saw the soft look in his eyes again and relaxed my grip, looking down to hide my tears.

‘Hey.’ I replied, realising I’d said nothing in response to his greeting. I winced when I heard how rough my voice was, a sure sign I’d been crying.

‘You’ve been crying.’ It wasn’t a question, it was a statement of fact.

‘Only Aaron Hotchner would be profiling from his hospital bed.’ I teased, my heart feeling a little lighter at the amusement that formed on his expression.

‘Not profiling, just paying attention.’ He said, his voice low and weak and it made my heart hurt.

‘Of course I’ve been crying, you’re in a hospital bed, I walked into your apartment to find blood on the floor, and found you here with multiple stab wounds.’ I frowned, the images replaying themselves through my brain.

‘Hey.’ He squeezed my hand and my gaze returned to his, his dark eyes soft and reassuring, ‘I’m okay, Y/N. A little beat up, but I’m going to live and that’s all that matters.’

I started into his eyes for a long moment before nodding. That’s all that matters. He was right of course, but we both knew the only reason that was true, was because Foyet wasn’t finished with him yet, he wanted to watch him fall apart without his son and ex-wife in his life. But I refused to even think about that, because we were going to find him, and until we did, the whole team would be there for him. We wouldn't let him lose himself like the previous detective Foyet made a deal with had.

‘I’m really glad you’re alive.’ I admitted with a whisper, my eyes glazing over with tears, and I knew that my eyes were essentially an open book in that moment, my guards had crumbled to rubble over the past twenty four hours. I knew he could see just how relieved I was that he was okay, as his eyes glimmered with that unidentifiable emotion again as he squeezed my hand, telling me he was glad too.

My hand stayed grasped in his until Hayley and Jack arrived.

When we found Foyet, it hadn’t been before he’d managed to track down Hayley and Jack. Without a doubt, it had been the hardest case any of us had to work, hearing Hayley tell Hotch goodbye before we heard the gunshots that told us she’d been murdered. We all raced to the house to find Hotch beating Foyet beyond his death, not letting up until I placed a hand on his shoulder, the soft touch making him pause immediately.

‘He’s gone, Hotch.’ I murmured, squeezing his shoulder as he sobbed, ‘where’s Jack?’

‘Jack.’ He sobbed, jerking up from the ground and sprinting upstairs. I followed him, knowing he wouldn’t want Jack to see him the way he was, covered in blood, long enough to ask questions.

He ran to his office, falling to his knees next to the window seat and lifting it up to reveal a smiling and proud Jack.

‘I worked the case, daddy!’ He cheered as Aaron lifted him from inside the seat before pulling the lid back down.

‘You did a good job, buddy.’ He smiled through his tears, gripping his sons shoulders and kissing his forehead.

Prentiss stepped into the room behind me, her eyes soft with sympathy and heartbreak— the same look held in everyone’s eyes in that moment.

‘Hey Jack, why don’t we leave your daddy to clean up, huh? I’ll take you downstairs and you can play with the sirens in the car.’ Prentiss said, forcing her tone to appear cheery.

‘Can I daddy?’ Jack pleaded, his smile bright.

‘Of course buddy,’ Aaron said, squeezing his sons shoulder once more before Jack darted to Prentiss. She took his hand and led him from the room.

I didn’t remember moving to kneel in front of him, but I suddenly was, my arms wrapping around his neck as his head rested onto my shoulder. I held him as he sobbed, his tears trailing down my neck and shoulder, my hands moved comfortingly through his hair as he held me in a rib breaking grip. I held him until his throat was raw from crying, until his tears dried up, until he felt strong enough to pull away from my hold. At that point, no one had stepped into the room. I assumed the team had deduced that Aaron would need some time, and had kept everyone away knowing Hotch would hate anyone to see him vulnerable.

‘I’m so sorry, Hotch.’ I murmured, my eyes glazed over with tears at the sight of his pain.

‘I know.’ I could see the small spark of gratitude in his eyes among the pain, the grief, the worry, ‘we should clean up.’

I frowned at his use of ‘we’ until I glanced down and saw that I was covered in blood too; it must have transferred over as I comforted him. I nodded and took the hand he offered me to help me from the floor. He led moved to the small closet in the corner— I assumed he kept clothes in his office during his marriage to Hayley to avoid disturbing her if he got called into a case at odd hours of the morning. He pulled out a shirt and dress pants for himself before turning to me.

‘I think Hayley still has some clothes here.’ He said and it took me a second to understand what he meant. When I did I shook my head, almost a little to vigorously, but I couldn’t help it, wearing her clothes, when she was lying dead in the other room just didn’t seem right.

Hotch nodded in understanding, handing me a plain grey T-shirt that obviously belonged to him. I wondered into the en-suite, taking off my vest and unbuttoning my blouse before tugging the shirt over my head, tying it in a knot at my waist to make it more form fitting. I then washed my forearms and hands, watching the water run a light pink as I scrubbed away the blood. A few tears fell while I worked, but I forced myself to get it under control before I left the bathroom— this wasn’t about me, it wasn’t acceptable for me to fall apart right then. When I emerged from the bathroom, Aaron entered. As I waited for him to return I took deep and even breaths to keep myself in control of my emotions. While none of the team had been particularly close to Hayley, we all loved her because she’d loved Aaron, our leader, the man we looked up to, the man we trusted to make the tough decisions. And so, his grief, his loss was going to be felt by the entire team. I couldn’t even imagine how this was going to effect Jack, who was young enough to potentially not understand that his mom was never coming home.

I wiped away my tears and cleared my throat as the door opened and Hotch joined me in his office. I could see the concern in his eyes so I must have looked bad. I felt myself shake my head, amazed that even while he was feeling the worst pain he’d ever felt, he still took notice and cared about those around him.

‘Come on, you should get to Jack before he drives the neighbours insane with those sirens.’ I managed a smile that became more genuine at his breathy laugh as we walked down the stairs.

Everything was going to be okay, I’d make sure of it.

It had been six months since Hayley’s passing and life was starting to form a new normal for all of us. The team all offered their help once him and Jack had settled into his apartment. Aaron had respectfully declined, insisting he wanted to find out and adjust to being a single parent without the help. We all acknowledged his wishes, but made a point of us all going on a day trip at any available opportunity— that ended up being once a month.

Despite what he said, I continued to bring in prepared meals to work, more often than before and always for him and Jack, knowing that the last thing he’d have the energy for when he got home would be cooking. Plus, this meant he had more time to spend with his son before he tucked him in, and well I didn’t need to explain why that was a plus. He thanked me gratefully every time, and after a few months, he started inviting me over for dinner with him and Jack at least once a week. Sometimes it would be on one of our rare days off, or it would be after a long case before we started a new one the next day. Either way those dinners became the highlight of my week, primarily because of the company; I loved seeing Hotch relaxed and happy, which he always was around Jack, and I loved hearing Jack’s endless stories about school, or the imaginary world he’d created in one of his drawings. At first the domesticity of the gatherings threw me for a loop, but I continually reminded myself that I was there as a friend and nothing more until it sunk in. And so, we settled into a comfortable routine where I was blissfully ignoring the way my love for him only seemed to grow deeper the more time I spent with him. How was I to know that it was all going to go up in flames?

It was any other Monday morning as I rode the elevator up to the BAU floor, but when I stepped out and noticed everyone already gathered around the conference table, a bad feeling started to form in my gut. I dropped my jacket and purse off at my desk before heading into the room, not liking the way everyone’s eyes turned to me.

‘Am I late?’ I frowned, sliding into my usual seat in between Reid and JJ.

‘No, you’re right on time.’ Rossi assured me, his eyes flickering over to Aaron.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked, noticing there weren’t any files in front of anyone that would indicate a new case.

‘Johnathan Rivers is going to be put to death next week.’ Hotch started, and I felt myself tense at the name, ‘he’s revealed that there are more victims we didn’t even know he’d taken. He’s offered to reveal their names and locations in exchange for something.’ He continued when I didn’t ask, ‘he wants to be interviewed by you and me.’

‘Why?’ I couldn’t fathom why he would want Hotch there. Me I could understand— I was the victim that got away, he probably wanted to taunt me with details of what he’d done to the other women we hadn’t saved, to torture me with the guilt and knowledge of what I’d escaped when so many others hadn’t.

‘I don’t know.’ Aaron admitted, knowing that I wasn’t asking about me, but I got the feeling he wasn’t being completely truthful when his eyes darted from mine after he spoke, ‘if you don’t want to do this, I understand.’

‘Of course I don’t want to do this.’ I huffed a laugh, but it was void of humour, ‘but I’m not going to put me being uncomfortable above providing families with closure. When do we leave?’

He studied my expression for what felt like a long moment before he nodded and dismissed us with, ‘wheels up in ten. The rest of the team will remain behind to assist on any cases that come in.’

Everyone nodded and stood from the table. I headed for the bathroom, needing a moment to compose myself before I grabbed my go back from underneath my desk. I ran my hands underneath the cool water, taking a deep breath and trying to keep the memories from the forefront of my mind.

His sadistic smile. His hands running over my body. Not being able to move to stop him. No. Stop it. Get off me.

My breath caught in my throat and I braced my hands on the sink, ignoring the tears falling down my cheeks in favour of getting my breathing under control. If I didn’t I was going to hyperventilate and have a panic attack. But that knowledge didn’t help, it only seemed to make the invisible noose around my neck grow tighter and I fell to my knees, my vision becoming spotty and the shallow breaths I took feeling like fire in my throat.

‘Y/N.’ I’d know that authoritative voice anywhere, but at the moment I couldn’t bring myself to respond. I felt his hand envelop my right, squeezing it tightly as he continued, ‘you need to take deep breaths. In through your nose and out through your mouth. Match your breathing to mine.’ His voice was low, commanding and impossible to ignore, as he took his breaths I tried my best to mirror him, encouraged as he whispered soft reassurances to me whenever a deep breath broke into several shallow, panicked breaths. I don’t know how long he stayed there with me for, my hand in his, whispering encouragements and continually reminding me to match my breathing to his, but eventually I regained control and a long, relieved sigh left me when I realised it was over.

My forehead fell against his shoulder, exhaustion falling over me as I soaked his suit jacket with my tears. I hated panic attacks. They sucked, in truth I’d forgotten just how much. Hotch’s hand stroked my hair while the other rubbed soothing circles into my lower back. He never once complained, never gave the impression that he was getting impatient with how long it was taking me to pull myself together.

But when I did lift my head from his shoulder, my hands resting on the tops of his muscled arms for support the first words I said were, ‘I’m sorry.’

‘You have nothing to be sorry for.’ His eyes were sincere and reassuring, and I felt the tension in my chest ease a little.

I nodded, my head falling back to his shoulder. In the back of my mind I knew there was no need for me to still be clinging to him like this, that we were shifting more towards inappropriate behaviour the longer he held me in his arms, but I couldn’t bring myself to care, and seeing as he wasn’t in a hurry to pull away I didn't either. We stayed there for a few minutes longer but the moment was broken when his phone started to ring in his suit jacket. I reluctantly pulled back and stood with him as he pulled out the device and answered it.

‘Hotchner.’ He said, his voice slipping back into his usual stern work tone.

I tuned out of the conversation, wiping my cheeks and running some cold water over my face. I didn't have my bag with me so I couldn’t apply fresh make up to make my face look less tear stained, which was frustrating but it was what it was. I blotted my face dry and offered Hotch a reassuring smile as he examined my expression once again.

‘I’m fine.’ I told him once he’d hung up the phone.

‘Are you sure? When I said you didn’t have to do this, I meant it.’ He murmured, his eyes softening with sincerity.

‘I know you did, but I meant it when I said I wouldn’t put my discomfort above giving families closure.’ I sighed, gesturing towards the door, ‘we should get going.’

He nodded, guiding me from the room with a hand hovering above my lower back. I grabbed my go bag and purse from my desk, relieved the rest of the team was in the conference room again, most likely being briefed on another case. If they’d seen me in my current state, I was sure I’d have more people to convince that I was up to this.

We boarded the jet, taking one of the double seats next to each other. We spent most of the flight in silence, Hotch spent time going over the past cases, but I couldn't bring myself to, worried seeing what he’d done to those other women would trigger a panic attack. I took time to properly pull myself together, knowing I couldn’t sit across from a psychopath anything less than guarded and prepared. By the time the jet’s wheels touched down on the tarmac, I was ready to face him.

‘It’s nice to see you again.’ His smile was the same, it still sent a slither of discomfort down my spine, but I refused to let it show on my face.

‘We’re here as you requested, now give us the names and locations of the victims we missed.’ Hotch said, I could see him out of my peripheral vision, he was sat straight, quietly confident and his tone was stern. But Rivers hadn’t stopped staring at me, and I wasn’t about to break first.

‘Names,’ Hotch prompted after a moment, his tone hardening.

He finally looked away and I took in the smug upturn of his lips and the malice that glittered in his eyes. I didn’t know what he was going to say, but I knew it wasn’t going to be good.

‘I’ll tell you what you want to know.’ His eyes flickered to me again, and when Aaron cleared his throat to attract his gaze, the smile that grew on his face was that of a sharks, ‘if you tell me something first.’

‘What do you want to know?’ He asked, a confused frown forming on his face.

‘What I would like to know is how you function so well as a team when you’re clearly in love with one another.’ He said and I felt my blood run cold. Of all the ways I’d pictured Hotch finding out about my feelings for him, this was most definitely not on the top ten list.

Neither of us spoke, and he took that as a sign to continue as he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed arrogantly against his chest, ‘I noticed the night you arrested me. While I was cuffed and led away by your brawny agent you rushed over to her. Now love is not something I understand myself but I’ve witnessed it on others, specifically on the two of you that night. The way you held her, the way she relaxed with your arms around her, the way you refused to leave her alone and carried her over to the ambulance when she passed out.’

I’ve witnessed it on others, specifically the two of you that night.

Specifically the two of you that night.

The two of you.

He didn’t mean... did he?

I banished that train of thought before it could run away from me. Rivers didn’t know what he was talking about, he just wanted to rile us up, to exert the minimal control he still had to play with us and feel some form of accomplishment. I took a breath and leaned back in my seat, making a show of rolling my eyes. I’d be damned if I was going to let this psycho see just how well he’d pin pointed and played on my insecurities.

‘Not that it’s any of your business,’ I examined my nails, knowing not giving him my full attention would play on his superiority complex. Like I said, most domineering personalities were arrogant and incredibly narcissistic— Johnathan Rivers possessed that particular characteristic in spades, ‘but the way I feel for Agent Hotchner is no different than how I feel for the rest of my team. I love them all and they’re like family to me. Now I don’t know what you think you witnessed, but I assure you, your assumptions are false.’

I leaned forward to look him in the eyes and when he suddenly jolted forward, to make a grab for me, I refused to flinch and continued to meet his eye. I felt Hotch lean forward too, slamming his hand onto the metal table and once again demanding the names.

‘What’s the matter Agent Hotchner? Nervous about sharing your own feelings on the subject?’ He asked, but chuckled at Aaron’s dark glare, ‘fine. Wendy Grooves, Sarah Jones, Victoria McMillan and Melinda Hewitt. All of them can be found buried underneath concrete in the basement of the house I owned. I had to move the dumping site when I ran out of room.’

Without another word Hotch and I stood, so simultaneous that it was almost as if we planned it, and strode from the room. He pulled out his phone to call Morgan to put together an extraction team to recover the bodies that we’d been given. We both headed for the jet afterwards, neither of us wanting to stay any longer there than we had to. I could feel the tension that crackled between us and how it seemed to intensify the longer we didn't talk. As much as I hated it, I didn’t want to be the one to break the silence, and so we stayed quiet until Hotch shifted in his seat across from me half way through our flight.

‘We should talk.’ He said, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it, and when I looked up into his eyes I could see his hesitation along with that ever present soft emotion.

‘Okay.’ I reluctantly agreed, taking a deep breath and steeling myself for rejection, ‘I’ve been in love with you—.’

‘I know how you feel about me, Y/N.’ He cut me off, continuing when I blinked in confusion, ‘I had my suspicions before, but when I heard you talking to Reid almost a year ago, that confirmed it.’

‘You heard me.’ I repeated, feeling embarrassment swirling in my gut, ‘why didn’t you say anything?’

‘Because at the time, I was still dealing with getting over Hayley, and then she...’ he trailed off, closing his eyes for a moment, ‘then she died and I didn’t realise how much time had passed. And I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure I was ready to move on, until I was sure I could be completely invested in the relationship and not feeling guilty for moving on and being happy.’

I couldn’t believe my ears. The way he was talking it sounded like... like he had feelings for me too?

‘But I am ready to move on, Y/N. If you’re still willing to give me a chance?’ He asked, his eyes filled with a mixture of emotions, the most prominent being hope. I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward and taking his hands in mine.

‘I am absolutely sure I want to give you a chance, Aaron.’ I murmured, his following smile was contagious.

He leaned forward, his hands pulling away from mine to caress my face, gently wiping away the happy tears that fell down my cheeks. His forehead fell against mine, and I knew he was giving me the chance to pull away, to change my mind, and when I didn’t he leaned forward and sealed his mouth over mine. The kiss started off tentative, as all first kisses did, and when we’d become more familiar with one another, his hand lifted to my hair as he deepened the kiss. My hands slid into his midnight locks, enjoying the softness and tugging on the strands. I felt a groan vibrate in his chest and he pulled me closer, both of his hands lifting me by my waist and onto his lap. One hand trailed down my back, the other fell to the side of my neck, his thumb moving back and forth over my pulse point. Before the kiss could deepen any further, we reluctantly pulled apart, our lungs in dire need of oxygen. Our foreheads rested against each other, our erratic breath mingling as we worked to get it under control. Once we’d recovered more, he placed a chaste kiss to my lips, then my nose, then each eye lid before finishing with my forehead. I chuckled breathlessly, my heart picking up again, as his hands rested on my cheeks and he stared at me with that soft emotion again. Only now I could see what it was, now that my mind wasn’t clouded with fear of misinterpretation. It was love.

‘We have some things we need to discuss.’ He murmured after a while, ever the boss.

‘I know.’ My hand covered his left on my cheek, shifting it so I could kiss his palm before I entwined our fingers together.

‘I don’t think we should tell the team right away, while we figure things out and get into our own rhythm without having to worry about being over assessed when they know.’ He said, his other hand moved through my hair, a smile forming on his lips when I leaned into his touch, ‘and we’ll have to file a relationship form with Strauss.’

‘Sounds good to me.’ And it did, hearing him talk about what we would need to do once we’d found dynamic as a couple, made it seem more real and long lasting.

After that, we didn’t talk much, and I didn’t move from his lap. My head rested against his shoulder, my face nuzzled into his neck. His hand moved through my hair while his other held a case file that he was reading, apparently it was one JJ had asked for a second opinion on. I didn’t remember exactly when I fell asleep, but the last thought that ran though my mind was one word.

Safe.

It was three weeks later that Aaron and I went on our first date. We’d spent time together in between of course, but we’d only had the odd day off since and that time was meant for Jack, which I understood. I loved the little guy so if spending time with Aaron meant spending time with Jack too, it was hardly a hardship and more of a blessing. Which is why I didn’t push for us to have our first date, knowing that he cared for me as I cared for him practically had me walking on air. But when he asked me out to dinner and a movie, and told me that Jack was with is aunt for the night, I found myself feeling nervous with butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I’d dressed in a form fitting slinky dark purple body con dress, paired with some black flats. I’d curled my hair and clipped it back so it fell down the centre of my back, my make up was light and I was wearing lip balm over lipstick— I didn’t want to have to worry about topping it up throughout the night.

His knock at the door made the butterflies swarm again and I opened the door with a smile. I felt my eyes dilate with attraction as I took him in— he was wearing his usual dress shoes and pants, but the way he wore his shirt made me want to drool. It was pale blue, his top two buttons were undone, allowing me to spy some chest hair, and his cuffs were rolled up to his forearms. I couldn't help the way my gaze lingered on the veins that protruded from his arms, and when I finally managed to meet his eyes again I noticed they were alight with attraction and pleasure at my reaction to him.

‘You look...gorgeous.’ I said, for lack of a better word. His smile grew on his lips as he reached forward, taking my hand in his. My free hand fell to his forearm, running along his veins and enjoying the softness of his skin.

‘Thank you, honey.’ He murmured, his hand moving to the side of my face, his thumb moving over my cheekbone, ‘you look breath taking.’

I blushed at the compliment, placing a kiss to his palm in thanks. As I grabbed my keys and my card wallet, I realised I hadn’t grabbed a bag to carry them in, before I could Aaron took them from my hands and placed them in his back pocket with a wink that made my heart skip a beat.

As we walked to the elevator, he told me about how Jack had taken his FBI badge into school for show and tell, without telling him about it first. He’d worried that he’d misplaced it, or left it in Detroit— the last place we’d gone to for a case—until Jack had come home and told his dad about his day. He’d told him he shouldn’t take things without asking, but he’d been more touched than mad.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we sat next to one another in the privacy of a booth, eating Italian food and drinking wine. We spent the night basking in each other’s company, sharing stories, laughing and deciding to order dessert when we realised we’d lost track of time and missed the movie. But I didn’t mind, I preferred it actually instead of being in a place where we couldn’t share conversation. We stayed until an apologetic waiter told us they were closing and asked us to leave. And we drove back to his apartment, his hand entwined with mine and his other on the steering wheel as music from the radio played quietly.

‘Jack has a play date tomorrow morning, so Jessica won’t be bringing him home until the afternoon.’ Hotch murmured to me as we stepped into his apartment.

‘Oh really, so no early start tomorrow?’ I grinned, a sigh of contentment leaving me as his hands rested on my waist.

‘Which is good, because when I’m through with you, I think you’ll need your rest to recover.’ He spoke quietly against the skin of my throat in between kisses.

There was no arrogance in his voice, he was confident but quietly so, and I assumed he had a reason to be. He wasn’t the kind of man who was self assured without knowing it to be true.

‘Hmm... I think you’re all talk, Hotchner.’ I teased, but it was rendered pointless as a quiet moan left my throat when his lips latched onto the sensitive spot behind my ear.

He chuckled against my skin, not bothering to respond as my behaviour had already told him everything he needed to know. My hands wound in his hair as his lips continued their exploration, grateful for his grip on my lower back, as without the support I was sure my knees would have buckled. My head fell against the back of the front door as my breathing became erratic, while his lips trailed over my collarbone and down between the valley of my breasts. His hand slid the thin strap down my arm, and allowing him to move the fabric of my dress and close his mouth around my nipple. I moaned, feeling myself grow hotter as his hand moved down my legs, slipping under the satin fabric and trailing up my bare leg and stopping behind my knee. He lifted my right leg to hook around his waist, and then did the same with my left, his lips never stopping in their pleasurable torment on my chest. I barely noticed him carrying me to his bedroom, until my back was met with the cool temperature of his sheets. His lips returned to mine, the kiss full of passion, lust and when our tongues met, a battle for dominance that he won with minimal effort.

As we became lost in each other, as he moved inside of me, as he whispered praises and encouragements in my ear, as we reached our climaxes together, I found myself fall that little bit more in love with him. Because, he was gentle, he took care of me and my desires, and he found pleasure in doing so, just as I knew he would.

Much later, as we both lay back to regather our breath and exhaustion overcame me, I found myself thinking— there was no way us being together would feel so natural, so right, if we weren’t meant to be. And in that moment, I knew we were.

Aaron Hotchner was my soulmate.

A/N: This came to me after I read of terrible coffee and late night rides by @venusbarnes It’s absolutely wonderful and if you haven’t read it yet, and like Aaron Hotchner imagines, you can find it on their Masterlist. Trust me, you’ll love it.

I hope ya’ll liked this one, I know it’s long, but I just couldn’t bring myself to stop. Whoops.

#aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #hotch x reader #criminal minds

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coffeecomicsgalore · 4 years ago

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With The World On Her Shoulders

Ao3

@marinettemarch

Chapter 21: Baker

“Adrien? Can I talk to you?” Marinette asked, hopeful that it sounded genuine. “No. That’s not right. Adrien, do you think we can talk?” Nope. “Hey, Adrien. Nice to see you here. Do you come to school often?” What the heck was that? “Focus, Marinette!”

“You’re going to be late for school if you don’t finish getting ready,” Tikki stated nonchalantly as she gathered her breakfast cookie, “and then you won’t get a chance to talk to him at all until lunch.”

“Maybe I should wait until lunch—”

“And if you do, then you’ll find a reason to back out of talking to him before then.”

Marinette shot Tikki a scandalous expression and Tikki only shot her an annoyed glance back.

“You know I’m right, Marinette. I’m eons old; I know how things work.” Tikki added unperturbed.

Marinette pouted but decided to give in, stopping all instances of trying to work up a conversation with her mirror in order to finish tying her pigtails.

She gathered her backpack, her purse, and sketchbook, looking at herself once more in the mirror before heading towards the trapdoor.

“Marinette.” Tikki called out to her before she could lift the door, reminding her of the little gift she had made for Adrien once Chat had left for the night.

“Oh, thanks Tikki. I almost forgot.”

“You’re welcome!” Tikki chirped, flying into the purse as Marinette snatched the gift from her desk. She made her way down to the bakery where she grabbed a croissant from her papa’s waiting hand, kissing her parents goodbye before stepping onto the street and heading towards the school.

Marinette’s breath hitched as she stood at the stop light. She bit her lip as she took in the sight, her stomach fluttering as she noticed who was already waiting there. Standing alone at the base of the stairs was Adrien, and Marinette couldn’t help but frown at his disposition. He looked distraught, his head down as his left hand held the strap of his book bag tightly, and she could see that there was a small frown on his face. He was toeing the street, scuffing his Gabriel brand shoes against the pavement, while muttering something to himself as he stared at his feet.

Swallowing thickly, Marinette crossed the street, holding the straps of her bag just as tightly as he was. She carefully walked towards him, afraid to startle him as he continued to mutter and sigh. But as she gathered the courage to open her mouth and speak, Adrien looked up, yelping out when he noticed how close she had gotten to him.

“Adrien! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Marinette tried to reach out and calm him down, his distressed panting indicating exactly how startled he was.

“No! No.” He tried to say, pressing his hand to his chest to calm his racing heart. “I—uh—wasn’t paying attention. You scared me, is all. I guess I know how you feel now after all the times I scare you, huh?”

Marinette bit her lip and nodded, trying to hold back the little giggle that tried to leave her lips. He’s not perfect, Chat Noir had said to her, and she tried to remember that as the mantra as she stood before him. He’s just like you, she reminded herself. Scared, timid, and not perfect.

“You’re perfect—I mean! No! No worries! Really.” She tried to laugh at her mishap, but it came out harsh, and she looked to the side as expressed a pained smile.

She then turned to Adrien and smiled, remembering the plan she had in place.

“Hi, Adrien. I wanted to say thank you.” When Adrien looked up at her, he looked confused, so Marinette continued. “Chat Noir had something delivered to me last night. He said it was from you.”

Adrien blushed and ran a hand behind his neck, letting out a nervous chuckle as he did so. “Yeah… did you throw it over your balcony?”

Marinette laughed and hid it behind her hand, and Adrien couldn’t help but laugh as he looked up at her with sincerity in his eyes.

“No.” She shook her head with a small smile. “I would never. My amazing friend got them for me. How could I ever do that to him? Plus, they were absolutely beautiful—full of meaning too.”

Adrien perked up at her acknowledgement of the meanings. “Yeah. I like knowing the meanings behind things. Flowers are definitely full of them. Was it—” he started but hesitated, looking down at his feet before looking back up at her, “was it too much?”

Marinette looked at him and considered her words, before deciding to ask him an important question. “I guess it depends. Do you… do you pity me?”

Adrien stared at her in shock, a nearly silent gasp leaving his lips as he took in the words she asked. She knew she looked dejected, and she truly wondered what Adrien thought of her at that very moment.

“I would never, ever feel pity for you, Marinette. You’re absolutely amazing, and I hate that that moment was taken away from you. If anything, I hate how Hawkmoth did that to you, not that you told me how you felt.”

Marinette bit her lip, but smiled, happy that it was at least going in the right direction.

“Can we start over?” She asked quickly, noticing the confused look on his face once again. “I realized yesterday that I’m not your friend. I mean, I am, but not in the way you and Nino are, or how me and Alya are. I would like to change that. Be friends.”

“I would like that.”

Marinette reached out her hand, waiting for him to take it. Once he realized what she was doing, he did the same, grasping onto her hand and shaking it.

“Hi. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng: a clumsy girl who can’t figure out what she’s doing half the time. I’m a baker, a fashion enthusiast, and a girl who takes on more than she can handle.”

Adrien chuckled, gripping her hand and following her lead. “Nice to meet you, Marinette. My name is Adrien Agreste: a boy who only knows what he’s doing because his assistant tells him his day to day. I’m a model, an anime nerd, and I’m a dork who loves puns.”

“Puns, huh?” She smiled; her expression filled with mirth. “Sounds like my papa has some competition. Well, it is nice to meet you, Adrien. I think we’re going to have a fun year.”

Adrien smiled. “I think so too.”

#marinettemarch2021 #marinettelove2021 #adrinette #ml fanfiction

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sleepdeprivedheretic · 4 years ago

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Heart of the Wild (Final)

Notes: Final Chapter! I??? Just wanted to post smut, originally, and so here it is. It’s been a doozy of writing this, but I hope you all enjoy :3

Warnings: Ruts, consensual smut, but like, kinky consensual smut, and possessive behavior

He couldn’t help himself, really. It was inevitable. Life was basically throwing a cute little rabbit at him, but he could wait until she reciprocated his feelings. For now, he was content in the never ending loop of waking up next to a pillow wall, seeing the smaller hybrid’s arms wrapped around one of them, her face muffled into the downy fluff of white. He was content with washing dishes in the cool stream, talking nonsense as he flicked some droplets at her. Happy of small things, such as she laid peacefully next to him, unafraid and just relaxed as wishful thinking and stories passed her lips.

Yeah, it was really inevitable, for he swore that his heart quickened at her witty remarks, the soft, worried gazes that she gave him, and of course, the sheer feeling of stability and trust was beginning to eat at his heart.

He wasn’t dumb, he could tell the way her heartbeat quickened, tail wiggling excitedly, and the bloom of warmth spread across her face as she stared at him, giving quick little peeks when she thought that he wasn’t looking. He couldn’t help but inquire her some days, stretching lazily as his back muscles were taunt, pants slipping more loosely around his hips as his tail swished with mirth and at the pleasantness of eyes searing into him. Once a while, he’d give a subtle wink, lips curling in a smug grin as she stammered and flushed brilliantly.

He was hopeless.

…………..

He had to leave for a couple of days, carrying some blankets, wool, and other goods that Izuku had lent him. It was three months in, and already, you’ve gotten acquainted with Eijirou, Izuku, the shy Tamaki, and Mirio, the ever smiling husky mix who was adamant in following Tamaki around, claiming that they’ve known each other since they were small.

The boys and you had decided to build a chicken coop, while Taishiro decided to trek the long journey to the village, opting to trade some supplies for some hens and roosters. He promised Izuku and Eijirou that he’d pay off the supplies they’d given him, with chicks and eggs, in the future, as he left the coop building plan to Mirio, the husky being had been around villagers and carpentry, more.

The coop wasn’t long to build, especially when tools from the village were used. You liked the boy’s company, despite the short amount of time was between the five of you. Izuku and Eijirou were sweetly chattering among themselves, giggling cutely as one surprised the other with a peck on the lips, and of course, Mirio’s tail excitedly wagging as Tamaki listened in on his ramblings, his ears flickering with interest as a small, genuine smile graced his lips.

You ignored your own thoughts, as you hammered a pole into the soft, earthy soil, opting to chatter along when the opportunity rose. It took a day for the pen and coop to be built, and you knew that he would arrive home sometime tomorrow. Home. Right now, it was dusk, you were laying in the shared bed, feeling a sense of loneliness without the usual comforting aurora or scent of Tai. It was scarily amazing on how fast that you’ve missed him, already, and him being gone, made you feel a tug of needing him to be there.

As you were about to drift off to sleep, a soft clucking jolted you awake from the other side of the door. Realizing that it was Tai coming home early with the fowls, relief pooled within your stomach as you imagined his scent, yet, oddly enough, the one wafting towards you, was slightly different. It was his scent, yes, but-

The door flew open, cutting you off from your thoughts as a brown package was thrown your way. Opening your mouth to speak, you stilled. His ears were pinned back, pupils widened, fluffed tail swishing wildly, as the obvious smell of pure ‘rut’ filtered through the room. Staring at you with hunger, he let out a frustrated growl, as he slammed the door, running off to who knows where.

His pheromones preened yours, and you knew that you couldn’t let him suffer like this, nor ignore your feelings, anymore. Ruts could be more feral than a heat, since they happen once a year, heats being two. It didn’t help matters that he was probably pent up from smelling yours, and detaining himself several strong instinctive urges.

You ran after him, blinded into the night, following the more sharp scent of the earthy tone that was overlaying the pure desperation of the sweeter one. He was hurting, you knew, and his body might be biting back at him with full vengeance from the neglect of finding a bond mate. The moonlight, had shone brighter than the sun, letting more light filter through the snowy, yet grassy woodland as you followed his scent, carefully avoiding fallen branches and twigs as you made your way towards him.

“Please s-stay back, Sugar.” You stopped meters away from him, him leaning against a tree, roughly palming the large bulge within his pants as he left soft short growling huffs. Your inner omega couldn’t help but whine, begging you to submit, and for once, you wanted to be on the same page. He was more coherent, for his rut had freshly hit him, yet, he was on a thin line, waiting for one of you two to breach it or run.

“Do you love me?” You couldn’t help but ask, and he stilled, eyes darting to focus on yours. Despite the wild crawl within, amber pools had softened, as he let out something akin to a mewl, gripping the tree harshly.

“F-fuck, yeah. I do love you, seems forever, now, and I don’t wanna- hurt ya.” He broke out the sentence in pauses. You let your own soothing pheromones wash over his, calming the wild look in his eyes from a distance as you bit your bottom lip. His breathing slowed, staring at you with a curious manner, as if silently asking you why you weren’t walking slowly away.

“I love you, too. After first meeting you, it seems as if I always had.” You admitted, feeling the weight fall off of your chest, as heat enveloped your cheeks and chest. As if a switch, the sweet scent of his seemed to overlap the earthy tone as he shyly covered his face with the back of his hand.

“Ya…ya have a penchant for timing, don’tcha?” He murmured. “Couldn’t jus’ told me earlier, when I’m more calm.” He huffed as he stared, watching you intently through blonde lashes.

“You’re in pain.” Was all you simply said, and he groaned, knowing that you were right.

“Ya want this?” There was no sense in beating around the bush, you knew. He breathed in your scent with greed, panting as his pupils were now slanted within the moonlight, giving him a more feral, hungry glow.

“Yes.” You didn’t hesitate.

“Run.” He then whispered, and you didn’t have to say anything, knowing the ancient customs of a chase. It didn’t take long for you to bolt, him heavy at your heels. This is a chase that the two of you had wanted, the one that you’ve always dreamed of when dealing with all of your previous heats alone. You knew that he was stalling time on purpose, taking time to mark the trees with the scent glands within his wrists, warning everything and everybody that he was in a serious rut, and not to be trifled with during this time.

You knew where you wanted to go. Leaping over bushes, running your own glands against anything and everything, and dodging and weaving between trees, you’ve made your way past the slow-moving moonlit stream, across the beaten path, and straight towards the door of his hut, shoving it open as you all but fell onto the bed. Not a second too late, the door had slammed shut, and he was on top of you, pinning your chest flush against the downy pillows and soft furs.

His chest was laying heavy and warm against your still clothed back, him breathing hotly into your twitching ear as you felt his length through his pants, lay fat up against your bare thighs that the tunic wasn’t long enough to cover.

“Ya’re really wantin’ this?” His voice drew into a rumbled growl, and you nodded. His rut was singing for to you to submit, as you felt yourself secrete more slick onto your tunic, feeling the ache of emptiness clench desperately at nothing. You’ve never felt this way outside of your own heats, before, and you were almost ashamed to acknowledge that you were desperate. Accepting your consent, he all but ripped off your tunic, you squeaking in surprise as the cool air hit your sensitive breasts, the furs rubbing against your most sensitive areas.

“Nice view there, Darlin’.” He rumbled, admiring your flushed back, ears downward, and chest flat against the bed that the two of you had shared. Wasting no time, he buried his face into the back of the crook of your neck, inhaling the area where your scent was the strongest. You let out a surprise squeak as he wrapped his arms around you, thumbing your areolas and buds, as he lightly nibbled at your scent gland, rumbling out a mantra of pleased purrs and growls.

“Been wantin’ this fer a while. Look at ya, bet ya’re soaked down there.” He let out a teasing breath at your ear, nibbling the appendage, giving it a light suck, and chuckled at your mewled squeak. Your breath had caught in your throat, feeling chilled as he broke away for a small second, his trousers being thrown into the pile of dirty blankets, and he resumed his position. Inches above your form, he didn’t crush you whilst he gave you bouts of affection, smoothing down your ears, chuckling as he cupped your wiggling tail, drinking in your pleased sounds as he left butterfly kisses along your back, opting to bite and suck certain parts of your skin.

“T-Tai-! Please!” You couldn’t help but hiccup at the sudden burst of attention and affection, feeling your limbs and heart seem to melt. He chuckled, rubbing your sensitive tail and brushing a stray hair away from your face. Leaning in to your face, he kissed your cheek gingerly, the guttural rumbling of his purring enveloped your entire being as he sighed with content.

“What is it that ya want, Sugar?” He kissed your cheek.

“Sweet-pea?” A peck on the side of your forehead.

“Darlin’?” A soft hum against the column of the back of your throat. You knew that you weren’t in heat, but the newly found attention, made your heart flutter wildly and skin feeling hot, as he clasped your fingers between his.

“I want to see you.” You admitted, and he purred, excitedly.

“Alright, Honey. Be warned, my…uh, thing, might be a lil’ different than other breeds.” He sat up, letting you sit up with him. Shyly biting your bottom lip, you realized that his fingers were still intertwined with yours.

“I wouldn’t know. I-” You blurted out honestly, blushing furiously at your forwardness, but he only hummed, bringing a hand to lift your chin up to meet his endearing gaze.

“Ya’re the dumbass who wanted to be chased by an almost feral adult in his rut.” He chuckled at your pout, but then leaned in.

“I love ya, anyways.” He broke the distance, surprising you with a wet, slow kiss as he guided you to lay down on your back. You hummed, squeezing your eyes shut as he spread your thighs apart, trusting him as he deepened the physical contact. You let out another squeak of surprise as he wrangled with your tongue, sucking slightly on it, eating up your noises as he let out victorious purrs that rumbled into your throat. Smoothing a rough hand down your leg, he palmed your stomach, thumbing your belly button, as if teasing you on what was yet to come, as your own curious fingers explored him. Rough muscles, soft fat, downy hair, and twitching, fuzzy ears met your exploring hands as you mentally savored each touch.

Breaking away from the kiss, the two of you were flushed, sweaty, and panting for air as you opened your eyes, staring at one another while drinking the other in.

“I love you, too.” You said honestly, not breaking eye contact. He purred, kissing you again, then he winced.

“Ugh, rut’s gettin’ a lil’ too hard to handle, right now, Chickadee. Ya sure? My…baser instinct might not treat ya as sweetly as I want too.”

“It’s alright, I trust you.” You admitted truthfully. He sighed, brushing your hair out of your face, cupping your jaw gently.

“I’m gonna fuck ya roughly, breed ya, and say things that I might not even be wary of. To be honest, ya might even become pregnant after the whole spiel. There’s no way in hell that I’m gonna pressure ya if ya don’t want this. Tell me no, and I’ll leave, but’ll be back when the rut’s over.” He admitted, cheeks flushed and eyes hungry at the whole prospect, yet, he awaited your decision. If you were being honest, the prospect didn’t sound bad at all.

Cupping his hand, you kissed lightly on the inside of his wrist, causing a surprise purr.

“Are you going to claim me?”

“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate, and you nodded.

“Then it’s alright.”

“Positive?”

“Absolutely.” You confirmed, and then he pounced.

You let out a surprised mewl mixed in with a squeak as he sucked harshly at the scent gland in your neck, a definite promise for what was about to happen, before he nipped at your bottom lip, licking a stripe against it, before kissing you deeply, again. Hot, it was a little more hot than the earlier one. Yes, your mouth had burned slightly from the rush heat, but right now, melting would be an understatement.

He broke away, pulling you up to take a good look at him. It was lengthy, thick, and heavily dripping clear fluid in which you were curious about, as well as covered in odd hooks. You gave him a heated, yet questioning look, and he gripped your hand.

“They’re soft, they won’t hurt. Feel’em.” He gestured towards the fleshy barbs, and you did as he asked.

He let out a groan, head thrown back as your inquisitive fingers rubbed at the small barbs of soft flesh, to the angry, red crown of his dick. Your eyes widened with surprise at the vulnerability of his state, him licking his bottom lip, hissing as he bucked within your touch. One of his hands gripped your hand which was holding him.

“Up and down, Sugar. Don’t forget to rub the hea-oooh, that’s right, feel free to grab a lil’ roughly.” He groaned in a rough, yet desperate tone of voice as he guided you. It felt hot and heavy within your hand, yet soft to the touch, the little barbs not hurting as he had promised, the clear liquid of his opening, smeared onto your hand as you absentmindedly licked your lip. He let out a needy little growl, placing both hands on the sheets, clenching them rather roughly.

“Ya don’t hafta do anythin’ that ya don’t wanna do, but I’m tellin’ ya, my patience with this rut is wearin’ thin, Darlin’. I wouldn’t do it, if I were ya.” He tried to say calmly, yet his voice shook slightly at the prospect. His amber irises stared at you, pupils blown wide and almost nearing feral, and you understood that he wasn’t in the best situation of control, right now.

Hesitantly, you let go of your grip, and he sighed, yet his focus was pinned onto your curious look as you looked your wet fingers. He let out a groan mixed into a whimper when you popped one into your mouth, tasting what was oozing out of him, and he snapped.

You gave out a startled yelp, as he swiftly apprehended you, positioning you in the classic presentation of an omega; your face was buried into the pillows, as you sat on your knees, back curved for easy access in mounting. You whimpered, the chill air hitting your bare thighs and center as he chuckled, widened your legs and propping your mid-drift up.

“Ya’re wet.” He let out a darker purr, thumbing your folds apart as you bit the pillow. You awaited anxiously, curious on what was about to happen next. It didn’t take him long to deliver, you squeaking in utter surprise as a hot, wet tongue began licking at your center and clit.

“T-Taishiro!” You let out a squeak, gripping the pillows more harshly as he hummed, eagerly licking up your sopping fluids in a hurried frenzy. You had to bite the back of your hand in surprise, as his tongue prodded at the tight muscle of your clenching opening, his palm sliding up your thigh, as his other hand gripped your wiggling tail. You couldn’t help but let out a mantra of whimpers and squeaks, him chuckling now and then, breaking away to kiss the back of your thigh.

“’M gonna open ya up, Sweetheart. Get ya ready.” He purred into your center, and you nodded. He had an extreme amount of patience, you couldn’t help but think through fogged thoughts. Three fingers had breached into your opening, and you couldn’t help but feel relief of something finally entering you.

“Takin’ em so eagerly, huh? So slutty.” He chuckled darkly at your clench of surprise of his sudden change of behavior.

“I’m not a-Mm!” You couldn’t finish the sentence as he crooked them, pumping them slowly within you as he stretched you.

“I know, but remember what I said, earlier?” He taunted, and you nodded. Pleased with your nod, he slipped his fingers out, bringing them to his mouth to suck on them. You watched as you looked behind you, him moaning with the flavor of you as his irises looked dark and intimidating.

“Now, you’re mine.” His eyes flashed, as he pressed a palm against your back, your face was back into the pillows as he wasted no time. Your tail wiggled eagerly as the head prodded your loose and wet entrance, catching the rim of your muscle and you whined. Taking your own initiative, you thumbed your clit, rubbing the juices against it, made you feel more relaxed as he struggled to sheath himself inside.

“S-so fuckin’ tight! Guess I gotta stuff ya, by the looks of it.” He growled dangerously, and you let out a desperate whine, feeling him stretch you. Although the stretch was a little painful, it was more of a delicious friction, especially with the soft barbs stirring your walls, and the curved fat crown of his head spearing you.

Finally, he stilled, huffing as you keened.

“Are ya alright, Darlin’?” He asked softly, palming your back smoothly as he maneuvered himself to cover your back with his chest, once again, keeping himself from crushing you as he leaned down to kiss the corner of your mouth.

“I’m alright, Tai. Feels good.” You added, and he hummed, bucking his hips a little, enjoying your whimpered moan.

“Good, ‘m glad. Ya know what these barbs are for?” He then asked, purring against your cheek, ears flickering as you shook your head.

“To keep seed within the womb. Would ya like that?” He let out a darker purr, his hips moving on their own accord, and you cried, biting the back of your hand as the curved head prodded at something deeper within you.

“Y-yes!” You answered as he bit the column of the back of the side of your neck, and your brain had stopped working, as apparently his did, too, for his hips snapped desperately, finally chasing his rut.

Your mind went blank as you couldn’t help but pant out whimpers, groans, and whines to his demanding growls, feeling him work himself into you as he bit your neck, gripping your side and breast harshly as the sound of his hips slapping against yours, and the squelching sounds, echoed with the crackling of the fire, making you clench desperately as you laid there and took it.

He loosened his jaw, breaking away his grip as he panted harshly into your ear. Bringing his hand underneath you, he cupped your stomach as he continued his near brutal pace.

“’M gonna fuck you full of cubs and kits, keep ya fat, carryin’ my offspring year round, if I could.” He let out a dangerous growl, and you clenched considerably at the idea.

Tears pooled at the corners of your eyes at the prospect, the harsh yet delicious ache in the climb to your edge, had you begging his name in a mantra, and he purred yours in return.

“’M boughta cum, Sweetheart.” Affection oozed into his hoarse voice as he grunted out, giving sharper thrusts, silently demanding for you to cum first.

It didn’t take long for you to comply, mind going blank, as the tight bowstring within you snapped into sharp pieces of relief. Your channel clenched viciously around him as you throbbed around him, causing him to curse and stutter as he fought against the tightened walls of your grip. Within your haze, you felt the sharp needles of his teeth clamp into your neck, feeling him clutch your sides harshly as he stilled, shooting his seed deep within you as he let out a victorious growl into your claiming bite.

Time seemed to still, as the exhaustion and euphoria washed over you, and him still slowly pumping his hips, releasing the excess cum into you as he smoothed over your bite with licks and kisses.

“Ya took me so well, Sweetheart. Darlin’. Love of my life.” He drew himself out gingerly, leaving you oddly empty, but you didn’t contemplate on it for long, for he turned you to face him, opting to douse you in affection with kisses and soft purrs.

“You treated me so well.” You hummed, kissing him in turn, letting your own affections breach him as you smoothed away sweaty locks, cupping his cheek. He leaned in your touch with contentment.

“Next round, we’ll take it slower. I wanna bite of my own, too.”

….………….. (just bonus stuff)

It didn’t take you long to find out. When the news hit, he was ecstatic, eagerly chirping the news to the boys, immediately wasting no time in dragging the excited Eijirou, Izuku, Mirio, and a shy Tamaki to help build an extra room for a nursery.

Whenever he could, he found time to nestle his face into your growing stomach, dousing you with his affections, and prowl the forest; his natural instinct of fatherhood had came to play, as he warded off any potential intruders with heavy, threatening smells within his scent glands.

Izuku, being over the moon with excitement, visited you regularly with homemade gifts and excited talk about him being an uncle. Being a rabbit, it took only five moons for your unborn children to mature and be ready for birth. During that time, you’ve bonded more with Tai, nesting and decorating the nursery with him.

When that time had come, Izuku helped you deliver in the dark safety of your shared bed, your proud mate pacing eagerly outside, awaiting to hear the small squeaks and yips of the both of your brood.

It didn’t take you long to hold one cub and one kit gingerly in your arms as your proud, teary-eyed mate held the other kit as he laid next to your weary form. Kissing your forehead, he praised you for your hard work, and how much he loved you.

…………….

Alright, I’m done. The rest is up to your imaginations, haha. I’ve been working on the fic for three days in a row, just about, and I’m quite happy with it :3

#Taishiro Toyomitsu #Fatgum #Fatgum x reader #Smut #ABO #Kinda #It's pretty heavy #And sappy #Like imo I think I wrote it super sweet #I know tigers can't purr but let me have this

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ticklishtypings · 4 years ago

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Ticklish Tutorial (Todo x Deku)

A/N: This took me THREE days to write, holy crap. But it was so much fun to write and I loved some of the personsl headcanons I weasled in there as well. I hope you enjoy <3

Disclaimer: This is a sfw tickle fanfic (I do not do nsfw for any fandom)

Summary: Shouto Todoroki had a hard upbringing, that was known to all. But to have no affection whatsoever? It shocked Izuku when he found out the poor boy had no idea what tickling was but he is more than happy to show him what it is.

Word Count: 1,680

It wasn't a secret amongst class 1-A that Shouto had a rough upbringing. They tried to help him experience things he never got to due to his fathers' "training," so it wasn't a surprise to Midoryia that he had probably never experienced tickling before. Endeavor considered anything that brings pleasure to a weakness that can be used against you in combat. In short words, the boy never received affection, and he always shied away from anything considered remotely close to it.

“No way, you’re ticklish?” Izuku exclaimed, watching the taller boy look at him strangely.

They had been doing physical training after school, organized by Ida, but before hand they paired up to stretch, Midoryia and Todoroki got paired together. They had been doing simple stretches alongside crunches. Todoroki asked him to hold his feet down, which was a bit hard since he went so fast. It resulted in Izuku having to dig his hands into his feet a bit, his thumbs drilling a bit into the arch of his foot. He wasn’t expecting the son of the #2 hero to cough up a laugh.

“Todoroki! Are- are you okay?” His voice was full of concern.

“Yeah. You didn’t hurt me. I don’t know what you did.” He rubbed his foot, trying to get the tingly feeling to go away.

“What? I was just holding down your feet- wait. Todoroki..no way, you’re ticklish?”

He had heard that word before, amongst the group, as they engaged in many tickle fights before. But he himself had no clue as to whether or not he was ticklish.

“I don’t know.” He answered truthfully, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

“What do you mean you don’t know? How do you not know?”

“I just don’t know. It was never in my life.”

Midoryia felt his heart pang a little bit. How has he never been tickled? Not even by the group? No one dared touch him probably..

Mischievous eyes fell upon the bi-colored hair boy, who shot his friend a worried glance. His mischief left his eyes and was replaced by sympathy instead.

“Are you okay with me trying to tickle you? Just a quick one, to you know, see if you’re ticklish? We won’t do anything more than you’re comfortable with.”

“I guess.” He shrugged, he knew Midoryia would probably tell the others and once Kirishima or Kaminari found out they would try to figure it out as well.

“Okay, I’m going to tickle your sides, they’re commonly ticklish.” Izuku stated before he reached both hands out to squeeze his sides.

Todoroki watched his hands approach, his body automatically squirming. Why was he moving? Why was his heart racing? What was happening? Sensations. Wiggling hands met sides. The sound was music to Midoryia’s ears, Shoto’s laughter. It was soft, kind of quiet, and had an almost child-like bubbliness to it. It was almost intoxicating. A blush formed on the cheeks of both of them.

“You are ticklish! That’s funny, but as promised, that was it. Wanna keep doing reps?” Izuku gestured to himself, starting to stand up to continue the training.

“Do it again.” Was all Todoroki said, his face full of sincerity yet seemed to be confused.

He wanted to feel it again, to feel what he’s been missing out on all these years. To feel loved. To feel something, and with tickling he felt so much. He felt happy, loved, carefree.

“Todoroki-kun? Are you sure? You want me to tickle you?” He questioned, unsure if he heard him correctly.

“Yes. Why won’t you?” God, the boy didn’t experience tickling enough to understand that most people hate being tickled and that it isn’t a common thing to just outright ask for it.

He felt his heart soften though, the boy found something he enjoyed and probably reminded him of something he didn’t have. Who was he to deny him? He got everything in life, especially motherly love..

“Okay, but you need to tell me when to truly stop, we’ll have a safe word. Icyhot.” Todoroki rolled his eyes at that. “Do you want me to tickle you gently or maybe something Bakugo style?”

He could sense a little fear in the bi-color haired boy once he mentioned Bakugo’s method of tickling. Once Bakugo starts on you, you don’t get a single break until you’re about to pass out. Maybe that was too rough for a first time, maybe they should start with something gentler.

“We don’t have to do that! I swear! It was just a stupid suggestion!” Midoryia began apologizing, not wanting to ruin his experience with tickling so fast.

“Midoryia, just tickle me.” There was a hint of desperation in his voice, and Izuku calmed down now, realizing it didn’t have to be anything special, he just wanted the action itself as it was.

He instructed the boy to lay on his back, asking permission to straddle his waist (which was given) before going further.

“Do you want any type of restraint? Or would you feel more comfortable with none at all?” He was quick to answer that he didn’t want to be restricted, a bit of anxiety coming with that answer as well that Midoryia picked up on.

Gently, he began to spider the lee’s sides, starting off experimentally. It wasn’t crazy ticklish there, but it got him squirming and a smile forming. Drifting from his sides he went more towards his midsection, traveling up to his ribs. Applying a bit more pressure now, a few giggles escaped.

“Come on, Shoto. Let me hear that cute laugh of yours.” He gently teased, he knew Todoroki wasn’t used to teases, and he didn’t want to patronize him or make him feel helpless. He was rewarded by the giggles turning into belly laughs, the same laugh he heard earlier, the one that caught his heart.

Midoryia switched up tactics from scribbling against his ribs to massaging. God, the boy damn near screamed! He kept thrashing from left to right, but primarily to the right. There was warmth on his fingers suddenly...actually...all over his body. But only on the left side?

“Todoroki? Are you okay? You’re getting warm, are you trying not to use your quirk?” He asked, genuinely concerned.

“N-no. Uhm,” He was trying to calm down a bit to answer, “When I blush my entire left side gets a bit warmer.”

Midoryia couldn’t help but smile, that was the cutest shit ever. He continued, curious about where else the boy was ticklish at. His ribs seemed to be a hot spot but he wanted to explore new places. Skittering his fingers up to the boys neck now, he was rewarded with louder laughs.

“MIHIHIHDORYIHIHIA!” Todoroki happily laughed out, his hands trying to grasp the fingers teasing his neck and collarbone.

“Yes, Todoroki?” But no answer came, just more happy laughter.

Todoroki has never felt this...this...relaxed. There was absolutely nothing on his mind except the tickly feeling and how nice it was.

“What if I tickle here? Does that tickle?” Those damn teases followed by wiggling fingers traveling towards his underarms but there was no response.

“It does not. Why does it not? Am I broken?” His voice seemed sad, as if tickling was an item that he damaged.

“No! No, not at all. Some people just aren’t as ticklish in some areas while others are. Like for example, uhm. You may not be ticklish here but you could be ticklish elsewhere...like...here!” He scanned his body, trying to find an odd place to be ticklish before his eyes fell upon the boy’s hands.

Midoryia glided his fingernails carefully over his palms, noticing his eyes widen and giggles stream from his mouth. Squirming constantly, it was hard to stay on top of him.

“Wow, Todoroki-kun! You’re really ticklish here! I wonder if it will work on you...it always worked on Bakugo when we were kids...” The statement made him shiver, if it worked on Bakugo of all people what was in store for him?

Shoto eyed the green haired boy as he lifted his palm to his lips and blew. His eyes didn’t stay on him long though, he threw his head back cackling, his back completely arched. The sensation was overwhelming, his mind couldn’t focus on anything other than the tingling sensation that shot all over his hand and up his arm. He could barely catch his breath before Midoryia blew rapsberry. He tried pushing his head away, wildly kicking his feet, tiny fire sparks coming off him on one side and little snowflakes off the other.

“PLEHEHEHE!” He couldn’t even form a sentence!

“You know the safeword if the tickling is too tickly for the number one ticklish hero~” Midoryia teased, continuing to scratch and trace the little lines on his palm.

“IIHIHIHICY HOHOHOHOT!!” He pleaded, tears of mirth streaming down his face.

The tickling came to an immediate halt and Midoryia got off his classmate, who immediately curled up into a ball grabbing his midsection, still drunk off giggles.

“Are you okay? Did- did I go to far? I’m sorry if I did-” Mindless rambles poured out of Izuku’s mouth before being interrupted.

“No. It was fun. Thank you, Midoryia. I can see why everyone engages in this play around school. They never include me though.” He seemed to be confused as to why he was left out of something fun.

“I’m unsure, I don’t think they meant it Shoto, but I don’t think that will last too much longer. I’ll make sure of it.” He smiled, playfully teasing his palm, causing ice to shoot out and make Midoryia scream.

“You could of done that the entire time?!”

“Yes. But you weren’t hurting me, so there was no reason to. You caught me off guard this time.”

“Right, okay, note to self: you need to be aware before you’re tickled or else I might die.” That got a Todoroki chuckle (basically a puff of air) as they both stood up.

“Continue practice?” Todoroki suggested.

“You aren’t tired?!”

“No, why would I be tired? All you did was tickle me.”

#my hero fanfic #my hero academia #bnha tickle fanfic #tickle fanfic #tickle fanfiction #ticklish!todoroki #lee!todoroki #ler!midoryia #ler!deku #ler!izuku #deku x todoroki #bnha todoroki #bnha midoriya #tickle community #tickle fic writer #bnha

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bangtanreadingcorner · 4 years ago

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rumor has it [2/2] • jung hoseok

words — 3K

part one

You took of your shoes, haphazardly kicking them into the shoe rack, pulling off your baby pink sweater as you padded to your room, humming with a gigantic grin on your face.

It wasn't five minutes since you arrived home when a knock sounded on your door. You threw your sweater on the bed, heading to the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming." You called, and the incessant knocking ceased. Probably Minji or Jamie that wants to borrow a book or some paper to print a project. You opened the door, frowning slight when you saw who was on the other side, "Hoseok? Is everything okay?"

"I'm not feeling very gentlemanly right now." He declared before stepping closer, grabbing you by the neck and kissing you until you were breathless, your socked covered toes curling.

"Good night." He said when he pulled away, then added on, "For real this time."

You laughed a little, feeling so ridiculously happy. You wondered if you could combust from it.

"Text me when you get home." You blurted, still catching your breath.

"Promise." He nodded, licking his lips. You leaned forward to peck them one last time. For now.

You laughed again, practically vibrating with giddiness as you closed the door for a second and final time.

***

You liked to think that maybe you would have a boyfriend, in the not so distant future, after that. It's not like you go around kissing any guy you go out on a date with. And yeah, there's been some horrible dates you went on that never went anywhere, but that's a story for another day.

Right now you were more interested in listening to what Hoseok had to say. The two of you were sitting in the Quad, eating lunch together. You warned your friends to pretty please stay away for now because this thing between you and Hoseok was still new and fragile. And maybe you want him to yourself for a little longer but that was none of their business.

"So, the Dance Department is holding its yearly talent show." Hoseok said after swallowing a bit of his chicken and mayo sandwich.

"I heard," You nodded, taking a sip of orange juice. "The whole campus is talking about it."

"I entered and I was wondering if you'd come?" He asked, looking at you nervously. "For me. For, you know, moral support."

"Absolutely." You nodded eagerly, belly fluttering. You liked the fact that Hoseok had invited you to the competition, especially knowing how much dance means to him. "Can I bring my friends?"

"Sure," Hoseok grinned excitedly. "The more, the merrier."

In the three months leading up to the competition, you would scarcely see him during the week with how much he practices but you make up for it by spending most of the weekend together.

You get to know much about Hoseok in the three months that pass. Little things, like how he swears when he gets startled, all of his phobias (spiders, snakes and heights you got, but fear of water was a little bit of a strange one for you, because you're in love with water but it's not like you own a swimming pool so it wouldn't be a problem), his likes (cuddling while watching a movie) and dislikes (watching scary movies at night - or just in general), habits (biting his lip when he concentrates) and hobbies (skateboarding).

Finally, the day of the competition arrived. It was pretty much a full day event, according to Hoseok, because there was the entrance round, which took the most time, quarter finals, semi finals and finals.

You were walking to the hall where the competition would be held with your two best friends, Minji and Jamie. Your arms were linked through each other's. "Thank you guys so much for coming."

"Of course. Where else would we be?" Jamie smiled gently at you.

Minji nodded, then said, "And we've been dying to meet the guy who has finally melted your heart."

"Just behave yourselves." You told them, pointing a finger in warning.

"Who, us?" Minji gasped.

"We're angels." Jamie smirked.

You snorted, looking around for Hoseok. He said that you would all meet out front. "Sure. Whatever makes you sleep at night."

"Hey, Y/N!" Hoseok's voice caught your ears and you turn in the direction you heard it. "Over here!"

A grin breaks out on your face when you see him, a few guys standing with him, and it takes all your will power not to run to him. You didn't even look at anyone else as you walked to him, stopping only when you reached Hoseok. "Hey."

You wanted to kiss him but didn't. PDA isn't something you've discussed yet, and you definitely don't want to be pushed away or make Hoseok uncomfortable.

"Wow, you look . . ." Hoseok breathed, eyes widening when he did a full body sweep of you. You wore a dress for the first time since he's met you, paired with some matching wedges and a little bit of make-up. "Beautiful."

"Thank you." You grinned, feeling your cheeks flush. "You look very handsome." And he did - a low cut white shirt that put his collarbones and little bit of his chest on display, tucked into black, ripped skinny jeans and a pair of white Converse sneakers.

A throat cleared from somewhere around you and both of you snapped out of the little bubble that unknowingly formed around you, the pair of you ignoring the world.

"Right, I should probably introduce you." Hoseok cleared his throat, tossing a glare over his shoulder when one of his friends snickered. "Guys, this is Y/N." He looked at his friends, gesturing at you. Then looked at back at you. "Don't worry if you can't remember all their names today. There's six of them. Okay, this is Namjoon, the best friend I told you about. That is Yoongi-hyung and his best friend Seokjin-hyung. Next to them is Taehyungie and his best friend Jiminie and next to the shorty is his boyfriend Jeongguk."

"I'm not short." Jimin huffed, a hand wrapped around Jeongguk's bicep.

"Of course not, hyung," Jeongguk consoled, patting his head. Then he smirked, "Just vertically challenged."

"Yah, you gigantic brat!" Jimin snarled as he used the hand on Jeongguk's bicep to try and hit him in the back of his head. Clearly this has happened before because Jeongguk expertly ducked away and grabbed Jimin's hand, spinning Jimin until his back was pressed against Jeongguk's chest. Jeongguk wrapped his hands around him a struggling Jimin, smiling as he pressed a kiss against his hair.

"Don't worry about them, they're always like that." Taehyung said with a grin when he noticed the way you looked at them, wide eyed.

"Good to know." You laughed. "Well, it's so nice to meet all of you." You stepped next to Minji and Jamie, who were eyeing all of Hoseok's friends with interest. "And these are my two best friends, Minji and Jamie."

Jamie stepped forward, peering at Hoseok, "It's so nice to meet Y/N's new beau. She hasn't had one since high school."

"Would you shut up?" You hissed, cheeks flaming, as you pulled her back to your side.

"Aww, look. She's blushing. I've never seen her blushing. Not even when looking at pictures of Idols' abs." Minji cooed, laughter and snickering following.

"You two are dead to me." You said with a glare as you went to stand next to Hoseok.

"Hobi-hyung was so excited when he told us you were coming." Jeongguk let know when everyone calmed down.

"I'm happy he asked me, even if it is moral support." You smiled happily, smile widening when Hoseok's hand slipped into yours. Now, hand holding was something you two did a lot.

"Hah!" Seokjin scoffed. "Moral support, my ass. Hoseok doesn't need moral support, he's won this competition since his first year." You could feel your eyes widening, jaw dropping open.

"The other's don't stand a chance." Jimin smirked.

"We're not trying to be mean or anything, but our Hobi-hyung is the best." Taehyung grinned.

"Hey, how come you never told me how good you are?" You huffed, nudging Hoseok's elbow with yours.

"I thought if I told you, you wouldn't come." He admitted, a slight pout on his lips.

"Oh my God, you idiot!" You lightly slapped him on the arm with your free hands. "I would have come either way. I've always wanted to see you dance."

"I'll win for you tonight." Hoseok promised, ignoring the wolf whistles and whipping sounds that came from the direction of your friends after his words.

You just smiled fondly at him, "That's sweet, but you don't have too."

"I want too." He said quietly. "I've never danced for someone other than my friends and family before."

"Okay, fine. I'll cheer for you."

(Hoseok does end up winning first place. And you two end up having a heated make out session in his dressing room afterwards.)

***

A few weeks after the competition, your mom asked you to go and pick up your sister. You don't warn Hoseok beforehand, wanting to surprise him. You hoped it wasn't a bad surprise. This would be the first time you picked up your sister again after the first time you met. You smiled to yourself, thinking how so much has happened since then.

You walked into the studio, making a beeline for Hoseok.

"Hello again, Hoseok-ssi." You greeted with a serious voice. He spun upto you, eyes wide, and you aimed a lazy grin at him, eyes full of mirth.

"Hello Y/N-ssi." His voice was professional but there was an amused twinkle in his eyes as he smiled at you. "It's good to see you again."

"You too." Was all you we able to get out before your sister joyously shouted your name and barreled into your legs. You laughed, crouching down to give her a proper hug. "Hey squirt. How was class?"

"It was sooooo good. Hobi-oppa is a really really good teacher and fun too. We learnt lots of things. Like this." Your sister ended her own ramble as she demonstrated a move that she learnt in class today, looking at Hoseok when she finished moving, silently asking if she did it right. She positively beamed when he nodded, giving her a thumbs up.

"That's awesome." You ruffled her hair. "Why don't you go get your bag before mom gets home before us and reports us missing?" Your sister nods vigorously, before running away. You turn to Hoseok, heart swelling with affection as you immediately catch his eye. "How's she doing?"

"Good," He said, eyes twinkling. "And I'm not just saying that because she has a gorgeous sister that I like very much."

"Ohhh, keep going." You sing-songed with a grin, crossing your arms over your chest, enjoying the way his cheeks flushed. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

Hoseok tilts an eyebrow at you, "Isn't it usually the other way around?"

"Yeah, but in this case flattery will get you anywhere." You smirked, enjoying the way his flush deepend from you teasing.

Your little sister appeared by your side, looking between the two of you. Then she announced, "Hobi-oppa, my sister is single, if you're interested."

Hoseok looked away and pressed his lips together to stop himself from laughing.

You barely resisted the urge to yank her by the ears as you hissed to her, "Your sister is not single, stop trying to find her a boyfriend. I'm capable of getting one myself."

She gasped, looking at you with wide eyes. "I'm telling mom."

"Mom knows, tattletale." You deadpanned, much to her disappointment. It's true, she knows about you and Hoseok. You sister doesn't. You all decided to keep quiet around the dance school so the other children and their parents can't accuse Hoseok of playing favourites because he's dating you. You also decided not to tell your sister, because you didn't want her to accidentally let it slip out.

The three of you bid your goodbyes, and you and your sister left. You didn't get very far when your phone buzzed.

Hoseok : Not single, huh?

You laugh, practically seeing the happy grin on his face. You two made your relationship official not long after the dance competition and he loves it when you tell people that you're a taken girl. You type a reply with one hand as the other one held onto your sister's.

You: Nope, there's this really great guy that I'm dating.

Hoseok: Luckily guy.

You: I'd like to think we're both lucky.

Hoseok: Sounds fair.

Hoseok: Btw, your ass looked really good in those jeans.

You: Hehe, thanks.

You: You were were rocking the whole soft boyfriend look, btw

"Are you texting your boyfriend?" Your sister asks as she rises on her tiptoes, obviously trying to see on the screen. You make sure to keep it away from her curious eyes.

You smile down at her, "Yeah."

Hoseok: Soft boyfriend look?

"Do you love him?" She asked and you avoided answering her question to answer Hoseok's text, wondering about it. Do you love him?

You: Big t-shirt, sweatpants and barefoot = soft boyfriend look

You: For me, anyway

You: Idk about other people.

The answer came so easily to you. You smiled down at her as you wait for Hoseok to reply. "I think so, yeah."

Hoseok: Ah, gotcha

Hoseok: We still on for tomorrow???

You grinned, butterflies fluttering wildly. Tomorrow evening was Jeongguk's 18th birthday party and you were invited as Hoseok's girlfriend. Apparently it was the formal one - with Jeongguk's family - and then the next evening would be the informal one - with his school friends and Jimin's friends and their friends. You were a little nervous, because only Jeongguk's closest friends was invited to the formal party and while each one could bring a plus one, not everyone did.

At least, that's what Namjoon told you when you ran into him at a coffee shop a few days ago and told him that you'd see him at Jeongguk's party. So, it was kind of a big deal and you were kind of freaking out but mostly, you were excited.

You: Yep, I'll see you there.;)))

The next day, you decided on your nicest clothes, which was the second and last dress you own and a pair pumps.

"You look so cute, I want to eat you." Hoseok had blurted when you opened your dorm room. You raised a brow at him and smiled when he flushed and started back pedalling. "I, uh, um, what I meant to say was-"

"I think you're cute when you scrunch your nose when you don't like something." You cut him off, deciding to have mercy. "Come on in, we still have an hour until we need to go."

He smiled gratefully and you stepped closer to kiss him.

"About what I said just now Hoseok started when you pulled apart, closing the door behind himself.

"There is nothing to explain." You assured him with a gentle smile, heading to your couch.

"No, I need too. I want to be honest with you." He said firmly, but you could tell he was nervous. His shoulders was tensed and it make you feel unsteady. You didn't like that he was distressed. "It's just- I just, I've been thinking about it."

"What, eating me?" You joked, trying to make him relax a little. You looked at him over your shoulder with a teasing smirk, "Sorry, but I'm not into cannibalism."

"Y/N. I'm being serious." His tone made you sober up, turning to him. Hoseok was looking at you, biting his lip, but there was a determined set to his jaw.

"Oh." You felt yourself getting nervous out of nowhere. "Okay. Thinking about what?" You had a good idea what he was thinking about, just not if it was positively or negatively.

Hoseok cleared his throat, looking like he was searching for words before just bracing himself and saying it. "Having sex with you." So, you were right. You will weren't sure if he wanted to tell you that he wants to or not. "I want too." He added on barely a second later for clarification.

Your heart started racing. You blushed a bright red all over - chest, neck, ears, cheeks. You gaped at Hoseok and he waited silently, looking more and more nervous and unsure as each second passed.

You gathered your thoughts and told him the truth.

"Me too." You admitted softly, shyly. "I didn't want to bring it up or push for more during one of our more heated makeout sessions because I wasn't sure what you thought and while I am thinking about it, I'm just not . . ."

Hoseok breath a sigh of relief, so quiet, you almost didn't heard it it. "Not ready yet?"

"Yeah." You nodded. He took his hands in yours, tangling your fingers together.

"I feel the same. Like, in the heat of the moment I want to find out just how flexible you are, but then when I calm down its like something tells me it's not time yet. And that's okay. There's no need to rush. We'll get there." Hoseok said, squeezing your hands, both in comfort and promise.

"Yeah, we will." You smiled, wrapping your arms around his neck. You kiss him deeply, trying to show him everything you were feeling but couldn't define and put into words yet.

Months later, when both of you are completely ready, it's not just right but it's perfect in that fairytale kind of way you always thought was bullshit but secretly hoped for anyways. Afterwards, when you lay on his chest, looking up at his sleeping face, you breathe those three special words, before falling asleep to the soothing sound of Hoseok's heartbeat.

#bangtan #bangtan fanfic #bts fic #jung hoseok #bts hoseok #bts jhope #jung hoseok x reader #jung hoseok x oc #jung hoseok x you #hoseok x reader #hoseok x oc #hoseok x you #hoseok imagine

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lovely-necromancy · 3 years ago

Text

A Cure for Insomnia CH 14

Somehow someway you had ended up spending the night in Toby's room. What had started out as sitting next to him turned into laying down next to him. And after a while of no talking or movement, just the steady sounds of breathing. You more or less closed you eyes for a minute.

Before you knew it you were waking up to sun in your face. And found a blanket haphazardly thrown onto you. Though honestly you probably just moved a lot in your sleep. A quick glance around the room tells you you're alone and by the looks of it have been for a little while now. Weirdly there doesn't seem to be a clock in the room and when you go to check your phone the battery is dead.

'Oh God what time is it?' you worry as you gather yourself to leave the room in search of a clock.

Even though you have the strongest suspicion that you're already late for work. Fuck Nate is gonna kill you. You hope you don't get fired for this. That doesn't really seem like the Cowell way but you really don't want to risk it. No where else in town would pay the bills plus give extra cash for doing jack shit.

Just as you closed the door behind you you see Toby and Connor walking up the corridor. Toby has two bowls in hand and his steps falter a bit when he sees you.

“Shit did I wake you up?”

You can see the veins in his arms as he tenses, poor guy must have a tic coming on. You hold your hands out to give him the option of handing them over so he can relax. With no hesitation on his end he does just that.

“No? I don't think so, I just woke up. What time is it?”

Toby's hands jolt in place. A large tremor of movement, thankfully you took the bowls from him so he wouldn't have splashed...cereal? Your confusion must have shown because you get a nervous laugh in response.

“It's like eight twenty or something.” seeing you visibly deflate he adds, “Barry told me to tell you you're excused from work today.” He took a bowl back from you and placed a hand at the small of your back to push you back towards his room. Apparently done with having a conversation in the hallway and letting your breakfast get soggy.

“Barclay.” you remind him, your efforts award you a shrug, “and are you serious? Because making me late for work wouldn't be very funny.”

He plops on his bed and a bit of milk sloshes out of the bowl dropping on to the sheets. In the back of your mind you think about how Barclay more than likely is going to ban Toby from the lodge for anything other than an emergency. At least if he ruins the bed by dropping food all over it...actually you're pretty sure Jake's mentioned there being a rule about eating in the rooms.

“I'm serious, you can go ask him yourself.” his face flushes as he shovels a spoonful of Captain Crunch into his mouth, “twey shed somfingu bot ah ahpawawgee for da kid”

You give Toby a sneer as you process what he just said. Even normally your brain didn't always process what was said to you properly and Toby speaking with a full mouth certainly didn't help in any case. But you can kind of gleam a bit more context from his red cheeks that your spontaneous three day weekend is thanks in part to Jo hanging out with you yesterday.

Really you didn't mind that she hung out with you. But you would accept the apologetic day off for her attempting to give you a love life. You aren't one of her gossip stories nor do you wish to be.

“First, gross dude. Second, I'll take it.”

He snorts, “Watching me chew through the hole in my face is ne-neat but me talking with my mouth full is where you draw the line?”

“Honestly I never even thought of that.”

You can't help but let out a chuckle at how dumb that must have made you look. Geez you were such a dork sometimes. On the other hand it seems like that must have been the funniest thing Toby's heard in a while as he roars with laughter. Soon your chuckles turn into full blown laughter from Toby's contagious mirth.

“I'll get out of your hair after I finish eating.” you finally say when the two of you calm.

“...you don't have to do that. I-i thought we cou-cou-could hang out?” he says sheepishly.

Toby tends to stutter when he's nervous you notice. Maybe this was to be expected you kind of did solidify that you both wanted to be friends. Of course that would mean opening up to hanging out together on purpose more often.

“I'd like that! Did you have something in mind?”

The room goes quite, well more accurately Toby goes quite as you finish your cereal. Looks like someone hadn't thought this far ahead. At least you aren't the only dork in this room or this friendship for that matter.

Toby's dark eyes scan around the room, not really looking for something while he thinks of something you could do today. Instead of just staring at him like a creep you turn your attention to the rottweiler looking at you with hopeful eyes. Connor's eyes briefly moving towards your bowl where a tiny bit of milk sits and then back at your face. Licking his chops as he looks you dead in the eyes.

Having a pretty good idea of what he wants you look for Toby's bowl. If it was on the ground that'd be a good indication that Connor's allowed a bit of cereal milk if it was on the bed well then you'd still have your answer. And sure enough right next to Connor's butt is an empty bowl.

Yup, Barclay is so gonna ban Toby from the lodge.

Throwing out any thoughts of the lecture you'd get if Barclay were to find out you let a dog eat from his bowls you place the bowl in front of Connor. Who sits in his position and won't stop making eye contact with the bowl. Tail going a mile a minute as he stares at his prize in anticipation. God he really is the best boy in the whole world.

“Thank you Connor.” you whisper to the dog before he attacks the bowl.

As the pup rips into the left over cereal milk, which wasn't even that much, you can't keep yourself from flapping your hands right by your chest. The fast movement seems to catch Toby's attention and brings him out of wracking his brain for ideas. Giving you a moment to just enjoy the happy stim he just watches. It isn't until Connor has bounded over to you letting you pet him as a 'thank you' for giving him a treat, that Toby speaks up.

“Is there...what's there to do here?”

Looking at Toby as you shake Connor's ears around, you don't immediately say anything. Honestly thinking of just what the two of you could do in this small town. Something that wouldn't prove to be too distracting and maybe give the two of you a chance to get to know each other better. Something without too many interruptions or things to get you off topic.

“Wanna go get a slushy?”

Toby's brown eyes cut as he stares at you unimpressed.

“I kno-rrow that we're in a small town but, 's not that small.”

“Oh no it's actually smaller.”

He rolls his eyes with a huff ready to bite in with a snarky remark no doubt until he catches your eyes and the serious expression. He stares at you, eyes darting across your face looking for a sign that you're joking.

Thankfully you aren't one to leave a friend in the dark.

“Tobias, the gas station Tim works at is the only one for this town.”

“That can't be right, it's not even in town. What about...” once again Toby's eyes shift as he tries to think of any other gas stations within Kepler.

When he comes to the conclusion that you are indeed not fucking with him and Kepler does just have the one gas station his shoulders slump. Almost like he's in shock that he hadn't caught that sooner. You can feel the tinkling sensation of a tic coming up, at the base of your neck. Timing it mentally as you watch Toby go through the stages of grief you miscalculate and ruin your tic.

Head jolting into your right shoulder rather than jerking above it. Letting out a small “fuck” at the fact that you're about to be in an uncomfortable sensation, not totally unlike when you chase off a sneeze but still do need to sneeze. You feel the tic at the back of your head but know it won't be going away anytime soon and all thanks to your hubris.

Looking back at Toby you find he's moved on from the single gas station fact and is looking at you mildly amused. Briefly you wonder if he's ever chased off a tic and felt the uncomfortable sensation you're now dealing with. That leads you to ponder if he's ever even felt the anticipation of nerves before a coming tic. It's not really a painful sensation but discomfort sometimes goes in hand with pain so maybe CIPA affects that feeling too. You'll have to ask, but first you have to shut his stupid face up.

“Shut it.”

“Didn't say anything.” he smirks.

His smiles are really growing on you. They feel special and very genuine despite the awkward nature of his facial movements.

“Hey wait, the mini mart doesn't even have a slushy machine.” he says as the realization finally sets in.

“Yea we have to drive to another town for one. So far Franklin has the best slushies but it's like two hours away.”

You lean your weight back onto your hands watching as Toby's wide eyes stare at you in disbelief. Actually in this light you really can't tell if Toby's eyes are blown wide or in their normal state. Judging from the way his lips curl over his teeth you figure they must be as he stares stunned by something you've said.

“Do you seriously drive two hours for a slushy?” the disbelief in his voice is thick, but not thick enough to cover the thinnest hint of amusement. Maybe even pity.

“Not all the time, sometimes its only like thirty. One night I actually drove five hours without realizing it...though to be fair I did get lost.”

Lost in your thoughts on that particular night some how you'd ended up in Point Pleasant. Instead of a slushy you'd gotten a Mothman themed iced coffee. A nice trip over all but one you didn't want to go on at the moment.

Coming back to the present in time to catch Toby flopping back on the mattress his curls bouncing up over his face as he did so. He let's out an exaggerated groan.

“Still, Brian's got the car today.”

Pfft that's not an issue.

“I have a car.” you say plainly.

That must not be the issue because Toby raises himself onto his elbows to look at your lax form on the carpet. Leaning back on your hands with Connor splayed across your lap looking ready for a nap. Toby opens his mouth to say something before shutting it and looking off to the side. He seems to collect himself quickly but not enough to look at you.

“Uh..I, that's not really the...” well maybe he hadn't collected himself that much.

Brow furrowing as you squint at the man before you. The two of you don't know a lot about each other but from what you've noticed Toby has some hang ups about drivers and driving. Although he's let you drive him home once that doesn't mean he was comfortable with it or wanted a repeat performance. And while you don't consider yourself a bad driver you'll spare Toby the difficulty of admitting he isn't comfortable with you driving.

“You can drive.” dark brown eyes are on you the instant the words spill from your lips, “You've driven my car before. Plus I don't mind I like not driving.”

His eyes dart from you to Connor and back up into your face. Even though they're darting slightly you know he isn't such evaluating your expression. He's thinking and weighing his options.

“You sure?”

And with no hesitation at all, “Absolutely, you've driven it before.”

Though he hadn't been thinking of that particular issue with being given the choice of driving your car. It did bring up another insecurity before hastily stomping it into the ground. He has driven your car, albeit once, before and you are giving him explicit consent to drive it again. Regardless of his tourette's, Toby honestly can't believe you have such blind faith in a person you've just befriended. Then again that's friendship isn't it.

“Ok then...let's go?”

After a nod from you Toby grabs Connor's gear to get him ready for the drive. Meanwhile you take the dishes back downstairs to the kitchen, letting Toby know you'd meet him by the door. Unsurprisingly Barclay is in the kitchen when you get down there to place the bowls into the sink.

Seeing as it's just the bowls and spoons in the sink you decide you can wash them before placing them in the sanitizer rack.

“Mornin'.”

“Good morning.”

“Basket's on the table.”

“Thanks.”

A quiet settles over you two and you can feel Barclay's brown eyes trail towards your form every few seconds. Finishing the dishes you turn, leaning your butt onto the counter, to face the lumbering man.

“Can I help you?” you raise a brow at him. Clearly he had something more he wanted to say.

“I, I just thought we were closer than that.” he sighs.

Okay what now? Your confusion goes ignored as he continues to speak.

“Seriously YN, you didn't need to sneak away last night if you wanted to spend the night here, and with your boyfriend. I wouldn't have judged.”

“My who? Tobais? He's a friend!” you whisper scream in case Toby is near by. God could at least save one of you this embarrassment.

“Really YN? From the things I'm hearin' you two are a bit more than friends.”

“Ok seriously where are you getting your info from? We haven't done anything. Like just YESTERDAY we agreed we were friends. We've known each other maybe a month?!”

“See that's why this is confusing, you don't touch just anyone. And suddenly you're handsy with some new kid.” Barclay had the decency to start whisper screaming with you. He's gesturing vaguely towards the rest of the lodge before bringing his hands before him and flailing them away. As if to say 'what am I supposed to do with this now?'

“He's neurodivergent!” you say bringing your palms up in front of you.

“So are Jake and Aubrey.”

“And I high five Jake so much.” throwing your arms outward to indicate how much you two high five. “Plus he gets a hug nearly every time I see him.” hands brought back to emphasis this point.

Barclay thinks on that for a bit, “Point taken,” he stands from his hunched position and crosses his arms over his chest, “so y'all aren't dating? Nothin' happened last night?”

“No and no.”

“Don't have to deep clean the sheets today.”

“Gross and no.” best keep the milk droplets out of this, you'd really like to leave the kitchen sooner rather than later. Preferably with no lecture about hygiene and the importance of respecting other's property.

Barclay looks down at you scanning your face for something you aren't quite sure of. But you have a feeling he's treating you like a child for a very specific reason.

“I'm not a virgin.” you deadpan as the man before starts to sputter.

His eyes wide with disbelief. So he really thought you were a virgin this whole time? You wonder who else thought this, you hoped they wouldn't try to confront you about your nonexistent relationship.

You'll just never understand why people assume you're a virgin and why they try their hardest to butt into your life when they think that way. This topic tends to put you in a sour mood and you can already feel it on your face. It's disgusting how people can't mind their business about baseless assumptions.

“Jeez sorry YN,” he does look it as he rubs the back of his neck, “it's just you've never shown an interest and I guess we all got swept up in the possibility of seeing you happy.”

“I am happy?”

“I mean in a relationship, happy in a romantic relationship.” He claps his hands gently on your shoulders. A touch you've gotten used too, had you not wanted it you would've taken a step back.

“Kirby's not in a relationship.” you point out.

“Kirby's gross, and you're adorable.” he chuckles at your glare, “a-dor-a-ble.”

“I will bite you.” he lets go of you with a laugh.

“We're just...trying to keep you safe.” he sighs, and though you don't understand what any of their weirdness has to do with “keeping you safe” you nod. Just to get this over with faster.

“Can I leave now? Tobais and I were gonna get slushies.” he didn't need to know your plans but you didn't want him assuming you two were sneaking off for a date.

“Yea yea, sorry for keeping you.” he leans against the counter as you grab your basket and head out of the kitchen and towards the main door.

Toby and Connor were already waiting for you. If the swaying of his weight was anything to go by they'd been waiting for you for a bit. Seeing you coming his subconscious movement stops and he opens the door. Keeping it open for you. You lead him over to your Soul as you look through the basket for the keys.

“Keys?” he questions as you pat your pockets.

Toby stops walking with you as you begin to panic. You've lost your keys. Before you voice that though you look through the basket once more, placing it on the hood of your car so you can use both hands to check. His eyes follow you and are caught by a gentle swaying.

“You are a serial killer's wet dream.”

He opens your passenger side door and comes out holding your keys that had been in the ignition. If the blank look he gives you is anything to go by he's not impressed.

“I,I,I was in a hurry!” you say flustered that you did something so stupid. His expression doesn't change.

“Could you pop the trunk please?” you ask not looking in his direction.

The click of the lock is all you need to hear before you rush around him to place the basket in the back. As you do you catch sight of the deer skull still in your trunk. With everything going on you hadn't been to see Madeleine for a mount for the guy. You'll have to remember to stop by her shop this week.

Toby had already gotten Connor situated in the back by the time you sat down in the passengers seat. After buckling in and plugging your phone in to charge you stare ahead of you waiting for Toby to start driving. When you look over at him you see he's staring right back at you with a brow raised.

“Yes?”

“Where are we going?”

Yes the key detail of any road trip, the driver needs to know the destination. Unfortunately for you and Toby you've forgotten to tell him one crucial detail. You drive with no sense of direction. And you relay this to Toby. He looks seconds away from getting out of the car and claiming he's never seen you before much less ever been friends with you.

He takes a deep breath and collects himself.

“Y'know what Brian's worse with directions.” he says more to himself than to you.

He calmly puts the car in gear and heads off to town. No input from Connor, you may have chosen a really good day for this drive. Your phone hits one percent as you pass Resort Row. You know the Hornet's Nest is coming up and that intersection leads to the interstate despite not having legible signs.

“Hey when you get to the Hornet's Nest swing right then drive straight, we'll end up on route 3 onto the interstate.”

“Hornets' nest?”

“It's a skate/stunt park. You'll see it after we get away from the mountain.”

Just as you said Toby saw the Hornet's Nest as he turned onto the road leaving the mountain. By the time you were on route 3 your phone had charged up to seven percent. Enough to turn it on and put on a playlist. You put on one of your sea shanty and folk punk combos.

Toby hasn't even let the song get thirty seconds under way. “No vetoed, we are not listening to sea shanties.”

So he does have music preferences, fair enough. You switch to a playlist with a more chilled electric vibe that has a few oldies tossed into the mix. Toby hasn't heard this playlist before and you are determined to learn his music tastes today.

“Wait wait wait, so you'll listen to folk punk but not sea shanties?”

“How are those even related?”

“They are literally the same thing.”

The two of you continue to bicker back and forth about how similar, or different, shanties and folk punk are. Occasionally it's broken when you read a sign, noticing Toby's horrible squinting, to see if you're on the right route to...well you don't know the destination Toby's been ignoring most of the exits for the past forty minutes though you're sure you two could find a gas station with a slushy machine at any one of the surrounding towns.

You don't mind though you're really enjoying the ride. The soft sounds of the car cutting through the wind at seventy three miles an hour. And the dull hum from the engine falling into the background as They Might Be Giants plays softly through the radio. With a majority of his focus being directed to the road and the handful of other cars around you, your conversation is limited to topics that don't require much thinking. Really you've just ended up playing twenty questions with the other pulling uno reverse.

Not life altering secrets or deep talks...well until the question was favorite romantic comedy.

“How is Venom a romantic comedy?” Toby laughs after you answer.

“They kiss!” Toby just snorts.

“No Venom in Anne's body kisses Eddie.”

“Yes Venom kissed Eddie. Romance.”

You hear the murmur of 'oh my fucking God' come from Toby as you giggle in your seat. Having been egged on by that simple phrase you continue.

“Eddie is always giving Venom chocolates.”

“Oh yes, sorry, that's very romance.” Toby laughs out rolling his eyes.

“Thank you, I'm glad I could enlighten...” you pause as a sign for the next exit catches your eye. Had you two already driven two hours? Time really does fly when you're having fun. “Hey next exit, Franklin.”

“Thanks got it.” this time he turns on the blinker to get over into the exiting lane.

“What gas station am I looking for?” smart man. He's stopped asking for specific directions and is now asking for a land marker.

“Giant baby.” the car comes to a stop at a red light and Toby takes his eyes off the road to face you.

“...is this...will I just know when I see it.” “When you see it” you say the last part in unison with him nodding solemnly.

To his credit Toby has gone a long way with your weird antics, despite being your official friend for less than a full day. Keeping up with this pattern he doesn't ask anymore questions about this giant baby, keeping his eyes peeled for anything worthy of that title. His valent efforts are rewarded not even ten blocks from the turnpike.

“Is that...”

“Giant baby.” you nod knowing he sees the giant opposum decal in the window of the beat up gas station.

Opening your glove box you remove a spare mask for yourself before offering a sealed in package one for Toby. Who readily takes it after he parks your car in front of the store. Turning to look at you, you can read all the skepticism on his face. It's funny how this is where he questions you, your destination and not like the way over here-or the moment right after you told him you had no sense of direction.

“They have the four divide mega slush.”

“What the hell is that?”

With a coy smile you put on your mask and exit the car waiting at the front for your friend to get his shit together. He doesn't take long to follow you, Connor's lead in hand, into the gas station.

For as dingy and beat up as it looks on the outside it isn't bad once you step inside. Might actually be cleaner than the mini mart in Kelper. Toby glances around taking a mental tally of all the patrons in the store and their positions. He does this a bit. Just hyper aware of everyone when in enclosed spaces.

Dragging him over to the slushy machine after acknowledging the cashier's greeting. Showing him the four divider mega slush cup you demonstrate how it works. Choosing the only three flavors you like and adding a random extra of the three into the forth slot.

The face he makes when you stick the straw in the middle is priceless.

Toby demonstrates how a slushy should be made. Grabbing the single cup and over filling it with cherry flavored ice. He doesn't pick up a straw and you two make your way to the counter.

Since Toby drove here you had no problem paying but he was quicker to get his wallet out and hand the cashier a ten for your slushies. They give him back his change and you two wind up back in the car, taking off your masks.

You take a long sip from you drink.

“I can't believe we drove for two hours for you to just wreck your taste buds.” a playful disdain in his voice.

“Not 'we', you.”

He cuts his eyes at you before shaking his slushy into his open mouth. Guess he couldn't use a straw when he was missing part of his cheek. No suction there.

“So?” you say adding the questioning lilt to your voice.

He shrugs, “It's good.”

“Worth the drive?” He shakes his head.

“Nah - drive made it worth it.”

#Timothy Wright #ticci toby #ticcitoby #ticci tobyx reader #ticci toby x reader #tobias erin rogers #timothy wright x reader #timothy wright x brian thomas #Brian Thomas #brian thomas x reader #creepypasta fanfic #a cure for insomnia #masky x reader

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oh-for-fic-sake · 5 years ago

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A Witchers Pack Final

The time has come and the pups arrive but will everything be alright in the end for the unconventional family of witcher's

Masterlist

Warnings:Angst, Birth, Near death or a child, Swearing, Fluff

A/n: Oh My God...so I am very happy with this and this story is now complete! Yay! I hope you like it, I enjoyed writing it and want to thank @havenoffandoms for helping me come up with this, without them this would never have been written xxx

Taglist: @ayamenimthiriel @chynagirl13 @iloveyouyen

A Witchers Pack Final

You rocked slowly in front of the fire place in your and Geralt's room, one hand roamed your protruding bump. The rocking chair that had been found in the old nursery has been a god send ever since you couldn't get up from the bed, you'd been sleeping in it. You sighed it had been one hell of a night and you almost cried in relief as the sun began to peak over the mountains, long sleepless nights with only the fire for company were dreadfully boring and becoming painful, you hadn't gotten any sleep again you just pasted the time and rocked slowly pushing of the floor with your toes. You heard Jaskiers soft snores from the bed, he always stayed in here with you whilst Geralt was away on contracts. He would be back at some point today with Lambert and Eskel, they were meant to be back a few days ago wanting to be back for the birth. The birth you knew was close, it had to be if it wasn't you don't know how you was going to get them out, with the size you were it was becoming a real worry, sighing the shook the thoughts away. You turned your head and peeked threw the bars of the crib holding Rebbeka, she was sleeping soundly still clutching her rabbit that seemed to go everywhere she went at fifteen months she was already a stubborn little girl headstrong...She had everyone wrapped around her little finger and the little bugger knew it. She was a beauty her eyes had not changed one bit, still had calm light blue irises that were wide and attentive, her hair was a little lighter now longer to resting in thick loose curly waves at her shoulders soon you would be able to pull it back into pigtails.

She was still small but she didn't let that stop her. She was a perfect combination of her father and papa ,she explored with no fear getting into all sorts of mischief, becoming an early walker just to try and unsheath one of the knifes hidden in Geralt’s boot!. No one knew how she spotted it but that was just her all over she was curious to curious and a determined little madam everyone needed eyes on the back of their head when she was toddling about. But she also knew who to run to when things got a little to hairy...And no it wasn't always Geralt when he would catch her doing something naughty and scold her, she would always stop and look around and you can guarantee if Vesemir was near by she would drop to the floor and crawl as fast as she possibley could to her grandpa reaching for him whilst throwing Geralt cautious looks over her shoulder. It was quite comical watching her tuck her self into Vesemir babbling at him, clearly trying to get her father in trouble. If Vesemir wasn't around she would just give the great white wolf the run around... Then there was the time she climbed the stairs for the first time, he all but died when he found her precariously balanced half way up the stone stairs to your room playing with her snuggles. He could never keep a stern face for long always cracking when she would give him a cheesy smile and giggle at him reaching for a cuddle.

You smiled to yourself rubbing your tummy in long circular strokes trying to ease the tension, this pregnancy had been tougher and easier for different reasons. It was tougher longer much longer than with Rebbeka you was sitting on a full eleven months now, just over. It was concerning the others but you reasoned that if they had any mutations they might take a little longer to arrive ,as long as they were healthy you didn't care. Moving around was much harder this time as your stomach was huge and you had a much larger appetite e you couldn't move or sleep or do anything really. But then through all that you was thankful you wasn't on the road, you definitely wouldn't have been able to manage it. And thank the gods you didn't have much to do here either, you mostly walked around the keep spending time with Jaskier and Vesemir while the others were out on contracts. The man enjoyed having new people to share his stories with and you was thankful for them, not only did you learn about various monsters and such it also helped calm you down, took your mind off of things when you became irritable. This time around you had succumb to nesting, fidgeting and tweaking the cribs positions,tidying up and cleaning sorting through everything you had all gathered together for the children, most of the clothes and toys came from Lambert and Eskel. Who both had money on the gender, Lambert was certain you were having girls ,Eskel boys which helped in a way because you had a dresser of clothes for each. Vesemir had quietly began writing his more... Age appropriate stories in a journal he found for you,Jaskier and Geralt to read to them as they grew. Much to the younger Witchers horror many of the stories included tales of them as boys and first encounters with monsters making you and Jaskier cry with tears of laughter at the messes they got into... More so Geralt and Eskel. Jaskier may or may not have composed a few songs from the stories to use as lullabies for the pups.

The three of you had decided that the arrangement would stay the same for the new additions, Jaskier would be their papa and Geralt their father which had been a big weight off your shoulders. You huffed rocking faster closing your eyes wincing as your back ached still. But the aches wasn't as bad as the pains not only of your stomach stretching to house the pups but they were strong. To strong. The kicks and punches were definitely something to do with Geralt's witcher blood, they had to be Rebbeka was never this strong, more often then not you had been made bed bound by the shear force of a kick to the ribs, or bladder the bruises seeping through to your stomach clear as day or they would wind you to the point of nearly passing out and in the worst cases you would end up spitting blood which worried everyone. They all agreed that the new pups have indeed inherited there fathers more peculiar genes and everyone had pushed you to take it easy, one wrong move and one of the children could really hurt you. it was one thing to be hit by a witchers strength from outside where your bones and muscles are some form of protection...But they were inside and there was nothing softening the blows.

You winced getting up as Rebbeka whined her large blues staring at you through the bars of her crib. slowly you waddled over to her grunting as you pulled her up making your way over to the changing table making quick work of her nappy then set her on the bed to wake Jaskier. She giggled scrambling up the cover sitting on his tummy

"pap..pap!" she bounced on him calling him making him groan as she jumped giggling squeezing the air out of him. quickly he moved holding on of her arms making sure she wouldn't fall and laughed at the bright child.

"Yes yes I'm up....I'm up" he huffed looking around the room spotting you

"You look like hell...no sleep again?" you pouted sitting on the bed by his feet shrugging Rebbeka giggled as Jaskier tickled her a little making her pull at his fingers making him chuckle.

"I'm used to it...can you help me down with her...I cant stay up here much longer" he smiled nodding rolling Rebbeka over onto the bed and covered her with the blanket as he rose making the pup giggle and try to wrestle her way out throwing his legs over the bed pulling on some clothes then quickly pulled the blanket from the squirming child

"boo!" she screamed then laughed as he made her jump then picked her up helping you down the steep stairs with Rebbeka on his hip making your way into the grand hall.

"AH! oof! oolf! ah ah ah pap oolf!!" Rebbeka squealed in delight as she noticed the three witchers had returned each holding there own cup full of what you presumed was herbal teas. You had to cover your mouth as you saw Geralt’s face as she called him...She was to small to call him Father and had somehow picked up the habit of calling him wolf....or oolf as she managed it, you watched as she all but kicked out at Jaskier making grabby hands to Geralt, after all he had been away for Three weeks.Jaskier put the squirming pup down before he dropped her and Geralt quickly found himself wrapped around Rebbeka as she clambered up at him. you smiled moving slowly down the length of the table settling down beside him giving a chaste kiss to his lips only to be growled at by your pup making you laugh

"I wonder where she got that from?" you said giving Geralt a look as Rebbeka continued holding his hair like reins and tucking her face into him, you moved back in your seat wincing again as your tummy tensed, it had been happening on and off all night that's why you couldn’t sleep. Eskel laughed as he watched the whole scene unfold, then saw your wince as you cupped your bump

"Whats wrong?" he asked seriously all mirth gone suddenly you had everyone's attention

"I...I think they are getting restless....I'm getting twinges is all wont be surprised if they aren’t here by the end of the week" Geralt looked at you across the table nodding bouncing Rebbeka taking a deep breath.

"If anything changes....let us know" you nodded pulling a cup from the table making your own tea adding honey. you missed the look the witcher's shared between them selves.

Over the next couple of days you noted that you were never alone one of them was always with you even when you bathed, tho if it was anyone other then Geralt of Jaskier they had to be outside of the door...Geralt had nearly ripped Lambert a new one and was only stopped by Vesemir knocking some sense into him. Currently you was sitting in the small library with Vesemir cured up leaning on him as he told you of a particularly tricky nymph contract he had Taken Geralt on as a young man, Rebbeka was having a the time of her life with the new toys from her uncles recent travels scattered about her on the rug.

"And then Geralt being the younger more rash man he was decided that he would try to out seduce The water nymph...You can imagine how I found him the next morning in the spring, he was lucky she was only after the pink pearls in his pack or-" mid way through his sentence he stopped and pulled back his yellow eyes roaming your body. You pulled back worried automatically cupping your tummy. "What is it?" he shifted moving you slightly then you felt it..Your dress was wet and so was the cushion below you. You gasped and swore face burning bright as you gathered your skirts making to stand thinking you had another accident courtesy of the pups lounging on your bladder but he stopped you keeping you seated.

"Its not...I can smell it and that isn't...They are coming its time" you opened your mouth to argue but stopped and looked down, they had been still, just like Rebbeka you hadn’t paid no mind thinking it a blessing as you managed for first uninterrupted night in weeks, you then gazed back to him frightened grabbing him tightly worried, his own concerned gaze did nothing to stem your on fears, the primal fear of birth suck in. He smoothed your hair hushing you.

"Don’t panic...It's going to be okay...I've got you" you gulped taking a deep breath. He moved quickly removing himself from your grasping hands calling over Rebbeka who crawled over to him letting him pick her up. Then made for the door opening it.

"GERALT! JASKIER ITS TIME!!" you took deep breaths as you tried to prepare yourself for whats to come in. Digging your fingers into the padded surface of the twoseater, in a matter of moments the room was full of witchers all trying to be useful, you would have laughed had you not been quivering in fear. Geralt looked to you then the others.

"Everyone ready?" they nodded quickly dashing from the room determination on their faces you didn't have time to question them as Rebbeka was placed in Jaskiers arms Vesemir quickly blowing a small puff of powder into her face making her cough a little then he moved casting a sign and telling the child to sleep, within moments she was sleeping peacefully in her papa's arms. As this happened you was quickly picked up by Geralt you whimpered at him as an almost pitiful tugging began on your stomach muscles.

"Geralt what? what did Vesemir? where are we going?" he hushed you and continued walking swiftly down into a basement type room it would have been dark had it not bee full of light candles you could see a small single bed that had been moved to rest atop of a table making it higher. You gasped when you saw a few tall shelves full of different vials by the side of it. Lambert was busy counting herbs and various potion names out to Eskel who was warming some water by a huge open fire place.

"G-Geralt what is this place?" he sighed and gave you a grim look. He didn't want to tell you that you was going to be giving birth here...In the very chamber he and the others had undergone their mutations, but it was the only place in kaer morhen that had the apothecary ,magical and medical necessities that they needed. they had all decided reluctantly that this was the best place, incase there was any problems no one knew what mutations or issues the pup's would have but this was the best equipped room they had.

"It's where we were made....it has everything we might need for them...If thing begin to....Its got medicine and Lambert can make any potion or elixirs we may need...I'm sorry you have to bring them into the world here but we didn't have many options." you gulped as he laid you on the bed you tried calming down as you looked up into the ceiling seeing many terrifying vials and instruments hanging you closed your eyes looking away holding Geralt’s hand tightly, he squeezed back. You looked at him frantically as yous tummy tensed this time bringing the first sharp pain, like someone twisting a blade in your gut. You gasped panting holding your stomach. He looked down placing a hand on yours Jaskier quickly placed Rebbeka on the array of pillows laid out for her and came up beside you, warely looking above to the instruments hanging around you.

"Geralt...Promise me that....If Its me or them choose them....Promise me" the others stopped and it was only then that you noticed Jaskier as he gasped then looked to the others severe looks. Geralt leaned down placing his forehead to yours looking hurt and lost.

"It...It wont come to that....That’s why we are here You will be fine all of you" you panted curling with another pain biting your lip grunting and hissing as this contraction upped the ante it lasted longer this time making you swear,once the pain passed you stayed there and gave him a kiss. whispering to him desperately.

"Promise me!" he swallowed and nodded unable to speak he looked to Jaskier who gripped your other hand.

"It will be okay, we will take care of them if..." he trailed off Geralt snapped at him but you stopped him,Jaskier understood your need for that reassurance. you squinted smiling tightly as another pain made your body tremble, you looked around frantic.

"Rebbeka?!" Vesemir appared at the bottom of the bed.

"She is here, I put her into a light sleep....well deep enough that she will not wake down here, we did not want her to see all this and be frightened" he said waving around to the torturous looking instruments.

"She is over there by the fire, see?" you tilted your head around and nodded then quickly slammed your head back as another contraction tore threw you and you screamed feeling one child shift lower, settling right at your cervix the pain didn't relent as they stayed there. you shook your head and tore at the blankets.

"I-Its not......Not stopping!!" you cried out confused as to why this pain didn't fade ass the others had. Vesemir wasted no time in holding you high off the bed letting your packmates tugged your skirts up. You moaned and screamed as the new position made your back spasm and cramp. Finally having enough of wrestling with the fabric Geralt handed Jaskier a knife cutting and ripping it away fro you and lifted your knees. Lambert came over with a tiny vial filled with a whitish grey liquid and dropper.

"Open, this is for the pain, it was used a few decades ago for birthing pains" you did open your mouth

"lift your tongue" you did as instructed and hear him count the drops once he reached five he moved away. you tensed again as another wave of pain crashed over you, you whole body trembled and tensed you screeched out.

"IT'S NOT WORKED LAMBERT!!" he sighed at you and waved of your anger as you laid back cursing him out then as quickly as you could catch your breath another pain came this time you felt the need to push. Wasting no time you moved up to your elbows and feeling Geralt and Jaskier's hovering hands around you, they knew you were working on instinct and was merely there for moral support, you grunted grinding your teeth and curved yourself around digging your heels in the bed and pushed. you panted and dropped your head to your chest taking deep breaths as you had a moment of relief. Geralt moved his hand around concentrating feeling the pup.

"They are low...Very low the next push or one after should do it..." he said you smiled quickly at him, thank fuck!

"That’s will be quick! most humans are in this part for hours!" you heard Eskels voice from somewhere in the room

"She's omega, this is what she was made for. Her births will always be fast her body will only start going into true labor when she is already...open and able to pass the child... She has been slowly moving them lower since breakfast its why I kept her with me in the library" you looked to Vesemir shocked and went to shake your head at him going to argue but was cut of by another scream pushing with all your might baring down physically feeling the pus shift lower and lower until. Your high pitched screech took on new heights as you felt yourself bare the pup. the witcher's couldn't help but cover their sensitive ears as you cried out. Suddenly Geralt was there below you, this time not freezing or faltering he moved swiftly taking the soft cord from Jaskier tying it around the umbilical cord and cutting the child's bond from you with the curved knife used on Rebbeka. you held you breath for a few seconds as a deafening silence echoed in the room for a few moments freighting everyone. Suddenly there was a small gasp and cry form the pup you tried sitting up wanting to see your child. Vesemir moved behind you supporting you, from here all you could see was a small pink skinned bundle in your alphas arms wriggling their tiny fists about definitely not happy to be out in the cold room. Eskel made his way over holding his breath as he dragged over the warm water and cleaning rags, a crib was already beside your bed. You swore as the next pup made their was south

"Geralt!" he quickly snapped his gaze from the pup handing them to Eskel who carefully moved them to the water cleaning them gently. You cried out as the whole process started again a pain tore through you, tho you was exhausted and wanted to sleep you were more then ready to get this over with, the only sounds echoing the room was that of your cries and the newborns wails after another four contractions you whined. Laying back you looked at Jaskier gulping, you was running out of steam fast, you closed your eyes shaking your head at him. You couldn't do this.

"I-I cant...I'm sorry I cant do this....You have to-to cut them out please...Don’t let my child die!" he patted your hand tears falling as he glanced at Geralt who was frantically looking you over not believing what he was hearing.

"You are stronger than this...Please don't-dont give up!" you panted smiling to Jaskier"I'm done Jaskier, I cant do this....not this time I'm to tired" you let your tears roll down your cheeks barely wincing as another contraction hit unable to even twitch at it feeling Geralt’s eyes snap to you as he seemed to take in your weakened state. Shaking his head as his blood began running cold, his chest clenching.

"No!-No you...Y/n please...You can do this omega I know you can-" you closed your eyes then gulped, you knew the pup wouldn't survive if it wasn't out soon, you didn't have time.

"What is it?" he stopped and looked at you then to Eskel who was now swaddling the small pup.

"What-What is it?" you heard your alpha ask as you moved back resting panting yet still trying to see your new pup.

"Boy....It's a boy, Y-you have a son Geralt!" Geralt stole a glance at the now clean pup freezing as he saw it. Then crowded you

"Y-you hear that..We have a boy...Small and tongs....Please you can-I know you can do this" you winced at him

"It's not-I don't think its getting lower...We don't have time please Geralt...Save it...I'm tired" you closed your eyes pressing your head back to the pillow trying to sink into the mattress wanting to try and gain a bit of your strength. Lambert looked over to his white haired brothers devastation, then the child. He steeled himself and looked around the chamber seeing the sectioned off corner where the failed witchers were placed before being buried, he looked down growling.No. This would not happen, this chamber has to many lives to its name it will not have any more. He moved to the side of the bed pulling the child from Eskel moving so you could see him.

"You can do this! Look the very first born witcher....Not a regular pup a witcher...Look at him...Your son...Yours.. And he Needs his mother....W-We all did, but him more so than us" you turned facing him coming eye level with two amber eyes looked back at you, with the initial rush of blood now settled he was pale.... like porcelain and his hair tho it was wet you saw how pale it was, he wouldn't have pure white like his father but it would be silver, a bright shining silver. You moved a hand out to him, his cat like pupils dilated honing in on you he whined trying to reach for you. He knew who you were. He was definitely his fathers son.

"You are the only woman to manage this....And any woman strong enough to carry a witcher is strong enough to birth them... don't give up...Don't give up on them" you took a deep breath nodding to him moving forward, now seeing exactly what you would be missing you crawled forward all thoughts of giving up washed away as you kneeled on the bed. You grasped both Geralt and Jaskier's hands closing your eyes as a wave of determination washed over you finally you felt it the second the pain began you pushed with all your might not even taking a moment to breath you continued bearing down willing your child to join their brother once the contraction stopped you didn't let up, the new position had helped and the pup was just there you curled down with a final breathless shout as you pushed with your stomach muscles then as quick at the pain came it stopped as the pup fell right into Vesemir's waiting hands quickly he tied and cut the cord but the pup did not cry, it did not move, you waited nearly a whole minute before the gravity of the situation finally hit you. You looked on in horror as you took in their appearance .Blue. Your child was a deathly shade of blue. Not breathing. You screamed your anguish as Vesemir all but ran across the small space to the table with Lambert close behind with the pup, he was holding it carfully as he walked rubbing their back and chest trying to get their heart pumping.

"NNOOO! NO IT THEY CAN’T BE!" you screamed trying to stagger off the bed to your pup but was held still by Geralt, you beat at him feebly as he held you close keeping your head in his chest motioning for Jaskier to help calm you, he was terrified but he knew his family would do everything they could, he trusted them and it was decided among themselves that he would steer clear if this happened, he would console his mate. He tilted his head down trying to hold himself together as you fell to pieces in his arms.

Meanwhile Vesemir and Lambert was making quick work rubbing the pup trying to get blood flow clearing their airwaves of an blockages. there was a tiny puff of air but both witcher's saw as the pup tried taking a breath, it wasn't ill it was weak. Tired to tired to breath on its own. They nodded to each other and worked harder doubling their efforts. Vesemir moved down breathing into the tiny body still frantically rubbing the child's chest and sides, again they struggled for air. It was promising.

"Lambert the White raffards decodation...Quickly!" Lambert moved pulling down the small vial popping the cork and placing some in a pipett then handed it to Vesemir, tilting the small pups neck opening its mouth quickly he moved letting a few drops loose then rubbed the pups throat making sure it swallowed. Lambert winced as your wails continued, he moved pressing his own mouth over the pups, if they could keep those tiny breaths going long enough for the potion to work then he would be fine...He another boy...He will not die in this chamber...Not while he was here. Finally after what had felt like hours but was just a few terrifying moments the child screamed out his first breaths joining his brothers own chorus. Vesemir moved resting both hands on the table where the pup laid crying and screaming his little lungs out. And the old witcher wouldn't have it any other way. he garsped him quickly making his way to the three of you, who were so lost in grief you did not hear him. Carefully he moved Geralt back placing the boy in your arms then motioned for Eskel to place the first born there to. You froze feeling your arms full with two children.

"Y-you...You saved it? how? oh my god!Thank you! thank you so much!" you cried tucking yourself over the two, healthy breathing pups. Geralt and Jaskier joined both smiling wide enough to make their cheeks hurt. The relief of holding the two pups was unlike anything you had felt. you looked as Vesemir patted Geralt on the back.

"Two boys Geralt, you have your work cut out for you...I can’t help but think this is karma for all the stuff you pulled as a young'en...Good luck your going to need it" you pulled back seeing that Vesemir was right you held two sons. you looked at them both, identical silver hair amber eyed pups.

"Please tell me you have names ready?" you looked up at Geralt then Jaskier. who both nodded Geralt ran a finger over the oldest face.

"Aleksy...." he said making you smile then jaskier moved a hand to the younger boy

"Casmir..." you smiled two strong names...Defender of man and keeper of peace. If they were anything like Geralt and Jaskier you knew they would live up to their namesakes... you moved to feed Aleksy as Geralt moved Casmir to the still warm bath ready to clean him off and wrap him in a blanket to keep him from the cold.

"Can we not have any more for a while? please I don't think I can go through that again" you said moving back to lay down as the other witchers cam around crowding you keeping the pups in their sights. Geralt huffed a laugh

"I will let you know in two weeks" you huffed then whined.

"Oh no you don't, knot or not we are not doing that again....you'd never stop at that rate" he laughed as he moved patting Casmir dry. you sunk into the bed relaxing.

"Would you like to wake Rebbeka now?" you thought about it and nodded.

"Yes but I'm going to sleep after I've fed these two I'm exhausted" Vesemir hummed stopping Eskel in his tracks.

"Well should wait until they are fed and we are out of here" he said motioning to the room. you smiled pulling the man down kissing his cheek.

"Thank you..I mean that, I owe you and Lambert his life" he smiled patting your head."Anything for family"

Time skip five years

You huffed walking down the corridor Vesemir close behind you, you had been looking for the pups for over an hour, since you was informed they had snuck away from Vesemir as he was tying to teach them about some of the less scary monsters. Over the last five years the twins had demonstrated there abilities and it was decided they would be trained as witchers, not one to be left out Rebbeka was also beginning to train. She would never undergo a mutation or trial but if she could brew potions and decodations and have the knowledge to defeat monsters then she would definitely be able to follow in her fathers footsteps.....Somewhat. The boys on the other hand were a different story, both had magic and the strength and reflexes of a witcher, the only thing they struggled with was their toxicity, they could not withstand many potions. And although they were witcher's and had a strong immune systems they were not completely immune and could be effected by poison venom and toxins. You sighed already hearing the shouts from the children, you followed it out to the court yard finding your three children rough housing....Over a lute.

"Hey! Aleksy! you put that down right now!" you yelled out descending the steps as your eldest son lifted the lute to bash Casmir who was holding Rebbeka in a head lock, you hurried to the courtyard meeting them half way. Tho younger both boys were bigger then Rebbeka... Something she detested. Rebbeka was slim and fast...For a human her hair was always pulled back in some type of braid, she was like Jaskier always finding herself in trouble and out numbered, but she did have a silver tongue, if they ever needed to talk their way out of trouble as a group she was the one to do it. Your two boys were very much like their Father. Even as five year olds they were broader then the typical child, and taller they both wore their silver hair down each having two braids circling back around the tops of their ears held in place together at the back of their heads just like Geralt. Identical the only difference was Casmir had two fishtail braids and Aleksy had two dutch braids, that and Aleksy's hair was held back by a black cord and Casmir's a navy blue. Your two boys stopped fighting and let up their elder smaller sister who had been pinned down by the scrapping boys. She huffed snatching back her lute and wacked them with it turning tail making to run into the keep only to be stopped by Vesemir spinning her with one hand halting her tantrum effortlessly.

"Hey, Whats wrong?" she stomped and threw her brothers a mean look pointing at them.

"They pushed me down! and scratched it...And and then said my singing is bad! like a shrieker!!" she cried out stomping her foot. You looked at the boys with a raised eyebrow. Vesemir followed your gaze as the two boys looked down kicking the floor.

"Is this true? and how would you know what a shrieker sounds like? Have you ever heard one pup?" they shrugged

"Well...No" they both looked to each other then their Grandpa

"Would you like our next lesson to be on a strieker...We can practice your letters with it, you can write a ten word sentence about one fifty times" they jumped up shaking their heads.No. they hated there writing, instead they wanted to have story time. which was actually Vesemir's own way to drum different monster information into their heads. He was a cunning man making them learn without them even realizing it.

"Thats not fair! she started it she pushed us first" Casmir started pointing at his sister.

"Yeah! It was only cos we wanted a go on it and she wouldn't share, she pushed us down and we pushed her back...Didn't mean to scratch it." you looked from one to the other then Vesemir who nodded, he had heard the way Rebbeka panicked heart jumping at Casmir's words.

"Then its settled all three of you will practice your letters tomorrow morning with Grandpa..." they all groaned whining but you held up a hand

"And what has your father said about fighting? If you want to fight then you can do drills with grandpa....All three of you. I wont have this nonsense each time by back is turned you understand me?" you said pointing at each of them they looked down gasping at the mention of drills with Vesemir, they watched the grueling training that their Papa was put through, that was enough for them to want to avoid that training for as long as possible. They ran to you clutching your skirts.

"No!No Mama please!"

"Don't let grandpa do that please please we're sorry!" you chuckled at the panicked looks.

"Whats all this about?" you giggled as the two boys quickly bombarded their fathers pleading with them to save them from Grandpa's training. Geralt sent you a look

"Well for your mother to threaten you with such a punishment you must have been doing something naughty" you crossed your arms as Rebbeka quickly running to Jaskier making him hoist the girl up.

"Fighting! every chance they get, every time my back is turned! and lying" Geralt raised an eyebrow and placed the two boys down Jaskier doing the same with Rebbeka.

"What exactly have I told you three bout lying ?" they looked sheepish suddenly become interested in the floor

"I will have no more of that, you do and you’ll be in serious trouble!" you sighed as the children all looked upset close to tears, they never liked being scolded by any of you, but least of all their father, they looked up to him. But you saw a glint in Geralt’s eye as he gave them a lopsided grin.

"And what do I say about fighting?" he paused giving them a guilty look as they looked up at him nervously waiting his answer, he ducked down smirking 'whispering' to them.

"Never where your mother can see you, practice stealth"

"Geralt!?!" you cried out as the children laughed and he motioned for them to go play, forgetting the whole incident as they chased one another into the keep. you frowned at the alpha who didn't even feign a timid look. You sighed at him as he swooped in kissing you.

"Mate?" you wrapped your arms around him.

"Do you have to encourage them? they run me ragged as it is....Already popping up in places they shouldn't be... Disappearing at a moments notice they are manageing to escape Vesemir already!" the old witcher laughed shaking his head at his student.

"They all have a few years on you Geralt, you was what eight? nine? before you managed that?" the White wolf sighed and looked at you tilting his head and gave his argument.

"Then they are going to be brilliant at sneaking, a very useful trait" you deadpanned

"Yes Very good until they start sneaking into the lab...which has happened twice already" his brow furrowed and he nodded.

"Fine I will talk to them about that, but I have other things to do first" You glowed at him

"Dare I ask?" he smiled cheekily and scooped you up over his shoulder making you squeak

"YOU PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!! GERALT! STOP!" you beat at his back making him laugh you watched as Jaskier tried hiding his giggles entering behind you both as Geralt turned towards the stairs. the kids moved beside him looking at you both funny.

"OOHH is father upset with Mama?" Rebbeka asked knowing the only time Geralt held her or her brothers like that was when they'd been really bad and was gonna get a hiding.

"Wonder what she did? Is he going to spank her you think?" hearing your youngest's question you sputtered and went bright red.

"No of course your father isn't going to-OUCH GERALT!" Geralt made it worse by laughing out loud as he popped you on the ass once whilst he continued up the stairs going out of sight, you heard your children's squeals and chatter as they was ushered away for lunch.

Timeskip 13 years

You stood on the bridge to kaer morhen, today was the day you dreaded. you were finally letting them go...Out into the world... you looked down trying hard not to cry, the only small mercy was they were going to be together as a group. They promised to stay with one another for the year...A whole year with out them they would be back in the winter,Lambert and Eskel were going to stick close to them, not to close but enough to help if they needed it. you Geralt and Jaskier would leave kaer morhen in three weeks and avoid them. They needed this to fly the nest but it was so hard no matter how big they got they were still your babies. you trembled as Aleksy moved saddling his horse. he and his brother were tall and strong boys Men they were men now...Alphas...Witchers wide and powerful their magic had grown their signs were potent. you kept looking over them. Aleksy still preferred black and dark grey's, Casmir navy blues and dark forest greens. Casmir had cut his hair on the sides shaved one large braid pulling the rest of his hair back. Aleksy had long hair...Longer than his fathers and a style like his fathers the top pulled back but held in a braid not a ponytail. both of them were the spitting image of Geralt. Then there was Rebbeka she was a stunning woman, she could pass as a nymph with her dainty form Puberty had done her well and she had surprised everyone by presenting as an alpha...Thank god... she was always in dark reds and purples and had her hair up in its twisted bun hiding no lest then four steel sharpened hair sticks, she was less brash then her brothers, more one for sneaking around stealth was her game and with her charm an wit she managed to navigate humans with ease running rings around them until wheedling out the truth she always looked for the finer details and was very rarely wrong. You watched as they all packed up their horses, you noted none of them looked at you of their papa. You didn't blame them you andJjaskier couldn't hide your emotions well. Geralt could you knew he was worried, the fact he had tole Lambert and Eskel to tail them was a testament to that. you shook your head, you knew they could handle themselves, they had been proving it ever since your pack had been traveling for a few months at a time since they were fourteen or so. Getting first hand experience on the field alongside their father and grandpa. you smiled hugging Jaskier who wasn't holding it together at all fiddling with his lute trying to busy his hands and not wipe at his eyes. finally the time came and they turned to you all, you took a deep breath and hugs each of your children.

"Remember, not to much ale or women....That means you two Rebbeka I know you'll all want your fun away from us but please no pups yet! and don't you forget to wash and bath regularly..oh and please always have at least two fights worth of swallow and-and" you were hushed by them laughing and blushing at certain points of your worried mumbling.

"We know mother...We will be careful in and out of the sheets...You don't have to worry its just one year and we will be back before winter settles in" you gripped Casmir's arm giving them each one last kiss then stepping back reluctantly nodding as they gave their fathers heart felt goodbyes. Geralt imparting some more words of advice making them all roll their eyes. For such a hard man he loved his children to death you pity the fools who ever harm his children. he did shock them all by also gifting them their very own wolf medallion's, tho it was different from his, instead of having one wolf head there was four, one large at the top .Geralt. And three smaller heads...Pups. They swallowed back their tears as he place one over each of their heads. It was decided that these pendants would suffice as their own witcher medallion's instead of the traditional ones, as they were not your everyday witchers. they hugged their father tight then pulled back. Finally Jaskier hugged Rebbeka and then did the unthinkable thrusting his precious lute into her hands.

"I know you've always loved this thing...And it has seen its fair share of adventures... Collecting songs on the way....And I think it could do with some more..." she gasped trying to hand it back but Jaskier shook his head at her.

"Nope its yours now...A good luck charm and also a reason for you to make it back home..I can't wait to hear of your tales of vallor...all of you but please..please stay safe." you teared up as he didn't this hugging each of the boys on last time and moving back to stand with you and Geralt. You took deep breaths watching as they made their way down the path away from you holding it together until you were sure the boys wouldn't hear you, then broke into tears. holding onto your mate and Jaskier who both were shedding their own tears, both of sadness and joy. Sad for their departure yet all three of you were ecstatic in the knowledge that you had done it. Your pack had a legacy. The three of you created raised and taught three perfectly rounded people. Three witcher's all capably of protecting all who needed protecting weather it be man or monster. The last witcher's to ever train and leave kaer morhen.

"They will be okay...They will be fine, they are trained and smart and strong..." you looked to Geralt nodding agreeing with him as he sighed ushering you both into the keep walking past the other witchers. you took one final look over your shoulder and shook your head sighing. you smiled squeezing Geralt and Jaskiers waist. They will be fine. you knew they would and you couldn't wait to hear the songs of their victories and you would count down the days until they returned home.

#geralt x reader #geralt of rivia #geralt imagine #geralt x y/n #geralt x you #witcher fanfiction #witcher fic #witcher imagine

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