#like having a good amount of hours sleeping and then I'm tired already

[nightyraven-art]

Running out of 5 hours of sleep is still the same feeling as you wake up after sleeping for 8 hours and feeling tired.

I start to think my body is giving up, also I found out I have one gray hair already

[dropitpunk]

how is spending the night with jordan li like?

cw: very suggestive content, fluff, mentions of drinking, jordan li (fem and masc presenting) x gn!reader

jordan enjoys taking you to parties with them just to show you off and then finishing the night with you cuddled up in their arms.

you drank a little and your head was the perfect amount of cloudy, filled with just jordan and loud thoughts about their perfume and their warm breath on your forehead.

jordan's hair tickled your nose when you changed positions and their head found the comfort of your chest, delicate hands embracing your torso and thighs wrapping around yours.

"you get so warm when you drink," jordan whispered, closing their eyes as you rubbed their back lazily. you smiled, you knew jordan lost any reservations when tipsy and so close to you.

jordan lifted their head to get a better look at you, huffing so their hair wouldn't get in the way. you helped putting their hair behind their ears, flushing under jordan's intense stare.

"you okay?" you said a bit awkward, still shy around jordan's big eyes. jordan smiled knowingly, legs moving around until they were sitting on your lap, thighs resting on your hips.

"you're just pretty." they said before a pair of lips was on yours, slow and attentive just how you liked it.

your hands were crossed behind jordan's neck, toying with the pearls on their necklace while their tongue explored your mouth with hunger.

jordan was handsy whenever you two were making out, so it didn't take long for you two feel skilled fingers going down your belly, caressing the skin above the waistband of your sleeping shorts.

you complained when jordan stopped the kiss, their brown eyes glazed over with desire and soft lips red and swollen.

"i'm not going anywhere, stop whining," jordan smiled down at you and leaned in again to kiss your neck, sprinkling wet kisses on your sensitive skin.

you gasped in surprise when jordan turned you over, having to put both hands on their now hard chest to not fall over. delicate hands gave place to callused fingers and rough touch.

short nails scratched the skin of your waist, a hand bringing you by your nape to their lips again.

"wanna feel you wrapped around me," jordan said against your lips, moving their hips against yours so you could feel the bulge growing under you. you whined, nodding frantically.

a lot of nights were like this, agreeing happily to whatever jordan wanted to do with your body, losing yourself in them. they were just as trusting to let you explore them, give jordan as much pleasure as they brought to you.

some nights weren't so good, sometimes jordan would be back at your dorm stressed and angry, frustrated by their parents, by godolkin or by the pressure of being the perfect hero.

you tried to relieve that pressure, and jordan assured they felt better just by being at your presence. you weren't so sure, as you could feel jordan tossing and turning in bed when they thought you were sleeping.

in nights like that, you would try to take their mind off things by telling the story of the new vought+ movie that just came out, or gossiping about students at the university.

you would make them laugh for hours with your dumb jokes, and you went to prepare a cup of tea for them, when you came back they were already asleep.

some nights were just uneventful, though you liked them the most.

you could hold jordan for as much as you like, eat junk food in bed and play videogames until you got tired. jordan was a better player than you, but you were getting there.

jordan would ask you to braid their hair for training the next day, kissing you breathless as a thank you.

they would steal your clothes all the time, smiling innocently when you asked where your favorite hoodie was.

however, when they could sense someone looked at you with more interest than tolerable, you'd be the one wearing their clothes and drowning in their perfume.

when it was summer, sometimes jordan would take off their shirt before sleeping just to tease you, flexing their muscles not so subtly to see you blush, dimples big on their cheeks.

they would hold you closely, firm chest pressing against your back and strong arms holding your waist all night.

it was easy being jordan's partner, loving every part of them was free of worries. it just came natural to you, being close to them. especially at night.

a/n: i'm obsessed with jordan omg

[sillysillygoofygoose]

Salt N' Peppa

Older boyfriend Toji headcanons... MDNI

I can't stop thinking about him y'all, I'm ill. I need him soooo bad. Tojjjiiiiii ☹️😫

First, let's get physical.

Toji's previously dusky locks are outshined by the thin streaks of silver and gray that plague his scalp. His hair falls right atop his eyebrow, still thick and strong.

Lifting weights and resistance training has become too strenuous on his muscles and joints. He's found that going to the gym is no longer one of his top priorities, but when he does occasionally break out his (practically decaying) gym membership, he can only walk on the treadmill. Even running is too much impact on his aging knees.

Because of this, Toji's body has slowly but surely lost muscle definition. His previously defined abs are now sheltered by a thin layer of fat. His shoulders stay broad and proud, however his biceps are becoming softer as the days pass. He's gained a fair amount of weight, his strong frame become more and more huggable.

Toji's facial features are still sharp, stern. He doesn't shave as often as he used to, a black and gray stuble decorating his face every few days. His looks are just as striking as they were when he was young. Maybe even more now, with a strong distinction of a life wildly lived.

His voice has become slightly gravely and deeper as a result of the cigarettes he used to smoke like they were good for him.

Now let's get into it, shall we?

Older Toji... Much, much older than you. He's definitely matured in his later years... after wasting his twenties, thirties, and early forties, with random hook-ups and throw-away relationships, he's finally looking to settle down. And that's where you come in.

A cute, young, pretty little thing like you would never go for Toji, he was sure of it.

The second you walked into the dingy bar Toji frequented every Friday night, his heart began to beat a little faster. You settled in the stool next to him and offered him a brazen smile before turning your attention to the bartender.

What could he possibly have in common with some twenty-something year old living it up on a Friday night?

However, Toji never lost his charm. And if there's one thing he's mastered in his forty-five years on earth, it's talking sweet.

Conversation came natural. Your sarcastic, sour, but sweet demeanor pulled him into you more.

He was honestly a bit taken a back when you began flirting with him, leading him to ask you how old you were.

"Jesus Christ, sweets, I'm old enough to be your dad." Toji barks out a laugh, lifting his glass of whiskey up to meet his scarred lips.

"Perfect." You smirked back

And before you knew it, the evening was fading into the witching hours of the night.

"I had a great time talking to you. How 'bout I take you home... W'dya say, pretty girl?"

"No. But you can take my number."

Toji has DEFINITELY grown into old man habits. At 9:30 at night, he's already rubbing his tired eyes, stretching out his stiff back, and dropping his jaw to let out a silent yawn. Whenever he sneezes, he sneezes with a goddamn purpose. Every joint in his body cracks upon sudden movement.

Toji sleeps like a log too. It's almost impossible to get him up in the morning, and even more challenging when his heavy arm is pining your chest to the orthopedic mattress. He snores like someone is plugging his nose, deep, heavy vibrations singing from his chest.

Toji has served time in his past. The years he spent in prison are rarely spoken about, but they undoubtedly did a heavy number on him, the effect visible in his first and final mugshots. Ever since he's gotten out, deep bags hang from eyes, sometimes darker, sometimes imperceptible, but forever present.

But he's stable now. As stable as ever. He's found peace in his relationship with you and stability in his (legal) job. To his surprise, he enjoys the aspects of a quiet life. He relishes in the comfort of being tied down to the pretty girl that has his heart wrapped around her finger.

Toji loves to make dinner for you. Every evening, without a hitch, he's standing above the stove, stirring a pot or sautéing some unions.

One day, you catch him reading a 'Parents' magazine, cover to cover.

"I just don't remember subscribing for it, s'all. Wanted to see if the mailman made a mistake. Don't get any ideas, sweetheart. 'M too old for that shit."

" I'm not, though."

Really, Toji thinks he wouldn't be a good dad. His perception of himself is stuck on the reckless young man he used to be. But, he would love to have a little nugget to care for, and he knows you'd make the perfect little mommy.

Toji was quick to make you his. After the third date he took you on, he bought an engagement ring. A year later, you had him down on one (very sore) knee. He knew exactly what he wanted, and he wanted you.

Sex with Toji is incredible, too... especially when his calf isn't cramping up and you two have to pause for a breather.

Toji has never really had an emotional connection with any of the women he slept with in his past. But you are so special. He can feel the burning passion every time he bullies his thick cock into your little cunt, pushing through your tight walls until your lower half is flush against his thick happy trail and dark bush of pubic hair.

Toji always holds you close to his less-defined chest after sex, mumbling sweet nothings to you while he rubs the soft skin of your back, a stark contrast to his rough, calloused and aged hands.

"I'm so lucky to have you. My pretty girl... Luckiest bastard in the whole world."

Hope you enjoyed! Xoxo

[the-kr8tor]

Could you do fluffy hobbies reaction to reader having like stretch marks or scars stuff like that?

(Sorry my English isn’t good)💗

Thank you for the lovely request, angel! Hope you like it ❤️

Pairing: Hobie Brown x fem! Reader/ Spider-Punk x fem! Reader

Tags: no use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, wrote with a female reader in mind but no pronouns used. Fluff.

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

Hobie comes home tired, in one piece but absolutely knackered. He feels his muscles are about to fall out of his bones from the amount of swinging he did throughout the evening. Unfortunately he also had to patrol into the early hours, thanks to the vulture who decided committing crime at dawn is the perfect time to do that. The sun already rose, bathing Spider-Man in its glow.

He finally reaches the houseboat, opening the living room's window, Hobie finds you curled on his lumpy settee, the entire place clean and free from stray mechanical parts. He's incredibly thankful for your help, but he can't help his guilt eat at him. He only wishes that he could've helped, or at least told you it wasn't necessary, but knowing you, you would've had a way in making him give in, especially when it comes to taking care of him.

Just the sight of you makes his heart swell ten fold. Hobie has missed you dearly, he's been so busy with his responsibilities that you haven't seen each other for an entire week, only having a few minutes in the day to talk, which isn't enough for the both of you. That's probably why you've waited for him to get home, ending up sleeping on his couch tired from cleaning and waiting for him.

Hobie sighs, he's already thinking of a way to thank you and make up for lost time. Walking closer, he blinks wide awake at your outfit. Or his outfit for that matter, you're wearing his old band shirt, its color fading. His boxers reveal your legs, skin on full display.

Curled like a shrimp, you groan awake at the sudden presence. Feeling you stir, Hobie takes his mask off to not scare your half asleep brain. Silently, he sits down on the floor, facing your sleepy face. You slowly open your eyes, smile spreading over your lips once your bleary eyes adjust.

"Hi" you say softly like you're trying not to wake up the rest of the city. Feeling for his gloved hand, your hand blindly reaches for him.

"Love," Hobie helps you halfway, bringing his hand over to yours, you relax once more when he cups his palm atop your own. "You look bloody fit right now"

You snort, "even if I drooled all over your pillows?"

He brings his free hand over to your upper thigh, absentmindedly rubbing your skin. Chuckling, Hobie squeezes it for good measure. "I was talking 'bout your little outfit, did you go shopping in my wardrobe?"

You wake up immediately, insecurity filling you, sitting up, you grab the blanket you've kicked off in the middle of the night to tuck your legs under it. "Sorry, should've asked first"

Hobie's brows furrowed, "you don't have to, oi" he notices your downturned gaze, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, how's the patrol? You didn't get hurt, right?" You play with the frayed edges of the knitted blanket.

"'m fine, just tired" he takes your hand again, softly, he interlocks his fingers with yours. "Love, what's wrong? You suddenly flipped"

"I'm– it's nothing, just realized I have morning breath"

"You know for a fact I don't care 'bout that. I woke up to that a hundred times before, kissed you in the morning a hundred more. You can talk to me." he ducks to meet your gaze. His mind rushes through several thoughts, nothing good out of all of them.

You make yourself smaller on the couch. He waits while you collect your thoughts. "I-I've got stretch marks on my thighs, sorry" hiding your legs under the blanket. Maybe you should've stayed in your long trousers.

Hobie sighs in relief, cupping your thigh over the scratchy fabric. "Lovey" he says softly, staring deep into your eyes. "It's a part of you, even if you've got scales under there I'll still love every inch of you"

"This?" He squeezes your thighs for extra emphasis "there's nothing wrong with it or you, and anybody who says otherwise can kiss my arse"

You laugh, music to his ears. "Thank you, I needed to hear that"

"I've got stretch marks too. Nothin' to be ashamed of, yeah?"

"Yeah" you nod, smiling softly, laying your head atop his shoulder. Hands splayed over his back in an embrace. He reciprocates immediately, rubbing softly over your tensed muscles.

Hobie lifts you up in one swift movement, you gasp at the sudden increase in height. "Let's get you properly tucked in bed"

"Will you join me?" You say into his neck.

"Of course, after a quick shower. I reek"

"I don't care, you smell great to me"

He laughs, "sure, whatever you say, gorgeous" Hobie slaps your butt cheek for good measure.

[luimagines]

If requests are still open how about theirs only one bed with First?

yes. Let's do this. <3

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

"UUggghhhh! I'm so tired." You groaned loudly as you entered the inn. "Link, please tell me we can go to bed soon. If not I'm right into the trees for the night."

Link hummed and rubbed his face. He wasn't looking that much better than you even if he still managed to keep his perfect posture. He walked up to the reception, glad to have someone at the counter no matter how exhausted. He quietly asks for whatever room they have and gets the key.

As in singular.

You don't seem to notice ready to drop dead into the first bed you see.

Link doesn't mention anything either, guiding you away and into the room he rented for the night. You let him unlock the door and walk in. As predicted, you b-line for the bed, kick off your shoes and roll over- not even bothering to get under the blankets.

Link is shocked. You hadn't even said good night.

Lack of manner aside, he knew you were tired. The sight of you instantly collapsing at first sign of minimal comfort makes his heart ache. He's more methodical with his practice though. He takes off his armor and his layers before getting inoto the bed next to you.

He'll deal with the after math in the morning.

He's never been a deep sleeper but he finds that he quite likes the feeling of you in his arms throughout the night. You both curl into each other and take comfort. Despite the comfort and the amount of sleep he's received, Link wakes up first at the crack of dawn as he usually does.

It takes him a minute to remember where he is and what happen the night before. He looks down to you. You're clutching onto his shirt and breathing softly by his shoulder. Your legs are intertwined together but it's not bothersome.

Link wonders if he should move or not. You're more likely to wake up if he does. He sighs. He's been waking you up early to get the mission over with. And you've admitted to not being quite the early riser like he is. Complaining aside, you still followed him and tried to make it work as much as you could. And you were so tired yesterday-... He'll let you sleep in today. As a treat.

Link sighs, chancing a delicate kiss to your forehead. "...Good morning..."

You don't stir for a long time and Link find himself almost falling asleep again as he waits for you to wait up.

Hours pass and Link feels more guilty as they do so. He's really pushed you over these last few days if you needed this much time to recuperate. It's nearly noon when you finally bilnk your eyes open.

You startle awake and it shakes him in the process.

He opens one eye and looks down at you. "...I was enjoying myself you know.."

"You! What are you-?" You sit up a little. "I thought-"

"This was the last bed of the night." He says quietly. "You fell asleep first... I didn't mind. This is quite comfortable."

"I can't believe-!" You can absolutely can believe this. You push his chest away. "You could have warned me!"

"You were already sleeping." He replies. He sounds more tired than you do despite the fact that he's been up all this time and you were the one that just woke up. "And you looked quite comfortable."

You huff and begin to blush. Link smiles before he opens his arms for you to escape. "You're free to leave if you want to."

Your jaw drops, scandalized and outraged. "You little-!"

He smirks.

You bite your tongue and pout, almost glaring at him before you sink down and cuddle close to him again. "I don't want to get up yet. I'm not going to let you bully me out of the bed."

Link snorts and tucks you under his chin, wrapping his arms around you once more. "Whatever you say, darling."

[cutielando]

let's go to the beach | j.m.

synopsis: in which the beach is your favorite place

my masterlist

The beach.

Yours and JJ's favorite place in the whole Outer Banks. The sand underneath your feet, the breeze, the fresh smell of the ocean, the birds singing, peace.

Heaven on Earth.

"You wanna go to the beach?" you asked JJ once he came come from work.

He had been working like crazy the past couple of weeks and you decided it was time for a little relaxation.

"Now? It's almost night out" he said, pointing towards the window.

You closed the gap between you and wrapped your arms around his neck, immediately latching your hands in his hair.

"You've barely been at home the last couple of weeks. You deserve some peace and quiet, even for just a couple of minutes" you rested your forehead against his and rubbed your noses together, making JJ smile.

"Okay, let's go"

You squealed and jumped up, wrapping your arms around his neck. He laughed and leaned down to kiss your nose.

"You're too good to me" he mumbled, making you blush.

"Come on already" you grabbed his hand and dragged him outside.

You ran all the way to the beach, laughing and not having a care in the world.

JJ was trailing behind you, trying to keep up while laughing as well. He had been so stressed with having to work so much, he forgot what it felt like to be relaxed for a change.

"What do you wanna do?" you asked once you both stopped in front of the water, panting and smiling.

"Go for a swim?" he asked, letting go of your hand and already starting to take off his shirt.

You agreed and stepped out of your summer dress, leaving it neatly on the same next to his shirt.

He took your hand against and you ran into the ocean, water splashing all over. You dived in and swam for a little bit while JJ just sat and watched you, smiling to himself.

He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have you. You always knew just what to do to make him feel better, just like now. All he needed was a moment of peace with you in your favorite place. The beach.

"Earth to JJ" he snapped out of it when he heard you calling your name and saw you waving your hand in front of his face.

"What?" he pulled you closer to him, wrapping his arms around your waist and helping you wrap your legs around his abdomen.

"I asked if you were okay" you giggled slightly, pushing back his wild hair.

"I'm more than okay, I'm perfect. Thank you for taking me out of the house" his hands were rubbing circles on the small of your back, making goosebumps appear on your skin.

"You don't have to thank me. I hate seeing you so stressed out" you whispered, analyzing the bags under his eyes a little better.

His face gave away how tired he is, how much the job was taking a toll on him. The long hours, sometimes working on weekends, getting little to no sleep.

"I'm okay" he whispered back as he closes his eyes and soaked in the last rays of sunshine of the day.

"You're not, baby. You're so tired, I hate seeing you overwork yourself. You used to be so full of life and excited about the smallest things, and now you're barely eating or getting any sleep" you complained, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling yourself even closer to him.

"I still have you, though. You make sure I eat, even though it's a little amount, you make sure I get some sleep, you make sure I'm still kicking it. I'll be fine as long as I have you by my side" his words made your heart flutter.

You leaned in and pecked his lips, resting your forehead against his when you pulled away.

"At least promise me you're going to take it easy from now on. Don't make me go to your boss and rip him a new one. You know I run my mouth and I run it bad" you said, making him chuckle and nod.

"Okay. We wouldn't want my boss to fell your wrath, now, would we?"

You smiled and shook your head, taking in the sight of your smiling boyfriend. It had been weeks since he had genuinely been relaxed or even smiled, and seeing him now made you love him even more.

"We're gonna be okay, right?" he asked after a moment of silence, looking at you deeply with his beautiful blue eyes.

"Of course we are. We're getting out of this dump as soon as we can, we're gonna go somewhere and make a lot of money and then come back and own all of Figure Eight" you listed out your plans, knowing how much he likes to hear them.

"Don't forget about the gold statues" he intervened. making you roll your eyes.

"Of course, how could I forget about the gold statues. They're going to be the island attraction"

You both smiled and leaned on to kiss each other again, soaking in the feeling of being in each other's arms.

Even though life tended to get in the way, you would always be there to pull JJ back to the surface.Always.

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[pygmi-cygni]

Skincare - Steven Grant

so since you guys liked blue's skincare, i've decided to start a series.

Self care was important. Especially for Steven, whose tired head was overwhelmed from Khonsu's constant nagging. He hadn't had a good sleep in his whole life, but it had been getting to him recently. Even Marc was getting a bit groggy when he fronted.

Quite the self-starter, Steven decided to look into sleep-improvement techniques. Yoga, meditation, music, white noise, weighted blankets, he'd tried them all. They were pleasant, but his sleep schedule had not improved.

It was nine pm when he rang you. You paused in jade rolling your face, turning off the facial steamer.

"Hello?"

Steven's exhausted croak answered you. "Hiya, love, sorry...can't sleep again."

You pouted sympathetically, pushing hair out of your eye.

"I'm sorry, hon, do you wanna come over? I'm doing my skincare routine but you can have some tea if you like," you offered. Steven sighed gratefully. His keys clinked quietly in the background.

"Sounds lovely, thank you."

Soon he was draped over your couch, eyes staring glassily into the distance. Poor thing, he looked a mess. The gentle jazz you'd put on wasn't helping either. Two cups of chamomile, an hour of snuggles, and Steven Grant was still tossing and turning.

In the reflection of your vanity, you saw his weepy doe eyes. Your heart broke. There's gotta be something.

Peering in your makeup drawer, you examined your collection before grabbing lavender face lotion. Your mother had mentioned that the herb helped with relaxation - though whether or not that was an old wives' tale or not was beyond you. Worth a shot.

"Stevie, c'mere," you said softly, settling next to him on the settee. He turned, mumbling incoherently. His eyes were unfocused and struggling to pay attention. He eventually saw you and budged closer, scrubbing his hands over his eyes. You beckoned him forwards and he collapsed against you, hands limp around your waist.

"Let me try something. It'll help you sleep," you added at his raised eyebrow. Relieved, he shuffled until he was looking at you dead-on.

You unscrewed the lid of your serum and rubbed a good amount on your hands. The sumptuous floral air wafted through the room. Pungent but hopefully not too strong. Confusion ticked in his brow when you began dotting it on his cheeks.

"Wh...whazzat for?"

You shushed him, stroking his cheeks to rub in the lotion. It was a nice smooth texture, cool and comforting, not too oily. You'd forgotten how much you liked it, actually. Steven hummed, leaning into your palm. Looked like it was kinda working.

The lotion had already absorbed, but you kept up the massage, stroking his nose and smoothing his wrinkled brow. His eyelids closed when you kissed his forehead, bringing his face to rest on your chest.

A small bottle of almond oil was also on the nearby table, and you shook a generous amount onto his hair. The second your nails raked across his scalp he groaned appreciatively, nosing into your shirt. Even your eyes were growing heavy. The soothing combination of your gentle breaths and the smell of almonds and sugar was softening Steven's restless mind.

He felt...floaty, distant. In a good way. His hands twitched, wanting to hold your hand but not having the energy. Your long nails felt divine on his scalp, sending waves of tingling warmth all the way down to his toes. He could live here forever, boneless on your lap and drifting aimlessly in liminal space. The view from your lap was getting blurry, and his eyes had trouble reopening.

A soft warmth was pulled over his shoulders, cocooning him in a safe bundle of calm. Your hands never stopped, coaxing him gently into the dark relief of sleep.

i guess it isn't really skincare but i guess kinda maybe a little bit (there's lotion so that counts.)

@my-secret-shame @krakenkitty @ominoose @bulletgoth @twwcs

join my taglist pls

[666writingcafe]

New Voice Messages (Part Three)

Lucifer

"Hey. I know it's late and you're probably asleep, so you don't have to respond to this right away. I should be asleep, but I keep tossing and turning whenever I try, so I gave up on that hours ago. I'm currently sitting on the rooftop, looking up at the night sky. Well, and recording this message, but that's self-explanatory, I feel. *sighs* Don't mind my rambling. I'm both incredibly tired and slightly tipsy. I finally got around to trying the bottle of Demonus that Diavolo gave us as a housewarming gift, and it's pretty decent. I had a couple glasses of it before coming up here, thinking that it'd help put me to sleep. Obviously, it hasn't, but it was worth trying, I suppose. I at least feel like I can respond to your note without choking on my words or banging my head in frustration. *briefly pauses* Given the way you signed off on it, I'm going to assume that you trust me enough to not abuse your old name. That's also why I'm outside. Less likely to be overheard using it by my brothers. If that's okay with you. If it's not, feel free to tell me off for it the next time we meet. So, MC. *pauses again before lightly singing MC's name* Have I ever told you it's a pretty name? Saying it is comforting somehow. *clears his throat* Sorry. Like I said, I'm a bit drunk."

"Feeling more in control now. Might still ramble a bit, but hopefully not as much as before. *takes a deep breath* The first time I read your note, I ended up crying. Not because you said something wrong, but because it was...sweet? Is that the word I'm looking for? *briefly pauses as a gust of wind gets picked up on the mic* It'll have to do for now, I guess. Anyway...it's interesting how you and Diavolo said more or less the same thing, and yet I'm more inclined to listen to you than I am to him. Perhaps it's the difference in tone? I could definitely tell that he was getting frustrated with me towards the end of our phone call. I know there's a part of him that sees me as a really shiny toy, one that he's quite territorial over. If I were to leave his side, he'd throw a massive fit, I'd imagine, and he might start a war over it. Which is silly. I'm not worth fighting over. *pauses* And yet everyone seems to for some reason. It's like I cause people to lose their minds. I don't know if it's due to the amount of titles and prestige I've had or my physical appearance or something else entirely, but they seem to all go into hysteria after spending any significant amount of time with me. Except for you, MC. You don't care about Lucifer Morningstar, former Lightbringer, Avatar of Pride, yadda yadda yadda. You simply see me as me, if that makes sense. You want to make sure that I'm okay, and you don't expect anything in return. It's a way of repaying back the kindness bestowed upon you in your situation, I suppose. And it'd be cruel of me to ignore all of that and still plunge to my death. So I'm staying. *pauses* You're right. This does feel weird. You better make good on your promise, MC, or I may end up changing my mind again. *chuckles* Don't take that last part too seriously. I'm merely messing with you a bit."

"You know, I wonder what my brothers are thinking about this...offer being made to us. I already know Mammon and Beel would stay, and Belphie's going to do whatever Beel does, but I'm not sure about Levi and Asmo. I mean, you were there when Asmo was yelling at me about leaving the Celestial Realm. Do you think he's eagerly packing his bags as we speak, or--"

A Few Hours Later

"Sorry about the abrupt ending of my last message. Mammon caught me on the rooftop. We ended up talking for a while. *pauses* The two of us have an interesting relationship. Kinda similar to the one I have with Satan. Mammon's sort of my brother and sort of my son, except he didn't spring out of me like Satan did. He's the first angel I felt the need to protect. Everyone else was prepared to throw him away, even though he was merely a child. I couldn't sit back and let them treat him like that, especially not after I held him in my arms as he was crying. He was around the Chihuahua's age when that happened. *clears his throat* I apologize. I know you don't like me calling Luke a chihuahua. I really am trying not to. *pauses* So yeah. Satan's technically the third oldest, since he came into existence in my mind shortly after I took Mammon under my wing. Levi came into the picture when Mammon was a teenager, and the others when he was just becoming a fully-grown angel. *pauses again* It was actually Mammon that insisted that we take care of them, and he was so earnest about it that I couldn't say no. I mean, the fact that he was willing to do for others what I've done for him...I was quite proud of him. Still am, even though he insists on putting on a persona these days. I know deep down, he still cares about everyone. *pauses yet again* Is it weird that I feel comfortable sharing all of this with you, MC? It might be the alcohol still affecting me, but somehow I don't think it is. I...I think I've come to trust you. Completely. I haven't even gotten there with Diavolo yet, and I've known him a lot longer. *chuckles* You truly are special, little lamb. *silence* Shit. That wasn't supposed to be said out loud. I better go before I start calling you more silly nicknames. Good night, MC."

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr, @tenkobitch, @interconnectedmatrix

[kaplerrr]

Summertime Fondness

John "Captain" Price x wife!reader

Platonic wife!reader and Simon Riley.

Reader is from another country (implied), enormous amount of fluff, John is the sweetest man ever, you and John act like an old couple, this fic is basically a "found family" trope for Simon, John is a plant dad and Simon is a bookworm, John calling Simon "son" shouldn't make me feel the way I feel but here I am, totally self indulgent

Summary: You and John invited Simon to your house on a summer day and everyone is nice and happy.

_____________________________________

Your eyes fluttered open. Sitting lazily, you stretch. Making your bones crack loudly.

"Sounds like you gettin' old, love" Turning your attention to your husband, eyes still closed, lying on his stomach and wearing a little smile on his tired face, you laugh and slap his back playfully.

"Speak for yourself, old bear !" you bite back before gracelessly letting you fall on his back, ignoring his muffled protest, and hug him tightly.

"How did my beloved sleep ?" You ask, peppering soft kisses on his nape and shoulders.

You hear him sigh happily and close your eyes to fully enjoy his body warmth. He moves you as he lays on his back before hugging you close to his chest. He kisses your forehead before answering "Always peaceful when I'm with you."

You smile and kiss his jaw. You close your eyes and are lulled by his breathing and steady heartbeat, enjoying the attack of tender kisses on your head.

You enjoy the comfortable silence for a while before sighing heavily "John, we have to get up."

"Five more minutes ?"

"We can't John, you know that" you say almost regretfully. "Simon will arrive soon enough."

With a last kiss on his lips, you get up as you already miss his soft embrace. "Coffee ?" You ask, rising your voice slightly as you make your way to the kitchen.

At the beginning of your relationship, you had teased him about his lack of appreciation for tea. You are a disgrace to your country, you had said with an over exaggerated gasp, making him scoff.

You feel your husband hugging you from behind. "I'll take care of breakfast angel, go get ready."

"Thanks love" you say as you kiss his hand. Before gathering some clothes and heading to the bathroom.

You had asked your husband to invite his friends to your house. You've already met the whole squad (and you swore to yourself to never again reunite Johnny and Kyle together in your living room, they were chaotic together) and, if you were being honest, you had grown attached to all of them. Kyle could kill for the food you made and Johnny was just too happy to have someone that could tease and prank his captain, survive and tell the story. They were like family now and you wanted to spend time with your family.

Unfortunately, Kyle and Johnny were unable to come.

What about Simon ?

He did like you, you knew that. You saw this cold man warm up to you step by step.

You once noticed he was fond of an iced tea with peaches (or any fruit according to the right season) and a dash of honey you were making. He never asked for it but you would make it every time he would come to your house for some reason and he would greatly appreciate your efforts, thanking you quietly.

But Simon was alone most of the time and he wasn't one to complain. He would sometimes refuse an invitation. You could understand the need to be alone from time to time, but you were worried he was too lonely for his own good. The both of you would talk about some book you read or that he wanted to read, you would lend him the book saying "now you'll have a reason to come back" with a pleased grin.

You knew he appreciated the effort of making him feel welcome to your house, your home. He was always awkward the first hour, as if he was visiting for the first time. John and you didn't pay attention as you would casually include him in your talking or playful arguing.

"What about taupe ?" You said as you were looking at the blank wall

"Taupe ? No, no let's keep it simple, grey."

"John, that wall is awfully dull, we can't make it just "grey", love."

"Yes we can !"

"No, besides taupe would make the plants look so good !"

"My plants are already good looking, thank you very much." he said with in mock offence, making you laugh.

"Alright, Simon, what do you think ?"

And just like that he would relax and join the conversation. He wasn't that much into talking but would absolutely listen everything, which was actually really useful when he was "picking a side" to your quarrels.

You were glad he accepted this time. The weather was great, you had decided to eat outside. The garden was quite big, enough space for a table and for gardening. You were so surprised when you found out John's appeal to gardening but it made you love him even more.

"If you ever say anything about it to Johnny or Kyle, I'm leaving you." He said in a grumpy tone, cheeks slightly pink as he listened your gleeful laugh caused by his confession.

"Oh my, we don't want that, do we ?" You calmed your giggles before wrapping your arms around his neck "I love how resourceful you are, I'm not losing you now." You said kissing the corner of his eye. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

Enjoying each other embrace, you didn't talk for a few minutes.

Until...

"Does that mean I can tell Simon ?" You teased.

"Oh God, don't you dare."

You took a quick shower, determined to set everything before your guest's arrival. You found John on the couch, sipping hid drink and reading some news paper. Your mug was on the coffee table, waiting for you.

"Mrs Price, you look ravishing today." He said as he handed you the cup.

"You're not so bad yourself, Husband of mine." You giggled, kissing his cheek.

____________________

Honestly you were quite proud of yourselves as you eyed the several salad bowls on the counter.

"We did it !" You say smugly, looking at your stunning husband.

"We're a good team" he agreed, kissing you quickly "now I'm gonna take a shower and we're making dessert, how does that sound?"

"Sounds perfect." You nod, smiling widely.

You washed a few bowls and kitchen utensils you were going to use for dessert when a ring at the door interrupted you. You rush to the door.

"Simon, hey !" You greet, surprised. "You're early."

He nods "I can come back later ?" Not knowing if he was one hundred percent serious, you quickly dismissed the question.

"Don't be silly and make yourself at home, will you ?" You gesture him to get in, taking a few steps back.

You put a hand on his arm, beaming "Welcome home, Si." He smiled, muttering a quiet and polite "thank you". You noticed he was holding flowers. You look at him with curiosity, eyebrow rising slowly. He sways bashfully and gives them to you, explaining that he got them before coming to your house and got a new bottle of whisky for John.

"Thank you, they're lovely. I'm gonna put them in a vase! John's taking a shower he should be done in a few minutes. Get yourself comfortable, dear." You instructed making your way to the kitchen, Simon following you.

He glanced at the counter "That's a lotta food."

"And we haven't made dessert yet."

"What are you doing?"

"A dessert from my childhood, I haven't eaten it in years, since I've settled in London. I thought it would be a good idea to make it today."

"Can I help you ?"

You instructed him to wash his hands and explained the recipe. Explaining what to do with each ingredient. You rambled about some anecdotes of you and your family, telling him how your mother used to cook, how she would tell you that she added a "special ingredient" to her dishes and that she would always refuse to tell you what it was. Simon didn't talk, he nodded to show that he was listening but he was more focused on your movements he was clumsily trying to replicate, which made you laugh.

"Well, that kitchen is a bit crowded, isn't it?" John said, leaning against the doorframe. Face relaxed, smiling softly.

"Simon, nice to see you, son." John said shaking his hand firmly. Both men nodding at each other

"What a distinguished gentleman like yourself is doing in my kitchen ?" You joked as you planted a loud kiss on his beard.

"I believed I had a mission about helping someone making dessert ?"

"You know what they say- you snooze, you lose." You shrugged unapologetically.

"And what should I do to help?"

Your smile widened and you lend him a sponge "the table outside needs a little cleaning and then I might need someone brave enough to taste our dessert, hmm ?"

"Lucky for you, it's my job to be brave." He chuckled and made his way outside. Turning your attention back to Simon, you simply add "Let's continue, yeah ?"

_________

The next few hours were delightful. After lunch you asked if they would like to play some board games, which they agreed. You strictly prohibited Uno or any similar type of games since you've had witnessed your husband lose his sanity over that diabolical game, something you wish to never see ever again.

After a few games you stoped and while you were busying yourself with a book and a glass of tea, the boys were chatting, drinking the wishky Simon had brought, the alcohol making him speak more than usual. As you were enjoying the sun on your skin, you looked at the two men sitting a few metre away from you, seeing your husband laughing and Simon's smirk, you knew the latter must have said a bad joke.

A warm feeling made you giddy as you realised how much you loved John. You loved his laugh, his grunts, his attitude, his gruffness, his tenderness, his protectiveness. More often than not he was stubborn, sometimes he was tough. Yet you couldn't have dreamt of a better husband, of a better man to love.

Your gaze drifted to the younger man and you briefly wondered if you should give him sunscreen. Simon was so pale, you couldn't help but worry he would burn if he stayed for too long exposed to the sun. You didn't know much about him, you had once realised. At the beginning you knew he was working with your husband and that he was a loner. Now you knew better, you were learning to read him, as much as he would let you. You appreciated him, he was John's friend, he was your friend, he was family. You'll give him time, you weren't in a rush.

You didn't need his past to appreciate the man he was today.

The sun had almost disappeared when Simon rose, announcing he was going to leave.

You quickly eyed John who nodded at you "You can stay for the night if you want, you know we have a spare room." You said matter-of-factly.

"No thank you, I'm gonna head back. But I appreciate it." He said with a hint of a smile.

You nodded and directed him to the kitchen. You took some tupperware and filled them the leftovers food from lunch.

"Here, you're gonna bring some at home." You said, giving him the boxes. When he opened his mouth to refuse, you shushed him.

"You wouldn't want to hurt my feelings, right ?" You teased and smiled warmly when you saw him shake his head vigorously. "Then shut up and take the food."

He sighed as you laughed in victory.

A few minutes later, he was at the door, thanking you and John profusely.

"You'll always be welcome here, Si." You smiled and waved at him.

"See you soon, Simon" John said, patting his shoulder.

As you watched him leave and closed the door, you looked John's in the eyes, always in complete awe at the deep cerulean blue colour. You wrapped your arms around his neck and planted a quick peck on his lips.

"Have I ever told you I love you ?"

_______________________________

Omg I can't believe I'm done with this fic I'm so happy :>

[misc-obeyme]

omg the 4th wall break asks lately have been making me think about belphie in that kinda situation hahaha i might be predictable oops

you get home from long day at work and some emo guy owns your bed, he's already made a nest and gotten a good few hours in too. you don't even have time to be scared before he starts being super entitled about it too LOL like "ugh mc, what took you so long?? ive been waiting here forever... why are you just standing there looking shocked, seriously >:v "

also i hope you're having a lovely day!! <3333 sending lots of love!!

Ahhh hello Starr!! I am having a lovely day and I hope you are, too!! 💕💕

Oh Belphie would be such a little punk lol! And I kinda think if you try to ask him how he got there, he's having none of it. Who cares about those kinda details?? He's here now and he wants your attention! If you ask him why he made the effort to find you this way, he'll blush and brush it off.

And if you're tired from working all day, you know a little bit of cuddling with Belphie will help you relax. Maybe take him outside to look at what you can see of the stars (depending on the amount of light pollution at your location), so he can point out to you how they differ from the Devildom (I just think Belphie has knowledge of the human world stars, too... like he made it a point to learn them).

I think he would help you make dinner if you're hungry, too. He probably knows a decent amount about human world food just from hanging around Beel. He might complain about it... like c'mon MC he came all the way here to see you and you're making him cook? But he'll still stir the sauce or saute the veggies...

But in the end, Belphie would want you to join him in his newly created nest in your bed. Let him cuddle you to sleep, all warm and cozy and he'll make sure you only have sweet dreams...

I'd be worried that he'd get smothered by my cat. Like that one chat photo where all the cats are super attached to Belphie and Satan's all mad about it? My cat very much likes to sleep on the same pillow as me, so I'm imagining walking in to find her sleeping on his head. I'd be concerned about his ability to breathe. Also pretty sure this would make him my cat's new favorite person lol!

[kaylinelizabeth4004]

Young and Beautiful

Alec Hardy (Broadchurch) x Reader

Synopsis: DS Y/N Warner uses DI Alec Hardy’s flat for some late night work

Word Count: 4890

Tags: fem!reader, fluff, smut, praise, sweet, very sweet smut, if your name is Becca look away

She didn't even bother to knock, not knowing or caring if he was in, she just slid open his sliding glass door and let herself inside. Then she plopped the case files on his sofa, pushed his coffee table to the side, and laid them all out in front of in her. He'd come round about an hour later, when all the papers lie in their own stacks across his rug, Y/N in the middle eating a slice of toast with a wild look in her eyes.

"Warner, what're you doing here?"

"There's something we're missing, there has to be, and I'm so close to it!" She said, her baby hairs frizzing wildly as her hair came loose from her ponytail. She either didn't care or didn't notice as she stood up, a paper in hand. DI Alec Hardy stood in his own doorway, flabbergasted to his DS rambling in his room at half past 4am. "I think it has to do with Aaron, it's got to be. His alibi doesn't make sense, he won't tell us where he was, and he knew Sophia well enough. At least more than some of the other persons of interest. I've tracked down the local cab company and one of the drivers says he remembers giving a bloke a ride late that night, said the lad was proper out of breath and not exactly chatty. I've already got him lined up to come in tomorrow for more information. As for the trace amounts of DNA in the victims mouth we don't have a match yet but the lab did say it wasn't as disintegrated as they'd initially thought which gives me hope! I've got -" 

"Warner!" Hardy shouted, interrupting her speech. "What the hell are you doing in my house half past 4?"

She gestured around her as though it should be obvious, "working."

"And you can't do that at your own flat?"

She giggled, and continued to ramble. When she was really tired, like proper one second away from passing out tired, like she was now, she couldn't shut up. It didn't matter if the person she was talking to didn't want to hear it or wasn't listening or couldn't hear it - having a deaf cousin worked to her favor in these instances - she would continue to prattle on about what she needed to, "no. My roommate's got her boyfriend over and they were proper loud. Could practically hear the bed rattling, and it wasn't doing me any good. You don't sleep anyway so I figured I could use the space to lay it out. I didn't think you'd not be home. Why're you dressed nice? Did you come from a date? Is that what this is? Is there some woman waiting outside?"

"No!" DI Hardy looked halfway offended at the suggestion. "I've just got back from work. Was gonna make a cuppa then keep going til you showed up."

She squealed and went for something on the floor, lifting it up then crawling to a different paper,"I take two sugars."

"I know your bloody order. Shouldn't you go and sleep?"

She waved a hand, "I'll sleep when I'm dead. What I really need is for the world to be open 24/7. If I could only call this bloke right now and half my questions could be answered. You know my order? That's sweet."

He scoffed, "it's not unique. Warner, when was the last time you slept?"

"Uhh, I slept a few hours on Tuesday. Why do you look all high and mighty? You don't sleep either, don't eat. You're practically a miserable little skeleton carting your life way through life."

"I am not -" he stopped taking. Partially because she hadn't stopped either, continuing to chatter about whatever her heart desired. And partly because he didn't know if he was going to refute the miserable part, the little part, or the skeleton part. Or if he even could refute it. He snorted, well he wasn't little. He was over 6 foot. And he could eat more, he knew that. But he often forgot about food until he had to.

"I know a fellow who took nine sugars. Can you imagine that! Nine sugars! You're drinking piss flavored juice at that point. Pardon mh French, sir. He was very strange... called himself Witchfinder as though you couldn't search on the web magic shops. Maybe we should start calling ourselves Crimefinders. Criminalfinders? That doesn't roll off the tongue, now does it?"

DI Hardy realized Y/N wasn't going to answer any of his questions in this state, so he shuffled over to the kitchen to make some tea. He took his coat off, tossing it on whatever available counter space there was with a yawn. He wanted to sleep, knew he probably had to, but he'd probably dream of something he didn't want to dream about. Lately it'd been odd mental pictures of his coworkers all hurt, Y/N choked, Ellie crying, hell even Brian made the scene with a glazed look in his eyes. He didn't know why he had these thoughts, he'd never considered himself a particularly caring individual over his coworkers. But it had haunted him off from sleep for the foreseeable future.

He made two cups of tea, disposing two sugars into Warner's as she said. Then he walked back over to his living room and sat down, elbows on his knees as he scanned her work.

"Thank you!" She said, grabbing her mug and take a large gulp of it. "What do you think of this, sir? He doesn't strike me right. Can't place it."

"The name is familiar," Hardy admitted. He went to his laptop and started typing away, trying to place the name. "Ah, he's been arrested for aggravated assault. Both charges dropped, looks like some brawls in the pubs."

"I s'pose that doesn't suggest he murdered a girl."

"Doesn't rule him out either, if he's willing to punch a stranger in a pub what would he do to someone he knows?"

She giggled and scrambled for her pencil, "I should write that down for my novel!"

"You're writing a novel?"

"Mmhmm, started it tonight. 'Adventures of Harner and Wardy.'"

Alec set his mug down, and took hers from her hand as well. "Alright, time for bed now."

"What? No! I've got more novel to write and crime to solve! We've not even started discussing the potential that Louise is lying about her husband's alibi. I mean really? She says he binged Big Bang Theory with her all night and I'm all for binging telly but of all the shows you choose that one? The laugh track is funnier than the actual show half the time - is this your bedroom?"

Hardy had helped Y/N to her feet and led her to his bedroom in the back. She was still rambling about the most irrelevant things when he guided her to sit on the edge of his bed. He didn't often make it, so he was glad to note that it was done up well. Warner hadn't slept in almost a full 48 hours and he knew that even with a brain as sharp as hers, it was dull as Katie's without sleep. He got on his knees before her, carefully untying her shoes and sliding them off her feet. He put them by the door and helped her out of her coat jacket.

"What're you doing?" She finally asked as he hung the jacket on the back of the door. "Are you hitting on me?"

"What? I -"

"Because if you are hitting on me that's totally okay, but I should warn you I'm getting sleepy so I might not be the best lay. But you are proper good looking so I wouldn't say no." She made a face, "my boss wouldn't like that would he? Noooo, can't call someone proper good looking. I'm not trying to be a knob, just communicating that you've got no problems in the looks department. None, like ever. Personality maybe but you took my shoes off for me so that gets you at least a few brownie points."

Alec felt like he was malfunctioning, his arm stuck out, frozen midair from her words. She just called him attractive. And not just good looking, but good looking enough she'd want to sleep with him! He'd never been used to such straight forward compliments and didn't quite know if he believed it. So he just worked on autopilot, helping tuck her into bed.

"Go to sleep, Warner." He flicked off the lights and closed the door. What the hell. What the hell. Alec blinked rapidly like that would make any of what just happened make any sense at all.

He stood awkwardly outside the door of the bedroom. Should he - is he- what's the proper procedure with this? He should know, he was married once, had enough sex to have a child! But it seemed all that knowledge left the moment Claire stole back the pendant, fizzling his marriage, his life, his career. Now he was left taking uneven breaths as the sun crept up, an employee who's attracted to him sleeping in his bed after 40+ hours of not sleeping.

He found himself back at his laptop, slowly typing out what to do when someone admits to fancying you. But the results were not his thing, videos of very forward men and women moving very quickly into other actions. Alec was not opposed to the action, sex. But he couldn't fathom how to get there. So he sat in his kitchen drinking old tea, and staring at his door.

An hour later he crept in to grab a different tie for work, and saw Y/N completely passed out. She was curled in a ball, cradling his pillow and lightly snoring. She looked content. It made him smile against his better judgment. He left her in there, scribbling a note on a piece of paper he taped to the bedroom door before he left for the station.

Y/N Warner woke up nearly 12 hours later. It was practically dark when she opened her eyes. She blinked away the sleep that threatened to creep in around the corners of her eyes, and propped herself up on her elbows to survey the scene around her. She didn't recognize the room she was in, blank walls and bland sheets. There was no personality to it. For a moment, she wondered if she'd gotten a hotel room and just had no memory of it.

Then she smelt a familiar, faint scent. She couldn't place it or really describe it other than she liked it, it was warm. Stupidly, she let her face fall into the pillow to inhale the scent. Oh my god.

She shot up quickly, realizing where she was. The memories of last night flooded her mind.

"Shit, shit, shit." A hand flew to her brow as she tried to process. She'd come here to work because her roommate was fucking her boyfriend into the oblivion. DI Hardy came back, made her a cuppa. She wouldn't shut up, kept rambling about the Big Bang Theory (why?) and Witchfinders (how?) before he guided her here. Then she - "no." She said audibly, she did not make a pass at DI Hardy in his bed, late at night and practically drunk on exhaustion. Her eyes flit around the room before landing on the one piece of decoration, a framed photo of Hardy and Daisy, his daughter. "No." She said again, as though it could stop her ramblings.

Y/N rushed out of the bed, scrambling to find her shoes before she saw them neatly lying next to the door. She was usually very professional, if not a little eccentric. But no one could fault you for being a lot when you were good at your job and solved cases. She brought justice to people, she knew she did. And she might have risked it all because she worked herself too far and hit on her boss. Regardless of how stupid attractive he was, that was still work place harassment.

She shoved her shoes on, forced her arms into the holes of her suit jacket and ambled out into his living space. There were papers everywhere. They covered the floor like a new rug, slouched over the chairs and clung to the walls by hall dead pieces of tape. She looked for her mobile, patting her pockets. Shit, she must have left it in the bedroom. When she turned she spotted a note on the door.

'At the office. Feel free to not come in.'

Oh she was dead. She'd lost her job forever, she would never work again. This stupid blasted career she'd worked so hard on gone.

She ran back and found her mobile among the sheets, shoved it into her pocket and ran to leave the home. Then DI Hardy stood awkwardly at the front door, bags of Chinese hanging from his hands and a weird not grimace not smile expression. He didn't look pleased to see her, but he didn't want to kill her. Good news, right?

"Sir, I am so sorry about last night-"

"Don't worry about it." He waved his hand, coming in to set the food on the counter. He got a lot of it.

"No, I can't not worry about it. I came into your home, made a mess, took your bed and propositioned you-"

"Warner, we've arrested a man for the murder of Sophia Garcia. It was Aaron Baker, his dad's golf clubs, just like you'd said."

Her mouth fell open, "shit, really?"

Alec gestured to the mess of papers while he spoke, "you'd mentioned something about the cabbie last night. When I went in I gave them a ring, and while there was a driver who picked up a grumpy lad it wasn't Aaron. Sounds like a Christie book but it was his twin. Aaron was cross town cleaning up the scene."

"Not good enough," Y/N said softly.

Alec nodded, "not good enough."

"I'm sorry, sir." She said again, her voice still quiet and meek.

He didn't answer her, just stared for a beat before gesturing to the food, "I didn't know what you liked so I bought two of everything."

"All this is for me?"

"You solved the case, Warner."

She shook her head, "I ... you let me sleep in your bed? I ransacked your house, I propositioned you, and you let me sleep and brought me food?"

Alec scratched the back of his neck. He did not like how often Y/N asked questions. It stressed him out, like he had to have an immediate answer to every single one when he figured his actions spoke. But she looked so confused. He just gestured to the food and went to grab plates.

She sat down in surprise, blinking quickly as she watched him come over. "Just a, uh, an egg roll and cho mein please."

He nodded and shoved two of both onto her plate before giving it to her. He didn't put anything on his plate. Y/N sighed and scraped off half of hers onto his.

"Eat, sir. Please."

He blinked, "wot?"

"I've known you for years and never seen you eat. Just eat the egg roll."

He stared at the greasy food. He can't eat that, he thought and was about to say as much when she shot him a dirty look. Tentatively, Alec took a bite of it. He cringed, he didn't quite love the taste but Y/N seemed pleased he was eating so he finished it off just for her.

When they both finished he cleaned up, and she stayed seated. Then he moved past her to the bedroom, undoing his tie and tossing it, along with his jacket, onto a chair in the corner. He started to roll his sleeves up round his elbows when Y/N waited by the door.

"Thank you, sir."

"No need-"

"Let me. Thank you, sir. For the food and the sleep and, uh, well thank you for everything."

"Of course, Warner. I take care of my people." Not typically this much care, but he didn't want to make her feel bad. He focused on sliding off his shoes, shoving them out of his sight.

Alec jumped - well, Alec never really jumped just blinked harshly and cocked the one eyebrow - in surprise. Y/N was now closer to him, her chest heaving as she stared up at him. She was shorter than he remembered.

"I-If I may, sir?" She asked, lifting a hand.

He had a feeling he knew what she was asking, but didn't know for certain. But all the same he nodded. He watched as her eyes fluttered shut as she leaned in, going onto her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

He hadn't been kissed in a long time, and the surprise of her initiating it made him stand there and accept her soft lips against his. When she broke, he could see the fear in her eyes as though she had done something wrong. Alec hadn't kissed in a while, and he felt the anxiety creep in that he didn't remember how. But the look in her eyes made it worth the fear.

He plunged forward, grabbing the back of her neck gently while his other hand came to cradle her jaw. Her skin was soft under his touch, melting as he held her. Y/N's hands came up to hold his jaw, scruffy and itchy in the most delightful way. Her mouth melded with his as his tongue licked along her bottom lip.

She cherished the way his jaw scratched against hers slightly, sighing when he broke to trail soft kisses down her jaw and the length of her neck. The scratch was enough to make her giggle like a schoolgirl, holding his shoulders. He shot back up, hair slightly wild but nothing compared to his eyes as he looked into hers deeply. He needed to be absolutely certain. There was no time for messing about and hurting anyone.

She smiled. He was so handsome to her, but in an understated way. She took the moment to run a finger on his sculpted jawline, along his freckled cheeks and down his crooked nose. No, not everyone might look at those features and call it handsome. But to her, he was everything. Smart, kind, and good-looking as sin. Her finger fell upon his lips, slightly open and let out harsh breaths as he searched her eyes desperately. Alec always wished he could read expressions better, he was terrified he'd make the wrong decision somewhere down the line.

But Y/N smiled, and nodded, pressing a soft kiss to his nose before taking a step back. Then she toed off her own shoes, shucked off her own jacket, and began to undress.

He followed her lead, removing his shirt and pants. Eventually, they both stood in front of one another naked. Y/N felt that pang of anxiety in her chest at being bare in front of a man. She'd made it very clear to Alec that she found him to be hotter than hell, but did he feel that way about her? She wasn't ugly, she knew that, but she wasn't a showstopper.

And yes, she could see the surprisingly length of him hardening before him. But didn't every man get hard when sex was on the table?

Alec came forward and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her forward as his eyes took in every inch of her. He ran a hand along her stomach - an insecure area for her - and up between her breasts, before settling it on the base of her neck. The simple action left her breathless.

His eyes were still on her body before he brought them up to hers. She was struck by how deep his were, how warm and brown, they seemed to go on forever.

"Look at you," he said hoarsely, his accent suddenly get thicker. "You're gorgeous."

"You think so?" She felt stupid asking it. She should be confident, she should pose seductively and tell him to strap in the way girls do on the telly. But this felt real and raw, and raw didn't shy away from the insecurities. Insecurities laced with cellulite and hair, parts that feel too pudgy there and too concave there. Never quite where it needs to be, never "ugly" enough for the world to tell you you have a right to complain.

"'Course. 'Course, look at you. You think I'm g-good too?" He asked back.

Y/N smiled, "thank you for saying that, most men don't."

"Don't they?" Alec asked in surprise, figuring that was just a part of the experience.

She shook her head and let her gaze trace along his body as well. He was lean and tall, with thin legs and arms wrapped in gentle muscle. His stomach was slightly pouchy and soft, beneath it his length was already hard at the sight of her. She ran a hand up from his stomach to his chest, mimicking his actions, and let it stay on his heart. Beneath her touch it thumped violently. Then she looked up to see his face, her favorite feature. His eyes were warm and gentle even when they didn't mean to be. "All of you is handsome to me, all of you."

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, "you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. And if it isn't too crass to say, I'd fuck every inch of you."

It was too crass to say, and even a little cheesy, but it made her blossom with a smile. She threw her arms around his neck and let herself fall into one of his all encompassing kisses she was starting to like the taste of too much. Alec's lips were firm but not overpowering as they engulfed her, setting a tingle from her toes all the way up to her head in a heady giggle. His hands held onto her waist, grasping the flesh there with a sweet intensity. His lips parted with a deep groan.

She walked backwards to the bed, leading Alec until he was over her. His arms were poised by her head, his neck brought down as he peppered open mouth kisses along her neck. She laughed lightly at his scruffy beard, moaning when his lips found the spot between her neck and shoulder that shot straight through her. Y/N writhed under his touch, heat searing her skin. His hands were everywhere, branding her, skating up her waist to grab a handful of her breast, down her back to cup her bum, and feather like fingers traveling over the top of her thighs to the place in between. She gasped as he ran a finger down her slit.

"So wet..." he murmured, not expecting her to be so aroused by him. He'd barely done anything for her, hadn't touched down there at all. Yet she was slick to the touch, heat and arousal. Alec loved the way her chest flushed, her eyes closed tightly as she savored his touch on her skin.

He ran his fingers down, keeping his touch light as he experimentally nudged around. When he found her clit she gasped, her whole body tensing and focusing on the nerves right there against his finger.

"So responsive," he murmured, starting to work gently against her clit as she took shaking, uneven breaths. Alec went to speak again, then stopped. Tess never liked when he spoke in bed, said it distracted her from her climax. So he'd learned to stay silent and focus on his partner's body, her mouth as she fought her body's reaction to grind violently against his fingers. He kissed her sternum, biting at the flesh gingerly. Despite himself, Alec growled into her as she bucked her hips to meet his ministrations.

"Keep talking," she said in a hoarse voice.

"Wot?" Alec asked, taken aback.

Y/N looked up at him, eyes heady with need, "your voice is hot. If it's okay to ask, please keep talking, sir."

Alec grinned his charming, crooked smile. He bent down to kiss along her stomach as he quickened his pace on his clit, driving her faster to a climax then she was used to. That deep Scottish voice rang our praises, some loud enough that she could hear them and clench her thighs, others murmurs against her flesh that made her head feel light and airy. She giggled at the thought of all the beard rash she'd have along her body from him. All the same he told her how well she was doing, how beautiful she was, how lovely she looked squirming underneath him.

Then, as her back began to arch and she could feel the orgasm just a hair's breadth away, he stilled. Y/N whined. Actually felt herself whine in protest. He chuckled, clearly meaning to edge her, using his large hands to keep her legs wide open.

"A-are you ready?" Alec asked, his usual confidence lost to the arousal he was trying to keep at bay for her. His hands were large and warm, holding onto the space between her hips and thighs with a firm yet gentle touch.

Y/N's eyes gazed down to his cock, hard and ready. It looked about ready to burst, but Alec squeezed her thighs to look up into his eyes. They were warm and kind. Asking for consent even in a position like this. It made her all the more sure of her answer.

She reached up for his face, grabbing his jaw and planting a warm kiss on his mouth as he started to guide himself inside of her. He was slow, letting her gasp and adjust to the length inch by inch until he was fully inside of her. Alec paused. She could feel her heartbeat everywhere, pulsing desperately for friction.

She nodded, kissing Alec again. She'd never had a kiss like that, so strong and comforting. Kisses were never her thing, she hadn't understood the fuss over them. Just two sets of lips pressed against one another, the taste of the day infecting it. But with Alec it was more than the cho mein or egg rolls, and it was more than chapped lips pressed against one another. It was full of desire, trying to communicate all that words couldn't. She drank it in fully, gasping against him as he started to move inside of her.

Alec was bigger than she expected and bigger than he was used to, and she wiggled her hips to the feeling of being stretched so full like that. He cherished the feeling of her gasps and moans, dipping to kiss every inch of skin near him.

"So beautiful, so gorgeous..." he thrusted in quickly this time and saw her body tense from surprise. "You're taking me beautifully, Angel."

Y/N could listen to his voice all day. Even before she realized he was far from an ugly bloke, she fancied the way his voice poured over her in sexy waves. Deep, guttural, it was honest and raw. He didn't lie, he didn't cover it with some pretense to be sexy. Even when his voice would break, small gasps from the sensations breaking up his sentences, she found it all the better.

Alec leaned back, not wanting to stop kissing her not wanting to miss the view. He'd pulled her hips down to the edge of the bed, him standing and her legs spread wide and resting on the small of his back. With a gentle pace that started to grow more desperate he thrust into her, watching her body flush and squirm beneath him. Y/N threw her arms up, arching her back to take him deeper. Alec was enamored with the way her breasts bounced with each thrust.

"So fucking beautiful," he grumbled, snaking a hand down to stroke her clit. He could feel that he wasn't going to last as long as he would have liked, but by the way Y/N let out little moans by his feather light touch, he figured she didn't mind all that much.

Y/N was in her own world, feeling his voice slide off her skin like oil as she chased her high. His denial of her orgasm earlier made this one all the more powerful. It seemed to slam into her, causing her to gasp wildly as Alec kept firm ministrations on her clit. Then he too reached his climax, grunting in a low voice before pouring out in a shocking spurt.

Then he pulled out, falling beside her as they both gasped for breath. Y/N quickly ambled out of the bed and used the restroom before she came back in, feeling like her limbs were absolute jelly. Alec brought her back to the bed, laying next to her. His hand held hers, thumb tracing circles on the back of her hand.

"That was incredible," he finally said.

"You could say that again."

"That was incredible." They both paused, turning to look at one another, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

[d1xonss]

Desert Rose

Chapter 10 ~ Darkness

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Rose

✧ Era : Season 2

✧ Word Count : 3.3k

In this chapter ~ While searching endlessly for Sophia in the woods, all they could seem to hit were dead ends and nowhere closer to tracking her down. Although when the group splits up to cover more ground, everything seems to turn upside down at the sound of an unexpected fire of a gun.

"Everyone pick a weapon." Rick announced as he laid multiple knives, machetes, and sharp blades down on the hood of an abandoned car we all surrounded.

It was the next morning and we all planned to go out again and look for Sophia, while Dale, T-Dog, and Carl were going to be the only ones staying behind here on the highway. Dale needed to work on the RV, T-Dog got hurt and needed to rest, and Carl was just a kid. We didn't want him out there with us in case something happened.

I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night and a part of me blamed it on because that little girl was still out there. But I also think it was because I had to sleep with someone's foot in my back on the RV floor. I could've easily yelled at Daryl this morning about him leaving the truck behind because at least in there I could get a decent amount of sleep.

Andrea narrowed her eyes at the blades, "These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?" she practically whined.

I rolled my eyes let out a breath of air, attempting to just keep my mouth shut and mind my own business. Ever since the CDC, Dale had taken away her gun because she had become very suicidal after the loss of her sister, but he just wanted to protect her. Since then, she had been going on and on about wanting her gun back and I think I can speak for everyone when I say we were all growing tired of it. She sounded more like a broken record than a human being at this point.

"We've been over this, Daryl, Rick, Rose, and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles." Shane explained for what felt like the thirteenth time since we gathered around.

"It's not the trees I'm worried about," she responded before glaring at me "Why does she get a gun?"

"Because I know what I'm doing." I responded dryly.

"You know just about as much as the rest of us, we all started learning how to shoot at the same time." she said in a snappy tone, her hands placed firmly on her hips.

I smiled a little to myself, "Trust me, I've known how to shoot for quite some time now." I replied.

"Oh yeah how?" she asked as if she didn't believe me.

My eyes narrowed a bit towards her in annoyance, "I really don't think I owe you any explanations but...I was a cop." I stated simply.

She sent a glare my way, "Really?"

I nodded, "Undercover. Now, as much as I love to continue to go around in circles for two hours about how the princess doesn't have a gun, I'm already pretty tired of your bullshit and we haven't even started yet. And it seems to me you're focusing on the one thing you can't have rather than that little girl that needs to be found."

She looked a little taken back by my response and her eyes only widened, I don't think she really expected that from me. But it did cause her to stutter a little over her words, trying to come up with a good enough response but just ended up scoffing in annoyance with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

Everyone was silent for a long moment, Daryl trying to suppress a laugh as best as he could before clearing his throat to speak, "So uh...the idea is to take the creek up bout five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."

"Alright...stay quiet and stay sharp, keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other." Rick told us.

"I'm going with you." Carl said suddenly, "You need people right? To cover as much ground as possible."

Rick and Lori just glanced nervously at each other before having a little debate back and forth about what was the smartest play. Eventually, Carl had managed to convince them to let him come with considering the two of them would be there the whole time in case something went wrong.

I thought it would be good for the kid to try and help find his friend, he needed to learn how to shoot if necessary and possibly learn how to track. And I would obviously be more than happy to teach him a few things while we're out there.

But before any of us could move to start heading out, Andrea suddenly started to snap at Dale the second he walked up to tell her to be careful out there, bringing up the gun situation again. Everyone around them seemed to be watching uncomfortably, and I was just growing more annoyed that this was wasting so much time. Clearly the things I tried to point out to her didn't stick as well as I wanted them to.

"I'm just gonna..." I trailed off as I started to walk towards the trees, not wanting to hear any more of their conversation.

"Yeah." Daryl agreed suddenly from beside me, walking just as fast away from the confrontation.

We put a good distance away from us and the group, watching the highway from the brink of the forest in case they ever wanted to start moving their asses anytime soon. I leaned up against a nearby tree as we waited in comfortable silence, kicking some dirt beneath my feet absentmindedly.

"Ya really left her speechless back there." he suddenly spoke with a smug tone.

I scoffed, "Yeah, don't think I missed that laugh you were trying to hold back." I said with knowing eyes.

He chuckled quietly to himself, replaying the conversation in his head as he didn't do anything else but nod.

The group made their way towards us not long after that, heading into the endless forest to finally get a move on and search for Sophia. All I could do was hope and pray she was hiding somewhere safe, safe enough to make it through the night on her own.

I stuck towards the front as we moved, right next to Daryl while everyone else trailed behind us with their eyes glued to the ground. We tried to stick to the path that we managed to make out yesterday, having at least a little indication of which direction she went. Thought I couldn't help but overhear a conversation going down just behind me a few feet away.

I briefly heard Carl attempting to talk to Shane about something I couldn't quite make out. But instead of listening to him, the man just snapped at the poor kid and completely brushed off what he said as if it meant nothing to him.

I didn't know what his problem was lately but it was starting to get under my skin, probably more than it should've. I just didn't understand the constant stick he seemed to have up his ass ever since we've been on the road.

Carl then slowly made his way towards the front a few seconds after and began to fall in step right next to me. He didn't say anything, but I knew he was upset at what just happened, and I didn't need to turn around to know that Shane just bit his head off for no reason.

"Hey kid, you okay?" I asked him.

He sighed with a small shake of his head, "I think Shane's mad at me. I just don't know what I did wrong." he said.

I scoffed quietly to myself, "You didn't do anything wrong; I think he's just stressed and worried about Sophia." I lied, "But that doesn't make it okay for him to take that out on you."

The truth was I don't think Sophia was the thing fogging Shane's mind, I just didn't know what else to tell Carl. The truth was I think he was upset and frustrated that we had to stay on that highway longer than we all anticipated, and I wouldn't put it past him if he was considering leaving Sophia behind. He had it written all over his face for everyone else to see that he didn't care nearly as much as he should've.

But Carl didn't say anything else, he just nodded his head and continued to walk beside me, looking at our surroundings. It amused me seeing him trying to follow my movements and mimicking the same things I was doing to try and figure out how to track. It only brought my mind back to wanting to teach him someday when he was up for it.

My eyes glanced back up to watch ahead of us and my movements stilled, holding an arm out in front of Carl to get him to stop walking. We all seemed to freeze at the yellow tent parked just a few feet away from all of us, the endless possibilities flooding my mind.

"She could be in there." Shane stated the obvious.

"Yeah, no shit." I muttered.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." Daryl said, keeping his voice down.

His hand then went up into the air as he silently waved us on, keeping up with his strides as we approached the thing with caution. Our steps were slow and quiet, just in case there was someone else sleeping in there or easily a walker just waiting to be let out.

Daryl was the first one to make it close enough to hear anything inside, waiting only a few seconds before nodding back towards Rick.

"Carol," he whispered, "Call out softly, if she's in there, yours is the first voice she should hear."

She nodded her head and spoke softly, "Sophia, sweetie, are you in there? Sophia, it's mommy. We're all here baby. It's mommy."

We all waited in anticipation for a few moments but heard absolutely nothing in response to Carol's soft voice. Daryl took that as a sign to move in closer, unzipping the tent as slowly as he could with the new knife in his hand, slipping in through the flap. I subtly held my breath as he disappeared into the space, not making a single sound as he poked around inside. But after he was in there, he didn't move, he didn't call out for help, he was just silent as he examined the tent and took his sweet ass time doing so.

"Daryl?" I called after a few seconds of agonizing silence.

Nothing. Not a single sound or movement which made all of us begin to worry.

"Daryl?" I tried again.

This time he finally showed himself with a shake of his head, "It ain't her." he said simply as he zipped the tent back up behind him.

"What's in there?" Carol asked.

"Some guy, did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?" he asked.

Rick looked down at the ground with a sigh, and began to pinch the bridge of his nose from the growing headache he was probably receiving from all of this. I turned to see Carol trying to hold back tears at the fact that she wasn't anywhere near here, but that didn't mean we were just going to give up.

Suddenly, we all stood still once more at the sound that tore through the quiet air. Church bells began ringing, a little too loud for my liking, and we all didn't waste a single second after processing the noise, before we were sprinting towards it.

I was pushing myself to run as fast as I could trying to get there, but I didn't really know what to expect. Would it be Sophia? It could be a stranger. But after a few brief minutes of pushing our way through the trees and trying to figure out which way the sound was coming from, we finally spotted a little white church in the distance. There were no other buildings surrounding it as it stood tall in the middle of the forest, surrounded by a graveyard just off to the side.

"This can't be it. It's got no steeple, no bells." Shane said as we all stopped to look at it.

Regardless we continued to run towards it, ignoring Shane's protests in case she was in the small building anyways. It was always a possibility, and there was no harm in checking it out just in case Shane was wrong. Wouldn't be the first time anyway.

All of us quickly made it up to the front wooden doors in a flash, but paused momentarily to look at each other in question. Rick silently counted down from three as he looked to Daryl and I, then ripped the doors open to reveal three people sitting up straight in the pews.

But as soon as they heard us, they turned around to reveal their dead yellow eyes and their snarls only grew louder as they looked at us like giant pieces of meat. Rick didn't hesitate to move and take the one on the left, Daryl instantly moving to the right, while I was left with the one in the middle. I pulled out one of my knifes and twirled it around once, before throwing it directly at its head and watching it fall to the ground.

I looked back over just in time to see Daryl flinching back at the walker that nearly grabbed a hold of his shirt, before he finally took his weapon and sliced it through its head. He glanced back up once he felt my eyes on him, breathless from the attack he had just barely avoided.

"You got it?" I asked sarcastically.

He scoffed, "Shut up." he muttered as he cleaned the weapon on the walkers' worn clothes.

I smiled small, but felt a twinge of disappointment when she wasn't anywhere in here. Every single pew lined up was empty, and there were no other rooms off to the side we could search through.

But the bells only began ringing again from what sounded like right above our heads, causing the remainder of us to fly back out of the church to pinpoint the noise. I turned the corner just in time to see Glenn facing a loudspeaker attached to the building, quickly pulling the plug.

"Timer." he breathed, "It's on a timer."

The group easily began to hang their heads in disappointment as Carol wiped her remaining tears, "I'm going to go back in for a minute." she announced quietly as she ventured back into the church.

We all watched her go and sit up towards the front, where a statue of Jesus hung high in the middle. I could only assume she was going to pray, pray for her little girl and that we would find her soon enough, pray that she would remain safe.

But I couldn't bring myself to walk back in, so I headed the opposite way, walking through the small and rundown graveyard to place myself up against a tree to just breathe for a moment. My eyes closed as I tried to think about something else, something more positive that would cause me to keep going. But it always went back to the same thing, worrying about what I couldn't control.

I eventually reached down and took out one of my throwing knives, starting to play with it in my grasp to have some sort of a distraction. But it wasn't working out as well as I hoped. I just couldn't stop lingering over the fact that she was still somewhere out there, maybe hurt, and alone as she too was searching desperately for us.

My eyes glanced up only a few moments later, seeing Glenn making his way over to me with a small and sympathetic smile on his face. He found a space beside me and nudged my shoulder with his.

"Hey." he greeted.

I smiled, "Hey."

It grew silent for a second or two before he took in a breath like he was going to say something, but then stopped himself before anything could come out.

"Don't do that." I complained.

He grew confused, "Do what?"

"Don't open your mouth like you're going to say something and then just...don't." I said as I glanced down at the blade still in my hands.

He sighed, "Okay...can I ask you something?"

I nodded, "Yeah, sure."

"Do you...do you think she's still out there? I mean like...do you think she's still alive?" he asked quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was close by to hear the sudden assumption.

My face dropped in a matter of seconds, and he clearly noticed it too. I had hope that we would find her, hope that she would be fine. But some were being so negative about everything, starting to question the whole thing just as he was. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or Shane and Andrea getting on my nerves, or the fact that the guilt was slowly eating away at me. But I was pissed.

"Yes." I snapped, "Jesus Christ, it's only been one day Glenn."

"No, no-" he sighed, "You know I didn't mean to say it like that, I'm sure she's fine. I just can't help but think of other possibilities. Even if..." he trailed off quietly.

A scoff left my lips as I looked away from him. I knew he wasn't trying to do any of this on purpose, I was just really on edge. My mind was just racing about all the things that could've happened differently if I had just gone with Rick to help him. I felt responsible for protecting these kids and now one of them is lost somewhere in this godforsaken forest. Plus seeing Carol so worried after that poor woman had already been through so much, is just the icing on the cake. I didn't know what to say to her now, I didn't even really know how to be there for her. The only thing I felt I could do, was help her find her daughter.

I noticed then everyone was making their way back to the front of the church to talk about what to do next, gathering around in a small circle. Getting up wordlessly, I began to make the walk back over towards them with Glenn trailing silently behind me.

I stopped a little farther back from the group, listening to Rick as I felt someone stand next to me and I glanced over briefly to see it was Daryl. He looked down at me, noticing how serious my face had become and raised one eyebrow at me in questioning, but I didn't say anything as I continued to listen to the plan Rick was talking about.

"You guys follow the creek bed back, okay? Daryl you're in charge. Me and Shane are going to hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough." he announced.

"Splittin us up like that? Ya sure?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, we'll catch up with you." Shane assured with a nod.

Rick then looked towards me, like he had an idea, "Rose, why don't you come with us too. We could use a tracker to see if we can find anything." he suggested.

I shrugged, "Sure." I agreed.

Carl then jumped up to ask if he could come along too seeing as I would also be staying behind, leaving his parents growing uneasy all over again as they debated. Though eventually they agreed, knowing they couldn't hold him back from everything. The kid grew very excited at the idea of staying behind with us, turning to urgently hug his mom goodbye before skipping back over towards us. She told him to be careful over and over again, but he hardly heard her it seemed like.

Daryl then nudged my side gently to grab my attention before I even had a chance to walk off, "Be safe." he said in a quiet voice.

"Why? You worried?" I asked, a smile returning to my face in amusement.

A scoff left his lips as he went to deny it, though the words never made it past his lips, "M' serious, be careful out there." he settled on saying instead.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I'll be careful. Watch out for yourself too, alright?"

He nodded like it was a promise and looked at me for a few more moments, almost as if trying to memorize my features as much as possible. I found myself not looking away either, my heartrate only increasing when he didn't break eye contact.

What the hell was wrong with me? Ever since we started to get even a little closer, I felt somewhat nervous around him especially when he looked at me like this. Not that I would ever let him see that though. I felt that if he did catch a glimpse of it, he wouldn't stop. But then again, I didn't know if I wanted him to.

I was the one who ended the staring contest this time, looking away from him and made my way over to Rick so we could head off to search in the opposite direction. Before I left however, I turned back to glance at him one more time to only find he still had his eyes on me, giving him a small wave before completely leaving the rest behind.

We had been only wandering back through the trees for a few long minutes in complete silence before Carl suddenly stopped in front of me, almost causing me to run into him. I grew confused until I looked up and saw he was staring in astonishment at a deer just a few feet away from us, eating some grass and minding its own business. He stood watching it in awe before slowly walking up to it while Rick and Shane stayed in the same place behind us, smiling to themselves at the sight. I followed close behind him and lowered myself to whisper in his ear.

"Nice and slow, you might scare it off if you go too fast." I told him.

He nodded, never taking his eyes off the animal, "This is so awesome." he breathed.

I smiled at him as we continued to walk up to the deer who was now staring right back at us with big eyes. This was a very calm moment that I silently think we all needed. Today felt very hectic and stressful, and we all needed a break to think about something else. Even if it was just for a short moment, it was still very much needed in my mind.

However, the moment didn't last as long as I hoped. All I heard was the sound of a loud gunshot coming from right in front of us and before I knew what was happening, my body dropped to the ground with a sharp pain near my stomach.

My back hit the ground harshly, and I was now facing the sky with my vision was starting to blur as I gasped in agony. The last thing I could hear was Carl yelling before all I saw was darkness.

~ Thanks for reading!

[venusswhite]

Above the Ruins | Seven

Simon Ghost Riley x fem!reader

masterlist

In a world devastated by chaos and the threat of the undead, two destinies intertwine in an unexpected way. Ghost, a hardened ex-military man haunted by the horrors of war, encounters [reader], a lost and desolate young woman. With his experience and determination, Ghost decides to help her, and together they embark on a dangerous journey in search of a refugee center.

notes: English is not my first language, and I initially wrote this fanfic in Portuguese. With the help of online resources, I rewrote it in English.

Six - Eight

[Travel Day to the Refuge]

We were already with our backpacks and ready to go. We would have to pass through the city to get to the forest, the only problem is the amount of freaking zombies roaming the streets.

The plan was to try to pass by them without attracting attention and hope that none of them see us. Another strategy was to go in a line: me, [name], and Soap.

I was good at reconnaissance and the biggest of the group. So, I would choose the least dangerous path since I could see farther. Soap was very attentive, so he would know if something was following us. [Name] stayed in the middle since she hadn't experienced the same things as us, so her senses weren't as sharp as ours and also because I worry. I can't stop looking back to make sure she's okay.

A few minutes later, we were near the city center, where we would head to a preserved forest area. It was a bit longer route, but also safer, as people crowded in cities.

Leading the group, I made a turn to reach the core of the city center when I saw a group of about 5 zombies walking irregularly down the street.

I step back, making [name] bump into my back.

"What happened?", She asks.

"Zombies. Get down!", I speak softly as I crouch and walk towards the rear of a car, followed by the other two.

"Shall we shoot?", Soap asks.

"No. Too risky. We'll have to kill them one by one. Soap takes two on the left, I take two on the right, and [name] deals with one in the middle.", I say, seeing her about to protest. "Show me you're ready for bigger tasks, and then I'll give you a bigger task. For now, no discussion."

So we walk slowly with our knives. I quickly take one down, hitting its skull with my knife, and see another one coming towards me. I quickly retrieve my knife from the first one and throw it at the second.

When I'm done, I see Soap finishing off his second one, and [name] finishing off one with her knife.

"Good job, guys!", Soap says.

Returning to our lineup, we continue down the street, trying to avoid the zombies as much as possible.

After a long walk, going through alleys, choosing longer streets, and crawling under cars and trucks, we finally reach the entrance to the forest area.

"I think we can stand side by side here, but stay alert."

✧˖°₊

We've been walking for hours. Luckily, we hadn't encountered any zombies, which was actually expected.

"I'm hungry. Can't we stop for a bit?", the youngest one asks.

"Just for a few minutes. We can't afford to waste time now."

We choose a tree with a larger shade and quickly eat. We couldn't waste time here.

I take out my map and try to locate us.

"We should reach the next river by nightfall if we keep up the pace. The sound of the water will keep us hidden."

They nod, and we return to the long walk.

It was all long and boring. We didn't talk much to avoid attracting attention and we were always alert.

When night fell, we were already near the river.

"I'll take guard duty first.", [name] says quickly.

"Alright", I say seriously. I still didn't like this idea, but I know I can't make decisions for her. "Any strange movement or trouble, call me."

She nods. We didn't have sleeping bags or tents, but the ground seemed like a 5-star hotel after hours of walking. We light the fire and eat again.

"I'd like to chat, but I'm tired. So good night!", Soap says, already lying down, using his coat as a pillow.

"I'm also going to rest a bit, but if there's any problem, call me, [name]. I'm serious!"

"Don't worry, Ghost. Good rest!"

Then I kiss her forehead and lay down.

✧˖°₊

[name]

The forest was dark, and only owls and crickets could be heard. It was starting to get windy, making me a little colder, so I moved closer to the fire.

Looking around, I try to pay attention to any movement or strange sound. Observing the surroundings again, I noticed Soap sleeping and ended up laughing. The man seemed exhausted. His mouth was slightly open, and he breathed heavily. Now I understood why Ghost wanted us near the river. I laughed at the thought.

He was still asleep, but he was completely quiet. Which wasn't strange to me since it wasn't the first time I saw him sleeping. He still wore the mask, but I imagined what his bare face was like under the balaclava.

He was one of the main reasons I kept going. He was becoming everything to me, and that scared and delighted me at the same time. I had never had anyone like him before.

Talking about family wasn't my forte since I didn't know mine. I bounced from orphanage to orphanage as time passed until I reached adulthood. I never told Ghost about this; he didn't ask, and I didn't think it was necessary to talk about.

Snapping out of my reverie, I noticed movement in a bush nearby. I quickly got up, grabbing my gun and cautiously approaching the noise with small steps. Until the culprit of the movement emerged from where it was, startling me.

It was a rabbit and it didn't seem infected. It hopped around and sniffed the tall grass before munching on it. Its fur was white with small brown spots on its ears.

These were one of those moments when we pretended everything was fine, even when it wasn't. But this little creature gave me hope that everything would be okay soon. After a few minutes, I watched it leave and returned to my position near the fire.

Its warmth comforted me along with the gentle sound of the river. I didn't realize the hours passing until I heard Jhonny calling me to switch shifts.

"Good rest, miss."

"Thank you, Jhonny."

I lay down near Ghost, resting my head on his shoulder and enjoying his warmth. He noticed my presence and pulled me into his arms. Then I ended up falling asleep with both of us facing each other, embraced.

✧˖°₊

I wake up in the morning with the sun starting to rise and some birds beginning to chirp. I look to the side and see Jhonny sleeping while Ghost is heating soup cans on the improvised fire.

"Good morning!", I say stretching.

"Good morning! Are you hungry?"

"Very", I say getting up and sitting next to him near the fire.

"Here. It's hot, be careful."

"Thank you!", I take the can of soup and start eating.

"Good morning!", we hear a sleepy voice behind us.

"Good morning, sergeant!", Ghost says, handing another soup to Jhonny.

"I'm starving", Soap says and then devours the soup.

I took advantage of my shift to find the best route to the refuge. Maybe there's just one problem…

"What?", I ask.

"Do you know how to swim?", I didn't know. I mean, I could manage in pools, but I wasn't the world's best swimmer.", I joke, making Soap laugh.

"That'll have to do", Ghost says, looking at the river.

"Please don't tell me the best route you found is through the river."

"Then I won't tell you", he says, laughing as he stands up and looks at the river not far from us.

"Don't worry, miss. We'll help you if you need it."

"Thanks, Jhonny."

"Alright. The river doesn't seem too deep, and the waters seem calmer than yesterday. Let's get ready!", Ghost says, putting his backpack on. Quickly, Soap and I follow suit.

Ghost goes first, entering the water, with Soap following soon after. I descend slowly, testing the depth, and Ghost notices my discomfort, holding my hands.

Reaching the bottom, I let go of his hands and feel the cold water hitting my shoulders. I was trying to ignore the fact that I couldn't see the riverbed because of its dark color.

"Do you think there are any creatures here?"

"Let's find out!", Soap smiles and starts walking.

"Can you manage on your own?", Ghost asks.

"Yes. Everything's fine!", then we follow Soap.

The river wasn't very wide, and on both sides, there were trees upon trees. The morning sunlight gave us a privileged view of it all. If it weren't for the muddy ground making our walk more difficult, everything would be almost perfect.

✧˖°₊

After half an hour of walking, we noticed the river changing. The water that had previously reached my shoulders was now close to my mouth, making it impossible to look forward without tasting that muddy water. Our bodies, which had previously walked at our own pace, were now forced to walk more due to the increasing force.

"Damn. This is getting dangerous.", Soap spoke loudly, as we felt a strong current passing by us.

The water pulled us with force, making it impossible to walk. Desperation took over me when the ground disappeared from under my feet. I tried to swim or at least not sink, but the water was too strong.

In a moment of panic, I let desperation take over as I felt myself sinking completely and water entering my nose and mouth. I thrash around and manage to resurface, trying to catch my breath, but I'm pulled back down again.

I couldn't think rationally anymore. My brain was screaming danger and my lungs begging for air. While my feet kicked trying to reach the ground and my hands reaching for any salvation out of the water. It felt like the water had swallowed me whole and that it would keep me there forever.

I was about to give up fighting for my life and surrender to the coldness around me when I feel strong arms pulling me and then a strong chest behind me.

Ghost had pulled me and was holding my waist, trying to keep my head above water. I gasp for air quickly, seeking comfort. My thoughts started to clear, and my brain clung to the safety Ghost transmitted.

"[name]!", my eyes opened, and I realized we were still in that shitty situation.

"Shit!", I look ahead seeing Soap swimming along with the current.

"LT, it's a damn waterfall!", Soap shouted, making us widen our eyes.

And there was the reason for all this current…

[charlewiss-writes]

say the word / pierre gasly

masterlist

day 4: social (part of one-word november prompts!)

summary: he was a social butterfly and you were quite the opposite. how do you manage to sort it out?

pairing: pierre gasly x reader

word count: 0.7k

warnings: not proofread! poorly translated french (as always). also this is fully self indulgent on my part

everything was fine.

until it wasn't.

you really tried to enjoy the party. and you did, for the first few hours. it was a sponsor event for both pierre, carlos and charles, so thankfully you had charlotte and isa by your side to keep you company when your boyfriend was dragged to talk with different important people.

you had tried to avoid going in the first place, and your boyfriend seemed to understand your reasoning, claiming that it was okay if you wanted to skip it. hell, if he could he would too. these kind of events always pissed pierre to no end, being the worst part of his job according to him. but the girls had tried to convince you for weeks. and you thought, well, could it be as bad as your remembered? maybe you just were looking at the bad side of it -the press, the endless smiles you had to fake, the greetings you had to offer to people that didn't even care about you in the first place-, instead on focusing on the good things: spending time with your friends, your boyfriend, and the funny stories that always came with a night full of booze.

you knew that pierre, being the little social butterfly that he was -even though he denied it every time when you used to make jokes about it all the time- thrived in this environment: loud, packed, with electrifying energy flowing around him. you had met him in a situation like tonight, a few years prior, back when your friends used to drag you out every weekend you had off. but you never liked it that much, preferring to stay at home watching a movie or going to sleep early, always too tired from the week before or the one that peeked ahead.

—

"you promise to tell me when you want to go home, okay? your boyfriend say, grabbing your hands. he currently was on his knees, helping you put on the shoes you were wearing tonight, while staying seated at the edge of the bed. "yes, pierre, you don't have to worry about it" you said, kind of joking, but knowing that he had meant every word he said. he continued "doesn't matter who I'm talking to or what I'm doing, you tell me"

"yes, lovie, I'll tell you as soon as I notice"

—

what you didn't count was with your social battery going out in the middle of the night. a few hours had passed since you arrived at the event, and even though you were having fun with the girls, eventually you just didn't matter anymore, the fake smile and endless amount of small conversation tiring you out way earlier than expected.

even though you promised, you didn't want to bother your boyfriend, who looked to be in an interesting conversation with some older men. so you excused yourself from the table, claiming that you were going to the bathroom but you would come back quick. charlotte had tried to go with you, not wanting you to go through the endless sea of people that was enjoying the party between your table and the bathroom. being the stubborn person that you were, you reassured her with a smile, saying that everything was fine, and started on your journey away from them.

you didn't need to go to the bathroom. in fact, you had no idea where it was. you just needed to find a door, any door, that could get you out of there, your surroundings starting to become blurry and too much to handle with every passing breath.

it scaped your thoughts that pierre would notice about your departure straight away, not even a minute after you had gone away. he made his way quickly to the girls, asking about where you went, and already knowing what the reason was behind your hurried walk.

"hey, why did you disappeared? everything ok?" pierre's voice caught you off guard, along with the sound of the door closing behind him. "yeah, just needed some air" you looked back at him and smiled. he quickly took a seat next to you, and now both were sitting on the sides of the road, just outside the nightclub.

"do you want to go home?" he whispered, kissing your naked shoulder. you smiled and closed your eyes, enjoying the warmth of his body against yours, and his mouth against your skin. caressing his cheeks, you replied "no, pierre, you're still needed here".

"I don't care about any of this, I'll deal with it later. say the word and I'll take us home, mon cher ange (my dear angel)" pierre smiled softly, now returning the soft touch on your cheeks, the same lovingly way you had done to his just a second before. you leaned into his touch "I'm sorry, p".

"nothing to be sorry about. it was boring as fuck anyways. let's go, chéri. I'll prepare a hot bath for both of us".

[samofmine]

sammy. sam being super sulky and pouty because tonight is prom night!!! but they're leaving, dad already told them they'll be out of town by sunset, but sam was just so excited to go :(

he always heard about proms and how fun they are and how everyone is supposed to attend to one at least once and no he didn't have a date but his classmate (sam's friend??) invited him to go together with a bunch of other guys without dates and sam was just so excited because omg!! they want him to go with them!!! and he tells dean and asks if there's anyway they can leave after prom and dean tries to talk to dad but "we can't waste time with shit like that" is his answer and no amount of tears and puppy looks will get him what he wants this time but at least!! dean gets angry at dad and gives him the silent treatment!! (he learned from the best) and sam is happy to have dean on his side. always always.

so ten hours after they leave town dad finally stops at a motel and locks them in a room while he goes to a bar drink himself to sleep and sam's eyes are swollen with tears but he's soso tired he just wants to take a bath and sleep.

after he spends too long in the shower he gets out of the bathroom already on his pjs and there's a weird unfamiliar slow music on and there's christmas lights hanging on the walls. dean is dressed in an oversized suit sam can tell is not his.

he walks to sammy and sam can tell he's blushing even with the dim lights and he's holding a flower and he smiles sweetly "welcome to prom, sammy" and sam wants to cry again, he takes the flower and hugs dean tight and dean takes his hands and they start slow dancing :( "not a word about this to anyone, you hear me?" dean mumbles shyly and sam nods, nuzzling his face against dean's neck, feeling his hand on his waist, and dean keeps talking to him every now and then saying things "the things i do for you" "i hope this is good enough for you princess" and "i can't believe i'm wearing this stupid suit" but sam is on cloud 9 and doesn't give a shit because dean is holding him and swaying him across the room and he looks beautiful under the christmas lights and he smells like everything sam considers home. "thanks, de" he whispers against his skin.

they settle down on the bed when dean whines about being too tired to continue dancing but sammy doesn't let go of him, clinging to him until they're both lying down, and he listens to dean tell stories about his dates and how he never slow danced before and how sam is his only exception and sam falls asleep like this, with a strange warmth spreading on his chest, hand clutched around dean's loose tie <3

[misanocircuit]

[pic & Italian-English translation by me! :) in pink it's Vale speaking]

The 125 champion from Brno to the Gazzetta's telephone

Valentino's women

"You're handsome, do you have a girlfriend? What kind of underwear do you wear? Don't cut your hair!"

·

Many teenager girls wanted to talk to Rossi, asking him some risqué questions. "Want to see me up close? At the Monza Rally or at the Motor Show". Unveiled many curiosities: "My new baby brother has evicted me out of my bed: now I sleep on the sofa". "I've bought the lucky-charm turtle at the supermarket".

The supporters worried for the post-victory hangover. "I'm fine but I had to celebrate, no?". About the future: "I would have stayed in 125 but Aprilia has insisted. In 250 it will be hard to do the same but at least I will be able to sleep more in the morning". And there's who confesses that Rossifumi's joy has been damped by Lady Diana's death and Biaggi.

·

Valentino is tired and sleepy. The journey from Brno to the Gazzetta's telephone was long and full of insomnia. He faces the telephone with a certain amount of skepticism. But it's the fans, especially many wild young girls, who immediately wake him up.

It's Giulia Vivian, 13 y.o., from Vicenza, to start.

"Valentino, is it really you? Oh mother, what an emotion", little excitement yelps can be heard in the background.

"But, how many of you are there?".

"Four. I'll pass you Alice who's 16".

"That seems already a bit too much".

"Listen Valentino, we would like to know when you're coming here to visit us".

"I just think never. I'll go to Bologna's Motor Show, we could meet there".

"Alright, we are all going to be there with the flags and we will paint our face with your colours".

"Maybe also naked?".

"Naked? We'll see, we love you, you have a beautiful voice".

A rousing 16 y.o. whose name we are going to omitt (you'll immediately understand why...) calls from the Brescia area.

"I was about to give up. I've been trying from an hour and my father wanted me to hang up".

"Such a pain in the ass!" [literally "ball-breaker"; editor's note].

"You're right, but I can't say him that. Is it true that you will race the Monza Rally?".

"Yes, in November, let the ball-breaker bring you there".

"If he doesn't bring me, he'll see".

"Come on the first day, because on the second day I don't know if I still will be in the race".

Then the topic switches on underwear.

"I have a curiosity: what do you usually wear, slips or boxers?".

"What a question... Usually slips. And you?" .

"It depends, on Thursdays I don't wear them".

"Damn!!! Now that I think about it, the rally starts exactly on Thursday".

Francesca Testori, 15 y.o., from Como, is embarrassed.

"Sorry, I'm excited. Although we know eachother: I'm the girl who has come to your house. But you were sleeping".

"Sorry what? I don't know anything about it...".

"Yes, your mother opened the door for me and she told me you were sleeping: you know, I was on holidays in that area. Your mother is kind".

"Yes of course, such a bummer! I sleep too much".

"Listen, I want to know from you how things are with Biaggi, I've heard a lot of stuff".

"I don't like him ("me too", underlines Francesca) but I don't have any problem with him. I simply am not his supporter. Then the "bastard" journalists have exaggerated things, but we did nothing to avoid it. I don't like him... Also sexually".

"I'm Martina...".

"Colombari?".

"No, Pegoraro, I'm calling from Treviso and I'm 13. I've watched you...".

"Have I been good?".

"Yes, and how are you?" .

"I have a bit of a sore throat".

"It's been half an hour that I've been trying to call: when I heard the phone line was free I felt like if I was fainting. How is Luca doing (the baby brother that mom Stefania has recently gave birth to; Ed.)?".

"He's starting to bother. He used to eat and sleep, now he cries. And then he sleeps in my bed, while I had to move on the sofa. When he was born he weighted 4,2 kilos, he was 1,20 tall and was 42 shoe size. But he's nice".

"I've been in Tavullia two weeks ago, because I was on holidays in the area".

She hesitates.

"Sorry, my belly is trembling for the emotion".

"Don't say it, here there are all of Gazzetta's journalists, like the director and deputy director. Let's do it like this, give me your phone number and I'm going to call you".

From Como calls Giuliana Mossi, 15 y.o.: her start is languid, Valentino immediately becomes attentive.

"You know, I'm friend with Francesca, the girl who came to your house but couldn't see you and so did I...".

"Don't tell me that also this time I was sleeping because otherwise I need to shoot myself".

"No, you weren't there, you were testing at the Mugello circuit".

"Ah, then it's fine. But I bet that you've talked to my mother, nice eh? They all say this, my mom is so cool".

"I wanted to know why you chose the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle as a lucky-charm".

"When I used to race minibikes I saw one on the helmet of another rider. I liked it and I went to the Coop to buy one".

"You're so beautiful, Valentino, sooner or later I'll come by to see you in Tavullia".

"I'm waiting for you".

Another tender call.

"I'm Erica Messena, I'm 17 and I call from Brescia. Do you remember when we have met eachother? You were with Capirossi at Quelli che il calcio [an Italian sport TV show; editor's note], I took you a picture and I wanted to send it to you. I've got the address: I did everything I could to track you down, I even called the Carabinieri [Italian police force; editor's note]".

To Lorenza Gabioli, 16 y.o. from Modena, Valentino entrust the result of a lightning-quick referendum:

"How about I cut my hair?".

"I'm sorry, like this you're stupendous, especially with the pigtail".

"Thanks for the advice".

Anyway there's a shocking news coming: super short hair and breathtaking colour. All to be seen, in Barcelona.

·

[top right text translation]

The car dealer friend

"Try not to change"

Among the many phonecalls suddenly an imperious voice can be heard from the other side of the phone:

"Here is Tosi Moto from Rimini: you're a monster [it's a compliment; editor's note], many congratulations".

Valentino immediately recognises who's speaking:

"Thanks, Otello".

"No, you're the one who's special — replies the friend, a car dealer who is highly committed in the smaller categories and who has met the new champion when he was a child —. You have a lot of supporters. On Sunday in Misano, for the first final of the Sport Production: we were cheering like crazy just for you. We were 76 people inside a garage in front of the TV. It was 10 minutes before the race and nobody was getting prepared: another while and even the start would have been postponed".

"Keep going like this — adds Otello — and you'll have everyone by your side, because you really represent the sportsmen, the ones who go to race on Sundays to have fun. I've been knowing you since you were a child and I know how many things you could do, how far you could arrive because you got your head straight. The important thing is that you don't let anyone mislead you. Woes".